Chapter 11

Three weeks later (Christmas day)

"On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..." all Justin's friends and family gathered around in the living room singing a Christmas song.

"A Lexus with spinning rims!" everyone broke out laughing.

"On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..." they all gazed at Lynn as they waited on a response.

"A...a pair of red...heels?" Justin shook his head pathetically.

"That's all you could think of? Come on, guys! You're slackin'!" Terri entered the room with a shrimp platter.

"On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..."

"Hot sex on the beach!!!" someone yelled.

"Oh my god." Beyonce covered her mouth in shock. "Ahaha, you guys are somethin' else."  she sat back, gazing at Justin from across the room. He was busy talking to a relative he hadn't seen in years.

"Hey..." Justin stood up, getting everyone's attention. "You wanna know what my true love gave to me...on Christmas?" he glanced at Beyonce with this hilarious look.

YEAH!! WE WANNA KNOW!!

"You really wanna know?"

YES GOD DAMNIT!!!

"He's up to no good." Bee mumbled, watching him closely.

"Her heart! That's what she gave me." she held her head down, concealing her blushing.

AWWW! How sweet.

"Merry Christmas, baby." he leaned in, pecking her on the lips. Terri rolled her eyes, proceeding towards the kitchen. "Want something to eat? I'm gonna take a quick visit to the kitchen."

"Um, yeah. Give me a couple of those chocolate covered pretzels."

"Aight." he carried his empty glass to the kitchen. On his way inside, he was hit by this familiar scent coming from somewhere in the house. He peered in the kitchen, his eyes focusing on Trace who was smoking what looked to be like weed. "Are you..." he quickly snatched the joint from him. "Are you crazy?! What the hell's the matter with you?" he flashed him a clueless look. "My mom's here. Did you forget already?"

"Oh..." he threw it in the sink, watching it fall down the garbage disposal. "My bad, dude. I thought she was coming back..."

"It's fine...now." Terri kept her back to them as they held a conversation. "Um, I think Bee is keeping something from me." she kept her ears open the whole time.

"Why would you think that?" he asked, pulling the refrigerator open.

"I dunno. I just have this gut feeling. The way she behaves and everything. Any way, I gotta go to the store because some asshole spilled all the beer." he referred to him.

"My bad. You shouldn't have so much shit on the floor. I couldn't see."

"Whatever."

"Oh hey..." he lowered his voice. "What's up with your maid? She hasn't said anything all day. Is she normally like this?" he gazed at her, realizing how quiet she was.

"Ummm, no. We um, we've had some differences for the past few weeks. I told her if she messes up again...she's out the door." they continued whispering, which gave her a clue that they were talking about her.

"She's cute. Where did you find her?" he rolled his eyes.

"My mom picked her out. She thought she was CUTE too...when she saw her picture. And can you believe when she chose her, they never met after that. They recently met Thanksgiving."

"Wow." he kept his gaze on her, sizing her up from head to toe. "You ever thought about bangin' her?" he broke out laughing.

"Very funny."

"No. I'm serious." his smile slowly faded. "Out of all the times you two been alone, you never thought about it?" he stood there, thinking hard.

"Um, honestly...yeah. A couple of times. One morning, we were talking about Aaliyah and sex came up. I started to feel something. Like...if she wasn't underage at the time and if she wasn't my maid, I would've done something."

"Haha. Hell yeah." they slapped hands.

"But you can't tell Bee that I said that. I don't want her to start feeling uncomfortable." a little girl ran in the kitchen with a squeeze-it in her hand. They both watched as she reached out, tugging on Terri's skirt.

"Fix me some cake! I want cake!"

"Jada?" Justin shook his head. "Don't ask like that. What are you supposed to say?"

"Please. Fix me some cake, please." he nodded with a smile.

"Better." he met Terri's gaze. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." he reached out for the little girl's hand. "I'm goin' to the store. Wanna come with me?" her eyes lit up animatedly.

"Can I get Dora the explorer?"

"Sure. Why not?"
__________

Justin pulled up in front of a retail store, immediately finding a parking space. "Aren't you glad they're open on Christmas?" he spoke, gazing at the six year old sitting in the passenger's side.

"Yep, yep, yep!" they stepped out of the car and approached the huge building. "Come on, Justin!!" she grabbed his hand, tugging him along. "Dora's waiting for us!"

"Haha okay." he followed her inside.

Oh my god. It's Justin

He overheard a few people whispering and he could've sworn all eyes were on him. "Jada? Stay with me, okay."

"She's so cute. How old is she?" a woman asked.

"Six." the woman followed behind him.

"Is she yours?" he looked over his shoulder to stare at her.

"Umm, no. A friends'." she bit her lip, sizing him up teasingly. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"Ashley." she extended her hand out to shake his. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Look what I got!" she held up his Justified album.

"Oh...how nice. How long have you been a fan?" he happened to look away, realizing Jada had disappeared. "Jada?! Shit. You happen to know where the toys are?"

"Sure. Follow me." they rushed towards the department, in search for the six year old.

"Jada?" he recognized the little girl hovering over a box. "Didn't I tell you to stay with me?" he sighed in relief. "What are you doing?"

"Justin, meet Dora. She wants me to take her home with me." a smile slowly formed across his lips.

"Aight." he picked up the box, using his available hand to hold hers. "If you leave outta my sight again, you can just say goodbye to Dora." he threatened. After picking up a few things he needed, they headed towards the check out line.

"Hi." the cashier greeted with a smile. "How are you today?" he sat the items on the moving belt.

"I'm good. And you?"

"Can I get a candy?" he looked over at Jada who was picking up a few blow pops from the snack shelf.

"Uh, yeah. Hurry." he pulled out his credit card.

"Ooohhh Justin, look! It's Dora lollypop. Can I get it?"

"Jada..." he lowered his eyes at her. "Just get whatever you want, okay? And hurry. We're holding up the line." he slid his card in the machine, following the prompts.

"Here you go." she threw the candy on the belt.

"And no throwing." he glanced over at the cashier. "I'm sorry about that. She's just a little too...hype." she shook her head.

"It's okay. I know how it is." he smiled, meeting her gaze. "I have a little girl of my own. And trust me, she's wayyyy overboard."

"Haha yeah." she found it hard to look away from him.

"I never knew you had a daughter." his eyes lit up.

"Oh no. She's a friend of mines daughter. Haha."

"Sorry." she apologized, handing him his receipt. "You're really good with kids." he shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno. I try my best." he grabbed his things, gazing back at Jada. "Come on, baby girl. You got your Dora doll?" he waved at the cashier on his way out. "Have a good one."

Meanwhile, the two had made it back to the mansion and joined the family in the dining room. "This stuffing is amazing. Oh and so are the candy yams. I never thought of putting marshmallows in them." a relative spoke over the long rectangular table.

"Bee made them." Justin bragged. "They're the best yams I've tasted."

"Yeah, 'cause they're from scratch!" Lynn replied with a laugh. "Randall, why don't you tell us how the album is doing? I'm sorry but I love to talk about this subject. Especially when it comes to my son."

"Well...everything is finished. Originally, there were gonna be thirteen tracks on the US version BUT I went ahead and recorded another song at the last minute that Beyonce and I wrote. So that extended the release date to January 2007. The US version will have fourteen songs and the UK one, fifteen. That's including the bonus track featuring Snoop who I happen to look up to."

"Beets?" he looked up to gaze at Terri who was standing over him with a bowl of purple vegetables.

"Uh, no thanks. I hate those things." he held a disgusted look.

"How long did it take you to finish the album?" one of his aunties asked.

"Uhh I would have to say 'bout a year. I just wanted it to be perfect and more mature than the first one. This album is on a much more higher level than Justified."

"And why?" he gazed at his childhood crush sitting across from him. Amanda happened to stay in the family through her mother who were good friends with his mom. "I heard one song that didn't sound any different than Cry me a river."

"Well, Amanda..." he began. "What I meant by this record being more mature...first of all, it's totally different than all that bubble gum pop shit I used to sing in N Sync." he could hear a few people laughing at his comment, including his mom who paid close attention. "It's more on an adult level."

"And how? Because you're cursing and singing about sex?"

"Exactly. Thank you for answering that question for me." he spoke smartly. "Not only that, it's a complete different sound than N Sync. Have you heard our first album? If you did, you would see what I'm talking about." as you could see, they weren't seeing eye to eye because for one reason---she still liked him and he didn't feel the same for her.

"Thank you, baby." Lynn spoke, getting back to her food. "You know, Justin was never this confident, but then he met someone who turned it all around."

"Oh! Which reminds me, let's talk about her." Amanda spoke. "Why Aaliyah?" he gazed at her, lowering his eyes in a state of resentment. He knew what she was doing and for some reaosn, it was working well.

"I fell in love with Aaliyah because she was the total opposite of you. Beautiful, loving and she had a big heart." she returned an evil look. "You got a problem?"

"If you were so in love, why did you move on so fast....with her?" she asked, glancing over at Beyonce. Everyone had suddenly gotten quiet because they knew something was going to happen.

"Don't do this. Not in front of my family."

"And why not?! Since when did you become so shy?" he sat back, tossing his napkin on the table. She watched as he slowly rose out of his seat, leaning over towards her. He peered directly into her eyes, this serious look on his face. And for some reason, she had know idea what to say.

"Go ahead. Keep runnin' that big fat mouth of yours because you're only proving to everyone that YOU were the problem in the relationship. Just because it didn't work out between us, doesn't mean I deserve to be humiliated in front of my family on Christmas day. We were young. Young and dumb. And the only thing I regret doing till this day, is getting with you. I don't even know what I saw in you. I dunno." he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I was just desperate. After all, you were the most popular and easiest girl in the neighborhood." all mouths dropped open in shock. "Excuse me." he excused himself from the table. Beyonce on the other hand sat there with her hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe any of that had happened. In front of a room full of people.

After the little commotion they had, everything had went back to normal. Justin had finally made it back to the table, enjoying his delicious meal. And Amanda decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Ahem, um...I have a surprise. Well, Justin and I have a surprise." Beyonce broke the silence in the room.

"We do?" he asked with a questioning look on his face.

She nodded, slowly standing to her feet. "Um, I visited the doctor's office the other day and..." his eyebrows raised interestingly, because for one---he had a feeling what she was going to say. "...he told me I was expecting." everyone gasped with stunned looks on their faces.

"Really?" he asked, realizing how happy she looked.

"Yes. I'm four weeks along. Well that's what he estimated. I won't know the exact length until after my sonogram." she explained.

"Oh my god. Congratulations." Lynn embraced her in a hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you." Amanda looked away, shaking her head in pity. This was definitely something she wasn't looking forward to. Especially Terri, who stood by the kitchen door with a couple of empty plates in her hands.

Was this really happening? Justin and Beyonce expecting? She released the plates, allowing them to hit the ground. This action scared everyone in the room.

"What the hell was that?" Justin asked, looking over to gaze at a pile of shattered dishes sitting by the kitchen door. He then happened to look up, watching Terri who rushed out of the room, sobbing piercingly.

"What is going on?" Lynn asked, frustrated as can be.

"I'm about to find out." Amanda mumbled, following the way Terri went. She departed the room, focusing on the woman who was brisk walking down the hall that led to the living room. "Terri?!" she froze, slowly turning to face her. "That is your name, right?" she asked, ambling towards her.

"Who wants to know?" she quickly wiped away her tears.

"Why did you storm out of the room like that?" she asked while crossing her arms over her chest. "Is there something you know that I should know?"

"Who are you?" she asked with a tad bit attitude.

"A very close friend of Justin's."

"Oh really? Well that didn't sound like the case a few minutes ago." she spat out.

"Listen you..." she moved in closer to her. "Justin and I had something very special."

"Like what? Puppy love?" she lowered her eyes at her, giving her a cruel look.

"Yeah laugh it up. The only person who will be laughing in the end is me right after I wipe that smirk off your face." she threatened.

"Go ahead. Hit me. You think I care? My heart's been broken already. I'm just waiting for someone to put me out of my misery." she spoke carelessly.

"Ohhh so you're the mistress? Just wait till I tell Bee. She's gonna have a cow." she rolled her eyes.

"No stupid. She's having a baby." she spoke smartly.

"Terri?" she looked over at Justin who was approaching them. "WE need to talk...in private." Amanda watched the two walk away, this evil grin on her face. When they entered his office, he closed the door behind her.

"Before you say anything, just let me explain." he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay, go ahead and explain." she flashed him a confused look.

"Uh, okay well...I..." he stood there, waiting patiently for an excuse. "Okay, I don't have a perfect excuse to why I did what I did."

"Exactly, and I don't understand why you keep doing it. The reason why I kept you, is because I thought you were capable of hiding your feelings for me. If you can't do that, just let me know now because I can't keep doing this."

"No, no. I can do it. I...I was just so surprised. I didn't see it comin'."

"Yeah well next time you overhear a big surprise, don't ruin my three thousand dollar dishes. I should take that right out of your check." he yanked the door open. "After you."

"Thank you." she left the room, immediately freezing when she came face to face with Beyonce. "Excuse me." she brushed pass her, ambling the opposite direction. He met eyes with hers, smiling warmly.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Good." she quickly swung her hand, slapping him across the face. He held a shocked look, rubbing his cheek soothingly.

"Ow. What the hell was that for?"

"That's for not firing her." she turned, unsuspectingly feeling a hand grab her.

"I know you're not talking. You were the one who told me to hire her back." he shot back. "Since you want her gone so bad, why don't you fire her. 'Cause I'm tired of being the bad one."

"What?" she held a pathetic look. "Tell me how are you being bad for firing someone who's being BAD towards you? Sometimes I wonder about you? What the hell is going through that head of yours? Do you like this girl? Are you having secret relations with her?"

"What? No! Why would you ask me something like that?" she shook her head, taking in a deep breath.

"Maybe because you're trying so hard to keep her around." she paused, scrutinizing him closely. "You and I know, the reason why she reacted that way is because of her feelings for you. And I don't know if you realize this, but she's gonna fuck up one day...but that's when everyone you love will be gone. Because she pushed them away." he shook his head.

"What are you trying to say?" she rolled her eyes, taking a few steps back. "If you're threatening to leave me because of her, then...your love for me wasn't as strong as I thought it was." a faint laugh escaped her lips.

"Well that explains my point. You're willing to keep her here because? Obviously, she means more to you then I do. So..." she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh wait a second. Don't even..."

"This has gotta stop one day and like I said when it does...it'll be too late." he watched her walk away, leaving him alone and confused.