Three

“You okay bro, you look a little out of it?”  AJ patted Nick’s back gently.

Nick jumped in his chair.

“Where’s Kevin?” he asked, snapping out of his daze.

“Over there, why?”

“I won the bet,” he held up the panties that were clenched in his right fist.

AJ just stared at him blankly.

“You’re kidding right?”  AJ began to laugh.

“No Bone,” Nick shook his head.

“But who?”  AJ asked.

Nick took a deep gulp, his leg shaking nervously as he got that dazed off look he always gets.

“Timberlake’s girl,” Nick replied.

AJ just looked at him stupidly.  “Nick, Justin’s single…”

“No, the girl Justin was dancing with, Howie saw her, right Howie?” Nick asked as Howie joined them.

“Who?”  Howie asked.

“Timberlake’s girl…”

“No, I talked to JC, that’s Lance’s wife dude.  They just got married last weekend,” Howie took a sip of his drink.

Nick’s eyes shot out of his head.

“Lance’s wife?” he stuttered.

“Yeah, why?” Howie asked as AJ snapped the panties out of his hand.

Howie’s eyes grew wide.

“You took her to bed dude?”  Howie’s mouth gaped.

Nick looked up at the two sets of eyes staring back at him.

“Uh…yeah.”

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I stared at the white walls of the hospital room.  I’d heard people talking and others going in and out, but I didn’t feel like talking.

“How’s she doing?” JC sat down next to Lance, who was sitting across the room in a set of chairs watching me.

My eyes widened at JC’s voice.

“Josh,” I muttered.

Lance looked over at me, JC standing up.

JC walked over and kneeled down beside the bed.  My eyes studied his for a long moment.

“Josh…” my hand slid down the bed.

Lance sighed and walked out.

“What’s wrong?”  Joey asked as Lance came out.

“She doesn’t want to talk to me, she wants to talk to JC,” he huffed.

“Listen dude, she’s been through a really traumatic experience and the first person she saw after it was JC.  She feels like he saved her and…you didn’t,” Chris solemnly replied.

“I don’t understand…I’m her husband,” he sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands.

“She doesn’t either, she just knows she feels safe around JC,” Chris replied.

“He’s right, and not just ‘cause he has a degree in psychology, of all things,” Joey replied.

“But she will be okay to talk to me again, won’t she?” Lance’s eyes were burning with tears as he looked at his friends.

Chris frowned as he put his hand on Lance’s back.

“We’re going to get her help, don’t worry, she’ll be okay,” he replied.

“What if she never wants to see me again?  This is my fault, I should have stayed with her…” Lance rubbed a tear that was forming in his eye.  His chest was growing heavy and tightening, just simply clenching at his heart.

“Lance, just give her a little time and it’s not your fault.  You can’t be with her twenty-four hours a day…”  Joey rubbed his shoulders.

“Lance there is one thing you need to think about,” Chris spoke softly.

“What?” he looked at Chris.

“Who did this?”

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JC pulled a chair up so he was sitting next to me.  My hand wrapped tightly around his pointer finger, like a baby just learning how to grasp her mother’s hand.  My eyes stayed on his.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

“I…I…” my lips were so dry I could barely speak.  It seemed I’d cried all the moisture out of my body.

His other hand gently touched my face, “Mae, you have to talk to Lance.  He’s beating himself up right now.  He feels like it’s his fault,” he whispered.

I just looked away from the ocean blue eyes that stared back at me.

“Do you feel like it’s his fault?” he asked softly.

I just shook my head no.

“I…I can’t see him, because…just…somebody…touched me and…no one’s ever touched me, but…him,” I began to cry again as I thought about how just this morning we made love and talked about having children.

Just then the doctor came in, a police officer trailing behind him.

A fearful look crossed my face as I grabbed onto JC tightly.

“Josh, don’t go,” I pleaded, my hand gripping around his tightly.

JC looked up at the police officer and then down at me.

“He can stay if it helps you talk,” the officer came around to the side of my bed.

I just looked up at him.

“My name is Officer Dow and I’m here to help you, okay?” my eyes searched the dark brown that stared back at me.  No one was here to help me…

His dark hair was cut short, almost like Justin’s, and he was fairly young and of Spanish decent.

“Mmkay,” I answered.

“Is this your husband?” Officer Dow looked at JC.

“No, this is Josh, my husband’s best friend,” I replied.

“Where is your husband?” he asked me.

I looked away and JC leaned over and quietly explained the situation.

“It’s okay, that’s normal,” he smiled at me.

“I understand you’ve been through a really traumatic experience.  Before you woke up, the doctors received permission from your husband to examine you.  It was less painful that way,” he smiled at me as he took out his notebook and pen, “but now I have to ask you questions while it’s fresh in your mind so we can press charges.”

Terror shot through me so quickly I nearly threw up.  Press charges?  On Nick Carter?  How the hell could I do that?  He’s a rock star, he’s my husband’s rival…their names would get dragged through the mud horribly, the record company would start fighting with each group…it would be a mess.  Our names would be all over every paper.  My face, with what HE had done to me, every drastic detail, just EVERYWHERE.  I’d have to keep living it over and over throughout Lance and Nick’s entire career.

“I don’t want to press charges,” I looked at him sharply.

JC stared back at me, a shocked look written across his face.

“But Mae…” JC started.

“Joshua…” I said firmly.

JC stared down at me.

“Mrs. Bass, I assure you that we will not break your confidentiality because of Lance’s status and no one will know about this,” Officer Dow tried.

“You don’t understand.  If I tell you who it is, the whole world will know by morning.  I don’t want to press charges, now can you please leave?” I turned over in my bed and pulled the sheet over my shaking body.

I heard JC speaking to him for a moment and then leave.

“Mae, why are you so scared to tell someone?” JC asked.

“Josh, I just want to sleep, okay?” I sniffled, tears falling from my eyes again.  How can one person possibly cry that much in one day?

He leaned down and kissed my cheek before leaving.

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Lance looked up from his conversation with Chris and Joey when JC shut the door to the room.

“Well?” Lance asked.

“She’s not pressing charges…” JC sighed as he saw Officer Dow speaking with the doctor about the medical aspect of the case.

“What?” Lance’s brow furrowed, “why?”

“She won’t say why, just that everyone will find out…” JC shrugged.

“How will everyone find out?  Can’t I press charges?”  Lance asked.

“You can’t, just her…” Chris replied.

“But what does she mean ‘everyone will find out’?”  Joey shook his head.

They all stood there in silence for a second.

“Unless…”  JC locked eyes with Lance.

“…it’s someone famous…” Lance finished his sentence.

Four