“Justin, I’m sick of the fighting!” Alexia shouted.
“Shh…Lower your voice, Lexi,” Justin reprimanded her, “You’ll wake up Josh.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” she threw back at him, lowering her voice anyway.
“I’m sorry, but we finally got him to go to sleep, and I don’t want to have to do it all over again.”
“I can’t take this constant arguing anymore, Justin. It’s too much.”
He sat down next to her on the bed, looking at the floor, “I know, Lexi. I know.”
“Maybe… maybe it would be best if we ended this.”
“Ended? We’ve been together for four and a half years, and you just up and decide you want to end it? We have a son, Lexi, and he’s only three years old. What are we gonna do about him if we break up?”
“Well, I would think he should go with me, since your on the road so much.”
“What? I’m home more than I used to be. Plus, he’s old enough to go on the road with me.”
“It’s unhealthy for him to be on the road like that.”
“What the fuck?! It’s not like you’re ever home with him. He knows the babysitter better than he knows his own mother. It wouldn’t surprise me if he started calling her ‘mom’.”
Alexia’s hand connected with Justin’s cheek in a forceful slap, “How dare you. I don’t have to take this. I’m gone. I’m leaving. I’ll be back tomorrow when you’re not here to get my things. And I’ll see you in court for custody over Josh.”
“Lexi, please don’t leave. You know I didn’t mean that,” Justin pleaded.
“Bullshit! I never want to see you again, Justin Timberlake!” Alexia stormed out of the room, and slammed the front door behind her a few minutes later.
Two and a Half Months Later
Alexia sat in the courtroom, waiting for the judge’s verdict on whether or not she had custody over her son. I have to win. There’s no way that Justin can win because he’s always on tour. Surely, the judge will see that-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the bailiff’s call to rise for the judge.
“You may be seated,” the judge said once he’d taken his own seat. “Based on the arguments, I have come to the conclusion that both of you are equally fit to be this child’s parent. Now, you may take that as you wish. Also, whoever does not win custody, IS guaranteed visitation rights.” He paused for a moment to let the young adults absorb the words he’d just fed them. “Alright now. The verdict I have come to is to let the child decide whom he would rather live with. There will be no arguments, and no coaxing from either of you while he is deciding. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Justin and Alexia said simultaneously.
“Ok. Bring young Joshua to me,” The judge commanded the bailiff.
The bailiff walked over to Justin’s table and asked Josh to follow him. Josh looked at his father with questioning eyes for a moment, then followed the strange man.
The judge pulled Josh up unto his lap, “Hi there, Josh.”
“Hi,” Josh said politely.
“How old are you?”
“I’m free.” The little boy held up three fingers.
“Three years old? Wow. You’re getting big.”
“Yup.”
“I have to ask you something very important. Ok, Josh?”
“Uh huh.”
“Alright, I need you to tell me which one of your parents would you rather live with, your mommy, or your daddy?”
Josh sat for a minute, trying to understand the question. He raised his head to look down at first, his mother, then over at his father. Both looked scared. He didn’t want them to be scared. Then, he looked up at the man whose lap he was in. “Daddy.”
Justin looked over at Alexia as soon as the word was spoken. He barely heard the gavel as it smacked the wood and the judge’s voice that repeated the final verdict. All he could hear were the sniffles of his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child, the love of his life. All he could concentrate on were the tears that rolled down her cheeks and the pain in her eyes. He forced himself to look away though. She doesn’t want me anymore. She obviously hasn’t for a while now. I need to accept that.
He scooped his son up in his arms and walked out of the courtroom, not looking back at the broken women.
That was the last he saw of her. She never called, never wrote, never even bothered to stop by to see Josh. She just disappeared, it seemed. Sure, he missed her; that was only natural, because he’d loved her. He’d thought they would last. For the first year she was gone, he’d been depressed. He often caught himself staring at the drawer that still held the engagement ring he’d bought for her. He never got the chance to ask her; she left before he could. The person her absence hurt the most, however, was Josh. He was always asking about Mommy. The questions had stopped, though, after 3 years of no contact with her. The pair went on with their lives, for the most part.