Chapter 17
A few hours had passed in the country town, and Justin took Tessa out for a walk around the property while Paul started dinner. Justin walked with Sandy rushing ahead of them, and Tessa close by his side.
She had on a warm jacket, and had her hands stuffed in her pockets to keep warm, as Justin walked beside her in his jacket and beanie. Tessa watched him, as he tossed a stick at Sandy who would retrieve it then bring it back for him.
“How come you never told me about your mom?” Tessa asked suddenly.
Justin stopped walking, and turned to look at Tessa. She looked into his eyes and froze; maybe she shouldn’t have said that.
“You never asked” Justin said simply and started to walk again.
Tessa followed him, trying her best to keep up with his long strides.
“So I’m asking now” she said, her breath turning to smoke as she hurried after him.
Justin looked out across the land, as Sandy came rushing towards him with a stick in her mouth. Justin smiled, and took it once more tossing it.
“My mom was my best friend” Justin said, “It had just been me and her before Paul, and I knew she would always be there for me when I needed her and I vowed to her that I would be there for her when she needed me”
Tessa watched him, she could see the tears on the edge of his eyes, his cheeks were starting to turn red and she didn’t know if it was from the cold or his emotions.
“My last employer was the Mayor” Justin said “My mom had been sick with cancer for a long time, she hid it from me for a while before I finally got her to admit it” He rubbed his hands together trying to keep them warm “And one night I got a call from Paul, telling me she wouldn’t last much longer and I needed to come see her”
Tessa watched him, and felt bad for the way she had treated him this whole time.
“It had been a quiet night when my dad called and the Mayor said I could head out, and reassured me he would be alright, so I did” he sniffled “I was there with my mom when she passed away in the comfort of her home with Paul and I, a few hours after I got there”
Justin had stopped walking, and went over to sit down on a log that wasn’t covered in snow. He sat down with a sigh, and put his head in his hands. He hadn’t ever told anyone this whole story and it felt good to get off his chest. Tessa went and sat down next to him, and rubbed his back gently.
“When I headed back to the Mayors,” he sighed “He had been killed, the whole house was dark and I walked through and everyone was dead”
He looked out over the land once again.
“The only thing I could think about was if I were there, would they still be alive or would I have died too”
With that Tessa heard him whimper, and he started to shake and she knew he was starting to cry. She sighed and snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder trying to calm him down as she continued to rub his back.
They didn’t know how long they had sat there, but when Justin got a hold of himself he looked up and saw the sun was beginning to go down and he knew they had better head back. He pulled himself together and wiped his face before looking at her.
“C’mon we better head back” he said and stood up.
Tessa watched him, as he whistled to Sandy who came trotting over. He looked down at Tessa again and held out his hand. She smiled and took it standing and they headed back towards the cabin to have warm home cooked meal.
~*~
The night went on like Justin hadn’t just spilled his guts to Tessa. When they got back to the house Justin went right to work helping Paul with the rest of dinner. Tessa went into her room to get a sweat shirt, and did a little looking around the house.
It was just like anyone else’s; there were family photos on the hall way walls, framed drawings that were from Justin when he was little. She smiled as she ran a finger over the glass of one of the drawings. It must have been a drawing of his mother, and himself in crayons and stick figures. She smiled.
She almost screamed when she heard Justin’s voice.
“Hey…you alright?” he asked
She gasped and looked at him, her eyes big “Geezish, you scared me” she sighed.
He smiled “Sorry, I thought you got lost” he replied.
“No” she said, “Jus lookin at some art work”
He looked at the picture she was looking at as he stood beside her. He smiled and looked at her.
“Gosh, I really should tell my dad to take these down” he replied, his cheeks turning red
“No, they’re cute” she giggled
He rolled his eyes “Come on, dinner’s almost ready” he said and grabbed her hand.
Tessa followed Justin, as he walked her down the hallway back to the kitchen. She sat down on one of the stools watching Justin and Paul banter as they made dinner. She couldn’t help but giggle; he was a totally different person when he was with his family. It was kind of scary.
Sandy was dancing around their feet trying to catch anything that fell on the floor. Finally after Justin almost fell over her, he nudged her with his foot.
“Sandy! go” Justin said, and nodded his head towards Tessa “Go play with Tessa”
Sandy looked up at him, panting her tail wagging. She turned and looked at Tessa as she sat there and Tessa smiled and got down on her knees.
“C’mer Sandy” she replied
Sandy then rushed over towards her excitedly. Justin smiled as he watched Tessa play with Sandy. Paul was watching his son, and nudged him. Justin looked at his dad.
“What?” he asked
Paul grinned “You like her don’t you?” he asked
Justin rolled his eyes “Dad” he said annoyed
Paul laughed “What? There’s no shame in it” he replied “She’s a beautiful young lady”
Justin looked at Tessa as she giggled loudly and played with Sandy on the floor.
“She’s my client” he replied, using the same excuse he’d been using “Nothing can happen”
“It shouldn’t happen” Paul replied “Doesn’t mean it won’t” he winked
Justin sighed and went back to his task at hand, keeping in mind what he dad had said.
Oh if he only knew.
~*~
About an hour later, the three of them sat down for dinner which consisted of homemade spaghetti sauce, angel hair pasta, garlic bread, and freshly brewed iced tea. Justin and Paul had a beer, which was a change from Justin’s usual glass of orange juice. Tessa sat and nibbled on her food, as Paul and Justin ate there’s.
Tessa looked over at Justin and almost busted out laughing when she saw how he was wolfing down his food like he hadn’t eaten in days. Paul looked up and noticed Tessa staring at him, and he glanced and Justin and noticed the way he was eating and shook his head.
“You want to chew bud?” Paul said, with a smirk
Justin stopped eating and looked up at the two pairs of eyes watching him. His cheeks turned a shade of pink, as he took his napkin and whipped his mouth with it. He coughed nervously and took a drink of his orange juice
. Tessa went back to her meal, as did Paul who was watching the two closely. There was a connection there, and he didn’t know how Justin couldn’t see it. Maybe he had to push it along. They continued their meal with little chatter about the day’s events, and Justin and Paul continued to catch up on what was going on in the small town and around the house.
Dinner was done an hour later, and Tessa got up to help with the dishes but Paul insisted he would do them, alone, with no help, not even from Justin. So Tessa and Justin went into the living room to get warm by the fire place and watch a little TV.
Tessa stole a glance out of the corner of her eye every chance that she got, but Justin either wasn‘t paying attention or he was just totally oblivious. He was so handsome, and mysterious, it made her crazy.
Flashbacks of the first time they were together ran through her mind, as she leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. Images of Justin’s fit body moving above her as he worked them into ecstasy in the small patrol room on her property.
She didn’t realize she was making any noises until she felt Justin tap her shoulder, and her eyes popped open quickly.
“You okay?” he asked, his eyes filled with concern
It took Tessa a minute to realize where she was, and she blinked a few times before looking at him. She could feel the heat on her cheeks and knew she was blushing. She sunk lower in the couch, and crossed her arms over her chest hoping to magically disappear.
Tessa didn’t say anything; she just bit her lip and looked at the TV. Justin laughed at himself, and started to change the channel on the TV. Tessa was grateful that he didn’t push the issue anymore.
Justin was changing the channel when MTV came on, it was MTV News and the guy was talking about the past weekend in Miami with concert Tessa just threw. Her eyes lifted to the screen when she heard her name.
‘Tessa Johnson is apparently staying out of sight until the Grammy’s in a week. Rumor has it that she got a threatening phone call in her hotel room during her last night in Miami. She was whisked away from making any comments on the way out of the hotel, the next morning. Her agent was unavailable for comment’
Tessa groaned and covered her eyes with her hands, and Justin glanced at her.
“You’ll be fine” he replied “It’s a minor tidbit, I’ll call up Brandon and he’ll get it cleared up”
Tessa looked at him, tears were starting to well in her eyes “You think he’ll be at the Grammy’s?” she asked
Justin looked back at her “Who? Your stalker?”
Tessa nodded nervously, the tears fell from her eyes as he brought her thumb to her mouth and started to bit on the nail like she usually did when she was scared or nervous. Justin put the remote down and scooted himself closer to her, opening his arms and she fell into them hugging him tightly.
He knew she just needed someone to hold her. She really was still a little girl; she was just thrown out into the world sooner then most. Justin hugged her close, rubbing her back as they sat there on the couch.
“I’m going to be there ok?” he asked, “So will Joey and Brandon”
Tessa sniffled, and laid her head on his shoulder. Justin sat there with her for a minute, trying to calm her down. Tessa finally got herself together, and she sat up and rubbed the tears from her eyes and sniffled.
“Sorry” she said,
Justin looked at her, and moved the hair from her face. Tessa looked into his icy blue eyes, ready to just fall into them once again.
“I’m going to check that place over and over again before you even make it there, I’ll be there to escort you in, inside the arena, and back out again ok?” he asked, trying to say anything to make her feel better.
She nodded and sighed “Thank you” she said
Justin semi smiled, and held her hand tightly.
“C’mon, I think you need to sleep” he said, standing up pulling her to her feet.
Tessa got up, following Justin as he made his way up the stairs with Tessa behind him. Paul was watching them from the doorway, he had kept himself hidden, but he watched them all the same.
They had something, and he couldn’t understand why they couldn’t see it. He knew that Justin had been hurt before, and that things happened in his past that was preventing him from making any kind of move towards Tessa, but he also noticed how comfortable they were with each other. How trusting she was towards him, she could trust him with her life.
He shook his head, and walked into the living room after they left and shut off the TV and lights, then headed down the hall way where his bedroom was. Justin walked with Tessa down the long hall way of the up stairs, to the last door to the right. He opened it first, turning on the light and walked inside checking the closet, connecting bathroom, and windows.
Tessa stood outside, watching him through the doorway. She knew it was his job to protect her, but sometimes it felt like he went above and beyond for her. She knew that they had a connection; she had never felt anything like that before. When she was with him, she just felt totally safe. Justin ushered her into the room, and was about to walk out when she grabbed his arm.
“Justin…” she said
He turned and looked at her,
She gulped “Can you um, wait until I fall asleep?” she asked
Justin sighed and nodded, “Go change into some PJs” he said
Tessa semi smiled and went towards her dresser and grabbed some sweats and a big shirt and walked into the bathroom. She changed quickly while Justin pulled down her covers in her bed. A minute later, she came out of the bathroom with her hair up, and PJs on. She climbed into bed, snuggling into the covers and Justin leaned over and pulled the covers over her tightly.
“We’ll do something fun tomorrow ok?” Justin said as he pulled up a chair next to the bed.
Tessa nodded, pulling the covers up to her chin watching him, her eyes getting droopy.
“Like what?” she asked, yawning
He watched her, “I don’t know, we’ll go into town and explore” he said
“Is that ok?” she asked,
He nodded “People up here are different” he explained “No one will notice”
She nodded, and snuggled her face under the covers, her eyes closing finally. Justin sat back in his chair watching her, he saw how her face totally relaxed, and she sighed contently.
He waited a few minutes before he got up and walked down the hall way checking all the rooms out before he went into his room that was right by the stairs. He was actually tired; usually he couldn’t sleep to save his life. But tonight, he would be able to get some sleep. He stripped down to his boxer briefs and got into the covers, setting his alarm for the morning.
Chapter End Notes:
*&*Traci*&*
Comments?? Questions?? E-mail me at Spacey1141@hotmail.com
Comments?? Questions?? E-mail me at Spacey1141@hotmail.com
Story Tags: justin joey
