The Broken Road Series by jaimielh
Summary: JC & Kelly (Clarkson) are both strangers walking the broken road of heartache on their own. Will they ever find their way to happiness?
Rating: PG-13
Categories: Short Stories
Characters: JC Chasez
Genres: Drama, Romance, Alternate Universe
Warnings: adult language
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 12/06/04
Updated: 12/06/04
The Broken Road Series by jaimielh
Chapter 1: Part One: Kelly's Story
Author's Notes: Kelly watched him from across the room as he danced and kissed someone else. His hands that knew every inch of her body were now getting to know another’s pretty well as they moved on the dance floor. It had only been three weeks since Kelly threw him out of the apartment they had shared for the last eight months. She should be devastated to see him with someone else, but seeing him out on that dance floor only made her more sure of her decision. Her mind began to wander to the events that happened their last few weeks together.
What you see's not what you get
With you, there's just no measurement
No way to tell what's real from what isn't there
Your eyes, they sparkled
That’s all changed into lies
That drop like acid rain
You washed away the best of me
You don't care
~*~*~*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was their eight month anniversary. Kelly decided to go all out for the occasion. She spent almost all of her tip money for the week on a brand new little black dress she was sure would drive him crazy. Their apartment was covered with candles, the scent of vanilla filling the air. She’d even ordered dinner from his favorite Italian restaurant. Everything was perfect. Kelly was sure a night of romance was just what they needed to get their relationships back on track. She’d noticed over the last couple of months that Justin seemed to be pulling away from her, spending more and more time at the office instead of quality time at home with her. She tried to be the understanding girlfriend and not worry about him, but deep down something was telling her something was terribly wrong. Kelly tried to shake it off, but those thoughts were always there, lurking in the back of her mind. She’d just finished lighting the last of the candles when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey Kel, it’s me.”
“What are you calling me for? I was expecting you to walk through the door in like five minutes.”
“That’s the thing, Kel. I have to pull an all nighter here at the office.”
“Justin Guarini, you better get your skinny butt home tonight! I mean it.”
“I’m sorry babe, but it can’t be helped. I’ve got to do some major number crunching for one of my clients.”
“Justin,” tears began to blur her vision. “I had plans for us tonight.”
“I really wish I could be there with you. Maybe we can do it tomorrow night,” he offered lamely. Kelly rolled her eyes in annoyance even though he wasn’t there to see her.
“You don’t even know do you?”
“Know what?”
“Nothing,” she whispered. “Talk to you later.”
“Alright, love you.”
“Yeah, you too” she began when she heard a click on the other end of the line. She set the phone down and looked around the room she had set so perfectly. She began to blow out the candles with a heavy heart. Kelly was really hoping tonight would be just what they needed, but more and more it felt as thought Justin didn’t want to get their relationship back to what it used to be. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. If he wasn’t coming home, she’d just bring their dinner to him. She quickly packed up the food and a bottle of wine and headed off to Justin’s office. Half an hour and two subway trains later, she was at his office. She rode the elevator up to the 23rd floor and made her way towards his office. On her way there, she was distracted by movement in the conference room. The lights were off, but you could see two shadows moving together. Kelly couldn’t believe her eyes; in fact, she almost laughed out loud. She began to back away from the door when she heard someone speak.
“Judy…” he moaned aloud. Kelly froze in her tracks. It was Justin’s voice. Her shock quickly melted away and was replaced by anger. She quickly flipped on the lights, surprising Justin and the woman he was with.
“Oops, I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?”
“Kelly!” Justin exclaimed, his face bright red. “I can explain.”
“Go ahead Justin. Tell me why you were screwing someone else. I thought I was your girlfriend.”
“You are.”
“Wrong! I USED to be your girlfriend. You’re a good for nothing son of a bitch. Don’t bother coming home tonight,” Kelly began to walk out of the room. Justin scrambled to pull his clothes back on, forgetting the woman on the table.
“Wait, Kelly please.”
“What for? For you to come up with a good reason for you fucking someone else on our eight month anniversary. You know, I should have known something was going on. How long Justin? How long have you been cheating on me? Was I not good enough for you? What? What was it?!” She was yelling by the time she finished.
“I don’t know why. It just happened about two months ago. After it started, I didn’t know how to stop it. I guess part of me really didn’t want to stop it. It’s not that I don’t love you, Kelly because I do.”
“That’s supposed to make it all better?”
“No. I know it doesn’t make it any better. I just…can’t we talk about it. Does it have to be over?”
“Why would I want to stay with someone who I’m not enough for?” She looked over towards the woman who was still sitting on top of the table, her blouse wrapped around her small frame, her eyes wide in shock. Kelly set the bag of food and the bottle of wine on the table, “Here you go. You can both enjoy this. He usually gets hungry after…oh, but you know that already I’m sure.” Kelly turned to leave once more, but Justin grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Wait..” she quickly whirled around and slapped him so hard he stumbled back.
“Fuck you!” was all she said as she turned and walked away from him again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*End Flashback*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You know you did it
I'm gone
To find someone to live for in this world
There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight
Just a bridge that I gotta burn
You are wrong
If you think you can walk right through my door
That is just so you
Coming back when I've finally moved on
I'm already gone
Sometimes shattered, never open
Nothing matters when you're broken
That was me, whenever I was with you Always ending, always over
Back and forth, up and down, like a roller coaster
I am breaking that habit today
You know you did it
I'm gone
To find someone to live for in this world
There is no light at the end of the tunnel tonight
Just a bridge that I gotta burn
You are wrong
If you think you can walk right through my door
That is just so you
Coming back when I've finally moved on
I'm already gone
Once Kelly pulled herself from her thoughts, she said goodnight to her girlfriends and headed back to the apartment she now lived in alone. It was hard to get used to sleeping alone at first, but after the first week, things started to get a little easier.
After taking a quick shower, Kelly grabbed a blanket and settled down in her big armchair with a book. Not half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. She looked at the clock and it read 12am. She had no clue who would be stopping by at that hour. When she answered the door, she was surprised to see Justin standing there.
“Justin…what are you doing here?”
“I needed to talk to you. I saw you tonight at the club.”
“Yeah, I saw you too. I wasn’t sure if you saw me or not since you had your tongue jammed down that girl’s throat most of the time,” she bit back sarcastically. Justin looked down at his hands for a moment, then looked back up at her with his big brown eyes full of sorrow.
“I am so sorry Kelly, for everything I put you through. You didn’t deserve what I did to you.”
Kelly fought the emotions that were stirring inside of her. Part of her wanted to forgive him and let him come back, but the other part of her knew if she did it would be a mistake. “Is that all?” she whispered, her face blank.
“Well, I was hoping you’d be willing to give us another chance. I love you Kel, and I miss us.”
“You should have thought about that before you decided to sleep with someone else.”
“I know I made a mistake, but can’t be get through this?”
“We might be able to if I was willing to forgive you for what you did, but I can’t Justin. It’s just not in me to. You hurt me so badly, so bad that I thought I’d never want to fall in love again. But you know what, I’m not going to let you make me a bitter and cynical woman. I’m not going to give you that much power over me. I did love you, but I’m moving on to someone who will love me as much as I love them. When I find him, I know he won’t need anyone else but me to make him happy. I’d always be wondering if I was with you.”
Justin slowly nodded, finally understanding that things were really over between them. “If that’s the way you want it, I won’t try to change your mind anymore. Good luck Kelly. Whoever you do find will be a very lucky man.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. Kelly had to bite back her tears.
“Thanks. Despite everything, I hope you finally find what you are looking for.” He gave her a sad smile, then walked away for the last time. Kelly shut the door and leaned back against it with a heavy heart. It was so hard for her to finally shut the door on her past with Justin, but deep inside she knew it was opening the door to her future.
There is nothing you can say
Sorry doesn't cut it babe
Take the hit and walk away
Cause I'm gone
Doesn’t matter what you do
It’s what you did that's hurting you
All I needed was the truth
Now I'm gone
What you see's not what you get
What you see's not what you get
You know you did it
I'm gone
To find someone to live for in this world
There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight
Just a bridge that I gotta burn
You are wrong
If you think you can walk right through my door
That's just so you
Coming back when I've finally moved on
I'm already gone
I'm already gone
Ooh, I'm already gone
Already gone
I'm gone
Song Credit: "Gone" by: Kelly Clarkson from her album "Breakaway"
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
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