After another hour or so of watching TV, Chris was finally ready for a much needed night of sleep. Slowly stretching his arms above his head, he let out a slight moan and grabbed the remote from the table in front of him.  Once he had turned everything off, he sat the remote back down and stood up. 

"Nice to see she leaves her mess for me to clean up."  Chris groaned, trying his best to grab the empty beer bottles that were scattered across the table.  

After making several trips in to the kitchen to dispose of the mess, he made his way back in to the livingroom to make sure everything was back in it's proper place.  Once he was satisfied that it was all in order, Chris turned off the lights and headed up the stairs. 

As Chris headed down the hall, he found himself wondering if Michelle was still awake.  He wasn't quite sure why he was so curious, but he was.  Granted his bed had seen the likes of many women come and go, but they never stayed longer than needed to serve their purpose.  Sharing his bed with someone was practically uncharted water and he now couldn't help but wonder why he went so far as to request she sleep there. 

When he finally got to his bedroom, he placed his hand on the slightly closed door and pushed it open.  His previous curiousity about her all but forgotten as he turned on the small lamp and headed over to the dresser to remove his jewerly.  After opening his top drawer, Chris placed the expensive items in a small box and then proceeded to remove the wallet from his back pocket. Once everything was put away, Chris turned the light back off and pushed the drawer closed.  As he did, the sound of Michelle stirring in the bed caught his attention and he turned around.  

As his eyes tried to adjust in the darkness, the moonlight that was coming in through the three large windows suddenly brought everything in to focus.  Shaking his head, Chris stood there for a second and just stared at her.  Her tiny frame was all but lost inside his shirt as she struggled to stay warm in the middle of the bed. 

"What the hell did you get yourself in to man  This has to be babysitting in it's truest form."  he said, laughing slightly as he walked around to the foot of the bed. "Remember, this is why you don't want kids. Too much work." 

Once he moved the bunched up comforter out of the way, Chris leaned forward and scooped her up in his arms.  After he made his way back around to the other side of the bed, Chris gently laid her down and pulled the comforter back up over her.  Almost instantly, the sudden temperature change caused her to stir once again.  After a few seconds of watching her toss and turn, she let out a soft moan and finally settled in to a comfortable sleeping position.  For a moment, the desire to have her once again flooded through his entire body. Surprisingly though, the urge left just as quickly as it came and he headed over to the other side of the room without thinking twice. 

After taking care of a few more things, Chris unfastened his jeans and quickly removed them.  Too tired to worry about anything else at this point, he simply tossed them on the chair behind him and crawled in to bed.  Within seconds, he was fast asleep. 

As the hours faded by, Chris dreamt peacefully. It was the first time in a long time, if truth be told, that his sleep wasn't filled with worries or concerns for his upcoming business transactions.  It was simply a dream that caused a warm feeling to consume him completely. He had never had a dream like this in his life and he was enjoying it immensely.  Trying to hold on to the small piece of happiness that his dream allowed him, he sighed heavily in his sleep.  

Unfortunately even in his dreams, his brain seemed to run a mile a minute. Instead of just enjoying the complete sense of contentment that he felt, he needed to know where the warm feeling was coming from. Stirring tirelessly in his sleep, he finally managed to bring himself to a drowsy state of consciousness and the warmth was still there! That feeling of satisfaction...still present.  

Taking a long hardy yawn, Chris rubbed his eyes and finally focused his attention on what was causing him to feel so damn good. Then.......there it was. It wasn’t a dream. It was real.  The warmth, the comfort, the strange feeling of happiness was right in his arms and he thought he was going to be sick.  

Looking down at Michelle as she slept peacefully in his arms, his pulse began to quicken. This wasn't a dream...it was a nightmare! They were completely tangled up in each other. Her head laying gently on his chest, moving up and down with each breath that he took. Her right arm and leg thrown carelessly over his body as if they belonged there, while his arm was wrapped tightly around her shoulder, holding her securely next to him.  

‘What the fuck?!’ Chris mouthed to himself, after assessing the entire situation with a look of utter disbelief on his face.  

Slowly, he began to try to slide his arm from under Michelle’s head to try to escape from the bed, which was quickly beginning to feel smaller and smaller. However, he soon realized that his efforts were doing nothing more than causing her to try to snuggle in even closer to him. Taking a deep frustrated breath, Chris ran his free hand through his hair trying to think of a way to get her the hell off of him and get her off quick! 

For a brief moment he contemplated just shoving her off of the bed altogether. After all, this was his fucking bed. 
Taking another labored breath, Chris decided against his plan to kick her out of the bed and instead decided that he would just get out of the bed himself. He had things to do anyway. 

Again he tried to scoot himself away from her slowly, and again she scooted herself even closer.  

“DAMNIT!”  

Realizing that trying to finesse his way out of the situation was not going to help him, he took another approach. Carefully, he eased Michelle’s left arm off of his chest and onto her side. Letting his right foot fall to the side of the bed, he tried to ease her leg off of him with the other. Once he had her as far off of him as he possibly could, he braced himself for his next move. 

Then, in one quick motion, Chris swept his leg and arm from under Michelle and simultaneously jumped out of the bed. His plan would have gone off famously had he not still been partially under the sheets when he executed.  Unfortunately, as his body made it's way away from her, so did the sheets that covered them both and Chris went tumbling face first toward the floor. 

“GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!” Chris yelled, pushing himself away from the floor. 

Hearing the loud crash, Michelle all but bolted out of her sleep. Sitting straight up in the bed with her hair all over her head and Chris’ shirt barely covering her as it hung down from her shoulder, she slowly peeked over the edge of the bed.  

The sight before Michelle could have possibly been the most hilarious thing she had seen in her entire life. There on the floor, in front of her, was a boxer clad Chris angrily tearing himself away from his expensive sheets. Michelle tried desperately not to burst out laughing but unfortunately a small giggle escaped her lips. 

When Chris had finally untangled himself from the she sheets, he shot Michelle a deadly glare. Letting the smile that was on her face slowly fade away, she tried to focus her attention on adjusting Chris’ shirt to fit her frame.  

"Glad you're so amused."  Chris growled as he stood up and he headed toward the bathroom.  “Go get ready. We’re leaving in an hour. You can use the guest bathroom down the hall to shower or….whatever.”  

“Where are we going?” Michelle asked, still timidly sitting on the bed.  

Not bothering to humor her with an answer, Chris turned around and gave her a look that clearly said that she had just asked the dumbest question on earth. Realizing that she wasn’t going to be getting an answer, Michelle got out of bed and headed over to her duffle bag to find something to wear.  

“Oh and Michelle......”  

Stopping her search, she looked in Chris’ direction.  

“The jeans and t-shirt thing….....uh....…no. Wear something nice.” he said, an arrogant smile on his face as he turned back around walking into the bathroom.  

“I’ll see what I can find.” Michelle replied, casting a hopeless glance into her bag.  

“That wasn’t a request.” she heard him say before closing the bathroom door.  

Hearing the shower turn on, Michelle shuffled through her bag in search of something that would please Chris. Finally finding something that she thought he would approve of, she neatly folded the items of clothing and made her way out of Chris’ room. As she headed off to get ready for the day she couldn't help but wonder where it was that they might be going.  

When Chris finally stepped out of the shower, he felt completely rejuvenated. To him there was nothing better than a steaming hot shower to get the day started. It was as if anything that had plagued him the previous evening was completely washed away.  

Walking over to the large mirror just above his sink, Chris began his morning routine. Everything he did had a specific order, from the way he ran his business to the way he ran his life. His personal hygiene was no different.  

After nearly 30 minutes of making sure that not a tooth went unbrushed, or a hair uncombed, Chris headed out of the bathroom and into his closet to find something to wear. Turning on the light in his enormous walk in closet, Chris walked around slowly scanning each shelf and rack for something to wear. Finally spotting one of his favorite Armani shirts, he plucked it from its hanger, grabbed a pair of pants and headed back over to the bed.  After he gently laid the items down, he headed back in to the closet to grab his shoes.  

As Chris began to get himself dressed, a very startling realization came to him. He had left Michelle alone for nearly an hour!  

“Fuck!”  

He just couldn't believe he had been so careless. She could have been long gone by now. Her car was there and even if she hadn’t taken her own car, she could have easily called a cab to come get her. Chris’ head began to spin as the realization really sank in that she could be gone.  

After quickly pulling his pants up, he stormed out of the bedroom in search of Michelle. He couldn’t believe that he had put himself in this situation and hoped that, at least for her sake, she was still in the house.  

Heading down the hallway, he first checked the guest bedroom where she was suppose to be getting ready. When he approached the door he could see that it was slightly ajar. Pushing it open all the way, he stepped inside the room and looked around.  

“Michelle?” he called out, waiting for a response.  

After a few seconds of silence, Chris walked out of the room and quickly began searching the entire upstairs. It was times like these when he hated the size of his house, because right now, it was working against him.  

Once he had thoroughly searched the upper half of his house with no sign of Michelle to be found, he quickly made his way down stairs almost tumbling down staircase in the process.  

When he finally got to the bottom of the stairs, he briefly looked around the living room and kitchen. Still no sign of Michelle.  

As he was walking back toward the living room from the kitchen, Chris spotted door to his study out of the corner of his eye.  

“You better hope your in here.” he said to himself, walking toward the door, which was slightly ajar.  

Slowly pushing the door open, Chris peeked his head inside the room. At first glance there was no sign of Michelle. Taking a deep breath to try to calm the anger that was now boiling inside of him, Chris began to pull the door closed. Then just as he was bringing it to a complete close, he heard what sounded like footsteps on the other side.  

Pushing the door back open, he stepped all the way into the room.  After looking to his right, he spotted Michelle standing in front of the fireplace staring at the pictures on the mantle with an intense look of concentration on her face.  
He watched curiously as she studied each picture with the same intense look on her face.  

Reaching up, Michelle gently took a picture of Chris and another man off of the mantle. Running her hand over the framed picture, she wondered who the other man in it was. He kind of looked like Chris, but was definitely too young to be his father. A brother maybe?  

Putting the picture back on the mantle, she grabbed another. This one also had Chris in it, but in this one he was laughing and hugging a blonde girl that looked to be a few years younger than him. Michelle wondered who the girl in the picture was. Whoever she was, she was beautiful, and she put a smile on Chris’ face. A real smile. Smiling to herself slightly, Michelle placed the picture back on the mantle with the rest.  

Making her way across the room, she came to a wall that was completely full of shelves. Each shelf full of books. Bringing her hand up to one of the shelves, she slowly ran her finger tips over the bindings of each book. There were so many. She wondered if he had actually read all of these books. They ranged in genre from philosophy to mythology to biography. Some of them even looked like text books.  

She stood in front of the wall for what seemed like an eternity, reading the titles of the various books. Even taking a couple of them down to flip through a few pages.  

Once she had thoroughly inspected his book collection, Michelle walked over to a small table that sat just off to the side of the room. On top of it was an ivory chess set, a box of Cuban cigars, and a crystal decanter filled with dark liquor. Running her fingers over the smooth chess pieces, Michelle couldn’t help but think that everything about the entire house just seemed off.  

The house didn’t reflect the person who lived in it at all. It was neat and orderly and….classy. This wasn’t a house that said it belonged to a ruthless drug dealer. This was a house that said it belonged to a very complex man.  

“What are you doing in here?” Chris’ voice came from behind her.  

Jumping slightly at the sound of his voice, she knocked over a couple of the chess pieces.  

“I....um.…I was…I'm sorry.” she said not really sure if he was angry that she had been snooping.  

Giving her an almost annoyed look, Chris gestured for her to exit the room. Turning her attention back to the chess board, Michelle went to fix the pieces that she had knocked over when he stopped her.  

“Just leave it. Come on.”  

Stepping to the side, Chris let Michelle walk out of the room first. Once she was out of the room, Chris glanced quickly back into it before closing the door behind him.  

Walking back into the living room Michelle sat down on the couch and patiently waited for Chris. When he came back into sight, she noticed the irritated look that was written all over his face as he walked by her and up the stairs without a word and wondered what was going to happen next. 

Chapter 127 

She hated living like this. It was so nerve wrecking to walk on eggshells all the time never knowing when someone was just going to completely lose it on you. Life with Wade was bad, but at least with Wade she knew what to expect. But with Chris, every day, every minute, every second was like playing Russian Roulette, never knowing if your next move was going to be your last.  

A few minutes later Chris was coming back down the stairs fully dressed, the same look of annoyance on his face.  

“Come on.” he said walking past Michelle toward the front door.  

Almost jumping from the couch, she followed him out the door, to yet another luxury vehicle. Jesus Christ how many cars did this man have? Michelle thought to herself.  

The ride to wherever it was that they were going was relatively quiet, except for the soothing sound of the classical music coming from the speakers of the car. When the music first began to play, Michelle thought that it was a mistake, and that the dial had accidentally been changed. But after a few minutes she realized that not only had Chris put the radio on the classical station, but that he seemed to be enjoying the soothing sounds of the gentle music.  

After a few minutes of driving, Chris pulled into the parking lot of a well known Los Angeles eatery. After turning off the ignition, Chris opened the door to get out and immeadiately, Michelle did the same. Upon exiting the car Michelle spotted Chris’ friend Jackson and watched with curiousity as he heading toward them.  

As the two men approached each other, they exchanged smiles and handshakes.  

“Awww how sweet. You brought your new girlfriend!” Jackson said rolling his eyes. 

“Nah, not my girlfriend.” Chris said with a laugh as he glanced over at Michelle. “Just a good time.  A new toy you could say.”  

Lowering her head, Michelle wished that she could just disappear. A toy, how fitting. It seemed to be that that’s what every man she had met in LA thought of her. At least Chris had the balls to say it.  

Seeing the pitiful look on her face Jackson felt bad for her. Chris was going to suck her dry and there wasn't anything  anyone was going to be able to do to stop it. Even though she didn’t look like she had much more left to take.  

Taking a deep breath, Jackson waited for Chris to dismiss Michelle so that they could get down to business.  

“Michelle, why don’t you go inside and get us a table.  This will just be a minute.” Chris said, looking at Jackson.  

“We don’t have a reservation.” she said softly glancing over at him.  

Both Chris and Jackson erupted into a fit of laughter.  

“Oh man, you see why I keep this chick around?” Chris asked Jackso, wiping the tears of laughter away from his eyes. 

“Tell them you're with me. There shouldn’t be a problem.”  

Walking away from the two men, Michelle went into the upscale restaurant and headed to the hostess podium.  

“Table for two please.” she said when she reached the young woman standing in the front.  

“Reservation?” the young woman asked not bothering to look at Michelle.  

“Umm, I’m with Chris Carbonell?” Michelle asked more than said.  

Hearing the name Carbonell the young woman quickly changed her attitude. Straightening her posture she looked at Michelle in shock.  

“Carbonell?” she asked clearing her throat.  

“Yes”  

“Right this way.” the young woman said, plastering a smile on her face and grabbing a couple of menus.  

Leading Michelle up a couple of stairs, she came to a stop at a table that was almost right in the center of the restaurant. Next to the table was a glass partition with a carefully carved design on it that looked down at the other tables just a few steps away.  

“Will this table be ok for Mr. Carbonell?” the young lady asked nervously.  

“Its fine.” Michelle replied giving the young lady small smile.  

Once the hostess walked away, Michelle let a light laugh escape her. People in LA were absolutely amazing. That girl had had every intention on being a bitch to her, until she found out that she was with Chris. Shaking her head Michelle wondered how many other places Chris could just drop his name and be treated like a god.  

Picking up her menu, Michelle decided to give it a once over while she waited for Chris. She couldn’t have been looking at the menu for more than a few seconds before she was interrupted by the sound of an unfamiliar voice. 

“Hi.” a husky male voice said.  

Looking up from the menu, Michelle glanced at the man and smiled politely before returning her attention to her menu. If there was one thing she learned from her relationship with Wade, it was that under no circumstances do you ever talk to another man. Especially when the one you’re with isn’t around. She had a feeling that Chris was quite the same way.  

“You having lunch all by yourself?” the man asked in an annoyingly patronizing tone.  

“No.” Michelle replied dryly still staring at her menu.  

“So who are you waiting for? Friend? Colleague….Boyfriend?”  

Taking a deep breath Michelle let out a heavy sigh. Was this guy serious? Did he really think that he was hitting on her? Glancing back up at him, she got her answer. Yes, he did.  

“Look it was really nice to meet you, but it would probably be in your best interest to just walk away.” she said with a sigh.  

“Ok I’ll leave, but I have to know your name first. It would be such a shame for me to walk away never knowing the name of the most beautiful woman I have ever met.” he said tracing his index finger up and down her bare arm.  

Michelle couldn’t help but let out a light laugh as she rolled her eyes. This was just too much. She wondered if there were actually women who fell for this shit. Right about now she would gladly welcome Chris’ company.  

Walking into the restaurant Chris was in more than a good mood. Things were going better than he could have planned. It had been less than 24 hours and there was already a great buzz going on about the new product he was carrying, but hell that was always the case when Jackson was involved. His day had just begun and it was already turning out to be perfect.  

As he approached the hostess podium just inside the restaurant, the young girl who had previously seated Michelle was standing behind the tall wood structure happily waiting for Chris to come in.  

“Hey Mr. Carbonell.” she said a cheesy grin plastered on her face.  

“Devon” he replied flashing her his signature arrogant smile.  

Leaning over Chris propped himself up on the podium and motioned with his head for her to lean in closer. Bringing her head in toward his, she stopped when her ear was just a hair away from his lips.  

“Give this to Danny, ok.” he whispered slipping a small bundle into her hand.  

Chris could feel the smile spread across her face as she accepted the small package nodding her head. 

Straitening himself back up Chris began to walk toward the dining area of the restaurant. Business was taken care of and now it was time to go enjoy a nice meal.  

“You make sure you clear my table Devon. There’ll be a nice little tip waiting for you.” he called over his shoulder. If there was one rule that Chris lived by, it was to take care of EVERYBODY. You never knew what kind of connections you could make on a daily basis, especially in LA. And Chris made sure that he was well connected everywhere.  

With a smile on his face he made his way to the entry way of the dining area and scanned the tables for Michelle. Once he spotted her he began to walk over to the table where she was seated. As Chris walked, his smile slowly began to fade as he noticed a man standing a little too close to Michelle for his taste. Stopping dead in his tracks, Chris took in the entire scene in front of him.  

He watched as the man came in closer to Michelle, looking like he wanted to throw her on the table and have his way with her. He watched as he touched her, running his grubby little fingers up and down her arm. But mostly he watched Michelle, her reactions to it all.  

After a few seconds, Chris could feel the smile ease back over his lips as he watched her face. She looked completely disenchanted with the guys presence. The look on her face while he tried run what Chris was sure was a pathetic game on her was priceless.  

Casually, Chris strolled over to the table and stood behind the guy who was relentlessly pursuing Michelle. After a few seconds of going unnoticed by the man, he cleared his throat to make his presence known.  

“Can I help you?” The man asked over his shoulder shooting Chris an annoyed glare.  

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.”  

“Yeah well as you can see, I’m trying to talk to the lady so….” the man said turning his back to Chris, and once again focusing his attention on Michelle.  

Letting out a breathy laugh, Chris stroked his chin lightly. Grabbing the guy by his shoulder he spun him around so that he was now facing him.  

“And now your done.” Chris said matter of factly, staring the man dead in the eye. “Get the fuck out of here.”  

“Oh what, am I supposed to be scared now?” the man asked with a laugh, looking Chris up and down.  

Reaching into the inside pocket of the suit he wore, the man retrieved a small business card and placed it on the table in front of Michelle without once breaking the stare that he and Chris held on each other.  

“Here you go sweetheart. You give me a call when you’re ready to spend time with a man with some class. Instead of wasting your time with a foul mouthed thug!”  he said, giving Chris a hardy sneer.  

“I wasn’t aware that cheap Versace knockoffs were considered classy…” Chris said, pausing for a moment to glance down at the name on the business card.  “....Nick.  Besides, she doesn't need a stuffed suit like you to try and get her off.   She needs the man in the Armani to do for her.”  

“It's too bad your Armani shirt didn’t come with some manners. That’s no way to speak in front of a lady.” the man snapped back, still holding Chris’ gaze.  

Smiling to himself, Chris nodded his head lightly.  

“Well I guess that’s the difference between me and you huh?” Chris said glancing over at Michelle. “You see….Nick here….he’s very well mannered…and me…..I mean……”  

Chris didn’t even finish his statement before he quickly grabbed the man by his shoulders and violently thrust his own forehead into the man's face. Before the man could begin to analyze what exactly had happened, Chris rammed his knee in to the gentleman's stomach and spun around so that his back was now facing Chris. Then without so much as a warning,  forcefully shoved the man through the glass partition that separated the two levels of the restaurant.  

Quickly jumping up, Michelle couldn’t believe her eyes and gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands. Apparently neither could some of the other patrons of the restaurant, because a few gasps and the sound of people scrambling to get out of the way could be heard as the glass shattered.  

Walking toward the man with a satisfied swagger, Chris took the large step down to the lower level of the restaurant and stood next to him.  

Squating down in front of him, Chris began to inform the guy on what a huge mistake he had made.  After all, Chris Carbonell was not a man you could cross and not pay the price. Once his point was made crystal clear, Chris wrapped his hand around the back of the guy's neck and pulled him in closer.  

“You know why I did that?” he asked before leaning in closer to his ear. “…..because I could.”  

Letting his head drop back down to the floor, Chris stood up straight and brushed himself off. A small smile crept across his face as he walked back toward the table where Michelle sat with a look of shock still spread across her face. ‘Poor bastard never saw it coming’ he thought to himself.  

Once he was back at the table, Chris took his seat and began to leaf through the menu. Feeling a set of eyes still transfixed on him, he lowered his menu to the table and gave Michelle a questioning stare.  

“Can I help you?” he asked, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.  

Quickly shaking her head from side to side, Michelle picked her menu back up and tried her best to focus on finding something to order.  

As much as she hated to admit it, seeing Chris in action was nothing short of thrilling. She felt bad for Nick or whatever his name was, but she also felt a tinge of pride that Chris had reacted like that over her.  

After a few short minutes of looking their menus over, a very well dressed young man approached their table. Michelle assumed that the man must have been the owner of the restaurant, and was surely about to kick them out 
.  
“Was there a problem Mr. Carbonell?” the young man asked in a voice of concern that should have been directed at the poor man getting up from the heap of broken glass.  

“Not anymore.” Chris replied with a smile quickly glancing over at Nick.  

Chapter 128 

"Ms. Robson, I'm Dr. Wright."  the older gentleman said, extending his hand towards Chantal.  "I'm the attending physician in charge of your brother's treatment." 

"Is he going to be alright?!"  

"We are still running some tests, but if you would like to come in and have a seat, I can try to bring you up to speed with where we are."  

Feeling her emotions get the best of her, Chantal began to hyperventilate.  As far as she was concerned, having her sit down meant only one thing.  Bad news. 

"Is he that bad?"  she asked, trying not to break out in tears once again. 

"Chantal, let's just go sit down and find out what's going on." 

Nodding her head, Chantal followed Justin's lead and walked back in to the waiting room.  After they three of them sat down on the couch, the doctor grabbed one of the chairs from the table behind him and proceeded to sit down in front of them. 

"Right now, your brother is in stable condition.  Our preliminary testing doesn't show any sign of any trama to the head or spine which is a good sign.  He was in a rather aggitated state when the paramedics brought him in and his blood pressure was elevated, but we were able to get that under control rather quickly.  Our major concern at this point in time, is the injury he received to his right leg." 

"His leg?  What happened to his leg?" 

Having been at the accident scene, Justin quickly turned to face Chantal. 

"When the truck rolled over, it crushed the console against his leg and he was pinned in the truck.  That's what took them so long to get him out." 

"Oh my god.  Is he going to be able to dance again?!" 

"We don't know the full extent of the damage yet, but right now it appears to have affected only superficial tissue and muscle.  We'll know more once he gets back from x-ray." 

"He needs to be able to dance again.  That's what he does.  That's his life!" 

"I understand your concern.  Your brother informed me of what he does for a living and he's getting the best care possible." 

"When can I see him?" 

Before the doctor had a chance to answer her, he heard some commotion coming from behind him and turned around.  As he watched the police officer walk back out of the emergency room and over to his partner, Justin looked at Chantal and motioned in their direction.  Although she was slightly confused for a moment, the reality of what was actually going on quickly sunk in. 

"Are they here because of my brother?"  

"Look, I'm not going to tip toe around the issue.  When your brother was brought in here, the presence of alcohol in his system was very apparent.  Due to his injuries, the police didn't conduct a field sobriety test on him.  That's why they are here now.  They're waiting on the results of his blood alcohol test.  Unfortunately, I think it's safe to say the test is a mere formality." 

"Oh my god.  This is not happening." 

"I also think it's best that I inform you that your brother was tested for the presence of other substances as well.  Judging by the look on your face, I suspsect we'll find that alcohol isn't the only thing in his system."  

"Let me save you the trouble.  He was flying high on coke."  Justin said rather bluntly, causing both Trace and Chantal to gasp in shock. 

"JUSTIN!" 

"What?  I'm not telling him anything he isn't going to find out anyway.  I'm just saving him the hassle." 

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!  GOD!  JUST LEAVE!"  Chantal yelled, her emotions once again getting the best of her. 

"AND ONCE AGAIN I'M THE BAD GUY!"   Justin yelled, quickly getting up from the couch and heading out the door. 

Shaking his head with complete disbelief, Trace offered Chantal a sympathetic look and followed Justin out in to the hall. 

"Hey!  What the hell was that for?!"  Trace asked, quickly sprinting down the hall. 

"What?" 

"Offering up the information that Wade was on coke." 

"Please!"  Justin said, letting out a hearty laugh.  "Do you think that they weren't going to find out?  That he was going to get away with this too?  Not a chance." 

"So that's it.  That's the real reason you said it right there."  Trace said, the tone of his voice clearly displaying his dissapointment.  "I never thought you would sink so low.  You want this to happen, don't you?  You want them to arrest him?" 

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I DO!  I HOPE THEY LOCK THAT MOTHER FUCKER UP!" 

"I hope you realize that this is going to come back on you.  The press is going to have a field day with this!  'Justin Timberlake's tour choroegrapher arrested'  Trace said, adding emphasis on the reference to Justin's name. 

"Yeah well, they can say whatever they want because he isn't doing the tour anymore." 

"That's news to me." 

"Yeah, well you really didn't think I was going to continue to work with him after all his bullshit did you?" 

"I knew that something was going to have to be worked out, but I didn't think you could just drop him completely. What is that going to mean for the tour?  The dancers have already been learning Wade's choreography!  It's not like you have a huge window of time to work with." 

"You don't think I know that!  What the fuck do you want me to do?!  Let the son of a bitch keep working and ruin that as well?!" 

"Jesus J!  I'm not saying keep him on.  I just said that you dropping him was news to me.  This is your tour and you have to do what's best for you." 

"You want to know what's best for me?  Finding Michelle.  Until we do, I'm not even going to be able to think about this damn tour." 

"I know."  Trace said sympathetically. "Are you ready to go?" 

"Abolutely!" 

Without saying another word, Justin stormed back down the hall and past the waiting room where Chantal was still talking to the doctor.  Once he made his way through the set of doors and out to the sidewalk, he spotted a familiar face heading towards them. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" 

"Chantal called me!  What the hell happened?!"  Brian asked, quickly picking up his pace. 

Letting out a slight chuckle, Justin looked at Trace and then back to Brian. 

"Yet another disaster courtesy of the one and only Wade Robson." 

"Meaning?" 

"The ass totalled his Navigator. I don't have the time to go in to any more detials than that right now.  I have other more important problems to deal with." 

"Is everything alright?" 

"No.  It isn't.  You didn't happen to see or hear from Michelle did you?" 

"No, why?  What's going on?" 

"I don't know.  Me and Wade had a bit of an episode with her earlier and she took off.  Now no one knows where she is at." 

"I'm sure everything is fine." 

"I wish I could say the same thing.  Unfortunately knowing what I do....I'm more scared than I've ever been in my whole life." 

After watching the look on Justin's face turn from a look of sheer disgust to heartbreak, he knew that they needed to get going. 

"Justin, we're wasting time.  Come on.  We have to go." 

Nodding his head in agreement, Justin grabbed his keys from his pocket and let out a sigh.  

"Look, I have to try and find her before it's too late.  Chantal is inside talking to the doctor right now.  She's going to need you tonight Brian.  Trust me.  It's going to get a whole lot worse in there before it gets any better.  LAPD will see to that.  I guarantee it." 

Unsure exactly what his last comment meant, Brian stood there for a few seconds and watched at they headed towards the parking lot.  The LAPD?  Was the accident that bad?  Did someone else get hurt?  

"Well, I guess I better go find out what I'm going to be dealing with."  Brian said, shoving his keys in to his pocket before heading inside. 

"Hey J, do you want to stay together or split up?"  Trace asked, quickly following after Justin who was practically sprinting through the parking garage. 

"I don't know man.  I can't even think straight right now." 

"Relax man.  We'll find her." 

Pulling his cell phone back out of his pocket, Justin once again tried to call Michelle.  When her answering machine at her apartment picked up, he ended the call.  He had already left several messages and they weren't being returned.  Leaving one more wasn't going to change that.  it wasn'and immeadiately dialed the number to her cell phone. 

"Come on.  Please answer the phone."  Justin graoned, fear once again consuming his as he dialed the number to her cell phone. 

After several unanswered rings, her voicemail kicked in and once again he ended the call. 

"Still no answer?" 

Shaking his head with frustration, Justin made quick work of walking the last few feet to his truck.  After placing his phone back in to his pocket, he pulled out his keys and disengaged the security system on his truck. 

"So what's the game plan?"  

Taking a moment to think things over, Justin opened the drivers side door and got inside.  After he pulled the door closed, he started his truck up and lowered the window. 

"Go home man.  I honeslty don't even know where to look." 

"So that's it?  You're just going to call it a night?" 

"No.  Not just yet.  Eventually I'll call it a night.  I mean, I have to accept the fact that she might not want to be found.  If that's the case, no amount of searching is going to go any good." 

"I hate to say it, but I think this is the best thing right now.  It's been a long night for everyone.  I'm sure she is alright.  She probably just needed to get away from all the chaos.  She needed some time to think." 

"I know.  You're probably right.  I just hate to think that something is going to happen while I'm at home doing nothing." 

"There's nothing else you can do.  Don't go back out looking for her.  Just go home and get some sleep.  If we havent heard from her by tomorrow afternoon, we'll go back out." 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Justin agreed that the best thing to do was go home and call it a night. 

"I guess I'm heading home then."  

"I think that a good call." 

"I really appreciate all your help tonight man.  I really do." 

"Don't thank me.  I was more than happy to do it.  I just wish the end results could have been better." 

"You and me both."  Justin replied, the look on his face clearly showing he wasn't as comfortable with his decision to call it a night as he would have Trace believe. 

"Dude.  Please.  Call it a night." 

"I am."  

"Justin." 

"What?" 

As Trace tilted his head to the side, Justin realized just how well Trace really knew him. 

"Fine!  I'll go home.  Happy?" 

"Yeah.  I am."  Trace said, grabbing his keys.  "Alright, I'm heading home.  If you need me, for anything, call me." 

After nodding his head, Justin offered a partial wave goodbye to his best friend and pulled out of the parking lot.  Going back home with a mind full of unpleasant thoughts certainly wasn't his first choice of how to end the night, but deep down he knew he really didn't have a choice. He just hoped that at some point he would be able to sleep.  After all, if he didn't hear from her by tomorrow afternoon, this was all going to start over again. 

Chapter 129 

After the resturant chaos had settled down and a few more seconds of idle chit chat, the manager took their order himself before heading back to the kitchen and once again leaving Chris and Michelle alone together.  

The awkward silence that engulfed their table was almost deafening. Michelle had no idea what to say and even if she did, she was too  nervous to even open her mouth.  Letting out a slight sigh,  she did the one thing that had become almost second nature to her.  She stared at her hands.  

“Don’t do that.” Chris said almost as soon as her head began to drop.  

Slowly raising her head, Michelle gave him a questioning look  

“Do what?”  

“Slouch. Look down. Fidget. Its unattractive and it makes you look stupid.”  he stated matter of factly, yet still half smiling.  

“Sorry.”  Michelle replied softly, now wanting to do all three more than ever.  

“Don’t be sorry, just don’t do it.” he said, his smile growing wider  

Sitting herself up straight, Michelle placed her hands gently in her lap and quietly glanced around the restaurant.  
As Chris studied the sight before him, he couldn't help but laugh. She looked so uncomfortable. Was it really that hard or unnatural for her to carry herself like she had some confidence? Giving her a second glance, he feared he already knew the answer.   Yes.  

Finally regaining his composure from laughing, Chris looked back up at Michelle who was now staring at him as if he was the cruelest person on earth. Trying his best to keep his laughter in check, Chris attempted  to sooth her obviously bruised ego.  

“I’m sorry Michelle. You just look so…..stiff and uncomfortable.”  he said through laughs.  

Seeing as how her face hadn’t softened a bit, he realized that his straight-forward comment wasn't going to cut it. Taking a deep breath, Chris breathed out slowly trying to calm himself down. Once he felt that he was ready, he tried again.  

“Seriously Michelle, I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. It’s just that you’re a really pretty girl and I think that it’s a shame for you not to take more pride in how you look. You shouldn’t wear your emotions on your sleeves so much.”  

“I cant help it I....” she began.  

“Sure you can.” Chris interrupted. “I bet you were one of those kids whose mommy and daddy told them it was ok to share your feelings and cry it out and all that, huh?”  

“Actually no, they didn’t.” Michelle said in an almost bitter tone. 

“So then why do you do it?” Chris asked before taking a large gulp of the long island ice tea that was place before him just seconds earlier.  

“I don’t know. I guess to me it’s just easier to be invisible. Better than…..you know.” She said her voice trailing off at the end as she looked away.  

“No Michelle. I don’t know. Better than what?” he asked raising an eyebrow.  

Of course they both knew exactly what she was talking about.  They also both knew why he was pretending he didn’t.  He was challenging her to tell him the truth.  Normally she would just  back down and avoid any potential conflict, but after studying the way he was looking at her, Michelle felt up to the challenge all of a sudden.  

“Better than getting my ass beat!” she stated bluntly, returning the arrogant look that she’d just received.  

Chris let a small laugh escape his lips at her seemingly brash comment. So many things about this girl just didn’t add up. She obviously had quite a bit of fire in her, which he didn’t mind one bit, so why exactly was she so mousy? He highly doubted that Wade could have had single handedly broken her, but then again, he couldn't underestimate the power Wade could have had over this girl.  After all, he saw first hand how persuasive Wade could be with the opposite sex. 

"You mean by Wade or in general?"  Chris asked, leaning back in his chair. 

Feeling her stomach tie in knots, Michelle glanced away once and again and felt her eyes begin to burn.  His interrogation was just plain cruel. 

"Don't do that!  Look at me."  Chris continued, starring her down.  "Michelle." 

After wiping away a stray tear that ran down her cheek, Michelle hesitantly turned back to face Chris.  

"What?" 

"Why can't you answer me?"  he asked, his eyes locked on hers as he leaned forward. 

Unfortunately just as Chris was about to continue his search for answers, their food arrived as if on cue.  

Seeing the steaming hot plate of food before her, Michelle breathed an audible sigh of relief. She figured as long as Chris kept his mouth occupied with food, he wouldn’t have time to continue giving her the third degree.  The last thing she wanted to do right now was go in to details of her life with Wade. 

"Just so you know, this conversation isn't over." 

Shaking her head slightly in defeat, Michelle wiped away yet another trail of tears and hoped that this 'conversation' would somehow be forgotten. 

Nearly forty-five minutes later, they had finished their extravagant lunch and were now on their way to run some errands that Chris had.  

Michelle spent most of the afternoon waiting in the car while Chris made quick trips in and out of various houses and business establishments. She was sure that all of his “errands” consisted of doing some sort of shady activity, yet she the longer she was with him, the more intrigued she became by what exactly he was doing.  

Finally somewhere between five and six that evening, Chris had finished his last errand and they were now heading back toward his house.  

“I say we have ourselves a night out!” Chris said, enthusiastically glancing over at Michelle.  

Meerly nodding her head in agreement, Michelle continued to stare out the window. 

"What?  You don't want to go out?" 

Turning to face him, Michelle just stared at him blankly.  

"We're going out.  I get it.  I just don't know what you expect me to wear.  It's not like I packed for this little adventure of yours."  she said, once again turning her attention back to the window. 

"Adventure huh?  Is that what you're telling yourself this is?  An adventure?" 

"No.  I know better than to think or say anything unless I'm told to."  she said, adding a bit of sarcasim to the end of her comment. 

"Is that so." 

"Yeah.  That's so."  she continued, her courage building up with every comment Chris allowed her to make. 

"I think I like that concept.  You only do....and say.....what you are told."  Chris said, suddenly pulling his car over to the side of the road.  "Shall we test that theory?" 

Almost instantly the color drained from Michelle's face as she turned to face Chris.   What exactly did he mean by test that theory?  And why was he pulling over?" 

"What are you doing?"   she said, flashbacks from her arguement with Wade now taking center stage.  

"Get out." 

"What?" she asked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. 

"I said get out." 

"Chris, whatever I said...or did....I'm sorry."  she said, almost instantly breaking out in tears.  

"What do you mean your sorry?  Sorry for what?"  Chris asked, confusion plastered all over his face as he put his car in park.  

As Chris sat there watching her fall apart, he finally realized why she was acting the way she was.  This was how Wade dealt with what he considered unacceptable comments or behavior.  This was how he handled her.  Not on rare occassions.  Not when he was high or under stress.  This was how she was handled everyday.  This is what broke her down in to the girl he now saw before him. 

Suddenly Chris felt overwhelmed with guilt.  He never really had to deal with the aftermath to the method of discipline he used before and to say the sight of her trembling before him was a shock to his system would be an understatment.  Normally when there was a problem, he took care of business the first time out of the gate.  There was no repeat performance that would warrant this kind of behavior.  If you crossed the line, you were dealt with.  If you crossed it again, you were gone.  Simple as that.  

After trying to figure out the best way to handle the uncomfortably awkward situation, Chris finally gave up any hope that he wouldn't make things worse and just grabbed a hold of her wrists.  

"Michelle.  Look at me."  Chris said, turning slightly in his seat.  "There's nothing to apologize for.  I'm not him Michelle."  
For a moment, Michelle wondered if she was actually hearing him right.  Was he trying to say he was better than Wade?  That Wade had done something to cause her to react this way and he hadn't?  That he was upstanding and moral?  That he had respect for women? He couldn't be serious. 

As Michelle looked up at him with tear filled eyes, she suddenly noticed something different about him.  That icy cold glare that always seemed to be lingering just behind his green eyes was gone.  The arrogant way he carried himself, now replaced with uncertainty as he stared her.  It was as if she was looking at a complete stranger. 

"I'm not like him Michelle.  We may share some of the same views on right and wrong, even share some of the same extra curricular activities, but when it comes to this stuff....."  he said softly, gesturing between the two of them  ".....that's where the similarities end." 

As he continued to stare at her, Michelle couldn't help but believe every word that he just said.  There was just something in his eyes that begged her to believe he wasn't who she thought he was.  That there was so much more to him than what he allowed her to see. 

"He sure did a number on you didn't he?" 

"What?"  Michelle asked, still trying to dry her eyes. 

"Nothing.  Let's just get this over and done with."  Chris said, trying his best to gain back some of control over the situation that he lost just moments ago. 

"What do you mean?  Get what over with?"  

"The shopping.  I don't know how the hell you girls manage to spend hours in a store.  I can't last for more than fifteen minutes in these places before I'm ready to go."  he said, turning off the ignition. 

"Shopping?"  

"Yeah.  You need something to wear, right?" 

After a few minutes of letting his question sink in, Michelle began to glance out the window at her surroundings.  It only took her a matter of seconds to realize exactly what Chris had in mind. 

"You want me to go shopping?"  

"You need something to wear.  I get it.  The things is,  I just know you won't find anything that's suitable in that bag of yours for where we're heading." 

After offering him a slight look of amusement for flipping her earlier comment around, Michelle began to look at the various stores that lined the boulevard and sighed. 

"What's wrong?  Nothing here you like?" 

"No.  These places are great.  I just can't afford this stuff." 

"Then I guess it's a good thing I can."  he said, leaning to the left to grab his wallet from his back pocket.  After sliding one of his numerous credit cards from it's place , Chris handed it to her with a smile.  "Here.  Go get something to wear.  I'm just going to stay here.  I have a few phone calls to make anyway." 

After looking down at the name on the card, a small smile spread across her lips. 

"Christopher A. Carbonell.  It has a nice ring to it.  I like it."  she said, briefly turning over the card.  "So....Christopher.  What's your middle name?" 

Shaking his head with disbelief, Chris couldn't help but laugh at her. 

"Just go."  he said with a slight chuckle.  "Go do your shopping or my little black buddy is coming back to daddy."  he said, attempting to snatch the card from her. 

"Uh uh uh.  You have to be faster than that.......Christopher." 

Quickly reaching across her, Chris opened her door and then cleared his throat loudly. 

"Is that my cue?"  

"Yes.  Now go." 

Chapter 130 

As Brian walked through the doors of the emergency room, he saw Chantal pacing down the hall just outside the waiting room. Quickly picking up his pace, Brian let out a deep breath and called out to her. 

"Chantal." 

Hearing someone call her name, Chantal turned around and saw Brian headed in her direction. 

"Brian...."  

Not wasting any time, Chantal ran towards Brian and fell against him. 

"It's alright.  I'm here.  What's going on.  I saw Justin leaving and he said Wade was in an accident or something?" he said tilting her back so that he could look at her. 

"Yeah.  I don't know exactly what happened.  Well, I mean, I have a good idea on why this all went down, but I'm sure you don't need me to go in to details." 

"Probably not, but first thing's first.  Is he alright?" 

"I guess so.  I mean, they already ran some tests to rule out the more serious injuries and they came back good, but the doctor said they are concerned with an inury he received to his leg." 

"What kind of inury?" 

"I don't know.  Justin said when he rolled his truck his leg was pinned or something and that they had to cut him free.  The doctor said it appears to be just minor damage but they are waiting for him to go down to radiology or something for x-rays." 

"Justin was there?"  Brian asked, slightly taken by surprise. 

"Yeah, he was the one that called me. He said he was driving by and saw the accident.  I really didn't ask him specifics." 

As Brian's expression began to change, Chantal couldn't help but look at him questioningly. 

"What's that look all about?"  she asked, briefly looking over her shoulder at the nurses walking in and out of the emergency room. 

"Nothing."  he answered, quickly shaking off the thoughts that were now running through his mind. 

"Brian, don't give me that shit.  What?!" 

Letting his head fall back, Brian stared at the ceiling for a moment before looking back down at Chantal. 

"I can't even believe I am saying this." 

"Jesus Christ Brian.  WHAT?!" 

"I mean....with everything that has been going on.....you don't think Justin had anything to do with the accident, do you?" 

"What do you mean?  Like caused it?" 

"Yeah." 

"Why would Justin have anything to do with it?"  she asked, pausing momentarily to think about her own question.  "Oh.  Do you mean because of Michelle?" 

"Yeah.  I mean, the little run in that they had at Millennium was anything but cordial.  In fact, it was down right nasty." 

"I can imagine.  Unfortunately I don't think it was anything compared to the fight they had at Michelle's apartment.  Even with that said, I don't think Justin had anything to do with this.  I think he took care of whatever he felt he needed to take care of before Wade even got behind the wheel of his truck." 

"I just don't understand how all of this happened...and I do mean all of it.  One minute everything around here is completely normal and then the next minute everything is in utter chaos." 

"I honestly don't know how normal things have been lately Brian.  I think this mess was slowly building up and we just allowed it to continue without really doing anything to stop it. Well, I can say that.  I don't know what people knew or saw as far as Wade's behavior goes, but I can speak for myself when I say that I should have done something more.  I knew what was going on with him....with Michelle and yet I did little to stop it.  I may have dished out a few threats here and there, but obviously that did nothing."  

"Chantal, don't go and blame yourself for this.  This isn't your fault.  This is his fault and his alone." 

"No, it isn't.  I should have stopped him.  I should have never let him get behind the wheel of his truck tonight.  I knew he was beat up both physically and emotionally.  I knew he had done coke.  I knew he was drinking and that he wasn't thinking straight.  I knew this Brian!" 

"And so did he Chantal, but he still got behind the wheel of his truck!  That should tell you something right there. He needs help and this isn't something you or I can fix.  He is beyond that. You know, people who have had issues with substance abuse in the past can easily slip back in to old habits.  It doesn't take much to push them over the edge and I know you don't want to hear this, but he needs to go back to rehab." 

"That place killed him Brian.  You know that.  You visited him when he was there.  You saw him.  It took him like two weeks before he would even talk to any of us.  If I even mentioned that to him, he would lose it." 

"Chantal, he's already lost it.  If he doesn't get any help he is going to hurt himself or someone else worse than he already has." 

Knowing that Brian had a point, Chantal let out a heavy sigh and glanced back up towards the nurses station. 

"Have they let you back to see him?" 

"No.  Not yet.  Maybe I should go ask if they know how long it's going to be until I can go back." 

"That might be a good idea.  Come on.  I'll go with you." 

As Brian wrapped his arm around Chantal, a nurse walked out from the double set of doors that led back to the patient area and headed towards the two of them. 

"Chantal Robson?" 

"Yes?" 

"I was just coming to get you.  The doctor said you can go back and see your brother now." 

"Thank you so much."  Chantal replied and quickly turned to face Brian.  "Are you coming back with me?" 

"Do you really think that's a good idea?  I mean, I don't think I'm one of his favorite people right now." 

"It's not like you're Justin."  she laughed, trying to make light of the situation that had her stomach twisted in knots. "Now come on." 

After grabbing a hold of Brian's wrist, Chantal proceeded to follow the nurse back.  She knew there was a chance that Wade wouldn't want Brian back there, but at this point she really didn't care.  She wanted him there for support. She needed him there. 

"If I haven't told you already, thanks for coming down Brian.  I really appreciate it." 

"Anytime.  You know that."  he replied, holding one of the doors open for her as she followed behind the nurse. 

As Chantal offered him a knowing smile, the sound of raised voices started to echo down the hall and it only took a matter of seconds for Chantal to recogonize one of the voices as Wade's.  Wasting no time in finding out what was going on, Chantal quickly let go of Brian's hand and ran the rest of the way down the hall. 

"I don't give a shit what the fuckin test said!" 

"Oh my god!  What's going on?!"  Chantal yelled, panic instantly setting in as she watched the two members of the LAPD hovering over Wade. 

"I am going to ask you one more time to stand up on your own.  If you want to continue to be uncooperative, they we are going to have no choice but to do things the hard way."  the officer said as he grabbed a hold of Wade's wrist. 

"Man, you better think twice about putting your hands on me!"  Wade snapped, quickly ripping his arm away from the one officer.  

"Stop it!  He's hurt!  Can't you see that?!"  Chantal yelled as she attempted to make her way over to Wade's bed. 

"Ma'am, you need to back up."  

"No, I'm not backing up!  You can't just drag people of out the ER like this!" 

"He's been cleared medically and I'm not going to tell you again."  the officer said, placing his hand in front of Chantal to stop her from getting any closer to Wade. 

"Chantal, calm down." 

"How can I calm down Brian!?  Do you not see what is going on?!" 

"You are just going to make things worse.  Don't go over there!" 

As Chantal stood there in a state of confusion on what exactly to do, the officers again set about their business and ordered Wade to stand up. 

"I'm not standing up!  If you want to try and make me, then by all means, feel free."  Wade said, glaring defiantly at the two officers who were now anything but amused. 

"Oh we'll do more than try."  the officer yelled, forcefully grabbing a hold of Wade's arm.  

After the two officers pulled him to his feet, Wade immeadiately went on the defensive. 

"Get your fuckin hands off of me!  I told you I'm not going anywhere!"  he yelled, shoving the one of the officers backwards. 

"Wade stop it!  It isn't worth it!" 

"Steve, move her out of the way!"  the officer yelled, once again grabbing a hold of Wade. "I guess we have to do this the hard way then!"  he continued, slamming Wade face first into the wall that Chantal was standing against only seconds ago.  

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.  If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before.  If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?!" the officer yelled, reaching behind him to unfasten a set of handcuffs.  

"Fuck you!"  Wade yelled, continuing to aggreviate the police officers who were trying to take him in to custody. 

"Steve, can you give me a hand real quick?" 

"Sure."  the officers replied, sitting a handful of papers down so that he could help his partner get Wade's hands behind his back.  "You have the cuffs?" 

"Yeah, just hold him!" 

"Get off me!" 

"Wade just stop fighting them!  Please!"  Chantal continued to scream, her nerves completely shot as she watched the nightmare unfold in front of her very eyes. 

"Chantal, come on."  Brian said softly, pulling her over to where he was standing. 

After both officers managed to get Wade's hands behind his back, the officer in charge quickly slapped the handcuffs on and forcefully pulled Wade away from the wall. 

"Guess we know who won that little battle, don't we?"  the officer yelled, quickly jerking his body as he pulled him upright.. 

"God, stop!  Please!" 

"Chantal, just post the bail and get me out!" Wade yelled, his face now distorted with pain. 

"Can I do that?  Can I just follow you down and post his bail?"  Chantal asked, now leaning against Brian for support. 

"Come on.  Just give her a business car and let her call the station if she wants more information.  We need to get out of here!" 

"No, please.  Can't you just answer me?  Can I do that?" 

"There isn't anything you can do tonight.  We are taking him downtown for processing and then over to the jail to await his arraignment.  When court opens tomorrow morning, he will go in front of the judge. They will advise him of the charges being brought against him and ask him how he pleads.  Then after that, the judge will decided if he will allow him to post bail and if so, what the amount would be." 

"Steve!  Just give her the card and let's go!" 

After handing Chantal a small business card with the number of the police station on it, the officer took his position on the other side of Wade and proceeded to help escort Wade towards the door. 

"Chantal!  Be down there first thing in the morning!  I know I'll be able to post bail, so just be there!  You hear me?!" 

"Maybe this is what you need Wade.  Maybe you should just dry up in there!"  Brian yelled, moving out of the way of the two officers. 

"Keep it up Brian!  I know where you live mother fucker!" 

"Listen to yourself!  Now you are threatening me?  You've completely lost it!"  

"Yeah, well you haven't seen anything yet."  he snapped back, the look in his eyes stone cold as he glared back at Brian. 

"That's enough.  Let's go!" 

As the two officers proceeded to usher Wade out of the room, Chantal began to hyperventilate. 

"Brian.  This isn't happening.  Please tell me this isn't happening.  That this is just some god-awful nightmare that I an going to wake up from."  she said, watching on in horror as they escorted Wade down the hall towards the lobby. 

"It's going to be alright.  I promise."  he replied, softly rubbing his hand up and down her back.  "You know, if you think about it, this is probably the best thing that could have happened.  Maybe after some time in there he will get his shit together."  

"You were serious?  You want me to leave him in there?" 

"Think about it.  If you go down and bail him out, what is he going to do?  Come home and go straight?  No.  He is going to be pissed as hell and head straight for the bottle or whatever other source of release he has access to.  Then, after that has him feeling like he can take on the world again, he is going to go out looking for Michelle or Justin."  

Collapsing down on to the small chair beside the bed, Chantal let out a heavy sigh and started to give some serious thought to what Brian was saying.  After all, the more she thought about it, the more sense it made to leave him in there.  She just had to convince herself that he was right and find the strength to actually go through with it. 

"I just don't know Brian.  If I don't go down there and bail him out, it's going to be ugly." 

"So you're telling me that the reunion with Michelle or Justin will be pleasant.  That the worst case scenerio would be him being pissed off?" 

"You make is sound like it's that simple.  It's not Brian." 

"He needs to sober up and dry out.  If you don't want to bring up rehab, then what other options do you have?  Seriously?"  

"I don't know.  I can't even think straight right now."  she said, looking up to see where the sound of footsteps was coming from. 

"Chantal?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm sure your brother would want you to take these with you.  They are the personal items he came in here with.  His wallet.  The clothes he was wearing.  That kind of stuff."  she said, handing Chantal a white hospital bag. 

"Oh.  Yeah, thanks." 

"No problem." she said, offering her an understanding smile.  "Is there anything I can do for you?" 

"No.  I'm fine.  Thanks."  

"Well if you need anything, please let us know." 

"Ok." 

"Come on Chantal.  Let's get out of here."  Brian said, extending his hand to her. 

After placing her hand in his, Chantal stood up and slowly headed out the door.  Any sleep tonight was going to be out of the question.  She had a lot of thinking to do and one question that she knew needed answered was whether or not to tell their mother. 

"Look, I can;t tell you what to do.  You are ultimately going to be the one to make this decision, but you really need to think about what I said." 

"I know Brian and you're probably right.  I just don't know if I can actually go through with it." 

"Well you have all night to sleep on it.  Just remember, this accident could have been a lot worse."  he said, walking her back to the waiting room to grab her coat.  "You now have the opportunity to try and help him turn his life around.  Don't throw it away because you are worried he is going to be pissed.  Trust me, he already is.  At everyone."