As dawn showed the first signs of it's arrival, Michelle stretched her arms above her head.  Surprisingly, she had slept better than she thought she would.  When she had laid her head down on her pillow, the only thing that occupied her mind were the memories of the night she jumped out of his navigator.  The one night she knows will haunt her for the rest of her life. 

Pushing the covers to the bottom of the bed, she lowered her feet to the floor and stood up. 

"Man, remind me never to drink like that again." she said to herself, rubbing the sides of her temples. "I don't know how Wade does it." 

Heading into her bathroom, Michelle opened up her vanity and grabbed a bottle of aspirin from the shelf.  After opening it, she placed two pills in her hand and then filled the glass beside the sink with water. 

"Well...here's to hoping you work wonders." she said, and placed the pills in her mouth chasing them down with the water. 

Walking back in to her bedroom, she headed over to the dresser to grab something to wear.  She knew she didn't have alot to do today so her main goal was just to be comfortable.  Pulling one of her dresser drawers open, she looked through the stack and finally found a pair of her favorite jeans.  Pulling them out, she tossed them on the bed and attempted to shut the drawer with the other hand.  Unfortunetly, she pushed it harder than she thought and one of the framed photos she had arranged on the top of the dresser fell to the floor. 

"God damn it."  she said, crouching down. 

Picking it up, she attempted to place the photo back on top of the dresser but stopped.  Taking it back down, she held the frame in her hand stared at it. 

"How could you do this to me.  I loved you.  I loved you more than life itself." she said softly wiping away a tear that had fallen from her eyes to the silver frame.  "Why wasn't I good enough.  Why didn't you love me back. WHY?!" she yelled, tossing the frame across the room and shattering it off the wall beside the bed. 

"Why?"  she cried, slouching down against the dresser to the floor. 

Hearing the sound of breaking glass, Marty jumped from the couch and ran upstairs as fast as he could, stopping just outside her doorway when he saw her sitting on the floor crying. 

As he slowly made his way over to her, she looked up at him. 

"Why doesn't he love me Marty?  What did I do to make him treat me like this." 

"Nothing, don't say that.  You didn't do anything to deserve this.  This isn't your fault.  He has a problem and he needs help." 

"I just don't understand...we used to be so happy."  she said, breaking out in tears 

"Oh baby, don't cry.  It will be alright.  I promise.  It's just gonna take some time, but your strong.  You can make it through this." 

"I don't think I can." 

"You can and will. You have plenty of people here for support.  You just have to let us help you." 

Leaning her head against Marty's shoulder, she continued to cry, hoping that somewhere within she would find the strength to face the day.  Another day of hoping that she would somehow be able to erase the memories she still held tightly to of a man who had once loved her.  A man who despite his claims of love for her, destroyed her over and over again.  A man who, as much she hated to admit it, still held a small part of her heart. A part she knew he no longer deserved. 

She wanted to be able to take that part of her heart and give it to another.  Someone who would never hurt her or make her feel like she was worthless, but the hold he had on her was unlike anything she had ever felt before.  It was indescribable. 

"Come on.  Let's go downstairs.  I'll clean that up later."  Marty said, standing up and extending his hand to her. 

"You know...I think I'm just going to jump in the shower.  I'll be down in a little bit." she said, wiping her tears away. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah." 

"Alright.  I'm gonna go run out and grab us some breakfast then.  I'll be back in like 20 minutes.  Are you going to be ok here by yourself?" 

"Yeah I'll be fine." 

"Ok, I'll be right back." 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Michelle watched as Marty walked out the door. He had been there for her since she arrived in Los Angeles and she knew that when he said he would be there to support through the hardest time in her life, he meant it.  Something she was thankful for.  She couldn't imagine trying to get through this without him. Getting up off the floor, she grabbed her clothes and headed into the bathroom. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Even though the morning sunlight had just begun to reflect off the towering buildings of the city, Wade had already been awake for over an hour.  He knew that sleep was going to be the last thing on his mind last night, but he never imagined that the only thing he would be thinking about was where Michelle had been.  Granted Brian didn't help things much with the news he delivered, but hopefully he would have atleast a little more information for him before he boarded his plane back home. News that hopefully didn't involve her with Justin. 

Glancing over at his watch, he knew that he had a good three hours until he had to leave for the airport, so he decided to order some room service.  Not that he had much of an appetite, but after his little night out, he needed something in his system other than the poisons he consumed last night at the bar and at Cameran's house. 

"Time to get things back to the way they're susposed to be....to the way I want them."  Wade said, glancing down at a picture of Michelle he had in his wallet. "I tried to get my act together, but you know, I really don't see much point in it now.  I should have known that you were like all the rest.  Don't matter though, because I'm not letting you leave.  Not now, not ever." 

Hearing his cell phone start to ring, Wade sat his wallet back down on top of his suitcase and pulled the phone from his pocket.  After flipping it open, he placed it to his ear. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey man.  I didn't think you'd be up already.  I was just going to leave you a voice mail." 

"No, I'm up.  I didn't get much sleep last night, as you could probably imagine." 

"Yeah, I know.  Sorry, I had to be the bearer of bad news last night." Brian said, empathetically.  "Anyway, I drove by J's house last night like you asked.  Her car wasn't there, but I did see Marty pull up about ten minutes after I got there." 

"Ten minutes after you got there?  What the hell did you do?  Sit outside his  house and run surveilance?" 

"No, it wasn't like that. Well, maybe it was." Brian, said laughing.  "Anyway, when I got there, the gate was open but Michelle's car wasn't there, like I said.  The only thing in the driveway was J's escalade.   I would have just left, but Justin always keeps that gate shut.  Either he was planning on heading somewhere or someone was on their way over. So, I decided to park across the street for a few minutes to see what was up.  Thinking maybe Michelle might have been on her way over there." 

"And?" 

"That's when I saw Marty pull up.  He was inside for about five minutes and then I saw her come running out of the house." 

"Who?  Michelle?" 

"Yeah.  She ran out Justin's and jumped in Marty's truck with both of them running after her. J went over and opened up her door and crouched down to talk to her.  Then Marty went around to the drivers side to get in and leave, but Justin stood up and started yelling shit at Marty.  I don't know what he was yelling about, but not long after, Marty got inside and they left.  J stood there for a few minutes and then went back inside.  You could tell that things were heated between the two, but I have no idea why." 

"What the fuck?!  I wanna know what the hell is going on!  You know what, if she thought it was bad before..."  he said slightly laughing.  "....she's going to be in for a shock. I'm tired of this shit!  I don't know who the hell she thinks she is!" 

"Settle down man.  You don't even know if anything happened.  You could be imagining the worst and it's probably nothing like you think it is." 

"Nothing like I think?!  Oh it's exactly what I think!  Trust me!  This time I'll hit her so fuckin hard she won't want to get up.  If she does though, I'll make sure the next one puts her out!  She's not going to make a fool out me!" 

"WHAT?!  Wade....please tell me you don't you hit this girl." 

"Hell yeah I hit her!" Wade snapped back, almost proud of the statement he just made. 

"Are you fuckin kidding me?!"  Brian asked, completely in shock. 

"No I'm not kidding!  Don't go giving me some damn lecture either!  You handle things the way you want to handle them and I handle things the way I want to handle them.  And if that means smacking her around a little bit, then so be it." 

"Man...that shit isn't cool.  You just don't hit a woman.....ever.  I mean, come on Wade.  Don't do that shit." 

"Thanks for your two cents, but I don't recall asking for it." 

"I thought you liked this girl?" 

"Yeah, and?" 

"Then why in the hell would you want to hit her?" 

"Why? Why not.  I have to keep her in line somehow."  he said, with the tone in his voice cold as ice. 

Brian was left speechless.  He had no idea that things were this intense between Michelle and Wade when he agreed to help Wade out.  All Wade had told him was that Marty seemed to be interested in Michelle and it was causing some problems for them.  He was just trying to help Wade close the rift that Marty had wedged between him and Michelle.  Except now he was beginning to put two and two together and he didn't like what it added up to.   Way more was going on than Wade let on and at this point he knew he couldn't be involved anymore. 

"I'm sorry man, but I can't be a part of this.  I mean, I said I would try and help you mend things with Michelle, but that was before I knew you hit her.  I'm not going to get you information that would put her at risk.  Which is basically what you had me do last night.  Your just looking for a reason to justify hitting her, aren't you?  What the hell is so wrong in your life that you need to resort to violence? Seriously?" 

"Whatever Dr. Phil.  I'm not going to sit here and listen to your psycho-babble bullshit.  I have better things to do.  Thanks for the information though.  Her being at Justin's is definetly something that I need to "discuss" with her." 

"Wade, no wait a...." was the last thing Brian got out before Wade flipped his phone shut and tossed it down on the table. 

Chapter 82 

Once downstairs, Marty grabbed his shoes from besides the sofa and walked over to the chair.  After slipping them on, he grabbed his keys and headed to the front door.  Just as he was about to open it though, he heard someone knock.  After looking through the peep hole, he opened it up. 

"Uh...hey Marty. Is Michelle here?"  Chantal asked, slightly taken by surprise that he was there that early in the morning. 

"Yeah, she's in the shower though.  You wanna come in?" 

"Oh no, I don't want to interupt anything.  I just wanted to stop by and talk to her about something." 

"Interupt?"  he asked puzzled, then realized what she meant. "Oh god, no.  No, you didn't interupt anything.  Whatever your thinking, your wrong." 

"I wasn't thinking anything." 

"Yes you were, I can tell by the embarrassed look on your face."  he laughed.  "I'm just here looking out for her because she had a rough night last night." 

"What happened?" 

"It's a long story.  She's just going through a lot right now, and most of it no thanks to your asshole of a brother.  Because incase you didn't know, he's been treating her like shit!  No wait, he been beating the shit out of her!" 

"Yeah, unfortunelty I know all about it." 

"You know?  What the hell is his problem?!  Seriously?  Do you know all the shit he's done to her Chantal?  I mean...do you really know?" 

"I know it's bad Marty.  Trust me."  she said adjusting her purse as it hung over her shoulder. "He called me up after they had a fight one night..and well...as you can imagine...I was in shock when I got there." 

"Why?  Never mind, I can only imagine.  I don't wanna know anymore than I know already.  I can't stomach this shit." 

"That's why I'm here.  I'm worried about her and what Wade is capable of.  I don't even know him anymore Marty, and you know how close we are." 

"Don't worry about her.  When he gets back to LA, I'm going to beat the living shit out of him.  He won't want to go anywhere near her when I'm done with him.  Trust me." 

"Marty don't even say that.  You can't possible tell me that beating him up would solve anything.  Sure, it might make you feel better, but that's not the solution.  I mean I know he loves her, he needs help.  Some serious help...before it's to late." 

"He loves her?!  What a joke!  He doesn't love her Chantal.  He loves the power he has over her.  You don't do that kind of shit to someone you're suposed to love.  I really don't think you have the slightest clue about how bad it is with him." 

"Yes, I do know how bad it is." she snapped back. 

"Do you know that at this very moment, handcuffs are hanging from the fuckin footboard of her bed? The fucker handcuffed her to the bed Chantal!  Oh, but I'm sure he only wanted to show her how much he "loved" her huh? You know, against her will of course." 

"Why are you getting all nasty with me!  I know the shit he's done Marty!  Christ, I saw her lying on his livingroom floor after he all but choked the life out of her!  I saw the marks he put on her and saw the fear in her eyes when he got near her!   I'll never forget it! I'm not here to defend him though! You're just not listening to me!" she said, fustrated. 

"What the hell are you trying to say then?  That you know it's wrong, but it's ok that he did those things because he loves her?  Wait, maybe that it's ok because it will all go away once he gets some help, right?  Well I don't give a shit about helping him.  I'm here to help her and if that means physcially stopping him from coming near her, then so be it." 

"Forget it!  You're being ridiculous. Just tell her to call me Marty."  she said, walking back down the hall. 

"Whatever."  Marty mumbled, as he stuffed his wallet in his back pocket and pulled her door shut. 

Hearing the sound of the door close, Michelle walked out of the bedroom and over to the top of the stairs. 

"Marty?  Are you still here?" 

When she didn't get an answer, she began to worry.  She knew she heard the door close. 

Quickly turning around, she ran back to her bedroom and locked the door.  The first thing that popped in her mind was that Wade had come back early from New York.  A thought that immeadiately sent chills through every part of her body. 

"Oh god, please don't do this to me.  Please."  she softly began saying over and over again. 

Just as she was about to reach the farthest point from the door, her phone began to ring.  Practically paralyzed by the fear that Wade was in the house, she continued to let the phone ring.  After the fourth ring though, the realization came over her that if indeed he was there, she was in trouble.  Quickly crawling over the bed, she grabbed the phone and hoped that whoever was calling hadn't hung up. 

"Hello?" 

"What's wrong?" 

"Marty?" she asked, the tone of fear still apparent in her voice. 

"Yeah,  what's going on?"  he asked, starting to sound more frantic than she did. 

"Where are you at?  I thought I heard you come back..I mean, I heard the door close but I called you name and you didn't answer.  Then I thought Wade....." 

"Whoa..slow down.  You heard the door shut?"  he asked. 

"Yeah" 

"Just like five minutes ago?" 

"Yeah." 

"That was me." 

"You just left?  I thought you were leaving when I got in the shower?" 

"I was, but Chantal stopped by as I was on my way out.  We talked for a few minutes and then I left.  She wants you to call her by the way." 

"Are you sure you that was you who shut the door?" 

"Yes, it was me.  I'm downstairs in my truck.  Do you want me to come back up?"  he asked, taking the keys out of the ignition. 

"No...if your sure it was you." 

"It was, but I'm gonna come up anyway.  Just to make sure everything is alright." 

"Thanks Marty."  she said, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as she hung the phone back up. 

Sitting there on the bed, Michelle glanced over at the fragments of glass as they covered the picture of her and Wade that she had thrown earlier. The had been so happy, but like the once beautiful frame, it was now shattered.  Broken beyond repair and leaving nothing but memories behind. 

Hearing the sound of the door shutting, Michelle got off the bed and walked over to the door.  Slightly hesitant, she grabbed the doorknob and slowly turned it. 

"Michelle?" 

Hearing Marty's voice, she finished pulling it open and was relieved to see him standing before her.  Wrapping her arms around him, she held on for dear life. 

"I'm so glad it was only you.  I was so scared." 

"Don't be. He's not going to hurt you again. He can't.  I won't let him." 

Looking up at him, she saw a look in his eyes that reassured her that it was going to be alright.  A look that, for the first time, made her feel safe. 

"Well, since your out of the shower, you want to ride with me?" 

"Yes!" 

"Well then, let's go girl." 

"Just let me grab something to pull my hair back with."  she said, sprinting back into the bathroom. 

Slightly laughing, Marty watched as she came walking back out with her ponytail swaying effortlessly behind her. 

"Ok, now I'm ready." 

Taking a hold of her hand, Marty walked downstairs and out the door to his truck. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Pulling his suitcases over to the door, Wade gave the room one last check to make sure he didn't leave anything behind.  He knew the taxi was going to be there any minute and the sooner he got to Los Angeles the better.  It was time to reclaim what he felt was his....Michelle. 

As he was stuffing his wallet in his back pocket, he heard a knock at the door.  After grabbing his cell phone from the table, he walked over and opened it up. 

"Are you ready to go Mr. Robson?" the bellman asked. 

"Yeah, I just have the two bags right there."  Wade said, pointing next to the door. 

"Very well.  I'll carry them down to the front desk for you.  The taxi you requested should be here any moment to take you to the airport." 

"Thanks."  Wade said, handing the gentleman a tip. 

"No, thank you." 

As the bellman grabbed the bags, Wade picked up the folder from the table that contained some paperwork needed for the video shoot.  After tucking it under his arm, he grabbed his room key from the counter and pulled the door shut behind him. 

Once downstairs, Wade walked over to the front desk to check out. 

"How was everything Mr. Robson?"  the woman asked, taking the key from him and punching some information in to the computer. 

"Fine." 

"I see you originally placed the reservation on your credit card.  You were paid up until the end of the week.  Would you like me to refund the rest of the room rate back to this same card?" 

"Yeah, that's fine."  he said, scanning the lobby. 

"Do you have that card on you sir?" 

Not hearing the woman, Wade kept his focus on the lobby. 

"Sir?" 

"Oh, I'm sorry.  What did you say?"  he asked, turning his attention back to the clerk. 

"Your card.  Do you have that card so I can scan the credit back in?" 

"Yeah, I'm sorry."  he said, reaching in his back pocket and pulling out his wallet.  After pulling the card from it's slot, Wade placed it on the counter and resumed his scan of the lobby. 

After a few minutes, the woman sat his card back up on the counter along with his receipt. 

"Thank you Mr. Robson. It was a pleasure having you stay with us and we hope to see you again." 

"Thanks."  Wade said, taking the items from the counter.  Once he grabbed his bags, he headed over to the front door and finally saw who he was looking for. 

"Looking for me?" Cameran asked. 

"Do you have it or not?"  he asked rather annoyed. 

"Yeah I have it.  This isn't like the stuff you had before though.  You know that right?" 

"Just give me the shit Cameran." 

"My my my.  Aren't we a bit testy.  You sure you're not on anything right now?" 

"You really want to find out?"  he asked, giving her a look that clearly said not to fuck with him. 

"I get the picture.  Don't go getting all crazy on me.  Geez!"  she said, reaching in her purse. 

Dropping his one bag to his side, Wade reached into his wallet, pulled out a few bills and folded them in half.  After handing them to her, she took a hold of his hand and leaned in towards him. 

"You know where to find me if you need more."  she whispered in his ear. 

"Yeah.....I know."  he said, backing away from her 

"Don't be a stranger. I swear, next time you come to NY, things will be different. I won't make the same mistake."  she said, running back across the street to her apartment. 

Shaking his head with disbelief, Wade placed his hand in his pocket and deposited the small vial she had handed him only moments ago. He knew that he was probably going to get himself deeper in trouble than he already was, but at this point....he had nothing to lose. 

Spotting the taxi pulling up to the hotel, Wade grabbed his bag next to him and tossed it over his shoulder. 

"Are you the guy that called a taxi?" 

"Yeah, that would be me."  Wade said, watching the driver open the trunk. 

"Well..toss em in.  Time is money." 

After placing the bags in the trunk, Wade walked around to the other side and got in the backseat of the cab.  He knew it was only a matter of hours until he was able to see her again......to touch her......to feel himself deep inside her, whether she wanted it or not.  The best part of it all?  Justin was going to be responsible for handing her over to him without even knowing it. 

Chapter 83 

After Marty dropped Michelle off at her apartment, she went inside and checked her answering maching.  Scanning through them, she heard the normal messages from family and friends and oddly enough, one from Brian. 

"Hey Michelle, it's Brian.  I hope you don't mind that I got your number from work, but this is important.  Look, I don't know exactly what's going on with you and Wade but......" 

That was the last thing she heard before erasing the message.  She couldn't believe he had the nerve to call her.  After the way he acted towards her, she never wanted to see or hear from him again.  Just talking to Wade made him the enemy as well. 

Sighing heavily, Michelle let the rest of the messages play through as she picked up a few things that she had left laying around.  Just as she was about to walk down the hall, a voice stopped her. 

"Michelle, it's Justin.  Umm...I just wanted to call and see if you were alright.  I know last night was a nightmare, but I can't stop wondering what I did to upset you.  I mean.... did I do something to make you think I would hurt you?  Did I do something to hurt you? I'm sorry, I'm just confused as hell to tell you the truth.  Anyway, I hope you'll call me back and let me know your ok.  I'm worried about you." 

Walking around the side of the coffee table, Michelle sat down on the sofa and felt her heart break.  She felt horrible that he had to see her like that.  He hadn't done anything wrong and she wish she could tell him the real reason she acted like she did, but that was a risk she couldn't take.  She couldn't put his tour at risk and that was exactly what she would be doing if she told him Wade's dirty little secret. 

Picking up the phone,  she began dialing Justin's number.  If nothing else, she atleast had to appologize to him for what she put him through.  He needed to know that it wasn't his fault and that he did nothing wrong. 

After several rings with no answer, she hung the phone back up and walked back into the kitchen. She would just have to try and call him back later. 

Just as she was about to sit down at the kitchen table to go through her mail, she heard a knock at the door.  Figuring it was Marty, she walked over and opened it up.  Surprisingly though, it wasn't him.  It was Justin. 

"Hey, I hope you don't mind me stopping by like this." he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

"No, it's fine."  she said, still slightly in shock. "Do you want to come in?" 

"Yeah thanks." 

Michelle stepped back and watched Justin walk into the livingroom. 

"Please, sit down."  she said, joining him at the sofa. 

"I called earlier and left a message, but I couldn't sit at home and wait any longer." he said, sitting down beside her. 

"Oh, I'm sorry.  I just got back in a little while ago.  I tried to call you but no one answered." 

"No, I didn't mean it like that.  I just meant that I needed to know you were ok.  You really had me worried last night.  I mean...really worried.  Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm sorry you had to see that.  I guess I was just a little more shaken up by last night that I thought I was.  I want to thank you for showing up.  If you hadn't got there when you did......." she started to say, but lowered her head when she thought of what could have happened. 

Moving close to her, Justin reached out and took a hold of her hand. 

"There's nothing to thank me for.  We were all worried about you and when we found out you were down at that club, my heart just about stopped.  Why were you down there anyway?  Do you even know the kind of reputation that club has?" 

"No, I don't.  I just wanted to get away from everything and be where no one would bother me." 

"Well, if Trace hadn't overheard that guy talking about some "girl who works at Millennium" at that bar, we wouldn't have had the slightest idea where you were.  I just thank god things turned out the way they did. If something would have happened......I don't know what I would've done." 

Looking up him, Michelle saw a look in his eyes that she didn't expect to see.  A look that seemed to come from his heart when he uttered those words.  Could he possibly be feeling more for her than she realized? 

"Well, thank you for coming to find me....even thought I didn't want found." 

"Your more than welcome.  Just promise me you won't ever go to some club like that again." 

"I promise."  she said, moving a piece of hair away from her face. 

Just looking at her like that made Justin want to reach out and pull her close to him.  He wanted to be that person in her life that she went to when she needed comfort.  The one who got to hold her tight at night and feel her warmth beside him in bed.  The one that got to....call her his. 

"So...ummm...do you have any plans for today?" 

"No, not really.  I mean I was planning on going over some of the choreography for the tour later, but other than that...I don't have any plans." 

"Good.  Do you feel like heading out for a while?" 

"With you?" 

Laughing out loud, Justin gave her a puzzled look. 

"Would that be such a bad thing?" 

"No."  she laughed back. "I didn't mean it like that." 

"Yeah.....right." 

"I'm serious.  That's not what I meant and you know it." 

"So then it's a yes?" 

"Yeah....I guess." 

"Man, you sure know how to make a guy feel good huh?  Wanna crush me some more or will that be enough for today?" 

"I'm sorry.   I just can't seem to do anything right anymore." 

"Girl, I'm playing!  You really need to lossen up.  Why are you so tense?  It's like your worried about every little thing you say and do.  Your way too serious." 

"I'm sorry." 

"Quit appologizing.  You didn't do anything." 

Feeling tears start to well up in her eyes, Michelle got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. She knew that yet again, her past was causing her problems.  Problems that he didn't need to deal with....again. 

As Justin watched her walk into the kitchen, he finally realized that something was going on with her.  She wasn't the same girl he met at Wade's house or the same girl he had out at the club dancing.  She was different and he could tell that something was breaking her down emotionally.  Something that, as much as he hated to think it, pointed to Wade. 

After waiting a few seconds to gather his thoughts on exactly what he was he was going to say, Justin got up and walked into the kitchen where she was standing.  Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. 

"Michelle....what's going on?  Please don't tell me 'nothing' either.  I know something is bothering you.  I can see it in your eyes.  I can feel the difference when your around me.  This isn't how you were when we first met. Talk to me.  What's wrong?" 

"Nothing. I'm fine."  she said softly, almost to the point where he could barely hear her. 

"No.  You know what, that's bullshit and you know it.  Look at me."  he said, grabbing a hold of her arms and forcing her to look at him.  "What is going on?  Why are you building up this wall and shutting me out?  Does this have anything to do with Wade?" 

Instantly her eyes grew wide and he knew without a doubt that he was right. 

"It does, I knew it.  He hurt you didn't he?  That's why you broke up." 

Feeling as if he had ripped her heart out to dissect what it was that had her so heartbroken, Michelle began to fall apart in his arms.  She didn't want him to know. She didn't want her relationship with Wade to cause problems for Justin or his tour.  Her mistake and bad judgement didn't involve him, yet if he found out the truth, she knew that he would step in as Marty had unfortunetly done. 

"He cheated on you, didn't he?  That's why your putting this wall up.  Right?"  he asked, looking down at her. 

Looking up at him, Michelle realized that he wasn't aware of what was really going on and internally sighed a breath of relief.  She would be able to save Justin from knowing the truth.  She just had to convince him that he was right. 

"Is that why you broke up?  Because he cheated on you." 

Her stomach was tied in knots at the thought of Justin getting mixed up in her mess, so she said what she thought was the best for both of them. 

"Yeah, he did." 

"Awww girl, come here.  Don't let his stupidity bring you down. Your a beautiful girl and if he couldn't see that, then that's his loss.  Trust me.  Any guy would be honored to have you by his side."  he said, wiping the tears from her eyes.  "Including myself." 

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to talk about him right now.  Is that alright?" 

"What did I tell you about appologizing?"  he said, tilting her chin up towards him. 

"I know.  I'm sor..." 

Knowing what was about to come out of her mouth, Justin pulled her against him and kissed her.  Although he simply meant to do it as a means to keep her from appologizing YET AGAIN, he found himself enjoying it way too much to stop.  After wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her close to him, he brought his hand up and cradled the side of her face, continuing to enjoy what was happening. 

Finally parting, he leaned back and looked deep into her eyes. He wanted her to know how he felt.  How he had felt for some time about her. 

"You know, normally I would appologize for doing something like that on a whim, but you know what...I'm not sorry." 

"Neither am I." 

Caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers, he saw a glimpse of the girl he first met.  The one who had such a zest and playful outlook on life. The one who wouldn't be upset if he.....

"Justin!  Put me down!" she yelled, as Justin grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder. 

"See, I knew deep down inside you could still laugh.  Now we just need to have more of it." 

"Fine.  I get it.  Now put me down you fool."  she laughed, through the few tears that still remained. 

"Ok, but when I do you have to go get ready so we can get the hell out of here for awhile.  Agreed?" 

"Agreed." 

Lowering her back down to the floor, Justin took a great amount of pleasure from the smile that now graced her face.  She looked like an angel when she smiled like that. 

"Now go.  You have fifteen minutes or I'm taking you the way you are."  he said, taking her t-shirt and pulling her back to him. 

"Well then you better let me go.  I can't do anything like this." 

"You could."  he said, offering her a wicked smile. 

"Could....but won't"  she said playfully pulling away from him. 

"Fine, go get ready.  I'll be waiting for you, but only for........thirteen minutes."  he said jokingly, glancing down at his watch. 

Rolling her eyes, Michelle began laughing as she headed upstairs to get ready. 

Chapter 84 

Once Michelle was ready, she came back downstairs and looked at him with the smile still firmly planted on her face.  The smile that warmed him from inside and he happily smiled back. 

"So, did I make it in time?"  she joked, taking a hold of his hand to look at his watch. 

"Yeah you did, but I would have waited longer for you."  he smiled, turning his wrist over to take her hand in his. 

Looking at him, Michelle felt a small flutter in her heart.  He had been so kind to her, so accepting of her faults and she knew at that very moment that he was someone she wanted to be around. 

"Well, let's go girl.  I don't want that smile to fade away.  It was hard enough getting it there." 

Grabbing her purse from the table, she once again joined Justin and hand in hand they walked out of her apartment and down to his escalade.  After opening her door, Justin walked around and got inside. 

"So, any restrictions on what I can do with you?"  he asked, starting his truck up. 

"Excuse me?!"  she asked, slightly laughing. 

"That's not what I meant." 

"Uh huh.  Sure." 

Looking over at her, Justin saw the little smirk on her face and knew that she was joking. 

"Well, since you didn't answer me I'm taking that as a 'no restriction' outing.  Hope your happy."  he said and she playfully smacked him in his arm. 

Laughing, Justin pulled out on to the road and hoped that in a few hours he would have a smile permanently placed on her face. 

"So where are we going?  I don't like surprises." 

"You don't?  What a shame.  Surprises are a strong suit of mine." 

"You mean along with making people smile, right?" 

Looking over at her, Justin felt his heart melt.  There before his eyes was the beautiful creature he first laid eyes on at Wade's house.  The sparkling eyes that could light up a room, the smile that could stop traffic and most importantly the sheer presence of her that made him feel alive. 

"What are you looking at?"  she asked, tilting her head to the side. 

"You." 

"What about me?" 

"Just you."  he said, become serious. 

Smiling, Michelle glanced out the window, but turned back towards him when she felt him take her hand in his. 

He wasn't sure if she would pull away or feel uncomfortable, but he was pleasantly surprised when she gently squeezed his hand back. 

Finally after some casual conversation, Justin turned down the street that led to his house. 

"We're going to your place?" 

"Yep.  You any good at basketball?" 

"I used to play in high school.  I wouldn't say I'm great at it, but I'm not bad." 

"Great.  Should be an interesting game then."  he said, pulling in to his driveway and putting it in park.. 

"So....you feel the need for redemption huh?  Didn't I beat you bad enough in the pillow fight?  Do you really want a piece of me again Timberlake?" 

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do.  You think you can handle the heat?" 

"Psh!  Bring it on!"  she laughed getting out of his truck and shutting the door. 

Walking around to join him, Michelle watched as Justin walked around the back of his house and over to the basketball court at the edge of his property. 

"Man, this is gonna be fun!"  he laughed and began jumping up and down. 

Breaking out in laughter, Michelle watched as Justin grabbed a ball from the small shed and headed on to the court.  After shooting a few perfect baskets, she watched him point directly at her with a sinister look. 

"Let's go Gianetti!  Time's a wasting." 

Rolling her eyes, Michelle walked on to the court and kicked off her heels. 

"You know, if you had plans on playing basketball, the least you could have done was tell me so I could have worn appropriate clothing." 

"Don't whine.  You're going to ruin that smile I have going." 

"Whatever, let's go then."  she said, waking over to him in an attempt to take the ball from him. 

"Oh, not so fast."  he said, raising the ball above his head so that she wasn't able to reach it. 

"You must really be worried that you're going to lose huh?" 

"Ha ha ha ha ha...NOT!" 

Knowing that he was in to winning as much as he was teasing her, Michelle decided to get one up on him. 

"Whatever then.  Play by yourself."  she said and started to turn away. 

Caught by surprise, Justin lowered the ball. 

"I'm just playing." 

"No, I'm playing."  she said knocking the ball from his hand.  Dribbling down the court, Michelle looked over her shoulder at him before launching her own perfect shot through the hoop. 

"That was so wrong.  You know that right?" 

After grabbing the ball, Michelle turned around and looked at him. 

"Yeah, well you reap what you sow."  she said sticking her tongue out at him. 

"Oh I see how it is." 

"Now we're even."  she said, tucking the ball under one arm.  "Now, you want to get this game started or did I scare you off?" 

"It's so on!"  he laughed and tried to knock the ball away from her. 

"Not good enough, try again."  she said, tossing the ball back and forth between her hands. 

Squinting his eyes, he stared at her for a second and she began laughing.  She knew he was up to something, she just didn't know what.  Worried that she wasn't going to find out what until it was too late, Michelle tucked the ball back under her arm and took a small step backwards. 

"Where you going?"  he asked. 

"I don't know.  What are you planning?"  she asked, slightly laughing. 

"Me?  Nothing."  he said, looking up at the clouds. 

"What?  Are you worried about a little rain?" 

"No, I'm worried your gonna take off to the basket."  he said, taking a step towards her. 

"Good.  You have reason to be worried.  I think you're going down." 

"We'll see.  Show me what you got girl." 

Watching Justin bounce around the court only made her break down with laughter.  He was the most amusing person, whether he meant to be or not.  She just couldn't help herself.  He made her feel good inside. 

Seeing his opportunity, Justin ran forward and attempted to grab the ball from her. Unfortunetly, she realized it at the last second and side stepped him.  Now knowing his plan, Michelle began running to the opposite end of the court, laughing hysterically. 

"That's it.  I'm done with the game playing.  You're done!"  he yelled, pulling off his shirt and laughing himself. 

Stopping momentarily to tease him, Michelle dribbled the ball some more and tried to spin it on the end of her finger. 

"Come on big man.  Show me what you got.  This can't be your "A" game!"  she said, slightly flinching at the sound of thunder coming from above. 

"What?  Are YOU afraid of a little rain?"  he teased, finally getting to within a few feet of her. 

"No, but it does look like it's going to rain.  Maybe we should head back up." 

"Oh no, you're not getting out of this that easy.  Let's go." 

Placing the ball behind her back, Michelle laughed at Justin's attempt to play a serious game of one on one. 

"Give me the ball." 

"Come get it."  she laughed, placing her other hand on his chest to keep him at bay. 

"I will." 

"Then what's stopping you?" 

Smiling, Justin straightened up and looked at her.  After watching her try her hardest to be serious, Justin lunged forward and she quickly stepped backwards in an attempt to keep him from the ball.  After a few feet however, she found herself backed against the chain link fence that surrounded the court. 

"Uh oh.  Now where you going to go?"  he said, grabbing the fence beside her and taking the ball from behind her with the other. 

Normally being confined like that would have caused her to panic, but she just felt comfortable around him and knew that she had nothing to worry about.  Looking up at him, Michelle smiled. 

"I guess you win." 

"I guess so.  Did you think you would really stand a chance against me?"  he whispered, letting the ball fall to his feet as he leaned in towards her. 

"Yes I did.  Enjoy your little victory, because it will be short lived."  she said, placing her hands on his chest to try and push him backwards. 

"We'll see."  he said, firmly keeping his place in front of her. 

Now blushing at the feeling he was causing her to feel, Michelle tried to look away from him by glancing up at the darkening sky. 

"It's seriously going to rain, we better go inside." 

Ignoring her comment, Justin placed his hand behind her back and pulled her to him. 

"Thank you for allowing me to make you smile.  You just need to do it more often."  he said, bending down to place a small kiss on her forehead. 

Smiling, Michelle wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly to her.  It was as if he was the only thing that was keeping her alive and she didn't want to let go. Every emotion that she had lost with Wade came rushing to the surface when he was around and she didn't even want to let those feelings go. 

Letting go of the fence, Justin embraced her and held her close to his heart. It was a place she had captured without even knowing it. 

Slowly the rain began falling and although neither wanted to let go, they knew from the looks of the sky that it wasn't going to be a quick passing shower.  They needed to get indoors. 

"Come on, I don't want you to melt."  he said, jokingly pulling her away from the fence with him.  "Let's get inside before we get soaked." 

Taking a hold of her hand, Justin ran back towards the house, stopping briefly to grab his shirt and her shoes from the court. 

Once he got back up to the house, Justin grabbed his keys from his pocket and unlocked the back door. 

"Of all the days it had to rain."  Justin laughed, running his hand through his damp hair. 

"Yeah I know.  I thought it never rained in southern California."  she teased, slightly breaking out in song. 

Shaking his head laughing, Justin walked down the hall to the linen closet to grab some towels.  Quickly wiping himself off, he draped the towel over his shoulder and walked over to hand her one. 

"Thanks." she said, taking the towel from him and wiping the water droplets off of her arms. 

"You want something to drink?" 

"Yeah, thanks." 

"I'll be right back."  Justin said, tossing his towel over the staircase on his way to the kitchen. 

Once Michelle finished drying off, she placed her towel on top of his and headed towards the livingroom. 

The rain was slowly picking up and the view from Justin's Hollywood hills home was growing darker every second. A sight normally not seen in Los Angeles, but familiar to her nonetheless. 

As she walked in to the livingroom, lightning lit up the sky and reflected off the glossy black surface of his piano as it sat in the corner of the room.  Almost as if it was calling to her, she slowly walked over and slid her hand across the smooth finish. 

"Do you play?"  Justin asked, walking up behind her. 

"No.  I always wanted to learn though.  I just never had the time." 

"Care for a lesson?"  he asked, sitting the drinks down on the mantle of the fireplace. 

"Now?" 

"Yeah now.  Unless you have somewhere you need to be"  he said jokingly. 

"Nowhere I need to be, but I'd rather be a spectator than a participant." she smiled. 

"Oh you would huh?  Are you deserving of a free concert?  I mean the fans pay top dollar to see me put on a show.  Why shouldn't you be subject to the same?." 

"Fans?  Oh yes....the adoring masses of little girls with posters of you on their walls.  The ones who squeal with delight every time you take the stage.  Is that what I am?  A fan?"  she teased, quickly batting her eyelashes at him.  "Oh Justin, I would be ever so honored if you could play me something." 

Giving her a playfully evil look, he pulled out the bench from underneath the piano and sat down. 

"Man, I should have atleast grabbed a tip cup or something." 

"Just play me something, piano man."  she said, leaning against the edge of the piano next to him. 

"Any requests or do I atleast get the chance to pick something?" he said smiling at her.  She just seemed to bring out a side of him he coudln't get enough of.  She just made him feel complete. 

"I think I can allow you to pick something.  I've heard enough about you musician types to know you insist on doing your own thing anyway." 

After sticking his tongue out at her, his fingers began to dance magically across the black and white keys. She had fully expected him to show off and play some musical masterpiece, an uptempo work of art so to speak, but was pleasantly surprised when she heard the soft melody that began to fill the air. 

Looking up, Justin kept his gaze fixed on her as he began singing.  This performance was definetly meant for her and completely from his heart. 

Chapter 85 

When clouds above you 
start to pull 
and all of your doubts 
rage like a storm 
and you don't know who you are anymore 
let me help you find 
what you've been searching for 

Somewhere... 
somewhere there's a field and a river 
Somewhere... 
you can let...your soul run free 
Someday... 
someday let me be the giver 
let me bring you peace 

Somewhere... 
Somewhere there's a break in the weather 
Somewhere.. 
where your heart and spirit go free 
Someday... 
someday it'll be for the better 
let this bring you peace 

Hearing him sing words that touched so close to her heart, she began getting choked up.  It was almost like he had stepped inside her soul and understood what she had been struggling with all this time.  Somehow he seemed to know about her hurt and heartbreak of being in a relationship that wasn't what she needed or wanted and he wanted to take her away from it all. 

Girl I know you 
think no one sees 
the weight on your shoulders 
but you can't fool me 
and arent you tired 
of standing so tall 
let me be the one 
to catch you when you fall 

Somewhere... 
somehwere there's a field and a river 
Somewhere... 
you can let...your soul run free 
Someday... 
someday let me be the giver 
let me bring you peace baby 

Somewhere... 
Somewhere there's a break in the weather 
Somewhere... 
where your heart and spirit go free 
Someday... 
someday it will be for the better 
let this bring you peace 

Turning away from Justin, Michelle began to stare out the rain streaked window.  She had been trying to hold back the feelings that were quickly building inside her, but she feared she wouldn't be able to much longer.  He had awakened so many emotions in her that brought her to the edge of breaking down.  Feelings that told her it was possible to love again. 

let me bring you joy (bring you joy) 
Let me bring you peace (bring you peace) 
take these tears that you cry 
and trust them to me 
let me give you heart  (give you heart) 
let me give you hope (give you hope) 
Be the one constant love that you've never known

Somewhere... 
somehwere there's a field and a river 
Somewhere... 
you can let...your soul run free 
Someday... 
someday let me be the giver 
let me bring you peace baby 

Somewhere... 
Somewhere there's a break in the weather 
Somewhere... 
where your heart and spirit go free 
Someday... 
someday it will be for the better 
let this bring you peace 

Somewhere 
Somewhere 
Somewhere 
Someday 
Somewhere 
Someday 

Let me be the one 
Let me be the one 
to catch you when you fall 

Somewhere (somewhere) 
Somewhere (somewhere) 
Somewhere (somewhere) 
Somewhere (someday) 

Let me bring you peace 

Somewhere (somewhere) 
Somewhere (somewhere) 

Once he had finished the song, he reached forward and took a hold of Michelle's hand.  Emotionally a mess, she let a few tears fall from her eyes as Justin pulled her over to the space between him and the piano. 

"Why are you crying?" 

Unsure of what to say or how she felt at that exact moment, she just shrugged her shoulders and hung her head. 

Letting out a soft sigh, Justin stood up in front of her. He knew there was more going on with her than she was letting on, but she wouldn't open up.  All he wanted to do was let her know that he was there for her.  She just needed to trust him. 

 After brushing her hair away from her face, he gently wiped the tears from her cheek and took her hands in his. 

"Are you ok?" 

"Yeah, I'm sorry."  she whispered. 

"No. Don't be sorry."  he said, as he placed his finger under her chin.  He managed to bring her gaze to his and for the first time saw something different in her. Something that reached out and captured his heart in the most amazing way. Finally....he was breaking down the walls she had built around her. 

"The song was beautiful." 

"Not as beautiful as you."  he said, softly stroking her cheek. 

Feeling caught up in the moment, Justin leaned forward and captured her lips, pulling her as close to him as possible. Without giving it a second thought, Michelle began to kiss him back. 

After a few seconds of pure magic, he pulled back and looked at her.  He knew with every ounce of his being that he wanted this more than ever, but unless she wanted it as well, he had to stop himself. He didn't want to go down any of their previous paths.  If anything was going to happen, he had to be certain. 

With her breathing quickly becoming labored, she looked at him but didn't speak a word.  Instead she closed her eyes and pulled him back to her, passionately kissing him. 

Savoring every moment of a kiss that all but brought him to his knees, he struggled to break away once again. 

"Are you sure this is what you want?  I mean.....really sure that you want to do this?"  he asked, caressing the side of her face with his hand. 

"Yes.........this is what I want." she said, gently placing her hands on his chest and leaning in once again to kiss him. 

Feeling his heart race a mile a minute, Justin grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, tossing it on the bench behind him.  He had wanted this for so long and now that it was finally going to happen, he wanted to savor every part of her. 

Entwining his fingers in the still damp strands of her hair, Justin tilted her head back and softly kissed a path down her neck and across her collar bone.  She tasted even better than he thought and he knew that tonight was going to be all that he dreamt of and more. 

Although the rain had picked up and was now pounding on the windows, the softs moans that were escaping her mouth did not go unnoticed.  Feeding off the raw passion that was so quickly consuming him, Justin grabbed her by her waist and sat her up on the edge of the piano.  Reaching behind him, he grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled it up over his head.  After discarding it on the floor, he slid his hands along her thighs and moved as close to her as he could get.  He couldn't believe that it was finally going to happen.  After all the close calls, all the nights he went to sleep wishing she was beside him.  Finally...the time had come. 

Even though Michelle smiled softly at him, he couldnt get past the fact that she looked so innocent, so insecure.  There was definetly a want in her eyes, but the ever popular traces of uncertainty seemed to be surfacing as well. 

"You still sure about this?" 

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded her head yes and slowly unhooked the front of her bra, exposing herself to him as she tossed it on the piano behind her. For a moment, he felt himself become short of breath.  She was beautiful.  Every inch of her, absolutley perfect. 

Feeling himself growing more excited by just looking at her, Justin took a hold of her hips and slid her to the very edge of the piano. As he did, a small gasp escaped her mouth and mixed with the soft melody of her feet hitting the piano keys.  A sound that was nothing short of erotic and he knew that he was only torturing himself by holding back. 

Leaning forward, Justin took a hold of her face and quickly captured her lips with his once again.  Finally giving in to the feelings she had supressed for him, Michelle wrapped her arms around his neck and began to passionately kiss him back.  Slowly, she was falling into his trance allowing every touch of his hand to cause her to tremble inside. 

Pulling back slightly, Justin slid a hand down her lower back and gently pressed her down on to the piano with his other hand.   Arching her back slightly as he pulled her towards him, Justin began to kiss along her stomach. 

Feeling herself get lost in the moment, Michelle let out a soft moan and the storm outside produced a flash of lightning that illuminated her body as she laid draped across the silken black finish of his piano. 

Unable to take it any longer, Justin reached down and unfastened his belt.  He couldnt stand to look at her like that any longer.  The things she was doing to him was just short of torture.  After unbuttoning his jeans, Justin discarded them with the rest of the clothing. Reaching up, he made quick work of her skirt as well and in a matter of seconds it joined Justin's jeans on the floor. 

As he was about to make his move towards her, he noticed her slightly shaking.  Quickly, he walked around to the side of the piano and scooped her up in his arms, removing her from the piano top. 

"What's wrong?"  he asked, afraid that once again she had changed her mind, yet hoping that he was wrong. 

"It's a little cold up there."  she said softly, trying to hide the embarrassment she was now feeling. 

"So I see."  he laughed, leaning forward to kiss her chattering lips. "I can fix that though.  Don't worry." he said and pushed the bench out of the way with his foot. 

"Where are we going?" 

"Somewhere I know you'll be warm." 

"Somewhere like?  Your bedroom?"  she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"Yeah, that was the plan.  Why?  You don't want to go upstairs?" 

"Can we just stay here?"  she asked, pointing to the large lambskin rug that was in front of the fireplace. 

Raising an eyebrow, Justin let out a little chuckle. 

"Right here huh?" 

After nodding her head 'yes', Michelle began to kiss him once again.  She had waited long enough to be with him and she didn't want to wait one moment longer.  She wanted him to make love to her....now. 

Lowering her feet to the floor, Justin watched the fire reflect in her eyes as he gently laid her down on the plush white surface. Not wasting any time, Justin positioned himself above her and began kissing along the side of her neck as she ran her hands down his back. 

"I don't know how much more of this I can take."  he sighed into her neck.  "I don't want to just rush through this, but I've wanted this for quite a while and to be honest...your making it really hard to restrain myself." 

"Then don't."  she said, breathily. 

Placing one last kiss along her neck, Justin leaned back and looked down at her.  He knew by the look on her face that she needed the release as much as he did and that was all the encouragement he needed. 

Sliding his hand down her thigh, he brought her knee up along side of him so that he could position himself between her legs.  Once there, Justin leaned forward and passionately kissed her.  Michelle continued to caress his back, but the moment she felt him press inside her, her nails dug into his back and she let out a soft cry. 

"Are you alright?"  Justin asked, slightly arching his back in response to the now stinging sensation her nails had caused. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry."  she said, slowly moving her hands from his back and looking towards the fireplace. 

"Don't.  Don't pull away from me now."  he moaned, his body aching to continue the task he had started. "Michelle, baby look at me." 

Hearing him call her that brought tears to her eyes.  All she ever wanted from Wade was to be loved and to be made to feel like she was special.  They were together for months and the only memories she could now recall of their relationship were moments of pain and heartbreak  There were times where she felt like she could disappear from the face of the earth and he wouldn't even care. 

Here with Justin however, it was all so different.  He made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered.  All he wanted was to make her feel the way she deserved. Placing her hands gently on to his lower back, Michelle turned back to face him. 

"I'm fine.  It's going to take a lot more than a few scratches to keep me from making love to you."  he said.  "Are you alright though?  Did I hurt you?" 

"No, I'm fine." 

"Are you sure?  If you want to stop, we can.  Oh shit.....you weren't a virgin were you?  I mean, you and Wade....." 

"Yeah, me and Wade were intimate." 

"I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have asked you that."  he said, slightly backing away from her. "Your relationship with Wade is none of my business." 

"It's alright." 

"No, it isn't."  He said, backing up so that he was now resting on his knees.  "I think maybe......maybe we should just call it a night." 

"What?  Why?"  she asked, quickly becoming upset that he was starting to stand up. 

"Because I just fucked up what would have been the best night of my life.  Bringing his name in to this was the last thing that I should have done.  I'm sorry.  I just don't want to make love to you with him on your mind." 

Completely heartbroken, Michelle grabbed her clothes and ran crying in to the bathroom. How did this happen. 

Watching her head upstairs, Justin's heart sank. 

"Way to go Timberlake! You finally get what you wanted and you fuck it up."  he said, grabbing his jeans off of the floor.  After sliding them on, he zipped up the zipper slightly and collapsed on to the bench behind him.  Justin could hear her crying upstairs and felt like the biggest ass.  He never meant for the evening to turn out like this.  He doesn't even know why he brought Wade up, but he had and there wasn't any way to go back and change it.  The moment he longed for was right in his hands.  Could he really just let it slip away? 

Chapter 86 

Once upstairs, Michelle broke down.  How did Wade manage to ruin what was sure to be an amazing evening without even being there.  How was it possible? 

"What did I ever do to deserve this?!    Why can't I just be happy?!"  she said, slipping her skirt back on. 

After fastening her bra, she heard a knock on the door. 

"Michelle?" 

"I'll be out in a minute." 

"Can you please just open up the door." 

"I'm almost done.  I said I'll be out in a minute." 

No wanting to wait any longer, Justin grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open.  He knew the second she got up from the floor that he had made the biggest mistake of his life.  He needed to try and fix things before it was too late. 

"Justin, what are you doing?  Can you please just let me get dressed?  Please."  she said, as tears fell down her cheeks. 

Taking the shirt from her hands, Justin tossed it on the floor and wrapped his arms around her waist.  He didn't want her to go and he certainly didn't wan't to see her like that.  But most importantly, he didn't want to think of what it would mean if she walked out of his house. 

"Right now I have to be the biggest dick ever.  I made an uncomfortable situation so much worse by moving away from you like that.  I'm so sorry.  Please don't go." 

"Justin please.  Just let me get dressed, I want to go home." 

Feeling her struggle to get away from him, Justin loosened his grip and watched as she grabbed her shirt from the floor.  That was it.  It was over.  He had ruined any chance he could of had to be with her. 

As she was about to walk through the door, he placed his arm across the doorway in a last ditch effort to stop her from going. 

"Look, I messed up.  I'm sorry, I really am, but give me another chance.  I know you wanted this as much as I did....as much as I still do.  Please don't make me look back on this day with nothing but regrets.  Michelle please........stay."  he said, taking her hand in his. 

Wiping her eyes, Michelle looked up at him and knew he was genuinely sorry for what happened.  She didn't want to leave.  He had awaken so many emotions in her that made her feel alive.  She didn't want to lose that. 

"Please?" he asked, the expression on his face clearly showing that he was hurt by what he had done. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Michelle sat her shirt down on the sink. After all the times she forgave Wade, she knew that if anyone was deserving of another chance it was Justin.   She owed that to him. 

"Thank you."  he said, bending down to kiss her.  "Come on.  Let's go get you warmed up.  You're freezing." 

Holding her hand, Justin walked her down the hall that led to his bedroom. Once inside, Justin lit a fire and grabbed the down comforter from his bed to take to the floor. 

"Come here."  he said, tapping the space next to him. 

After sitting down beside him in front of the fireplace, Justin wrapped the comforter around her back and pulled her close to him. 

"I'm sorry.  I didn't stop to think about what I was doing and I certainly didn't mean to hurt you." 

"I know. It's ok." 

"No it isn't."  he said, turning to look at her.  "It should have never happened.  There were so many times that I imagined what it would be like to make love to you.  Not once did it involve me making you cry."  he said, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.  "When I first saw you I thought you were beautiful.  Once I got to know you more though, I knew without a doubt that you were beautiful...inside and out.  All I want is to be with you.  If you'll have me." 

Looking over at him, Michelle felt the most amazing feeling come over her.  This was how it was susposed to be.  Offering him a soft smile, Michelle leaned in towards him and began kissing him.  It was something so simple for her, yet it felt absolutely wonderful.  Slowly backing away from him, she saw the same fire he had in his eyes earlier.  The fire that made her become short of breath. 

After taking one long look into her eyes, Justin shifted positions and faced her.  Pulling her close, Justin wrapped an arm around her back and placed his other arm under her knees. 

"If you don't want to do this, please tell me to stop."  he said, standing up with her in his arms. 

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Michelle began to kiss him as he carried her over to his bed. She didn't wan't him to stop. At that moment, she couldn't think of a better place to be. 

Once there, Justin lowered her feet to the floor and slowly slid his hands down her back to unzip her skirt.  After he let it fall to the floor, Justin slid his hands back up her back to grasp her shoulder from behind.  Hungrily, he kissed along her neck, enjoying every moment of the time he was spending with her in his arms. 

Feeling her soft hands along his stomach, Justin slowly realeased his grip and backed up.  Watching her with a want in his eyes, he allowed her to unzip his jeans before his hands quickly disposed of her bra.  After sliding his jeans off, he kicked the pile of clothes behind him and took a step closer to her. 

"Come here." 

Pulling her body against him, Justin picked her up and gently laid her down on the bed, joining his body with hers.  If it was possible, she looked even more beautiful than before. Brushing the few stray hairs away from her face, Justin once again leaned down to kiss her. 

He wanted to make sure she was alright with what was about to happen, but had already ruined things once.  This time, he was going to have to go on pure instinct and trust that she would tell him to stop if she changed her mind.

Shifting positions, Justin moved between her legs and felt him aching to be inside her.  After one final look in to her eyes, Justin bent down to capture her lips with his as he entered her.  At that moment, Justin felt her let out a soft moan against his lips and she began to tense up.  Afraid that he was hurting her, Justin stopped and nervously looked down at her. 

"It's ok.  Don't stop." 

"Are you sure?  Don't tell me your alright, if your not." 

"Yeah, I'm sure."  she said, pulling him back down to kiss her. 

Grasping her hands in his, Justin began to slowly pick up the pace, all the while watching for any sign that he should stop.  After he had found a comfortable pace, he knew that she was going to be fine and began to enjoy what could only be classified as heaven on earth.  She felt absolutely amazing. 

Hoping that she was now comfortable with what was going on,  Justin placed his arm under her and turned on to his back, pulling her on top of him as he did. 

Grabbing her hips, Justin repositioned her and a soft moan escaped her mouth. 

"You alright?" 

Nodding her head, Michelle bit her bottom lip and allowed her body to adjust to him. 

"Are you sure you're alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine."  she said, slightly panting. 

Smiling at her, Justin slid his hands over her hips and began to slowly pick up the pace.  Never breaking eye contact, Justin began to watch her every expression.  Slowly he was beginning to realize that she wasn't as comfortable as she had let him to believe. 

Pulling her down, Justin adjusted her so that she was no longer straddling him.  Turning back over, Justin was once again on top of her. 

"Is this better?"  He asked, softly kissing the tip of her nose. 

"Yeah."  she said softly. 

She couldn't get over how he was treating her.  Not once did he put his feelings or his need to please himself first.  His sole focus was to make sure that she was comfortable and it had been that way from the beginning. 

Placing her hands on his lower back, Michelle leaned forward slightly so that she could softly kiss his chest.  As she did, Justin tilted his head back and for the first time allowed himself to fully acknowledge what was happening.  Then almost without thinking, Justin grabbed a hold of her hands and placed them on the pillow above her. Every emotion possible quickly began to flood his body.  Never could he have imagined that making love to her would be so amazing. 

Locking his eyes with hers, Justin knew that he wasn't alone is this utter state of ectasy. For the first time, he understood what the meaning of love making was all about. He felt it with his body and soul. 

"Oh god...Justin....don't stop."  she begged, arching her body into him. 

Loosening his grasp of her hands, Justin arched her up farther bringing himself close to the edge. 

Now consumed with nothing but the sheer pleasure he was providing her, Michelle wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.  Feeding off of that raw passion, Justin grabbed a hold of her waist pulled her up to face him. Holding her now securely against him, Justin began to pick up the pace as the shadow of her gorgeous body danced on the wall in front of him. 

Latching on to his shoulders, Michelle found herself coming dangerously close to the edge.  Tilting her head back, Justin burried his face in the corner of her neck and after a few deeper thrusts knew he couldn't hold on any longer. 

Taking a deep breath, Justin tightened his grip on her and she let out a soft moan as she felt him explode inside her. 

"Oh god....Justin!" 

Quickly leaning back, Justin brought her gaze to his and watched the fire reflect in her eyes as her body softly shook against him.  Holding her close, Justin began to kiss her and her body slowly stilled. 

Softly stroking hair, Justin realized he had just experienced the single greatest experience of his life. 

"That was amazing."  she whispered, getting choked up. 

"Oh baby.....don't cry."  he said, gently caressing the side of her cheek with his fingers. 

Wiping away the tears of joy, Michelle rested her head against his shoulder and felt her rapid heartbeat slowly settle. 

Softly smiling at her, Justin leaned back and pulled her on top of him.  Reaching behind him, Justin grabbed the comforter off of the floor and covered the two of them up. 

"Will you stay here with me tonight?" 

Looking up at him, Michelle didn't need to give his request a second thought. 

"There's nowhere I'd rather be."  she said, softly laying her head back down on his chest. 

"Good.  Because this is the only place you belong."  he whispered, gently placing a kiss on her forehead. 

Shutting her eyes, Michelle felt a sudden peace come over her.  After all the heartbreak and suffereing, she had finally found what she was looking for. 

Chapter 87 

Once Wade's plane touched down in Los Angeles, he gathered up his suitcases from baggage claim and hailed a taxi.  He knew with every second that past, Michelle was liking getting herself in more trouble.  Trouble that she wasn't going to be able to get away from that easy. 

After Wade got inside the cab, he grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. 

"Hey Chris, it's Wade." 

"Hey." 

"I just got back to LA.  Did you do me that favor?" 

"Yeah." 

"And?  Do you know where she's at right now?" 

"Justin picked her up at her apartment earlier and they went back to his place.  As far as I know they're still there." 

"What about Marty?" 

"Actually, he went to San Diego for a few days.  Steph said he's coming back on friday." 

Laughing, Wade knew that everything was finally working to his advantage.  With Marty out of the way, the next few days with Michelle was sure to be life changing. 

"Thanks man.  I owe you one." 

"Anytime.  Do you want to tell me what's going on though?  I mean, you're both working for Timberlake right?" 

"Yeah." 

"So, what's the big deal with her being around him.  Isn't that part of the job?" 

"They aren't working Chris.  That's the problem." 

"Oh shit. Sorry man, I didn't know." 

"Hey, don't worry about it.  Thanks for looking in to that for me though. I appreciate it.   I'll get in touch with you tomorrowabout the other thing, alright?" 

"Sounds good.  Later man." 

Flipping the phone shut, Wade directed the cab driver to pull in his driveway.  Reaching in his pocket, Wade pulled out a few bills and handed them to the driver. 

"Thanks man.  Keep the change." 

Getting out of the cab, Wade slung his bags over his shoulder and headed over to his Navigator.  After inspecting the work done at the shop, Wade punched in his key code and unlocked the door.  Feeling under the seat, Wade finally located the set of keys he gave the garage. 

Walking up to his steps, Wade unlocked his front door and headed inside. 

Placing his bags down beside the door, Wade quickly scanned through the mail the Chantal was collecting.  Finding nothing of immeadiate importance, Wade laid it back down on the tablewith his keys and headed in to the kitchen. 

After grabbing a bottle of water, he took his keys back off the table and headed out to his Navigator.  Chris had said that Michelle was at Justin's and he wasn't about to waste any time finding out for himself exactly what was going on.  He was heading over there. 

Getting inside his truck, Wade started it up and proceeded to head to Justin's place.  In the back of  his mind, he knew that the possibility was very good that he would find out something he didnt want to. 

As he drove to Justin's, the sky began to darken and the first signs of rain were becoming visable on his windshield.  Not exactly the kind of weather they were used to in Los Angeles, but with the circumstances the way they werebetween him and Michelle...it almost seemed fitting. 

Finally turning down the road that led to Justin's, Wade parked across the street and noticed that Justin's gate was open.  Not wanting to announce his arrival, Wade turned off his truck and got out.  Annoyed that the rain was now picking up, Wade pulled his hat further over his eyes and ran across the street. 

"Thanks for leaving your gate open...asshole." 

Making his way up Justin's driveway, the sound of thunder and heavy rain begged him to turn around and head back to his truck.  It definetely wasn't weather he wanted to be out in.  Then, just as the thought entered his mind to wait until later to come back, he caught a glimpse her and felt a knot growing in his stomach. 

"You mother fuckin prick!  I knew it!"  he said, rain now soaking every inch of his body as he watched Justin place Michelle on top of his piano. 

Clenching his fists, Wade took a few steps towards the front door and then abruptly stopped.  He wanted to go up there and confront Justin, but that ultimately wouldn't help his plan.  He needed to pull himself together and head to her apartment.  He had his answer now.  There wasn't anything left to question.  It was all there in front of his face. 

"You're going to pay for this.  I guarantee it." he said, placing his hands on top of his head. 

Walking back down Justin's driveway, Wade felt as if he was about to explode.  Holding things in wasn't his strong suit.  It never had been and never would.  Trying to hold this in was going to be next to impossible. 

Once back at his truck, Wade got inside and threw his hat across the seat.  He knew something was going on with Justin, he just didn't want to see it. 

"YOU MOTHER FUCKER!"  he yelled, pounding his fist against the steering wheel. 

After taking a few deep breaths, Wade started up his truck and headed to her apartment.  He knew it was going to be a long night.  Especially when chances were pretty good that she wouldn't be coming home until tomorrow morning. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

As Michelle laid in bed, she felt a cool breeze blow across her body from the morning air.  Struggling to keep warm, she shifted under the covers and felt a warm body next to her.  Opening her eyes, she looked up and saw Justin's smiling face. 

"Sorry. I opened the patio doors to get some fresh air.  I can close them though if your cold."  he said, wrapping his arms around her. 

"It's ok. I'm fine." 

"If you need warmed up though, I think I can help." 

Slightly giggling, Michelle moved closer and snuggled against his chest. 

"You can help huh?  What are you suggesting?" 

"Well if I didn't have some things to take care of this morning, I would suggest we continue what we started last night."  he said placing a kiss on top of her head.  "Unfortunetly, that's not the case." 

"Awww." 

"Care to join me in the shower though?" 

"To get clean?" 

"Uh....yeah we can do that too if you want."  he teased, pulling her against him so that he could kiss her neck. 

"Stop it!  That tickles."  she said, trying to swat him away. 

"You're ticklish huh?" 

"No.  Justin...no." 

Quickly shifting positions, Justin jumped on top of the sheet and straddled her knees. 

"So...are you ticklish here?"  he said, grabbing her sides. 

Letting out a slight giggle, Michelle turned to look away from him. 

"Oh, you are huh?" 

"Justin stop it!"  she yelled, trying her hardest to not break out in to full laughter. 

"Come on.  Don't hold out on me." 

Looking at the look on his face, Michelle broke down and began laughing. 

Stopping his quest, Justin sat there and took pleasure in her laughter.  She was everything he ever wanted. 

"Ok, you've had your fun.  Now get up." 

Winking at her, Justin got off the bed and extended his hand to her. 

"I don't have anything on." 

"Do we have an audience here?"  he asked, joking looking around the room.  "I didn't think so.  l have seen it all though.  Very nice." 

Blushing, Michelle slowly slid the sheet off her feet and took his hand. 

After walking in the bathroom, Justin shut the door. 

As the two of them were showering, Justin heard some noise coming from the other side of the door. 

"Stay here."  he said, stepping out of the shower to wrap a towel around his waist. 

Opening the bathroom door, Justin looked out towards the hall. 

"Hey man." 

"Trace.   What the hell are you doing here?" 

Glancing down at his watch, Trace gave him a strange look. 

"Dude.  It's 9 o'clock.  We're susposed to be down at the studio by eleven.  Why aren't you ready?" 

As Trace was waiting for Justin's answer, he heard a familiar voice. 

"Justin, is everything alright?" 

Immeadiately Trace's jaw hit the floor. 

"Is that Michelle?!" 

"Yeah, everything is fine."  he replied back to her and then walked towards Trace. 

"I'll be ready to go in like thirty minutes." 

"Dude!" 

"What?" 

"Is that Michelle?" 

"Yeah, now get your ass downstairs." 

Smiling, Trace stuck his hand out to congratulate Justin. 

"Man, just go downstairs." 

Laughing, Trace fixed his baseball cap and headed out the door. 

Once he walked back in the bathroom, Justin laid his towel across the sink and got back in the shower. 

"Is everything ok?" 

"Yeah, it's just Trace.  I forgot he was riding to the studio with me." 

"Oh.  So I guess he knows I'm here huh?" 

"Yeah.  Don't worry about Trace though.  You just worry about me."  he said, offering her a sinister look as he backed her against the wall. 

"Don't you have to get ready or something?" 

"Yeah, something.  Something like this."  he said, softly nibbling the side of her neck. 

"Justin, I'm serious." 

"Man!  I'd rather stay here." 

"Yeah, well I'd rather stay here too, but that isn't going to happen.  Now come on." 

Opening the shower door, Michelle grabbed her towel and stepped out of the shower. 

"I'm going to get dressed." 

"Fine.  Ruin all my fun."  he teased, turning off the shower. 

After they got dressed, Justin took her hand in his and they walked downstairs. 

"Good morning."  Trace said, smiling from his seat at the kitchen table. 

"Morning." she replied softly. 

"Sleep well?" 

"Dude, knock it off."  Justin yelled, smacking Trace in the back of the head. 

"Sorry.  I'm just having some fun with you guys.  I think it's great." 

Smiling,  Michelle pulled out a chair at the opposite end of the table and sat down. 

"I brought breakfast if anyone wants any." 

"No thanks man." 

"Michelle?  You want any?" 

"I'm good Trace.  Thanks." 

"So, is Michelle coming to the studio with us?" 

"Oh, I don't know.You want to come down?  You can see me in action?" 

"Didn't she already see you in action?"  Trace laughing, getting up from the table. 

Slightly embarrassed, Michelle looked away. 

"Enough jackass."  Justin said, softly stroking her hair as he stood behind her. 

"That's alright. I have some things I need to take care of this afternoon anyway." 

"You sure?  We aren't going to be there very long." 

"Yeah." 

"Alright, well we better get going." 

"Ok, well I'm ready when you are."  Trace said, heading towards the foyer. 

"Sorry about him.  Sometimes I think he thinks we're still in high school." 

"It's ok.  I'm just going to grab my purse in the livingroom." 

"Alright."  he said, pulling her in for a quick kiss.  "I'll wait here for you." 

Smiling, Michelle headed in to the livingroom.  Grabbing her purse off of the table, Michelle glanced over at the piano and smiled. 

"Don't worry.  We'll have many more nights like last night." 

Turning around, Michelle saw Justin standing behind her. 

"Good, because last night was amazing." 

"Amazing doesn't even come close."  he said, pulling her towards him. "Come on.  We better get out of here before Trace finds something else to say." 

Laughing, Michelle took Justin's hand and they walked out the front door to the driveway. 

"I got shotgun!"  Trace yelled. 

Grabbing his keys from his pocket, Justin walked over to the passenger side door of his escalade and opened it for Michelle. 

"Man, you people have no sense of humor this morning."  Trace said, watching Justin pass him an evil glare. 

"Just get in." 

Walking around to the driver side, Justin got inside and started up his truck. 

After some casual conversation, Justin pulled up to Michelle's apartment building. 

"I'll call you when I get done at the studio, alright?" 

"Yeah. I should be home, but if not you have my cell number right?" 

"I think it's in my phone." 

"Ok." 

Putting his truck in park, Justin got out and walked around to her door.  Opening it up, Justin extended his hand to her and helped her out. 

"I really wish you would come with us." 

"I know.  Maybe next time I will." 

"Promise?" 

"We'll see." 

Wrapping his arm around her waist, Justin bent down and passionately kissed her.  After finally breaking away, Justin placed a few more quick kisses to her lips. 

"Ok, I'll call you later.  We have to get going." 

"Alright.  Drive safe." 

After watching him drive away, Michelle headed inside. 

Chapter 88 

Morning had come faster than Wade had expected.  When he got to Michelle's apartment, he thought that the night would drag on.  That for hours the only thing he would be able to see was the two of them.  That his imagination would be working overtime coming up with every unthinkable thing they could be doing. Thankfully though, he found some liquor still in her apartment and put it to good use.  Night had passed and morning came without warning. 

Anticipating her early arrival home, Wade jumped in the shower and then headed back downstairs to wait for her. After slowly making his way in to the livingroom, Wade collapsed down on to the sofa and removed the small container from his pocket that Cameran had given him before he left New York.  Holding it in between his fingers, Wade twisted the cap off and proceeded to clear a spot on the table.   After unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt, Wade pushed them up his forearms and emptied the fine white powder onto the glass surface. 

Momentarily glancing down at the temptation in front of him, Wade started to have second thoughts. It was only by the graces of god that he got off the stuff the first time around.  Could he really stop this time? 

After glancing over at a picture of the two of them, Wade realized that the advantages greatly outweighed the risks and he was willing to take the chance. 

Sitting the container down on the table, Wade ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed the small glass tube taped to the the side. Leaning forward, Wade let out a heavy sigh and proceeded to snort the large line of cocaine that he placed on to the table surface.  Squeezing his eyes shut from the burning sensation, Wade wiped his nose and leaned back against the sofa.  He knew it was only a matter of seconds until he began to feel the effects. 

Quickly getting up from the couch, Wade headed on to Michelle's balcony to get some fresh air. He recalled the rapid changes in body temperature from his last use, but never as bad as this. 

"What the fuck did you give me Cam!"  he yelled, grasping the rail to steady himself as his heart began to pound in his chest. 

Startled by the sound of keys in the door, Wade turned around and felt a rage growing inside him.  It was as if every emotion he felt about Michelle was gathering up in the pit of his stomach looking for a release.  Although he wasn't expecting her until later, he knew had no other choice than to confront her now.  Regardless of the state he was in. 

After shutting the door behind her, Michelle locked the deadbolt and placed her keys on the table beside the door.  As she did, Wade walked back in to the livingroom. 

"When have you known me to make empty threats?" 

Stopping dead in her tracks, Michelle's heart skipped a beat and she felt as if someone had just walked over her grave. 

"I asked you a question.  When have you known me to make empty threats?" 

Not moving a muscle, the tears immeadiately began to fall from her eyes. Without even turning around she knew without a doubt that the voice she heard coming from behind her belonged to Wade.  Somehow, some way.....he was back from New York and standing in her apartment. 

"MICHELLE!" 

Slowly turning around, Michelle saw her worst nightmare standing before her. 

"Wade....What are you....How did you...."  she tried to say, but quickly began to trip over her words in a panic. 

"Why is it that when I'm trying to ask you a question, you turn it around and try to ask me one?  ANSWER THE FUCKIN QUESTION!  WHEN HAVE I MADE AN EMPTY THREAT?!" 

In a panic, Michelle ran around the sofa and sprinted up the stairs as fast as she could. Knowing what had happened last night between her and Justin and the currently agitated state Wade was in, she knew that this could easily become a fight for her life. 

Not wasting any time, Wade jumped over the coffee table and took the steps two at a time in an effort to catch her.  Just as he was about to grab her, Michelle ran in the bedroom and slammed the door shut, quickly locking it behind her. 

"OPEN THIS FUCKIN DOOR!" 

"Why are you doing this to me!"  she cried, slowly backing away from the door.  "Why can't you just leave me alone!"

"OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW MICHELLE!  YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT YOUR ONLY DELAYING THE INEVITABLE!" 

Quickly scanning the room, Michelle realized that her lifeline was right in front of her.  Jumping across the bed, she tried to grab the phone but accidentally knocked it to the floor when she reached for it.  Leaning down, Michelle frantically began to feel along the floor for it. 

Hearing the noise inside the room, Wade knew exactly what she was trying to do and that he had to stop her.  Taking a few steps back, Wade built up everything he had and firmly kicked the door. 

Hearing the sound, Michelle looked over her shoulder. She could see that the wooden frame of the door was now starting to splinter and that it would only take one more hit to break the door free of it's lock. 

"God, where the hell is it!"  she cried, leaning further down on the bed. 

Unfortunelty, it was too late.  Hearing the sound of the breaking wood ringing in her ears, she knew that it was over. 

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" 

Before she even had time to react, she felt the weight shift on the bed and Wade's hand firmly grasping the back of her hair. 

"What's wrong baby?  You aren't happy to see me?"  he teased, tightening his grip as he pulled her backwards off the bed.  "Didn't you miss me?" 

Consumed with fear, Michelle didn't speak a word. She knew there wasn't anything she could do or say at this point.  It was now out of her hands and left up to the man above if she was going to make it through this or not. 

"ANSWER ME!"  he yelled, releasing his grip and shoving her against the wall. "DID YOU MISS ME!?" 

Fearing that things may somehow get worse if she kept quite, she decided to say what she thought he wanted to hear. 

"Yes, I missed........" 

Before she even got a chance to get the rest of the words out, Wade backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the floor.  Quickly bending down, he grabbed her by her hair once again and shoved her back against the wall. 

"I'm sorry.  I didn't hear you.  You were saying?" 

Hysterically crying, Michelle looked into his eyes and prayed to god that he would just end it all.  That he would just completely snap and put her out of her misery.  She just couldn't take it anymore.  She wanted it to be over. 

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!  DID YOU MISS ME!?" 

Squeezing her eyes shut, Michelle silently said a prayer as she once again tried to answer his question. 

"No.......I didn't." 

"Oh, you didn't?  Hmm.  Why is that I wonder?  COULD IT BE BECAUSE YOU WERE FUCKING TIMBERLAKE!?" he screamed, backhanding her with such force that he immeadiately clutched his hand after in an attempt to stop the throbbing. 

Standing there rubbing his now sore hand, Wade watched the bright red substance drip down her cheek.  Feeling that he got his point across, Wade walked around the other side of the bed and ripped the phone cord from the wall.  After tossing it on the floor beside her, Wade crouched down in front of her. 

"SO....WAS HE GOOD?!  HUH?  DID HE FUCK YOU LIKE I DID?  DID HE MAKE YOU SCREAM!?" he yelled, grabbing her once again. 

Never did he expect to feel such power, such complete control of her and their future.  Regardless of what had happened with her and Justin the night before, he knew he now had the means to make sure it never happened again.  Unknowingly, she had given it to him in the form of Justin. 

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!"  WAS HE?  WAS ALL THIS REALLY WORTH IT?!"  he screamed, slamming her into the wall. 

This time though, she had enough.  Pressing herself away from the wall, Michelle began to punch Wade as hard as she could. Not expecting her to fight back, Wade was caught off guard and took a few blows before he finally got her back under control. 

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" 

Kicking her feet out from underneath her, Michelle fell backwards and smacked her head off the wall.  Without wasting a second, Wade jumped on top of her and began to hit her over and over again. 

"IF YOU EVER LAY A HAND ON ME AGAIN I'LL BREAK IT!  YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" 

As Michelle tried to defend herself from his torturous assault, his phone began to ring. 

Getting up off her, Wade reached down and pulled her to her feet as he removed his phone from his pocket. After glancing at the caller ID, he flipped it open. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey Wade, it's Chris." 

"Oh....hey.....man."  Wade said, practically out of breath. 

"You kind of winded.  Were you working?  I don't want to interupt you." 

"No, I'm not working.  What's up?" 

"Well I got the stuff we talked about.  I didn't know if you wanted to pick it up or if you wanted me to drop it off." 

"Ummm......are you out now?" 

"Yeah, I just picked it up.  I can stop by and drop it off." 

"I'm not at my place though.  I'm at my girlfriend's.  Do you think you can bring it here?"  he asked, shoving her towards the bathroom. 

"Go clean yourself up.  We're leaving here in like thirty minutes." 

"What did you say?" 

"Not you Chris.  I was talking to Michelle." 

"Oh, well it's no problem.  Just give me the address and I'll drop it off." 

After giving him the address to Michelle's apartment, Wade walked downstairs and in to the livingroom.  As he sat down on the sofa, he knew that Michelle was upstairs suffering and he smiled.  She deserved what she got.  She was stupid to think that he wouldn't find out.  Ever more stupid to think he would let her get away with it. 

As he was twisting the lid back on the vial, he heard a knock at the door.  Figuring it was Chris, he got up from the sofa and headed to the door.  After unlocking it, he pulled it open and got a slight shock. 

"Uh....can I help you?"  Wade asked, quickly trying to straighten up his shirt as one of the police officers looked over his shoulder. 

"Yeah we got a disturbance call concerning this apartment.  Do you live here?" 

"No, I don't actually.  My girlfriend does." 

"Can we speak to her?" 

"Actually she left here a few minutes ago. See we kinda got in to an arguement and we were both doing quite a bit of yelling.  That's probably why you were called. I appologize." 

Wade was hoping that Michelle wouldn't make any noise upstairs.  If they insisted on coming inside to investigate, he would certainly be on his way to jail for assault. 

"Does she have a cell phone?  Maybe we can call her and make sure everything is alright." 

"She does, but she left her purse here." 

"She left the apartment, but without her purse?" 

"Yeah.  She just pushed past me and left.  I tried to call her to appologize and that's when I heard her phone ringing.  That's how I realized her purse was here." 

"Well, I'm going to need to take some information from you." 

"Alright." 

After giving the officer what he wanted, Wade placed his hands in his pockets and waited for the officer to leave. 

"I don't want to get a call to come back here.  Do you understand?" 

"Yes, I understand.  Again, I appologize.  It won't happen again." 

After the officers walked down the hall, Wade shut the door and felt a massive relief wash over him. 

"God that was close."  he said, running his fingers through his hair. 

Just as he was about to head back to the livingroom to pull himself together, he heard another knock on the door. 

"Jesus christ, now what."  he mumbled, slowly turning back around to open the door. 

"Hey man, what the hell is going on?  I just saw cops leave the apartment." 

"Just come in." 

Once he was inside the apartment, Wade shut the door and headed over to the sofa to sit down. 

"So...why were the cops here?" 

"Disturbance call.  Guess I handled my problem a little too loudly."  he snickered. 

"Someone called the cops on you?  Did you hit her?"  Chris asked. 

"Yeah, you could say that."  Wade snickered.  "I mean, the cops don't know I hit her.  I told them we were just yelling." 

"I've used that excuse before.  You would think the cops would be a little more perceptive." 

"I have a feeling they knew what was going on, but what could they really do?  They didn't see her and everything appeared fine when they got here." 

"So where is she at?  Did she leave?" 

"Do you think I would let her leave?  No....I don't think so.  I had to make her get cleaned up.  She wasn't looking too good." 

"Are you serious?" 

"Yeah." 

"Did you just do this line?" he asked, looking down at the traces of powder on the table. 

"No, I did it before." 

"Wade!  You did this and then fought with her?!  Excuse me for asking but, is she alright?" 

"Yeah.  I mean, she's still alive.  That's saying a lot considering what she did." 

"I don't even want to know.  You better be careful though.  I know first hand what kind damage people can  inflict under the influence of this shit."  he said, handing Wade a glass bottle. 

"I know Chris, I'm not new to this.  I just wasn't expecting her home so soon." 

"Well, you might want to go check on her.  I have to take off anyway." 

"Ok man.  Thanks for dropping this off.  I appreciate it."  Wade said, pulling several bills from his wallet. 

"Take it easy man."  Chris said, walking out of her apartment and shutting the door behind him. 

After placing the container in his pocket, Wade headed back upstairs.  He was thankful that she was quiet when the cops were at the door but now he was starting to wonder what she was doing.  She was just too quiet. 

Chapter 89 

Once Wade walked back upstairs, he walked down the hall and in to her room.  Being so quiet, he expected her to be up to something.  Surprisingly though, he walked in and found her sitting on the edge of her bed. 

"What are you doing?" 

As she looked up at him, Wade saw a look in her eyes he never saw before.  A look he couldn't quite describe.  It was void of any feeling or expression and the color of her complexion was very pale. 

"What's wrong with you?  Let's go.  I said we have somewhere to be."  he said, motioning towards the door. 

Ignoring his comments, Michelle continued to sit there at stare at him. 

"I'm only going to tell you one more time.  Get the fuck up." 

"You know what, I'm not going to let you do this to me anymore.  I'm not going anywhere with you.  I know what's going to happen." 

"You're not going to let me do this?  You don't have a choice.  NOW GET UP!"  he yelled, growing furious at her bold attempt to disregard what he was saying. 

"You can do what you want.  I'm not going Wade. Why don't you just finish what you started.  Do us both a favor." 

Enraged, Wade walked over to her and grabbed her by her arm, yanking her off the bed. 

"You just don't get it ....do you.  You don't get to call the shots around here, I do.  Now get your ass downstairs."  he said pushing her towards the door. 

After staggering a few steps from the force he used to push her, she stopped dead in her tracks.  She knew deep down that defying Wade could be the end of her, but it had come to a point where she felt she would be better off.  She just couldn't live like this anymore. 

Knowing that he couldn't escalate things too much in her apartment, Wade resorted to his ace in the hole. 

"Fine, you want to stay...stay!  I'll just go have a nice little talk with Justin....you know...fist to face...I mean face to face." he said, turning around to walk out the door. 

"Wade!  Don't!" 

Loving the fact that he could now ignore her, Wade continued out the door and down the stairs.  He had no intention of confronting Justin just yet, but the fact that she thought he was going to worked in his favor.....as he suspected. 

"Wade!  Stop!  This isn't Justin fault!"  she pleaded, running down the stairs after him as fast as she could.  She knew that she couldn't allow Wade to go to Justin's.  He didn't deserve to be put through this because of her.  She had to stop him...whatever the cost. 

"WADE!" 

Stopping inches from the door, Wade turned around and looked at her.  The frightened look on her face spoke volumes and he was loving every second of her state of panic as she stood at the bottom of the stairs.  He knew that she would do anything to keep him from going to Justin's, he just didn't expect her reaction to be so intense. 

"Wade...please don't.  Just...leave him out of this.  I'll do whatever you want.  Just please don't hurt him." 

Knowing he was going to take full advantage of her concern, Wade turned back around and walked out the door.  He wanted to make sure that she knew he meant business. Not to mention the fact that he didn't want to have to go through this everytime he expected something of her.

As he was making his way towards the stairs, he heard her open the door. 

"Wade!  Please!"  she said, running after him. 

Quickly turning around, he saw the look of desperation plastered across her face. 

"Go get your shit.  You have exactly three minutes and then I'm gone." 

Frantically heading back to her apartment, Michelle threw on her shoes and grabbed her purse.  She knew that Wade wouldn't wait a second longer than he said and she couldn't allow Justin to pay for her mistake. Quickly locking the door, walked out and pulled it closed behind her. 

As she walked towards him, the tears began to flow.  She knew she was putting herself in danger by going with him, but the alternative, in her mind, was much worse.  She had to protect Justin. 

"Knock it off.  You made your choice, now let's go." 

Reaching behind him, Wade took a hold of her hand and led her down the stairs to his truck.  Although he didn't want to confront Justin about his little indiscretion with Michelle, he certainly wanted to deliver him a crushing blow.  One that would hit him where it hurt most. 

Once they got outside, Wade opened the passenger side door. 

"Get in.  We're already running late." 

"Late for what?" 

"Just get the fuck in the truck." 

Climbing inside, Michelle took a deep breath and fastened her seat belt.  She had no idea where they were going, but as long as it wasn't anywhere near Justin she would be fine. 

Wade continued driving, and not a word was spoken between the two of them.  She wasn't sure why he was so quiet, but she also knew she wasn't about to start a conversation up with him.  She would just enjoy the peacefulness while it lasted.  Finally, they pulled up to the parking lot of Millennium and Wade turned off his truck. 

"What are we doing here?"  she asked, unfastening her seat belt. 

Taking the keys out of the ignition, Wade turned to face her. 

"I don't want to hear you ask another question, you understand me?  You made the choice to be here.  Remember that." 

After doing a quick scan of the parking lot, Michelle let out a sigh of relief that Marty's truck was nowhere in sight.  She didn't really think he would come here and publicly start something with Marty, but she didn't know why else he would be here either. 

Stuffing his keys in his pocket, Wade once again took a hold of her hand.  She wasn't sure why he kept doing it, but she knew it wasn't what she thought.  There was a motive behind everything he did anymore and this was no exception. 

"We're only going to be here for like ten minutes.  I would have you just wait in the truck, but I think we both know that you can't be trusted.  Do yourself a favor....think before you decided to open your mouth." 

Michelle nodded her head acknowledging that she heard him, even though she had no idea what he was talking about. 

As they walked through the door, Michelle spotted Stephanie and felt an uneasy feeling come over her.  Wade wasn't aware that Stephanie knew what had been going on between them.  Would she say anything to him?  What if she did.  How was he going to react? 

"Hey Steph, is anyone in the back office?" 

"Uh........no.  I thought you were in New York?"  she asked, trying to make eye contact with Michelle. 

"Yeah, I came back early though.  I needed to take care of some things." 

"Oh, well the office is open.  Did you need something?" 

"Well I was susposed to meet Kelly here.  We're switching some of the rehearsals around for Justin's tour." 

"Your welcome to go back and wait for her.  She's teaching class today, so she should be here any minute." 

"Alright.  If you see her, can you let her know that we're here." 

"Yeah.  Actually can I talk to you for a second Michelle?" 

Standing slightly behind Wade, Michelle tried to shake her head 'no'.  She didn't want Stephanie questioning her on why she was with Wade.  Especially after she had told her that she was through with him. 

"Actually, I need Michelle back here with me Steph."  Wade said, smiling slightly as he bent down and placed a kiss on top of her head. 

"It's no problem.  I'll just catch you later then." 

"Alright."  Michelle said softly, glancing down at Wade's hand as it firmly held hers. 

"Come on."  Wade said, leading her down the hall as Stephanie looked on.  She knew something wasn't right.  She just didn't know what to do without putting Michelle at risk. Once they were out of sight, she did the only thing she could think to do.  Walking in to the lounge, she grabbed her cell phone and quickly dialed a number.  After a few rings, it kicked in to voicemail. 

"Marty, it's Stephanie.  Look, you need to call me as soon as you get this message.  Wade came back from New York early and just walked in to Millennium, hand in hand with Michelle.  I'm worried about her Marty. Please call me back." 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

"So, you and Michelle huh?" 

Looking over at Trace, a small smile graced Justin's lips and he shook his head. 

"What?  You're not going to tell me how the hell this happened?  After all the talks we had from day one about her, you're not even going to fill me in?" 

"What do you want me to say?" 

"Well, first things first....did you two....you know...hook up?" 

"You get right to it don't you?"  Justin laughed. 

"Dude, quit stalling.  Did you fuck her?" 

"No, no I didn't fuck her." Justin snapped back. 

"You didn't?"  Trace asked, looking over at Justin with a puzzled look on his face. "But I thought....wait, she spent the night, but you didn't do anything?" 

"That's not what I said.  I said I didn't 'fuck' her." 

"Look, did you two sleep together or not?"  Trace asked growing annoyed. 

"Yeah.........we did."  Justin said, lost in thought. 

Laughing, Trace turned to face Justin. 

"You've got to be kidding me.  It was that good?" 

"I can't even describe it.  I mean, man....it was amazing." 

"Ok, just stop right there.  You go any further and you're going to start sounding like a bitch." 

"Man, fuck you.  I'll show you bitch!"  Justin laughed, hitting Trace in his arm. 

"Ow!  What the fuck was that for?" 

"Who's a bitch now?" 

Rubbing his arm, Trace got the message and laid off the intimacy subject. 

"So, are you two going to hook back up later?" 

"Well, I told her I would call her after I got done at the studio. I'm sure we'll do something." 

"I really didn't think this was going to work out for you, but you've proved me wrong.  I'm happy for you man." 

"Thanks." 

Once they pulled in to the parking lot of the studio, Justin parked his truck and grabbed his cell phone. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Taking care of something." Justin said, dialing a number on his phone. 

"Like?" 

"Just hold on." 

Shaking his head, Trace got out of the truck and headed in the studio.  He knew they were cutting it close for time and wanted to make sure they knew Justin was outside. 

"Hey mom." 

"Hey, what's up?"  Lynn asked on the other end. 

"I need you to do me a favor, but I need you to do it without asking any questions." 

"Uh...what kind of favor do you need and why can't I ask any questions?" Lynn laughed. 

"Well see, that was a question right there." 

"What do you need Justin?" 

"I need you to order some roses and have them delivered for me." 

"Roses?  For who?" 

"Questions.  Those are questions." 

"My son wants me to order flowers for someone, yet I can't ask who they are for.  Why don't you do it then?" 

"You're killing me here.  You know that right?" 

"How am I susposed to have them delivered Justin if I don't know who they are to."  Lynn teased, hoping that he would share atleast a little bit of information on the recipient of his obvious romantic gesture. 

"I have to be in the studio in five minutes.  Can you do this for me or not?" 

"You know I'll do it.  Just give me her information." 

"I'll give you the address.  That's all you need."  Justin said, as he watched Trace walk back through the parking lot towards his truck. 

"Now you're killing me."  Lynn said. 

Grabbing a hold of Justin's door handle, Trace pulled it open. 

"Is that Michelle?  Tell her you have to go .  People are waiting on you." 

"So her name is Michelle huh?"  Lynn asked, laughing slightly. 

"Thanks Trace....you ass.  Now get the hell out of here.  I'll be there in like five minutes." 

"So where did you meet her?"  Lynn asked, smiling from ear to ear on the other end of the phone. 

"Look, I have to go.  I'll just do it myself." 

"Ok, I'm sorry.  What's her address?" 

After giving his mom the address, he thanked her and flipped his phone shut.   He never thought it would be so difficult to accomplish a simple task.  Locking up his truck, he smiled at the thought of her receiving the flowers.  He just wished he was going to be there to see her face. 

Chapter 90 

As Wade walked down the hall, he glanced over at Michelle with a questioning look. 

"So, what was that all about?" 

"What was what all about?"  she asked, not making eye contact with him as he opened the door to the office. 

"Steph." 

"I don't know.  All she said was can she talk to me?  What's the big deal?"  Michelle asked, quickly slipping past him and over to a chair next to the desk. 

"If it's no big deal, then why do you seem so defensive?" 

"I'm not.  You're just making it out to be more than it is." 

"I didn't make it out to be anything."  Wade said, glancing back down the hall before softly closing the door behind him.  "Are you trying to start something?" 

"No.  God why are you doing this?  I didn't say or do anything." 

"You better not be raising your voice to me."  Wade said, moving the chair that seperated him and Michelle. 

"No....I'm not. I'm sorry."  she whispered, slowly lowering her head and looking the other way. 

She was trying desperately to hold in the tears that began to form in her eyes, but it was becoming more than she could handle.  How did she end up back in this situation?  She had left him and moved on with her life.  This wasn't susposed to happen. 

After letting out a heavy sigh, Wade walked around to the other side of the desk and began to flip through the stack of papers in the scheduling folder.  Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled the sheet out and laid it on the desk, only momentarily glancing up at her as she wiped her eyes. 

"You better knock that shit off right now." 

"What?  I'm not doing anything."  she said, growing more upset with every word that came out of her mouth. 

"Do you want me to give you something to cry about?" he asked, walking back around the desk. 

Feeling her heart break all over again, the tears began to flow and there was no holding them back.  Every part of her ached.  She felt as if she had been ripped to pieces and there wasn't anything or anyone who could ever bring back that comfort and security she once felt in her life. 

"What did I just say!"  Wade yelled, moving back around to the other side of the desk.  Forcefully grabbing her by her arm, Wade yanked her out of the chair and over to the door. 

"What the hell is your problem.  You must want to piss me off."  he said, pulling the door open. 

"No.....Wade I'm sorry." 

Not wanting to hear any more excuses, Wade took her by her hand and led her out the door.  As they proceeded to walk back up the hall, Kelly called out from behind him. 

"Wade.  Did you get the rehearsals switched already?" 

Squeezing Michelle's hand tightly, Wade looked back over his shoulder. 

"No Kel, I didn't.  Michelle isn't feeling too well though, so I'm going to walk her out to the truck then I'll be right back." 

"Oh, alright.  I'll go get the paperwork ready." 

"Thanks." 

After making it through the lobby without being seen, Wade slid his hand under her hair and firmly grasped the back of her neck.  Knowing that even if anyone saw him walk her out, his act of cruelty was going to go unnoticed. 

"Don't think for a second that you are going to get away with this little outburst.  You hear me?" 

Cringing at the sharp pain now present from the force he was applying to her neck, Michelle softly acknowledged him. 

"Now get in the fuckin truck." 

After opening the door, Wade released his grip on her and shoved her inside. 

"Don't even try to do anything stupid.  I'll be back here in ten minutes." 

Grabbing a tissue from her purse, Michelle wiped the tears from her eyes and Wade slammed the door shut. 

As Wade walked back in to Millennium, he saw Kelly walking back up the hall with a stack of papers. 

"I figured I would bring this up here.  We can get this done in a matter of minutes.  I'm sure you want to take Michelle home if she isn't feeling well." 

"Yeah, I need to get her home."  Wade replied, knowing that his reason for wanting to get her home wasn't anything close to what Kelly would have thought. 

As the two of them flipped through page after page of scheduled rehearsals, Wade saw Stephanie walk in to the lounge and couldn't help but wonder what the deal was with her and Michelle.  Not that he had been given any particular reason to question why Stephanie wanted to talk to her.  It was that something just didn't feel right and he was hardly ever wrong when it came to things like that. 

"So, is that the only ones that needed changed?" 

"Yeah, that's all I needed to change.  Thanks." 

"Oh, I forgot to ask you if you wanted to change the smaller rehearsals to the other studio as well?" Kelly asked, as she gathered the stack of papers back up. "Wade?" 

"I'm sorry Kel.  What did you say?"  Wade asked, glancing out the front door. 

"Nothing. Go take her home.  I can tell your mind isn't on work right now." 

"No, it's alright.  What did you say?" 

"I just asked if you wanted to move the smaller rehearsals to the other studio, but they will both be open so you can make that call when the time comes." 

"Oh, ok.  So do we have everything taken care of?" 

"Yep, we're all good.  Go take care of Michelle." 

"I plan on it, trust me."  Wade snickered. 

"Well, I have to go get ready for class.  I'll talk to you later." 

"Thanks again Kelly." 

"No problem." 

After Kelly walked back down to the office, Wade debated on going to the lounge to talk to Stephanie, but decided that dealing with Michelle was much more important at the time.  Grabbing his keys from his front pocket, Wade walked out the front door and over to his navigator.  After climbing inside, he started his truck and glanced over at her. 

"Do you want to see how far you can push me?  I mean, seriously.  It never seems to fail that you do the one thing you know better than to do."  he said as he turned towards her, slightly raising his voice. 

"Wade....whatever I did...I'm sorry.  God!  Just please, don't keep doing this to me!  Please!"  she said trembling, finally breaking down and resting her face in her hands. 

Letting out a sigh, Wade hesitated slightly before turning back around and putting his truck in gear.  He wanted to make sure that she knew he wasn't messing around anymore, but something told him that the emotional state she was in right now was far worse than any punishment he could dish out.  Content with the fact that he was having that effect on her, Wade pulled out of the parking lot leaving her untouched. 

Thankful that she didn't edure the physical abuse she was certain she would be receiving, Michelle leaned her head against the window and began to slowly settle down. 

Surprisingly, the rest of the ride was relatively quiet.  Other than taking the two phone calls he received, he didn't say a word.  She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but was atleast content with the fact that she had some peace. 

After driving for what seemed like forever, Wade pulled back up to her apartment.  Confused, she looked over at him. 

"I'm not dropping you back off."  he said matter of factly, turning off the ignition and getting out. 

Hesitantly, she unfastened her seat belt and got out of his truck.  Shutting the door, Michelle headed up to the apartment and Wade followed her.  She wasn't sure exactly why they were back here, but had a slight idea of what it could be.  It was no secret that Wade liked keeping her at his place where he could control her.  Where he could make as much noise as he wanted and no one would hear.  Where none of her friends could stop by to interupt and she was basically.....helpless. 

Once inside the building, Michelle walked up to her apartment and unlocked the door.  After scooting her inside, Wade shut the door. 

"Go get your shit.  We're going back to my place." Wade said, heading over to the sofa. 

Feeling anexiety wash over her at the mere thought of going back to Wade's house, Michelle began to feel lightheaded.  Quickly placing her hand on the small table beside the door to steady herself, Michelle accidentally knocked over the small vase.  Hearing the noise come from behind him, Wade turned around. 

"What are you doing?"  he asked, approaching her. 

"Nothing.  I just got a little dizzy, that's all." 

"Well if it's nothing, then get moving.  Get your stuff and let's go." 

Still holding on to the table for balance, Michelle attempted to straighten up.  Unfortunelty, the second she did the feeling came rushing back and she grabbed the table with both hands. 

Shaking his head in complete disbelief at the whole situation, Wade pulled his hands from his pockets and walked over to her.  After removing her hands from the table, Wade scooped her up. 

"What are you doing?"  Michelle asked, trying slightly to get down. 

"Taking you upstairs to lay down. I mean unless you want to pass out on the floor down here.  Either way.  Doesn't matter much to me.  We're going to my place regardless." 

Not knowing what to say, she kept quiet and Wade continued to carry her up to the bedroom.  Once inside, he laid her down on the bed and walked back out the door. 

After a few minutes, he walked back in the room carrying a bottle of water. 

"Here.  You have fifteen minutes to pull yourself together then we're heading to my place." he said, handing her the bottle. 

Nodding her head that she understood him, Michelle took a small sip of water and then placed the bottle on the nightstand beside the bed. 

"I'll be downstairs."  Wade said, pulling the door closed behind him as he walked out. 

Once Wade was back downstairs, he walked over to the end table.  He had noticed that Michelle had several new messages since they left earlier and he was dying to see exactly who was calling her.  Although he had a good idea that atleast one of the calls were from Justin. 

Turning the answering machine towards the sofa, he sat down and played the messages.  After a few calls from family and friends, he heard the call that he didn't want to hear. 

"Hey, it's Justin.  Uh...we just got to the studio and I wanted to give you a quick call.  I'm probably going to be here late tonight, but Trace wants to hit the club after. We should be there sometime around midnight.  Well..uh...I hate to cut this short but I have to go before Trace comes looking for me yet again.  I hope you stop by.  I really want to see you." 

As Wade erased the message, he could feel his blood boil inside.  He didn't want to think about Michelle being with Justin, but that wasn't even an option after the image of her half naked body on Justin's piano was burned in to his mind. 

"You're so gonna pay for this Justin."  Wade mumbled, as he heard a knock on the door. 

Shaking out his tightly clentched fists, Wade got up and walked over to the door.  After looking through the peep hole, Wade unlocked the door and pulled it open. 

"Can I help you?" 

"Yeah, I have a flower delivery for a Ms. Michelle Gianetti." the guy said, reading her name off of a small card attatched to the bouquet. 

After giving the guy a rather annoyed look, Wade hesitantly grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a tip for him, handing it to the gentleman as he took the flowers with his other hand. 

"Thank you sir.  Have a good day."

Nodding his head, Wade shut the door and walked back in to the livingroom.  He had a feeling he knew who the flowers were from and he couldn't imagine being any more pissed than he already was.  He just hoped that he was wrong. 

Slowly pulling the card out of the small envelope, he read the name....Justin....and felt a rage growing inside of him. Quickly heading in to the kitchen, Wade slammed the flowers off the edge of the counter a few times before finally firing what was left in the trash can underneath the counter. 

"What are you doing?"  Michelle asked, stopping halfway down the stairs. 

"GO GET YOUR SHIT!  WE'RE LEAVING!"  he yelled. 

Without even giving it a second thought, Michelle quickly headed back upstairs to grab her things.  She knew better than to question Wade....and whatever it was that had him so upset, she felt she was better off not knowing. 

As she was placing the last of her things in her bag, Wade stormed in to the bedroom. 

"I SAID LET'S GO!" 

After grabbing her bag from the top of the dresser, Wade took her by the back of her arm and led her over to the stairs.  She knew he was furious and was trying to do everything she could so that she didn't make matters worse. 

"GET THE FUCK DOWN THERE!"  Wade yelled, quickly pulling her in front of him as he proceeded down the stairs.  She tried to keep her footing as he held her arm and forced her down the stairs, but a few steps from the bottom her feet got tangled up and she fell. 

"GET UP!" he yelled, readjusting the bag so that he could pull her back up. 

Once back on her feet, Wade shoved her towards the door and without thinking she glanced back over her shoulder at the flowers that were scattered across her counter. 

"UNLESS YOU WANT TO END UP JUST LIKE THOSE FLOWERS, I SUGGEST YOU GET YOUR ASS OUT THAT DOOR!"  Wade yelled, shoving the back of her head and grabbing her keys off of the table. 

Breaking down in tears, Michelle grabbed her purse and walked out the door, knowing that more than likely her nightmare was about to start all over again.