“Vegas?!” Colleen shouted. “What the hell is he doing in Vegas? Justin, what’s happened?” Colleen was shaking and she wasn’t sure why. Josh was physically ok but it seemed like that was her only assurance at this point.
Justin really didn’t want to be the one to have this conversation with Colleen but figured she needed to know before she saw JC. “Apparently he ran into Julie earlier today.”
“Who’s Julie?” Colleen asked him.
“Fuck,” Justin muttered to himself, mentally cursing at JC for making this even harder. “Julie was JC’s girlfriend, the one before you.”
“Shit,” Colleen gasped.
“So, you know the story just not the name?”
“Yeah, I know what happened before,” Colleen told him. “What happened now?”
“She, um, she had her daughter with her. Not JC’s but it, you know, he didn’t handle it well.”
“He went to Vegas. Not handling it well is an understatement.”
“Sometimes JC does things that only make sense in his brain at the time. Eventually he realizes it was stupid but he just…”
“Wants a distraction from the pain,” Colleen somberly completed the sentence. “I took away his coping mechanism so he’s off finding another.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When Lance and Michael announced the twins, JC ran off to Raina and she…he wanted physical pain to combat his mental one. I made him promise he wouldn’t do it again and now…FUCK!” Colleen screamed. “I shouldn’t have interfered, at least I’d know where he is right now.”
“Colleen, don’t you dare blame yourself for this,” Justin told her, wondering how many times over the years Raina had been more than just his sexual outlet. “He’s, ummm, he’s done shit like this before.”
“What do you mean?” Colleen asked him then grew very serious. “Justin, what am I dealing with here?”
Justin sighed. If she wanted to be with JC forever, she had to know the full ugly truth. “When the group was big, it wasn’t so bad. He’d go out and party and fuck around. I mean, we all did, just to destress. No one thought much of it. It got a little wilder during his solo tour but again, all of us were finding some freedom. We were dumb young guys and there was no harm to it.”
“He met Eva and he straightened up his act quick. I’ll never understand what it was about her but JC fell hard. I only met her a few times but it was clear she ran the show and it was such a departure for him. When he found out she was cheating, from the press no less, he confronted her and she lied. He wanted so hard to believe her that he ignored all the other signs. The word was out she picked Tony and JC still went to her birthday party and sang to her because she hadn’t actually broken up with him yet so he thought he still had a fighting chance.”
“I remember seeing pictures from that party. It was devastating and I didn’t even know him,” Colleen said. “He was so blinded by love and it was clear to even the casual observer.”
“When she finally broke it off, she couldn’t simply just say she met someone else. No, she had to tell him she traded him in for a basketball star who was succeeding in life, unlike him and his failing career and attempts to stay relevant. She completely demoralized him, I’m sure just to make herself feel better about her decision. Sometimes I wonder if she knows the permanent damage she caused.”
“Or relishes in it,” Colleen said through gritted teeth. “I don’t tend to pass judgment on people I don’t know but she’s always been the exception. I don’t need to be JC’s girlfriend to know what she did to him. I will hatefully admit I was very happy when karma got her ass and Tony cheated on her.”
“So was I,” Justin replied. “So after all this went down, JC went to New York on basically a week long bender. He pulled it together for some appearances he had but behind the scenes he was a fucking mess. We figured maybe this was just a one time occurrence but it turned out it was just the start of it.”
“The start of what exactly?”
“We’ve all been through bad shit in our lives and we all have our own ways of getting through it. When this happened, JC went from needing to just decompress to taking a sledgehammer to his fucking life. If it started to fall apart in his eyes, that meant everything else was shit. Every evil word that woman said to him has been stuck in his brain for fifteen years and when things get dark, he believes the worst of himself. Actually, it’s not even that, it’s things that aren’t even true that he believes at his core because of her. None of us have yet to figure out how to help him so we just try to mitigate the damage.”
“In essence, “I believe I deserve nothing so I will make sure I have nothing to show everyone else I was right.” Is that it?” Colleen summarized.
“That’s pretty fucking accurate actually,” Justin said, a little stunned. He wasn’t sure if that was just Colleen’s knowledge of people or of JC specifically to have accessed the situation so quickly. “Things really seemed to be turning around for him this past year. You’re a big part of that, Colleen but just him going to therapy was a big step. He’s been off and on over the years but it just seemed like it was really helping this time.”
“He’s got a lot of anxiety about the album,” Colleen confessed to Justin. “I didn’t…I didn’t realize so much more was going on underneath.”
“It was bound to bubble up eventually. Seeing Julie and her kid just set it off.”
“So what sets it off next time, or the time after that?” Colleen asked out loud, not expecting a response and not getting one. The self doubt JC had developed over the years was far beyond just his beliefs in himself as a singer and Colleen was starting to see the full picture. “Ok, what’s the game plan?”
“Lisa got you on a charter to Vegas. I’ve got my team on the lookout for when he checks into a hotel and I’ll have a car waiting to take you there when you land. Anything between now and when you get there though, I don’t know how much I can do about.”
“Thanks Justin, you’ve done more than enough,” Colleen told him. “Are these the special A-list celebrity powers mentioned early?”
“One in the same,” Justin smiled slightly. “I can be there a bit after you if you want, just wanted to prioritize you getting there as quickly as possible.”
“I can handle him. I don’t…I don’t know what’s gonna happen when I see him but I’ll deal with it.” Colleen began to see signs for the Burbank airport. “Thank you, Justin,” she told him sincerely.
“Of course. Please keep me posted best you can.”
“I will, I promise,” Colleen told him as they both hung up.
Colleen took the short forty five minute flight and, as promised, Justin had a car waiting for her. It dropped her off at the Bellagio and Colleen was able to get a key for JC’s room as Justin had called ahead and made arrangements once he located him. She quickly stopped in the gift shop for a pair of flip flops to change out of her stilettos then headed up the elevator.
Upon entering the room, Colleen looked around for any sign of JC. A tossed washcloth by the sink was the only clue she got he’d even been there at all. She texted Justin she was there and JC wasn’t, then proceeded to head back out to look for him.
C: Any thoughts on where he might be?
JT: Someplace low key but not off the map. He’s probably not at a hotel establishment.
C: Do you think he was stupid enough to go to the Bunny Ranch?
JT: No but only because he got a hotel room. If he went there, he would have stayed there.
C: Thank goodness for small miracles, I suppose.
Colleen walked along the strip, hoping to gain some insight into where JC might have gone. It wasn’t lost on her where he probably was. When you're looking for refuge in the city of sin, strip club was high up on the list. If all he was doing was watching, she wouldn’t have cared. It was the worry of something more that chilled her to the bone. She’d been prepared for this moment the whole relationship and she still wasn’t sure how she’d react if it became true. She kept praying she wouldn’t have to find out.
After googling a few gentlemen’s clubs, she called any ones she could find off the strip but no one had seen JC. She couldn’t decide if she was relieved or more worried by the news. Colleen swung by the Victoria Secret outlet to pick up a basic bra and panty set so she could change out of her lingerie. Back in the room, Colleen unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor as she maneuvered out of the body suit, throwing it in the trash can close by and redressing.
It was nearing 11pm and still no sign of JC. Colleen lay on the bed and found a Harry Potter marathon that would keep her occupied until JC hopefully wandered back. Justin and she had kept the other guys in the loop as everyone continued to try to reach him to no avail.
Colleen wasn’t sure when she had fallen asleep but was instantly awoken as the sound of laughter came from the opening door. She sat up and held her breath as JC tumbled into the room, falling onto the carpet and bringing the woman he had been making out with to land on top of him. Colleen steeled herself to wait until she was noticed. They were both clearly very drunk but it was no excuse for any of it.
“JC,” the woman slurred, looking up and seeing Colleen staring at them. “I think we’re in someone else’s room.”
JC reared his head back and saw an upside down pair of crossed legs that led to a very angry scowl. “Colleen!” he shouted in surprise, trying to scramble to his feet, rolling the woman onto the floor, but hip checking the wall and ending up back down on the floor again. “I can explain.”
“An absolute F for originality,” Colleen deadpanned and turned her gaze to the other woman, who had since stood up and was attempting to straighten her dress but kept not being able to find her balance. She was short with luscious brown wavy hair and caramel skin; Colleen knew instantly why she had been the one selected for the evening.
“Sorry,” she tried to focus on Colleen. “I mean, I’m here for a divorce party and when else am I gonna get to fuck a celebrity?”
“Are you the one getting divorced?” Colleen asked calmly.
“No. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, am I right?” the woman gave an uneasy smile.
Colleen texted Justin to see if he could get someone to get the woman back wherever she belonged safely. In the meantime, Colleen wanted some answers. “What happened?” she asked the woman.
“Don’t do this,” JC tried to speak up as he lay slumped against the wall. Colleen shot him a look and was surprised to find him staring back at her, almost like he was angry she was there.
“He was at the bar looking all sad and shit,” the petite woman explained. “I wanted to just cheer him up but then I saw who it was and wanted him to join the fun.”
“And exactly what kind of fun did this entail?”
“Lots of shots,” the woman giggled as she wobbled into the wall. “Your boy here likes a good motorboat.”
“That he does,” Colleen confirmed, keeping her poker face on. Getting emotional would do nothing at this point but getting this woman to talk was key. Colleen texted Justin again to let him know there might be pictures that would need to get confiscated if they weren’t out there already. “What else?”
“We danced. We made out. Ummm, he said I reminded him of his ex girlfriend so I assumed he was single. Things were getting kind of hot and heavy and my friend was getting pissed the attention wasn’t on her so I suggested we go back to his room. Sorry, I wouldn’t have tried anything had I known.”
“Not your fault,” Colleen told her. Having been on the receiving end a time or two of similar predicaments, she refused to be angry at this woman. She was guilty of taking advantage of the situation but even she didn’t realize the full gravity of what she had done until now. “Anything else I should know?”
“Not that I can think of,” the drunk woman tried to remember. “I was waiting until we got back here for the down and dirty stuff. He got hard when we were dancing, does that count?”
“That counts,” Colleen confirmed.
“Can you just tell me if he’s good in the sack? I was so close to finding out,” the woman whined. The sympathy Colleen had for the woman instantly went out the window as she raised an eyebrow at her. Luckily, security knocked at the door and escorted the woman out of the room. “Bye Bye Bye,” she called behind her as she left with a giggle.
