Chapter Six

"Sam?"

"Yeah ... Ali? Is that you?" she croaked, still half-asleep.

"Can you come and get me?" Alison pleaded, on the verge of tears.

"Come and get you? I don't understand ... why can't Justin bring you home?"  Sam was still trying to wake up, things weren't very clear to her."

Alison sniffled and wiped her eyes with a tissue.  "He can't ... he's not here."

"Where are you?  Why did he leave you?  What the fuck is going on, Ali?" As she woke up, Sam squinted at the clock.  It was close to 1 am.  "It's almost one o'clock in the fucking morning!

"He left and just never came back.  I want to get out of here, Sam.  You gotta take the car and come and get me."

"Where the hell are you?"

"Somewhere in DC," Alison realized that she had no idea where she was.  "Shit!  He always drives and I don't know where I am...” She had no idea what to do next.

Sam sighed; annoyed at being woken up but glad Ali had called her if she was in trouble.  "Why don't you look and see if he has some old mail lying around or something ... or is there, like, a doorman you can ask?"

Alison didn't even know if there was a doorman for the building; she and Justin had always come straight to the apartment through the elevator.  "Hold on, Sam ... let me see if I can find something around the apartment."  She went into his bedroom and dug in the nightstand and struck gold -- there was a letter addressed to Justin Timberlake lying right on top of everything in the drawer.  She grabbed it and rushed back to the phone, reading the address to Sam.

"I don't know where that is!" she exclaimed, completely confused.

"Well, I don't know either," Ali retorted.  "I never pay attention to where he's going ... can't you just Mapquest it?"

Sam groaned.  "Fine.  I'll Mapquest it and be there in ...how long does it take for you to get there from here?"

"About half an hour."

"Well, look for me in forty-five minutes or so," she groaned again, getting out of bed.  "Sit tight in front of the building, okay?  I'll be there soon.  And stop crying, I'm sure everything is okay.  Maybe there was some misunderstanding," she told her sister.

Alison shook her head although Sam couldn't see it.  "Believe me -- there was no misunderstanding.  He just fucked up," she said and Sam knew it was serious because Ali rarely, if ever, cursed.

"Shit," she answered.  "I'll be there soon."  She hung up the phone, leaving Alison to go over what had gone wrong with what seemed like a promising night.  She looked back on the events of the evening with sadness.

All done with studying for the day, Alison started getting ready for Justin around four-thirty.  She took a long, delicious shower and slathered herself in the perfumed body lotion he had bought for her.  Smelling like a rose, she pulled on the stockings and slid into the dress.  Well, not exactly slid -- she got caught up in the criss-cross sleeves for a minute and thought she was going to choke herself to death but managed to get everything straightened out.  She used the curling iron and hair products that Justin had so graciously provided her with and put on the tiniest bit of foundation and mascara, topped off with some lipstick.  She knew Justin didn't like a lot of make-up so she didn't want to put a lot on.

She finally slid the shoes onto her feet and practiced walking in them for about thirty minutes since she didn't have anything else to do -- and finally mastered the art of walking in them without toppling over.  It was just around the time for Justin to be back so she at last sat down on the living room couch and waited patiently for him to show up.

And waited.

And waited.

Around nine-thirty, she had called his cell phone four times already with no response.  His voicemail kicked right in as soon as she dialed.  Frustrated, she kicked off her shoes and began pacing.  Was he hurt somewhere?  Was there a car accident or something?  She couldn't understand why he was so late.  Time and again she thought of calling Sam but that would mean giving up the secret of the apartment so she held back.  Once the clock passed midnight, she gave up fighting with herself and changed back into her regular clothing with a serious attitude.  It was obvious that he didn't find her important enough to even call and let her know there was a change of plans.  To her, that was not only rude but a serious betrayal.

After she changed, she debated what to do.  She had a little money, but not enough to take a taxi home and it was getting late.  She had to get up early the next day.  The only solution she finally came up with was to call Sam.  After waiting about thirty minutes for Sam to get closer, she grabbed her coat and gathered her books and papers together, loaded up her backpack and went downstairs to the lobby.  Sure enough, there was a doorman there who offered to find her a taxi but she declined, standing outside on the cold street as she waited for Sam.  She didn't even want to be inside that building anymore; no, make that never again.  It was freezing but preferable to being anywhere near Justin or anything that belonged to him.

After about fifteen minutes, true to her word, Sam pulled up in their mom's car.  Alison had never been so glad to see anyone in her life.  She rushed over to the car and as she was getting in she heard a "Hey!  Ali!" and looked over her shoulder to see Justin waving at her.  "Wait a minute!" 

Ignoring him completely, she hopped in Sam's car and yelled, "Drive!  Don't wait for him, get away!"

Sam listened to her sister, though she was thoroughly confused, and pressed the pedal to the metal and got the hell out of there.  "What the hell is going on?  This better be good, Ali, because Dad's already mad at me for getting an E on that quiz and he'll kick my ass if he knows I sneaked out at all, even to get you.  What happened?"

Alison burst into tears again as she retold her story to a sympathetic Sam.  "And he just never showed up until right now, when you pulled up.  Can you believe that?  It's so fucked up, Sam.  I never want to see him again.  I'm so humiliated!"

Sam tried to comfort her sister as she tried to remember how to get home.  "Sweetie, maybe something happened, like a car accident or something.  I'm positive he wouldn't just stand you up unless something really important happened."

"You ever heard of a phone?" Ali snapped back at Sam, who couldn't believe the change in her sister.  She never behaved this way but right now she was furious and sad all at once.  Crying through her anger, she was cursing Justin out with every other breath.  "That fucker ... had me all dressed up for nothing ... I'm never talking to that asshole again...”

Sam glanced at Ali.  "Hey!  You've got on make-up and" she sniffed "a new cologne, too.  You did all that for him?"

Ali nodded her head slowly.  "I made a fool out of myself, Sam. And you know what?"  He'll probably think he can feed me some line and I'll forgive him.  That's the worst part of everything," she said sadly.  "And I was just starting to really like him."

"You didn’t' make a fool out of yourself -- if anything, he's the fool.  He missed out on a good thing," Sam tried to console her as her cell phone rang.  "Hang on ... who's calling me in the middle of the night?  Hello?" she clicked the on button on her cell phone.

"Samantha, it's Justin -- don’t hang up!" he shouted just as she was about to click off on the phone.

She scowled at the windshield.  "Why should I listen to anything you say?  You left my sister stranded!"  She glanced at Alison who was glowering at her.

"Don't you dare pass that phone to me," she warned Sam who took her very seriously.  She'd never seen Alison so hurt before, which was causing her anger.  "I never want to speak to him again, " she followed up.

"Can you put Alison on for just a second?  I can explain everything ... I just got caught up in some business that couldn't wait," Justin pleaded, only to fall on unsympathetic ears.

"Caught up in what, on a Saturday night this late?"  Sam was beginning to put two and two together slowly.  Was Alison dating a drug dealer or something?  "What the hell could be so important on a Saturday night, Justin?  I'm not letting anyone fuck around with my sister.  Besides, she specifically said she didn't want to talk to you -- ever again. So good-bye, okay?  And don't bother calling my cell because I won't be picking up.  Buh-bye."  She pressed of on the phone and looked back over at her sister.  "Are you okay?"

"No," Alison answered honestly.  "I'm not.  I trusted him ... maybe I'm making too big a deal out of this but he could've at least called.  I was thinking he was, like, dead or something and he's just running around with the boys."

Sam perked up.  "The boys?  Tell me everything that happened.  Because JC said we might go out around nine tonight and he never called or showed up either, that's why I was at home when you called."

Alison relived her wonderful day and her nightmare of a night, explaining the apartment business to Samantha as she spoke.

"You mean he made a room just for you?  Ali, this sounds weird," she told her while pausing to look at her directions.  "Don't you think things are moving just a little too fast for this kind of stuff?  Clothes, jewelry, and a room... it's all just too much.  Too stalker-ish.  And he said on the phone that he could explain, that he got caught up in business ... what business could he have on a Saturday night?  You know what I'm thinking, don't you?"

Alison sighed and wiped her eyes again.  "Yes, I know ... but Sam, he took me to his parent's house and it's obvious that they're rich.  His apartment is nothing compared to where they live.  They live in PG County in one of those huge houses.  He has an indoor pool, everything!  He probably has a trust fund or something.  I'm not taking up for his behavior tonight, but I do think he's just really rich."

Sam shook her head.  "So what is this business crap he's spouting?  Did they have trouble building a house on a Saturday night?  JC not calling me or anything just makes everything seem too shady for me.  I think they're drug dealers," she finally said the words out loud.

"Justin doesn't act like a drug dealer," she said in his defense.  "And neither does JC.  Who knows what could've happened?  Maybe he had to meet with his dad or something..." her words trailed off as she realized how lame she sounded.

"With that friend?  That guy called Slo?  You wanna tell me he's part of the family business?  This just doesn't add up, Ali.  That's all I'm saying."

"At this point, I don't even care," she said to her sister, sniffling.  "I just want to go home, to my bed, where I don't have to see him or talk to him.  Just get me home, okay?"

"Okay," Sam answered quietly and they continued the drive home in silence.  Just as they turned the corner to their street, Ali gasped and Sam sighed.  Justin's Navigator was sitting a few houses down from theirs with the only the fog lights on.  "Shit!  How the hell did he make in here before me?"

"This is just great," Alison groaned.  The last thing she wanted to do was talk to him and now, unless she wanted to make a scene that would get her and Sam grounded for the rest of their lives; she had to talk to him.  She knew he wouldn't take no for an answer.  "I have to talk to him or he'll probably just come to our house everyday or something.  Maybe he is a stalker," she said to Sam.

"Looks like it to me as she parked the car and turned it off.  "I'm just going to sit here while you talk to him.  It's too cold to wait outside," she said.  "But I'll be here if he tries anything.  Don't let him sweet-talk you," she warned Alison, who nodded. 

"I'll be right back.  This won't take long."  She opened the door and walked halfway to where Justin's car was parked and waited.  She knew he wanted her in the car but no way was she getting into his vehicle.  She didn't want to be warm and cozy while he told her some lie; she wanted to have it out in the freezing cold so it would be brief.  She really didn't want to hear anything he had to say.

She didn't have to wait long; he hopped out of the car and jogged over to her.  "Ali!  I can explain everything, baby. Look, we got held up at--"

"I don't care," Alison spat at him.  "You're full of shit, do you know that?  "Leaving me alone, waiting for you for six hours, and not answering your cell phone?  I thought you were dead or something had happened to you.  And here you show up like everything's fine.  Well, making me worry and standing me up is not cool with me.  Not at all," she said angrily, with little puffs of smoke coming out of her mouth with each breath. "I'd appreciate it if you would just leave me alone, Justin."

He looked shocked, like no one had ever said no to him before.  Alison relished that. 

"Alison," he said seriously, "I swear to you that it was business that held me up.  I got too involved and I admit I forgot about our meeting but I thought you'd be okay just waiting for me--"

"For SIX HOURS?" Alison almost yelled, her teeth clenched together.  "Are you crazy?  I don't know why I ever got involved with you in the first place.  You're just too damn weird," she told him, still furious.  "What kind of business would hold you up that long on a Saturday night?"

He looked hurt.  "Alison, I'm not weird.  There was a fire at one of the houses and that's what we went to check out. The fire inspector was there and so was my dad and we had to go through all kinds of paperwork and wait for the blaze to die down.  That's what took so long," he explained.  "I was wrong not to call, I admit that.  But you have to admit that I had a decent reason, at least somewhat of a decent reason.  I wasn't standing you up on purpose but I told you -- I work weird hours sometimes.  I'm not a drug dealer, for God's sake."

Alison accepted his reason as believable because she didn't want to think that he dealt with drugs.  But she still wasn't satisfied with his reason for not calling her.  "Look ... maybe you had work to do or whatever but the point is you should've called.  And you didn't.  So with that said, I'm going inside to go to bed so I can go to church with my family in the morning.  Please don't bother me again."  She turned to go.

Justin was stunned.  No other girl had ever treated him this way before.  But every other girl he'd dated knew the deal with him and his business so he'd never run into this problem.  He'd never had to call before because he knew they would happily wait for him.  But Alison wasn't like any other girl he'd dated; he had to keep reminding himself.  If he was going to keep up this charade he had to come more correct than he had been.  She was already suspicious that he was dealing drugs and that was the last thing he wanted because he knew she would dump him then and there. 

"Ali, please ... please wait a minute," he pleaded with her, reaching out and grabbing her arm.  "I told you what happened.  I really had an emergency but I know I should've called.  Are you just gonna stop seeing me and throw away what was going on between us because of this one stupid thing I did?  I swear it'll never happen again.  I swear.  Let me have another chance, baby, please.  Let me take you out to dinner in that dress like I wanted to ... just give me one more chance.  You won't be sorry, I promise you."

Unbelievably, Alison felt herself softening towards him.  What he said did sort of make sense but she still was angry that he hadn't called.  And she did like him so very much -- everything between the two of them had been perfect between them up until that night.  She was so confused -- Justin's eyes looked like he was telling the truth, and the eyes never lied.  She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. 

"I don't know, Justin.  I need time to think about you and me and all that's been going on.  Let me go, please,” she asked softly and he did.  Everything inside him wanted to grab her and kiss her sadness away but he knew she didn't want to be touched so he held himself back.

"That's fine, baby, if you need time to think I'll give it to you.  Just don't shut me out, okay?  Don't avoid my calls or whatever ... don't stop talking to me over this.  We can get past this; it's not as bad as it sounds once I explained it, right?"  Justin was scrambling for the right things to say and so far he seemed to be getting through to her.  He’d never had to plead with a girl to talk to him before and he had no idea what he was saying.

Alison sighed.  "I'll ... maybe we can talk tomorrow," she finally gave in.  "But don't call me ... I'll call you.  Don't bug me, okay, Justin?  Give me a little bit of space or I'll just be angry again.

He sighed himself and nodded.  "Okay, Ali.  I'll give you space, all the space you want.  But call me, okay?  Call me tomorrow so I can just hear your voice.  I miss you already," he said, and her heart jumped in her chest.  Why did he have this effect on her?  She needed some serious time to think alone and figure out what to do next.

"I..." she didn't know what to say.  "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Justin.  Good night."  She waved at Samantha to come out of the car and she did so, with Alison's backpack full of books.  Her parents would wonder why her backpack was in their car if they left it.  She joined Alison and together they walked up the path to their house, entered and turned off all the lights.

Justin waited until Alison's bedroom light was on, and then drove home, his mind working furiously.  There was no way he was going to lose her now.  No way.