“Are you going to give me the silent treatment for ever? Or is this just a temporary thing?”  Sam’s voice startled Adah from the book she had her nose stuck in.  In all honesty, she hadn’t really been reading, but the book was a good way to keep people from talking to her.  Apparently Sam saw through that.

“Huh?”  Playing dumb was her best defense on short notice.

“Adah…”  Sam sighed.  She knew that Adah was upset, but it was difficult for everyone and it wasn’t fair for Adah to be shutting her roommates out.  They were supposed to be best friends.  “I know you’re mad and me and Brett, but I really wish you would talk with us.  We’re not trying to hurt you here, Ads.  We love you.”

Adah set her book down, looking at the coffee table before forcing her eyes up to Sam’s.  “I don’t know what to say.”  It was the truth.  She didn’t want to throw around hurtful words just because she was wounded.  She did love Sam and Brett; she just didn’t know how to explain what she was feeling.

“Say anything!”  Sam’s frustration bubbled over and she had to take a breath to reign it back in.  “Tell me you’re pissed.  Tell me you wish I would throw myself out the window.  Tell me you’re upset, or hurt, or scared…Just talk with me!   I’m your best friend, Adah.  Please don’t shut me out.”

Adah sat back, hoping the couch cushions would swallow her whole so she wouldn’t have to have this conversation.  She didn’t want to put and even bigger wedge into their friendship.  “I don’t want to fight about things, Sam.”

“Then let’s talk instead.”

Adah huffed, “Fine, I’m hurt.”

“I know.”

Blue eyes slammed into Sam’s green and both girls stayed locked in their stare until Adah couldn’t keep it up.  “Then why are you doing it?  Why can’t we keep the apartment?  You and Brett both know that I can’t afford this place on my own.”

“We’re not just going to leave you stranded, Adah.  We told you what we were thinking so we could all make a decision together.  I’m sorry it came off differently.  I would never do anything to hurt you.  You’re my home fry.”

The comment made Adah crack a smile.  “It just seemed to come out of the blue.  I had no idea you and Brett were even thinking of doing something else when the lease is up.”

Sam understood that Adah’s life was extremely complicated and it wasn’t going to get any better any time soon.  She didn’t fault the girl for being angry or upset.  She just wished that Adah would start talking to her or Brett again.  It was really difficult to know what was going on in the girl’s head when she kept it all inside.  It was also part of the reason that Sam and Brett agreed that it might be time for a change.  The both knew that Adah would never make a move on her own, so they thought maybe they could give her a little nudge.  “Well, you’ve had a lot on your plate lately.” 

Adah’s eyes widened as she thought over that statement.  “You’ve got that right.  I didn’t get to tell you about the room at Justin’s house.”

“The room he had re-done for you?”

“Yeah, how did you know about it?”  Adah was sure she’d never mentioned it to anyone.

“Justin’s mom was talking about it at the hospital when Emma was born.  She just mentioned that he’d had renovations done so both you and the kid could have a place.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a place all right.”  She smiled at the memory of the nursery.  “Emma’s room is beautiful.  He’s got this incredible mural painted around all of the walls, and Rachel told me the other day that he painted most of that mural himself.”  Her face turned slightly pink.  “I cried when she told me that.”

“You cried?”  Sam relaxed, relieved to be talking normally with her friend again.  “You sap.”

“Hormones, I swear.  It’s all Emma’s fault.”  Adah laughed.  It felt really good.

Sam’s own face light up with a sly grin.  “And that’s all Justin’s fault.”  She wiggled her eyebrows, loving the laughter that spilled from Adah.  It had been a while since she’d seen her friend relax.

When Adah finally caught her breath, she gave Sam a serious look.  “But really, Sam.  He’s got the whole place set up for us.  It’s….it’s really overwhelming.”

“You’ve already shacked up with him a few times, and you’ve had his kid.  What’s a bedroom at his house?”  Sam’s tone was teasing and Adah smiled, but it didn’t stay for too long.

“I have no idea what to tell him.  He told me that the room is mine whenever I need it, but…what does that mean?  Are we together? Are we just playing house? Are we just friends that happen to be raising a baby together?”  She licked her lips, taking a breath.  “And I didn’t even tell you that he wants to give Emma his last name.”

“Holy shit.” Sam’s eyes widened too.  “I had no idea.”

Adah laughed, “Me either.   Rachel broke the news the same day you and Brett told me what you’d been thinking about.  I freaked.”

“I think I might freak, too.  Have you talked to him about it?” 

Adah shrugged her shoulders.  “Kind of.  He caught me looking around the bedroom and he told me that he wasn’t going to make a decision without me.  He said that he it was something he’d been thinking about.”  She twisted her hands together, fidgeting.  “I just…I don’t know how he can even be thinking about it.  It would cause so many problems and…it scares me.”

Sam took a moment before answering, not wanting to upset Adah any more than she already was.  “He loves that little girl, Adah, very much.  I don’t think he thought about anything other than being a good father to her.  I’m sure he knows the repercussions of that decision, but you can’t blame the guy for wanting to give his little girl his name.”

The two were silent for a stretch, both lost in thought.  Adah was worrying over how to explain to Justin that she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of Emma being associated with the Timberlake name.  Not because she wanted to deny Justin anything, but because she wanted to save Emma the hassle of being Justin Timberlake’s baby for as long as she could.  Sam was lost in thought about Adah and Justin and when the two of them would realize how in love they really were.  Sam was sure that Justin was aware of his feelings, but Adah was completely oblivious to how much she needed that man and just how important his was in her life already.  Emma had only brought them closer together, the just needed another final push.

“Have you given any thought to moving into Justin’s house?”  Sam finally broke the silence with her question.

“Not until you and Brett told me about the lease.  I think that living with him would be way too much for the two of us to handle.  It would just make things more complicated.”

Sam smiled.  Her best friend was an intelligent girl, but she was blind as a bat sometimes.  “So, you’re telling me that having Justin Timberlake’s baby and randomly hooking up with him is okay, but living under the same roof would just tip the scales?”

Adah shrugged, “Yeah.”  She took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts so she could explain to Sam what she was thinking.  “I don’t know if being in a relationship with Justin Timberlake is something I can handle.  I’m not cut out for his life, Sam.  I don’t want to subject my baby to the craziness of the media and all of that.  Living with him would just…it would make all that real.  I’m not ready to face that yet.”  Her voice was soft as she finished, emotion tightening her throat.  “I know I’ve had his baby, but she’s my baby, too.  That should mean something.”

Sam wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but she really thought that Adah was making a bigger deal out of things than she should be.  “He loves you, Adah, and he loves his little girl.  He’s just trying to take care of his family.”  She gave her friend a long look.  “You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

“What?”  Adah wasn’t sure what she expected Sam to say, but it wasn’t that.

“Adah, Justin has been trying his damnedest to show you that he’s prepared to take care of you and Emma and that he loves you.  It’s written across his face, plain as day.  The way he looks at you…he isn’t going to put you or Emma in a position that could cause either of you any harm.  Stop punishing him for something he can’t control.  He is who he is.  Let it go and love the man!”

Adah sat back, stunned, as Sam stormed out of the room.  Sam was blunt and direct, but she’d never spoken to Adah like that before and she wasn’t sure how to take it.  She was still upset about the whole apartment bomb, and now she was having Justin thrown in her face, too.  Of course, she was also angry because what Sam said was true, but she wasn’t about to admit that yet.  Her pride was getting in the way.

“That was intense.”  Brett’s voice floated in through the doorway, and Adah looked up to see him leaning against the door frame, watching her.  “Are you okay?”

Adah shook her head.  “I don’t know.”  She buried her hands in her hair, closing her eyes against the range of emotions she was experiencing.

Brett crossed the room and sat down in the spot that Sam had just vacated.  “What’s up, Ace?  Why is Sam yelling at you about Justin?”

Licking her lips, Adah told Brett about the conversation she and Sam had just had.  She told him that they’d talked about the apartment and why Adah was upset, and then the conversation had turned to Justin.  “I didn’t realize she was so worked up about it.”  She finished, still reeling.

“She cares about you, Ace.  She’s just upset because we’ve been watching you and Justin dance around each other for almost a year now and it’s getting a little old.”  His smile was warm and he spoke quietly, trying not to add any more emotion to the already charged situation. 

“I didn’t realize that my dancing around Justin was a problem.  I didn’t even know we were dancing.” 

“We’ve been trying to keep ourselves out of your relationship, but it’s hard when we all live together.  We both love Emma more than anything and we will do anything to keep you two safe.  But, we can’t put our lives on pause until you decide yours.”  He chuckled nervously, tugging at his hair as he talked.  “To be honest, we were hoping that if we mentioned moving out, you’d be motivated to live with Justin and just end the man’s torture.”

Adah sighed deeply.  “Why do I feel like I’m the only one out of the loop?”  Her head was hurting and her body ached with all of the emotions flying around her.  “You could have just pointed out the apparent obvious and save me the trouble of freaking out.”

At this Brett laughed.  The sound was full and deep and Adah found herself chuckling along with him.  “Ace, you were going to be pissed at us either way.  We were just trying the more subtle route.”

“Gee, thanks.”  Adah stretched out on the couch, allowing her tired muscles to relax.  “Am I really making a big deal of things?  Because I was sure that getting into a relationship with Justin Timberlake wasn’t an ordinary thing.”

“It is a big deal, Adah, but any relationship is.  You’re stuck on the Justin Timberlake part.  I don’t think you should ignore it, but I don’t think it has to be the deciding factor, either.”

A frustrated grunt came out of Adah’s mouth.  She flopped her arm over her eyes, hoping to hide from everything.

“You want to know the worst part of all of this, Brett?”  She paused, waiting for him to respond before she answered.  “I’ve been falling in love with Justin ever since we went to Tennessee.”