The tour was set to begin in just
two days, and JC was a wreck. Even though Anna was doing a little better,
he still didn't want to leave her side. He knew he couldn't disappoint the
guys, so he reluctantly agreed to go. He still loved performing as much as
he did before, but now that Anna was sick he didn't want to leave her, afraid
that something would happen. What if he got a call saying she had died? He
knew very well that he wouldn't handle it very well.
But Anna was right. He had to go. She
had Elizabeth, and he trusted Elizabeth. If something was wrong, she would
call him so he would have time to fly down.
Justin, on the other hand, was acting
very strangely. The last few days he had been acting totally different from
his normal self. He kept on coming home late, as in four or five am drunk.
And Elizabeth had never seen him drunk before, so when she tried to talk
to him, he would just snap at her then he would fall asleep on the couch.
She was finally got completely fed
up with him not talking to her. He barely would say a word to her in the
morning, and he usually went out for the day and didn't come back until early
in the morning.
She was tired of his actions, and when
he walked into the apartment just after two am, she slammed him against the
closed door. “What the hell is your problem? Don't you know how to pick up
a phone?” Her face was full of anger.
He could tell by her eyes that she
had been crying. “What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about? Damn you,
Justin. The last week you have been going out for hours, and come back drunk!
What is going on with you?” She let go of her grasp on him and pulled back
to listen. She was just so angry at his recent behavior.
And not only that. He wasn't even talking
to her anymore like he used to. He barely said one word to her anymore, and
she felt like they were slowly drifting apart.
“Nothing's going on,” he said. “I didn't
know it was against the law for me to go out and have a little fun.” Justin
rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee.
“Don't give me that shit.”
Justin turned around abruptly and looked
at her. He had never heard her swear before. She always said that there is
never any need to use vulgar language. But this was a time Elizabeth felt
like she had to put her foot down and demand some answers. And if swearing
at him got it done, then so be it.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard what I said. Now tell me
what the hell is going on? You've been acting so strange. We don't even talk
anymore.” Elizabeth's voice was quieter now as she sat at the kitchen table.
She folded her hands in her lap and sighed. “I don't want to lose you, Justin.
If we don't keep the lines of communication open, we could lose everything.”
“You think I want that?” he snapped.
He slammed the cup down onto the counter. “You think I like this distance
between us? Maybe if you paid a little more attention to me and our relationship,
you would see what's going on.”
“What's that supposed to mean? Are
you saying that I don't pay attention to you? If this is because of the time
I'm spending at the hos…”
Before she could finish her sentence,
Justin was on her again with his hot temper. “This isn't about all the time
you've been spending with Anna, if that's what you're thinking.” He tried
to soften his voice, but everything had been bottled up for so long, he couldn't
stop it. “What I don't get is how Anna is so blind.”
“Blind? What on earth are you talking
about?” Maybe he really was drunk. Maybe he had no idea what he was really
saying.
“To the fact that her husband and her
best friend are having an affair.”
“JC, this is insane. The doctor said
I couldn't leave the bed.”
JC was leading Anna through a
dark room that was lightened by candles. He had her blindfolded, like the
time he had proposed to her. “Don't worry, baby. I discussed this with the
doctor.”
“How come you can persuade people so
easily?” Anna tried to watch her step as JC lead her through what seemed
like an obstacle course. “And where are we anyway?”
JC smiled. “You're about to find out.”
They took a few more steps, then he untied the blindfold. He couldn't wait
to see her face.
“Oh my God.” Words couldn't describe
how she felt when she saw the scene before her. They were in their brand
new house, just inside the door. She couldn't believe it. She took in the
surroundings that she knew she would probably never see again. She looked
around the living room, hardly believing her eyes. “I can't believe you brought
me here,” she said.
“This is our dream home,” he said,
taking her hand and leading her up the stairs. He showed her all eight rooms
that were upstairs, then stopped abruptly at the door at the end of the hall.
Anna took one look at him and knew
what it was. “Our baby's room,” she said quietly.
JC just nodded, knowing if he said
something, she might start to cry. He knew he was about to. “We don't have
to look at it. I haven't even been in here,” he said finally after she told
him to say something.
“Let's go in,” she said.
“Are you sure? I mean, we don't have
to.”
Anna let go of his hand, and
pushed open the door.
“Baby, I don't think this is such a
good idea.” He tried to stop her, but instead she grabbed his hand and pulled
him inside. The moment he looked around the room, he knew it was a mistake.
It was the most beautiful room in the house, he thought, looking at it.
The wallpaper was a light blue. They
had both badly wanted a baby boy. There was a crib by the window, with a
blanket and stuffed animals inside of it. JC looked across the crib by the
windowsill and saw the tiny dresser and matching lamp.
“This is…” Anna tried to search for
the words, but they wouldn't come. She just held on tighter to JC's hand
and smiled up at him. “It's beautiful.”
JC's eyes were tearing up, and now
he couldn't do anything to stop them.
“I always wanted to have your baby,”
Anna said, tearing JC out of his thoughts.
He pulled her into his arms. “I always
wanted you to.” He kissed the top of her head. “Come on, let's go downstairs.”
JC took her hand, and they walked back downstairs.
He showed her the rest of the house,
then they walked back to the living room where JC had set up a blanket on
the floor with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. He helped her sit down
on the blanket. She had said she felt fine, but he didn't want to risk her
falling down and hurting herself.
It didn't matter if she was here tomorrow
or not. It didn't matter if she lasted another day. All that mattered to
Anna was that she was here right now with JC, who she loved more than anything
in the world, and they were together as long as it would last.
Anna watched as he poured them each
a glass of wine, then she watched as he filled two plates with the food he
had prepared earlier that day. She realized now that he had never cooked
for her before.
They ate in silence, and every few
seconds they would look over at each other and smile. And after they were
done eating, they pushed the plates away and JC pulled her into his arms
so she was laying against him.
“I couldn't ask for a more perfect
night,” she murmured, reaching up to give him a kiss.
He hated saying goodbye to her before
he left for tour. But it was different his time. This time his wife was sick,
not healthy. This time he would be leaving knowing he might not ever see
her again. But lately he'd been thinking positive, and he was convinced that
Anna was going to make it through this. Just like the last time.
“Me either,” JC said. “I’m going to
miss you so much.”
“I'll miss you too.” She looked up
at him. “And try not to worry so much. I'm feeling better, and the doctor
said my chances are getting better and better everyday.” She moved her hand
ontop of his. “And it's all because of you.”
“What did I do?”
“You did what you always do. You were
there for me. You've been my rock the last few months. I would have given
up a long time ago if you weren't there.” She leaned up and kissed him.
The kiss turned more passionate, but
he stopped and pulled away, and rested his forehead against hers.
“I love you too much to just give up
on you. I promised you for better or worse. I'm never going to leave you.
Ever.”
That brought tears to her eyes. She
pulled JC closer. “Why is it that just when we've found each other, something
like this had to happen?”
“I don't know, baby. I don't know.”
At that moment, everything seemed so
right. It didn't matter that he was leaving in two days. It didn't matter
that in a few hours she had to go back to the hospital. All that mattered
is the moments they were sharing right now in each other's arms. The moments
they would cherish no matter what happened in the future.