I tried to sit on the bed, but instead I miss the mattress and began to slide to the floor. I drop the phone to the floor. The entire room is a blur. I daze off into nowhere as his words run back in my head, over and over again. Brain cancer. Stage four. I dropped my head, allowing the tears to flow free. After everything that has happened, everything I have gone through. I would have never wished for this. Even with all the anger that I had for my father, I would never want this. I had studied medicine; I knew that this was the end. There was nothing that could change the outcome now.

The shower in the bathroom was still running. I hear it faintly in the background as my thoughts seem to scatter. Why as a doctor did he not know this was going on? Why would he not pick up on all the signs? He knew them; he knew every single sign or symptom. How could he do this to my mother? She doesn't know how to live her life day to day without him. She doesn't know anything about life other than her life with him.

The bathroom door opens, the stem pours out into the bedroom. "So I was thinking we could see a movie tonight maybe -" He stops in his tracks, white towel tied around loosely low on his waist. Rushing over to the floor where I was sitting. "Bells, honey what's wrong?"

I look up at him with my swollen red eyes, "He doesn't want me there." I dropped my head back into my hands.

"Who doesn't want you where?" Worried has filled his previous happy eyes. He reaches to the bed, pulling his basketball shorts up over his naked body.

"Omar... left me a voicemail."

"And?" he questioned, wanting me to explain.

"My father... is going to die."

He plops down on to the floor in front of me reaching out his hands to touch mine. "What do you mean he is going to die?" He knew I wasn't exaggerating. He knew this was serious.

"He has stage four brain cancer." I felt the water in my eyes, welling up over the lids. My stomach was pulsating at the short breathes I was taking.

"Stage four is... that's-" he closed his eyes, he knew what that meant.

"Yes... that as bad as it gets. That's the end."

He grips his hands around mine, "We can go. We can get on a plane and just go there."

"Omar said he wasn't sure if I should come."

"Omar called you. I think that was him telling you to come. You won't know unless you try."

"You would do this with me. You would give up your only couple days off to fly away from home?"

He lifts my chin up to look at him, caressing that side of my cheek. "I want to be with you. That's the point of the time off.  I want to spend time with you; I don't care where it is. This is something I think I should do with you." He wrapped his arms back around me. "I will have Rachel book the flights, pack a bag. I will let my mother know what's going on."

"Lynn." I mumbled, throwing my head back against the mattress. "Your mother came out here to see you. I'm pulling you away from your mother. I can't do that."

"Bells. Please stop. I want to do this with you. I want to go. My mother will understand fully. I will have her come see me on the road. She is used to me bouncing around the country."

He didn't give me any other option. He was already out of the bedroom and down the staircase before I could tell him no. I pulled my carryon bag out of the closet and began to stack items in it. I had no idea when I would be back here but I knew I had clothes at the NYC apartment.

I was lost in my own thoughts. I wanted to go, for anything I wanted to support my mother. She is going to be in pieces. But I don't even know if she would want to see me. My brother was the strong one, but my sister, she doesn't think bad things happen to this family. Everything has always been handed to her and the entire family. This was going to question her entire way of thinking.

I slowly walked down the staircase and dropped the bag on the floor. I rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, grab a beer out of the refrigerator and start to chug. I needed this urge to hurl feeling to disintegrate. Beer was probably not the best selection but I knew it would also compose my nerves a little.

"Arabella?" I turned to see Lynn standing behind me, with tears in her eyes. "I just wanted to let you know that I love you dearly. My son has fallen madly in love with you and I couldn't be happier with that. And you never for a moment need to think you are taking him away from me. My relationship with my son will always be there, we know how to make time for each other. You need to take a selfish moment for yourself once and a while."

"Th-anks" I managed to say with the lump in my throat. "I'll make this up to you I -"

She cut me off. "There is nothing you need to apologize for, nothing you need to make up for... were family. We make choices and support the other."

Family. Tears start to flow even more now. She thought of me as family. If only my own family thought the way she did.

                Press was out of control at LAX. There were hundreds of cameras surrounding the departure gate. They were taking photos of someone else unloading their vehicle. We only had our carryon's so we were going to make a mad dash for the entrance. We watched as our vehicle got closer and closer to the door. We had to have perfect timing to sidetrack them. He took my hand and said, "I'm going to force my way through quickly. Hold onto my hand as tight as you can." He leaned up and kissed his mother on the cheek."

"Both of you be careful, have a safe flight. I love you." She reaches back to grab my hand. "Be strong Bells."

I nodded my head and Justin informed me it was time to get out of the car. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to mentally prepare myself for getting out of this car. He opens the doors and steps his foot on the pavement. I slide out behind him quickly. With both feet on the pavement now I keep my head down but it was already too late. I can see twenty pairs of feet standing in front of us. Justin looks back at me, giving me his I'm sorry look. He starts to push his way through the crowd but they weren't moving. They say the demeanor on both of our faces, they knew there was something going on in our world and they weren't going to let go. They were screaming at us, wanting answers, but we kept quiet, inching our way into the door. It took longer than we wanted to get fifty feet. Each step was a challenge. Security inside the airport quickly dispersed them, forcing them back out of the entrance.

We stood at the ticket counter waiting in line as he had his arms wrapped around me kissing me on the forehead. I felt at home with him. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"It's ok." I said thinking I may never get used to this.

"Shawn's going to meet us at JFK and will have security ready for us there." He pulled me into his chest.  "I hate this part of my job."

I stood there in his arms, my head on his heart waiting for our flight to board. The cameras weren't gone. I could hear the clicking of the cameras in the room, we couldn't be anywhere in public and not hear that sound. I suddenly smelled a strong scent of perfume overwhelming the area we were standing in. A woman about a foot taller than I was is now standing next us. Particularly she is standing next to Justin. He leans his weight up off the wall we had been leaning on, bumps into her with his elbow. "I'm sorry." He says being polite as he steps away from her.

"OH MY GOD!" she screams. "You're Justin Timberlake! Oh MY GOD!" She started jumping up and down. "OH MY GOD!"

I see it across Justin's face, he was embarrassed, he kept looking around the room watching everyone focus their attention on him standing there... in an airport, waiting to board a flight. He wasn't on stage in front of thousands he was in an airport, not so glamorous.

"Hi" he says nervously as he picks up the bag from the floor.

"OMG, can I get a picture with you?" she says.

Now boarding flight 8475 to New York City at Gate 6A

"Sure... quickly though, our flight is boarding now."

He stands close to her as he hands the camera to me. "Can you take the picture?"

Oh look, I'm now the photographer. I snapped the photo and hand her back the camera. She was still jumping up and down from excitement. She followed us to the gate. "You're going to NYC? I'm going as well. We are on the same flight."

Great. I thought. I needed this to all be over with.

He leans down and whispers, "We are in first class. Hopefully it will be quiet in there."

The flight was anything but quiet. I wanted quietness.

When we arrived in New York several dreadful hours later we were told we couldn't leave the plane. We were a security hazard and we had to wait and exit the plane after everyone else had and exit through a difference route into the airport. This may have been the best news we got all day. Shawn walked onto the plane and said that there were photographers lined outside of the terminal waiting for us to exit. So hopefully that will sidetrack them enough to at least let us get to the car waiting for us. However luck was not on our side today, at all.

We were spotted right outside of the arrivals door and they were in tow with us the entire route to the hospital. Luckily, I had pulled a few strings at the hospital. I still had connections with the parking lot attendant. He pulled us into the private unloading dock.

The pressure I felt as I got on that elevator and pressed the number six for his floor was unexplainable. My palms were sweating and I could see the worry in Justin's eyes. He has the same worry I did.

Stepping off the elevator I see an empty waiting room. This waiting room was never empty the entire time I worked here. There were guards at the entrance to the nurses' station. Jeremy the security guard I had seen so many times before stops me at the door. "I'm sorry Arabella. I can't let you through." He says as he looks down.

"Jeremy my father is in there. I need to see him."

"I would like to very much let that happen. However I am under strict orders to only allow immediate family through these doors."

"That's my father."

"I know." He said. "I can't change the list. I will lose my job if I let you through."

"You have got to be kidding me. This has gone too far." I was pissed off more than I was upset.

I see Omar walk out of the room and into the hallway. He saw me; he locked eyes with me before walking back into the room.