I headed back to the dressing room before Ryan got a chance
to see me. My heart was beating so
fast I thought it was going to jump out of my chest. I
gathered my things and sat down, trying to find something to do that would keep
me away from Ryan for as long as possible. I thought maybe he'd cool off if I took a long time.
Probably not.
I was the last one to leave, but lately I always was. Just
as I stepped out of the dressing room, someone grabbed my arm roughly. My
heart stopped.
Please, god, just don't let him do it here.
"Justin, you don't have to leave with him." I
sighed a breath of relief. It was
JC, not Ryan, that had grabbed my arm.
I looked at JC, and he knew right away that I was scared to death. "God
Justin, why the fuck do you keep letting him do this to you?"
"I don't know how to get away, Josh. I don't..." I
felt hot tears sting my eyes and blinked them away. Tears
always made Ryan angrier.
JC took my hand in his and squeezed. "I'm here, Justin, and I will help you.
You know that. If you want out, I
will help you. But you have to want
it. I can't make you do anything
you don't want to do...although in this case I wish I could."
"Help me, Josh," I whispered, letting the tears fall freely now. "I'm
scared."
"It's gonna be ok, Justin. I
promise. Now let's go." He
led me down the hallway, still squeezing my hand. I
was so scared I was almost shaking; I
knew Ryan was waiting for me, and when he saw me with JC, he was going to go
crazy.
That was an understatement.
I saw him just as JC pushed the door open. Arms crossed, leaning against his car, rage in his eyes.
"Thanks, JC," he growled, walking towards us, "but I think I can
take it from here."
JC stopped, shielding me from Ryan. "I
don't think so, Ryan. Justin's not
leaving with you."
"What's goin' on, Justin? You
have some other business you forget to tell me about? What time you gonna be done?"
"No, Ryan. I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying here," JC
said, his voice rising. "Justin
isn't leaving with you because you and Justin are through. He's not going to let you hurt him anymore."
Fire blazed in Ryan's eyes as he glared at JC. "I think Justin can speak
for himself, JC," he spat. Ryan
looked at me and smiled, an evil look on his face. "Come on, baby. Let's go back to my place and I'll make
up for last night."
He reached out to touch my face and I backed away. JC squeezed my hand tightly to let me know that he wasn't
leaving me with Ryan.
"No, Ryan," I said softly, hesitantly. "It's...it's over."
I thought he was going to explode. His
face flushed with anger. "The
FUCK it is!" he bellowed. "You
put him up to this, Chasez?" His
face was inches from JC's, but JC refused to back down.
"You're damn right I did. Justin
doesn't need a piece of shit like you in his life. And I'm not going to stand by and do nothing while
you beat the hell out of him."
That's when it happened. Ryan's
hands on JC's neck, JC gasping for air as Ryan shook him.
"Stop, Ryan! Stop!" I
screamed, trying to pull him away from JC. He
responded by shoving his elbow in my face, knocking me backwards. JC's
face was turning a deep shade of purple, and Ryan wasn't letting up.
Suddenly Ryan doubled over, groaning in pain. "Let's...go...J-Justin," JC gasped.
"Hurry."
We ran to JC's car. I don't think
I've ever been as relieved as I was the moment JC unlocked the doors and I got
inside.
"This isn't over, Justin!" I heard Ryan yell. "You're
mine! You belong to me!"
I choked back tears as we drove away.
JC was still holding my hand.