Once they got back to Justin's truck Marty pulled her door open and began yelling at her.

"So, you care to tell me why you chose to hang out at this fuckin rat hole?  Huh?  Did you even have any idea who the hell those guys were or were you just gonna say 'fuck it' and hope that they treated you like perfect gentlemen.  Could you have been anymore naive!"

Hearing him yell at her like that upset her even more than she already was.  She never meant for any of this to happen.  All she wanted to do was go out and let loose.  Now because of her, her friends had been through hell and back.

"I'm sorry.  I guess I wasn't thinking."  she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah no shit!"  Marty scolded.

"Hey man...take it easy.  It's been a long stressful night for everyone.  Let's not add to it." Justin said, clearly becoming aware of the fragile state she was in.

"Take it easy!?  Man you don't have a clue about the shit I have been through because of her!"

Covering her ears with her hands, Michelle hunched over and tried to block out the harsh sound of Marty's voice as it tore through her.  She couldn't stand the thought of Marty not being in her life and the way he was yelling at her, she was sure that he wouldn't want anything else to do with her after this.

"I'm sorry!"  she cried out.

"Knock it off."  Justin said, pulling him away from the door. 

"No.  She needs to hear this.  The next time she might not be as lucky!"  he yelled.  "You hear that Michelle!"

"That's enough Marty!  What the hell is your problem!?  You see that she's upset!"

"Good!"

Seeing her break down into a sobbing mess, Trace squeezed past Justin and leaned in towards her.  He just couldn't believe the way Marty was yelling at her.  He had met Marty a few years ago and could honestly say that he never once saw him act the way he was acting right now.  It was nothing short of shocking.

"Don't listen to him.  It's just been a long night and a lot of people are on edge right now.  He'll calm down. Just give him some time. You'll see...it'll be ok."

"No it won't be ok!  Not until she starts using her fucking head!  You keep this stupid shit up and your not going to make it to see 22!  People around here don't fuck around!" Marty said, walking back over towards her.

"Man....I said that's enough.  Look at her!  Do you really think she needs to hear this shit right now?!  Regardless of what your reasons are, this is NOT the time."  Justin said.  "Besides, we need to get the hell out of here." 

"I agree.  We need to take off.  I don't want to be here if those assholes decide to come back once the crowd clears out."  Trace said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Fine by me.  It's not like I wanted to come down here anyway."  Marty said, opening her door all the way. "Let's go, I'm taking you home."

As Michelle slowly looked up at Marty, Justin could see that she was hesitant to go with him.  Not that he could blame her.  For the last five minutes all Marty did was yell at her.  What was the ride home going to be like for her.  Peaceful and quite?  He doubted it.

"I can take her home man."  Justin said, feeling his front pockets for his keys.

"I'll take her home.  It's on my way anyway.  C'mon...let's go."  Marty said, motioning for her to get out.

Wiping her eyes, Michelle turned sideways and stepped out of the truck.  After tucking a small piece of hair behind her ear, she walked over to where Marty was standing.

"I'm so sorry guys.  I never meant for this to happen or for you to get involved."  she said, looking back and forth between Justin and Trace.

"Hey...you don't have to appologize.  We're just glad your alright."  Trace said.

"Yeah......are you ok?   I don't even remember anyone asking you that.  They didn't hurt you did they?"

Lowering her head, she slowly shook it 'no'. 

"Ten more minutes and you wouldn't have been able to give that answer."  Marty said, as he pulled his own keys from his back pocket.

"Hey....why don't you just let me drive her home.  I think you need to cool down some anyway man.  Your not doing anyone any good right now and it sure as hell doesn't look like your planning on cooling down anytime soon."

"I said I'll fuckin take her home!"

Justin stood there for a second and watched her body language as he raised his voice.  There was no mistaking the fact that she was scared. Not that Justin was worried that he would do anything, but she definetly didn't need to be upset any more than she already was.  He had to stand his ground.

"Look, I'm gonna take her home and that's all there is to it.  I mean.....look at her.  All your doing by yelling at her is scaring the shit out of her!"

"You know what...you wanna take her home...go for it!  I don't have the time to sit here and argue with you!  I'm going home.  You deal with the mess!"  Marty said, waving them off and walking back towards his truck.

In shock, the three of them stood there and watched as Marty got inside and drove away. 

"What the hell was that about?  Has Marty lost his fuckin mind!?"  Trace asked.  "I never saw him like that!  I mean dude was flipping out!"

"That's enough Trace.  Let's just get the hell out of here."

Wrapping his arm around her, Justin walked Michelle back over to his truck.  Although he didn't want Trace discussing Marty's outburst in front of her, he couldn't help but be unsettled by it too.  It just wasn't his nature. 

"Are you ok?"  Justin asked, bending down to look at her.

Closing her eyes, she let a few tears fall down her cheek.  She didn't know what to say.  Was she ok?  Man was that a loaded question.  In so many aspects she wasn't, but she knew that he simply meant in general when he asked the question.  Slightly nodding her head, she opened the back door and got in, praying that she would just disappear into the empty darkness of his backseat. 

"She doesn't look good man."  Trace said, watching as she shut her door. "I can't believe Marty went off on her like that."

"Me either.  Especially after the fact that she was sitting there crying.  Was he trying to make things worse.....because that's what he did."

"J, maybe they do have something going on.  I mean, like outside of her working relationship with him.  It would certainly clear up a lot of things......as well as explain the reason for the break up between her and Wade."

"You know, I've back and forth with that in my mind for days, but honestly I don't see it Trace.  I mean, it's obvious that they're more than casual friends outside of work, but I don't think there's a romantic connection there.  I just don't." 

"Well....I wouldn't rule it out.  That's all I'm saying." 

"I know."  Justin said, handing his keys over to Trace. "Here, drive.  I'm gonna go back there and sit with her."

"Alright."  Trace said, taking the keys and walking around to the drivers side. 

Once Justin opened the back door, he saw her sitting there with her head in her hands still crying and it broke his heart.  She just looked so helpless and lost.

"You mind if I sit back here with you?"

 Looking up, Michelle wiped the traces of mascara laced tears from her cheeks and slid over to let him in.

Climbing inside, Justin sat down next to her and closed the door.  As much as he wanted to just pull her close and hold her, he worried that if he did, she might think he was trting to make advances toward her when she was vulnerable. Something he didn't want her thinking.  Instead, he reached down and gently took one of her hands in his. 

"It'll be ok. Don't worry." he said.

Glancing up in the rear view mirror, Trace saw the hurt look on Justin's face as he looked at her.  At that point, he knew with certainity that Justin was falling in love with her and would stop at nothing to have her in his life. Starting the truck, Trace couldn't help but worry that this was only the beginning of what was sure to be a disaster. 

As they pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the road, Michelle looked down at Justin's hand as it cradled hers.

"I don't know how you got involved in this Justin, but I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it.  I'm just glad we got there when we did. When Trace heard someone talking about those guys at the club and what they did with girls..............I was scared to death. I don't even want to think about what would of happened if we got there too late." 

At that moment, the harsh reality of what Marty and Justin interrupted, hit her.  The way Nick was acting, the quick exit to go to another club without telling Nick she was leaving...all of it finally falling into place.

"Oh my god....you mean....they were going to.....no.....oh god no...." she began crying. 

"No don't cry....oh shit I'm sorry....I don't know why I even opened my mouth."  Justin said, his heart sinking into his stomach.  He didn't even think about what the effects of his comments would have on her and now it was too late to go back. 

Clutching her hand tightly in his, he did his best to soothe her with words.  Reassuring her that she was safe and that they weren't going to hurt her.  Unfortunetly, none of it was having the effect on her that he was hoping for.  Finally he knew what he needed to do....what he had wanted to do all along.

"Come here." Justin whispered, moving his hand from hers so that he could hold her. 

Without hesitation, Michelle moved closer and leaned her head against Justin's shoulder, thankful that he was offering the comfort she so desperately wanted....and needed.

"Justin, I don't want to go home."  she said softly, looking up at him. 

Justin had a feeling he knew what she meant, but he wasn't about to take advantage of the situation. He knew that if they went back to his place, whether his intentions were good or not, the end result would be less than ideal.  With the sexual tension between them growing everyday, he knew that if she stayed at his place, morning would come and glancing over the only thing he would see was her in his bed.  Something he couldn't risk happening. 

"Can we go back to your place?  Please? I don't want to be alone tonight."

"Uh......I don't think that's a good idea.  I mean......well, you know what I mean.  I don't want something happening between us that you'll regret."

"I just don't want to be alone.  Please?"

Pulling up to a stoplight, Trace looked over his shoulder and awaited Justin answer.  An answer he was eagerly waiting to hear himself.

"So, where are we headed J?"  Trace asked.

Looking down at her, Justin knew that he was making a big mistake, but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to tell her no.

"I guess we're heading home Trace."

Chapter 77

Once Marty pulled out of the parking lot, he headed home and began wondering if he made the right decision by letting her go with Justin.  Granted he wasn't exactly what Michelle needed at that moment, him yelling and all, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Justin wasn't it either. 

After giving it some thought, Marty knew he couldn't let things end the way they did with Michelle.  He knew she had a lot on her mind and he certainly didn't need to add any more to it.  Glancing down at his watch, he knew that Michelle would be back home by now and the best thing for him to do was just go over there and apologize. 

Looking for a place to turn around, Marty knew he was making the right decision.  That was originally the reason he was looking for her in the first place, but when all the mess went down at the club, he never even got around to asking her why she ran out of Millennium.

Once he pulled up to her apartment building he got out and walked inside.  After a few knocks on her door with no answer, he decided to try her phone.  Again no answer.  Beginning to worry, Marty dialed the number to Justin's cell to find out if she was alright when he dropped her off.  Finally after a few rings, Justin picked it up.

"Hey Justin, it's Marty."

"Hey man, what's up?"  Justin asked, as Michelle straightened up to allow him some room to move.

"Was Michelle alright when you dropped her off?  I mean, I realized that I shouldn't have yelled and that I should go back and apologize for yelling at her, but she wont answer the door or her phone."

"Uh....well....I never dropped her off."  Justin said, glancing over at Michelle.

"What do you mean you never dropped her off?"

"I mean...she's still with me."

"You didn't make it to her apartment yet?"  Marty asked shocked. 

Justin glanced up at Trace who was watching the conversation in the rear view mirror and shook his head.  Justin knew once Marty found out that he wasn't taking her home that all hell was going to break loose.   Especially after Marty tried to question his interest in her earlier.

"No...we didn't get lost.  She didn't want to go home."

"So...where are you at?  Just driving around?"

"Actually we're on our way to my place.  She's...........gonna stay with me tonight."

"WHAT?!  Like hell is she!  What the hell are you doing Justin?!"

"What do you mean what the hell am I doing?  I'm going home."

"Man, don't give me that bullshit.  You know exactly what I mean.  Put her on the phone."

Covering the mouthpiece with his hand, Justin turned to face her.

"He wants to talk to you.  What do you want me to tell him?"

"It's alright.  Just give me the phone."  she said, extending her hand to him.

Once Justin handed her the phone, he turned and looked out the window.  He knew there wasn't any way to offer her some real privacy, but atleast he could turn away and not listen in on every word she said...even though that was exactly what he wanted to do. 

Placing the phone to her ear, she sighed softly.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing?  Why aren't you headed back to your apartment?" 

"Because I didn't want to be alone." 

"You know damn well that all you had to do was call me and I would be over there in a heartbeat.  Haven't I told you that from day one?"

"Yeah, but incase you weren't aware, your not my favorite person right now."

"Why?  Because I yelled at you?  How did you want me to react?  Going down there had to be one of the dumbest things you've ever done.  I mean other than allowing Wade to get away with the shit he did."

"Marty don't."  she said, feeling her heart break.

"Don't what?  Bring him up? Well I think I need to.  I mean what the hell happened that caused you to run out of Millennium like that?  What the hell did he say to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it.  I just want to forget about it.  I really don't even remember what he said."  she said softly, glancing over at Justin.

She knew exactly what he had said.  She could still hear his voice as it echoed his warning to her.  His warning that if she messed around with Justin, that they both would pay the price.

"No.  I don't think you forgot, but I'm not going to force the issue right now.  All I want is for you to go back to your apartment.  I mean....what would even possess you to go to Justin's?  You barely know him."

Looking over at Justin, Michelle began to think that she did make a wrong choice.  Not so much because of what Marty was saying, but more of what Wade had said earlier.  Justin had already been drug into one situation because of her, he certainly didn't need to be brought into another.  Lord knows that if Wade found out that she had spent the night over at Justin's, he would definetly lose it.

"Well what do you want me to do Marty.  We're like five minutes away from his house."

Hearing that, Justin turned to look at her.  He didn't hear Marty yelling at her, but he knew that he had to be saying something about her going back to his house. Something that really wasn't any of his business.

"Ok, well I'll head towards Justin's then.  I should be there in about fifteen minutes.  Once I pick you up we'll go get your car and then head back to your place.  Alright?"

"Yeah."  she said softly, looking over at Justin who was giving her a puzzled look. "I'll see you shortly."

Flipping Justin's phone shut, she handed it back to him and sat there completely quiet. In her mind she was trying to figure out the easiest way to tell Justin that Marty was coming to take her home, but before she could decide how to tell him, he beat her to the punch.

"So...what's up?  Marty on his way to get you?"

"Uh....yeah.  Well, we are going to go get my car and then I'm going to go home."

"Why the change of plans?  You know your welcome to stay at my place.  You don't have to go home just because he wants you to."

"I know.  I think he is probablly right though.  I'm sorry.  I know you must think I'm just a walking disaster." she said, looking down at her hands as they sat in her lap.

Moving closer, Justin slid his finger under her chin and turned her towards him. 

"I don't think your a walking disaster.  I think you have a lot going on right now that happens to be more than you can handle."

Glancing up into his eyes, Michelle realized how right he was.  She was dealing with way more than she could handle.  She had been for quite some time.  She just thought that ending the relationship would be the end of it.  Unfortunetly, she was beginning to think that the situation with Wade would never be over with. 

"I also think your beautiful." he said, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

Hearing Justin utter those words, Trace's jaw dropped and he looked in the rear view mirror at the two of them.  As they stared into each other's eyes, Trace could have swore that they forgot he was even there. Was Justin really going to do this right here...right now? 

Never breaking eye contact, Justin slid his hand along side of her jaw, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. He had hoped that she wouldn't pull away, but with their record of failed attempts and close calls, he expected it to happen. However, he knew that if he wanted her in his life, he was going to have to make the effort to let her know how he felt.

Just as he was about to lean in and kiss her, Trace put the truck in park and turned it off.

"Ok...so uh...yeah....we're here.  I'm going inside now."  Trace said, quickly exiting the vehicle and walking towards the front door.

Laughing, Justin shook his head.  Trace never was one for subtlety.

"I guess we should probably go inside." 

"Yeah." she replied softly.

Opening the back door, Justin got out and extended his hand to her.  Placing her tiny hand in his, Justin helped her out and shut the door behind them. 

"Are you alright?"

"What?"  she asked, lost in a world of her own.

"I asked if you're alright?"

"Oh...yeah, I'm fine." 

Justin watched her walk towards the house and knew she didn't mean what she said.  He could tell simply by the way she said it.  Something was going on.  Problem was, would she trust him enough to tell him what it was. 

Letting out a sigh, Justin hurried after her so that he could open the door. After letting her walk in ahead of him he shut the door. As she was headed into the livingroom, Trace came trotting down the stairs.

"Hey, I'm gonna take off.  Steve's on his way over to pick me up so I can go get my car from the club."

"Oh yeah.  Shit, I forgot about that. Sorry man."

"Don't worry about it.  It's not like that was top priority on anyone's list earlier. Besides, you two could use some time alone.  Maybe you can sort out your feelings while she's here."

Nodding his head in agreement, Justin looked at Michelle as she headed over to the window in the livingroom.

"Just don't rush things J, alright?  I know she's not staying and honestly I think that's for the best, but don't let something happen in the amount of time you have alone either.  You don't want that. " he said, glancing over Justin's shoulder at her.  "I mean, I'm not trying to lecture you, but I saw that look on your face when you were back there with her."

"It wasn't even like that though.  Trust me, if things work out the way I want them to, I'm going to do it the way it should be done.  I'm not just going to get her in bed so I can get myself off."

"Ok, that was WAY more information than I needed."  Trace laughed, covering his ears with his hands.

"You know what I mean.  If I just wanted to get laid, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.  I would just head out to the club and bring someone home with me.  Hell I'd bring a few home."

"Your something else, you know that?"

"I'm joking!  Have I ever brought more than one home?  Ok, wait..don't answer that."  he said slightly laughing. "I'm just saying that it's not about sex with her.  Well, atleast it isn't now.  I want something more."

"I know what you mean.  I'm just giving you a hard time man. I'll catch up with you tomorrow." Trace said, extending his hand to shake Justin's before heading outside to wait for Steve.

Chapter 78

Once Justin closed the door, he headed into the livingroom.  He could see she was deep in thought as she gazed out at the city lights on the horizon and hesitated approaching her.  However hearing him walk into the room, she turned around. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean startle you."  he said, walking over to join her at the window.

"You didn't.  I was just looking out at the city.  Funny how from here it seems so magical and enticing.  Had I known then, what I know now.......I would have never moved out here."

Taken by surprise, Justin turned to face her. 

"What do you mean...if you had know then, what you know now?  LA isn't what you thought is was going to be?"

"No, don't get me wrong. I love LA.  I just don't love what I've become since I moved out here."  she said trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. 

Justin didn't understand.  From what he saw of her she was an amazing person.  Kind, soft spoken and fun to be around.  What could she have possibly turned into that would have her hating herself.

"I'm sorry.  I....I don't know why I'm acting like this."  she said, wiping away the tears that were now present.

Quickly turning around, she attempted to walk away from the window when Justin garbbed a holf of her hand to stop her. 

"Hey....don't cry.  Come here.  What's wrong?" he said pulling her back towards him. "You can trust me."

"I can't Justin.  I....just can't."

Quickly searching through his mind for anything that could be the source of her heartbreak he realized the only thing it could be.  He was slightly hesitant even bringing the subject up, but he couldn't stand seeing her like that.  It was breaking his heart.  He wanted to help.

"Does this have anything to do with Wade?"

Immeadiately her eyes widened and she feared he knew something she didn't want him knowing.  Something that he shouldn't know.

"Wade?  What about him?"

“Are you upset about your breakup with Wade?  I mean do you really think it's over between you two?”  he asked, hoping atleast for his sake that she would say yes.

“Why would you think this has anything to do with him?  It doesn’t.  I don't want to talk about Wade anyway.  Ever.  Ok?"  she said, pulling away from Justin’s hold.

Her response caught him by surprise and as he stood there trying to process it, she walked over to the front door and opened it. 

Was she about to just walk out of his house and onto the busy streets of LA? 

Running over to the door, he quickly pushed it shut and she jumped back. 

“Where do you think you’re going?”  he asked. 

“Oh god...please don’t hurt me. Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”  she said, nervously backing away from him.

“What?  Hurt you?  Why would you think I would hurt you?”  he asked confused.

“I’m sorry.  I......oh god Justin, I’m sorry.”  she said, backing into the corner of his hall chest.

Immeadiately, Justin became concerned.  She was trembling right before his eyes and he was completely in shock as to what he should do. Why would she think he would ever hurt her.

He had just started to walk towards her when the sound of knocking on the door stopped him.  Knowing that it had to be Marty, he turned around and opened the door.

“Hey man...glad your here.”  he said, stepping back so that Marty could walk inside. "I think we have a problem."

The second Marty spotted Michelle, he noticed that she was crying and ran over to her. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?"

Shaking her head with disbelief over her actions, she continued crying as she ran past them and out the door.

“What the hell happened?  Why is she crying?” 

“I don’t know man."  Justin said, quickly following after Marty as he ran out the door. "I think those assholes might have done something to her earlier at that club." 

"What do you mean?  I thought she was fine?  Did she say something happened, cause I'll go down there and kill those mother fuckers!"

"No, well she didn't say that anything happened.  It was more of how she acted."

"How she acted?  What do you mean?"

"Almost out of nowhere she started freaking out.  Saying...'please don't hurt me, I'm sorry'  She scared the shit out of me!  I've never seen someone so afraid.  Dude, they had to have done something to her.  Either that or they slipped something in her drink. Seriously, it came out of nowhere."

Just then the realization set in that her reference to being hurt was more than likely a result of Wade and not the guys from the club.  She appeared to be fine when they left earlier so it was the only thing that would really make sense. Especially considering the fact that he knew Wade had hurt her.  Of course he couldn't rule out that she wasn't given anything at the club, but his instincts told him that his first guess was right.

Once they got out to Marty's truck, they saw Michelle sitting in the passenger seat crying.  Walking over to her door, Justin opened it up and took a hold of her hand as he sat on the door jam by her feet.

"Michelle.....look at me. Did something happen tonight at that club?  Did someone hurt you?"

Looking up at him, Michelle saw the look of concern on Justin's face and felt horrible for losing it the way she did.  She knew Justin would never hurt her, but the second the door slammed shut, all she saw was Wade. Unfortunetly, she couldn't tell him that and he could never know what had happened between her and Wade. 

"Look man, just let me get her home.  She'll be fine.  It's just been a long night.....for everyone." 

"WHAT?!  Is that some kind of joke? She isn't going to be fine just because you get her home!" Justin yelled, half in shock.  Was he seriously susposed to just brush off what he saw only a few minutes ago?  Could Marty even think that it was possible or even expect him to?

"Your not making things any better by sitting there yelling incase you haven't noticed"  Marty quickly pointed out, slightly nodding his head towards Michelle..

Seeing that he was upsetting her more, Justin stood up and closed the door so that he could confront Marty.

"Dude, she fuckin thought I was going to hurt her!  You weren't here! You didn't see the look on her face. Did you even listen to a word I said?!  Something is wrong.  Something happened to her." 

"I'm not going to sit here and get into this with you right now.  There's alot going on that you haven't the slightest clue about.  Alright?  She'll be fine J, trust me."

"Trust you? You know, I'm beginning to think that a lot of this mess has to do with you.  I mean the more I think about it, the more sense it makes."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Back at the club your bitching at her like she's a little kid, wanting nothing to do with her after I said I would take her home.  Then once you call me up and find out that she's coming home with me, you're dead set against it and head over to pick her up.  What the fuck is going on?  Seriously.....do you have something going on with her or do you want something to happen between you two?  I just want to know."

"You know what, she is going through a lot of shit right now.  I'm just trying to look out for her best interests.  I know that doesn't mean shit to you right now, but you have to trust me on this one alright?   Use your head man.  Oh, and if I didn't know it before, I sure as hell know now that there is more going on between you two than your working relationship.  I just wanted you to know." 

Feeling torn between anger and complete helplessness, Justin shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as Marty got inside and started up his truck. He just couldn't understand how Marty could so calmly dismiss what he had told him.  Something had obviously happened tonight that caused her to react to him the way she did.   Why didn't he care? 

Never taking his eyes off of Michelle, Justin watched as she wiped a tear from her cheek and mouthed to him that she was sorry.  Feeling like he was partly to blame for whatever happened, he mouthed that he was sorry back and watched as they pulled out of the driveway. Once they were out of sight, Justin hesitantly went back inside.

"Look, we're just going to get the car towed home.  I know it can't stay there tonight, but you're in no shape to drive it home either."  Marty said, looking over at her.

Simply nodding her head, she continued to look out the window.  Every time she tried to convince herself that things would get better, somthing happened to prove her wrong.

"Marty, it's never going to end.  He isn't going to just let me walk out of his life.  You know that right?"

"Don't even say that.  That's not the case and you and I both know it."

"No, I know him Marty.  We're not over.  This nightmare isn't over.  I can feel it."  she said softly, as the tears again began to fall.

Reaching over, Marty took a hold of her hand.

"Look at me.  You did the right thing when you ended things between you.  I mean, I'm sure he isn't the happiest guy in the world right now, but he can't make you take him back. Just stay away from him.  Don't even talk to the asshole."

Leaning her head against the window, she knew that Marty really didn't understand what Wade was capable of.  Even his own sister was in disbelief when she started to fill her in on his abusive behavior. No one knew what Wade was really like.......except her. 

Chapter 79

Sitting on the sofa, Wade watched as Cameran made the call to Michelle's apartment.  He still couldn't believe she had the nerve to even touch his phone, let alone go through his phone book and call her.

"Wade she isn't answering.  Do you want me to leave a message?"

Shaking his head, Wade stood up and walked towards her. 

"Just give me the fuckin phone."  Wade said, taking it from her and hanging it up.

Unsure of what he else he wanted her to do to try and fix things, she stood there silently. She knew that Wade was still furious at her and she didn't want to do anything that would cause him to lose his temper again. 

"I'm taking off.  This shit is just way beyond a quick fix by you anyway."

"I'm sorry Wade.  I know I shouldn't have called her.  I don't even know why I did, but if there's anything I can do to fix it I will.  You know, your welcome to stay here tonight?"

Turning around to face her, he began laughing hysterically.

"Your pathetic.  I know your not good at taking hints Cam, but I flat out told you I don't want anything to do with you.  Why in the hell would I stay here?  You think I'll get back in bed with you?  It's not going to happen.  Goodnight Cam."

Heading towards the door, Wade pulled it open and walked out, never once looking back as he slammed it shut.

As he walked back across the street to his hotel, Wade knew that he was going to have his work cut out for him once he got back to LA.  As if Marty wasn't enough trouble to deal with, he now had to deal with the fact that Cameran filled Michelle in on his little NY adventure.  Then there was the fact that he suspected something going on with Justin.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Wade walked inside and straight up to his room.  All he wanted to do was go to bed and figure things out tomorrow when his head wasn't in such a fog.  Unfortunetly, as he was about to walk in his room, his cell phone started to ring.  Glancing down at his watch, he looked at the time and wondered who in the hell would be calling him so late.

Swiping his key, Wade opened the door and pulled his phone out of his pocket.  Once he tossed the key on the dresser, he flipped his phone open and placed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, where the hell were you earlier?"  Brian asked on the other end.

"Where was I?"  Wade asked confused, as he kicked off his shoes and sat down on the sofa.

“Yeah, I tried to call you about an hour ago.  It just rang and rang.”

“Oh....I was at the bar.  I just didn’t feel like answering it.  Why, what’s up?”

“Well.....uh.....I was at the club earlier and I saw Justin.  I went over and started talking to him....and we started talking about your call with Michelle....and uh......”

“Jesus christ Brian!  Your worse than Chantal!  Get to the point!”

“Alright, well I guess after you had your little talk with her, she took off.  No one knows where she is.”

“What do you mean no one knows where she is?!  She’s probably fuckin around with Marty, that son of a bitch!  You watch, I’m going to kill that mother fucker when I get back!”

“No, she wasn’t with Marty. See, shortly after my conversation with Justin, Trace ran upstairs, said something to J and they took off.  I’m pretty sure I heard Michelle’s name, but I can’t be sure.  I tried to find if anyone knew what was going on, but they didn’t.  I asked Mel and Jen if they had seen Michelle and that said they hadn’t, but said that Marty had been up at MC earlier looking for her too. So, that’s how I know she wasn’t with him.”

“Wait...hold on.  After she got off the phone with me she took off?”

“Yeah.”

“And no one has seen her, Marty’s looking for her and you think you overheard Trace say something about Michelle to Justin and they took off?”

“Yeah...basically.”

“Did Justin ever come back to the club?”

“No, neither one of them did.  I haven’t seen Marty either and he normally stops down.”

“Let me call you back man, I’m going to try to call her cell.”

“Alright.”

Hanging up the phone, Wade waited for the phone to be reset and then began dialing the number to Michell’e cell.  After a few rings, it kicked into voice mail.  He wasn't sure if her phone was off or she just chose not to answer.  Either way, that didn't help solve the problem at hand and he still had questions.

Knowing that Justin wasn't aware of his situation with Michelle or the fact that he knew Justin was with Michelle when he called before, he figured that it was a good place to start to look for some answers.

Walking into the kitchen, Wade grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the counter.  After taking a drink, he sat the bottle down on the counter and dialed Justin's number.  After several rings with no answer, he assumed that Justin was still out for the evening and realized that he would have to call his cell.  Just as he was about to hang up though, Justin answered the phone.

"Hello." 

The second Wade heard his voice, he felt this sudden urge to call him out.  To tell him that he knew he had lied about Michelle's whereabouts and that he heard the part of the conversation he had with Marty. Surprisingly though, a stronger head prevailed and he went on with the reason he called.

"Hey man, it's Wade."

"Oh hey man.  What's up?"  Justin asked.

"Have you seen Michelle tonight?  I've been trying to get in touch with her all evening and haven't had any luck."  Wade said, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked into the bedroom.

"Ummm.................no.  I haven't seen her.  I've just been hanging out here with Trace though. Why? Is something wrong?"  Justin asked.  He knew that Michelle wasn't interested in talking to him and by saying he hadn't seen her, it eliminated a lot of the questions he was bound to ask if he knew what had happened earlier.

"I don't know.  If you see or hear from her, can you give me a call?"

"Yeah man, no problem."

"Thanks."  Wade said, and flipped his phone shut.  He knew Justin was lying through his teeth.  Brian had already told him that he was at the club earlier and that only further proved to him that Justin was up to something with Michelle.  Something he quickly needed to put an end to.

Sitting the phone down on the dresser, Wade finished the last button of his shirt and tossed it on the bed. Taking a t-shirt out of the dresser, Wade slipped it on and headed over to the closet to grab his bag.  He knew there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to stay in New York now, especially with everything going on.  Things that wouldn't be going on if he was around.

After unzipping his bag, Wade pulled out the folder he had brought from home, grabbed his phone off the dresser and headed back into the livingroom.  Once he sat down on the sofa, Wade opened the folder and began thumbing through the papers, finally locating the one he was looking for.

Flipping the phone open, Wade dialed the number on the paper and leaned back.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kev, it's Wade.  Look, I told Mya that I would be out here for the video, but there's some things going on back in LA that I need to go take care of.  Can you handle this shoot on your own?"

"Back in LA?  You mean your in New York now?"

"Yeah."

"Uh...I don't see why not.  I mean, is everything ok?"

"Oh...yeah.  This is just something personal I need to deal with."

"Ok, well yeah man, I'm good.  Are you going to miss the whole shoot or just a few days?"

"Well....honestly I don't know what's going to happen when I get there, so it might be safe to assume that I won't be back.  I'm going to try and catch a flight back to LA tomorrow morning.  I'll call Mya before I leave and tell her what's going on."

"Alright."

"Well man, I better get my shit packed back up.  Thanks for this man.  I owe ya one."

"No problem.  Take it easy."

"Thanks.  You too."  Wade said, flipping the phone shut and tossing it down on the cushion next to him.

Shutting the folder, he sat it down on the table in front of him.  Slightly laughing, Wade knew that his quick arrival back in LA, would take more than a few people by surprise.  Something he was looking forward too.  With no one expecting him to be there, he would get the chance to find out what was really going on and not let anyone feed him a bullshit story.

"Shit.  I forgot to call Brian back."  Wade said to himself, grabbing the phone next to him and dialing the number.

After a few rings, it kicked into voicemail.

"It's Wade.  Sorry it took me so long, something came up.  Anyway, when you get this, give me a call."

Flipping the phone shut, Wade got up and headed into the bedroom. Grabbing his suitcase from the chair, Wade tossed it up on the bed and began packing his stuff back up.  Just as he had placed the last few things inside, his phone began to ring.  Running back out to the livingroom, Wade grabbed the phone it flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"It's me.  Did you get in touch with her?"

"No, I didn't.  I called Justin though and that little fucker lied through his teeth.  He told me him and Trace had been hanging out at his place all night."

"Yeah, well that's a bunch of bullshit right there."  Brian said, slightly laughing.  "Because I fuckin talked to him at the club earlier."

"Something is going on and I want to know what it is. Do me a favor.  Do you know what her car looks like?"

"The little silver roadster?"

"Yeah.  Can you drive by Justin's and see if it's there. I don't trust that fucker."

"Yeah I guess.  Do you want me to go stop up there.  I mean J probably has the gate shut.  If she's parked in the driveway I wont be able to see from the road."

"Yeah whatever you want.  I just want to find out where the hell she is."

"Alright, I'll head up there and see what I can find out.  I'm sure someone knows what's going on or where she's at.  Give me a call tomorrow morning before you leave for the airport.  I'll try to have something for you by then."

"Thanks man, I appreciate it." 

"No problem.  I'll talk to you tomorrow."  Brian said, ending the call.

Flipping his phone shut, Wade sat it down on the kitchen counter and headed back into the bedroom.  After sitting his suitcase on the floor, Wade sprawled out on the bed and stared at the ceiling.  He knew that it was going to be a long night.  Just thinking that she might have been with Justin was eating him alive.  After going through all the trouble trying to keep Marty from her, it appears the real threat was right under his nose the whole time.  In any case, once he got back to LA, he would deal with everyone.

Chapter 80

Once Marty arrived at Michelle's apartment, he put his truck in park and walked around to open her door for her.

"Come on.  It's been a long night.  You really should get some rest."

Sighing heavily, she turned sideways and virtually slid out of his truck.  She had pretty much given up hope that she would ever get any resemblance of a normal life back.  Not to mention it had come to a point where she just didn't care anymore.

As they walked up the stairs, Michelle opened her purse and began searching for her keys.

"You want me to find them?"  Marty asked, noticing the far away look in her eyes.

"It's alright.  I found them."  she said, pulling them out and locating the one that opened her front door.

Onced they got to the end of the hall, Michelle placed the key in the door and unlocked it.  Giving it a gentle push, the door opened up and the two of them walked inside.

"Do you want me to stay here tonight with you?  I mean, I know you said you didn't want to be by yourself."

"It doesn't matter.  I'm just going to go to bed."  she said tossing her keys and purse down on the table.

"Are you sure your alright?  I mean Justin said he thought something happened with those assholes at the club.  Nothing happened right?  They didn't touch or hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine.  I just don't want to talk about it right now."

"Alright, well if you don't mind, I think I'm just going to crash here tonight.  I'd feel a lot better knowing that I'm here if you need me."

"That's fine.  Thanks Marty." she said, heading towards the stairs.  "I'll grab you a pillow and some blankets."

"Thanks."

Once she got to her bedroom, Michelle grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from her dresser drawer and headed into the bathroom to change.

After getting dressed, she headed back into the bedroom to get the blankets and pillow for Marty out of the closet.  Although she wished Marty never got involved in her problems with Wade, she was glad he was staying the night.  She just didn't want to be alone.

"You need some help with those?"  Marty asked, standing just outside the her bedroom doorway in the hall.

"Yeah, thanks."  she said, stepping aside so that Marty could reach the items on the top shelf.

"I think that should be enough, but if you need more, just let me know."

"Oh, I'm sure this will be fine.  I'm just going to take these downstairs so you can get some sleep.  You definetly look like you could use some.  Then if you want to talk tomorrow we........ah shit!"  he yelled, sitting the pile of bedding down on the chair.  "I think I stepped on something."

Puzzled, Michelle watched as Marty hopped over and sat down on the edge of her bed.  Bending his foot up, he noticed a small trail of blood running down towards his heel.

"Oh my god!  Are you alright?"  she asked, walking over to examine his foot.

"Yeah I'll be fine."  he said, grabbing a hold of the small object sticking out. After giving it a slight pull, he removed the object and placed it in his hand.

"Look like a piece of glass.  Did you break a vase or something?"

"No, I didn't break anything.  Atleast I don't recall anything.  Are you sure it's glass?"

"Yeah, that's what it looks like."

"Oh..."

"What?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Nothing.  I'll just go get something to clean it up for you." she mumbled, hoping that he would just drop the subject.

Giving her an odd look, Marty watched as she disappeared into the bathroom.  Why did she stop in mid sentence?

"Ok, back up some so that I can clean your foot up." she said, walking back out of the bathroom.

Looking up at her, Marty paused for a moment.  He was hoping that she would say something more but unfortunetly she didn't.  She just stood there with the few items in her hand and waited.

Not wanting to force the issue, Marty placed his other foot on her bedframe and pushed himself back.  Once he did though, he heard what sounded like something hitting the bed.

"Did I knock something off?"  he asked, slightly leaning to the side.

In a panic, Michelle pulled at his arm in an attempt to straighten him back up.

"No, you didn't.  Come on.  I have to get your foot cleaned up."

"No seriously.  It sounded like something fell." he said, again trying to lean over the edge of her bed.

"Marty don't.  Just come on.  Please.....I'm tired."

"What's wrong.  Why are you freaking out?"  he asked, taking the wet washcloth from her and wiping his foot.

"I'm not.  I already told you that I'm tired.  I just want to go to bed."

Never taking his eyes off of her, he watched her quickly glance over to where he thought he heard something fall.  He knew her sudden change in behavior and mood didn't have anything to do with her being tired.  She was hiding something.  That much he was sure of.  The look on her face said it all.

Opening the bandage, Michelle placed it over the cut on his foot and hesitantly headed back into the bathroom to throw the wrapper away.

Once she was out of sight, Marty jumped off the bed and walked over to where she had focused her attention to.  It only took a matter of seconds before he saw what it was that she was clearly trying to hide from him.

"Oh jesus christ, please let me be wrong." he sighed heavily, instantly feeling sick to his stomach.

"Marty..........what are you doing?"  she asked, stopping a few feet from the bed like a deer caught in headlights.

Crouching down, Marty began to untie the soft piece of fabric attatched to her footboard.

"No!  Marty stop!"  she yelled, rushing towards him.

"Are these his?"  Marty asked, grabbing the handcuffs and pulling them to the top of the footboard as he stood up.

"Marty please don't.  Just leave them go."

"Are they his?  Just answer me."

Breaking down in tears, she nodded her head 'yes' and collapsed down on her bed.

"Did he use them on you?  I mean...oh god, I can't believe I'm asking you this shit, but.....was this some sort of.....of...punishment for something?"

Feeling sick, Michelle jumped up and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.  She couldn't deal with the memories that the handcuffs brought back or the questions Marty had about their reasons for being there.  It was just something she wanted to forget. 

Running over to the door after her, Marty heard the sound of her throwing up and felt the most helpless feeling come over him.  She had been through so much.  So much more than he could ever imagine....or even want to.  How Wade could do the things to her that he did and still be able to live with himself was unimaginable.

"Hey,are you alright?" he asked, lightly knocking on the door.

"Yeah.....I'm alright." she said, trying to hold back the tears that were flowing. 

"You don't sound alright to me."

"I'm fine."

"No your not.  I'm coming in."

Opening the door, Marty saw her slumped against the wall, her hands serving as a resting spot for her head.

"Why didn't you tell me?"  he asked quietly. 

Looking up at him, the tears flowed down her cheeks.  How could she possibly tell anyone about the things she had been put through.  She was embarrassed enough that she allowed them to happen.  She certainly didn't want the world to know how weak she was.

"What was I susposed to say?"  she said, wiping the tears away. 

"I don't know. This is partly my fault and I'm sorry.  I should have just killed that mother fucker when I had the chance."

"Oh god Marty, don't say that!"

"Why?  He doesn't deserve to live.  What kind of sick person does things like this?!"

"Just stop!"  she cried, covering her ears with her hands.

"I'm sorry.  I'm just....jesus christ....I can't even think straight right now."

"Please stop...just please.....stop."  she said frantically crying.

"I'm just so sorry this happened." he said, bending over and picking her up in his arms."Come on. I'll get you tucked in bed." 

Carrying her back into the bedroom, Marty lowered her feet and pulled down her bedding so that she could climb inside.  Once she was in, Marty pulled the covers back over her and softly stroked her hair.

"Try to get some sleep.  I'll have those taken care of tomorrow, don't worry. Your not going to have to look at them ever again."  he said, tossing one of the blankets she had given him over the handcuffs as they dangled from her footboard.

Not wanting to leave her like she was, Marty sat down in the chair in the corner of her room and waited to leave until she had fallen asleep. Watching her wrap her arms around her pillow, his heart broke into a million pieces.  He wanted to kill Wade for everything he had done to her.  The time would come though.  Their paths would cross once again, and when they did, he was going to make sure that he would never go near her again. 

Finally after some restless tossing and turning, her cries slowly quieted down and she drifted off into the sleep she so desperately needed.

Getting up from the chair, Marty wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes from simply taking in all the suffering she had been going through these last few weeks.  God he hated himself.  If he had only knew from the beginning that it was Wade who was hurting her, he could have put an end to this a long time ago. 

"I'm so sorry I didn't stop this."  he whispered, turning off her light as he walked out the door.