Orlando General Hospital...

Late Monday Afternoon...

And It All Falls Down

"Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell." - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Oh god please let us come out of this unscarred.

"I can do this..." I mutter to myself as Justin, Yolanda and I make our way through the hospital doors of Orlando General. I instantly shiver at the change in temperature, the air condition hitting me dead on.

"You ok babe?" Justin whispers, grabbing my waist to draw me near. As he slings his arm over my shoulders, I nod in response knowing I should probably tell him I saw Jeremy's car which means he's here. "Ok, what do you say I make a quick swing by Dr. Lake's office and you and Yolanda can head over to see Malcolm still? I'll meet you there." Justin's lips slowly twitch into a smile for me and I just shake my head again too terrified to speak.

"God I hope I can do this..." I mumble causing him to frown just as we round the corner heading straight for the nurse's desk.

"Do what Zara? What's wrong with you? Why are you so fretful?" Justin inquires, eyeing me strangely.

"Um..." Darting my eyes around, I notice the bright florescent lights illuminating the hallways as various doctors, nurses and patients walk the halls.

"Hello berry?" Snapping his fingers in front of my face, Justin easily becomes sidetracked when we're finally at the nurse's desk for visiting patients and voicing emergencies among other things.

"Uh yes, we came to see Malcolm Gilmore and I'd also like to have a word with Dr. Lake if that's possible." Justin smiles kindly and the lady returns his gesture, sizing him up in the process. She's practically undressing him with her eyes like she'd swallow him whole or something. Please, don't make me throw up.

Moving out of his hold, I leave Justin talking to the ‘man predator' as I walk over to Yolanda taking a seat next to her. "You're awfully quiet Yol. Is everything ok?" I ask, touching her shoulders.

Giving me a large smile, Yolanda shakes her head yes, playing with her blonde locks, fluffing and fixing her hair around her face. "Despite the fact that I hardly ever see my parents because they're workaholics and my Gammy is the only person I have, I'm just great!" She says sarcastically. Oh no, do I even want to know this story? "But I think I'm just nervous to see Malcolm." Ok, that last part definitely made me raise a brow.

"What do you mean?" I enquire while arching a brow at her in curiosity.

"I just, don't like seeing people sick in the hospital. It always breaks me down you know? Just the whole sick, helpless thing and how weak and vulnerable the person is. It really gets to me." She says, blushing slightly.

"Uh...ok. But we all know Malcolm is going to be fine so..." Drifting off, I frown when she giggles at the mention of my brother's name.

Ok hold on a minute. I know this is not what I think it is. "Yol, by any chance and I'm just going to take a wild guess here, but, do you like Malcolm?" I inquire, immediately getting my answer when her eyes widen but her smile is still on her face as bright as ever. "Oh god..." I groan, smiling in the process. This should be interesting.

Lifting my head when I notice Justin coming over, he seems to be really uncomfortable. "What's up Ju?" I inquire.

"Please don't let that woman come near me." He whispers, shuddering in the process. Snickering, I look over in the nurse's direction who's still eyeing Justin. "From now on, you ask to see Malcolm." Justin chuckles before gripping my hand to pull me up. He then helps Yolanda to do the same.

Giggling, I roll my eyes at him before he leans down and places a light kiss on my lips.

"Um..." Yolanda interrupts while glaring at the two of us with a comical expression on her face as her greens twinkle under the bright lights. "You know what? I don't want to know." She laughs, walking ahead of us as Justin and I bust out laughing.

"Maybe we should lay off the PDAs. You know in any chance there are cameras around." I suggest, remembering the incident in the parking lot of the LA stadium some months ago. Looking over at Justin, he nods in agreement.

"Fine, but only until you're officially mine." He adds in wriggling his eyebrows, causing me to tense at his statement. I almost forgot I had to deal with Jeremy. "I'll meet you guys in there; I'm going to head over to Dr. Lake so we can set an appointment for you to visit her. The nurse said she only goes by appointments but since I was already here, she sent me in." Justin explains stopping in front of Malcolm's room with us.

"Ok." I reply, noticing Yolanda is just standing there glaring at the closed door in anticipation. Oh god, I think she has it bad too. When the hell did she even develop this crush on my brother? When Justin turns to leave, I quickly grab his arm to stop him. Whipping around to face me, he furrows his brows, passing his fingers through my hair, waiting for me to speak.

"J...Jer-emy..." I stutter, my nerves acting up.

"What?" Justin probes, his sudden annoyance evident by the mention of Jeremy.

"He's here. I saw his car in the parking lot and..." Cutting me off with a loud groan, Justin darts his eyes over to Malcolm's door.

Sighing, he bows his head, passing his hands through his hair again, tugging at the ends of the small curls. "Ok, just get in there and I'll be back as soon as I can." Justin supplies while turning around to leave again.

"But Ju..."

"Just do what I say Zara. It's a public place and he can be here; we can't stop him from seeing your brother. I'll deal with this when I get back." And just like that, Justin storms off in search of Dr. Lake.

I know for a fact he's not pleased with this. He's furious; I can tell. I'm a little scared at how calm he is about it. That can't be good.

"Oh god..." I moan, lifting my head to stare at Yolanda. "Let's head in Yol." I tell her, watching as she shrieks with excitement, swinging the door open and walking in.

Upon entering Malcolm's room, I know this is going to be a long ass visit. I'm only saying this because, not only is Malcolm glaring at me like he's ready to jump out of his bed and strangle me, but Drew, Jeremy and Trace are all giving me curious stares. I know, I'm wondering what the hell too...

"What the hell are you doing here Trace?" Yolanda asks, beating me to it.

Moaning in despair, I quietly shut the door, getting ready for the fireworks that I know are about to go off.

****

"Shit, shit, shit!" I mutter, storming over to Dr. Lake's office. "This is just fucking great. I'm not going in there...I'm not. I'll probably be sent to jail for attempted murder if I do..." I mumble again, stopping in front of Dr. Lake's door.

Rolling my eyes, I knock on the wooden barrier, twisting the knob and swinging it open when she voices enter.

Casually strutting in, I give her a tight smile before I plop down on one of the chairs with a huff. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill the asshole. Why the fuck is he even here?

"Justin..." Dr. Lake smiles for me, interrupting my thoughts. Lifting my head to stare at the aging woman I just scowl.

"Hey..." I sigh dejectedly. Maybe I should go and see what's going on in there. Jeremy, Malcolm and Zara in the same place is not a good idea. I'm wondering what Jeremy told Malcolm. I'm sure the asshole said something. Especially after he showed up at Tennman earlier today and didn't get to see Zara. I mean shit, it wasn't my fault. We were kind of...occupied when the phone rang. I would have let him see her but he just had some really bad timing. Yeah, I can't help but smile at the thought. I'm such an inconsiderate prick sometimes. But, that's just who I am and...

"Justin are you ok?"

"Huh?" Locking eyes with Dr. Lake, I slump my shoulders when she raises her brows at me in question.

"I asked you how you've been but I noticed you were just staring off into space." She jokes but it's not funny. I blame Zara for that.

"I...I could be better."

"Oh? Is it about Jahzara?" she asks knowingly but, I shake my head in disagreement.

"No...well sort of. We're fine...for now. I uh, had that talk with her like you suggested." I state nervously, shifting in my seat and tugging at my tie. Shit, I just need to get home and take a shower. Today's been a really hectic, tiring day since it was my first day back on the job. I had some serious damage control to do. Not to mention Jive and Johnny are on my fucking ass about this damn album and Yolanda. I'm so fucked right now.

"So what was the outcome?" She inquires.

"She uh, you were right. She...she's taking anti-depressants and weight loss pills." I admit - the painful realization of how serious this could get looming over my thoughts.

"As I suspected. How did she handle telling you?"

"It wasn't easy Doc." I laugh pitifully. "But, she's agreed to see you so I just wanted to know if we could set up some appointments?" I enquire hopefully.

"Well, we can do that. But, I also suggest she sees a psychologist. This is obviously a personal issue as well. I'm glad you convinced her to get some help. How about you all visit me twice a week? You can pick the days." She explains, grabbing what looks like a schedule journal from her desk.

"Uh, I'll have to ask Zara and get back to you on that. We're really busy and we're going to be traveling soon so..."

"That's fine. For when you're here, you can see me and I'll refer you to a psychologist as well. In the mean time, you all can discuss how to continue any treatment she may need when you're out of state. I'll let you get back to me about those days when you talk to her. Just give me a call." Dr. Lake states in a soft tone that actually sets me at ease.

Pushing back into my seat, I shake my head in approval before another thought begins to plague me... "Jeremy is here." I blurt out, not like Dr. Lake knows who he is.

"I'm sorry who?"

"Jeremy Rowland...he..."

"Oh Mr. Rowland? Yes, he came in earlier asking if it was ok to see Malcolm. He said he was an old friend." Lake explains and I can feel the blood boiling in my system.

"No shit..." I mumble under my breath but I know she heard me because she's giving me an askance look. "It's a long story doc but he and I don't get along too well." I divulge.

"Would you like me to accompany you to Malcolm's room? If you all are not friends I would prefer you controlled your behaviors. Malcolm doesn't need to be worked up." She explains while standing from her seat, fixing her overalls and I follow suit.

"Yeah that's fine." I shrug, escorting her to the exit of her office with me...

When we finally make it to Malcolm's room, both Dr. Lake and I exchange questionable glares. It sounds like a screaming fest is going on inside there. Do I even want to know what the fuck it's about? I'm sure I'm part of their chosen topic. I always am. I'm not being cocky, but, really, what's so interesting about me that people spend their time focusing on me like this? I'd rather be anywhere else but here right now. I'm not sure how well I can hold down my impulses when I see the bastard.

It's too late to bail now. I need to do this for berry and well Dr. Lake practically gripped my arm yanking me into the room with her when she swung the door open...

And just like that, silence takes over.

Holding my breath, I watch intently as all eyes instantly focus on us. In an instant, Zara whips around to face me and by her red puffy eyes, labored breathing and trembling hands, I know this can't be good. Frowning, I walk further into the room as silence still engulfs us. Scanning the many curious faces, I notice Yolanda is sitting next to Malcolm avoiding any type of eye contact. Trace is here and I'm wondering what the hell he's doing here. Then again, it did seem like he and Malcolm were cool now. Drew is just sitting down close to the hospital bed looking practically unfazed. It's good that there's another cop around because so help me god...

I think I can ignore smirking Jeremy long enough to realize that Malcolm's condition is the only thing keeping him from leaping on me or better yet, if he had his gun here, shooting me. Shit...

Clearing my throat uncomfortably, Malcolm arches his brows at me still completely mute. The moment I open my mouth to speak, Dr. Lake interrupts - thank god.

"So, how is my favorite patient doing?" She beams, walking over to Malcolm to check his vitals and whatever else it is that she does.

I'm sure she's aware of the tension radiating in the room. Damn it. This isn't going to turn over well. I can feel it.

Passing my hands over my growing hair, I sigh inwardly before my blues connect to Zara's hazels. She looks absolutely mortified. She's just standing there with her arms wrapped around her body like a timid little girl - the complete opposite of how she's progressed so much from the shy woman I once knew.

"Could you give us a few minutes alone Doc.?" Malcolm finally speaks and his tone is soft but firm.

"Malcolm..." Dr. Lake warns but he just waves her off.

"I need to have a talk with Mr. Timberlake if it's ok by you." He enforces and fuck that's not good at all.

"Fine. But if I hear any commotion inside here I'm sending in security." She explains.

"That won't be necessary; I'm here so I'll make sure nothing arises..." Drew interjects but Malcolm cuts him off.

"Actually, I'd only appreciate Zary and Jeremy here as well. I'd like everyone else to leave. We'll be fine I promise." Malcolm gives a tight smile and I can feel my pulse quicken. I honestly do not want to deal with this.

Obeying his wishes, everyone else easily files out of the room even though I can see the skepticism and worry on their faces.

The moment the door slams shut, my head whips in his direction, awaiting whatever verbal attack he has for me...

I have to say, I wasn't prepared to hear his next statement.

"I want you to fire Zary because she refuses to quit." Malcolm demands and I frown in surprise.

"Excuse me?" He has to be kidding here.

"You heard me Timberlake. Let's not do this the hard way. We're keeping this simple. I don't want you around my sister and the best way would be for her to not work for you anymore." He snaps and I can feel the anger slowly rising in my system.

"Obviously, you have this shit back to front." I spit out, ignoring Malcolm's death glares.

"Watch yourself..."

"No, you watch your fucking self Malcolm!" I hiss taking a step forward.

"Justin!" Zara scolds, but I'm ignoring her. I'm ignoring gym boy too because I swear if I even acknowledge his presence right now, I'll pummel him. All of this is his fault.

"White boy has lip. I'm impressed." Malcolm chides.

Clenching my fists, I take a few deep breaths. Blowing up is not going to solve anything. I need to be mature in this as much as I wish right now I could just inflict pain on Malcolm's fucking bullet wound to get him to listen to reason. Yeah that was evil to think but fuck it. Damn bodybuilding wannabe...

"Look, frankly, I do not give a fuck about what went down before I stepped in here. I also do not care to know what bullshit story Jeremy fed to you. I can tell you you're mistaken about the asshole whether he's your friend or not. Now, I'm not going to fire Jahzara because she's amazing at her job and Yolanda loves her. It's too much of a short notice to get her replaced and I have no intensions of replacing her." I smirk, giving Malcolm a challenging stare as he eyes me briefly before he darts his eyes over to Jeremy and Zara.

Poor old Jer looks a little uneasy now. Yeah, he better squirm. But why didn't Zara just call him out the moment she came in here? I'm guessing her brother didn't even give her a chance to speak.

"Justin..." Malcolm sighs. "Whatever bullshit lie you're trying to use to save your ass is pointless. I've made my decision and Zara can't fight me on this."

"She has a mind of her own you know." I retort, crossing my arms over my chest and furrowing my brows in confusion when Zara says absolutely nothing. She's just standing, crying silently. You know, I'm now starting to realize just how big of an influence her brother has on her. She's not going to go against her only close family member is she? Not after everything they've been through together growing up. Shit...

"Ok Justin, this ends now. I do not like you for many reasons I will not fully disclose. The point is you and your lifestyles are not for my sister. I will not have her up on some kind of chopping block in the public's eye. She has been through enough and really, I just don't believe you care enough to put up with the speculation you'll surely receive if the two of you were in any type of relationship. Now Zara says you're not and there is no type of secret affair going on. Trace and Yolanda agreed with her but they are your friends and I think they're all full of shit. And she's my little sis, so, I believe her even though Jeremy and I think differently. But, I swear to god, if I find out she's lying and you're trying to get with her I'll shoot you myself." Malcolm hisses and I swallow hard, taking a step back. I think he holds good to his threats.

Thinking about it, I can't possibly have any chance with Zara if her brother hates me. That would be a major obstacle between us because I know she loves him unconditionally and she'll feel torn between the two of us. I can't let that happen. As much as I love her, I'm not going to put a wedge between their relationship. Shit I just want that asshole Jeremy out of the picture...

"Cat got your tongue now Timberlake? Look if you'll just fire her then..."

"Shut up!" Zara finally screams out, shocking us all. I even forgot she was there. "Shut up Malcolm! I'm not quitting and Justin is not firing me! You're so wrong! I'm so sick and tired of all this shit! Justin is the one that was there for me and cared enough when I was in my depression states, even if he was part of it. God, you're so blind! I love you Malky and I know you're only trying to protect me but god! Justin isn't the bad one here, Jeremy is!" Zara continues to scream in a high pitched tone and I'm a little stunned by her outburst.

Still, with that pipe she has, I can't help but wonder what she sounds like singing. I know I'm drifting here, but I do remember a certain cookout at my home the night before we left for LA when I came out by the pool and heard her singing this really depressing song. She has a beautiful voice. I'm thinking I'd like to hear her sing again. Hmmm...

"Zary stay out of this." Malcolm warns, sitting up in his bed and resting his back against the headboard.

"No! You listen to me Malcolm. Jeremy is not who any of us thinks he is. He's an abusive drug dealing jerk!" She wails, heaving in the process. Oh shit...

Here we go...

Ding, ding, ding...

"What?" Malcolm asks clearly dumbfounded.

I watch in slow motion as Jeremy's head snaps in Zara's direction and then to me before he storms over to her, but, I'm quicker and I block his path. Please give me a reason to hit you...that's all I'm asking here.

"Don't." I warn him, putting my hands on his chest to push him away. Reversing, he smacks my hand away and I roll my eyes in annoyance. It's taking everything in me to not punch him right now.

"What the fuck did you tell her?" Ah, the asshole finally decides to speak but I'm not going to answer his question.

"He told me everything Jer! You're an asshole. I trusted you. I fucking loved you..." Zara snaps and I can't help but feel slightly hurt by that notion. How is it, that I never knew her feelings for him went that deep? And why is it so much easier for her to say?

"Look Zara..." Jeremy tries to reason but I block his view of her.

"Explain to Malcolm, not Zara. She knows all she needs to know." I cut him off watching as he narrows his eyes at me.

"Yes, this is new Jeremy. Please tell me Justin and Zara are lying. Because you told me Justin was trying to take her away from you just because he wanted to get in her pants and that he didn't care for her the way you did. You made him out to be a monster here but I'm not so sure anymore..." Malcolm speaks calmly, even yawning in the process. Well, he's handling this maturely. I was sure there would be a full out war in here.

"He's lying." Jeremy defends and I huff.

"I am? What about the night I showed up at your place and..."

"Shut the fuck up Justin! You know, you've been nothing but a pain in my ass and you can bet I'm going to put an end to it one way or another." He threatens as his eyes widen and his nostrils flare, but I don't care about any of that.

"Ugh!" Zara huffs while sending her arms up in the air in defeat. "Malcolm, I didn't want to tell you this but Jeremy hit me. He placed a big black shiner right on my cheek a few weeks after we returned from LA because he was jealous of Justin! You were always gone and I always hid it under a ton of makeup so you wouldn't notice it. Plus, when I went over to Jer's house the same night, he was high out of his right mind. I've never seen him like this. I thought Justin was lying about the encounter he had with him but I remembered that faithful night. I remembered it and knew Justin wasn't lying. Are you going to believe me or Jeremy?" Zara inquires giving her brother a challenging stare.

All I can do is watch in awe as she defends me yet again. This is certainly new. This is what, the second time? The first time was when her brother was shot last week and Jeremy tried to take her home. I could get use to this. Smiling lightly, I just smirk for Jeremy who's still breathing hard, trying to regain his composure.

"You hit my sister Rowland?" Malcolm morphs instantly and I can see the fury spitting out of his eyes as he glares at Jeremy. Yeah, I'm happy he's bed-ridden right now.

"Look... Malcolm I..."

"Save it!" Malcolm raises his hands in the air to shut him up. "I've heard enough and I'm really too fucking weak and tired to deal with this. The point is neither of you are good enough for my sister. So, I'm sorry but I don't want any of you around her. You're fucking her up royally and I can tell. Even if she thinks I haven't noticed I have."

Ok I was not expecting that!

"What!?" Jeremy screams boisterously and I just shake my head pitifully. Malcolm not liking me and not wanting me around Zara isn't going to stop me. It has to take a little more than that. Like him holding a gun to my head for instantce.

"No Malcolm you can't do that." Zara interrupts as we all stare at her in question.

"And why not?" He asks smoothly.

"Well, Jeremy he...he can go because well I..." Turning to Jeremy, Zara sighs inwardly. "Jer, I should have done this a long time ago and I'm sorry for everything we went through but I guess, I guess we got together for all the wrong reasons. This is the worse possible way for me to be doing this now but I can't take it anymore. I know I went with you for all the wrong reasons and after learning what I've learnt about you, even if it's not in detail and none of us really know what's going on with you, it's better this way if we don't see each other anymore." And she said that all in one breath too. Wow...

"Are...are you fucking shitting me?!" Jeremy belts as he walks towards Zara but I shoot him a glare and he stops abruptly, his eyes harboring a crazed glow. "You're going to take Justin's side over mine?"

"It's not that hard Jer." Zara quips, moving from behind me to face him. Damn she's feisty too.

"Ok enough!" Malcolm voice booms out. "I've had enough of this childish game of tag and chain. Jeremy stay away from my sister bro. we were cool but family comes first and I will not hesitate to kill for her. You crossed the line and misused our friendship so it's dead. And you..." Malcolm points at me with a maniacal glimmer in his eyes. "Don't get too comfortable because I do not like you Justin and it will be a cold day in hell for you to convince me otherwise. You're not healthy for her and as long as there is breath in my body, I will not condone anything going on between you two." Drifting off, he stares at his sister who's still giving Jeremy the evil eye. "Now, Zary I thought you told me that you hate Timberlake with every fiber of your being and he's nothing but a heartless jerk of a boss?" Malcolm is giving her a questionable glare as she whips in our direction and...wow! Wait, hold on...say what?

****

"Huh?" I ask stupefied by Malcolm's last statement. Oh god. Oh no. No...I didn't mean that! That was when Justin and I were fighting. That was when I was battling with my feelings towards him because all we ever did was fight! I had to talk to someone. I had to talk to my brother. I had to vent for him. When I returned from LA we sat and spoke of my trip. I was still so confused. I told him everything that happened over there. I told him every nasty thing Justin did and said to me. I was so angry and hurt because he was with that bitch Mallory and...I was confused!

Oh no. By the shocked and hurt look on Justin's face I know this is horrible.

"Well that's what you said isn't it?" Malcolm probes and I could have sworn Jeremy just snickered. That jerk! "You told me he was a replica of Christian and that you could never get past that no matter how hard you tried. You even stated that it was only your job that allowed you to tolerate him and be in the same room with him because you just couldn't stand him. Are you telling me that was all a lie Zary?" Malcolm has a knowing glare on his face. I know what he's doing. He's trying to get under Justin's skin. He knows damn well I don't feel that way anymore.

"She said what now?" Justin chokes out in a light whisper, connecting his blues to mine.

"Justin I didn't..."

"She said she hated you Justin. Get over it. Obviously she's only dealing with you because she has to. It's not like she loves you or anything." Malcolm successfully adds salt to the wound because Justin is blinking rapidly now and by the glossy look in his eyes, I know he's fighting back the waterworks. "I mean, she knows to stay away from you and I won't have it any other way and that's final."

Damn it! "Malcolm stop! You don't know anything that's happened between us!" I cry out.

"I know enough to know that you're delusional if you think you're in love with him. You're scared Zary. You loving someone has never been easy. You're just scared. You need to heal and love yourself first before you can love anyone else in that manner." He snaps back and I cringe when I hear Justin blow our air loudly.

"But you're so wrong because I do lo..."

"Did you really say those things?" Justin cuts me off and I think his hurt is slowly evolving into anger.

"What? Justin..." But he cuts me off again.

"Just answer this Zara. If you did say them, did you mean them? Do you still think of me that way? Because as much as we fought, I never once thought of you in that light or said anything like that about you. As much as we've been through, I never meant any hateful word I may have accidentally spewed out of my own jealously and hurt. But, I'm thinking you meant every word of whatever you said to your brother didn't you?" Justin inquires and I'm speechless. God the look in his eyes is of pure disarray. He's completely disoriented now, trying to make sense of everything.

I, I can't lie to him. I did say those things. I did mean them when I said them. I thought I hated him once upon a time. He can't honestly blame me for it. I mean, he knows now what I had to endure in my past. He should understand, but, he'll never understand will he? He'll never understand because he's never experienced what I have.

"Zara..." Justin sighs. "Why won't you answer me?" He begs, still searching my eyes for his answer.

I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to hurt him further than he's already hurting. This isn't even fair. It's not. Ugh, I do not like my brother right about now. Both he and Jeremy are just glaring interestingly. They're not helping the situation.

"You don't deserve an answer." Jeremy spits out under his breath in a condescending manner and god, I think that did it for Justin.

That definitely set him off.

Whipping his head in Jeremy's direction, Justin storms over to him gripping his shirt and slamming him down on one of the metal tables, hovering over with a deranged look in his eyes. "Why are you even still here when Zara just broke up with you?" he snaps, his eyes widening in rage.

Slapping my hands over my mouth, I just stare at the scene going on in front of me. I've never seen Justin this riled up before. It's a little terrifying to witness.

"Justin..." Malcolm warns, gripping the device for the nurse button getting ready to press it. "Don't!" he warns, groaning in pain when he shifts in his bed.

"Relax dude. It's not like you're with her now." Jeremy shoots back cattily at Justin.

"No shit! And it's your fucking fault!" Justin shouts malevolently before he grips one of the surgical knives on the table placing it under Jeremy's neck in a fit of rage.

"Justin!" I gasp, rushing over to them just as Malcolm presses the nurse button.

"Zara stay away from them." Malcolm orders while coughing lightly.

"But..."

"Do as I say!" he orders. "Now Justin, it's not worth it. You're doing this out of anger and in front of an officer or have you forgotten?" Malcolm speaks calmly, putting his negotiation skills to work like he was trained to do. God I love my brother but now is not the time for this. Justin looks like he'd kill Jeremy if he says the wrong thing.

"Get your hands off of me." Jeremy groans, sucking in air when Justin's hold on his neck tightens.

"Give me one reason asshole." Justin spits out vehemently, pressing the knife into Jeremy's flesh and causing him to wince in pain and oh god please...

"Justin are you nuts? Stop this craziness." I whimper out, approaching them carefully.

Groaning in annoyance, Justin suddenly drops the knife pulling Jeremy to stand, still gripping his neck tightly. The object makes a clinging noise when it connects to the table and I breathe out a sigh of relief. I honestly thought he was going to...

"That's what I thought Timberlake. I knew you didn't have any balls. You're just pussy whipped." Jeremy cracks and really, he's in no position to be cocky or disrespectful right now. Hearing him talk like that disgusts me. I can't believe I was willing to choose him over Justin once. What the hell was I thinking?

Letting out a low, malicious chuckle, Justin cocks his head to the side before he lets Jeremy go.

In the blink of an eye and clearly catching us all off guard, Justin balls up his fists and throws his hand back, before he swings with all his pent up rage hitting Jeremy square in the nose with a powerful blow. I watch in horror as Jeremy falls to the floor in pain, gripping his face as he cries and screams out profanities.

Seconds later, the door busts open and a swarm of nurses and security guards file in. Backing away from the chaos, I'm still holding my breath as I notice Drew, Trace, Yolanda and Dr. Lake rush in as well.

"What happened here?" Dr. Lake asks sternly while glaring at Jeremy who's still on the floor nursing his wound. I can see some blood dripping unto his plaid shirt and I'm thinking Justin may have broken his nose.

"That psycho hit me!" Jeremy chokes out through gasps.

Turning to face Justin, Drew gives him a disappointed look. "Justin I can't let that slide. Assault and battery is a serious offence." Drew explains but Malcolm protests.

"Leave him alone Drew." Malcolm demands and Drew just shrugs uncaringly doing as he's told. I hear Jeremy scream out a ‘what' but I'm not paying attention to him. Uh, ok?

Shaking his hand and rubbing at it gently, Justin refrains from making any eye contact or any sound for that matter as he slowly inches his way to the door.

"Nurses please attend to Mr. Rowland." Dr. Lake voices and they quickly follow her orders. "Now do I need to have security escort any of you out or is everything under control?"

"We're fine Doc." Malcolm assures, stretching out his limbs before scratching at his chest. I really do not like my brother right now for as much as I love him and would have taken his bullet for him. Dr. Lake lets out an exasperating sigh before she looks over at Jeremy contemplating on whether to attend to him or Malcolm first I'd assume. She finally gives in and moves over to Jer since he's being such a big whiny baby.

"What the fuck happened?" Trace finally decides to speak, since he was just staring at us dumbfounded from the moment he stepped foot back into the room.

"Nothing interesting." Malcolm smiles deviously and god, my brother is a freaking con artist! I guess since he couldn't do it himself he allowed Justin and Jeremy to ‘take a go at it'. Ugh!

"I'll say..." Justin mumbles, almost out the door.

"Ju wait!" I call out to him, brushing past Trace and Yolanda who are still at a lost for words. They're just standing there looking at everyone, trying to fathom what really went down. I don't blame them. I mean, Justin almost slit Jeremy's throat when he snapped.

"Don't Zara." He pushes me away when I try to touch him before he steps into the hallway under the blinding bright lights.

"But Justin..." I follow him out, shutting Malcolm's door behind me, tuning out all the chattering and questions.

"Just shut up Jahzara! I've heard enough lip from your brother for the both of you. I don't need to hear whatever sob story you're going to spit too." He lashes out venomously and I shut my eyes at his hurtful words. I guess I deserved that.

Inhaling deeply, I flutter my eyes open to stare into his crystal blues noting the coldness in them. I guess what Malcolm said really hurt him, but, he should know I don't feel that way anymore. I mean I told him I loved him for goodness sake. Doesn't that count at all?

"Ju..."

"Look berry, I don't want to hear it. Believe me when I say that I love you. And, I'm willing to fight the fucking world to be with you if anyone was to object about us being together. Because trust me when I say, if we were to go public with any type of relationship we build, your life and privacy is going to be ripped away from you. Now, with the progress we were making I honestly thought that you might be strong enough to withstand it, but..." Drifting off, he rubs his palms over his face and I can tell this is killing him inside, but, he has no idea how his words are destroying me right now. "Shit, just...give me a minute. I don't even know what the fuck I'm thinking right now. I just need some time to digest all of this." He admits - omitting the last part of his statement that I'm sure had something to do with us not being together.

"Please, I'm sorry I didn't..." I whimper when he growls harshly.

"Would you just shut the fuck up? Damn it! Just give me a fucking minute! Don't make me say shit I'll regret Zara because I swear, I'm this close to saying fuck everything!" Justin hisses with a scowl on his face as he tenses his muscles "Damn it Zara." He sighs when he looks at me, his gaze softening immensely. "I can't be here right now. I need some space to breathe. I need to think about this. I'll see you at work tomorrow. We'll talk then. Get Trace to bring you all home or back to his place." Justin rambles out, turning on his heel to leave and I'm still just standing there feeling slightly flabbergasted.

"Don't go." I whisper out, causing Justin to stop dead in his tracks with his back facing me.

"I. Can't. Stay..." He retorts crisply, never once turning to face me before he continues his journey down the hospital hallways disappearing into the many moving bodies...

And guess what? I'm still standing there on the verge of tears because I have no idea what's going through his mind right now.

It just isn't fair! "I can't do this. I can't do any of this...I can't handle it." I whimper while hugging myself before the door to Malcolm's room swings open revealing a perturbed Trace.

"Hey Zar-bear. Where's Jay?" Trace gingerly walks up to me, encircling his arms around my waist before he pulls me into his embrace. I think he knows the answer to his question but I'll entertain him.

"He's gone." I sigh as I feel my tears breaking through the surface threatening to spill down my cheeks. And they do. The moment I blink, they fall down to my lips, allowing me to taste their saltiness.

"He'll come around don't worry. But, we need you back in there. Jeremy insists on pressing charges but Malcolm isn't cooperating. You were the only other witness and Drew needs you to tell him what happened." Trace coos while skimming my back, clearly irritated with this whole dilemma.

"Ugh! Why doesn't Jeremy just drop dead?" I belt in frustration.

"Trust me when I say I wish the same thing. But, he seems to be convinced that you're still his and you will be when you realize what a mistake you made with Justin. I think he's insane. Just go in there and get Justin off the hook. I'm not sure what happened but I'm sure Jeremy deserved it." Trace snickers, causing me to giggle as well though I know I shouldn't.

"You're evil Tracey-poo." I muse as I pull away from our embrace to give him a weak smile.

"You'll be fine and Justin will come around. When you need to talk I'm here." He chimes and I nod my head in agreement before he escorts me towards the room.

"Hey Trace?"

"Yeah?" He looks at me expectantly and I can't help but smile brightly.

"I finally told Justin how I feel." I divulge.

"It was obvious with how he seemed so content and beaming the last two or so days." He shrugs and I just slap his arm playfully. "So have you two done the funky-monkey yet?" He wriggles his eyebrows at me and god, my heart is hurting but he's making me laugh. Trace really is a godsend.

"Oh my god, you're so nosy. That is none of your business."

Clicking his teeth together, Trace just eyes me before he busts into a large comical grin. "Yeah you guys did!" he says knowingly and I can't help but roll my eyes at him.

"Whatever." I blush despite myself.

"You're blushing." He whispers to me, swinging the door open and yanking my arm to pull me in with him.

"Shut up!" I belt, feeling slightly embarrassed and shy.

"Ha! Yeah, Justin has that effect on women."

"Ugh!" I scream out in annoyance, though, I'm glad Trace is trying to lighten the situation and make me feel better. He really is an amazing friend.

Not saying anything else, he drags me with him back into Malcolm's room. I really don't want to be here right now. I do not want to deal with the questions and lecture from my brother. I'd rather be with Justin wherever he disappeared to in his distraught state. God, I hope he's ok. I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out.

Still, I can't help but gaze down the busy hallway in the direction that Justin disappeared just moments earlier. Unfortunately, my vision is blocked off when I'm regretfully pulled into the hospital bedroom and the door slams shut behind us...