| Chapter 7 JC looked around him and tried to take in everything at once. The people, the lights, the flowers, the music... everything was perfect. It was beautiful. But there was one thing that surpassed all that beauty, and that was the woman sitting beside him. His wife. He looked over at her and smiled when he heard the clinking of forks against glass. She turned to him and her aura seemed to have a breathtaking golden glow as she slowly leaned forward to plant a soft and gentle kiss on his waiting lips. The corners of her mouth turned up into a smile as she heard the applause of family and friends, and there was no way he couldn�t smile with her. As everyone returned to his or her dinner, he took her hand and placed her palm against his, smiling at how small hers looked next to his. She looked up into his smiling eyes, then back to their joined hands. "They look good together, huh?" His gaze turned to her face and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "We look good together." He covered her small hand with his big one and pulled them into his lap. "Have I told you that you look absolutely amazingly gorgeous in that dress yet?" Her eyes fell downward and a slight blush crept across her face. "Yes, actually you have." He put a hand to her chin and slowly lifted her head until he could look into her eyes. "Well, I can�t stress it enough." She smiled that beautiful smile up to him and he leaned down to kiss her again when he felt a bright light go off in his face. He looked up with stars in his eyes to find Justin standing over them with his camera in hand and a huge grin on his face. "You�ll thank me for that one later. Better yet, your kids and grandkids will thank me for it." JC looked over at Mandi who was grinning up at Justin, then pulled her closer to him and leaned his head against hers. "Okay, take one now." Justin snapped another picture. "These will make for some good memories." Mandi stood up and walked around the table to stand beside Justin. She waved JC over and took the camera. "Okay, you guys get together and I�ll take it." Justin draped an arm around his best friend�s shoulders and smiled big. "Say cheese!" Mandi giggled when she saw Chris creeping up behind them with a finger held up to his lips. Her finger clicked the shutter just as he jumped in front of the camera, stuck out his tongue, and crossed his eyes. Mandi and JC started laughing, but Justin walked over to Chris and punched him in the shoulder. "You ruined the picture, you idiot!" Chris rubbed his bruised shoulder and gave Justin a wounded puppy look. "Geez, you didn�t have to hit me." He started pulling at the fabric of his tuxedo. "When can I take this God-awful thing off? It�s too tight." Justin patted his stomach. "That�s because you�re too fat." "Yeah, well, at least my hair couldn�t qualify as one of the great wonders of the world." "At least I�m not in a boy band at age 30." "At least I didn�t date a plastic bimbo who�s vocabulary consists of one phrase: �That�s, like, totally cool!�" Justin�s eyes narrowed. "At least I don�t have horns growing out of my beard." "At least I don�t have horns growing out of my head!" Mandi and JC laughed to each other as Justin and Chris continued to shout insults while they slowly walked off. "Those two were either lovers or brothers in another life," Mandi said. JC grinned at her before pulling her back into his arms and kissing the top of her head. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the voice of the DJ over the microphone. "Okay, if I could have everyone clear the floor, please, it�s time for the bride and groom to share their first dance together. And if I�m not mistaken, Mr. Chasez has a nice surprise planned for his wife." Mandi looked at him curiously as he led her out to the dance floor with a slight smile on his face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as she reached her arms up to wrap around his neck. They swayed gently to the opening strains of a song that Mandi had never heard before, and she smiled when she heard Justin�s smooth voice fill the room. So many times I thought I held it in my hands But just like grains of sand Love slipped through my fingers JC couldn�t help but smile as realization came onto Mandi�s face and she looked up at him with teary eyes. So many nights I asked the Lord above Please make me lucky enough To find a love that lingers She rested her head on his shoulder with a smile and tightened her arms to pull herself closer to him. Something keeps telling me That you could be my answered prayer You must be heaven sent I swear, cause Something happens when you look at me I forget to speak Something happens when you kiss my mouth My knees get so weak Could it be true This is what God has meant for me Cause baby, I can�t believe That something like you could happen to me She felt him pulling away slightly and looked up to see him grinning down at her with a microphone in hand. Girl in your eyes I feel your fire burn All your secrets I will learn Even if it takes forever With you by my side I can do anything I don�t care what tomorrow brings As long as we�re together Mandi didn�t even try to hold back the tears this time. She closed her eyes and listened to his beautiful voice that she was so in love with. My heart is telling me That you could be my meant to be I know it more each time we touch Four more voices joined his and Mandi looked up and laughed when she saw Justin, Joey, Chris, and Lance up on stage singing with JC. Cause something happens when you look at me I forget to speak Something happens when you kiss my mouth My knees get so weak Could it be true This is what God has meant for me Cause baby I can�t believe That something like you could happen to me Something magical Something spiritual Something stronger than the two of us alone Something physical Something undeniable Nothing like anything that I�ve ever known, cause Something happens when you look at me I forget to speak Something happens when you kiss my mouth My knees get so weak Could it be true This is what God has meant for me Cause baby I can�t believe That something like you could happen to me Can�t believe that you happened to me Mandi turned her face up to look at him and he gently wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her, breaking into a smile when everyone started applauding. Chris started sniffing dramatically from his place on the stage. "I think I�m gonna cwy." Justin gave him a look. "That�s because you�re a baby." "Yeah, well, at least I don�t try to act black when I�m not." "At least I don�t interrupt an interviewer to talk about trees." "At least I don�t think Britney got butt implants." "At least my clothing line isn�t named after a bug." "At least I have a clothing line!" Joey and Lance laughed at them as they pushed them off the stage. Mandi broke away from JC and ran over to the guys, giving each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek. When she got to Lance, she stopped and smiled. "What are you doing here? You�re supposed to be in Mississippi." "Yeah, well... my mom is doing better, and I�ve been a little too doting over her...she practically kicked me out and pushed me on the plane. Besides, I didn�t want to miss this day." Mandi gave him a big hug. "Well, I�m glad you�re here." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An hour later, the party was starting to get less formal and more fun. Everyone was dancing and having a good time. Chris danced with his sister, Emily, Lance with Whitney, Joey with Kelly, Justin with his mom, and of course, JC with Mandi. They were all so caught up in each other that no one noticed the man that silently slinked through the door and stood against the back wall. No one noticed until he walked over to Mandi and tapped her shoulder before pulling her away from JC and turning her around to face him. "What... let go of me! What are you doing?" JC pulled Mandi back into his arms and stared at the man in disbelief. "Robert. What are you doing here?" He grinned a disgusting and evil grin. "I do believe I was invited." Mandi was holding tight to JC�s hand and looking at Robert with fear in her eyes. She knew firsthand how dangerous he could be. "Well, now you�re not. Please leave, Robert." His eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "No, I won�t be leaving. At least not until I get a dance with my daughter." Mandi looked at him with disgust and contempt written all over her face. "Are you crazy? There�s no way I would dance with you." "Oh, I think you�re wrong." He grabbed her arms roughly and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist as she fought to keep him away. The entire place seemed to be frozen as they all watched Mandi struggle with her father. It was Justin who silently walked up to JC and whispered into his ear. "I�m going to call the police." JC nodded angrily. He was seeing red. How dare someone, least of all him, touch his wife that way? He pulled on Mandi�s arms to free her and stood face to face with Robert. He took a slight step back when he smelled the alcohol lingering on his breath. "I don�t think she wants to dance. It�s time for you to leave now." It was taking every ounce of will power inside him to not hit him. "I don�t think it�s your right to tell her if she wants to dance or not, and I think she does." He pulled Mandi back and she looked at JC helplessly. He clenched his teeth tightly and pushed Robert off of her as hard as he possibly could, causing him to fall back on the floor. Mandi quickly ran over to Justin who stood in front of her as if to hide her. They both watched as Robert slowly stood to face JC. "That wasn�t a smart idea, Chasez." "You wanna know what wasn�t a smart idea? Thinking that you would ever be able to change." He reached out and violently shoved him again, only this time, Robert didn�t fall over. He pushed back, and JC was the one who fell. Robert kicked him hard in the stomach as he was trying to get up, and Mandi fought Justin with all her might to get to him. It took Justin, Chris, and Whitney to get her to stay where she was. "It�s not safe, Mands," Justin said as he gently stroked her hair. "JC�s a big boy. He�ll be fine." JC got up and staggered a little bit before the rage hit him. No one had ever seen such a wild or angry look out of him. He started to blindly swing at Robert, something hitting and sometimes missing, letting out all of the anger he held for what this man had put his wife through. "You bastard! You son of a bitch!" Robert stepped back from JC�s punches and smiled slowly. He reached inside his coat and what he pulled out made everyone in the room gasp in shock and fear. Mandi covered her mouth with her hands to keep from crying out, and Justin cursed the police for being so slow. JC slowly stepped forward, causing Robert to take another small step back. "Give me the gun, Robert." He laughed wildly. "No way. You move again, and I�ll shoot you." He moved forward again and repeated his words with a little more force. "Give me the gun, Robert." "Don�t think I won�t, cause I will. Stay where you are." And then JC snapped. He lunged at Robert with all of his strength, and the two of them fell to the floor, causing the gun to come loose from Robert�s hands. He grabbed it before JC could and quickly pulled the trigger. The sound was sickening. Mandi screamed. Justin screamed. Chris, Lance, and Whitney ducked under the table. Joey ran to call an ambulance. And Robert ran out the door, followed by 150 guests in a panic. Mandi ran over to JC and knelt beside him, covering her mouth when she saw the blood pouring from his arm. "Josh? Baby? Can you hear me?" His head rolled to the side to look at her, his eyes glazed over and distant. "Mandi... I�m... I need..." She reached down and gently covered his mouth with her hand. "Don�t talk. Justin! Are they here yet?" The dull roar of sirens was heard outside before what seemed like truckloads of people ran into the building and over to JC. They surrounded him, pushing Mandi back until she had no idea what they were doing. It wasn�t until they loaded him onto a stretcher and carried him out to the ambulance that Mandi allowed herself to break down. She sank to the floor slowly and she cried. She cried harder than she ever had in her life. Whitney ran out from under the table and wrapped her arms around Mandi, rocking her slowly back and forth as she waited for her cries of pain to subside. She swallowed hard to keep her dinner down when she noticed the blood on Mandi�s dress, and pulled away slightly to look her in the face. "Mandi? You okay?" She nodded miserably, silent tears still falling on her cheeks. Justin slowly walked over to them and pulled Mandi up from the floor, pulling her into a hug. "He�s going to be fine. I promise. And I don�t make promises I can�t keep. Now, let�s go back to your place and you can get cleaned up and changed, and then I�ll drive you to the hospital. Sound good?" She nodded again and allowed Justin to lead her slowly out of the building. |