Walking up the stairs, the faint feeling that once plagued Michelle’s body was now almost nonexistent. Instead, she was completely consumed with rage. She couldn’t believe the nerve of Justin and Wade. It’s a good thing that she really wasn’t in need of serious medical attention, because she surely would have died in their care. 

When she reached the top of the stairs, Michelle headed straight through her bedroom and to the bathroom. Walking in, she made sure to slam the door as hard as she possibly could. As she stood in the middle of the bathroom looking around she wasn’t really sure why she had chosen the room as her destination. She just wanted to get away from those two. 

Taking a few more steps into the obnoxiously bright room she pulled the toilet cover down and took a seat. After taking a deep calming breath, she rested her elbows on her knees and placed her head in her hands. She just didn’t know what to do. How had things gotten this far? Thinking back to the beginning, Michelle let the tears that she hadn’t realized she had been holding back pour from her eyes. 

Michelle wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting in the bathroom, but after what only seemed like minutes she heard the sounds of foot steps coming up the stairs. Rolling her eyes, she wiped the tears away and waited for what she knew was coming next.

Seconds later, just as she suspected, there was a knock at the door. 

“What?” she said dryly. 

“Michelle, come out of the bathroom.”  Wade’s voice was soft as he spoke. 

“Yeah, just come out and talk to us.” Justin chimed in. 

Throwing a quick look of disgust over his shoulder at Justin, Wade continued. 

“C’mon Michelle. This is doing anyone any good.” 

Michelle stared at the door in disbelief. Did they really think that this little act was what she wanted? Laughing to herself she thought of how stupid they must look hovered around the door waiting for her to come out. 

“Michelle this is stupid. I’m not gonna beg you to come out of the damn bathroom.” 

“Then don’t!” she yelled at the door. 

Running his hands through his hair out of frustration, Wade looked back at Justin who was now giving him a disapproving look. 

“What!?” 

“Nothing…I just don’t think that your really gonna get anywhere having an attitude with her.” 

“Oh well thank you so much for the advice Justin. I’ll remember that when we’re trying to convince your girlfriend to come out of the bathroom instead of MINE!” 

This time it was Justin that rolled his eyes. Pushing Wade to the side he took a step closer to the door. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Wade stood there staring Justin down.  It was almost as if he was daring him to try and pull something like that again so he could finally kick his ass like he had wanted to all along. 

“Michelle? Hey its Justin.” 

“Go home Justin!” she said, her voice laced with annoyance. 

“I’m not leaving Michelle. Neither of us are going anywhere until you come out.” 

Tilting her head up toward the ceiling, a slow smile spread across Michelle’s face. As she sat there smiling, her shoulders began to shake and a light breathy laugh escaped her. She just couldn't believe that this is what it had come down to. Continuing to laugh, Michelle sighed deeply as tears began to stream down her face. After sniffing a couple of times, she got up from the toilet where she had been sitting and walked over to the medicine cabinet. 

She stood there for what seemed like an eternity staring at her laughing, crying reflection. It was as if she was staring at someone she didn't even know.  Any trace of her former self now destroyed by the two people she allowed to get close to her.

As the sound of Wade's fist banging against the door began to echo through the bathroom, Michelle slowly turned to the direction of the noise. It was like she was moving in slow motion. She knew that he had to be hitting the door pretty hard, but to her it sounded no louder than a tap. The once amplified sound of their voices now mere whispers.

“MICHELLE OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!”  Wade yelled, banging on the door with his fist. 

“Dude something’s wrong. She hasn’t made a sound in like ten minutes.” Justin said with concern in his voice. 

Turning her attention back to the mirror Michelle began to nod as if she were saying ‘yes’ to a question that no one had asked. 

“Okay…okay.” she whispered hoarsely to herself opening the medicine cabinet. 

Scanning the shelves of the medicine cabinet, her eyes raced over the labels of several prescriptions. Each of them carrying a different warning or caution. Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery. Consult A Physician. May Cause Drowsiness. As Michelle’s eyes welled with tears, all of the warnings blurred into an endless jumble of letters. Blinking away the tears, Michelle refocused her vision on the bottles in front of her and saw only two words…..PAIN RELIEF. 

Reaching up with unsteady hands, Michelle fumbled to grab as many of the bottles as she could. As she did this, a couple of the prescriptions came crashing to the floor. 

Hearing the light commotion, Wade and Justin glanced at each other and then back at the door. Immeadiately both men leaned in closer to hear what was going on in the bathroom. Then as the sound of what was happening behind the door began to sink in, both of their eyes widened and they looked at each other again. 

“Wade.” Justin said swallowing hard. “You don’t think she would…” his voice trailed off. 

Wade’s heart sank at the thought of what he knew Justin wanted to say. Before he could answer, the sound of what resembled marbles hitting the floor came from the other side of the door. Looking back at the door, both men began to pound on it violently.

“MICHELLE OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT  NOW!”  Wade yelled, jiggling the door handle. "I swear to god I'll break it down if you don't!  NOW OPEN UP!” 

“Why don’t you stop threatening her Wade. You’re the reason she locked herself in there in the first place!” Justin yelled back at him in her defense. 

Their argument was brought to an abrupt halt when they heard Michelle begin to hyperventilate in the locked room followed by the sound of running water. When the sound of the faucet and her heavy breathing stopped, the entire apartment was completely silent. 

“Michelle?” Justin said softly taping on the door 

“Michelle?” Wades voice followed, even softer. 

The silence was deafening as both men felt a chill of complete and utter panic wash over them. 

Not wasting another second, Wade began to throw his shoulder into the door as hard as he could, trying to turn the handle as he did. Unfortunately, it seemed like the harder he hit the door, the less it moved. The damn thing wouldn’t budge and Wade was beginning to feel sick. This just couldn't be happening.

Seeing that Wade was getting no where fast, Justin quickly pushed him to the side. Bracing himself against the door he repeated Wade’s method, only throwing his entire body into the door instead of just his shoulder.

"Come on damn it!"  Justin yelled, now hitting the door with everything he had as Wade nervously looked on. 

After about thirty seconds of Justin’s failed attempts at knocking the door down, Wade was growing beyond impatient with this. It had now become a matter of life and death and knowing what her intentions now were, every second mattered. Walking back over to where he stood before, Wade shoved Justin away from the door. 

Taking a couple of steps back Wade kicked the door with all of his might. When it still didn’t budge he looked up at the ceiling as if to ask ‘why’. 

“What the fuck did they make this damn door out of?!” Wade shouted to no one in particular, now kicking the door repeatedly at a violent pace.

“COME ON!"

After collecting himself, Justin walked back over to where Wade was, his heart now racing with fear. This was just insane. What was she trying to prove by doing this? As he watched Wade continue his assault on the door, Justin couldn’t help but think he was partly to blame for the situation. 

Looking over at Justin, Wade gave him an almost annoyed look. 

“What?” Justin asked defensively. 

“You wanted to be here so fucking bad…..help me damn it!  Kick!”  Wade yelled. 

Although he really didn’t want Justin’s help,  Wade knew that given the circumstances, he wasn’t above asking for assistance. After all, this was Michelle's life that was on the line. 

Hearing the wood begin to splinter, both men began to kick even harder and faster. 

Taking a few steps back they both gave the door one last hard kick. The impact of both men’s feet on the door making the wood burst into the bathroom as if the door had exploded. 

Stepping over the debris, both men all but ran into the bathroom. Scanning over the room Wade saw Michelle sitting on the toilet, a glass of water in one hand, a pile of pills in the other. She had a completely empty look on her face and without so much as acknowledging their presence, Michelle lifted the hand with the pills to her mouth. 

Taking a few large steps, Wade quickly closed the distance between Michelle and himself. 

“What the fuck are you doing?!” he yelled, smacking the pills from her hand. 

As the multicolored assortment of pills went flying across the room like confetti, she still didn't so much as blink. 

Standing there absolutely paralyzed by shock and fear, Justin finally realized the extent of her determination to end it all. She really was going to do it! 

“What the fuck is wrong with you Michelle?!” Wade yelled, snatching the glass from her hand and launching it across the bathroom.“You wanna die? HUH!? DO YOU!?” 

As the fear of the situation was quickly turning into anger for Wade, Justin snapped out of his daze and ran across the room to where the other two were. 

"You want to end it all right now?  Because I can save you the trouble of doing it yourself!"  Wade yelled, quickly taking up position directly in front of her.  "You want me to end it for you?!  You know I can!"  he growled, firmly grabbing her by the front of her shirt.

"WADE!  What the fuck are you doing?!" 

Wrapping his arms around Wade’s upper body, Justin tried to pull him off of Michelle, who surprisingly seemed completely unfazed by Wade’s screaming or his attempt to scare her back to reality.

"What the hell are you doing?  Is this supposed to help the situation?!  Because it isn't!"  Justin said, still looking at the blank expression on Michelle's face.  "Don't make things any worse than they already are.  You need to calm the fuck down!"

Now taking a few deep breaths, Wade tried to get himself under control so that they could handle things the way they needed to be handled and not the way he wanted to handle them or would have handled them had Justin not been in the room.

"I'm fine!  Just get the hell off of me!"  Wade yelled, quickly jerking his shoulder forward to break the hold Justin had on him.

Glancing back and forth between Wade and Michelle, the sad reality of what had been going on between them was finally sinking in.  It was so obvious now, that it actually made him sick.  Why didn't he see the signs before? 

Taking a deep breath, Justin slowly walked around Wade and over to where Michelle was still sitting.  Crouching down, Justin slowly placed both hands over her's as they sat folded in her lap. 

"Michelle, it's going to be alright. You can trust me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you anymore." 

Letting out a slight chuckle, Wade took a few steps closer to the two of them and crossed his arms over his chest.  He wasn't about to let Justin think he was pulling rank with her.  She was still HIS girlfriend whether either one of them wanted to admit it or not.

"What exactly are you trying to say Justin?  Are you implying that she needs to be protected from me?"

Feeling her hands begin to tremble beneath his as Wade spoke, Justin looked over his shoulder at him and gave him an icy glare.

"Why don't you tell me Wade.  Does she need to be protected from you?" 

"Maybe you should ask her!"  Wade snapped back.

Looking back over to Michelle, Justin saw a single tear slide down her cheek and knew he already had his answer.  Clearly she did.  Giving her hands a reassuring squeeze, Justin stood back up and walked over to where Wade was standing a few feet away. He knew this was going to be ugly, but given the circumstances, he didn't see any other way around it.  He just couldn't leave her alone with Wade.  He wouldn't.

"Look, I know there has been some serious shit going on between you and honestly, right now, I don't even want to know.  All I want to do is get Michelle and we'll be on our way.  Now, you can do things the hard way or the easy way.  It's your choice.  Either way, she is leaving here with me."

Now full on laughing, Wade just shook his head.  He had to be joking.  The hard way or the easy way?  Oh yeah, that was an easy choice for him to make.  Bring it on!

"What makes you think you are leaving here with her?  I mean seriously.  Even if she said she wanted to go with you, do you think I would just let her walk right out of here without a fight?"

Letting out a soft hum, Michelle began nervously tapping her foot of the floor.  She could just tell by the tone in Wade's voice that things were about to go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.  Why wouldn't they both just leave her alone!

"Hey, if that's what it comes down to, then so be it.  I let her down once already.  I'm not doing it again."

Knowing that she needed to get away from them and get away fast, Michelle quickly stood up and ran out the door before anyone could even tell what was going on. She wasn't about to stick around and watch the two of them go for round three.
"Michelle wait!"  Justin yelled, attempting to push past Wade who was now blocking his way.

"I told you she isn't going anywhere with you."

"Yeah, well she obviously isn't going anywhere with you either!  Now move!"  Justin yelled, forcefully pushing Wade backwards in to the sink, immeadiately causing him to arch his back in response to the pain.

"GOD DAMN PRICK!"  Wade yelled, grabbing the small of his back as he headed out the door after them. 

Unfortunately, before either of them made it to the door...she was gone.

Chapter 112

As Justin headed after Michelle, Wade tried his best to keep up as sharp pains radiated from his lower back down to his legs.  Once he finally managed to reach the front door however, neither one of them were anywhere to be seen.

"Great!  Just fuckin great!  Can this day possibly get any worse?!"  Wade growled, as he staggered in to the kitchen to grab his keys. 

Deep down he knew that he didn't handle things with Michelle in the best possible manner, but yet again his temper got the best of him and he ended up creating an even bigger mess.  A mess he was sure would snowball if he didn't get to her before Justin did.  After all, the last thing he needed was to have her spill every last detail of their rocky history together to the enemy.

Once he spotted his keys on the table, he ran over and snatched them up.  Unfortunately as he was about to turn around and head out the door a familiar voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Michelle?"

"Of course!  I had to ask if it could get worse!"  he yelled turning towards the livingroom to greet sound of the voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?  Where's Michelle?!"  Chantal asked, taking a few steps closer to her brother.  "I heard what happened down at Millennium.  Where is she?"

Rolling his eyes in disgust at her constant interference, Wade attempted to walk around her, but she placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

"I asked you a question.  Where is she?!"

"Well she obviously isn't here beside me now is she?!"  he snapped back, attempting to side step his sister once again. 

"You must really be crazy! I told you before that I wasn't going to stand by and watch this shit keep happening and I meant it.  This has turned in to something way beyond obsession for you Wade. Obviously someone needs to step in before you ruin what's left of your working reputation. You're susposed to be choreographing Justin's tour.  How in the hell do you expect to do that when you two are exchanging blows?!  Are you trying to commit career suicide?!"

"My reputation is the least of my concerns right now. Besides, why do you even care?! It's not like you're doing the damn tour anyway.  Don't worry about it."

"How can I NOT worry about it?!  I know what is going on with Michelle. I know what you're capable of now and more importantly, I know that if this doesn't stop, disaster is going to strike.  You need to let it go.  You need to let her go."

"That's not going to happen and you know it. You just do whatever it is you feel you need to do and I'll do the same.  Now, if you don't mind." he said, placing his hand against Chantal's side to move her out of his way. 

"Don't think that you are going to manhandle me!" she yelled, quickly making her way back in front of Wade.

"THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!  I MEAN, SERIOUSLY!!  WHY ARE YOU CONSTANTLY STICKING YOUR NOSE WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG?!"

"Oh how soon we forget brother dear!  Do I have to remind you that you were the one that called me and told me about all the trouble you were in.  Remember that call?  The night you called me and said you thought you killed Michelle!?  Or what about the call when you were in NY about helping you get your shit together.  You even had me come back to LA because of Michelle.  So who got who involved?!  Huh? You got me involved Wade!  Blame yourself!"

Growing uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken, Wade turned away from his sister and headed back in to the kitchen to get away from her and everything she was throwing back in his face. This is not what he needed.  Not now.  Not with everything else that was going on. Unfortunately, before he realized what he was doing, Chantal walked in the kitchen behind him and gasped at the sight before her.

"OH...MY..GOD!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Wade exhaled deeply and cringed at what he inadvertently allowed her to see.

"Not again."

Looking back and forth between Wade and the faint traces of powder that once lined Michelle's table, Chantal collapsed down in to one of the chairs at stared up at her brother.  She knew he had a lot going on and that he had recently become no stranger to the bottle, but this was the last thing she expected to see. 

"Wade.......what is going on with you?"  she said softly, the tone of her voice clearly showing she was more worried and upset than angry.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Wade ignored her question and proceed to grab the rest of the cocaine off the table so that he could shove it back in to his pocket. 

"Wade?"

"WHAT?!" he yelled, quickly turning back around to face her.

"I was almost tempted to ask if you're really doing this again, but obviously I already know the answer."

"Wow, well then you're pretty damn observant, aren't you?"

"Why?"  Chantal asked, her voice so soft it was barely audible. "Why in the hell would you want to go down this path again?  Didn't you learn anything before?"

"Yeah, I learned that it can be your best friend when you need a little release."

"A release from what?  What the hell is so bad that you saw this as a reasonable option? Talk to me!  Please!" 

For a moment Wade stood there and studied the look on his sister's face.  He hated the look of disappointment he saw in her eyes when she looked at him.  His close relationship with her had been one of the main reasons he kicked his habit before, but this time, the love he felt for his sister wasn't going to be enough.  This time around was different and nothing could stop the downward spiral he created for himself.  He had accepted that....and she needed to as well.

"Look, I have to go."

"Wade, wait!"

Quickly dismissing her pleas without once looking back, Wade headed out the door, slamming it behind him as he left. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Michelle wait!"  Justin yelled, quickly trying to catch up to her as she ran down the steps toward the front door.

"Just leave me alone Justin!"  she yelled back, quickly snatching her purse from the table before heading out the door. 

Running down the stairs at what she was sure had to be record pace, Michelle shoved the door of the apartment complex open and sprinted across the street to the parking lot. Once she had reached her car, Michelle began to franticaly dig through the contents of her purse in an effort to find her keys.  She knew that she only had seconds to work with and she didn't want to think of the alternative if she didn't get out of there before Justin caught up to her. 

"Michelle!  Stop!"

Hearing him call out to her, Michelle momentarily looked over her shoulder and saw that he was now only a few feet away.

"God damn it!  Where are they?!"

In a last ditch effort to make a quick getaway, Michelle emptied the entire contents of her purse on the hood of her car.  Once she had her keys in sight, she quickly removed them from the pile and in one clean swipe, brushed the rest of the items back in to her purse.

"Come on...come on!"  she said, frustration clearly taking over as her fingers nervously fumbled to locate the proper key to unlock her car. Unfortunately before she found the one she was looking for, Justin came running up from behind her and blocked the drivers side door.

"Stop.  Just stop.  Look, you can't pull something like that and then just take off.   Talk to me."

Dropping her gaze to the ground beneath her, Michelle tried to keep her feelings in check. She didn't want to have to face him after everything he had said to her at the club. Just the idea of looking in to his eyes after knowing how he felt about her was heartbreaking.

"Michelle, please talk to me.  You're scaring me!"

Going against her better judgement, Michelle finally looked up at Justin.  Once she did, the feelings she had tried so hard to keep at bay came rushing to the surface and she just let loose.

"I thought you were different Justin.  I thought you cared about me.  That what happened between us meant something.  Guess I was just another notch on your belt huh?  Hope the all the effort you put in to getting me in bed was well worth the 'piece of ass' you got in return." she said, as a few tears fell from her eyes.

Feeling his heart break in to a million pieces, Justin closed his eyes for a second and wished that he could just go back in time and take back every word he said.  Every cruel comment that he allowed to escape his lips, regardless of the fact that it wasn't the truth.  Clearly when Trace said she was hurt by the comments, he was being generous.  Obviously the comments her hurt her....badly. 

"Michelle, it's not what you think.  Please.  Just let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain Justin.  It's not like somebody else said those things to me.  If that was the case, then yeah.  I would've probably let you explain and more than likely even believed you, but that's not what happened.  You told me to my face that you just used me for a piece of ass.  How can that possibly need clarified?  Tell me how I misinterpreted that?"

"I know that's what I said, but I didn't mean it.  Just listen to me for a second.  Please?"  he asked softly, reaching out to take her hand in his.

Although she knew there couldn't possibly be any explanation for what he said or why, she couldn't help but feel that, if nothing else, she at least owed him a minute of her time after everything he went through with Wade for her today.

Nodding to him that she was 'waiting' for his response, Justin took a hold of her other hand as well and moved closer to her.  He only had one chance to right this wrong.  He needed to let her know that he didn't mean a word that he said at the club.  In fact, it was the complete opposite.

"Look, I know what I said at the club was insensitive and cruel, but I didn't mean it.  I was just upset when I saw you with Wade after what had happened between us the night before.  You know, I still don't know the whole story behind that night or why you were with Wade, but I honestly have to believe that it wasn't what I thought."

Turning away from him, Michelle wished things would have turned out differently.  That instead of going back home, that she would have accompanied him to the studio.  Then none of this would have happened.  Everyone would have been saved the heartbreak and agony.

"I'm sure I can just imagine what you thought when you saw us together, but you're right.  It wasn't what you thought.  I wasn't there with him because I wanted to be Justin.  I was there because I had no other choice.  If you would have only let me explain I could have told you that."

"I'm sorry!  I really am, but I can't go back in time and change it. I'm here now though.  Explain it to me.  Tell me exactly what is going on between you and Wade and I want the truth.  All of it." 

"I can't!  I have to go!"  she said, trying to pull her hands away from his.

"Michelle stop!  God!  What are you so afraid of?!"  Justin yelled, trying his best to hold on to her hand despite her valant efforts to break free.

Finally breaking down, Michelle turned back to face Justin and unleashed the fury of emotions she had been holding back.  If he wanted the truth, then he was going to get the truth.

"I'M AFRAID OF EVERYTHING JUSTIN!  I'm afraid of what Wade is capable of if he gets down here before I'm gone.  I'm afraid that I'll never had any resemblance of a normal life again and I'm afraid that if you keep trying to get involved, that you're going to get hurt too!"

"Wade isn't going to hurt anyone anymore.  I promise you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Justin.  No one can stop him from doing what he wants to do.  Trust me, I know!  I made the mistake of trying to put a stop to his reign of terror the night he found out that the two of us were together at your place.  You know what I got by making that mistake? I got knocked to the floor and repeatedly hit over and over again while I listened to him ask me question after question about you. Like 'Did he fuck you like I did?  Did he make you scream? Huh?  Was he really worth the beating your getting?'  Yeah, that went over great!"  Michelle said, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. 

Now feeling responsible for everything he was hearing, Justin reached forward and softly cradled her face with his hand to wipe a few tears away with his thumb.  How could Wade do that to her was beyond him and he felt sick just thinking about what she had been through.  What was even worse was the fact that he knew there was so much more she wasn't saying.

"Why didn't you tell me what was going on?  Wait...Oh God!  It all makes sense now!"  Justin said horrified as finally realized that he missed all the signs that were right in front of him.  "That first time at your place...your reaction to my comment that caused a complete change of heart...you were thinking about Wade.  And the night at the club....when that guy was all over you on the dance floor...that had to do with Wade too didn't it?"

"Justin, don't."  she said, quickly growing uncomfortable with his knew found knowledge.

"The night at my place....the night we made love......."  he said trailing off softly. "Michelle......why didn't you tell me?" 

"I don't want to take this walk down memory lane. Seriously, if you ever cared about me, just forget about me and everything I said.  I can't take any more abuse from him and that's all that happens when people try to get involved.  I'll end it all myself before I let him hurt me again." 

Now consumed with both fear and shock, Justin stood frozen in place and watched as Michelle pulled away from him to unlock the door of the car.  After opening it up, Michelle collapsed down in to the drivers side seat and looked back up at him.

"I'm tired of living a life full of lies.  It just needs to end......it has to end."

"Look, I'm sorry if I ever hurt you.  That was never my intention, you have to believe me, but saying you want to end it all...that's just insane!"

"No, it would be insane for me to stay around and continue to be Wade's punching bag.  To think that I'm even worthy of being loved.  I know I'm just a doormat to everyone in this town.  Why deny it.  Hell, I should embrace it, right?  How many girls can even say that they have been with two of the hottest young stars in the music and dance industry."  she said, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "You know, come to think of it, I'm just not sure what hurt me more.  Being the recipient of Wade's never ending physical assault or knowing that I allowed myself to trust someone again, that I gave my heart to you, only to find out that you just wanted what was between my legs.  Admit it Justin!  Be honest with me and yourself for once!" 

"No!  Michelle that's not true!  I told you....."

Not wanting to hear any more excuses, Michelle shook her head and reached out to grab the handle of the door.

"Goodbye Justin."

After pulling her door closed, Michelle stuck the key in the ignition and started up her car.  That was the last straw.  Everything that had been building up inside her had came to a head.  She just didn't care anymore.
 

Chapter 113

As Justin watched her drive away, the gut wrenching feeling he felt in his stomach continued to grow. This was not what he had expected to deal with when he wanted to find out the truth. He figured the real reason she had been with Wade that night was something simple. Something cut and dry, like she had just been confused over what or who she really wanted. That maybe she was just saying her goodbyes that night at the club. Finding out the horrific truth that her relationship with Wade had been nothing more than a nightmare full of heartache and abuse was more than he could stomach. 

Letting his head fall forward, Justin let out a heavy sigh and tried to figure out what to do next. Clearly she wanted to be alone, but after her little breakdown and her desperation to want to end it all, he knew it was the last thing she needed. Allowing her to be alone in her current state of mind would only spelled disaster no matter what way you looked at it. 

"What the fuck are you still doing here?!" 

Hearing Wade's voice come from behind him, Justin turned around and stared him down. Every last word Michelle said, echoing in his head and causing a rage to build inside of him that he couldn't control. Releasing the set of keys that he held in his pocket, Justin clenched his fists and slowly let out a deep breath. Just a few more steps and he was going to let Wade feel exactly what it was like to be on the receiving end of someone's relentless assault. 

"Maybe you didn't hear me." Wade yelled, arrogantly walking over to Justin. "I said, what the fuck are you still doing here?!" 

Letting a slight chuckle escape his mouth, Justin took the additional few steps towards Wade so that they were now standing face to face. As their eyes locked, Justin could feel the anger inside of him ready to boil over. This is who had hurt her. This is who had forced her to endure things he couldn't even imagine. This is who he had to stop. 

Without giving what he was about to do another thought, Justin quickly removed his hands from his pocket and grabbed Wade by the front of his shirt. Then, in one swift motion, he forcefully pulled him forward as he brought his knee up. The second Justin's knee made contact with Wade's stomach, a loud groan came from his mouth and he instantly grabbed his mid-section as he buckled over. 

"What was it Wade? What in the hell would possess you to hurt her?!" 

Still hunched over in pain, Wade looked up at Justin and let a slight smile creep across his lips. 

"IT'S FUNNY?!" Justin asked, pulling Wade upright before landing a hard right hook to his jaw. "IS IT FUNNY NOW?!" he asked, watching as Wade fell to the side. 

"Yeah, it's real funny." Wade said, a sinister smile still plastered across his face as ran his tongue across the blood dripping from his lip. 

"Oh it is?" 

"Yeah it is." Wade said, making his way back to his feet. "But it'll be even funnier when I get my hands on her again." he continued, forcefully placing both hands on Justin's chest to shove him backwards. 

Laughing slightly, Justin staggered back a few steps and continued to stare Wade down. This was getting old, really fast. He wasn't going to just stand here and take this shit from him knowing what he had done to Michelle. 

"You must be out of your fuckin mind to think I'd let you get anywhere near her again." 

"You know what? I think I am out of my mind!" Wade said, now laughing hysterically as he stared directly in to Justin's eyes. "Should make for an interesting reunion with Michelle though...don't ya think? Especially when she is so vulnerable. It just makes my job that much easier. Not that keeping her in line was ever hard." 

Hearing the garbage just pour from his lips, Justin quickly unlatched the clasp on his watch and let it slid down on to his hand. Once it was positioned directly over his knuckles, Justin squeezed his hand tightly around the platinum band and began to unleash a fury of blows on Wade. 

"You're not going to go anywhere near her ever again! YOU HEAR ME MOTHER FUCKER?!" Justin yelled, continuing to punch Wade over and over again despite the fact that his hand was now covered in Wade's blood. "Is it funny now? IS IT?!" 

"Justin stop it! What are you doing?!" 

Looking up, Justin saw Chantal quickly making her way across the parking lot, but surprisingly he didn't stop. In fact, it was just the opposite. Picking up the pace, Justin continued his assault on Wade who had since stopped trying to defend himself.

"JUSTIN! STOP IT!!" 

Once Chantal made her way over to where they were standing, she immediately grabbed Justin by his arm and frantically began to try and pull him away from Wade. When her efforts seemed futile, Chantal quickly threw herself over Wade in an attempt to shield him from any more damage.

"MOVE CHANTAL!" Justin said, reaching down to try and grab a hold of her arm. "Someone should have put a stop to this shit a long time ago!" 

"NO! STOP IT!" she yelled back, quickly snatching her arm away from him. "MY GOD! LOOK AT HIM!" 

Ignoring her pleas, Justin reached down again and attempted to move her away from Wade. He had this coming. She had to of known. 

"MOVE DAMN IT!" 

Now scared for her brother's life, Chantal held on to Wade for dear life and screamed as loud as she could. 

"JUSTIN STOP!!" 

Almost as if he had been snapped out of a trance, Justin stood back up and looked down at the sight in front of him. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!" Chantal yelled, looking down at Wade's lifeless body. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?!" 

Not knowing what to say, Justin stood there speechless and watched as Chantal tried desperately to get some response from her brother. 

"Wade?" she called out, slightly hesitant to touch him for fear of causing him more pain. "Come on Wade, answer me damn it!" 

As Justin's body began to shake with the realization of what he had done, he quickly began wiping off the blood from his hand on the bottom of his shirt. He never intended to do that much damage to Wade, but something inside him just snapped. All he could see was the look of fear on Michelle's face when she told him what Wade had done to her. It was at that point that he would do whatever it took to make sure he never had to see that look again. Hoping that with each devastating blow he delivered, that he would be one step closer to protecting her from any more harm. 

"You better make sure he doesn't go anywhere near her again Chantal. I'm not kidding." 

Although he knew it was wrong to leave her there with him like that, there was a more important issue that needed to be dealt with and he quickly turned to walk away. He had to find Michelle before she did something stupid. 

Looking back up at Justin as he walked over to his truck, Chantal decided the best thing to do was not say anything back. She didn't need this situation getting any worse than it already was and clearly by the destruction he had unleashed on Wade and by the cold as ice tone in his voice, he was serious. 

"God, this is a nightmare." she said softly, shaking her head in complete disbelief over how quickly everything was spinning out of control. 

Hearing a slight moaning sound coming from beside her, Chantal glanced next to her and saw Wade slowly coming to. Before she could even ask if he was alright, he turned on his side and began to cough up blood. 

"Oh my god! Wade...we need to get you to the emergency room." she said, gently placing her hand on his back. "Come on. I'll drive you." 

"No. I'm fine." he said, brushing her hand away from him as she tried to help him up. 

"No you're not. You need to go get looked at." 

"I said I'm fine!" 

"Yeah, well if you think you're fine...then you're obviously not thinking straight." 

"Chantal!" 

"What?! You can't give me one good reason why you shouldn't go get looked at Wade!" 

Slowly making his way to his knees, Wade wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up at her completely annoyed. Clearly she wasn't thinking straight either or she would have figure out at least one good reason why he couldn't go to the ER. 

"How about the fact that I have coke in my system? Think that's a good enough reason?!" 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Chantal watching as he tried to stand up once again. 

"Here. Let me help you." she said, extending her hand to him. 

"I DON'T NEED YOUR DAMN HELP!" 

Feeling the tears began to well up in her eyes, Chantal stood there and watched him make his way back to his feet. After a few staggering steps, she finally realized that this situation was way bigger than she could handle alone. The time to bring in back up had come. She just couldn't stand by and allow him to go down this path again. She wouldn't. 

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As Michelle pulled out of the parking lot of her apartment complex, she completely broke down in to a sobbing mess. It was over. All of it. Her career, her love life her will to live. Nothing mattered but getting away from everything and anyone who had hurt her. 
After about four hours of pointless driving around, Michelle regrettably headed back to her apartment. She knew she couldn't just keep driving around, but at the same time, she knew that last place she wanted to be was her apartment. 

Unlocking the door to her apartment, Michelle didn't waste any time heading straight upstairs to her bedroom. 

"I can't imagine any better way to get away from it all than drinking it away. Hell, maybe Wade was on to something." she said sarcastically, as she shuffled through the outfits that hung neatly on the closet. 

Finally finding one that suited her mood, Michelle removed it from it's hanger and nonchalantly tossed it on the bed. 

"If they think you're just a play toy, might as well look the part." she said, grabbing a pair of heels from the floor beside her dresser.
"Time to party." 

Once she removed her clothes, she leisurely strolled in to the bathroom like she didn't have a care in the world. If truth be told, she really didn't. Sure, her first thought was to just end it all, but she just didn't have the nerve or guts to follow through. She was weak. She always had been. If she even had once ounce of courage she would have put a stop to this nightmare a long time ago. 

After about an hour, Michelle walked out of the bathroom like a woman on a mission. Slipping the dress down over her delicate frame, Michelle did a slight turn to check out every aspect of her appearance. Feeling pleased with her look, Michelle walked over to the bed and grabbed her shoes. After sliding them on, Michelle laced both up and stood up once again to check the final result. 

"Well, you definetly don't look like the girl you used to." she said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before grabbing her purse. 

Letting out a soft sigh, Michelle reached in to her purse and pulled out her lipstick. After removing the lid she twisted it up slightly and ran it across her lips. 

Then almost as if in a trance, Michelle placed her index finger on her bottom lip and drug it across the bright red lipstick that adorned her lips. Staring down at the color, she let a single tear roll down her cheek and wondered how long it would take until the red on her lips was from a run in with Wade and not a tube of M.A.C lipstick. 

Quickly wiping the tear away, Michelle grabbed her purse and keys from her dresser and proceeded to head to the front door. Tonight she was going to let lose. Tonight was about getting away from it all...all the pain...all the memories...no matter what the cost.

Chapter 114

Pulling into the parking lot of Aura nightclub Michelle couldn’t wait to let off some steam. To say that she had just went through one hell of a day would be an understatement. She was long overdue for a break and tonight she was going to give herself just that. 

Turning off the ignition, she stepped out of the car and headed toward the club. As she approached the velvet rope she fully expected to have to wait in line like most of the people standing on the sidewalk, but was pleasantly surprised when the bouncer promptly pulled the rope back to let her in ahead of everyone else. 

Walking into the club she didn’t waste any time heading straight for the bar. After taking a seat on the nearest barstool she waited impatiently for one of the bartenders at the trendy establishment to come take her drink order. When one of them finally made his way over to her she didn’t even bother waiting for him to ask her what she wanted. 

“Gin…on the rocks” she said handing him her credit card “Can you start a tab for me please?” 

Taking the card from her, the bartender looked at her skeptically. “Alright Michelle.” he said looking at the card “Is that gonna be it for now?” 

Letting out a soft sigh, she nodded as he walked away to go make her drink. 

A couple of minutes later the same bartender returned with a glass full of the clear liquor. Putting the drink down in front of her he watched in full on shock as she downed the entire thing without taking so much as a breath. As the warmth of the potent liquor slid down her throat a smile eased across Michelle’s face. So this was how Wade felt all those times she had seen him chug vodka like it was water. She had to admit it felt damn good! 

When she finally looked back up, she noticed that the bartender was still standing there with a look that could only be described as perplexed all over his face. Michelle answered him before he even asked. 

“Its been a real REAL shitty day…life rather. Can you keep em comin please.” she said in an almost too sweet voice, but the look on her face told a different story. 

Nodding that he completely understood, he took her glass and for the next 45 minutes did exactly what she asked him. After a good six drinks of straight gin, Michelle decided that it was time she got on the dance floor. As soon as her feet hit the floor she was moving. Dancing all over the entire club like she owned it. 

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Looking around with a satisified look on his face, Chris had to say that the night was turning out pretty good.  The club was definetly hot tonight! Sexy girls were everywhere, the drinks flowing like water and “candy” all over the place. This was just what he needed after the little fiasco with Robson and his chick! As Chris was deep in thought he felt someone pat his right arm and looked over. 

“Blow!” his friend TJ yelled over the music as he nodded toward the table. 

Looking down, Chris saw that the tray adorned with thick lines of white powder had made it back his way. Bending over the table he snorted a line up each nostril quickly and leaned his head back against the soft leather of the booth that he and his party occupied.

That’s when he saw her. Was he seeing things?  Was she really right in front of his very eyes, at this very club even after what happened earlier! Blinking quickly, he rubbed at his eyes roughly trying to shake the image, but when he opened his eyes back up she was still there. Dipping his finger into a small pile of the powder he rubbed it across his gums and sat back and watched her.

He honestly couldn’t believe his eyes. Had he not seen her face he probably wouldn’t have even recognized her. She didn’t even look like the same person, but there was no complaint from him. She had on a short backless black dress that was failing miserably at covering her ass and a pair of strappy stilettos that made her at least four inches taller. 

Getting more comfortable he watched as she began to dance seductively on top of a table to Tiesto's Just Be. The girl was dancing like she didn't have a care in the world and he was loving every last minute of it. 

When the song ended she stepped off the table and headed over to the bar. He watched her for another good twenty minutes as she ordered drink after drink. The girl was TANKED to say the least, but for some reason she was turning him on more than he had ever been in his life...and then it hit him. He had to have her. Completely. 

Looking over to his left, he saw that Jackson hadn’t even noticed Michelle and he wanted to keep it that way. For some reason Jackson had turned into somewhat of a bitch and he wasn't about to let him ruin his plans for a second time. Leaning back to the right, Chris tapped the other young man sitting next to him on the shoulder and motioned for him to lean in closer. 

“You see that girl over there?” Chris whispered.

“The brunette?” he nodded “Yeah, what about her?” 

“I need you to do something for me.” Chris said never taking his eyes off of her.

“Yeah anything Chris! I mean whatever you want, you know I got you!” the young man said, clearly excited to be in on something that Chris had planned.

Leaning in closer to the other man, Chris began to whisper into his ear, all the while never taking his eyes off Michelle. When he finished, he looked up at the younger man and smiled coyly. 

“Now you do this TJ. I mean...if you pull this off for me, I wont hesitate to show you how much I appreciate it! But if you fuck this up…” 

“I know man, I know. I swear Chris I’m not gonna fuck this up!”  The young man interrupted. 

“Glad were understood.” 

Motioning to the table, Chris put a hand on the young man's shoulder. Looking down, TJ bent over and cleared two lines off of the nearly clean tray and stood up. 

“Thanks Chris.  I wont let you down!” 

Slapping the young man five, Chris laughed to himself as he watched him walk away. Sometimes even he was amazed at just how far people would go to please him. 

Chris attentively watched as TJ made his way over to Michelle. If his plan went off like he hoped, the possibilities with her were endless! That in itself was enough to get him worked up. Helping himself to a couple more lines, he repositioned himself in the booth and prepared to enjoy the show. All the world really was a stage! 

Taking a seat next to Michelle, TJ motioned for the bartender. After ordering a drink, he sat there silently waiting for her to initiate the conversation just as Chris had told him. When his drink arrived, he quickly polished it off and ordered another. By the time he got to his third drink he was beginning to think that she was never gonna talk to him. 

“Rough day?” he finally heard a soft female voice say. 

“Uh yeah…you could say that.” he replied, slightly shocked that she had finally spoken. 

“Join the club.” she said clearly intoxicated as she lifted her glass to cheers him. 

Letting out an uncomfortable laugh he touched his glass to hers and watched as she proceeded to rid the glass of it contents in two large gulps. 

“Damn Champ!” he laughed. “Must’ve been one hell of a day!” 

“Day, week, month, year…its all the same.” she said practically slamming her glass down on the bar. 

“Sounds like it! You wanna talk about it?” he asked nervously, the thought of screwing up Chris’ plan playing on his every nerve. 

“No. Not particularly.” she stated bluntly and proceeded to motion to the bartender that she was in need of a refill. 

Once he had brought her yet another drink that she quickly did away with, she looked back over to the young man who she had been talking to and extended her hand. 

“Michelle.” 

“Tanner.” he replied taking her hand into his own. 

“Well Tanner, if I wanted to sit around all night, I would have stayed at home! So how about you show a girl a good time.” she said nodding toward the dance floor. 

Still holding on to her hand he pulled her out to the dance floor. This was not the girl that Chris made her out to be. Either way, TJ knew better than to go against Chris’ orders. He was gonna play this exactly how he was supposed to. 

Not being much of a dancer himself, TJ stood there and let Michelle dance around him. He must admit that she was one of the sexiest women he had ever seen, a fact that was even harder to deny while she grinded on him like there was no tomorrow. After what seemed like forever, a little bit slower of a song came on and to his surprise SHE pulled him closer. 

“I wont bite ya know?” she whispered in his ear seductively, the alcohol clearly paying a major role in releasing her inhibitions.

“I wasn’t afraid you would.” he smiled back. “Honestly, I would have thought that you’d be half passed out from all the drinks you’ve had. Yet here you are dancing around like a completely sober person!” 

“I know. I’m kinda shocked myself.” she whispered far to loudly in his ear.  “Honestly I’m normally a pretty cheap drunk but…I dunno…I’m really not even feeling these drinks anymore.” 

There it was. That was his ticket. Simple as pie just like Chris said. “Don’t rush her. Wait for an opening…she’ll give it to you! Just pay attention to EVERYTHING she says”. And boom, just like that, here it was right in front of him. It was almost too easy. 

“I  just really wanna…just…get away from it all. Ya know?” she continued. 

“I know exactly how you feel.” he replied in his most understanding voice. “How far away you wanna go?” 

For the first time since she had met him, Michelle looked into his eyes. Staring back at her, he waited for an answer. Quickly looking away from him, the pain of the past few months flashed through her mind. Everything that Wade had done to her, Justin’s betrayal, Marty’s never ending crusade to “save” her. It was all too much, she needed to get away, and for some reason she knew that he could take her away. 

Looking back at him, her eyes asked if he really meant what he was saying. When they finally stopped dancing she took a step back but continued to hold his gaze. It was as if they were they only two people in the room. 

“I just don’t want to hurt anymore.” she whispered as a single tear slid down her face “I just want this pain to go away.” 

“I can take you to a place where no one can hurt you. If you come with me, you can leave all your hurt behind without so much as leaving LA.”  TJ replied, an uncontrollable sense of power washing over him as Chris’ words came pouring out of his mouth. Extending his hand, he waited for her to make the next move. 

Michelle stared down at his hand for what seemed like an eternity. She knew what he was offering her, and for reasons that she herself couldn’t understand, she wanted it. Turning around she walked back to the bar and paid her tab.

When she returned, she still didn’t say anything. She simply placed her hand in his and let him lead the way. As they headed for the door to exit the club, TJ informed Michelle that he had forgotten something inside and that he would meet her in the parking lot. 

As soon as Michelle was out of sight, TJ hurried back over to the table where Chris was sitting. When he arrived he knew that Chris was pleased by the smile that was plastered on his face. 

“Its game time!” he said approaching the table. 

“That’s what I like to hear.” Chris said, smiling from ear to ear. Slapping TJ a farewell five, he pulled the young man over by his shirt so that he was now hovering in front of him. “Now you just follow the plan, you got me! No extra shit!” 

“Man you know I’m not gonna do anything. C‘mon Chris you’re the last person on EARTH that I would screw over.” the young man said defensively. 

Laughing lightly at the comment, Chris gave the young man a pat on the shoulder. Reaching into his jacket pocket Chris took out a wad of neatly folded crisp hundred dollar bills and a small envelope and slid them inside TJ’s Jacket. 

“What’s this for?” 

“Its just a little token of my appreciation! You just make sure you share the goodies with Michelle.  By the time I get there…I want her to be on the moon.” Chris said, his mischievous smile now turning almost evil. 

Nodding to Chris, the young man made his way back toward the parking lot to carry out his “mission”. 

As soon as he stepped out of the club he spotted Michelle standing next to a Mercedes waiting nervously for him to come back out. 

“This you?” he asked nodding toward the convertible. 

Michelle nodded back, still looking nervous, and he hoped that she wasnt about to have a change of heart. 

As they both proceeded to get into the car, TJ looked at the glazed over look in Michelle’s eyes and against his better judgment decided not to offer to drive. Buckling his seatbelt, he said a silent prayer and hoped that they arrived at their destination in one piece. 

Twenty minutes and about fifty near fatal car accidents later, they arrived in front of a small ranch style house just outside of LA. 

“We’re here.” he announced as they pulled into the driveway 

“And where exactly is here?” Michelle asked, feeling a little sketchy about the idea of going into some random person’s house.

Seeing the look of worry that swept over her face, TJ quickly tried to comfort her. 

“Oh don’t worry, it's a friend's house. Its cool no ones even here right now.” 

Exhaling deeply, Michelle figured that she had already come this far, it was a little late to start being scared now. Walking up to the house, she began to mentally prepare herself for what it was that she was about to do. 

Chapter 115

After Justin made his way back through the parking lot and over to this truck, the realization that this nightmare was just beginning was slowly sinking in.  Everything that he imagined would come from his talk with Michelle, shattered by the revelation that she had been through hell and back at the hands of Wade.

"Please don't let her do anything stupid."  Justin said, unlocking the drivers side door so that he could get in. "I'll get her through this.  Just let me find her."

After sliding back in to his Escalade, Justin stuck the key in the ignition and started up his truck.  He knew that time was of the essence and that the longer she was left alone in her current mental state, the more likely it was that he would be dealing with a bad outcome.

Once Justin pulled out of the parking lot, his cell phone started to ring. Shifting to his side, Justin quickly pulled it from his pocket and glanced down at the caller ID, praying that it was her on the other end.  Unfortunately, after seeing the number displayed on the small LCD screen, Justin's heart sank and he let out a heavy sigh.  It wasn't her.  Knowing he needed to answer the phone anyway, Justin flipped it open and placed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey man.  Just wanted to call and see how things were going.  Did you get a chance to talk to Michelle and get things straightened out between you two?"  Trace asked on the other end.

Not knowing exactly how to fill Trace in on what had happened, Justin simply groaned.

"I take it that things didn't go too well."

"No, they didn't and I need you help."  Justin said,  almost in a state of panic.

"What's going on?"

"Man, we have to find Michelle."

"Find her?  Why?  What the hell is going on?!"  Trace asked again, frustration clearly evident in his voice.

"You were right.  About the club.  It wasn't what I thought.  She isn't back with Wade."

"See, I told you there was more to it."

"Yeah, you did." he replied matter-of-factly.  "You just had no idea how much MORE there was to it."

In silence, Trace waited for his best friend to continue.  To elaborate on his last statement, but he didn't.  When he finally realized he wasn't going to offer up the information willingly, Trace took a deep breath and hesitantly started to ask the questions he knew needed answered.

"Alright.  She isn't back with Wade.  Then why was she with him that night at the club?"

"She didn't have a choice."  Justin replied, his voice full of concern as he continued.  "He's been hitting her man.  The fucker has been hitting her and I had no clue!  GOD DAMN IT!"  Justin yelled, hitting the steering wheel with his fist. 

Now in complete shock, Trace began to stumble over the words attempting to come from his mouth.  Did he really just say that Wade had been hitting Michelle?!  He couldn't be serious.  He had to of heard him wrong.

"Wait, for a moment there I thought you said Wade was hitting her."  Trace said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, you heard me correctly."

"Wait.  You're telling me he was hitting her?  Like HITTING HER?!"

Letting his head fall back against the headrest of his truck, Justin tried to force the visions from his mind.  Unfortunately, he had been witness to Wade's temper only moments ago and he knew that was nothing compared to what she had been dealing with these last few weeks. 

"Justin?!"

Shaking away the haunting thoughts that were now taking center stage in his mind, Justin focused once again on Trace's voice.

"Yeah Trace."  Justin replied softly.  "He's been hitting her."

"Jesus Christ!  How did you find out?  When did you find out?  Did she tell you or something?"

"Honestly, I don't have the time to get in to all the details with you right now.  All I can say is that there was an incident at her apartment earlier with Wade and we have to find her."

"Is she alright?  Were you there when it happened?  He didn't hit her....did he?"

"No.  He didn't hit her.  Would he of, had I not been there?  I'm almost certain."

"Shit!  I don't even know where to look man.  I mean, I don't know the girl that well.  I have no idea where she would even go.  Did you call Marty?"

"No.  Last time I saw Marty he was being attended to by the paramedics.  He's probably still in the ER."

"WHAT?!"

"It's a long story and I'll fill you in on that later too, but right now we have to find her.  She isn't thinking straight and I hate to even say it, but she mentioned wanting to end it all.  This of course, coming after an attempt to swallow a handfull of perscription pills not more than fifteen minutes ago."

In complete shock over what Justin was telling him, Trace collapsed down on the sofa and tried to make sense of it all.  He knew there was more to the reason why Michelle was at the club that night with Wade, but this was the last thing he expected to hear.  It was inconceivable to even think that Wade would do something like that, let alone her trying to commit suicide.  Were things between them really that bad?!

"Look, I have to go try and find her.  If you're not busy, I could really use the help."

"Say no more man.  I'm heading out the door right now."  Trace said, grabbing his keys from the table.

"Great, because right now...time is our biggest obstacle."

"Time?  Not Wade?"

"No.  Not yet anyway.  I think it will be a while before he realizes what happened.  Not to mention that the fucker is flying high on coke and booze right now."

"You're joking.....right?"

"No!  He was fucking snorting coke off her kitchen table when we were both in the apartment!"

"This just gets better and better doesn't it?"  Trace asked in disbelief.

"If you only knew the half of it."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll get the full scoop soon enough.  Right now, let's just focus on finding Michelle."

"I agree.  If you see her......her car.....anything.  CALL ME!" 

"I will man.  Just be careful out there.  Don't underestimate Wade.  If he wants to find Michelle too, he'll go whether he is hyped up on coke or not.  I guarantee it."

Deep down, he knew Trace was right.  Wade wasn't going to just sit around and let him get a headstart at finding her.  Especially when he was so determined to keep him away from her to begin with.  That thought alone sent chills running down his spine.  What if he did get to her before him?  Then what?

"Alright, I'm gonna go try to call her cell and see if she answers.  If I get a hold of her or find anything out, I'll give you call."

"OK.  I'll talk you soon."

"Thanks again for your help man."

"No problem."

After ending the call with Trace, Justin dialed the number to Michelle's cell.  After several rings, it kicked in to voice mail.  With worry and frustration now consuming him, Justin flipped the phone shut and tossed it on the seat beside him.  This wasn't looking good at all.

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As Wade fought to keep his balance, Chantal stood by and watched as the last familiar traces of the brother she once knew fade away in front of her very eyes.  She couldn't even say that he looked the same anymore. That confidence he used to carry himself with...gone.  That look of determination he used to get in his eyes when he was working on a project, that was now replaced with a haze she was all but certain came from the effects of the cocaine.  It was scary to witness.

"Wade, where are you going?"

Ignoring her question, Wade continued to make his way across the parking lot.  He was in no mood for her lecturing.

"You're not going to look for her are you?" she yelled out to him.

Quickly turning back around to face his sister, Wade gave her an icy glare and headed right for her.

"Why the fuck do you care?!  It's obvious that you don't give a shit about me or what I want?  You made that quite clear several times Chantal!"  he said, pointing his finger directly in her face. 

"You have to be joking?!  I don't care about you?!  Am I not the one standing here with your blood on me?!  Was I not the one who just came to your rescue?!" she yelled in complete astonishment.

"My rescue?!  YOU CAME TO MY RESCUE?!"  Wade replied, letting his hand fall back down to his side as he started to laugh. "You should have just let the fucker finish the job!  You would have done yourself a favor.  HELL, YOU WOULD HAVE DONE EVERYONE A FAVOR!  Wade....the fuckin crazy ass addict that lost all sense of reality!  Right?!  RIGHT?!"  he yelled, getting up in her face once again.  "Go home Chantal."

Standing there like a deer caught in headlights, Chantal watched as her brother slowly started to come down from the cocaine. It was almost as if someone threw a switch.  It was like night and day. Eerily familiar, yet for some reason.....different. 

"Wade.  You need to get looked at.  Please."

Grabbing the sleeve of his t-shirt, Wade wiped it across his mouth to remove the blood that was now flowing quite rapidly from his bottom lip.

"I have things to do Chantal."  he replied, feeling around in his pockets for his keys.  "I told you that mother fucker was after her!  Didn't I!?"

"Wade, you have to stop this!  Let it go!"

"You know he fucked her right?!  While I was in New York for that damn video shoot!"

Slightly caught off guard by his revelation, Chantal stood there for a moment trying to let it all sink in.  She had no idea that Justin and Michelle had become intimate, not that it mattered one way or the other as far as she was concerned, but she just didn't see that coming.  Especially when she knew deep down that Michelle really did love Wade.

"And Justin told you this?  That they were together?"

"No he didn't tell me this!  Did you think he would?  I mean really!?"

"Ok, dumb question.  I just thought that maybe...."

"And before you even ask.....No....she didn't tell me either." he replied, slightly disgusted. " See, once I got back to LA, I went over to his place to confront him about what I already knew.  That's when I saw the son of a bitch fucking her on top of his Steinway!"

"Jesus Chris Wade!  I didn't need the visual."

"Yeah, well neither did I."  Wade said softly, the hurt he felt from witnessing the act clearly evident in his voice.

After lowering his head slightly, Wade let out a sigh and walked away without saying another word.  Just thinking about her with Justin killed him. 

"Wade.  Wade wait!"

Ignoring her pleas, Wade made his way over to his Navigator and unlocked his doors.  After sliding in to the drivers seat, Wade shut his door and started it up. 

Once he pulled out on to the road, he started to have doubts on whether he was really in the mood to play a game of cat and mouse with her.  Especially when the sweet taste of cocaine was begging for some attention in his front pocket. 

"Find you now...find you later.  Either way, the result will be the same.  Might as well make sure I'm up for the task."  he said, scanning the various businesses that lined the street.

Finally finding what he was looking for, Wade pulled in to the small parking lot and jumped out without so much as thinking twice about it.

After a few minutes, Wade walked back out of the establishment carrying a brown paper bag filled with several bottles of liquor.

"Looks like it's just you and me tonight."  he said, sitting the bag down on the passenger seat.