After standing there for a few minutes in utter shock, Wade tossed the phone back down on the bed.  He was completely at a loss and had no idea what the hell he was going to do next.  As much as he wanted to go back over to Cameran's apartment and take care of her for the little catastrophy, he was more concerned with what was going on with Michelle. 

The last time they had talked, she ended the call in tears.  Now he had to call her back knowing that the chances were pretty good that she would be even worse off because of the mess with Cameran.

Sitting down on the bed, he knew that he was only prolonging the inevitable.  He had to call her.

Taking a deep breath, he dialed the number to her cell and waited nervously for her to answer.  Finally after a few rings, she surprisingly picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey....you uh....said we could talk later.  Is this a good time?"  Wade asked softly, hearing the faint sound of sobbing on the other end of the phone.

"A good time!  Yeah, it's just wonderful!"  she said, breaking out into tears.

"What's wrong?"  he asked laying back on the bed, knowing damn well what she was about to say.

"I can't believe you..I really can't!  I don't EVER want to talk to you or see you again!  Why don't you just go call Cameran!"

There went any hopes he held out that maybe Cameran didn't get through to her.  She obviously had.

"Look, I know she called you and I'm sorry. What did she say?"  he asked, sitting back up on the bed and running his hand through his hair.

"I'm not getting into this with you!  You wanted to go to NY early....well atleast now I know why!  Go back to your lil tramp and have fun!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to fight off the anger he was feeling inside.  He wanted to kill Cameran for calling her and putting him in the situation he was now in, but at the same time, the satisfaction and pleasure he derived from controlling Michelle in the past was fighting to emerge. He wanted that feeling back.  That feeling of power.

"Look, before you go accusing me of all the shit she said, why don't you give me a chance to speak."

"Because I don't give a shit anymore, that's why!  I mean, we broke up...remember?!"

Taking a deep breath, he clenched his fist and knew that whatever was fueling the new outspoken Michelle wouldn't be happening if he was standing there in front of her.

"Yeah, I remember.  I thought we were susposed to talk when I got back from NY?!  Isn't that what you told me?!" 

Listening to her go on like that, Wade knew she wasn't the same fragile Michelle he left back in LA.  She was vocal, confrontational and blatently trying to get under his skin and.......he couldn't stand it!  As much as he swore he would straighten himself out while in NY, the only thing he could think of doing at that very moment was grabbing her by her throat and putting her in her place.

"Well now there really isn't much point in talking about what was susposed to happen now is there.  I hope you and 'Cameran' have a lovely time in NY!  Oh, and don't worry, I'm sure I'll find someone to keep me company."

Then it happened.  That one comment sent him over the edge and there was no going back. Quickly standing up, he headed towards the other end of the room.

"Oh, is that right?  With who?  Justin?  That would be the last thing you ever did!  I guarantee it!" he yelled. "Don't get comfortable thinking it's over between us, because it isn't!"

Immeadiatel, she grew silent.  Only a few seconds ago, she was in control of the conversation and finally doing what was right for her. Unfortunetly, the second he raised his voice it all ended.  With her self-confidence now out the window, fear and panic quickly took it's place. 

"What no quick comeback?  No smart ass remark?"  he asked, but heard nothing but silence on the other end. "That's what I thought!  Don't think for one second that your gonna pull that shit with me!  I'll be back on that plane so quick you won't know what hit you!"  Neither of you will!  Remember that!  Because after you....he'd be next!  Don't fuck with me Michelle!"

Overwhelmed with fear, she shut her phone and tossed it in her purse.  Fighting back the tears that were quickly building up, she removed her keys from the ignition and got out of her car.  As if the events earlier at Millennium weren't enough, she now had this to deal with. 

Stuffing her keys inside her purse, she straightened out her skirt and continued that last few feet towards the club.  She knew that most likely Marty was out looking for her and she felt bad for not answering his calls, but all she wanted to do tonight was let go of every reminder of what her life had become since she met Wade. To be away from everyone and just feel free.

Offering a half smile to the bouncer outside the club, she showed him her ID and then walked inside. She had never been to that particular club before and it was a welcome change from the upscale nightclubs she frequented with Wade. 

Looking around, she knew that the club she was at now wasn't a place that, by standards, was worthy of a "Wade Robson" appearance.  For that though, she was thankful.  She just wanted to get away from it all and the fact that the music was loud enough to drowned out the sound of Wade's warning as it echoed in her head was definetly a plus.  Here, she could let loose without runnning into anyone or anything that would remind her of Wade.

Making her way through the club, she walked over to the bar and took the last empty seat closest to the dance floor, which was surprisingly large.

"What can I get ya?"  the bartender asked, sitting a napkin down in front of her.

"Surprise me.  Just make it strong."  she replied, turning around to watch the crowd on the dance floor having a good time.

"Strong huh?  Sounds like you've had a bad day." the gentleman next to her laughed.

Turning back around, she looked at the guy next to her.

"Yeah...bad day...bad week...bad month.  You name it. I'm having it." she said, taking a few bills from her purse.

"This one is on me Jon."  he said, signaling the bartender.

"Thanks."  she said, smiling. 

"I'm Nick. Nice to meet you."  he said, extending his hand to her.

"Michelle." she replied, shaking his hand and laughing slightly.  She hadn't really had much experience with the average "LA" guys since she had moved there, but she had always heard about how smooth they were.  He was definetly one of those types and the  the suaveness with which he carried himself amused her.  Not to mention the fact that he was rather cute.

Turning back around, she watched the people on the dance floor and started to get into the beat.  She hadn't really been able to just be herself at a club in a long time.  The clubs she accompanied Wade too were fun, but the atmosphere was just different.  The dancing here was more raw, the crowd was a little more rowdy and it was just overall....more fun.

"You wanna dance?"  Nick asked, turning to face the dance floor as well.

She studied him for a minute, only slightly hesitating before remembering that the purpose of tonight was to let loose. 

"What the hell.  Why not." she said, finishing off her drink and sitting it down on the bar. 

As she made her way onto the dance floor, Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" came on and being one of her favorite songs, she immeadiatley started dancing.

Smiling, Nick proceeded to follow her to the center of the floor where she completely tranformed.  Grabbing Nick by his shirt, she pulled him closer and began to move her body to the beat.  The sexy way she was dancing quickly attracted the attention of a few guys on the dance floor and in a matter of minutes, she was completely surrounded.

Enjoying every minute of the attention she was getting, she continued dance and laughing Nick made his way back to the bar.

After going twenty minutes non-stop, she walked off the dance floor and back to her seat next to Nick.

"Sorry, I guess I got a little caught up."  she laughed, signaling the bartender down for another drink.

"Hey, do your thing.  You obviously know what your doing."  he smiled.

"Thanks."

"So, this is probably a dumb question, but your aren't a dancer by any chance are you?"

Quickly finishing her drink, she signalled for another.

"Yeah.....I think I am." 

"You think?"  he replied laughing.  "Where do you think you dance at?"

"Ummm.....at Millennium in North Hollywood." she finally managed to get out.  The effects of the alcohol on her empty stomach were quickly setting in, yet she showed no sign of slowing up. 

After the bartended brought her down another drink, she quickly finished it and hopped back off the barstool.

"Well Nick...I'm heading back out to dance.  I hope you don't plan on spending the rest of the night here at the bar." she giggled and seconds later disappeared back into the crowd on the dance floor.

Laughing, Nick ordered another drink.

"Never seen any like her in here before."  the bartender commented, sliding the drink in front of him.

"Yeah me either.  She definetly doesn't fit in here."  Nick replied, turning around to look at her.

"Well, she seems like a nice young lady.  I'd hate to see anything happen to her.  I mean you know how these guys here are.  Especially after a few drinks."

"Yeah I do.  That's what concerns me.  Not to mention she's had quite a few herself and she's only been here....what....thirty minutes?"

Looking back at the clock on the wall behind him, he nodded his head.

"Watch my drink.  I'll be right back."  Nick said, getting off the barstool.

As Nick made his way through the crowd, he spotted Michelle on the far end of the dance floor surrounded by the same group of guys that were hovering around her earlier.   Something he didn't want to see.  Anyone who frequented that club knew who they were and they weren't the type of guys you messed around with.  They also had quite a reputation at the club and none of it was flattering.

Once he got closer, he took in the sight before him and instantly felt his stomach turn.  He knew where this was headed. 

"Hey Michelle.  You save me a dance?"  he asked, as he walked up behind her.

Slipping away from the one guy who had his arm wrapped around her waist, she bounced over to Nick, but not before he caught the cold stares coming from the two guys to her right.

"I was hoping you wouldn't spend all night at the bar.  C'mon let's dance."  she said, taking his hand and pulling him to the center of the floor.

Nick willingly followed her, only momentarily looking back at the group of three so that he could make his point crystal clear.  She was off limits.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wade stood in the center of the hotel room, his hand clentched tightly around his cell phone. He couldn't believe she had the audasity to talk to him like that. She hit every last nerve he had and he was furious!  He knew this wasn't over with her, as soon as he got back to LA, she would be dealt with. 

Shaking his head, he shoved his phone into his pocket and headed out the door.  He didn't care what anyone thought or said anymore.  He was who he was and that was never going to change. Pressing the button on the elevator, he knew there was only one place he wanted to be.

When the elevator finally reached the lobby, he walked out and past a group of girls who immeadiately noticed him and began giggling his name.  Once he got within a few feet of them, one of the girls attempted to approach him for an autograph but he waved her off and headed directly to the lounge. Enough was enough.  He needed a drink.

Walking up to the bar,  Wade slapped some money down, ordered a vodka on the rocks and told the bartender to keep them coming.  He was certain by nights end that he would be drunk enough that the situation with Michelle would be out of his mind.  Atleast for now.

Chapter 72

As Michelle and Nick continued to dance, the group of guys that had been previously enjoying her company looked on in disguist.  Nick knew he was taking a chance by getting involved, but giving the circumstances, he didn't see any other option.  He knew these guys....a little too well if need be told, and trouble was just waiting in the wings.

Only a few months ago he considered them to be his friends.  They met at work a few years back and even though their careers took them down different paths, they remained close.  Well...that was until a bad break up between Carter, the now ring leader of the bunch, and his one-time fiance.  Carter didn't take the break up lightly and vowed to never let another woman get the best of him.  He was going to go out and have fun with women, utlimately not worrying about anyone but himself.

Like any typical guy, the idea was amusing.  Hooking up with a girl, no strings attatched, and living life to the fullest was definetly something worth pursuing.  So for the next few months, the four of them frequented local clubs, hooking up with girl after girl and not bothering with them again.  Slowly though, Nick's conscious got the best of him and he found himself drifting away from the group.  He wasn't brought up to disrespect women and that was exactly what he was doing.  Something he no longer wanted a part of.

A few weeks had went by.  Nick still kept in touch with them, occasionally sharing a beer or two when they ran into each other at a club, but that casual friendship would soon come to a screeching halt.

One night after a long day at work, Nick stopped by the club for a few drinks to unwind and he happened to notice Carter and his little posse, as he now called them,  all over some girl.  He could tell the girl was slightly out of place there.  Nowhere near how out of place Michelle was, but none the less she didn't fit in and something about the situation just didn't sit right with him.

After about twenty minutes, Nick watched Carter walk outside with her and no more than five mins later,  the other two, Brandon and Zach, follwed him.   Disquisted, Nick shook his head and paid his tab.  He saw enough and was ready to call it a night.

Once Nick got to the parking lot, he heard some commotion coming from the side of the club.  He assumed it was one of the normal drunken fights that were common there, but as he was about to get in his car he heard a female voice scream out for help.  Immeadiately, Nick shut his car door and ran over.  Nothing could have prepared him for the site he was about to see. 

There before his very eyes were Brandon and Zach, physcially restraining the girl from inside the club while Carter was raping her.  Completely in shock, Nick ran over and shoved the two off of her and grabbed Carter by the back of his shirt, pulling him forcefully backwards.  His balance not being the best when he was full of alcohol, Carter fell and the girl managed to get to her feet and run. 

He couldn't believe what he had witnessed and with tempers flaring on both ends, a fight quickly erupted and Nick found himself in way over his head.  Three on one never turned out in favor of the lone fighter and unfortunetly, Nick ended up spending the night in the hospital with 3 cracked ribs, a dislocated elbow and a concussion.  The girl however was never seen or heard from again and the only thing the three of them got was probation for the aggrevated assult on Nick.

From that point on, any ties he had with them were completely severed.  Lord only knew how many other victims they had assulted that went unreported and he knew he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it never happened again.  He started by frequenting the club more often and it was obvious that his pressence deterred any plans they were trying to carry out.  That was until now. 

Glancing over at them yet again, Nick tried to get a feel for how serious the situation was with Michelle.  There just seemed to be no letting up on their desire to have her despite Nick's presence and now....interference.  Sensing that the situation was bound to escalate now that Nick was standing his ground, he decided to speak up.  He wasn't about to let something happen to her.

"You know, the guys you're hanging out with don't have your best interests in mind and I think you should try to put some distance between you."

Looking over at the guys, Michelle smiled and waved which only seemed to encourgage the group of three as they arrogantly smiled back.

"Them?  They're harmless."  Michelle laughed.  "Besides, I'm a big girl.  I can handle myself.  Don't worry."

"No I don't think you can.  I know these guys and you're in way over your head.  I mean honestly...what is a girl like you doing in a place like this anyway?"

Taking offense to his judgemental comments, Michelle backed away from him.

"What is that susposed to mean?  A girl like me?" she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I didn't mean anything negative by it. I just mean that I have been coming here long enough to know the type of people that hang out here.  Your not one of them.  I mean...look around."

Taking a quick glance around, she knew where he was coming from, but at the same time, that was what she was going for.  She didn't want to be at a club where people would know her.  She didn't want to be confined to the behavior expected at those clubs.  She just wanted to let loose.  What was so wrong with that.

"So I don't necessarily look like everyone else here.  Big deal.  I mean is there some rule that says I can only go to the clubs that I look like I would 'fit in' at?"

"That's not what I mean at all.  It's just that......" he started to say and then Carter walked up to them.

"Hey....you didn't forget about me did ya?"  he asked, slightly stepping in between Nick and Michelle as Zach and Brandon looked on.

"How could I ever forget you Carter."  she laughed.

"So...how about a dance then?  I mean...you don't mind.....do ya Nick?"

Looking at the look on Carter's face, Nick figured the best thing to do right now was lay low.  As long as she remained in sight everything would be ok.

"Remember what I said."  Nick whispered, and then walked back to the bar.

Once he sat down, Jon walked over and sat a drink down in front of him.

"Watch your back Nick.  I'm not getting a good feeling about this."

"Trust me, I will.  I don't know why Tony allows these assholes in here anyway."

"I know what ya mean man.  I said something to him before about them, but they spend alot of money in here and....well you know Tony.  It's all about the benjamins"

"Yeah....money...truly the root of all evil."  he said, taking a drink.

Laughing, Jon walked down to the other end of the bar to settle someones tab while Nick turned his stool around so that he could keep an eye on Michelle.  After a few minutes, Brandon walked up beside him and leaned against the bar.

"What's your problem man?  Why do you always have to stick your nose in other people's business"

Sitting his drink back down on the bar, Nick turned to face him.

"My problem!  Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Man, didn't you learn your lesson the first time we beat your ass.  Why don't you do yourself a favor and back off."  Brandon said, taking another swig of beer from his almost empty bottle.

"Not gonna happen.  So why don't you be a good little lackey and go tell Carter that his little plan isn't going down."

After Nick finished the last of his gin and tonic, he motioned to Jon for another one and stood up to grab his wallet from his back pocket.  Opening it up, Nick grabbed a few more bills and placed them on the bar, while unknowingly, Brandon made a motion towards the door to Zach.

"Watch yourself Nick  You know, we were friends before, but by no means do I consider you one now.  I won't hesitate to break every bone in your body." 

"Man....fuck you!"  Nick said, boldly standing up and getting in Brandon's face.

Knowing that this was exactly what they wanted to happen, Brandon followed the game plan and shoved Nick backwards. Little did Nick know that while he was dancing with Michelle that the three of them came up with a plan for "spending some time" with Michelle.  A plan devised so that they could sneak Michelle right out from underneath Nick's nose.  Which would inevitably give them a little bit more self gratification. 

Not wasting anytime or the opportunity, Nick shoved Brandon back and the bouncers immeadiately headed towards the bar.

"Keep your fuckin hands off of me!"  Nick shouted.

"Or what?  What are you gonna do Nick.....teach me a lesson?"  Brandon laughed.

As the arguing got louder, more people began to take notice and flock towards the commotion.  Exactly what Carter wanted to happen and as Brandon continued his task of fueling the situation with Nick, Carter and Zach walked Michelle out the door.

After the bouncers made their way through the crowd to the bar, they seperated the two of them and Jon motioned for them to remove Brandon.

Laughing, Nick sat back down and watched as the bouncers escorted Brandon out.  Even though he would have received more satisfaction beating the shit out of him than having him tossed out, it thought it would ultimately help him.

"Well....one down, two to go." he said, as Jon once again joined him at the end of the bar. 

"Yeah, I hear ya man.  Brandon is so fuckin drunk the jackass is smiling as they take him out." Jon said and Nick turned back around to face the dance floor.

After a quick survey of the club, Nick's stomach sank. 

"Wait.  Jon, where's Michelle?"

Scanning over the crowd, Jon saw no sign of her anywhere.  Then he noticed that she wasn't the only one missing. 

"Fuck!  I don't see Carter or Zach either Nick."

Frantically the two beagan searching the crowd for any sign of them.  Then it hit him.  The whole arguement was a set up.  It only took Brandon a few minutes to get under his skin enough so that he would be distracted from his task at hand.....and it worked.

"Fuck!   Jon they have her!  No wonder the fucker was smiling!"  he yelled, jumping off the stool and pushing his way through the crowd towards the door. 

Chapter 73

As Wade continued to enjoy the company of the vodka in his glass in the hotel lounge, he heard a muffled ring coming from his pocket.  Letting out a heavy sigh, Wade swirled the caramel colored liquid in his glass and went on ignoring the call. He certainly wasn't in any shape to carry on any resemblance of a conversation with anyone and even if he was, there really wasn't anyone he felt like dealing with tonight.

After a few more rings the phone grew silent. Wade finished off the last of his drink and signaled the bartender down for another.

In a daze, Wade watched as the bartender replaced his empty glass with a new one.

"Thanks."  Wade said, placing a few more bills on the counter.

The bartender simply nodded and was on his way to the cash register when all of a sudden he heard the sound of high pitch squealing coming from a group of girls just outside the lounge in the lobby. Immeadiately he turned around and saw them whispering to each other and pointing to Wade.

Amused, he headed back over to Wade.

"Uh...friends of yours?"  the bartender asked, as he casually pointed out the four young ladies in the doorway.

Sitting his drink down, Wade looked over his shoulder at the group.

"Oh my god!  It IS him!  It's Wade"  one of the girls yelled, grabbing the arm of her friend and jumping up and down.

"Wade can we have your autograph?" the girl asked.

Wade hesitated for a moment before finally answering them.

"Do you have a pen?"

"Yeah."  she replied and frantically began digging through the contents of her purse.

Running his fingers through his hair, Wade straightened up and placed his feet on the floor.  Once he stood up, he momentarily lost his balance and grabbed on to the edge of the bar.

"Hey buddy...you ok?"  the bartender asked, as the four girls looked on in disbelief.

"Yeah...I'm fine."  he said, adjusting his shirt and walking over to the girls.

Once he got there, the one girl handed him a piece of paper.

"Can you make it out to Ashley?"  she asked, as the other three stood eagerly in line.

"Yeah, no problem."

Wade took the pen and proceeded to place his signature on the girl's small piece of paper and then continued down the line with the remaining three.  Once he was done, he handed her back the pen.

"Thanks Wade.   I just wanted to tell you that I think your the greatest choreographer ever!  We've been to every Britney and NSYNC concert and we watch the "Pop" video all the time and point you out everytime your replacing Joey."

"Yeah and of course Making the video"  another girl said, jumping in.

"Thanks."

"Well we won't keep you."  the first girl said, stuffing the autograph in her purse. "It was nice meeting you."

"Same here."  Wade responded and gave them a quick wave goodbye before turning around and heading back over to the bar.

Once Wade pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket, he sat it up on the bar and took a seat.  Grabbing his glass, Wade finished off the last of the vodka and stared at the empty bottom for a moment.  He was debating on haing one more, but the soft pounding he felt earlier in his head intesified when he stood up a few minutes ago.  After rubbing the sides of his temples,Wade decided to call it a night. Grabbing his phone, Wade slid back off the barstool and headed out of the lounge.

As he slightly staggered out into the lobby, something caught his eye.  Squinting to get a better look, Wade realized exactly what it was that he was seeing.  Stuffing the phone back into his pocket he sauntered towards the elevator, his eyes set on their target.

"What the FUCK are you doing here!?" Wade yelled, grabbing Cameran by her arm as the elevator doors opened.

Completely caught by surprise, Cameran let out a small scream which caught the attention of two gentlemen relaxing in the lobby.

"I asked you a fuckin question!"  Wade said and he squeezed her arm a little tighter causing her to wince in pain.

"Wade stop!   Your hurting me!"

"What are you doing here Cam?!  I'm not going to ask you again!"

As Wade continued to raise his voice and demand answers, the two gentlemen stopped what they were doing and began paying close attention to the situation...fearing that at some point, they might have to step in. 

"I tried to call you, but you didn't answer the phone.  I just wanted to appologize for earlier."  she said, trying to free herself from Wade's hold. 

She didn't like the tone of his voice at all, but the vision before her she liked even less.  She had never witnessed Wade like that.  Sure, she had seen him drunk.  A few times to be exact, but never with the drunken temper he had now.

"Don't funkin call me Cam!  Don't come to the hotel, don't call my cell, don't come near me!  You understand me?!" he scolded, letting go of her arm and stepping inside the elevator.

"Wade I'm sorry!  But you cant expect me not to be upset!  I have feelings too you know!"  she said, stepping inside the elevator doorway to stop it.

"Feelings?!  I don't give a shit about your feelings!  What in the hell would make you think I wanted to be with you Cameran?  I mean, in a way other than sex.  Everyone knows your a good lay....and I do mean everyone.  That's all you were to me Cam.  A piece of ass.  Always have been."  he said matter of factly.

Feeling his words cut right through her, anger took over and she began to furious hit him.

"Your such a fuckin asshole Wade!  I hope you rot in hell!"

Not about to take any shit from someone who had all but singlehandedly ruined any chance he had to reconcile with Michelle, Wade shoved her back and backhanded her.

"Bitch...don't you ever put your hands me!" he yelled, getting up in her face.

Once Wade had laid a hand on her, the two gentlemen got up and ran over.

"Hey man...settle down."  the one guy said, as the other pulled Cameran back away from Wade.

"Who the FUCK are you and WHY are you up in my business?!"  Wade asked, stepping towards the guy.

"Just someone who wants to see this end before it gets any worse.  Besides, you've obviously had a few too many to drink.  Why don't you just call it a night and sort out your problems in the morning."

"Man...get the hell out of my face!"  Wade yelled and shoved the guy aside so that he could proceeded towards Cameran.

"Cameran!  Get the fuck over here right now!" 

"Wade, please stop.  I'm sorry!  I'll go and I won't call you or anything. I promise!"  she pleaded. 

"NOW Cam!" 

Comsumed with fear, tears streamed down her face and immeadiately the two gentlemen knew they were going to have to stand their ground.

"Hey buddy, she's not going anywhere.  I advise you call it a night before things get ugly."

Wade arrogantly laughed. First Michelle, then Marty and Chantal and now Cameran and a bunch on nobodies from the hotel.  Why were people always trying to tell him what to do or get involved in his business.  Enough was enough.

Forcefully pushing his way between the two, Wade grabbed a hold of Cameran and started to escort her towards the front door.  As much as he wanted her to go when he first saw her, now that she was here he was going to make her clean up the mess she made with Michelle.

"We're going over to your apartment right now and your gonna call Michelle back and tell her that I didn't sleep with you, that I didn't do anything with you for that matter.  You understand?" 

"Whatever you want.  Just please let me go, your hurting me!"

Wade let go of her arm just as the two gentlemen approached with hotel security.

"Is there a problem here?"

"No everything's cool.  Just an arguement.  We're leaving."  Wade said and looked over at Cameran to acknowledge the same.  Even though Cameran didn't agree that everything was alright, she didn't want to get Wade any more upset that he already was."

"Yeah.....everything's fine."  she said softly and proceeded to rub the now red mark on her arm from Wade's grip.

"See...everything's fine. Go bother someone else."  Wade said, placing his hand on Cameran's lower back and pushing her out the door. 

Shaking their heads, the gentlemen headed back to their seats in the lobby and security watched from the door as Wade escorted her across the street to her apartment building.

As they headed upstairs, Cameran was completely silent.  She had no idea what was about to happen or even what to say and that scared her to death.

Once the elevator door opened, Cameran removed her keys from her purse and Wade quickly snatched them away from her.

"You better hope to god you can fix this shit because if I lose her due to your phone call....there's gonna be hell to pay."  he said, opening the door to her apartment and shoving her inside.

"What do you want me to tell her?"  she asked, tears again forming in her eyes.

"Well I don't know exactly what bullshit stories you fed her, so why don't you start by taking all that shit back."  Wade said, tossing her keys on the table.

Cameran placed her purse on the kitchen table and watched as Wade collapsed down on the sofa.  Grabbing a kitchen chair, Cameran slid it over to the kicthen counter.  Hearing the commotion coming from behind him and annoyed by the noise she was making, Wade looked over his shoulder.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I need something."  she said, climbing on top of the chair so that she could reach the back of the shelf.

"What you NEED is to call Michelle.  Like NOW Cameran!" 

"I will.  Just give me a second."  she said and removed a small pill container setting it down on the counter.  Twisting off the lid, Cameran placed two pills in her mouth and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.  After taking a few drinks, she sat the bottle back down and leaned against the counter shutting her eyes.

"Are you still taking that shit?!"  Wade asked, standing up and heading into the kitchen.

"Yeah.  You mean your not?"

"No.  I haven't touched that shit in over a year." 

Noticing that Wade couldn't take his eyes off of it, Cameran picked the bottle up.

"You want some?" 

Wade simply shook his head no.  He had a hard enough time getting off the shit the first time around.  He definetly didn't want to go down that route again.  Especially when his life was in an enough of downward spiral without it.

"Are you sure?  I mean you definetly look like you could use some."

"Imagine that.  Bet the thought never even crossed your mind that you could be partly to blame either huh?"

Knowing that Wade really didn't want her to answer that question, she stood there in silence and watched as he continued to stare at the bottle.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Wade took the container from her and emptied two pills into the palm of his hand.  Nodding his head towards the phone, Cameran proceed around the kitchen counter and Wade placed the pills in his mouth, chasing them down with a large amount of water.

"Old habits die hard, huh?" 

Coldly glaring down at her, Wade snatched the phone and dialed the number to Michelle's cell phone. 

"Just shut up and make the fuckin call."

Chapter 74

Once Justin pulled up to the club he walked inside and started to look for Trace.  He still hadn't heard from Marty and he was beginning to wonder if he even would by nights end.  He certainly didn't know alot of who Michelle socialized with and figured there really wasn't much he could do, other than wait patiently for Marty to call him. Of course he couldn't think of a better way to wait that by letting loose at a club.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were gonna make it."  Trace yelled from behind him. "You hear from Marty yet?"

"No." Justin said blankly and began surveying the crowd on the dance floor.

"Don't worry about it.  Come on." Trace said, and motioned towards the VIP area  "I'm sure she'll show up."

Trace loved the limelight and attention he got hanging out in VIP.  Sure, he had known Justin back when they were kids and had been witness to the drastic changes fame brings on but he never got tired of being in that lifestyle or the girls hanging all over him.  Regardless of whether they were trying to get to Justin or not. 

"I'm not worried dude.  Your the one that brought it up."  Justin laughed, making his way through the crowd and over towards the stairs to the VIP lounge.

"Well I just figured I'd get it out of the way." 

The two of them headed upstairs and stopped at the bar before grabbing a table that slightly overlooked the dance floor downstairs.  From there, Trace could watch the crowd below and pick out that one special girl that he would bless with his company later.  A trend that was becoming quite popular with Trace lately.

"You know, your like a damn hawk scoping out his prey."  Justin laughed.

"Hey, there are alot of people here.  Down there you can only see the few people around you. From here I can see them all.  I don't want to waste this on just anyone." he said fixing his shirt.  "I have to see exactly what is out there."

"Dude....your so pathetic."

"Yeah yeah.  We'll see.  Just make sure you don't hit on this one." he said.

Amused, Justin watched as Trace surveyed the crowd.  He had been doing this so much lately that it had almost become routine.  A routine that Justin was becoming very familiar with and if truth be told, at any given point Justin could tell you exactly what he would do next. 

"Hey man."  Brain said, walking over to the table and extending his hand.

"Hey."  Justin responded, extending his own hand to shake Brian's.

Brain sat his drink down on the table and pulled out a chair on the opposite end of the table.  Glancing over his shoulder he hit Trace in the back.

"Don't you get tired of hunting them down this way?" he laughed

"Why would I.  Have you seen some of the hotties that I left here with?" 

"Can't say that I have dude.  But then your hotties don't exactly catch my attention."  he said winking at Trace, who just rolled his eyes with disguist.  He hated when Brian did that.  Jokingly or not.

"I'm going downstairs for awhile." Trace said, shaking his head. 

"Do your thing man." Justin laughed and slapped Trace's hand as he walked past the table and down the VIP stairs to the dance floor.

"He'll never change will he?"  Brian asked, as Justin reached in his front pocket.

"Nope." 

Pulling out his cell phone, Justin flipped it open and checked for any missed calls. Disappointed, he sat the phone down on the table and looked at Brian.

"Alright....what the hell is going on with Michelle?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean Brian.  I was there today or did you forget.  Why the hell did she take off like that and what the hell is going on between her and Marty?"

"I can't say EXACTLY what's going on because I don't know eyerything.  What I do know is that Wade thinks Marty is trying to hook up with Michelle and he doesn't want him anywhere near her.  Whether Marty actually wants to hit it with her or not I can't say.  Although he has been hovering all over her, so who knows."  Brian said, taking a sip of his beer.

"Why did she take off at Millennium?"

"I don't know.  She was talking to Wade for a few minutes and then just gave me the phone back and took off.  Your guess is as good as mine."

"You know.....no one has seen her since."

"Really?  I didn't know.  Even so, what's the big deal?"

"Man...what's with all the attitude?  I'm just trying to figure out what's going on."  Justin said, leaning back in his chair.

"Whatever is going on between Wade and Michelle is there business.  No one else.  You know,  I think that's another problem.  Everyone trying to get involved in that mess.  People need to just let it go.  They'll figure it out on their own.  I mean all Marty is doing by pursing this is making it worse for her.  Wade isn't going to put up with his shit much longer."

"You know, if I recall, you didn't hesitate to get involved when you called Wade at Millennium to have Michelle talk to him....right?  Maybe you should take your own advice or atleast not offer any to anyone else."

"Man, I'm not going to get into this with you." Brian said, standing up.  "You better tell Marty to watch his step.  If your smart you'll do the same thing.  Let things run their course."

Confused by his comment, Justin sat there and stared into space.  To a point, he could understand what Brian meant where Marty was concerned.  If someone was trying to make his girlfriend, he wouldn't hesitate to set them straight.  It was the 'let things run their course' comment that didn't sit well with him.  Normally when people used that expression it was for something negative.  If it had been in reference to something positive, a simple 'things will work out for the best' comment would have been more appropriate. 

Immeadiatley Justin's train of thought broke as he heard Trace calling out his name. Turing to his right, Justin saw Trace sprinting up the stairs with a concerned look on his face.

"Dude....I think I know where Michelle is."  Trace said, trying to catch his breath.

"You what?"

"I think I know where Michelle is at."

"How?"

"Well,  I was downstairs taking to Jen at the bar and I overheard some guys talking about this girl down at Emerson's and...."

"Wait..Emerson's?  What the fuck is that?"  Justin asked.

"You know that nightclub on the other end of town.  The one that was always on the news last year."

"Wait...wasn't it called The Inferno or something?" 

"Yeah but after all the trouble they got into the owner sold the club and the guy who bought it changed the name, hoping to change the reputation of the club as well.  Except the same people ended up coming back and even though it's not as bad as it was....it's not a place you would want to go."

"Hold up.  You think Michelle is at this club?  Why in the hell would she go there?!"

"Look, I don't know WHY she would go there, but from what I heard downstairs, I believe she did."

"Which was?"  Just asked, growing impatient.

"The guy said that there was this sexy little brunette down there and that she looked like some little uptown thing that took a wrong turn into a bad part of town.  He said she was drunk off her ass and dancing up a storm for some guys that were looking forward to spending a little "alone" time with her.  Apparently this group at the club have a reputation of treating women with very little respect if you get my drift.  I heard him telling a few stories to the guy next to him.  It wasn't pretty J."

"Ok, so what makes you think it's Michelle?"

"He also said he over heard that she is a dancer at Millennium, which according to him, is why she moved so well."

"Jesus christ Trace!  You think you would've started off with that piece of information!"  Justin yelled, grabbing his cell phone and sprinting down the stairs.

Sitting his drink down on the table, Trace followed after him.  He knew before he left the house that tonight wasn't going to end well.  He just had that vibe.  Although he was hoping it was in reference to his going home alone theory and not something like this. 

Pushing through the crowd, Justin ran out of the club.

"I'm coming with you."  Trace yelled as Justin ran over to his escalade.

"Do you know where the hell this club is at?"  Justin asked, as Trace ran around the other side of the vehicle to get in.

"I think so."

"You think or you know?"  he asked, frantically. "We can't afford to waste any time Trace." 

"I think so.  Man, I don't go to that fuckin place!  What do you want me to say?!"

Sticking the key in the ignition, Justin started up his truck and sped out of the parking lot.  Over and over he envisoned the worst in his head and prayed by that some miracle, Trace misunderstood what he heard.

"Wait...call Marty."  Justin said, handing Trace his phone.  "He has to be closer than we are to that god damn place.  Tell him what's going on and that we will meet him there.  God only knows what we are going to walk into." 

After dialing the number to Marty's cell, Trace placed the phone to his ear and glanced over at Justin.  Clearly the look on his face said it all.  He was scared.

Finally after three rings, Marty picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, it's Trace.  Justin wanted me to give you a call and tell you we think we know where Michelle is at."

"You do?  Where?"

"You remember that club on the other end of town that got raided last year?"

"Uhhh.....yeah."

"There."

"Your kidding right?"  Marty laughed.

"Unfortunetly I'm not."

"Why in the hell would she go to a place like that?!" he asked, the sound of his voice matching the ever present look on Justin's face.

"I don't know man."

"Do you have any idea the kind of shit that goes on down there or the type of people who hang out there for that matter?!."

"Why the fuck are you yelling at me!?  I didn't send her to the god damn club!"  Trace fired back.

Grabbing his keys, Marty ran out the door and over to his truck.  He didn't mean to freak out on Trace, but he couldn't help it.  Just the idea of her at that club sent chills down his spine.

"I'm sorry man, I'm just ready to lose my mind right now.  Are you on your way there?"  he asked, starting his truck.

"Yeah me and J are on our way, but I think your going to get there before we will."  Trace said, glancing over at Justin who was nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Well the second I get there I'll give you a call and let you know if I see her car in the parking lot.  If she's not there, there's no reason for you to drive down here"

"Thanks man.  We'll be waiting for your call."   Trace said, shutting the phone and offering back to Justin.

Taking it, Justin placed it in the console next to him and turned the radio off.  His tapping fingers now stilled, Justin stared blankly at the road in front of him.

"You alright man?" Trace asked.

After a long pause, Justin shook his head no.

"You know, I don't know what the hell goes on at this club, but if she's there Trace...I don't see us walking out of there with her without a fight."

"Well....then so be it.  I mean if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Justin tightened his grip on the steering wheel and mentally tried to prepare himself for what they would be dealing with if in fact, she was there.

Chapter 75

Once Michelle walked out of the club with Nick and Zach, they headed directly to his jeep.  Opening the door for her, Michelle got inside and Carter proceed around the other side of the vehicle to wait for Brandon.

"You know, I feel really bad not telling Nick I was leaving.  Maybe I should just go back inside and tell him goodbye.  It will only take a minute."  she said, glancing over at him.

"Nick will be fine.  Trust me.  Besides Brandon will be out here any second."

Slightly nodding her head, Michelle agreed to stay in the jeep and wait for Carter's friend to come out.

"So, where is this club at?"  Michelle asked, flipping down the visor so that she could check her make-up.

"Not far.  About ten...fifteen minutes." Zach said, eyeing her up and down.  An action, that unfortunetly went unnoticed.

"Good.  I need to dance."  she said and began wiggling in the seat to the music she still heard coming from the open door of the club.

Walking around to join Carter, Zach began to softly discuss exactly where they were headed with her once they left. Normally Zach wasn't too concerned about the game plans, he was just gald he got to participate in the action,but he had taken a particular liking to Michelle from the beginning and couldn't wait for things to get underway. 

"Relax man.  I have it all figured out.  Besides, I'm the one breaking her in.....not you."

Disappointed, Zach leaned against the side of the jeep and watched as a truck quickly pulled into the parking lot, causing the gravel to kick up.  Hearing the sound, Michelle turned around.

"That fucker!  He kicks that shit up on my car I'm gonna freak out!"

Laughing, Zach and Carter turned back around and anxiously awaited Brandon's arrival.  They knew that they only had a small window of opportunity to get Michelle out of there and the longer they waited, the more they began wondering if something didn't go as planned.

"Go back up there and see if you can find out what the fuck is keeping Brandon."

"Alright."

Pressing himself away from the jeep, Zach glanced over at Michelle one more time and then headed back towards the club.

Hearing the the sound of the guy's truck door shutting, Carter turned around once again and watched as the guy headed over to another car in the parking lot. 

"This waiting sucks!"  Michelle pouted.  "Give me your keys so I can atleast put some music on."

Distracted by the mission the guy was clearly on in the parking lot, Michelle's comment went unheard.  There was just something about the guy that held Carter's attention.  He didn't know if it was the idea that he might witness a fight if the guy's wife was here with another man or simply the fact that the guy seemed so intense, but whatever it was, he couldn't look away.

"Hello!  Carter!  Are you ignoring me?"  Michelle asked peeking her head out the top of the jeep.

Immeadiately the guy in the parking lot looked in their direction.  Carter stared at the guy for a few seconds and then realized that what he was looking at wasn't so much them as it was......her.

Worried that this was starting to have bad news written all over it, Carter turned to face her.

"Looks like we're about to have some company. You know this guy walking up here?" 

Turning sideways, Michelle glanced out into the parking lot and realized that she knew exactly who he was.

"Oh my god...you have to be kidding me!"  she said, sliding back down on the seat so she could get out.  Once she opened the door, she walked around the front of the jeep and stopped next to Carter. 

"Michelle what the hell are you doing here!?"  Marty asked, eyeing the guy up quickly before turning his focus back to her.

"Me!?  What about you!?"  she asked, stepping towards him.

"I'm here because I heard you were.  Why didn't you return any of my calls!?  Do you know how worried you had me!?"

Watching the bickering go back and forth without even a mention of him, Carter came to the conclusion that whoever the guy was, he had no romantic connection to her or he would have asked who he was.  Since he hadn't, Carter felt that more than likely he wouldn't interfere with his plans.

"I didn't feel like talking to anyone.  I still don't for that matter, so why don't you just go home.  You've seen me and I'm fine.  I'm a big girl.  I don't know why everyone acts like I can't think for myself!"

"Honestly, from the looks of you....I don't think you CAN think for yourself.  I mean look at you. Your fuckin drunk off your ass!" he said stepping closer to her. 

"So what!  I deserve a drink!" 

"Then do it closer to home where your friends can keep an eye on you.  Now let's go.  I'm taking you home." he said, grabbing hold of her arm.

"I'm not going anywhere!  I can't believe you!  I'm not 12 Marty.  Quit trying to tell me what to do!"

Once Michelle had pulled her arm back away from him, Carter stepped up between the two.

"Hey man.  I don't know who you are and....frankly I don't give a shit.  All I do know is that she isn't going anywhere.  So why don't you get lost." 

"I don't care what you say. She IS coming with me...whether you like it or not."  Marty said, reaching around Carter to grab a hold of her.

Immeadaitely Carter placed both hands on Marty's chest and shoved him forcefully backwards, causing him to fall.

"Carter!  What are you doing!?"  Michelle asked, trying to get to Marty.

"I think it's time to get out of here.  Come on."  Carter said, taking a hold of her wrist.

"Get the fuck off her!"  Marty yelled,  jumping to his feet.

Hearing the commotion, Zach rushed back towards the parking lot.  He knew Brandon was coming so there wasn't any reason to stand there and wait.  Especially when it was obvious that his services were needed back at the jeep.

"Who the hell is this joker?"  Zach asked arrogantly, as he ran up and got in Marty's face.

"Stop it!  Please just stop!"  Michelle begged. 

Unfortunelty, Carter now realized that Marty was going to more of a problem than originally suspected.  If things were going to continue as planned, he would need to be dealt with.

"Here take her."  Carter said, handing over custody of Michelle to Zach.

"My pleasure."  he said smugly, grabbing her by her waist and carrying her over to his car.

The second Marty tried to stop him from taking Michelle, a full fledge fight broke out between the two.  Terrified, Michelle began screaming. 

"Stop it Carter!  Just let him go!  Why are you doing this!"

As the two continued to fight Zach shoved Michelle in his car and told Brandon, who had just walked out of the club, to watch her.  He could tell that there wasn't an end in sight to the fight and he knew that they had to get out of there before Nick noticed that Michelle was gone. 

Grabbing Carter by his jacket, Zach pulled him backwards.

"Man let's go!  We have to get the fuck out of here!"

Just as they were about to head back to their vehicles, Justin pulled into the parking lot, threw his truck in park and jumped out.

"Now what!"  Carter yelled, dusting himself off as Marty got back to his feet.

"Who cares man.  We have to get the fuck out of here!  C'mon!" 

"Not with her you aren't!"  Marty yelled and tackled Carter to the ground once again.

Finally Brandon had enough of just standing around. 

"Sorry baby but looks like there's been a change of plans.  Don't worry though. They'll meet up with us later."

Pulling Michelle out of Zach's car, he began dragging her over to his truck.   As soon as he shoved her inside his truck and got in, Nick came running out of the club and spotted them.  Without wasting any time, Nick ran over to Brandon and pulled him back out of his truck.

"Your not doing this shit again asshole!"  he yelled and punched Brandon in the stomach, causing him to buckle over. 

Reaching through the drivers side door, Nick extended his hand to her.

"Michelle c'mon.....hurry up!"

Frozen with fear, Michelle sat there wide-eyed.  She just couldn't believe this was happening.  It was like something out of a bad movie.

"C'mon Michelle.  You have to get out now.  You don't...."  Nick started to say, but was cut off as Brandon grabbed him from behind.

As she sat there screaming, her door was pulled open and she felt someone grab her by her arm.

"Oh god please don't hurt me!"  she pleaded and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Michelle it's ok.   It's Trace."

Opening her eyes, she saw Trace standing there and quickly got out of Brandon's truck.  As Trace rushed her back to Justin's escalade, she saw Marty and Justin fighting Carter and Zach and began freaking out.

"Oh my god Trace.  Help them!"

"I will.  I just want to make sure I get you somewhere safe first." 

Once he opened the door to Justin's truck, Michelle jumped inside. 

"Lock this door and don't open it for anything.  You hear me?"

Nodding her head, Trace took of running back towards Marty and Justin.  Just as he was within a few feet of them, he saw Carter and Zach jump into the jeep.  Apparently security had come out from the club and they weren't about to stick around.

"Where is.....Michelle?  Is.....she ....alright?"  Justin asked, hunched over and out of breath.

"Yeah.  She's ok.  I took her back to the truck."

"Is everything alright here gentlemen?"  the bouncer asked, as a small group began to file out of the club to see what was going on.

"Yeah, everything's fine."  Trace said, observing people pointing and whispering. "J we have to get outta here."

"No shit.  Five more minutes and this will be a media circus.  Let's go."  Marty huffed.

Walking back to Justin's truck, Marty was thankful that they got there when they did.  He knew that if they had gotten there only a few minutes later that the results could have been disasterous.  However, he would be lying if he said he wasn't furious with her for not thinking about what she was doing.

"You alright man?"  Justin asked, looking over at Marty who was clutching his side as he walked.

"Never been better!" he said sarcastically. "I can't believe she came down here.  What the hell was she thinking!"

"I don't know why.  I guess we will just have to ask her."  Trace said, leading the way back to Justin's truck.

Chapter 76

Once they got back to Justin's truck Marty pulled her door open and began yelling at her.

"So, you care to tell me why you chose to hang out at this fuckin rat hole?  Huh?  Did you even have any idea who the hell those guys were or were you just gonna say 'fuck it' and hope that they treated you like perfect gentlemen.  Could you have been anymore naive!"

Hearing him yell at her like that upset her even more than she already was.  She never meant for any of this to happen.  All she wanted to do was go out and let loose.  Now because of her, her friends had been through hell and back.

"I'm sorry.  I guess I wasn't thinking."  she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah no shit!"  Marty scolded.

"Hey man...take it easy.  It's been a long stressful night for everyone.  Let's not add to it." Justin said, clearly becoming aware of the fragile state she was in.

"Take it easy!?  Man you don't have a clue about the shit I have been through because of her!"

Covering her ears with her hands, Michelle hunched over and tried to block out the harsh sound of Marty's voice as it tore through her.  She couldn't stand the thought of Marty not being in her life and the way he was yelling at her, she was sure that he wouldn't want anything else to do with her after this.

"I'm sorry!"  she cried out.

"Knock it off."  Justin said, pulling him away from the door. 

"No.  She needs to hear this.  The next time she might not be as lucky!"  he yelled.  "You hear that Michelle!"

"That's enough Marty!  What the hell is your problem!?  You see that she's upset!"

"Good!"

Seeing her break down into a sobbing mess, Trace squeezed past Justin and leaned in towards her.  He just couldn't believe the way Marty was yelling at her.  He had met Marty a few years ago and could honestly say that he never once saw him act the way he was acting right now.  It was nothing short of shocking.

"Don't listen to him.  It's just been a long night and a lot of people are on edge right now.  He'll calm down. Just give him some time. You'll see...it'll be ok."

"No it won't be ok!  Not until she starts using her fucking head!  You keep this stupid shit up and your not going to make it to see 22!  People around here don't fuck around!" Marty said, walking back over towards her.

"Man....I said that's enough.  Look at her!  Do you really think she needs to hear this shit right now?!  Regardless of what your reasons are, this is NOT the time."  Justin said.  "Besides, we need to get the hell out of here." 

"I agree.  We need to take off.  I don't want to be here if those assholes decide to come back once the crowd clears out."  Trace said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Fine by me.  It's not like I wanted to come down here anyway."  Marty said, opening her door all the way. "Let's go, I'm taking you home."

As Michelle slowly looked up at Marty, Justin could see that she was hesitant to go with him.  Not that he could blame her.  For the last five minutes all Marty did was yell at her.  What was the ride home going to be like for her.  Peaceful and quite?  He doubted it.

"I can take her home man."  Justin said, feeling his front pockets for his keys.

"I'll take her home.  It's on my way anyway.  C'mon...let's go."  Marty said, motioning for her to get out.

Wiping her eyes, Michelle turned sideways and stepped out of the truck.  After tucking a small piece of hair behind her ear, she walked over to where Marty was standing.

"I'm so sorry guys.  I never meant for this to happen or for you to get involved."  she said, looking back and forth between Justin and Trace.

"Hey...you don't have to appologize.  We're just glad your alright."  Trace said.

"Yeah......are you ok?   I don't even remember anyone asking you that.  They didn't hurt you did they?"

Lowering her head, she slowly shook it 'no'. 

"Ten more minutes and you wouldn't have been able to give that answer."  Marty said, as he pulled his own keys from his back pocket.

"Hey....why don't you just let me drive her home.  I think you need to cool down some anyway man.  Your not doing anyone any good right now and it sure as hell doesn't look like your planning on cooling down anytime soon."

"I said I'll fuckin take her home!"

Justin stood there for a second and watched her body language as he raised his voice.  There was no mistaking the fact that she was scared. Not that Justin was worried that he would do anything, but she definetly didn't need to be upset any more than she already was.  He had to stand his ground.

"Look, I'm gonna take her home and that's all there is to it.  I mean.....look at her.  All your doing by yelling at her is scaring the shit out of her!"

"You know what...you wanna take her home...go for it!  I don't have the time to sit here and argue with you!  I'm going home.  You deal with the mess!"  Marty said, waving them off and walking back towards his truck.

In shock, the three of them stood there and watched as Marty got inside and drove away. 

"What the hell was that about?  Has Marty lost his fuckin mind!?"  Trace asked.  "I never saw him like that!  I mean dude was flipping out!"

"That's enough Trace.  Let's just get the hell out of here."

Wrapping his arm around her, Justin walked Michelle back over to his truck.  Although he didn't want Trace discussing Marty's outburst in front of her, he couldn't help but be unsettled by it too.  It just wasn't his nature. 

"Are you ok?"  Justin asked, bending down to look at her.

Closing her eyes, she let a few tears fall down her cheek.  She didn't know what to say.  Was she ok?  Man was that a loaded question.  In so many aspects she wasn't, but she knew that he simply meant in general when he asked the question.  Slightly nodding her head, she opened the back door and got in, praying that she would just disappear into the empty darkness of his backseat. 

"She doesn't look good man."  Trace said, watching as she shut her door. "I can't believe Marty went off on her like that."

"Me either.  Especially after the fact that she was sitting there crying.  Was he trying to make things worse.....because that's what he did."

"J, maybe they do have something going on.  I mean, like outside of her working relationship with him.  It would certainly clear up a lot of things......as well as explain the reason for the break up between her and Wade."

"You know, I've back and forth with that in my mind for days, but honestly I don't see it Trace.  I mean, it's obvious that they're more than casual friends outside of work, but I don't think there's a romantic connection there.  I just don't." 

"Well....I wouldn't rule it out.  That's all I'm saying." 

"I know."  Justin said, handing his keys over to Trace. "Here, drive.  I'm gonna go back there and sit with her."

"Alright."  Trace said, taking the keys and walking around to the drivers side. 

Once Justin opened the back door, he saw her sitting there with her head in her hands still crying and it broke his heart.  She just looked so helpless and lost.

"You mind if I sit back here with you?"

 Looking up, Michelle wiped the traces of mascara laced tears from her cheeks and slid over to let him in.

Climbing inside, Justin sat down next to her and closed the door.  As much as he wanted to just pull her close and hold her, he worried that if he did, she might think he was trting to make advances toward her when she was vulnerable. Something he didn't want her thinking.  Instead, he reached down and gently took one of her hands in his. 

"It'll be ok. Don't worry." he said.

Glancing up in the rear view mirror, Trace saw the hurt look on Justin's face as he looked at her.  At that point, he knew with certainity that Justin was falling in love with her and would stop at nothing to have her in his life. Starting the truck, Trace couldn't help but worry that this was only the beginning of what was sure to be a disaster. 

As they pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the road, Michelle looked down at Justin's hand as it cradled hers.

"I don't know how you got involved in this Justin, but I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it.  I'm just glad we got there when we did. When Trace heard someone talking about those guys at the club and what they did with girls..............I was scared to death. I don't even want to think about what would of happened if we got there too late." 

At that moment, the harsh reality of what Marty and Justin interrupted, hit her.  The way Nick was acting, the quick exit to go to another club without telling Nick she was leaving...all of it finally falling into place.

"Oh my god....you mean....they were going to.....no.....oh god no...." she began crying. 

"No don't cry....oh shit I'm sorry....I don't know why I even opened my mouth."  Justin said, his heart sinking into his stomach.  He didn't even think about what the effects of his comments would have on her and now it was too late to go back. 

Clutching her hand tightly in his, he did his best to soothe her with words.  Reassuring her that she was safe and that they weren't going to hurt her.  Unfortuently, none of it was having the effect on her that he was hoping for.  Finally he knew what he needed to do....what he had wanted to do all along.

"Come here." Justin whispered, moving his hand from hers so that he could hold her. 

Without hesitation, Michelle moved closer and leaned her head against Justin's shoulder, thankful that he was offering the comfort she so desperately wanted....and needed.

"Justin, I don't want to go home."  she said softly, looking up at him. 

Justin had a feeling he knew what she meant, but he wasn't about to take advantage of the situation. He knew that if they went back to his place, whether his intentions were good or not, the end result would be less than ideal.  With the sexual tension between them growing everyday, he knew that if she stayed at his place, morning would come and glancing over the only thing he would see was her in his bed.  Something he couldn't risk happening. 

"Can we go back to your place?  Please? I don't want to be alone tonight."

"Uh......I don't think that's a good idea.  I mean......well, you know what I mean.  I don't want something happening between us that you'll regret."

"I just don't want to be alone.  Please?"

Pulling up to a stoplight, Trace looked over his shoulder and awaited Justin answer.  An answer he was eagerly waiting to hear himself.

"So, where are we headed J?"  Trace asked.

Looking down at her, Justin knew that he was making a big mistake, but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to tell her no.

"I guess we're heading home Trace."

Chapter 77

Once Marty pulled out of the parking lot, he headed home and began wondering if he made the right decision by letting her go with Justin.  Granted he wasn't exactly what Michelle needed at that moment, him yelling and all, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Justin wasn't it either. 

After giving it some thought, Marty knew he couldn't let things end the way they did with Michelle.  He knew she had a lot on her mind and he certainly didn't need to add any more to it.  Glancing down at his watch, he knew that Michelle would be back home by now and the best thing for him to do was just go over there and apologize. 

Looking for a place to turn around, Marty knew he was making the right decision.  That was originally the reason he was looking for her in the first place, but when all the mess went down at the club, he never even got around to asking her why she ran out of Millennium.

Once he pulled up to her apartment building he got out and walked inside.  After a few knocks on her door with no answer, he decided to try her phone.  Again no answer.  Beginning to worry, Marty dialed the number to Justin's cell to find out if she was alright when he dropped her off.  Finally after a few rings, Justin picked it up.

"Hey Justin, it's Marty."

"Hey man, what's up?"  Justin asked, as Michelle straightened up to allow him some room to move.

"Was Michelle alright when you dropped her off?  I mean, I realized that I shouldn't have yelled and that I should go back and apologize for yelling at her, but she wont answer the door or her phone."

"Uh....well....I never dropped her off."  Justin said, glancing over at Michelle.

"What do you mean you never dropped her off?"

"I mean...she's still with me."

"You didn't make it to her apartment yet?"  Marty asked shocked. 

Justin glanced up at Trace who was watching the conversation in the rear view mirror and shook his head.  Justin knew once Marty found out that he wasn't taking her home that all hell was going to break loose.   Especially after Marty tried to question his interest in her earlier.

"No...we didn't get lost.  She didn't want to go home."

"So...where are you at?  Just driving around?"

"Actually we're on our way to my place.  She's...........gonna stay with me tonight."

"WHAT?!  Like hell is she!  What the hell are you doing Justin?!"

"What do you mean what the hell am I doing?  I'm going home."

"Man, don't give me that bullshit.  You know exactly what I mean.  Put her on the phone."

Covering the mouthpiece with his hand, Justin turned to face her.

"He wants to talk to you.  What do you want me to tell him?"

"It's alright.  Just give me the phone."  she said, extending her hand to him.

Once Justin handed her the phone, he turned and looked out the window.  He knew there wasn't any way to offer her some real privacy, but atleast he could turn away and not listen in on every word she said...even though that was exactly what he wanted to do. 

Placing the phone to her ear, she sighed softly.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing?  Why aren't you headed back to your apartment?" 

"Because I didn't want to be alone." 

"You know damn well that all you had to do was call me and I would be over there in a heartbeat.  Haven't I told you that from day one?"

"Yeah, but incase you weren't aware, your not my favorite person right now."

"Why?  Because I yelled at you?  How did you want me to react?  Going down there had to be one of the dumbest things you've ever done.  I mean other than allowing Wade to get away with the shit he did."

"Marty don't."  she said, feeling her heart break.

"Don't what?  Bring him up? Well I think I need to.  I mean what the hell happened that caused you to run out of Millennium like that?  What the hell did he say to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it.  I just want to forget about it.  I really don't even remember what he said."  she said softly, glancing over at Justin.

She knew exactly what he had said.  She could still hear his voice as it echoed his warning to her.  His warning that if she messed around with Justin, that they both would pay the price.

"No.  I don't think you forgot, but I'm not going to force the issue right now.  All I want is for you to go back to your apartment.  I mean....what would even possess you to go to Justin's?  You barely know him."

Looking over at Justin, Michelle began to think that she did make a wrong choice.  Not so much because of what Marty was saying, but more of what Wade had said earlier.  Justin had already been drug into one situation because of her, he certainly didn't need to be brought into another.  Lord knows that if Wade found out that she had spent the night over at Justin's, he would definetly lose it.

"Well what do you want me to do Marty.  We're like five minutes away from his house."

Hearing that, Justin turned to look at her.  He didn't hear Marty yelling at her, but he knew that he had to be saying something about her going back to his house.  Something that really wasn't any of his business.

"Ok, well I'll head towards Justin's then.  I should be there in about fifteen minutes.  Once I pick you up we'll go get your car and then head back to your place.  Alright?"

"Yeah."  she said softly, looking over at Justin who was giving her a puzzled look. "I'll see you shortly."

Flipping Justin's phone shut, she handed it back to him and sat there completely quiet. In her mind she was trying to figure out the easiest way to tell Justin that Marty was coming to take her home, but before she could decide how to tell him, he beat her to the punch.

"So...what's up?  Marty on his way to get you?"

"Uh....yeah.  Well, we are going to go get my car and then I'm going to go home."

"Why the change of plans?  You know your welcome to stay at my place.  You don't have to go home just because he wants you to."

"I know.  I think he is probablly right though.  I'm sorry.  I know you must think I'm just a walking disaster." she said, looking down at her hands as they sat in her lap.

Moving closer, Justin slid his finger under her chin and turned her towards him. 

"I don't think your a walking disaster.  I think you have a lot going on right now that happens to be more than you can handle."

Glancing up into his eyes, Michelle realized how right he was.  She was dealing with way more than she could handle.  She had been for quite some time.  She just thought that ending the relationship would be the end of it.  Unfortunetly, she was beginning to think that the situation with Wade would never be over with. 

"I also think your beautiful." he said, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

Hearing Justin utter those words, Trace's jaw dropped and he looked in the rear view mirror at the two of them.  As they stared into each other's eyes, Trace could have swore that they forgot he was even there. Was Justin really going to do this right here...right now? 

Never breaking eye contact, Justin slid his hand along side of her jaw, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. He had hoped that she wouldn't pull away, but with their record of failed attempts and close calls, he expected it to happen. However, he knew that if he wanted her in his life, he was going to have to make the effort to let her know how he felt.

Just as he was about to lean in and kiss her, Trace put the truck in park and turned it off.

"Ok...so uh...yeah....we're here.  I'm going inside now."  Trace said, quickly exiting the vehicle and walking towards the front door.

Laughing, Justin shook his head.  Trace never was one for subtlety.

"I guess we should probably go inside." 

"Yeah." she replied softly.

Opening the back door, Justin got out and extended his hand to her.  Placing her tiny hand in his, Justin helped her out and shut the door behind them. 

"Are you alright?"

"What?"  she asked, lost in a world of her own.

"I asked if you're alright?"

"Oh...yeah, I'm fine." 

Justin watched her walk towards the house and knew she didn't mean what she said.  He could tell simply by the way she said it.  Something was going on.  Problem was, would she trust him enough to tell him what it was. 

Letting out a sigh, Justin hurried after her so that he could open the door. After letting her walk in ahead of him he shut the door. As she was headed into the livingroom, Trace came trotting down the stairs.

"Hey, I'm gonna take off.  Steve's on his way over to pick me up so I can go get my car from the club."

"Oh yeah.  Shit, I forgot about that. Sorry man."

"Don't worry about it.  It's not like that was top priority on anyone's list earlier. Besides, you two could use some time alone.  Maybe you can sort out your feelings while she's here."

Nodding his head in agreement, Justin looked at Michelle as she headed over to the window in the livingroom.

"Just don't rush things J, alright?  I know she's not staying and honestly I think that's for the best, but don't let something happen in the amount of time you have alone either.  You don't want that. " he said, glancing over Justin's shoulder at her.  "I mean, I'm not trying to lecture you, but I saw that look on your face when you were back there with her."

"It wasn't even like that though.  Trust me, if things work out the way I want them to, I'm going to do it the way it should be done.  I'm not just going to get her in bed so I can get myself off."

"Ok, that was WAY more information than I needed."  Trace laughed, covering his ears with his hands.

"You know what I mean.  If I just wanted to get laid, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.  I would just head out to the club and bring someone home with me.  Hell I'd bring a few home."

"Your something else, you know that?"

"I'm joking!  Have I ever brought more than one home?  Ok, wait..don't answer that."  he said slightly laughing. "I'm just saying that it's not about sex with her.  Well, atleast it isn't now.  I want something more."

"I know what you mean.  I'm just giving you a hard time man. I'll catch up with you tomorrow." Trace said, extending his hand to shake Justin's before heading outside to wait for Steve.

Chapter 78

Once Justin closed the door, he headed into the livingroom.  He could see she was deep in thought as she gazed out at the city lights on the horizon and hesitated approaching her.  However hearing him walk into the room, she turned around. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean startle you."  he said, walking over to join her at the window.

"You didn't.  I was just looking out at the city.  Funny how from here it seems so magical and enticing.  Had I known then, what I know now.......I would have never moved out here."

Taken by surprise, Justin turned to face her. 

"What do you mean...if you had know then, what you know now?  LA isn't what you thought is was going to be?"

"No, don't get me wrong. I love LA.  I just don't love what I've become since I moved out here."  she said trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. 

Justin didn't understand.  From what he saw of her she was an amazing person.  Kind, soft spoken and fun to be around.  What could she have possibly turned into that would have her hating herself.

"I'm sorry.  I....I don't know why I'm acting like this."  she said, wiping away the tears that were now present.

Quickly turning around, she attempted to walk away from the window when Justin garbbed a holf of her hand to stop her. 

"Hey....don't cry.  Come here.  What's wrong?" he said pulling her back towards him. "You can trust me."

"I can't Justin.  I....just can't."

Quickly searching through his mind for anything that could be the source of her heartbreak he realized the only thing it could be.  He was slightly hesitant even bringing the subject up, but he couldn't stand seeing her like that.  It was breaking his heart.  He wanted to help.

"Does this have anything to do with Wade?"

Immeadiately her eyes widened and she feared he knew something she didn't want him knowing.  Something that he shouldn't know.

"Wade?  What about him?"

“Are you upset about your breakup with Wade?  I mean do you really think it's over between you two?”  he asked, hoping atleast for his sake that she would say yes.

“Why would you think this has anything to do with him?  It doesn’t.  I don't want to talk about Wade anyway.  Ever.  Ok?"  she said, pulling away from Justin’s hold.

Her response caught him by surprise and as he stood there trying to process it, she walked over to the front door and opened it. 

Was she about to just walk out of his house and onto the busy streets of LA? 

Running over to the door, he quickly pushed it shut and she jumped back. 

“Where do you think you’re going?”  he asked. 

“Oh god...please don’t hurt me. Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”  she said, nervously backing away from him.

“What?  Hurt you?  Why would you think I would hurt you?”  he asked confused.

“I’m sorry.  I......oh god Justin, I’m sorry.”  she said, backing into the corner of his hall chest.

Immeadiately, Justin became concerned.  She was trembling right before his eyes and he was completely in shock as to what he should do. Why would she think he would ever hurt her.

He had just started to walk towards her when the sound of knocking on the door stopped him.  Knowing that it had to be Marty, he turned around and opened the door.

“Hey man...glad your here.”  he said, stepping back so that Marty could walk inside. "I think we have a problem."

The second Marty spotted Michelle, he noticed that she was crying and ran over to her. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?"

Shaking her head with disbelief over her actions, she continued crying as she ran past them and out the door.

“What the hell happened?  Why is she crying?” 

“I don’t know man."  Justin said, quickly following after Marty as he ran out the door. "I think those assholes might have done something to her earlier at that club." 

"What do you mean?  I thought she was fine?  Did she say something happened, cause I'll go down there and kill those mother fuckers!"

"No, well she didn't say that anything happened.  It was more of how she acted."

"How she acted?  What do you mean?"

"Almost out of nowhere she started freaking out.  Saying...'please don't hurt me, I'm sorry'  She scared the shit out of me!  I've never seen someone so afraid.  Dude, they had to have done something to her.  Either that or they slipped something in her drink. Seriously, it came out of nowhere."

Just then the realization set in that her reference to being hurt was more than likely a result of Wade and not the guys from the club.  She appeared to be fine when they left earlier so it was the only thing that would really make sense. Especially considering the fact that he knew Wade had hurt her.  Of course he couldn't rule out that she wasn't given anything at the club, but his instincts told him that his first guess was right.

Once they got out to Marty's truck, they saw Michelle sitting in the passenger seat crying.  Walking over to her door, Justin opened it up and took a hold of her hand as he sat on the door jam by her feet.

"Michelle.....look at me. Did something happen tonight at that club?  Did someone hurt you?"

Looking up at him, Michelle saw the look of concern on Justin's face and felt horrible for losing it the way she did.  She knew Justin would never hurt her, but the second the door slammed shut, all she saw was Wade. Unfortunetly, she couldn't tell him that and he could never know what had happened between her and Wade. 

"Look man, just let me get her home.  She'll be fine.  It's just been a long night.....for everyone." 

"WHAT?!  Is that some kind of joke? She isn't going to be fine just because you get her home!" Justin yelled, half in shock.  Was he seriously susposed to just brush off what he saw only a few minutes ago?  Could Marty even think that it was possible or even expect him to?

"Your not making things any better by sitting there yelling incase you haven't noticed"  Marty quickly pointed out, slightly nodding his head towards Michelle..

Seeing that he was upsetting her more, Justin stood up and closed the door so that he could confront Marty.

"Dude, she fuckin thought I was going to hurt her!  You weren't here! You didn't see the look on her face. Did you even listen to a word I said?!  Something is wrong.  Something happened to her." 

"I'm not going to sit here and get into this with you right now.  There's alot going on that you haven't the slightest clue about.  Alright?  She'll be fine J, trust me."

"Trust you? You know, I'm beginning to think that a lot of this mess has to do with you.  I mean the more I think about it, the more sense it makes."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Back at the club your bitching at her like she's a little kid, wanting nothing to do with her after I said I would take her home.  Then once you call me up and find out that she's coming home with me, you're dead set against it and head over to pick her up.  What the fuck is going on?  Seriously.....do you have something going on with her or do you want something to happen between you two?  I just want to know."

"You know what, she is going through a lot of shit right now.  I'm just trying to look out for her best interests.  I know that doesn't mean shit to you right now, but you have to trust me on this one alright?   Use your head man.  Oh, and if I didn't know it before, I sure as hell know now that there is more going on between you two than your working relationship.  I just wanted you to know." 

Feeling torn between anger and complete helplessness, Justin shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as Marty got inside and started up his truck. He just couldn't understand how Marty could so calmly dismiss what he had told him.  Something had obviously happened tonight that caused her to react to him the way she did.   Why didn't he care? 

Never taking his eyes off of Michelle, Justin watched as she wiped a tear from her cheek and mouthed to him that she was sorry.  Feeling like he was partly to blame for whatever happened, he mouthed that he was sorry back and watched as they pulled out of the driveway. Once they were out of sight, Justin hesitantly went back inside.

"Look, we're just going to get the car towed home.  I know it can't stay there tonight, but you're in no shape to drive it home either."  Marty said, looking over at her.

Simply nodding her head, she continued to look out the window.  Every time she tried to convince herself that things would get better, somthing happened to prove her wrong.

"Marty, it's never going to end.  He isn't going to just let me walk out of his life.  You know that right?"

"Don't even say that.  That's not the case and you and I both know it."

"No, I know him Marty.  We're not over.  This nightmare isn't over.  I can feel it."  she said softly, as the tears again began to fall.

Reaching over, Marty took a hold of her hand.

"Look at me.  You did the right thing when you ended things between you.  I mean, I'm sure he isn't the happiest guy in the world right now, but he can't make you take him back. Just stay away from him.  Don't even talk to the asshole."

Leaning her head against the window, she knew that Marty really didn't understand what Wade was capable of.  Even his own sister was in disbelief when she started to fill her in on his abusive behavior. No one knew what Wade was really like.......except her. 

Chapter 79

Sitting on the sofa, Wade watched as Cameran made the call to Michelle's apartment.  He still couldn't believe she had the nerve to even touch his phone, let alone go through his phone book and call her.

"Wade she isn't answering.  Do you want me to leave a message?"

Shaking his head, Wade stood up and walked towards her. 

"Just give me the fuckin phone."  Wade said, taking it from her and hanging it up.

Unsure of what he else he wanted her to do to try and fix things, she stood there silently. She knew that Wade was still furious at her and she didn't want to do anything that would cause him to lose his temper again. 

"I'm taking off.  This shit is just way beyond a quick fix by you anyway."

"I'm sorry Wade.  I know I shouldn't have called her.  I don't even know why I did, but if there's anything I can do to fix it I will.  You know, your welcome to stay here tonight?"

Turning around to face her, he began laughing hysterically.

"Your pathetic.  I know your not good at taking hints Cam, but I flat out told you I don't want anything to do with you.  Why in the hell would I stay here?  You think I'll get back in bed with you?  It's not going to happen.  Goodnight Cam."

Heading towards the door, Wade pulled it open and walked out, never once looking back as he slammed it shut.

As he walked back across the street to his hotel, Wade knew that he was going to have his work cut out for him once he got back to LA.  As if Marty wasn't enough trouble to deal with, he now had to deal with the fact that Cameran filled Michelle in on his little NY adventure.  Then there was the fact that he suspected something going on with Justin.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Wade walked inside and straight up to his room.  All he wanted to do was go to bed and figure things out tomorrow when his head wasn't in such a fog.  Unfortunetly, as he was about to walk in his room, his cell phone started to ring.  Glancing down at his watch, he looked at the time and wondered who in the hell would be calling him so late.

Swiping his key, Wade opened the door and pulled his phone out of his pocket.  Once he tossed the key on the dresser, he flipped his phone open and placed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, where the hell were you earlier?"  Brian asked on the other end.

"Where was I?"  Wade asked confused, as he kicked off his shoes and sat down on the sofa.

“Yeah, I tried to call you about an hour ago.  It just rang and rang.”

“Oh....I was at the bar.  I just didn’t feel like answering it.  Why, what’s up?”

“Well.....uh.....I was at the club earlier and I saw Justin.  I went over and started talking to him....and we started talking about your call with Michelle....and uh......”

“Jesus christ Brian!  Your worse than Chantal!  Get to the point!”

“Alright, well I guess after you had your little talk with her, she took off.  No one knows where she is.”

“What do you mean no one knows where she is?!  She’s probably fuckin around with Marty, that son of a bitch!  You watch, I’m going to kill that mother fucker when I get back!”

“No, she wasn’t with Marty. See, shortly after my conversation with Justin, Trace ran upstairs, said something to J and they took off.  I’m pretty sure I heard Michelle’s name, but I can’t be sure.  I tried to find if anyone knew what was going on, but they didn’t.  I asked Mel and Jen if they had seen Michelle and that said they hadn’t, but said that Marty had been up at MC earlier looking for her too. So, that’s how I know she wasn’t with him.”

“Wait...hold on.  After she got off the phone with me she took off?”

“Yeah.”

“And no one has seen her, Marty’s looking for her and you think you overheard Trace say something about Michelle to Justin and they took off?”

“Yeah...basically.”

“Did Justin ever come back to the club?”

“No, neither one of them did.  I haven’t seen Marty either and he normally stops down.”

“Let me call you back man, I’m going to try to call her cell.”

“Alright.”

Hanging up the phone, Wade waited for the phone to be reset and then began dialing the number to Michell’e cell.  After a few rings, it kicked into voice mail.  He wasn't sure if her phone was off or she just chose not to answer.  Either way, that didn't help solve the problem at hand and he still had questions.

Knowing that Justin wasn't aware of his situation with Michelle or the fact that he knew Justin was with Michelle when he called before, he figured that it was a good place to start to look for some answers.

Walking into the kitchen, Wade grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the counter.  After taking a drink, he sat the bottle down on the counter and dialed Justin's number.  After several rings with no answer, he assumed that Justin was still out for the evening and realized that he would have to call his cell.  Just as he was about to hang up though, Justin answered the phone.

"Hello." 

The second Wade heard his voice, he felt this sudden urge to call him out.  To tell him that he knew he had lied about Michelle's whereabouts and that he heard the part of the conversation he had with Marty. Surprisingly though, a stronger head prevailed and he went on with the reason he called.

"Hey man, it's Wade."

"Oh hey man.  What's up?"  Justin asked.

"Have you seen Michelle tonight?  I've been trying to get in touch with her all evening and haven't had any luck."  Wade said, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked into the bedroom.

"Ummm.................no.  I haven't seen her.  I've just been hanging out here with Trace though. Why? Is something wrong?"  Justin asked.  He knew that Michelle wasn't interested in talking to him and by saying he hadn't seen her, it eliminated a lot of the questions he was bound to ask if he knew what had happened earlier.

"I don't know.  If you see or hear from her, can you give me a call?"

"Yeah man, no problem."

"Thanks."  Wade said, and flipped his phone shut.  He knew Justin was lying through his teeth.  Brian had already told him that he was at the club earlier and that only further proved to him that Justin was up to something with Michelle.  Something he quickly needed to put an end to.

Sitting the phone down on the dresser, Wade finished the last button of his shirt and tossed it on the bed. Taking a t-shirt out of the dresser, Wade slipped it on and headed over to the closet to grab his bag.  He knew there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to stay in New York now, especially with everything going on.  Things that wouldn't be going on if he was around.

After unzipping his bag, Wade pulled out the folder he had brought from home, grabbed his phone off the dresser and headed back into the livingroom.  Once he sat down on the sofa, Wade opened the folder and began thumbing through the papers, finally locating the one he was looking for.

Flipping the phone open, Wade dialed the number on the paper and leaned back.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kev, it's Wade.  Look, I told Mya that I would be out here for the video, but there's some things going on back in LA that I need to go take care of.  Can you handle this shoot on your own?"

"Back in LA?  You mean your in New York now?"

"Yeah."

"Uh...I don't see why not.  I mean, is everything ok?"

"Oh...yeah.  This is just something personal I need to deal with."

"Ok, well yeah man, I'm good.  Are you going to miss the whole shoot or just a few days?"

"Well....honestly I don't know what's going to happen when I get there, so it might be safe to assume that I won't be back.  I'm going to try and catch a flight back to LA tomorrow morning.  I'll call Mya before I leave and tell her what's going on."

"Alright."

"Well man, I better get my shit packed back up.  Thanks for this man.  I owe ya one."

"No problem.  Take it easy."

"Thanks.  You too."  Wade said, flipping the phone shut and tossing it down on the cushion next to him.

Shutting the folder, he sat it down on the table in front of him.  Slightly laughing, Wade knew that his quick arrival back in LA, would take more than a few people by surprise.  Something he was looking forward too.  With no one expecting him to be there, he would get the chance to find out what was really going on and not let anyone feed him a bullshit story.

"Shit.  I forgot to call Brian back."  Wade said to himself, grabbing the phone next to him and dialing the number.

After a few rings, it kicked into voicemail.

"It's Wade.  Sorry it took me so long, something came up.  Anyway, when you get this, give me a call."

Flipping the phone shut, Wade got up and headed into the bedroom. Grabbing his suitcase from the chair, Wade tossed it up on the bed and began packing his stuff back up.  Just as he had placed the last few things inside, his phone began to ring.  Running back out to the livingroom, Wade grabbed the phone it flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"It's me.  Did you get in touch with her?"

"No, I didn't.  I called Justin though and that little fucker lied through his teeth.  He told me him and Trace had been hanging out at his place all night."

"Yeah, well that's a bunch of bullshit right there."  Brian said, slightly laughing.  "Because I fuckin talked to him at the club earlier."

"Something is going on and I want to know what it is. Do me a favor.  Do you know what her car looks like?"

"The little silver roadster?"

"Yeah.  Can you drive by Justin's and see if it's there. I don't trust that fucker."

"Yeah I guess.  Do you want me to go stop up there.  I mean J probably has the gate shut.  If she's parked in the driveway I wont be able to see from the road."

"Yeah whatever you want.  I just want to find out where the hell she is."

"Alright, I'll head up there and see what I can find out.  I'm sure someone knows what's going on or where she's at.  Give me a call tomorrow morning before you leave for the airport.  I'll try to have something for you by then."

"Thanks man, I appreciate it." 

"No problem.  I'll talk to you tomorrow."  Brian said, ending the call.

Flipping his phone shut, Wade sat it down on the kitchen counter and headed back into the bedroom.  After sitting his suitcase on the floor, Wade sprawled out on the bed and stared at the ceiling.  He knew that it was going to be a long night.  Just thinking that she might have been with Justin was eating him alive.  After going through all the trouble trying to keep Marty from her, it appears the real threat was right under his nose the whole time.  In any case, once he got back to LA, he would deal with everyone.

Chapter 80
 

Once Marty arrived at Michelle's apartment, he put his truck in park and walked around to open her door for her.

"Come on.  It's been a long night.  You really should get some rest."

Sighing heavily, she turned sideways and virtually slid out of his truck.  She had pretty much given up hope that she would ever get any resemblance of a normal life back.  Not to mention it had come to a point where she just didn't care anymore.

As they walked up the stairs, Michelle opened her purse and began searching for her keys.

"You want me to find them?"  Marty asked, noticing the far away look in her eyes.

"It's alright.  I found them."  she said, pulling them out and locating the one that opened her front door.

Onced they got to the end of the hall, Michelle placed the key in the door and unlocked it.  Giving it a gentle push, the door opened up and the two of them walked inside.

"Do you want me to stay here tonight with you?  I mean, I know you said you didn't want to be by yourself."

"It doesn't matter.  I'm just going to go to bed."  she said tossing her keys and purse down on the table.

"Are you sure your alright?  I mean Justin said he thought something happened with those assholes at the club.  Nothing happened right?  They didn't touch or hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine.  I just don't want to talk about it right now."

"Alright, well if you don't mind, I think I'm just going to crash here tonight.  I'd feel a lot better knowing that I'm here if you need me."

"That's fine.  Thanks Marty." she said, heading towards the stairs.  "I'll grab you a pillow and some blankets."

"Thanks."

Once she got to her bedroom, Michelle grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from her dresser drawer and headed into the bathroom to change.

After getting dressed, she headed back into the bedroom to get the blankets and pillow for Marty out of the closet.  Although she wished Marty never got involved in her problems with Wade, she was glad he was staying the night.  She just didn't want to be alone.

"You need some help with those?"  Marty asked, standing just outside the her bedroom doorway in the hall.

"Yeah, thanks."  she said, stepping aside so that Marty could reach the items on the top shelf.

"I think that should be enough, but if you need more, just let me know."

"Oh, I'm sure this will be fine.  I'm just going to take these downstairs so you can get some sleep.  You definetly look like you could use some.  Then if you want to talk tomorrow we........ah shit!"  he yelled, sitting the pile of bedding down on the chair.  "I think I stepped on something."

Puzzled, Michelle watched as Marty hopped over and sat down on the edge of her bed.  Bending his foot up, he noticed a small trail of blood running down towards his heel.

"Oh my god!  Are you alright?"  she asked, walking over to examine his foot.

"Yeah I'll be fine."  he said, grabbing a hold of the small object sticking out. After giving it a slight pull, he removed the object and placed it in his hand.

"Look like a piece of glass.  Did you break a vase or something?"

"No, I didn't break anything.  Atleast I don't recall anything.  Are you sure it's glass?"

"Yeah, that's what it looks like."

"Oh..."

"What?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Nothing.  I'll just go get something to clean it up for you." she mumbled, hoping that he would just drop the subject.

Giving her an odd look, Marty watched as she disappeared into the bathroom.  Why did she stop in mid sentence?

"Ok, back up some so that I can clean your foot up." she said, walking back out of the bathroom.

Looking up at her, Marty paused for a moment.  He was hoping that she would say something more but unfortunetly she didn't.  She just stood there with the few items in her hand and waited.

Not wanting to force the issue, Marty placed his other foot on her bedframe and pushed himself back.  Once he did though, he heard what sounded like something hitting the bed.

"Did I knock something off?"  he asked, slightly leaning to the side.

In a panic, Michelle pulled at his arm in an attempt to straighten him back up.

"No, you didn't.  Come on.  I have to get your foot cleaned up."

"No seriously.  It sounded like something fell." he said, again trying to lean over the edge of her bed.

"Marty don't.  Just come on.  Please.....I'm tired."

"What's wrong.  Why are you freaking out?"  he asked, taking the wet washcloth from her and wiping his foot.

"I'm not.  I already told you that I'm tired.  I just want to go to bed."

Never taking his eyes off of her, he watched her quickly glance over to where he thought he heard something fall.  He knew her sudden change in behavior and mood didn't have anything to do with her being tired.  She was hiding something.  That much he was sure of.  The look on her face said it all.

Opening the bandage, Michelle placed it over the cut on his foot and hesitantly headed back into the bathroom to throw the wrapper away.

Once she was out of sight, Marty jumped off the bed and walked over to where she had focused her attention to.  It only took a matter of seconds before he saw what it was that she was clearly trying to hide from him.

"Oh jesus christ, please let me be wrong." he sighed heavily, instantly feeling sick to his stomach.

"Marty..........what are you doing?"  she asked, stopping a few feet from the bed like a deer caught in headlights.

Crouching down, Marty began to untie the soft piece of fabric attatched to her footboard.

"No!  Marty stop!"  she yelled, rushing towards him.

"Are these his?"  Marty asked, grabbing the handcuffs and pulling them to the top of the footboard as he stood up.

"Marty please don't.  Just leave them go."

"Are they his?  Just answer me."

Breaking down in tears, she nodded her head 'yes' and collapsed down on her bed.

"Did he use them on you?  I mean...oh god, I can't believe I'm asking you this shit, but.....was this some sort of.....of...punishment for something?"

Feeling sick, Michelle jumped up and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.  She couldn't deal with the memories that the handcuffs brought back or the questions Marty had about their reasons for being there.  It was just something she wanted to forget. 

Running over to the door after her, Marty heard the sound of her throwing up and felt the most helpless feeling come over him.  She had been through so much.  So much more than he could ever imagine....or even want to.  How Wade could do the things to her that he did and still be able to live with himself was unimaginable.

"Hey,are you alright?" he asked, lightly knocking on the door.

"Yeah.....I'm alright." she said, trying to hold back the tears that were flowing. 

"You don't sound alright to me."

"I'm fine."

"No your not.  I'm coming in."

Opening the door, Marty saw her slumped against the wall, her hands serving as a resting spot for her head.

"Why didn't you tell me?"  he asked quietly. 

Looking up at him, the tears flowed down her cheeks.  How could she possibly tell anyone about the things she had been put through.  She was embarrassed enough that she allowed them to happen.  She certainly didn't want the world to know how weak she was.

"What was I susposed to say?"  she said, wiping the tears away. 

"I don't know. This is partly my fault and I'm sorry.  I should have just killed that mother fucker when I had the chance."

"Oh god Marty, don't say that!"

"Why?  He doesn't deserve to live.  What kind of sick person does things like this?!"

"Just stop!"  she cried, covering her ears with her hands.

"I'm sorry.  I'm just....jesus christ....I can't even think straight right now."

"Please stop...just please.....stop."  she said frantically crying.

"I'm just so sorry this happened." he said, bending over and picking her up in his arms."Come on. I'll get you tucked in bed." 

Carrying her back into the bedroom, Marty lowered her feet and pulled down her bedding so that she could climb inside.  Once she was in, Marty pulled the covers back over her and softly stroked her hair.

"Try to get some sleep.  I'll have those taken care of tomorrow, don't worry. Your not going to have to look at them ever again."  he said, tossing one of the blankets she had given him over the handcuffs as they dangled from her footboard.

Not wanting to leave her like she was, Marty sat down in the chair in the corner of her room and waited to leave until she had fallen asleep. Watching her wrap her arms around her pillow, his heart broke into a million pieces.  He wanted to kill Wade for everything he had done to her.  The time would come though.  Their paths would cross once again, and when they did, he was going to make sure that he would never go near her again. 

Finally after some restless tossing and turning, her cries slowly quieted down and she drifted off into the sleep she so desperately needed.

Getting up from the chair, Marty wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes from simply taking in all the suffering she had been going through these last few weeks.  God he hated himself.  If he had only knew from the beginning that it was Wade who was hurting her, he could have put an end to this a long time ago. 

"I'm so sorry I didn't stop this."  he whispered, turning off her light as he walked out the door.