“You're not serious,” Joey asked his wife, trying to get through his head what she'd just asked him. “I'm not doing that.” He was dressed in his usual concert attire, a t-shirt and jeans, knowing he would change during songs. His hand went to his jeans pocket and the open pack of cigarettes in there. Justin had given him his last couple after he bought a new pack. Joey knew it was hell on his voice, but he was desperate.
Kristen was fluffing her hair, smiling at Joey from the mirror. “You have a choice. Her...or Lance.”
“That's not fucking fair, Kris! You can't blackmail me,” Joey growled, his blood pressure going up. They had a few minutes before they had to head to sound check.
Kristen raised an eyebrow at him. “It's not blackmail. I'm your wife. If I just happen to let it slip that one of the guys in the biggest pop group ever happens to like guys. Are you really going to let that happen? All so you can talk to some girl..your ex. You must not care about your friends as much as you claim to.”
Joey's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips. Somewhere inside of him, his heart turned black. It wanted to quit beating, but that didn't happen as Joey took his phone out. “You want her gone? Separated from me?” he watched his wife nod. He made a great display of deleting Melissa's name out of his contact list, even going so far as to block her number. And if that wasn't enough, Joey blocked incoming text messages from her as well. “Happy?” he asked, seeing the two names that had been before and after her name now next to each other. Joey hated that he wouldn't get to explain to Melissa, wanting to take his ring off and throw it as hard as he could.
“Thing is, she can't talk to you either. You'll have to give her a message through one of the other guys. Justin could tell her. Something like you just don't feel that it's in your best interest if the two of you keep in contact anymore.”
Joey nodded numbly. Justin wouldn't understand. “Anything else?” he asked, knowing it was the wrong thing to say as Kristen smiled.
“Make it sound like it was your idea.”
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
JC glanced over at Rachel, wishing he didn't have to leave. “You're still coming on tour right?” he asked, pulling her in gently for a hug. He tried to not be obvious, keeping it looking like it was just between friends. They were friends after all, seeing Lance and Melissa talking about something, their voices hushed.
“I'll be there in a week and a half. Think you'll make it til then?” Rachel's heart stammered as she saw his face light up like a little kid. “Don't smile like that, Josh,” she whispered. It was hard enough to keep up pretenses now that she knew Lance wouldn't hate her if she liked JC.
“Smile like what?” he asked, pulling away enough to give her a searching look. He was about to say something else when his phone started ringing. “Damn piece of shit,” he muttered, hating technology sometimes as he looked at who it was. “Talk to me, Chris,” JC's eyes widened as he listened. “We're getting on a plane in less than an hour. Don't go anywhere. Hell, go to the fucking arena. Don't go look for Joey. WHAT?” he yelled, making the three of them jump. “What do you mean they're both gone? Kirkpatrick if you're fucking with me, I will kill you and mail your lying tongue to that girl who wrote you that ungodly letter!” he listened a few moments later and shut his phone. “We have to go. Now.”
“What happened? Where's Joey?” Melissa asked, not sure how to feel. She was hurting and trying to deal with everything and now add this in.
“Apparently Fatone told the guys he was going for a quick walk around the hotel. Justin went with him and now they can't be found. Security didn't go with them because they were just walking down the hallway and around the corner and back. On our floor.”
“Shit,” Lance cursed, hugging his sister and then Rachel. “We need to get to the airport. We'll call you as soon as we know something.” He kissed her lips and leaned in to Rachel where his sister couldn't hear. “I wouldn't say this normally, but drug her up.”
Rachel bit her lip and nodded, kissing him once more and then hugging JC, holding on to him a bit tighter and longer. “Be careful,” she told him, not missing the brush of his fingers along her jawline before the two of them left to catch a cab. She sat down next to Melissa, watching her friend frown deeper as she messed with her phone. “What's wrong?” She watched Melissa send off a text and shut her phone, a worried look coming to Melissa's face.
“It says my text is blocked.”
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
“You're a mean hearted bastard,” Justin spit out blood where Joey's fist had connected with Justin's lip. He returned the gesture with fervor.
Joey tasted metal from the blood on his lip and raised his fists again. He and Justin had went out for a smoke and were now holed up in an empty conference room down one of the back hallways of the hotel. “Fuck you, Timberlake.”
“Fuck me? Fuck me...You tell me you're not talking to the one person who has been there for you through all this bullshit. And you want me to tell her because you don't want to be the one to say it. And then you tell me 'Fuck you'?” Justin sneered at Joey, popping him another good one in the side of the head. “Why should I tell her? Why can't you scrape up your cojones and tell her?”
Joey took the blow and figured he'd have to doctor himself up a bit before the concert He felt his phone vibrate and ignored it. Then Justin's phone rang. He closed his eyes, knowing the ring tone.
“Speaking of the devil...” Justin, pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it. “Chica de mi vida,” he listened to Melissa ask him about Joey, then what they were doing. “Oh, we just had to have a moment to ourselves, Bass. He's right here...” Justin's eyes narrowed at Joey. “He doesn't want to talk to you.” Justin swallowed hard, listening to her take that information in. He had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't going to let Melissa suffer anymore from Joey. She deserved that much. “Listen, chica...Joey thinks it will be better on the both of you if you didn't talk anymore. He asked me if I'd tell you, so I am.” Justin flipped Joey off. “No, he didn't even seem upset about it. He just thought that it seemed suspicious if the two of you were always talking and he was married. Press and all that...I know. I know it is, but he just thought it was easier to stay away from you.”
Joey stilled at the lie Justin was telling, shaking his head emphatically. He listened until Justin hung up. “What the hell did you tell her that for?” he roared, his fist connecting with Justin's jaw. “That was a fucking lie, Justin!”
Justin was smaller than Joey, but he had Joey on the floor and cutting off his airway, his nose touching Joey's. “You. Are.A, Piece.Of.Shit,” he ground out, smacking Joey's head hard on the floor with each word. He squeezed harder and watched tears come to Joey's eyes as he gasped for oxygen. “I was saving her the misery of you hurting her anymore. You wanted out of her life, I just made it so you'll never have to worry about her again. Don't fucking talk to me, dawg. I don't want to hear a word you have to say. If the hotel catches on fire, I'm not saving your ass. You're not fuckin worth it.”
Joey saw stars as Justin slammed his head again and he gulped in air when Justin let him breathe, listening to his footfalls fade. Joey let out a gut wrenching sob. He'd thought he was done breaking Melissa's heart, but it seemed to keep happening. And he was the one who did it all. No one else was to blame. At least that is how it seemed to everyone around him. He got to his knees and sat there, not sure of what to do or think. He thought of the reasons he was doing what he was doing. It seemed awful to question, but in his mind, Joey wondered momentarily if a child was worth it. The thought of holding and loving something small and so helpless that would depend on him for everything it needed. He knew the answer was yes, but he still hated himself. He didn't want to think about what his friends and family would say. And he didn't even want to think about what Melissa was feeling in California. It made his heart hurt as he got up and went back upstairs, listening to the complaints of security and management for him and Justin sneaking off, asking what happened to his face. He gave some bullshit answer and threaded his fingers in with Kristen's. He'd need more time than this to process everything, frowning a little when Chris's eyes met his and narrowed, watching Justin nod slightly. If he was a betting man, he'd place a wager that he was the kid on the playground that was going to get the shit stomped out of them by the other kids for picking on one of their own.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Rachel carefully untangled herself from her best friend, thankful she hadn't woken up. Two hours had passed since Justin had broken the news and if Rachel could have reached through to phone and gotten a hold of Joey, he'd be the next one in the hospital. The worst part was the look on Melissa's face when she retold the words to Rachel. It was like reality had finally hit. It was a good thing Melissa had a cast on her ankle because Rachel figured every picture with Joey in it would have been broken if she could have gotten up and to them in the next few moments. She'd drugged Melissa up at Lance's request and it was like her friend was drunk, sobbing over Joey. She'd held Melissa as she cried, letting her eventually cry herself to sleep.
Now Rachel sat in the recliner, the television still on Sports Center. She grabbed the remote and flipped the channel to where Roseanne was on. The characters went across the screen and her mind wandered. Joey had been concerned that morning about Melissa, so why would he decide he couldn't talk to her. That bothered Rachel. For as long as she'd known Joey, he'd always been that friend who was unquestionably loyal. His personality made him that way. Leaving him and Melissa in a room of people was dangerous. They'd come home with new friends every time. And if Joey let you into his life it was hard for him to just shut that off. Rachel's head hurt from thinking about it. Her phone hadn't quit blowing up as well, calls from her parents and grandfather. The eldest Weatherly assured her that he had things covered for at least the next week so she could rest and not worry about work. However, he'd asked if she could pop in on his businesses in Los Angeles before she left to meet up with the guys. Her parents hadn't spoken about work, just a mirage of questions about if she was alright and how Melissa was. Rachel was glad she'd called them before she'd called the guys and assured them that they didn't need to come out. That was all on her mind, as well as what she was going to do with the situation between her and Josh.
Fingering her text messages, she scrolled down to where it popped up 'J. Chasez'. She had an unread message and she hit it to read.
'Think we can call those Backstreet guys and borrow one of their guys? Should have told them screw it and stayed in California...Think they would miss me? ;)'
'Nah. :) You'd have to watch Roseanne with me though. Is it that bad?' Rachel asked, frowning. She hadn't heard from Lance since they'd landed and she wondered what was going on. She'd let him know about Melissa and that she hoped he popped Joey for her.
'Tonight won't be pretty' JC replied to her, then the phone buzzed again. 'Wish you were here. Joey's not talking to any of us and his lip and eye look like he went a few rounds in a boxing match. Justin took a good one to the lip as well. Press having a field day.'
Rachel wasn't sure what to say back, sitting there staring at the television. Everything in her best friend's life seemed to be going haywire. She knew when it had started, when Kristen had come in New Year's Eve and announced she was pregnant. After that the world had gone crazy. Rachel let a tear slip down, not bothering to wipe it away. She wasn't a real praying person, but she did take a moment to say a quick prayer up for her friends.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**
“I just don't understand, why you running from a good man baby why you wanna turn your back on love...,” Justin sang, casting a glare over at Joey. He was still pissed off. What Justin didn't understand was how Lance could still talk to Joey after what he'd done to the other man's little sister. If it had been his sister, Joey would have been lucky to be able to walk around on both legs. He focused on ending the song and harmonizing. The audience went crazy and the five men went to change. “I don't see how you can stand next to him and sing,” Justin muttered to Lance, the mics off.
“Don't worry about it. It's our job...I'll deal with Joey later,” Lance replied, getting ready to go back out.
Joey heard voices and figured he was being talked about. After he and Justin traded jabs, they'd all ridden down to the arena in stony silence. The sound check minus JC and Lance had been quiet, so unlike the usual horsing around. Even Chris didn't crack jokes, the rehearsal taking a mere twenty minutes instead of an hour. He felt a slight push and looked over his shoulder to see JC pushing him towards the opening of the stage
Joey flipped him the bird as the audience started screaming again when the jumbo tron came to life as they walked out. He could smile for the fans, he figured. At least give them that much. They came to see him smile and sing and dance. It would be the best acting he'd ever done. It was good practice for the rest of his life.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The end of Chapter 28. Enjoy!
Story Tags: joey
