She knows, this time for real.

Justin read the text message for the thirtieth time since he received it a few minutes earlier. He hadn't even responded yet. He couldn't; he didn't know what to say. He was sitting in his office at William Rast and was supposed to be signing off on some of the new designs Trace had okayed, but since receiving that text he couldn't do anything except stare at the screen of his phone. His brain was going a mile a minute trying to figure out how he was gonna spin this, but he couldn't come up with anything. This wasn't just another minor break-up with another starlet, this was the end of his relationship with America's pop princess due to him cheating on her, with her sister…who just so happened to be the girlfriend of his best friend. There was no easy way to put this. He was fucked…royally. Sighing heavily he placed the phone on his desk and rested his forehead in his palms. Shit.

"You have got to be fuckin' kidding me!"

Justin's head shot up when he heard his best friend's voice. He knew. Marz probably called him as soon as Kara had told her. Fuck. Fuck!

"You're not finished signing that yet? I'm ready to go man; hurry up."

Wait, did this mean that Trace didn't know yet? Or was he just really good at hiding his true feelings until they were in a more private place? Maybe he didn't want the press to get wind of this just yet. Trace had been a PA before and knew how vulture-like they were when it came to Justin's break-ups. Those hounds would eat this shit up!

"I'm almost done, gimme a sec," Justin replied softly.

"Alright, well hurry up; I've got plans with Kara later and I haven't even showered yet."

So he really didn't know. Justin was surprised that Marz hadn't called Trace. Damn, she must have been really hurt. And now he felt ten times worse.

"When are you guys meeting up?"

"In like an hour. You can still drop me off there before you go home, right?" Trace asked.

"Yeah sure, no problem," Justin replied, grabbing a sticky note and writing 'Everything looks great to me' on it and signing it before attaching it to the folder. His phone vibrated on the desktop and he saw Kara's name again.

I'm waiting at your place.

This time he responded.

Back door is open. Be there in 30.

Justin grabbed the folder, his phone and his keys before standing up and joining Trace at the door.

"Let's get out of here."

Justin's mind was still racing a mile a minute as he drove through the streets of LA. Even though he and Kara had both known that this day was coming, it was still so shockingly surreal that they were actually living it. Justin had never been in this situation before, he had no idea what to expect or how to act.

When he pulled into his driveway he saw Kara's car and he felt relieved. But that feeling was quickly replaced with guilt. Even under these terrible circumstances he was still happy to be near Kara. That made him feel even worse for Marz because no matter how much Kara had told her, she still had no idea how deep his feelings for her really ran.

"'Kara?" He called out when he finally entered the house.

He could hear Buckley and Brennan barking in the yard, but everything inside was still.

"Kara?"

Finally she entered the room. She'd been in the kitchen, and she still had a wad of paper towels in her hand. Her face was bright red and streaked with her tears. She rushed forward into his arms, sobbing on his shoulder.

"My sister hates me," she cried.

His heart broke as he put his arms around her. If she was hurting this badly, he could only imagine how Marz was doing. Kara sniffled loudly, lifting her head to look up at him.

"We're both disgusting people," she said.

This time he couldn't really argue with her. So he didn't say anything, and she let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know where else to go."

He followed her into the living room. She was zoned out, zombie like as she walked a straight line down the hall.

"I have to go meet Trace in a little while."

They plopped down on the sofa together and Kara put her face in her hands.

"I know, I just dropped him off at home."

"What am I supposed to say to him?"

"Do you want me to tell him?" He asked.

It only seemed fair since she'd been the one that had to break it to Marz.. That couldn't have been easy and she was already pretty broken up as it is.

"No," she said. "It needs to come from me."

Justin nodded.

"I'll call you and let you know what he says. It'll probably be 'Trace hates me and never wants to see me again.'"

"Trace might be a little more forgiving."

Justin said that, but he doubted it in his own mind.

"Yeah, right. Somehow I find that hard to believe. This isn't the kind of thing people just forgive. I won't blame him when he tells me he hates me, I'll just cry some more."

Justin put an arm around her to consol her when she started to cry again, but she shrugged it off and stood up.

"I better go," she said. "I don't want to be late to meet him on top of everything else." Justin stood up as well, jingling his keys in his pocket.

"I'm gonna try to talk to Marz while you do that. Maybe there's something I can say-."

Kara shook her head.

"Timberlake charm can't fix this," she said.

He followed her back down the hallway toward the front door where she gathered her things.

"Make sure you call me whenever you leave Trace's okay?"

She nodded, running her hands over her face again to wipe away any extra traces of crying. Justin stepped forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, she was slightly trembling beneath his touch.

"Bye."

He watched her slink down the front steps and over to her car. He could see her depression in the sluggish way she moved. Maybe he should go with her? But that would only help to overwhelm Trace more on top of what he was already going to hear. Besides, he already had his own girlfriend to talk too.

The next thing Justin knew he was headed to Marz'. He'd sent her a text message, he didn't have the balls to say it over the phone, which said 'I know you hate me, I know I hurt you; but can we please talk?' Justin was completely shocked when she responded 'my place'.

Now he was going over what he was going to say, or try to say. He'd always been on the opposite side of the situation, the one who was cheated on instead of the one who was cheating; and when it came to this conversation he did all the talking. Justin wasn't sure if he was even going to get a chance to get a word in and was mentally preparing for the tongue lashing Marz might give him, not that he didn't deserve it. What he did was beyond low, hurting both Marz and Trace.

Trace.

Shit, Justin didn't even want to think of how he would react when he found out. This wasn't the first time Trace had been cheated on, but it was the first time that the woman who cheated on him had been with his best friend. Their friendship might be over and Justin didn't want that to happen. Trace was his brother and Justin didn't want to lose him. Damn, Kara had said that they would be going to hell for their infidelity, but he never thought that she was referring to hell on earth.

When Trace finally climbed out of the shower stall and looked out his bedroom window he wasn't surprised to see Kara's car already parked in his driveway. But he was surprised when he descended the stairs freshly dressed and found his girlfriend curled up on the couch, crying. He immediately rushed to her side; wrapping his arms around her, comforting her much like she was doing for Marz earlier.

"It's ok, babe," he said, shushing her and stroking her hair gently.

"No, it's not. You're gonna hate me," she sniffled.

"I could never do that Kara, I love you too much to do that."

"Don't. Don't say that," she whispered. "You can't love me. You can't love someone like me."

Trace sighed; she was belittling herself again.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're so much better than that asshole of a boyfriend made you-."

"I cheated on you."

The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. The room was still, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Kara saw shock and disgust flash across her boyfriend's face and pulled herself out of his embrace.

And I know that he knows I'm unfaithful
And it kills him inside
To know that I am happy with some other guy
I can see him dying.

"I'm so sorry. I know you hate me, shit I hate me right now. We didn't plan it, it just happened."

"We? Who's we?" Trace asked in an icy tone.

Kara was silent. This was the hard part. How was she supposed to tell him that the other man in her life was his best friend?

"Who is 'we', Kara? You at least owe me that!" He said angrily.

"Justin," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Justin? Are you fucking kidding me!?" He exclaimed. "Justin?"

She nodded. She was crying too hard to say anything else. Trace was seething now and if Kara didn't know him better she'd be preparing herself for a physical strike; but she knew that he was too much of a gentleman to put his hands on a woman. A perfect gentleman, the greatest thing that had ever happened to her in a relationship sense and she fucked it up. She couldn't even bring herself to face him.

"I can't believe it. I can't believe this happened again. How could you? How could he!?"

His voice cracked.

Kara had cut him deep.

"I'm so sor-."

"Why?"

"I don't know," she said honestly.

"Was I not enough? Was what we had not enough? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing; you did nothing wrong. You were perfect; you have been since day one. I fucked up, and I understand if you never want to speak to me again," she cried.

She rose to her feet, preparing to leave the house, and possibly his life forever.

"More than once?"

Kara froze in her tracks, turning to face him again.

"Yeah, more than once," he said knowingly. "How long?"

She lowered her head in shame and mumbled, "Since New York."

"New York!?! It's been going on that long? Before we even got serious? Why did you date me then? Was it just for appearances? Because I was convenient? Did you even care about me or was I just a piece of the ploy so you two could keep seeing each other without anyone knowing?"

"No. I did care about you. I do care about you. I love you, Trace." She'd never said the words aloud to him before, but definitely felt them. Her love for him was the cause of her hesitancy in her infidelity with Justin.

"No! Don't say that! Don't you dare say you love me!" he exclaimed, he was really crying now.

I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why.
Every time I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life.
I don't wanna be a murder.

Kara had never seen him so vulnerable and it hurt her more to know that she was the cause of this pain.

"I do love you, this is hurting me as much as it hurt you."

"Don't give me that bullshit," he spat. "Don't give me that 'I'm hurting just as much as you are' bullshit. I bet you weren't hurt while ya'll were fucking. Were you thinking about me then? Hell no! Ya'll weren't thinking about how much it would hurt me and Marz while ya'll were fucking around. You not only betrayed me, you betrayed your sister. Your own fuckin' sister! Did you think about that?"

She did, honestly she did; but what she had with Justin was like her drug and she didn't want to give it up. But like all drugs, was it worth it? Was it worth losing her sister and the best boyfriend she ever had?

I lost his trust
I might as well take a gun and put it to his head
Get it over with
I don't wanna do this…

"Of course I thought about it," she said. "We didn't mean for this to happen, it just did."

"Your clothes don't just fall off Kara, you take them off. It didn't just happen to you, you did it. Just get out, just go."

Trace turned his back to her, hiding his face and his own tears. Kara watched him for a moment, wishing he would just gather her up in his arms and tell her that he forgave her. But that wasn't going to happen. Finally she turned away, heading out the door and down the steps to the driveway.

Justin stood on Marz's doorstep, trying to work up the nerve to ring the bell. He'd been standing out here for a good 5 minutes already. The drive over hadn't been enough to mentally prepare him for what was about to happen. Finally working up the courage he pressed the button, and the door opened almost instantly. Marz stood there, wrapped in a cream blanket, her eyes red.

"Took you long enough," she said.

She stepped to the side, allowing him to enter, then slammed the door behind him.

"Marz," he began. "I'm sor-."

"Oh save it," her tone was harsh. "Just tell me why? Why would you do that to me? Was I a publicity stunt? Did you just need the press for your album?"

He shook his head, turning to walk into her living room. This conversation was going to take awhile.

"Marz, you know I don't need the press. Why would I purposefully make myself look like a jackass in the media?"

"Probably because you are a jackass," she snapped.

"Alright," he sighed, sitting on the sofa. "I deserved that."

"Damn right you deserve that. You deserve a lot more. How could you do this to me? Why? Why?"

"Marz-."

"Why?"

"Marz-."

"Tell me why!"

"I'm trying!"

Marz remained silent, sitting on the other sofa across from him.

"Marz, I'm sorry-."

"You both say that!" She yelled. "'I'm sorry. I'm sorry.' Sorry doesn't cut it. Sorry doesn't undo you fucking my sister. Let me guess what you're going to say next: I didn't mean it."

"We didn't," Justin interrupted. "We didn't mean to hurt you, hurt Trace. The last thing we wanted was for you to feel any pain. I didn't plan it and neither did she. And I am sorry."

"It started in New York, right?"

"Yes."

"Tell me what happened."

Justin looked at her skeptically, raising an unsure eyebrow.

"Uhh, Marz, I don't think you really want to hear that."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!" She cried.

Justin remained silent. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Marz about his sex life with her sister. Why would she want to hear details like that?

"Was it at the hotel?" She asked calmly.

He shook his head.

"The studio?"

After a moment, he nodded slightly.

"And?" She pressed.

Justin stared at her as she angrily clinched the blanket wrapped around her body. She was trembling with anger, and struggling to keep the calm front she'd suddenly put up. She was determined to have this conversation.

"And... We were there alone. Kara needed help packing some equipment, so-."

"I don't need to listen to this filth!" Marz interrupted. "I don't need to hear about how she seduced you."

Justin's brow furrowed.

"She didn't seduce me. If anything it was me, not her."

Marz thought over her words with Kara earlier that day, how she'd accused her of throwing herself at Justin.

"Why my sister?"

Justin shrugged. That was a question he could remember asking himself a dozen times. He'd never been one hundred percent positive what it was about Kara, there had just been a pull to her from the beginning.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "We spent a lot of time together in the studio, in New York-."

"And I wasn't there. You were lonely," Marz added.

Justin nodded. Maybe that had been part of it, he didn't know for sure. He just knew that it had happened, and he knew his feelings for Kara.

"I don't know Justin," she said. "I don't know if we can make it back from this. We're going to have to work on trust, because frankly I don't trust you at all anymore. And you're done working with Kara, that's for sure."

This time he blinked.

"What?"

After all of this, she wanted to work it out?

"Maybe we should look into couples therapy or something."

His jaw dropped slightly.

"You still want to stay together?" He asked in astonishment.

Marz nodded.

"What you did to me was terrible. But I know you're sorry. I think we owe it to ourselves to try to get past this."

Justin stammered for a moment. This hadn't been what he wanted. He was more than amazed that Marz was willing to look past his mistake and see their relationship for what it was - or at least what she thought it was.

"I don't want to lose you over this," she said. "I hate you, but I'm still in love with you."

The room fell silent as she waited for him to say it back. And then she waited for him to say anything. Finally she met his eye and meekly asked, "And you love me to, right?"

He tiredly rubbed his shoulder.

"Marz-."

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, jumping from her seat.

"Marz my feelings for you are not-."

"You don't love me anymore," she sobbed. "You don't love me. Why?! How did this happen?"

"Marz I've been wanting to talk to you about this for awhile."

He stood from his seat and moved to where she was pacing a hole in the carpet. Her steps were becoming angrier by the second. Soon she looked like a little soldier in practice.

"I don't understand. Are you in love with her?"

They both knew who 'her' was, and Justin wasn't sure how honest to be. Didn't she already have enough to deal with?

"It's her, I know it. You can't have her. You know that, right? You can't be with her. You can't do this!"

"Would you listen to me?!"

He grabbed her shoulders, halting her walking and forcing her to look at him.

"This has nothing to do with Kara," he said, lowering his voice back to normal.

"Things just aren't working out between you and I. I don't think we're who each other is looking for."

Marz stared at him, her expression blank.

"You're breaking up with me? You cheated on me, and now you're breaking up with me?"

Justin hung his head. It was completely unfair of him, but it had been a long time coming.

"You're a beautiful girl, and a great girlfriend. I am sorry about what happened, about what I did to you. I'll always care about you, but I can't stay with you. My feelings for you aren't the same, otherwise I wouldn't have let anything transpire between Kara and I. I'm looking for something, something different."

"Justin, I don't-."

"And you deserve someone different. You don't really want to be with a guy who did what I did."

"Your right," she snapped. "I deserve better than the both of you. See yourself out Justin."

He didn't even get the opportunity to respond before she turned her back a marched up the stairs. Somewhere in the home he heard a door slam.

Kara drove around aimlessly for what seemed like hours when she left Trace's. She was afraid to go home, didn't want to deal with her sister's wrath, and honestly didn't know where else to turn. Having no predetermined destination in mind she was shocked when she found herself on the same beach Justin had taken her to. The tears that were already running down her face increased as she killed the engine and just let herself sob. How was it that her life had turned upside down in a matter of hours? No, it hadn't just been a couple of hours; it had been over the course of months. She saw this coming from day one of her and Justin's affair, she just didn't realize that it would hurt this bad when everything came tumbling down.

What was she going to do? She couldn't go back home, Marz would skin her alive. But then again, Kara couldn't blame her. How could she expect anyone to be nice and perky after finding out that their sister and boyfriend have been sneaking around for months? She had to move out, at least temporarily, but where would she go? She could always get a hotel, or even an extended stay room, and possibly her own apartment if the situation turned into something more permanent.

Her sobs slowly became sniffles and Kara wiped her tear-stained cheeks with the back of her hand. She took a deep breath and stared out at the sunset gathering her thoughts and making a mental checklist of what she had to do. Number one: work up the courage to go home and face her sister just long enough to grab a few necessities. Number two: pack said necessities. Number three: find a hotel to crash at for the night and deal with everything else tomorrow. She wiped away the last few remaining tears and took another deep breath, hearing her stomach growl as she did. She didn't realize that all she'd eaten today was what Marz made her earlier. Kara made a mental note to pick something up to eat on the way to the hotel and turned over the engine. This was going to be a long night.

Marz had holed herself up in her bedroom after she kicked Justin out earlier and hadn't left since. She'd heard her sister pull up in the driveway and even walk in the house and upstairs, but made no effort to leave the comfort of her bed to acknowledge her. In Marz' mind her sister didn't deserve the right to be acknowledged anymore, and neither did Justin.

Kara noticed how eerily quiet the house was when she walked in and didn't know whether her sister was there or not. Maybe she wouldn't have to face Marz tonight. She headed upstairs and to her room, running through her mental checklist of things to pack for tonight. She was throwing a pair of jeans in her overnight bag when she saw her sister standing in her doorway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked in a flat tone.

Kara stared at her sister's stoic expression for a few seconds before responding.

"I'm just packing a few things."

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm getting a hotel room tonight."

"Good."

That one word from her sister's mouth stung like a slap to the face.

"And when are you going to make arrangements to get the rest of your stuff out? I want you gone by the end of next week."

Her sister's tone cold tone was one she'd never heard before. It was as if she was impassive about the whole situation. Kara realized that Marz' deadline gave her 8 days to find a temporary-permanent place of residence -something that could prove to be impossible- but simply nodded. The silent confirmation was all Marz needed and she turned on her heels and made her way back to the solace of her bedroom. Kara continued to pack the few necessary belongings she'd need for the evening before silently making her way out to her car in the driveway. She threw her overnight bag in the backseat and as she sat in the driver's seat she stared at the home before her. The home she and her sister had shared with her sister since they'd moved out to LA two years ago. The home that was no longer hers thanks to her lapse in judgment.