Chapter 17
Justin turned off his car and pressed a button on his rear-view mirror. The garage door responded and closed behind him. He smiled, amused by the neat little car feature. He opened his car door and stood up. Stretching his muscles, he yawned. He turned and looked at the girl knocked out in his car. He walked over to her side of the car and unbuckled her seatbelt. He picked her up, without even opening the door.
"mhhhnnn..." Meredith groaned and wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her head on his shoulder.
"Sorry." He whispered and kissed her forehead. She smiled weakly and sighed.
Justin took the keys that were in his hand, and blindly fiddled with them to get the right key in the lock. He WAS carrying a person and all. He entered his house and closed the door behind him.
He subcontiously pressed a button on the security panel. Something that he HAD to do, for his own safety.
Meredith was breathing heavily against Justin's shoulder as he walked up the steps. She had fallen back to sleep. Justin entered his bedroom and didn't bother turning on the light. He walked over to the comfy chair beside the window and set her down in it. She immediately awoke but slumped her shoulders. The moonlight coming through the windows casted and eerie and romantic glow on her back.
Justin walked to his closet and turned on the light. After a few moments the Florissant lights flashed on and he hung up his leather jacket. He kicked off his shoes as he unbuttoned his shiny shirt. He hung that up as well. His belt and pants followed and he turned off the light to the closet. He walked back into his bedroom and saw Meredith slumped over the chair, completely asleep. He snickered at her position. He knew it must have been uncomfortable. He picked up one foot and pulled off his sock and repeated with the other foot. He pulled his wifebeater over his head and tossed it on the floor.
Justin tossed the extra pillows of the bed on the floor, on the other side of his huge sleigh bed and pulled back the covers. He turned around and faced Meredith. She was somehow awake but her eyes were glassed over and droopy and they focused on nothing.
Justin walked over to her and offered his hands. When she didn't accept he pulled her up and forced her to stand on her feet. She let out a whimper and finally met Justin's intense eyes. She barely smiled.
He stepped behind her and pulled off her shoulder shirt. He unzipped her tube top and grinned when he thought of the events that had occurred earlier. He looked down at her skirt and searched for the zipper. He found it on the side and slid it down her hip. He unclasped the hidden hook and watched as the skirt fell to the floor.
He stepped back and looked at her. She was only in her black tube bra and underwear, and she still had on her shoes. She was so beautiful to him. He was thankful they were so tired, because if not, things would definitely get out of hand.
He pushed her towards the bed and sat her down on the edge. He kneeled down and fidgeted with the straps of her shoes. He finally removed both of them and slowly stood up in front of her. Justin towered over her and she looked up at him with tired eyes.
"Ready for bed?" Justin asked.
"Yeah..." Meredith dragged out. He sat down beside her and pushed himself back farther on the bed. He now sat behind her. Justin wrapped his arms around her and kissed her exposed shoulders making his way to her neck.
He mumbled against her skin, "I love you." She shuddered at his touch.
She unknowingly to him, smiled and whispered, "I love you in those gray boxer-briefs."
He opened his mouth in shock. Half because she said that and the other half because she actually was conscious.
"Come here, you little rascal." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back on the bed with him, while she let out a quiet squeal. He quickly grabbed the covers and pulled them up over both of them. Justin immediately returned his arms around Meredith who leaned her back against his chest. They both giggled at the sight of each other. They were completely covered by the sheets, except for their heads that stuck out and rested on the pillows.
"You know, I've been wanting to sleep in this bed, ever since I saw it." She mumbled.
"You know, I've wanted you to sleep in this bed, ever since I saw you." He giggled and nuzzled her neck. She rolled her eyes and turned around in his arms so she faced him. She looked at him adoringly and studied his face. She brought up a hand and touched his eyebrows, cheeks, nose, lips.
"I love you." She said pressing her forehead against his.
"And I love you." He softly touched his velvet lips against hers and let them linger there for a few moments before pulling away and pressing his body against hers.
"Goodnight, angel." Justin closed his eyes.
Meredith rested her head on his chest and looked at their intertwined fingers lying on his stomach. She smiled and whispered, "Goodnight, my J."
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"OH MY GOSH!"
"Shhhhhh" JC quieted Joey's surprised expression.
"Look at them. They are sleeping in the same bed in their underwear. I didn't think they would ever get to this point. I'm proud of our little curly boy." Joey said in a whispered tone from the doorway of Justin's bedroom.
"Joey, get your mind out of the gutter for once. I doubt they had sex." Just then, some one in the bed began to move and Joey and JC made a dash behind the Japanese screen in the corner of the bedroom.
Meredith stretched her arms above her head and yawned. When she realized where she was and how comfortable she was, she smiled like a kid and turned her head to look at the other person in the bed with her. She began to giggle at the sight of him.
Justin was sleeping on his side with one hand resting on the pillow. His mouth was slightly open and was drooling. A light snore came from deep within him and his curls...Oh his curls. They were shorter because of the hair cut. But they still were wild. Meredith tried to contain her laughter but it was no use. Shortly after she began laughing, Justin yawned and wiped his mouth before stretching. He brought his arms back down and reached for Meredith, but when she backed away he opened his eyes.
"Can't I get a kiss?" Justin asked in a groggy voice.
"I guess." Meredith leaned down and kissed him fully on the lips. They both pulled away and looked at each other.
At the same time they pointed to each other. "Morning breath."
"I don't have morning breath, you do!" Meredith said matter of factly.
"Oh pulease, everyone has morning breath. It IS morning." Meredith laughed at his attempt to be smart.
"You think that's funny. I'll show you what's funny..." Justin immediately began to tickle Meredith. She squirmed and giggled and tried to tell him to stop between laughter, but it was no use. Finally, she got some strength to stop him.
She pushed him off her and straddled his waist. She took his wrist and pinned them with her hands above his head. Her face hovered above his. He looked at her with a curious grin.
"My, my, my. Lately you've grown a thing for straddling me." Justin smiled a sexy smile.
Joey mouthed to JC. "Told ya!"
"Justin, last night was my first time I did that to you." Meredith grinned back closing the gap between his lips and hers.
JC looked at Joey, shocked.
Justin chuckled. "Yeahhhh, it was felt goooooood too. Didn't it?" He briefly kissed her mouth.
Meredith leaned back and released his hands. She started moving on his waist and singing.
"Ride it, Ride it, Ride it, Giddy Up!" They both laughed and Justin broke into another song as Meredith "rode" him.
"If you wanna fly
Come and take ride
Take a space ride
With the cowboy baby...
They both fell into a fit of giggles as Meredith lay down beside him and snuggled to his chest.
"I KNEW IT! How was it G? Was your first time screwin' good?" Joey yelled coming from behind the screen.
"JOEY!!" JC yelled, appearing also.
Meredith and Justin looked at the two impostors and then at each other. Justin winked and Meredith got the drift.
"Joey, he was soooooo amazing. OH my gosh, like, total king of sex right here." Meredith pointed to Justin as she looked at Joey. Joey did some dance as JC's mouth dropped open.
"Meredith, you didn't!!!" JC exclaimed almost upset.
"JC, we did. She was good too. REAL good." Justin started kissing her neck.
"Well, I'm pretty proud of them, what do you say C?" Joey patted JC's back.
JC mumbled, "I don't know."
"I'm proud of J here. 4 orgasm's in a row, Joey. 4!! He knows how to work his body the right way." Meredith looked at Justin who had snuck under the covers to muffle his laughter.
"Justin, my GOD!!! 4??? What were you trying to do? Wear her out the first time?" Joey asked astonished.
"What can I say?" Justin appeared from the covers. "She asked for it, and I gave it. She likes it rough, don't ya baby?" Justin and Meredith looked at each other, their faces were beginning to turn red from containing the laughter but they managed to just briefly kiss instead.
"OK, I can't take this anymore." JC covered his ears.
Meredith chuckled on Justin's lips and pulled away. "I cant take it either, haven't you guys learned anything from me and Justin??" Meredith laughed her heart out into Justin's chest.
"What?" They looked up confused.
"We are just kidding, guys. We didn't have sex. Meredith didn't have one single orgasm. She doesn't like it rough, well not that I know of. We just slept in the same bed, THAT'S ALL!" Justin shook his head almost ashamed that his friends had fallen for it again.
"I hate you guys..." Joey mumbled.
"Well, Chris and Dani, and Lance and Leslie, are going to be here in 30 to watch the game." JC said walking out of the room a little embarrassed with Joey in toe.
Once they left Meredith turned to Justin. "How did they get in here?"
"They know the security codes and if you know certain codes you can get in the house without a key. But I think I'm going to change them. Someday they might interrupt something."
"Like what?" Meredith asked eagerly.
"I don't know, you tell me Miss 4 Orgasm's. I might be good. But not THAT good. Don't get your hopes up Angel, I'd hate to disappoint you." Justin gave a sly grin.
"Save it for the 'bopper's J." She climbed out of bed and immediately when she stood up she fell back on the bed.
"This bed is WAY too comfortable."
"Yeah, its great to sleep in." Justin whispered in her ear, "Especially with you." He kissed her temple and ran to the bathroom.
"SHOWER FIRST!" HE yelled and laughed as Meredith groaned into the covers of the bed.
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“TOUCHDOWN!! That's 13 to 7 BABY!" Chris screamed.
Justin looked in shock at the TV. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
“AHH HAAA! GO PACKERS, GO PACKERS!" JC did a little dance from his seat on the couch.
Dani glared at Chris. "PACKER'S SUCK!" He gave her a sarcastic smile and turned to give JC a high five.
"YEAH, they just got lucky." Lance mumbled looking at his girlfriend.
Leslie kissed him and smirked. "NO, the Titan's are just pansies."
"Damn, look at them cheerleaders." Joey groaned at the TV.
"Oh gosh....." Meredith threw a pillow at Joey.
Justin's game room was packed with drinks and snacks, while the eager friends were split into teams. Dani, Lance, Justin, and Joey were pulling for the Tennessee Titans. Whereas Leslie, Meredith, JC, and Chris were rooting the Green Bay Packers. On one couch JC was still doing his dance. Beside him, Meredith snickered as Justin sulked in embarrassment and disappointment for his hometown team. In front of them, on the floor, Chris and Dani sat Indian style throwing back insults to each other about the other ones team. Lance and Leslie snuggled on the plush loveseat, not really caring much about the game. And Joey sat by himself, on the edge on a recliner, grinning at the Cheerleaders appearing on the screen. They cut to a commercial and Joey relaxed in the chair with a sigh.
"Could that pout stick out any further?" Meredith poked at her boyfriend's side.
"Actually, it can. This sucks!" Justin said in a huff, crossing his arms over his stomach.
Meredith got really close to his face. "It's almost half-time, sweetie. Anything can happen." She paused and he looked at her sweetly before leaning in for a kiss. "But.... the Packers are GOING to win." She pulled away before their lips touched.
Justin sat up and looked at her with a confident grin. "Wanna make a bet?"
"What kind of bet?" She inquired.
Justin smiled brightly. "If Titan's win, you have to do something for me; if Packers win, I do something for you."
"All right...but first; what will I have to do?" She lowered her voice in question.
Justin kissed her sweetly on the lips and gave her a sexy grin. "YOU will have to wear that skimpy bikini with ME in the shower."
"OH no...." Meredith sighed.
Justin reassured her, "But if Packers win...."
She thought for a while and a big smile came to her face. "If Packers win, that big sleigh bed is ALL mine, and ONLY mine, for one night. And in the morning, YOU will serve me breakfast in bed. NOT cereal. I'm talking, eggs, bacon, grits, the whole sha-bang!"
"All right. But what's the fun of my bed, if I'm not in it?"
"Grow up..." She groaned as Justin put his arm around her shoulders only to be jerked away when the Titan's ran 50 yards for a touchdown.
"Any body want anything to drink? We ran out I think." Meredith looked around the room.
"Yeah, get me a beer." Chris piped up.
Leslie stated. "Pepsi, for me please."
"Anyone else?" Meredith questioned and was answered by heads shaking back and forth.
Meredith stood up and stepped around the couch towards the door. A hand caught her wrist and she turned around to see Justin's face smiling up at her, upside down. He had his head leaning on the top of the couch's pillow.
"Hmm?" She questioned.
"Can you get me a kiss?" He said in a kid's tone.
Meredith shook her head and leaned closer to him. "But you'll miss the game."
Justin put his other hand at the back of her head and brought her closer to his face. "I don't care..."
When Meredith and Justin's lips met the rest of the world faded away. The screams for the Titans third touchdown yelled throughout the room. But both of them were oblivious. Justin's tongue glided slowly back into her mouth one more time before he removed his hand from the back of her head and she pulled away slightly, bringing his top lip with her.
"Wow..." He whispered against her lips.
"Yeah, we should kiss upside down more often." She smiled and gave him one last peck before pulling away and leaving the room.
"JUSTIN! Did you see that interception?" Joey plopped down into Meredith's empty seat and stared at Justin's dazed face.
"What?" He asked finally snapping out of it.
"The interception. The touchdown. IT WAS GREAT! WE ARE AHEAD!" Joey said ecstatic.
"Oh. Wow. I guess I was a little preoccupied." Justin stretched his head not caring about the game anymore.
"Yeah, he and Meredith were "talking"." Lance looked at Leslie and giggled.
Justin rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up. You and Les have been making out the whole game."
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Justin strolled into the kitchen, wondering what was taking Meredith so long. He saw her with her hands rested firmly on the counter and her arms stretched out. Her head was bowed and he was very curious as to what she was doing.
He walked up to her and put his arms around her. She jumped, then relaxed.
"What cha doin?" Justin rested his chin on her head.
"Thinking." She said without emotion. Justin noticed and pulled away. He turned her around and looked at her questionably.
"What's wrong?" He said full of concern.
Her eyes met him and they stared into each others soul for a few minutes before Meredith turned her head to the side and concentrated on the hardwood floor of the kitchen.
"Nothing.", she whispered.
Justin rolled his eyes. "Oh pulease, don't give me that. I KNOW when something is bothering you. You get this look in your eyes."
"Aren't you missing the game?" She turned around, changing the subject.
"It's half-time. And don't try to change the subject. What's...wrong?" He accented the last sentence clearly.
Her toned raised and almost shouted at him as she turned to face him. "I just have a lot on my mind, OK?"
Justin was a little offended. "Why don't you share it with me." Justin offered leaning on the counter across from her, and crossing his arms over his chest.
"I..ummm..nevermind..." She stuttered. He pushed himself off the counter and held her upper arms firmly. Justin bent down so they were eye level.
"TELL ME." He said sternly.
She sighed and looked into his eyes, finally giving in. "I don't deserve you."
"What?" Justin asked confused.
"I don't deserve you. I have never in my life done anything to deserve someone as perfect as you. It frightens me to know that you could have your choice of anyone you want and somehow you are here with me."
"First of all I am NOT perfect. We BOTH know that. And second, why am I with you? Maybe, I uhh, let me think. Oh yes, I know. Could it be because I love you?" Justin asked serious but with a joking manner.
"No Justin. You could do so much better than me. I know you probably just feel sorry for me because of Dan. And it is so wrong of me to expect you to really care about me when you have girls throwing themselves at you, every minute. I mean, you could have Britney Spears. You could have Jennifer Aniston. You could have Janet Jackson. You could have anyone you wanted. And you probably do..."
"YOU THINK I'M CHEATING ON YOU??" Justin screamed, utterly shocked.
"No, no. I just...I DONT KNOW JUSTIN. I just don't know!" A tear fell from her eye and Justin watched it as it ran to her chin and dripped on her shirt and was absorbed. He was more confused than he had ever been in his life.
"What is going on with you?" He whispered staring at the spot on her shirt that was quickly fading.
"I need time to think. Give me today. I'll call you tomorrow." She brushed past him and grabbed her keys off the hook in the kitchen. She walked to the door and looked back. He looked at her in complete shock. He had NO clue what her problem was. She shrugged and opened the door and closed it.
-What the HELL just happened!!!-
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Leslie parked her Honda Civic outside of Meredith's apartment and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. Noticing the security panel she pressed Meredith's apartment number to be entered in the building. After about 3 minutes and 15 pushes on the button, Meredith's voice still had not came over the intercom. Leslie looked around and checked again to see if Meredith's car was there, and saw it parked in its usual place. She figured her and Justin went to do something, but she was going to call and make sure.
"Meredith?" Justin's voice asked hopefully.
Leslie chuckled. "No, Justin. It's Leslie. She not with you?"
"No she's not. She promised me she would call today and she hasn't. Leslie she REALLY confused me yesterday. I was just about to go over and check on her." She could tell he was worried.
"Beat ya to it, buddy. Her and me were going to hit the after Christmas sales and she told me to either call or just come over. I tried calling but never got to her, so here I am."
"Oh. Good. So she is OK?" He asked sighing.
Leslie laughed a bit. "No Justin. I'm STUCK out of her apartment building. She won't answer the intercom."
"The code is 82649. I'm worried about her. This is not like her. Get up there, now!" HE demanded.
She rolled her eyes and walked into the apartment building. "Yes sir. So, what did she say yesterday again? She didn't deserve you?"
"Yeah, it was SO weird. She has NEVER been like that before."
"OK, so I'm knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell. There is no answer." Leslie made sure she was at the right door by looking at the number beside the doorway again.
She heard something slam on the other end and figured it was Justin's fist. "Dammit."
"Calm down Justin." Leslie said softly
"I CANT!! My girlfriend is missing and I'm SORRY that that bothers me! ARRGGGHH." He let out a cry of frustration.
"I know I know! I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?"
Justin thought for a while and got an idea. "Go to apartment 203. Ms. Grenard is Meredith neighbor and she has a spare key. Tell her you are talking to me. If she doesn't believe you, but she probably will, just give her the phone, and let me talk to her."
He was talking at about 100 words per second and Leslie was going to make a smart comment to him, but decided against it since he was already riled up.
Leslie walked the short distance. "OK, knocking now."
A few moments later a short elderly woman opened the door and smiled. "Yes?"
"Hi, I'm Leslie, one of Meredith's friends. And she is not answering her door. I have Justin on the phone here. He said you have a spare key."
Ms. Grenard nodded. "Oh sure, honey. Let me go get it. Tell Justin I said hello." She went into another room to get the key.
"She says hello." Leslie chuckled into the phone but stopped when she noticed Justin was not laughing.
Ms. Grenard re-appeared and handed her the key. "Here you are."
"Thank you so much!" Leslie smiled brightly and walked back to Meredith's door.
Ms. Grenard smiled and closed her door. "Sure thing."
"So..." Justin dragged out, impatiently.
"So, hold your horses. I gotta get the key in the lock, boy." A few moments later Justin heard a horrified gasped in his ear.
He asked confused. "Les?"
"Leslie?" He said more firmly and worried.
After a few moments of pure silence and torture, Leslie's voice demanded over the phone line.
"Justin get over here NOW!"
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Justin sprinted up to the building and frantically pressed the security code. He entered the building, and ran up the stairs. It usually took 15 to 20 minutes from his house to hers, but he had managed to go about 90mph in a 65.
He got to her door and didn't even bother knocking. Justin swung the door open; Leslie had left it unlocked.
He stopped abruptly.
Shattered glass was everywhere on the hardwood floor of her living room. Smashed picture frames were strewn about the room. Pictures that were torned and burned covered the place. His eyes searched the room. When the door shut behind him, he jumped in freight. Something glimmered in the light and he bent down to the floor to pick up a rather large piece of glass. He noticed a picture beside it. It was one of two small children not any older than 8. He recognized Meredith, but not the other kid. He studied the young boy's hair and smile. He knew.
It was Dan.
He scanned the other pictures he could see. Most of them that were torn and burn, in fact all of the pictures, were of Dan.
He rested his eyes on the jagged glass in his hand and noticed something on it. Something Red. His eyed got big as he notice a drop of blood on the floor in front of him. A few feet away was another one.
He stood up and followed the trail, until he hit the white carpeted floor of the hallway that led to her bedroom. He noticed about 5 splotches on blood that stood out like an elephant in a crowd on the carpet. He was scared before. But now, he was terrified.
"Meredith?? Leslie??" He said weakly but loud.
"In here." Leslie's voice called from Meredith's bedroom.
He slowly walked to the doorway not wanting to see what or who was in there. He stopped in front of the doorway and only after about a minute did he get enough courage to turn and see.
When he did, his breathing stopped. His heart stopped. He stopped.
Meredith sat in the corner of her dark room that was getting darker as the evening approached. She had on sweatpants and a sports bra. Her hair was stringy and looked like a giant knot. Her arms had bruises and scrapes on them. Her knees were pulled up against her and she was rocking herself back and forth. She was humming to herself, but he didn't know the tune. Her head was buried into her knees and he couldn't see her face. He was glad for that, because he was scared as to what expression it might hold. In her hand he saw a photo. She was clutching it, as if it were her last breath.
Something was terribly wrong.
Leslie pushed herself off Meredith's bed and walked over to Justin, who was still not breathing and was starring at Meredith's shadowy figure.
"I came in and there she was. I tried talking but she just kept humming, over and over again. I tried to touch her but she pulled away from me. I didn't know what to do, so..." Leslie stopped not knowing what else to say.
Justin caught his breath finally and exhaled loudly. He had to be strong. "Thanks Leslie. Can you leave us alone for a while?"
"Sure, I'll go clean up the mess outside." Leslie tried to give a reassuring smile, but it never came. She left the room and closed the door quietly behind her.
Justin walked carefully over to Meredith and looked down at her rocking form. He knelt down in front of her and gently touched her arm.
"Meredith.." He whispered. She backed away from his touch and stopped rocking. She looked up at him and Justin wasn't prepared to see her face. Her face was white, ghostly white. Salty tears soaked her cheeks and her eyes were glassy and blood-shot.
He touched her face and wiped away the wetness, but this only caused more tears to come. She tried to pull away but he got closer and laid a firm hand on her shoulder. She finally gave in.
But not the giving in that Justin hoped for.
She pinned him on the ground with her body and roughly forced her mouth onto his. He didn't protest at first, but then her hand started unbuckling his pants. She broke from the kiss and concentrated on his beltbuckle and fly of his jeans. Justin grabbed her wrist and shook his head.
"What are you doing" He whispered softly.
"Don't you want this?" She asked scared. He noticed and tilted his head to her and gave her a confused expression. He was about to speak but she started fidgeting with her trembling hands and mumbling.
"I have to give you what you want. I have to. You might die if I don't. I have to. I have to. You might die. You want this, I have to do what you want or you might die. You can't die. I need you, Dan. You can't die." Her breath was deep and staggered.
Justin placed his hands around hers to stop their trembling and brought them to his mouth. He kissed them softly and whispered.
"I'm not Dan. It's J, Meredith. It's Justin. Your Angel, remember?" He looked at her with wide eyes trying to get her to look at him.
Slowly her head moved upward. Her eyes finally met his and one fat tear ran down her cheek. He took his hand and cupped the side of her face, wiping the tear away with his thumb.
"Justin?" She asked in a child-like voice, but one that was filled with pain.
"Yeah, it's me." He smiled at her and she began sobbing uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and she rested her head on his chest and grabbed the front of his shirt, twisting it in her anger, hurt, pain, and love. After a few moments Justin could feel the wetness penetrate through his shirt, undershirt, and onto his skin. She must have been crying a flood to make that happen.
He ran his hand up and down her back, trying to calm her. He rocked their bodies back and forth in a peaceful manner, but she kept sobbing. Finally he resorted to the thing he knew best.
Singing.
"When the vision around you
Bring tears to your eyes
And all that surrounds you
Are secrets and lies
I'll be your strength
I'll give you hope
Keeping you faith when it's gone
The one you should call
Was standing here all along
And I will take you in my arms
And hold you right where you belong
Till the day my life is through
This I promise you
This I promise you….
When he finished he noticed Meredith wasn't sobbing anymore and her hands weren't clutching his shirt. Slowly she brought her hands up and put her arms around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.
"That was beautiful, you're beautiful."
"So are you."
