October
I was scared shitless the day Justin went to check in on Kristy. I was afraid something would happen to him. I wanted him to call the police first, and I can’t deny that my heart was in my throat until the moment he called to tell me what happened. He had to spend most of that evening answering questions, and the entire next day trying to get Kristy out of the state’s custody. I’d never seen him work so hard for somebody else before. Given the circumstances, most people wouldn’t have gone out on a limb for their estranged best friend’s kid.
I guess Justin has always had a big heart. It’s just been hell getting him to show it.
Kristy has been staying with us since the day after her mothers death. Justin’s lawyer pulled a bunch of strings, and Justin carried her in the doorway late that evening with a proud smile on his face. Austin and Davey were ecstatic. They both loved to play with Kristy and having her around full time meant the world to them. Of course, I had to take them aside and explain that she’d been through something awful, that it would take her time to be herself again. But the boys seemed to understand her situation all too well. I should have known that they would though. They went through the same type of ordeal, and Davey well...he knows what it’s like to see your parents die in front of you.
Kristy isn’t a bratty kid either. She’s nothing like her mother was (strike me down for disrespecting the dead). She not too spoiled, and the more I talk to her and get to know her the more I realize how much Trace has taught her about life and how much he loves her. She talked about him so much before he came home, I think I may know the guy as well as Justin does. She was anxious to see him again. Before Trace was released, Justin and I took her up to the prison to see him for the first time since he was locked up. She ran into his arms and the guy practically had a meltdown right there.
It told me that Trace had changed...a lot.
The DA wouldn’t drop the charges against Trace, but the suicide note Sydney left behind helped his case. The DA had still been convinced that Trace had something to do with the fraud, despite the fact that Justin said he wanted the charges dropped. It was a federal case, I was told, so the DA was practically obligated to do go trial.
If Mac wasn’t around, I really don’t know what verdict would have been either.
There were two weeks of testimony given. Justin testified, made Trace sound like the son of god on the stand. He’s really good at that...making people believe in him. I already knew that, but I was sure he’d be able to make the jury fall in love with him too. When they came back with a verdict of not guilty, it proved my theory well. Trace was slated to be released from prison shortly after, and Justin decided to fix up his place for him, as most of his possessions had been sold off to who we think were drug dealers. It’s turned into a huge renovation project that I wasn’t expecting Justin to bother with. He’s hired contractors and interior designers to turn it into something really special for his friend, and for Kristy too. Trace has been staying with us in the meantime, and has been bluntly told by Justin not to ask questions about his place.
I hope...I really do hope they can be the same friends they used to be. I think they’re working on it. They talk a lot, watch TV together, and are even starting to get back into their business partnership. It’s good for them. The need each other. The kids are happy too, being all together like this, and I know that makes Trace happy too. I know he doesn’t want Kristy to dwell on what happened to Sydney. He hasn’t mentioned her once since he learned about her death, and I’m assuming he’s dealing with that part of his life in his own way. He was the only one listed as her next of kin, so he automatically retained custody of Kristy once the trial was over, and chose to have Sydney cremated.
I doubt she would have had more than a half dozen people at her funeral anyway.
Naturally, Trace has acted slightly awkard whenever we’re in the same room together. I can tell he has no clue what to say to me. By the way he looks at me when I enter the room, I can tell he’s thankful for what I did for him, but at the same time, he doesn’t hestiate to make an excuse to go somewhere else when I appear either. It’ll take some time for him to get used to being around me. I know that. It doesn’t bother me, because I have a lot more things to worry about besides Trace’s feelings towards me. As long as we can be civil to each other under the same roof, I have no problem having him around.
Things between Justin and I are probably as good as they are going to get for now. We’re not as frustrated with each other anymore, and since the trial has ended the media has backed off. It means that the guards don’t have to be around anymore, and you can image how much better my mood has gotten due to their absence. That with the knowledge that Justin has dumped Trump’s proposition for the sake of his “family” has made me ease up on him a lot. Lately, I’ve been letting him do his thing, spend time with Trace, put a little extra time in at the office without complaining, since he had been completely distracted for such a long time.
I think him compromising with me on the Trump deal, forced me to understand his career a little bit more. I know how important it is to him now more than ever. I know how much effort he needs to put into it. He’s learning from his mistakes now too. He knows he needs to find that balance between work and home, and for the first time ever...I really think he’s close to doing just that.
It’s made our relationship that much stronger.
I mean, the nights we do manage to sneak into bed together have been really, really fantastic.
I smile a lot more now.
So does my boyfriend.
My hands have been full lately anyway, and I’ve found myself involved with more projects than I thought myself capable of. Halloween is just around the corner, which means I’ve been pulling overtime baking things, designing Halloween costumes for the children living under Justin’s roof, and helping the other mother’s from Austin’s school put together several different parties around town. I’ve found that I’ve been accepted into their little group, despite how young I am. The moment they found out that Justin and I were actually dating, they stopped viewing me as the nanny and started to kiss my ass. They’ve started to treat me as Austin’s...well...mother. I’ve found myself going shopping with a couple of them on more than one occasion, and we talk about life...sex. They try to find out little bits of information about my relationship with Justin, which I try my best to skirt around. I don’t understand why they care. Charlene says it’s because he’s the most desirable man in New York City...
If I told Justin that, I think his head would probably explode.
Nevertheless, it feels good to have more than one friend now. I’m not just Abbey Feldman from Brighton anymore. I’ve now become part of the elite house wives of Manhattan...and I’m not even married. I’m not sure if it’s turning me into a snob or not. Justin probably wouldn’t notice if it was happening, because as much as I care about him, he still...is kind of a snob, and that won’t change. Just the other day, I was shopping at a party store with some of the other women, and I actually told one of the workers there to “fetch me” something. It made me feel rotten inside.
I can’t deny...it was hard for me to fall asleep that night.
I dont’ want to become like that. It’s not right...talking down to people, no matter how much money Justin has or how powerful he is. I wasn’t raise that way. In fact, if my parents ever heard me talk to somebody that way they would probably knock me in the head a few times to get some sense back into me.
It’s been too long since I’ve seen them.
I know I need a visit to knock me back down to earth.
The question is...will Justin be willing to take that step?
I’ve been too terrified to even try to ask him. I’m afraid he’ll freak out, like that time I told him that I was in love with him. He’s been through way too much the past couple of months to go through it again, and besides...our relationship is going really great right now.
Why should I spoil it? I know going home is only going to open up old wounds as it is.
I haven’t thought about Braeden in a while.
His birthday is next week. Normally I would be shut in the dark on that day, crying until my insides hurt. This year though...I’ll be in a completely different situation, and I refuse to let my dark emotions shine through.
“I can’t get my arm through, Abbey!”
Austin punches a clothed fist in the air, and I start to chuckle a little bit, realizing my mistake in the stitching. He blatantly refused to be anything other than a “Memphis Cowboy” for Halloween. So I brought him to the Halloween store, every Halloween store in the Manhattan area, and showed them the three hundred different styles of cowboy costumes available.
“Nooooo it has to have the right colors!”
That was all he would say, every single time.
Davey and Kristy were easy. He wanted to be a train conductor and she wanted to be Cinderella. Their costumes are hanging in the closet, ready to go, while I’ve been laboring like a slave over Austin’s Memphis Cowboy outfit for a week. Considering I have no tailoring experience whatsoever I thought I was doing a great job.
Apparently not.
“Well take it off,” I laugh. “I’ll have to fix it.”
He slumps his shoulders and his arms hang lank at his sides. “Why couldn’t you buy one of these?” he groans.
“You saw that they didn’t have it, Mr. Complicated!” I scoff.
“When I lived in Memphis, they had the right colors,” he pouts. “Momma never had to make one.”
I sigh and hang my head low. He just loves to hit me with that kind of stuff at times like this. “Austin, go change so I can fix it, all right?”
“I wish I was back there,” he grunts.
“You have fun here with all of us, Austin. I know you do.”
His face scrunches up, as it tends to do when he’s the most angry and confused. “No I don’t!” He hollers. “You’re not my mom! Stop acting like you are!”
I slap my hands on my thighs when he storms away from me.
It’s so weird with him. Most days he’s my best friend, and then other times...like right now, he’s completely impossible to deal with. He needs more help than he’s getting. I’ve said that from the get go. But stating my opinion is useless.
Like I said, things have been going great between me and Justin.
I just don’t feel like starting something else with him now, no matter how whiney Austin gets.
My god, I am turning into a snob.
“Hey, what’s up Austin’s butt?”
Justin is laughing and smiling when I look up at him. I smirk slightly and rise to my feet, letting out a little sigh. “He’s just frustrated with the colors of his cowboy costume.”
“I figured.”
He tosses me the box that’s been tucked under his arm, and I catch it, cocking my head to the side in confusion. “What’s this?”
He shrugs. “I heard him whining the other day. I had a spare couple of minutes at work...so I looked into it. It’s crazy...they really do only make this particular style down in Memphis. I had to call the store and everything.”
I stare at him for a few minutes, in sheer amazement. He was listening all a long, when I figured he was too busy to worry about the kids and their Halloween costumes. “You really did this?” I laugh.
“Well...contrary to popular belief I do like to see the kid happy every now and then,” he laughs, and walks up to me, planting a soft kiss on my lips a few moments later. “And I figured the sooner he’s happy, the sooner I could ask you to be my date to the company’s annual Halloween Extravaganza.”
“What’re you talking about?” I giggle, dropping the box in my arms at the same time as he deepens his kisses on my lips, and neck. “I don’t do Halloween.”
“Oh C’mon,” he chuckles. “I always go as a pirate, so you can be my wench.”
“That’s so tempting,” I snigger and roll my eyes as I pull away from him. “I might just have to think about it...oh...hmm...okay I thought about it.”
His eyes brighten. “And?”r32;
“I still pass.”
“But why!”
I retrieve the box that I dropped and laugh some more as I walk into the adjoining room.
“It’s the biggest party we have for the office besides Christmas!” His voice follows behind me. “It’s fun, I swear! It’s nothing like the benefits.”
“What about the kids,” I huff as I turn to face him. “I have to take them trick or treating.”
“It’s the night before Halloween,” he grins. “That way, everybody is happy.”
I’ve never really been a party girl, and when Braden died, I became even less of a party girl. As if that wasn’t enough, the party Justin has invited me to, happens to fall on Braden’s birthday. It shouldn’t be affecting me this much...but it is. “I...I don’t know, Justin. I have a lot on my plate.”
“So do I.”
I feel him come up behind me and wrap his arms around my waist before kissing the back of my neck. “Let’s take a night for us,” he whispers. “We can party it up a little bit and maybe...I’ll get us a suite at the Four Seasons afterwards. There won’t be any kids, or Trace, or responsibility, and I’ll have you home in time to take the kids out the next night. Sound like fun, babe?”
Being alone with Justin for all that time sounds amazing. With Trace and Kristy here, we almost never have the opportunity anymore to just...be together. I feel the smile pulling at my lips, willing me to give into him. At the same time though, I have no idea what kind of mood I’ll be in that day and the last thing I want to do is spoil a magical evening with Justin. I can say I can control my emotions all I want, but the truth is...I’ve never really been able to before...not on that particular day. “I just don’t...”
He forces me to turn around and meet his gaze. “What is it?” He whispers. “Abbey,” he continues when I barely look at him. “Just talk to me.”
“It’s just...”I pause and shake my head. “It’s...it’s Braeden’s birthday that day and I don’t know how I’m going to feel.”
His carefree expression falls into a dark one. I know he’s mad at me.
“Let me help you through it,” he whispers.
I stare at him, amazed that he seems to understand how I feel. Any other guy would probably flip out, get pissed that I was thinking about another guy. But Justin is starting to completely understand me, just like I’m starting to understand him. “You...you’re willing to do that?”
“I care about you,” he whispers it and nods a little. “I’ll do whatever I need to do. I want you to be happy.”
I bite my bottom lip for a moment because I feel it starting to quiver and I really don’t want to cry right now. “Do I still have to be your wench?” I say, trying to manage a laugh for him.
He kisses me lightly. “I could go as your cabin boy instead,” he suggests.
“As long as I get to carry around a cool looking whip, or get to lead you around on a rope. Either one works.”
He laughs out loud. “Glad to have you back, Ab.”
I wrap my arms around him and kiss him powerfully on the mouth. It feels good to have him on my side. I feel like...I’ll get through this year without much of an effort. I don’t have to feel alone or helpless anymore, because I’m moving on. I have someone new in my life and...I don’t want to jump the gun, but I think I might be able to allow myself to have some fun on Halloween for the first time in years.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I know...It's been a while. A lot has happened between singing competitions and car accidents. Since I'm home due to back pain I figured i would try to get a chapter up. Hope everyone is doing okay! Enjoy!
Story Tags: triangles justinandtrace executivej
