Justin walked with purposeful strides; long and quick. His mother walked silently beside him, hoping that the hard look on his face would soften. When Justin had that look…he was impossible to rationalize with. If something happened in this meeting and Justin was set off….there was no telling what would come of it.
They reached the conference room in record time and Justin went in without knocking. Dave was seated at a table were some food was set on a platter at the end of the table. Dave looked up at the two and smiled as kindly as possible.
“Good morning Justin, Mrs. Harless.” He motioned for them to sit and both took a chair. “Now I understand you have some things you need to say to me?”
Lynn glanced at her son and knew he wasn’t going to say anything first, so she cleared her throat and decided to get him an opening. Why she was getting nervous she had no idea.
Justin watched as his mother started to speak, and he felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Just seeing the man made him want to lose any food he had consumed recently, and he was thankful that she started talking first because he was afraid of what would come out of his mouth.
“So Mr. Timberlake, it seems to me that you’ve been spying?” A sneer was placed upon Dave’s face and Justin thought that he looked oddly similar to a sick dog.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Mr. Malloy. I didn’t like some of the things that you have said and done to Jamie, so I hired someone to look into your past. Take that as you will. I was given no information and I wasn’t going to use that information. I just wanted to know who was running my tour.”
Dave sat back in his chair and stared at Justin with a mixture of contempt and excitement. The boy had made this too easy.
“And you’re telling me this because…?”
“Well, my mother found out and she didn’t like the idea. So I called the investigator off and I’m here to apologize. Pardon me, Sir…for not liking you.” The statement was said with more sarcasm and malice than anyone had ever heard from Justin; and Lynn wondered what it was about this man that had left such a bad taste in her son’s mouth.
“What I think my son is trying to say is that he’s sorry, and we hope you can forgive him.”
“I see…and where is Jamie?” Dave watched as Justin’s eyes darkened and he sat up straighter.
“She’s not part of this, and you will leave her alone.”
“Oh…you see, that’s where you’re wrong because she’s just as much a part of this as you are. She is the reason you hired someone to watch me and dig into my past, and how am I to know that you two weren’t in this together?”
“Because I said so and I’m telling you to leave her out of this.” The anger was rising in Justin and he was afraid of the confident look that had grown in Dave’s eyes.
“I will do better than that, my boy. I will take Jamie out of this equation entirely.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Justin was now sitting forward in the chair, his knuckles white from clenching the arm rests. Lynn threw him a worried glance and tried to push him back into the seat.
“Justin, calm down please…” This whole situation was starting to worry her and she wondered just what she had gotten into.
“I mean I no longer want Jamie on this tour. The two of you together are a threat to me and I refuse to work under such conditions. Also…it’s become apparent that she’s affecting your performance and attitude.”
Justin eyes blazed with anger and Lynn sat back shocked. She knew Justin had a distaste for this man, but she had never seen such hatred on her son’s face before and the words coming out of Dave’s mouth were only making that worse.
“I have gotten reports that you are spending less time with your band mates, you’ve become moody, and you’re not performing as well as you should be. I think it’s a good idea for Jamie to be off of this tour.”
“You can’t do that! You ASSHOLE! You can’t take her off of this tour! THIS IS MY TOUR!!!!” Justin had stood so quickly that the chair had fallen over and skidded a few feet across the floor. Greg, a bodyguard that had been outside the door was now at Justin’s side holding him back from moving.
“She leaves this tour or I press charges. It’s that simple. She has until tomorrow night to be gone, or you can say bye-bye through steel bars.”
“Oh please! You really think you have charges to press? What, prying? Anything you throw at me won’t stick.”
Dave actually laughed at that and the sick smile grew back onto his face.
“Do you want to try me? Little boy, I have more experience in law than you could imagine and I won’t hesitate to bring you down. I get paid regardless of you being on stage or in jail…so go ahead Pop star…do your best.” He folded his hands behind his head and watched as Justin seethed in anger.
Lynn had stepped out of the room a few moments after Justin had stood from the chair. She couldn’t listen anymore, and she couldn’t stand to see the look on her son’s face without wanting to do something herself.
A few moments later it became eerily silent, and just as she was about to go back into the room the door burst open and Justin came stalking out.
“Justin! Justin…wait…” He stopped and turned sharply.
“Mom…please. I know why you did what you did…but I’m not rational right now. I really don’t want to say something I’ll regret. I need to cool off.” He gave her a stiff kiss on the cheek and then continued down the hallway.
Lynn stood there and watched his retreating form. She didn’t know the last part of the conversation, but she knew that something bad had happened and she had been a partial cause. Turning she walked back into the conference room.
“Excuse me Sir…but I would like to know who gave you the right to treat my son like that?” Dave looked up from his papers and plastered on a sticky sweet smile.
“Why, Mrs. Harless…what do you mean?”
“You’re taking away one of the best things that has ever happened to him.”
“Well…it was you that wanted me to know of the investigator, I just took the action I thought best. I really don’t feel safe with the two of them to conspire against me, especially since I’ll be spending the remainder of the tour on the road.”
Lynn watched him and got a queer feeling about him.
“What are you trying to prove?” He laughed and Lynn didn’t need a cue to shudder.
“It’s simple really. I’m showing two children that I can’t be messed with. I run this tour Mrs. Harless, and your son doesn’t seem to like that idea. I’m just proving the point that I’m going to be here weather he wants me or not.”
She stood there and watched as the satisfaction of his feat danced across his features and she wanted to slap the smile off of his face. Instead of saying what was on her mind she left to cool off herself.
Justin had been working out in the hotel’s gym for over and hour when Jamie found him. He looked sweaty and exhausted, but the anger hadn’t lessened in his eyes. In fact, he had spent most of his work out thinking about how he was going to tell Jamie that she had to leave him and the thought only made him angrier.
He was in the middle of taking on the punching bag when Jamie sat down on the abs machine next to him.
“The meeting went that well, huh?” Justin stopped and looked at her and tried to force a smile, but it just wouldn’t happen.
“I never thought I was capable of hating people, but that man makes my skin crawl.” He made his way over to her and kissed her lightly. She wrinkled her nose at him.
“You’re all sweaty.” He laughed, but it was a bitter and ugly sound. “What happened Justin?”
Justin turned to look at Jamie and his heart broke. He wasn’t going to be able to do this. She was having a hard enough time dealing with her father’s death, he didn’t need to be sending her back to Orlando alone.
“Can we go upstairs so I can take a shower first? I promise to tell you all about it…I just need to clean up and relax.” Jamie nodded and took his hand as they made their way to the elevator.
“Whatever it is Justin, it can’t be that bad. I mean…I know the guy is the scum of the Earth, but we’ll make it through whatever he has to throw at us.” She squeezed his hand and he looked down at her with a weak smile.
“I hope you’re right James.”
The couple made their way upstairs and Justin noted it was eerily quiet as they walked down the hall way. He figured his mother had talked to the guys and they were all staying out of the way. He was just as glad, he didn’t need to explain anything to anyone right now. What he needed to do was think of a way to break his girlfriend’s heart.
They stepped into the room and Justin saw the bags from Jamie’s shopping trip.
“What did you buy today?” He made his way over to the bathroom and left the door open a crack so he could hear her.
“Well, Melissa and I dragged Andy into a few clothing stores and I found a pair of pants that I liked. Oh, I bought you something too.” She heard the water start and the door close, so she stepped into the bathroom and sat on the toilet.
“You didn’t have to get me anything. What is it?” She laughed at his eager question.
“Nope, I’m not telling. I’ll show you when you get out of there.” He mumbled something that she couldn’t hear and she laughed again. “I’ll be out in the room if you need me.”
“OK.”
James made her way into the bedroom where she plopped onto the bed with a sigh. Something wasn’t right. Justin had never looked so lost before, and the beating he was giving that punching bag when she walked in was enough to scare the strongest of men. He was brooding and he wasn’t telling her something.
She was worried about what had happened in that meeting to make him act like this. He looked so defeated and it made her wonder exactly what that sorry excuse for a man had said to him.
She didn’t wonder long though, because a moment later Justin stepped out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam wearing a clean t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants.
“So what did you get me??” He flashed her a charming smile and she laughed.
“Eager are we?” She crossed the room and dug around in the bags before coming up with something. Justin walked with her and they both sat on the bed.
“What is it? Lemme see!” He tried to take it from her but she slid back on the bed and held it away from him.
“Don’t get all excited, it’s nothing big. I just decided that since I stole your favorite sweatshirt that I’d buy you a new one. I saw this one in one of the sport shops and I’d thought of you.”
She held up a black sweatshirt with the word ‘Memphis’ written in bold letters across the front. “I thought you might like it because it would remind you of home.” She looked at him carefully to see his reaction and her heart fluttered when she saw the soft smile across his face.
“James, that is the best gift you could have give me.” He leaned over and captured her lips with his. “Thank you.” He kissed her again and then sat back.
“Ok Timberlake, spill it. What happened today? Why this brooding mood?”
He stood from the bed and twisted the sweatshirt in his hands. He paced for a moment and stopped to look at Jamie.
“Justin, whatever it is, you can tell me.” He nodded at her words and sat back down on the bed. Justin took Jamie’s hands in his and held them tightly.
“James…Dave…He…Oh God this is so hard!” Jamie let go of one of his hands and gently touched his cheek.
“Justin…just tell me. It hurts me more thinking up all these crazy possibilities, just tell me.”
Justin looked at Jamie and his heart broke a little more. He didn’t want to do this. He SHOULDN’T be doing this. Dave should be the one leaving the tour, not Jamie.
“James, Dave wants you off the tour.” He said it in one breath and Jamie had to lean in to catch it.
“Excuse me? I must have heard you wrong because it sounded a lot like Dave wants me off the tour.” Tears welled in her eyes when Justin’s own tears fell down his cheeks and he nodded.
“He said that you need to be gone by tomorrow evening or he’s going to press charges. I have no idea what he has against me, but I don’t want to push him.”
It was Jamie’s turn to pace the floor. This couldn’t be right, she must have heard Justin wrong.
Her biggest fear was starting to come true. Just as she was starting to live again, just as she was on the path to mending her broken heart, THIS had to happen. She couldn’t leave Justin. He was the only one she had, he was her rock…she loved him DAMMIT!
“Jamie, baby, please…say something.” His pleading voice caused her pacing to stop and she looked at him and started to cry even harder. She started to sink to the floor, her body racked by sobs, and Justin flew off the bed and pulled her into his embrace.
“I…I can’t…I don’t want to…leave you.” She managed to get out between sobs and Justin felt physical pain in his chest.
“I love you Baby. I love you…” He whispered into her ear over and over again in an attempt to calm her down, but it was rather difficult because he was so upset himself.
The two of them sat on the floor just holding each other. They had no idea how long they sat there, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was making the pain go away, and neither of them knew where to start.
It felt as if they had been sitting there for days, when in reality it hadn’t even been an hour. The crying had ceased, and there were dried tear stairs on both sets of faces. Justin’s arms were still tightly wrapped around Jamie’s small frame and he rocked her gently back and fourth.
There was nothing to be said. No words that would make it all OK, nothing to ease the reality of it all. He could still feel her shaking and he knew that she was scared. She had lost her father and now she had lost him. She was alone, and he knew that this was going to take more strength than she possessed.
A knock on the door stopped their movement and Jamie stiffened in his arms.
“Go away please.” Justin didn’t know who was at the door, but he knew that neither of them were ready to face anyone.
“J…it’s us.” He heard Chris’ soft voice through the door and he sighed. He should have guessed that they would find out about this. “Can we please come in?”
Justin pulled back slightly and locked eyes with Jamie. “Babe, you don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to. I can ask them to come back later.” He watched as she thought about it but then nodded.
“Let them in,” her voice was hoarse with tears. “We might as well get it over with now…and I won’t be here later anyway…” She almost started crying again but managed to pull herself together. Justin stood the both of them up and led Jamie over to the couch.
“Can I get you something, anything?” She shook her head no and Justin shuffled over to the door.
Outside the door stood the rest of *NSYNC and Luke. All of them looked guilty and torn up, and it made Justin hurt even more knowing they were just as affected.
“Hey man…” JC was the first to step into the room, his movement seeming to break the invisible force over everyone, and they all followed into the dark hotel room.
“Your mom told us what happened, and we wanted to apologize.” Chris looked as if he was about to cry and moment, and it wasn’t helping Justin’s stability. He looked over at Jamie who was now firmly planted in Luke’s arms and it tore at him to hear her muffled cries.
“She has until tomorrow evening. I haven’t called for a flight yet, but I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do this.” He fought back the lump rising in his throat and did his best to stay in control.
After everyone had said something to either Jamie or Justin, they all settled somewhere in the room. Justin sat on the couch with Jamie, holding her as if he was afraid she might disappear. Luke sat at her other side looking lost and helpless. The rest of the group was somewhere, on the bed or the floor, and they had taken to discussing what was going to happen.
“I’ll call for a flight, and we’ll try and make it as late as possible. We do have a show tomorrow, so it can’t be too late, but I’ll do my best.” Lance had already pulled out his cell phone and was calling the local airport for flights.
“I know this isn’t much consolation, but the tour is over in two weeks, so it won’t be as long as it could have been.” Joey offered, but was countered by JC.
“I was talking to Johnny on the phone today, and he said that they added an overseas schedule for another two weeks. I’m not sure if Johnny will be back by then.” An uncomfortable silence fell over the group before Lance shut his phone with a click and spoke up.
“Her flight is for 5:30 tomorrow night. Justin I know you’re going to want to take her to the airport, so you’re going to have to leave sound check early, but we’ll make sure you leave on time.”
Justin nodded, unable to speak. He felt as if he weren’t a part of this, as if he were watching from outside his body. This couldn’t be real. He had just found the love of his life, had just admitted that, and now she was being stripped from him.
Letting out a sigh he rubbed his hands roughly over his face. Jamie leaned in closed to his warmth and he kissed her forehead.
“We’ll get through this James. I love you.”
Everyone else in the room felt their heart break at the sight in front of them. Justin was one of the strongest people they knew, and here he was broken and vulnerable sitting in front of them. They had never seen him look so lost before, and they knew it was going to be a long tour with Jamie gone.
Along with the extreme sadness came a slight feeling of guilt. They were the ones that called Lynn in, they were the ones that wanted to know what was going on. They felt as if they should have just left it all alone. Justin had been happy, alive…now he was a shell of the man they once knew.
“Justin, man, I’m so sorry.” JC leaned over and placed a rough hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know this isn’t going to help anything, but I wanted to apologize because we were the ones that called your mom here. We were afraid of the way you two had been acting, and we knew she was the only one that could get anything out of you.”
Justin sat back into the couch and starred at his band mate closely. He felt as if he should be really pissed off, but he wasn’t.
“It’s ok. Dave would have found some way to do this without you.” He stood up, stretching and looking ten years older than he really was. “Thanks for everything guys, but I really want to be alone with Jamie right now.”
They all nodded in understanding, and after they had all given hugs and words of encouragement, it was just Jamie and Justin alone in the room again.
Justin looked over at Jamie and tried to ignore the breaking of his heart. “Are you hungry, Jamie?” She looked up at him with a blank expression as if she hadn’t understood his question. After a moment of silence Justin crossed the room and took her in his arms.
“I don’t want to leave you.” She whispered softly into the fabric of his shirt. Justin felt the tears well in his eyes and he tried so hard to keep his composure.
“I know Jamie, I know. If there were something I could do to stop this I would, but I don’t know what Dave’s capable of.”
Jamie pulled back slightly so she could look up at Justin. His eyes were closed and his forehead was creased with worry. He looked tired, worn, and Jamie felt the ache in her chest grow. She had just started to rebuild her trust with the world and she had just started to get back her happiness. Now the only person she trusted completely was being forced to send her away.
“Justin?” She questioned softly and his eyes opened to meet hers.
“Yes, Love?”
“Can we just get in bed and stay there for the rest of the day?” He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.
“Yes, that sounds wonderful.”
Justin led Jamie over to the bed and pulled back the covers. She crawled in and he followed closely behind, wrapping her in his arms and tucking the covers in around them. It was only one in the afternoon, but neither of them wanted to talk to anyone else and the thought of holding onto Jamie until she became an actual part of him sounded like a great idea to Justin. He knew it wasn’t physically possible, be he was going to try his hardest to get her as close to him as achievable.
Jamie buried her head in Justin’s neck and breathed in the scent she had come to know as home. This man was all she had left, and although she was still healing and missed her father, Justin was enough. She kissed the soft flesh of his neck and sighed. Leaving this bed was going to be extremely hard, especially knowing that she wasn’t going to be getting back in.
“How are you doing James?” Justin’s soft voice filled her ears and his hands trailed through her hair.
“I’m all right, I guess. I mean…it’s only two weeks, right?” She leaned back so she could look up at him. “Justin, the last thing I want to do is leave you. Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to survive this, but I have to. I don’t want to put you or your career in jeopardy, and I’m sure I’ll be all right on my own. Maybe I’m just saying this because I’m in your arms at the moment and I feel completely safe. Maybe I’ll end up breaking down and wishing I were with you the moment you let me go. I don’t know what’s going to happen until it happens, but I love you, I know you love me, and I know, with that thought, that we can survive two weeks without each other.”
Justin let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but that wasn’t it. A smile grew on his face and he pulled Jamie tighter to him.
“Thank you James.” He kissed her softly before whispering, “I love you.”
She smiled back up at him and relished in the warmth that surrounded them. Leaving wasn’t going to be fun, in fact, she hated the thought. Jamie knew that the next few weeks of her life were going to be tough. She was going to have to leave the safe haven that Justin provided and go out into the real world. She was going to have to fully accept her father’s death, and the fact that there was no other family that she knew of. It was going to be difficult, painful, heartbreaking, and all at the same time, but looking at the man next to her made her feel a little more alive. With Justin, Jamie was capable of surviving this and coming out a better person on the other side.
The couple sat in a soft silence for what seemed like hours. There was a peace that settled in the air and made it seems as if the world had stopped turning, time had stopped moving and all that existed in this moment were the two of them. Justin stared at the crème colored ceiling trying not to think of anything but the girl in his arms. That task became a little more difficult when the silence was broken by the rumbling of a stomach.
“Sorry,” Jamie giggled into his side. “I’m hungrier than I thought.”
Justin smiled and rolled over to grab the phone. After scanning the menu he picked out some food, and rolled back over to face Jamie.
“You’re beautiful.” He whispered into the silence that had returned. Jamie lowered her chin to her chest, a slight blush rising in her cheeks. “Don’t hide.” Justin grinned slightly as he crooked a finger and raised Jamie’s face to meet his. Leaning closer he brushed a feather light kiss across her forehead, breathing in deep the scent of her skin and shampoo.
“Justin?” Jamie’s voice was timid, her eyes moved everywhere but to his face.
“What?” He asked softly.
“Why me?” Her eyes finally settled onto his, filled with question.
“What do you mean?” Justin’s eyes mirrored Jamie’s, wondering what it was she wanted to know.
“Why did you pick me? Why…how…how did we find each other?” Her eyes again fell from his face as she picked at the sheets below them. The soft smile returned to Justin’s features and he reached out to move some hair from her face.
“Well that’s simple. I didn’t pick you Jamie, not at all. In fact, I think I fell in love with you without noticing. The first day you arrived at Johnny’s with Chris I was so against meeting you. I wanted nothing to do with your sweet little smile, and your thick southern accent. But what I wanted was nowhere near what I got.” His smiled widened as he slipped off into a place in some other time. “I remember seeing you for the first time; how breath-taking you were. I looked down and my heart was gone. From that moment I knew that there was no escaping you, and as I got to know you more, the less resistance I had. No Jamie, I didn’t pick you, but if the choice had been mine, I would have done the same thing.”
Jamie looked up at Justin, watching as he relived memories in his mind. “You didn’t answer my second question.”
“Hmmm?”
“How did we find each other?”
“That my dear, I don’t know, but I don’t think it matters. We’re here now, and having you with me is all that I need to know right now.” A knock on the door interrupted the conversation and Justin got out of bed to get the room service they had ordered.
