About a week later everyone was back in Orlando for a much needed break. Both Lexi and *NSYNC would be heading to California to make videos, but until then they were simply relaxing. Lexi walked into her home happy to be in a familiar place. The driver helped her with her bags and she unpacked. She was about to take a shower and went to the linen closet in the hallway to get towel when she noticed that a light in the guest bedroom was on.
“That’s funny,” she said out loud. She then remembered that she had given Nicole access to the community and a key to her place so she could make sure the air conditioner was on when she got back. She went into the room to turn off the light. She heard a noise behind her but didn’t have time to turn around. A blunt object hit the back of her head, and she fell to the floor unconscious.
When Lexi finally woke up she wasn’t able to move. A throbbing pain radiated from the back of her head and she felt like she was paralyzed, but then she discovered that her legs and hands were tied together. She snapped her head up to see she was tied to a chair in the corner of her room. Matt was sitting on her bed staring at her.
“Hi, honey. I’m so glad you finally decided to wake up!” Lexi tried to scream, but there was duck tape covering her entire mouth. She strongly moved her arms and legs in an effort to set them free, but the ropes were too tight.
“There’s no use doing that, Lexi. They’re way too tight. I guess the Boy Scouts do teach you stuff you can use in the real world!” Matt said waving a gun around.
Lexi started to hit the chair against the wall and tried to make as much noise as she could by screaming through her nose. Matt got up off the bed and walked to Lexi. “Shut up!” said slapping her across the face with the back of his hand. She kicked him in the leg in retaliation, but Matt punched her in the stomach and almost made the chair fall forward by doing so.
She began crying in pain and was having trouble breathing because she couldn’t breathe through her mouth. “You see what you made me do, Lexi?” Matt said running her fingers through her hair. “I’m only doing all of this because I love you. You see what you make me do? Now I’ll take the tape off your mouth if you promise not to scream. Do you promise not to scream?” Lexi nodded her head. “Ok.”
Matt removed the tape from Lexi’s mouth. Lexi coughed from the wind being knocked out of her. When she caught her breath she screamed as loudly as she could. Matt was quick to put his hand over her mouth and placed the barrel of the gun under her chin. “Now, sweetheart,” he said talking very close to her face, “You promised me that you wouldn’t scream. I’d hate to have to do something that both of us would regret. If you scream one more time I’m gonna have to shoot you in the leg. Understand?” Lexi nodded once more. Matt removed the gun from her skin and sat back down on the bed rubbing his leg.
“Damn! You’ve got one hell of a kick, girl!”
“Why are you doing this?”
“This is the only way we could see each other, baby. I mean, you’re touring across the country with that guy that I know stole you away from me, you changed your phone number, you moved…How else am I supposed to talk to you?”
“That wasn’t done on accident, Matt. How the hell did you find me?”
Matt laughed and got up to walk around the room. “It’s a funny story actually. I’m sitting in my apartment, minding my own fucking business, and in comes my new ‘girlfriend’ telling me that she met the wonderful Lexi Morrow. I didn’t believe her, so she took me by your new place…It turned out that you really did live here, and the rest is history!”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Oh, my mistake. I never said her name. I’ll give you a hint. ‘Like, omigawd! You’ll never like guess who like I like almost hit with my car today!’ Take a wild guess.”
“Shelli…”
“Ding ding ding! Now what are the odds of that happening? I thought I’d never see you again, but turns out that us being together again was destiny.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Only about you, Lexi. What ever happened to us, Lex? We were so good together…”
“You happened. Do you remember getting psycho on me? Hitting me and almost killing me with a bottle of wine?”
“Oh, that! I only did that because I wasn’t sure how else to get you back. I was only trying to knock some sense into you.”
“What the fuck is your problem!?”
“You left me! That’s my problem! People don’t break up with me! I mean look at me! We were fine until that *NSYNC asshole came into the picture.”
“I can’t believe that you still think Josh is the reason that I broke up with you.”
“Fuck Josh or JC or whatever the fuck his name is! That prick ruined my life by taking you away from me. He’s the one I’m really mad at. But that doesn’t matter. Once he knows about our engagement it won’t matter anymore,” he said scratching his head with the gun.
“Omigawd…you’re totally psychotic.”
“I don’t think so! When you were sleeping I proposed to you again and you said yes. I put the ring on your finger myself.”
“You’ll never get away with this you crazy fuck. I wouldn’t marry you if you were that last man on earth!” she yelled.
Matt put the gun down on the bed and clasped his hands around Lexi’s throat. “What did I tell you about the yelling, Lexi? You promised me you wouldn’t yell.”
“Fuck you!” she gasped.
Matt yanked Lexi out of the chair and threw her onto the bed. With her feet and hands still tied together he began to undress her. “You know I’m getting sick and tired of your bitching and moaning! How the fuck can I get it through your thick skull that we’re meant to be together!?” Just as Matt went to unbutton Lexi’s shirt, the phone rang. “I think we should let the machine get it, honey. We need the alone time.” He started to kiss Lexi’s neck when they heard JC’s voice come from the answering machine:
“Hey, Lex, it’s JC. I know you’re there because you told me before that you’d be in all night. I just wanted to know if you wanted to grab some dinner downtown. I’m guessing you’re in the shower, so I’m just gonna stop by. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Lexi smiled on the inside thanking God that JC had a copy of her house key. Matt wasn’t as thrilled.
“Shit! There he goes again fucking up our love life.” Matt reached for the cordless phone. “This is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna call him back an you’re going to tell him not to come over because you don’t feel well.”
“He’ll never believe that.”
“Make him believe it, and if you try to pull any shit…I’ll kill you and him. Got it?” Lexi nodded. “Ok, now what’s the faggot’s number.”
“Memory one.”
“Oh, memory one!? That used to be my slot. He’s replacing me in everything, isn’t he? Now remember, don’t try anything.” Matt dialed the number, put the phone up to Lexi’s ear, and pointed the gun to her head as a reminder not to do anything she would regret.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Josh,” she said as normal as she possibly could considering the position she was in.
“Hey, baby! I was just on the way over. Did you get my message?”
“Yeah…um I don’t think I can go out tonight. I’m not feeling very well.”
“Oh, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I just need to stay in.”
“Well, I’ll come over an keep you company…”
“No! I mean…I’m gonna go to sleep.”
“Oh…are you sure?”
“Yeah, JC, I’m sure.”
“JC? You haven’t called me JC for a year. Are you sure everything’s ok?”
“Yeah, JC. I’m sure. But I’ll talk to you later. Ok, JC?”
“Ok…get some sleep. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Matt hung up the phone and angrily through it at the wall. “He’s always interfering! Now that that's over with...”
JC hung up the phone wondering why Lexi called him JC. She never calls him JC. That was totally out of character for Lexi, so he decided to go by Lexi’s house anyway.
He drove up to her house and almost rang her doorbell, but since she said she was going to go to bed he thought that he’d just use his key. He walked inside and said, “Lexi?” No answer. As he made his way up the stairs he felt as if something wasn’t right.
He followed a light upstairs and peeked around the corner. He could just barely see into Lexi’s bedroom because the door was slightly open. The minute he realized what he was seeing he thought that Lexi was cheating on him with another man. But when he looked closer, he saw that her hands were tied behind her back and whoever was on top of her was untying her legs.
JC moved out of view, took out his cell phone and dialed 911. He whispered as softly as possible to the operator, but he wasn’t soft enough.
“What the fuck was that sound?” Matt said lifting his head up. “Does he have a key?” he asked Lexi raging. “Does he have a mother fucking key!?” Lexi wouldn’t answer, so he grabbed her from her hair and forced her to stand up. Since her legs were no longer tied she was able to walk. Matt placed her body in front of his and walked into the hallway.
“I think we have a visitor, honey” he whispered into her ear. “Come on out, JC! We know you’re out there.” There was no movement. “If you value this little slut’s life at all you’ll come the fuck out!” There was still no movement. “I’m going to count to three, and if you don’t come out I’m shooting her in the head. One…two…”
“Ok, ok…” JC said emerging from the shadows.
“Turn off the phone and drop it on the ground!”
JC dropped his phone on the ground without turning it off. “What do you think you’re doing, man?”
“I was trying to be intimate with my fiancée, but you interrupted us. Why are you always fucking things up? Ya know, you boyband faggots can have any girl you want. Why Lexi? Why did you take her away form me!?”
“I didn’t take her away from you, Matt…”
“Shut up!” Matt yelled taking the gun away from Lexi’s head and pointing it at JC.
“No!” Lexi cried with tears streaming from her face.
Matt tightened his grip around Lexi's neck. “Nothing you can say can make me believe you. Get ready to see your beloved JC die, Lexi…”
Lexi quickly threw her head back as hard as she could to hit Matt in the face. Matt threw Lexi against the wall, and she was knocked to the floor. She watched in terror as Matt went to go shoot JC. JC charged at Matt moving his arms just in time to shoot move the aim of the gun. A couple shots fired into the ceiling and the two men struggled for the weapon. They tumbled down the stairs, and once they hit the first floor Lexi heard a gun shot.
She screamed and hobbled to the top of the stairs to see JC lying on top of Matt. When JC rolled over there was blood on his chest, but he was not shot. Matt lay motionless on the ground, and JC picked up the gun from off the floor.
Lexi slumped to the ground crying and shaking. JC made his way back up the stairs, put the gun on the floor, and untied her hands. He took her into his arms and they heard police sirens getting closer and closer.
“It’s ok, Lex. It’s over…”
BANG!
Matt fell down to the floor with a bullet in his head, and Lexi dropped the gun that was in her hands and let it tumble down the stairs. Matt had gotten up, and Lexi made sure that he would never hurt her again.