No One's Point of View:

It was cold inside the holding cell just like the blood running through his veins. Justin hadn't slept at all last night, and all he could do was stare at the filthy wall across from him while he waited for night to turn to day.

Justin was screaming, willing himself to snap out of it. He was trapped however, unable to break through the harsh barriers of reality he created around him. He wanted to feel the pain, the things he's forced himself to close off all these years. He wanted the darkness he's hidden deep inside of him to come out and play; to take him back to the place he knew so well—when he didn't have a girl to worry about, and the only thing he cared about was himself and putting a bullet through someone's chest.

He was craving the bitter end he's been so close to accomplishing many times before.

It's about time you started to see how much of a pussy you've become.

"Shut up," Justin growled angrily, staring hard at the floor with his hands curled into fists at his side.

Don't act like you don't know it's true. That little bitch had doomed you from the start.

The voices in his head were beginning to taunt him again, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was beginning to lose his mind, and he knew it, but he didn't care.

It's about time you got rid of that slut.

"She's not a slut," Justin countered though a sharp pang in his chest told him otherwise.

Stop defending her! Look where that got you—back in prison. Bruce was right. She's going to ruin you.

"You don't know what you're talking about," He barked, standing up. He was beginning to get worked up now, his chest heaving violently.

She's everything to you, the voice in the back of his head said, trying to bring him where he had a grip on his sanity.

Shaking his head, Justin clutched it in his hands, willing to get rid of the voices, "stop," He begged.

She saved you from yourself. She stuck by you even when everyone else gave up. She loves you, don't throw that away.

"STOP TALKING!" He screamed before landing a solid punch to the wall without a second thought. Wincing, he cursed under his breath, trying to shake the sting away.

"You know, talking to yourself is quite the bad habit,"

Turning around, Justin scowled, not surprised to see John standing on the other side of his cell. "What the fuck do you want?" He spat, ignoring the shot of pain that ran up his arm.

Looking him dead in the eye, ridden of all emotion, John spoke, "I want to talk about what you did."

Justin rolled his eyes, knowing he should've seen this coming, "I don't."

"Great then you can listen," John countered sharply while walking over to him, wrapping his fingers around the vertical bars.

"I'm not in the mood for your shit right now," Justin snapped.

"Too bad," he stood his ground, refusing to back down just because Justin wasn't himself. "Do you even know what you did last night?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, picking at the lint on his shirt, clearly uninterested.

John pressed his lips together, "you turned everyone's life upside down last night and you don't even care."

Feeling the jab in his chest from his words, Justin forced himself to look away, to shut out anything that made him suffer. He didn't want the weight of the world on his shoulders anymore. He didn't want to care.

He wanted to be alone.

"No," Justin spat, "I did what had to be done."

"You did it because you were out of control and we both know why," John spoke sharply, easily catching his gaze again. He wasn't going to back down. He was going to fight for his best friend even if he gave up on the fight himself.

"Drop it, John." Justin seethed, feeling his hands shaking from the frustrations he's built up. His head was screaming, telling him to fight, but the other part of him denied it. He had both the angel and devil on his shoulder, and so far the devil was winning. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You lashed out against your own family—against your own fiancé, how could you do that?" John bellowed.

"Who cares?" Justin muttered angrily, "because I don't!"

"You're ruining your life!"

No you're not. He's the one who ruined your life. He made you feel for that slut, he told you it was okay to care for somebody other than yourself.

"You're doing that all fine by yourself," he retorted dangerously.

That a boy.

"What are you talking about?" John snapped. "All I ever did was make sure you didn't get yourself killed!"

"You made me think it was okay to love her, to care for her, and to need her!" Justin screamed, "YOU did this to me!"

"It made you feel again," John said, sadness laced with his words, "and I don't regret that for one second because it made you human."

"I don't need to feel anything!" Grabbing the abandoned chair next to him, Justin threw it at John, the rattling of the bars that kept them separated echoing throughout the halls.

Dodging it though he knew there was a barrier that kept him from actually getting hit, John took a step back. "You love her because you know deep down inside, she's the one for you so you can give me all this bullshit about how you don't care or that it was all a lie, but I know the truth! She was meant to find you that night."

"Are you blind?!" he growled, gesturing around him, "Do you even know where we are? I'm stuck in a holding cell because of that bitch!"

"You're stuck here because you weren't stable enough to leave last night, and we both knew it."

"That's not for her or you to decide!" he kicked at the wall, "I'm a grown man, I can make my own decisions!"

"Not when your decisions can ruin your life along with everyone else's!" John countered, "Do you even realize the damage you've done? The pain you've caused?"

"I was just telling her the truth! She lied to me and I did what I thought was right!" Walking over to him, Justin held the bars, "so unless the next words out of your mouth are thank you Justin for what you did, I suggest you get the hell out of my face." When John didn't move, he hissed impatiently, "I'm waiting."

"For what?"

"Maybe a little gratitude," he snapped, "did you or did you not beg me to do something about Kelsey?"

"Justin that's not what I meant and you know it. We're talking about last night. Do you remember last night?" John looked at him through skeptical eyes, "you told me you were going to fix it and then somehow that changed to you slamming her against the wall, scaring her half to death! How the hell did that happen?"

Scowling, Justin clenched his jaw, "I don't want—"

"It doesn't make any sense!" he cut him off, "you were all over the place—"

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Justin cried, pushing himself away from the cell rails, "you asked me to do something and I did it. What's the problem?"

"The problem isn't what you did, it's how you did it and we both know why you really did it!" He emphasized, throwing his hands up in aggravation.

"I told you why," Justin spoke slowly, "I needed to teach them a lesson."

Not believing him, John took a deep breath, sucking his teeth in annoyance, "Okay, but you didn't tell me why you picked last night to do it, why you made that choice." He chuckled humorlessly, "see, I don't think it was a choice, I don't think you knew what you were gonna say before you even said it."

"What do you want? An apology?" Justin retorted with sarcasm, "sorry that I didn't run it by you first, sorry that I didn't, you know, get your stamp of approval?" he pointed towards him, "sorry that I didn't do it as perfect as you wanted?"

Locking his jaw tight, John slammed his palms against the cell bars, rattling them from the amount of force he put behind them, "you're gonna stand there and tell me that if you had to do it all over again, you would?" John whispered menacingly, his patience running out just as fast as Justin's was, "you'd do it again? You would hold Kelsey with one hand then back hand her with the other?"

"That's not what happened—"

"That's exactly what happened, and we both know why it happened," he exasperated, "you're letting it eat you up inside. You're falling back into that place so you can respect me enough not to deny it."

Pressing his lips together, Justin glared. "Fine now get out."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Turning on his heel, Justin refused to meet his gaze as he held the back of his head in his hands, looking up at the high ceiling, "there's no reason for you to be here John."

"I'm going to stay and I'm going to help you."

Whipping around, he felt the blood in his veins begin to boil, his eyes blazing, "I don't need any help!"

"You say that every time and every time you're wrong," John calmly spoke, unaffected by his rage almost as if he expected his reaction, "you need me here, Justin. You cannot get better on your own."

Cackling, Justin sneered in annoyance, "Don't tell me what I can or can't do."

"We've been through this before," John shook his head. "You want me to leave you alone? You want me to bring you back home just so you could shut the doors, hang up the dark drapes, trash the house, and break up the furniture?

You want to be left alone so all the ghosts can come out and you can sit around and talk to people that aren't really there just so you can get closer and closer to darkness?" He looked at him desperately, "Is that what you want?"

Despite the way he actually felt inside, Justin swallowed the thick saliva, not having to think twice about it, "That's what I want," he whispered, defeated.

Disappointed by his answer, John leaned his head against the small amount of space given between each rod, "if you keep acting like this, the darkness will swallow you up whole."

"Maybe that's the point," Justin laid a hand to his chest, rubbing against it as if it would take the pain away, "I'm just trying to get to a place where I like the darkness."

"That's your head talking, and that's why you need me to help you."

What are you? His bitch now? Don't listen to that fucking idiot, he has no idea what he's talking about.

"Don't preach to me, you don't know what it's like." He reasoned while shaking his head. He was breaking, and John could see it. It was now or never, either Justin will let himself fall or he will pick himself back up again, but John would be damned if he let Justin drown.

"I know exactly what it's like because I've seen it all," John whispered, "I know what you're doing and I know you think it's wrong, but it's not weak to ask for help." He pressured the idea, wanting Justin to accept that he was not alone in this. "It just means you're trying to take control of your life, okay, but if you handle this alone, everything will turn into chaos."

"Chaos is part of my life," Justin muttered, his brows furrowing together in means of confusion. He didn't know where this feeling was coming from, but for the first time in the last two days, he felt the light trying to claw its way up to him again. "It's in my life every day," Feeling his bottom lip quiver, Justin knew that the walls he built were beginning to crumble, and he hated it.

Don't let him get inside your head. I know what's best for you, I make you stronger. Not him.

"Do you remember the last time this happened?" John asked, past desperation and needing him to fight, "you tried to kill yourself. You gave up, and you were dangerous to everyone around you. I know you don't want to be that person." He shook his head again, "don't you want to be in control?"

Looking at him, Justin scorned in disgust, his eyes immediately darkening, "no," he spat. "I don't want the control. I want to feel it all."

That's right, you should feel it all. Don't close it off like some pathetic little boy. You kill for a living, it's in your blood to feel the power, to want to do it again.

"Do you think this is what Jazzy would want?"

At the mention of her name, he froze.

"Do you think she would want you to hurt like this?" John continued, "Do you think she would want you to do this to yourself?"

Your sister died because she was an idiot who followed you instead of minding her own business.

"No," Justin moaned out, holding his head and closing his eyes.

Jazzy wouldn't want this for you. She would want you to live your life and the least you could do is honor your life since she lost hers in place of it.

"I've seen it Justin. I've seen you go crazy, I've seen you scare your family and scare yourself, and I've seen you pull yourself back again because that's not who you want to be. You don't want to be that person for your sister." Snapping his fingers quietly, gesturing for the guard to open Justin's cell door, John waited a moment as it was pushed open before stepping foot inside, the mere feeling of being locked in here sending a chill down his spine.

He could feel it, the air thick with disaster, it was like a big black hole you had been sucked inside of and the only way out was to claw your way through.

"She's fine," Justin almost begged now, wanting this all to stop.

"She's far from fine, Justin. She didn't die for you to die too. She kept you alive inside all these years for a reason. Don't let what she sacrificed be all for nothing."

"She died because of me," Justin numbly disputed, his eyes glazed over. It was as if he was stuck in another dimension, and only his body and mind was present.

"She died because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Don't take her death and twist it around to put the blame on yourself again. You lived through everything that could've killed you. You made it, and when Kelsey came along, she was the one who helped maintain that for you. She didn't just give you something to live for, she gave you life again.

She cared for you even when you didn't care about yourself. She stuck by your side because she loves you, and I know deep down inside, you love her too. Don't the voices in your head control what you've worked so hard to hide."

Looking up at him with wide eyes, Justin opened his mouth to say something, wondering how in the world he knew.

"I know you're fighting that part of you."

Don't listen to him.

Shaking his head, Justin took a step back.

"You have to get rid of it. Push it back, crush it, do what you have to do to make sure it never comes back again."

I make you stronger.

Holding Justin by the shoulders before he had the chance to take another step away, John shook him a bit, "I know what's best for you. Not them."

Looking me in the eyes, he nodded, telling me it was okay. "This is the right thing to do. Anything else will kill you before you've had the chance to do it yourself."

I'll keep you alive.

"No you won't," Justin argued.

I know you, the real you... I am you. I helped you become the man you wanted to be.

"You turned me into a monster, you wanted me to go back!" He cried out, backing away from John and into the wall, "I don't want to go back."

Yes you do. You love the darkness, the release of your anger. You want to kill, to be feared. You want the power.

Falling to his knees, wanting it all to go away, Justin pulled at his hair, "get out of my head!"

I save you from feeling anything. I make you numb. You want to be numb. All they do is hold you back from what you could become. You're stronger with me than you are without me.

"I'm nothing but an animal!" He pounded his closed fists against his head, "get out of my head!"

She's made you pathetic. They all have. She made you care for something that doesn't even exist. Love does nothing but make you frail. It weakens your emotions, and your strength.

"Shut up the fuck up!" He barked.

Don't you remember the way you treated her? You think if you get rid of me, she'll forgive you? Guess again. She'll never let you touch her again.

"She loves me."

Love is a joke and so is she. She's going to leave you, and it'll be all your fault.

"She won't leave me because she knows me, she knows it wasn't me last night. It was you, all you and I'm done. I'm done with this."

Nearly collapsing, Justin fell forwards, his palms laid flat on the cold surface of the prison cell. He waited for a response, but nothing came. All he was met with was silence.

Peeling his eyes open, he looked around to see that he was still there except this time, it was only John and him, and no voices.

There was no voices.

Taking a cautious step forwards, John looked as though he were afraid to get any closer, not knowing what he was about to encounter. "Justin?"

Blinking up at him, Justin grunted, forcing himself to stand up.

"Are you... okay?" he looked him over, his brows furrowing together in confusion at his lack of communication.

Looking at John, Justin parted his lips, "I need you to take me home."

"Are you sure about this?" Marco questioned hesitantly with a bit of sadness lurking deep inside the usual bright blue of his eyes. He'd be lying if he said he wanted her to go because the truth of the matter is, he didn't. Kelsey brought a light into the house that he hasn't seen in a while, something he's grown accustomed to since she moved in with them.

Now it was like the life was being sucked out of it once again.

Putting the last of her belongings down, Kelsey knew this was far from what she wanted to be doing, but it was for her best interest that she gave them the space they needed. "I have to," she whispered, "It's the best thing for all of us right now."

"Are you sure?" Marco sighed, knowing that none of this was going to bring them any sort of peace, "or are you just saying that because it's what you thinkis best?"

"Marco—"

"He needs you—we need you," he tried to argue, "You can't go."

"I can't do this anymore!" Kelsey infuriatingly turned to face him, "I can't keep pushing for something he doesn't want."

"You love him."

"That has nothing to do with this!" Kelsey scolded, despising the way he used that against her. She loved Justin with everything in her, but sometimes that wasn't enough, and she knew it was better to accept it now rather than to suffer the consequences of the inevitable later.

"It has everything to do with this," Marco hissed, trying not to let all the pent up irritation from these past few days get the better of him. "How can you just give up so easily?"

"You think this is easy for me?" Kelsey shot back in utter disbelief at his choice of words, "you think this is what I wanted for us? For it to be this way? You of all people know that is not the case. This," she gestured all around her, "is all I've ever known! I've dedicated five years of my life to him." Blinking back the tears, Kelsey huffed a breath of vexation, "I'm not giving up. I never have and I never will." Grabbing her purse, Kelsey slid the straps over her shoulder, "I just need to get my thoughts together."

"He's going to lose his mind once he realizes you left him—"

"I'm not leaving him!"

"That's not how he'll see it. You already betrayed him by keeping Tanner a secret—"

"He wasn't a secret! My God, he's not even that big of a deal. He's a friend, you know what those are right?" She spat, her face slowly reddening.

"I'm just stating the way he'll take it," Marco shrugged, "and now you're leaving him. It'll only make his suspicions rise."

Pressing her lips firmly together, Kelsey forced herself not to scream her brains out, instead keeping calm as best as she could. "What about me?"

Licking his lips, Marco eyed her skeptically, "what?"

Laughing humorlessly, Kelsey shook her head, a sad smile on her lips. "I said what about me, and how I'm feeling?" She looked at him with a growing fire behind her eyes, "did you ever think about that?"

"I—"

"Of course you didn't because all you've ever cared about was Justin, and that's fine. He's your best friend, a leader, his well-being means the most to you, but have you ever stopped to think about how this affects me?" She laid a hand to her chest, trying to emphasize her point. "You don't think this scares me? Knowing he's losing his mind and battling something far deeper than anything we've ever seen before? I know him and I know he's going through a lot, but it goes both ways." Twisting her lips to the side, Kelsey bit the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay, "I almost thought I had him... back at the station, I thought I brought him back to me, but it's obvious that this isn't what he wants anymore. He wants to go back to his old life, and that's fine, but I'm not going to sit back and watch him destroy himself and all those around him."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his throat closing. Truth be told, he hadn't thought of her and how she was responding to all of this. All he was concerned about was how Justin was going to react when he came home as selfish as that sounded. "Trust me, all we've ever wanted was to keep you safe."

"And you did a good job, but this isn't about you or anyone else. This is between Justin and I, and I think it's time we handle things on our own for once. I've made my decision, the others have accepted it, why can't you?"

"Because unlike everyone else, I'm not afraid to beg for you to stay. We've been a family for so long, and when you came along, you showed us that it was okay to hurt inside. You turned our lives upside down, and you made us go crazy. We never had to work so hard until we had to make sure we kept you alive. You became like a sister to us, one I never had the privilege of having. Sure, you were a huge pain in our ass, but we loved every second of it."

Not even caring that her cheeks were now damp from crying, Kelsey choked back a sob as she fell into Marco's open arms, crying into his chest, "I'm so sorry," she shook her head, "I love you guys so much. You're like my family—you are my family," she corrected herself, "and I'll never forget everything you guys have done for me."

"I just want you to be okay, regardless of what I've said before, your happiness means a lot to me, and if this is what you think is best then I guess I'll have to let you go even if I don't want to." Chuckling Marco kissed the top of her head, hugging her close to him.

Letting her cheek fall flush against the soft material of his Hanes t-shirt, Kelsey breathed in his scent, a mixture of smoke and cinnamon, a weird, but soothing combination.

"Sorry to break the little love fest you guys got going on here, but it's time to go." Carly stood at the entrance of the living room, her lips pulled into a frown though she tried her best to hide it. She knew how hard this was for Kelsey and though she agreed with the guys, she knew this had to be done. "We have class in about an hour."

"Right," Sniffling, Kelsey pulled away, "I guess, I'll see you guys around?"

"You know if you ever need anything, we're all just a phone call away." Leaning down, Marco pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before taking a step back. "Come on, we don't want to be late for Psychology class." Grabbing the things he had brought down, Marco brushed past them both to put them away in the trunk.

"Are you okay?" Carly asked once they were alone. She had stayed with her the entire night, helping her pack while she cried, doing her best to comfort her, and after an hour of lying in bed with Carly rubbing her back, it wasn't until well past three in the morning that she had finally cried herself to sleep.

Shrugging, Kelsey grabbed her bag off the floor, "if I don't leave now, I never will."

Nodding, Carly dangled her keys in the air, "off we go then." Walking out with Kelsey beside her, they both said their goodbyes to everyone, John being the only one missing before getting into the car and starting it up.

Looking out the window of the car, Kelsey laid her head against it, her fingers touching the image of the house through the glass, her heart aching as they pulled out of the driveway.

With one last glance behind them and a small wave to the guys, Kelsey turned away, leaving the memories behind as a single tear escaped.

Parking the car, John pulled the keys out of his SUV, looking over to see Justin staring out the window, a distant look in his eyes.

"Is she mad?" he murmured softly, not knowing what he was going to walk into. Did she hate him? Does she want nothing to do with him? Was she hurt? Was she crying? Did she forget all about it, waiting for him with open arms?

"I don't know," John stared out ahead of him, noticing Carly's car was no longer there anymore. Preparing himself for the worst, John patted Justin's shoulder, "I guess we'll find out."

Opening his car door, he stepped out, waiting until Justin did so as well before they both made their way to the front door. Slowly unlocking it, it wasn't until they closed it that they could feel the lack of life inside the house.

Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Justin looked around the living room, wondering where everyone was when Bruce appeared first, his hair tousled, bags under his eyes looking as if he hadn't slept in days.

"I see they let you out," he greeted sharply, no hellos or hugs not that Justin expected a warm welcome anyways.

Giving a clipped nod of his head, Justin was about to ask where the others were when Marco and Marcus walked into the room, their reactions almost the same as Bruce's.

"Slept well last night?" Marco chirped limply, his face void of any emotion. He knew what was to come, and the tragedy that would soon follow.

"Like a baby," he retorted sarcastically, his eyes lingering on Marcus for a while as he just stood there, silent and still as a statue. "What? I don't get a welcome home banner? No drink to celebrate my ass not going to prison?"

"We have beer in the refrigerator if you want some," Marcus shrugged, his eyes settling on anything but him.

"Where's Kelsey?"

Tensing, Bruce met his gaze, "why don't you see for yourself?"

"Bruce," Marco hissed warningly, his elbow jabbing at his side as a way to tell him to be quiet.

Raising an eyebrow, Justin pursed his lips, "okay. Is she upstairs?" He pointed towards the flight that led to their bedrooms. When neither one of them said anything, Justin took that as his cue to go. "Alright then," turning on the heels of his shoes, he trudged up the steps, his feet feeling as if a pair of bricks were holding him down, making it hard for him to move.

Cautiously opening the door, Justin peeked his head inside, "Kelsey?"

When he was met with nothing but silence, he bit his lip, "look I know you're mad, but we need to talk." Again, silence.

Knitting his brows together, Justin frowned, opening the door even more so that he could have a look around. "Kelsey?" he tried again, this time walking around, checking the bathroom to see if maybe she was in the shower, but she wasn't in there either.

Noticing something was off, Justin whirled around, seeing that her perfume bottles were gone from on top of the dresser. No, he thought to himself, this can't be happening.

Opening the drawers, expecting to see Kelsey's clothes, Justin nearly collapsed when he saw those were gone too. Shoving the closet door open next, he fumbled with each article of clothing on a hanger, desperate to see something of hers still there.

"Kelsey!" He screamed, internally begging for all this to be some kind of sick joke. She couldn't have left him, right?

She said she loved him... she said she would never leave him. So why did she go?

Stumbling out of his bedroom and down the stairs, Justin glanced at each of the boys who stood waiting there, knowing this was going to happen. "Where is she?" He questioned desperately.

"She's gone," Bruce said, breaking the ice.

Justin narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean she's gone?"

"She packed her things, said her goodbyes and left."

"And you let her?" Justin barked, grabbing Bruce by the shirt the moment it took him a second too long to start talking again as he shoved him up against the wall, his eyes full of rage.

"I had no choice," Bruce calmly spat, "it's what she wanted. I couldn't force her to stay when she begged me to let her go."

"No," Justin shook his head, his throat closing in on him, "she wouldn't leave me." Roughly pushing Bruce farther into the wall as if it would stop him from talking, he held him up by his collar, "She wouldn't do this!"

"She just needed some space, to clear her mind," Marco tried to reason but Justin wouldn't have it.

"She's my fiancé, not yours!" Justin shouted over his shoulder, his voice shaking. "You don't decide what's good for her or what she needs, I do!"

"So what she needs is for her fiancé to treat her like some kind of ragdoll?" Bruce bit back angrily, "you hurt her! You were out of control, and you know if you were her, you'd leave your ass too!"

"Shut up," Justin threatened, feeling his hands begin to quiver, "I made a mistake—we all make mistakes!"

"And sometimes those mistakes need to be paid for!"

"No," he shook his head, refusing to believe any of it. "You're lying to me because you're angry with me, and I get that, but if this is some kind of sick joke you guys are trying to pull—"

"He's not lying," John quietly spoke up, "they're telling the truth."

"You knew she left?" Slowly letting Bruce go, Justin whirled around to face him, "you knew and you didn't tell me?" Moving to grab him by the throat, Marco quickly grabbed his arms, holding them behind his back.

"Killing any of us won't bring her back!" he yelled, trying to calm him down.

"No," Justin felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach, all oxygen leaving his body as he nearly collapsed.

"She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry," Bruce whispered, crouching down so that he was in eye level with Justin.

"It wasn't me," Justin whispered, "I didn't hurt her—that wasn't me. It was the voices, the voices told me to do it."

"What voices?"

"The voices in my head," he murmured, lost in a trance. "I tried to fight them off, but they won, they always win."

"Not this time," John interjected, making his way beside Bruce. "You fought your way through it. All you need to do is get yourself together." He encouraged, "this isn't the end. You can save yourself before it's too late."

"I can't," Justin spoke defeated, his head bowed down in front of him.

"Yes you ca—"

"No, I can't." Justin stressed, cutting him off completely. "Not without her." His voice was scratchy and rough around the edges as if he hadn't had anything to drink for years.

"Look," Marco paused, trying to collect his thoughts, "I may not know about what's going on with you," he sighed, scratching the back of his head, "but you're like a brother to me, and I'm not going to stand around and play the blame game because we both know that won't do you or us any good." Cupping his shoulder blade, Marco gave it a squeeze. "Yeah, you fucked up, but I'm no saint either. Alec and I have had our fair share of fights, and none of them were pretty but we worked through it. You guys can too."

"He's right," Marcus added, "you guys have been through so much, it's almost impossible for you not to make it through this too."

"I swore to myself, I wouldn't become that person..." Justin trailed off, scoffing humorlessly, "and the second things began to spiral out of control, I lost it. I'm no better than Luke or Cole."

"Are you kidding me?" Bruce growled.

"I man handled her just like they did—!"

"You are nothing like them—!"

"Her own fiancé," Justin muttered as if he were speaking to himself, "how is she ever supposed to trust that I would never hurt her again—?"

"You never, ever forced yourself on that girl!" Bruce barked loudly, quieting him. "You never held her down, or tried to put your hands where they didn't belong! Yes you did some outrageous things, but it wasn't on purpose. You didn't hurt her to prove a point or to get back at somebody."

"I could've killed her if I wanted to," Justin whispered, shattered. "I could have put my hands around her throat and suffocated her, and I wouldn't have cared because at the time, I didn't. She was just some slut to me."

"You can't let that part of you take over, you pushed past it, God knows how," Bruce said just as Justin looked over at John who stood staring back at him, agreeing with everything Bruce was saying, "but you did, and the fight isn't over yet. You can make this right again."

"We're losing everything..." Justin caught the end of his sentencing, letting it drift, knowing he was cracking under the pressure.

"That doesn't mean you don't have to lose her too."

"Thank God," Carly plopped herself down on the couch after an hour of helping Kelsey settle back into her room, "did you really have to pack your entire half of the closet?"

Giggling, Kelsey sat beside her best friend, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't decide. A girl can only leave so much of her favorite sweaters behind."

Looking at her as if she had lost her mind, Carly pursed her lips. "Please remind me how we're best friends again?" She laughed just as Kelsey faked a gasp, shoving her playfully on the shoulder.

"You love me," she defended with a pout of her lips.

"Yeah, yeah," Carly waved her hand dismissively, ignoring the glare she received as she looked out the window after hearing the endless pounding, "we're lucky class was let out early. We made it home before the storm hit." She sighed, watching the rain crash down from the sky, the wind blowing the branches of the trees surrounding the neighborhood in every direction.

"I know," Kelsey agreed, not being able to believe her eyes. It was such a beautiful day out before, the sky clear enough to see the clouds, the sun giving them all a comfortable amount of warmth, and now it was like a scene out of a horror movie.

"Should I make us popcorn?" Carly sat up on the couch, "you know since it's movie night?"

"I guess so," Kelsey shrugged.

"Good, because I'm craving it to be honest and if we're going to watch a movie and cuddle all night, we need popcorn." Standing, she pulled her jeans up. "I'll be back in five, in the meantime, pick a movie, but nothing that'll make us cry. We don't need to be reminded of how sad our lives are."

Rolling her eyes, Kelsey got down on the floor just as Carly walked out, crawling over towards the stack of DVDs they had perched next to their television set. Running her fingers through the edges, she decided on 21 Jump Street just as her phone began blaring.

Confused as to who it could be, Kelsey got to her feet, walking over to the table as she accepted the call without even looking at the caller ID while scanning the cover of the package in her hands, admiring Channing Tatum. "Hello?"

"I'm sorry,"

Dropping the DVD on the floor, Kelsey felt as if her entire body was set on fire. Knowing exactly who it was, she didn't know whether or not she should be relieved he called or terrified. "Justin?"

She was met with silence, but the pounding of the rain outside which made the nerves in her stomach triple. "Where are you?" she questioned, concerned for his whereabouts.

"Why'd you go?"

"Justin—"

"I know I'm a fuck up..." he dawdled off before clearing his throat, "but I didn't mean anything I s-said..." his teeth were chattering now, the static on the other end sending her head spinning.

"Where are you?" Kelsey repeated, needing to know he was okay though something inside told her that he wasn't, and stuck somewhere in the middle of the storm.

"Where my heart belongs."

Feeling her chest ache at his words, Kelsey quietly walked over to the window, pushing the curtains back and peering out to see a dark figure standing in the middle of the driveway. Covering her mouth with her hand, not being able to believe her eyes, she carefully stepped away. "You need to go home, Justin."

"You are my home."

"Please, Justin—"

"No," he cut her off. "Not until I see you."

"What's going on?" Carly asked from behind, her hands holding onto a big bowl filled to the rim with kettle corn, both her and Kelsey's favorite as she threw one into her mouth. "Kelsey?"

Ignoring her, Kelsey didn't know what to do. She came here to get away from him, and now here he was, waiting outside in the pouring rain. "You're going to get sick," she tried to reason.

"I don't care," he spat. "I don't care if I end up getting pneumonia. I need to see you to know that you're okay."

"I'm okay, now go." Kelsey spoke through clenched teeth not wanting to make a scene.

"Kelsey," putting the bowl down, Carly walked over to her to see her fighting the urge to glance out the window again. "What the hell is he doing here?!" She whisper screamed, her eyes wide in shock as she spotted him.

"He wants to see me," Kelsey spoke once she covered the end of her phone so that he couldn't hear her.

"Now, at almost twelve midnight? Has he lost his mind?"

Giving her a look as if reminding her of who she was talking about, Kelsey frowned, "maybe if sees me, he'll leave."

"No," Carly sighed, "that's not how this works and you know it. You know him! He'll try to convince you to go back with him Kelsey, you finally got yourself to leave, don't let this all be for nothing. He needs to learn that he can't keep treating you this way if he wants you in his life."

"What if he gets sick or something, Carly? It's pouring outside, nevertheless freezing, he'll catch a cold or worse." Biting her lip, Kelsey uncovered her phone before Carly could have the chance to argue with her against it some more. "Okay."

"Okay?" he said hopefully, like a child just being told he was able to sneak a cookie right before bed.

"Kelsey!" Carly hissed, stomping her foot to the floor, clearly disappointed in her. She thought she knew better than this but clearly she was wrong. Seeing that she was going to go through with it regardless of what she had to say, Carly let her hands fall frustratingly to her hips.

"Okay," Kelsey confirmed, walking to the front door as she took a deep breath. Counting to ten in her head before opening it, the cold air immediately engulfed her entire body causing the goosebumps to rise on every inch of her skin.

Keeping her phone to her ear, Kelsey began stepping out in nothing but a long sleeved t-shirt, sweat pants and slippers. Walking down the path to the driveway, she stopped once seeing Justin's soaked body standing defeated at the end of it.

Putting his phone away, Justin stared lifelessly at the love of his life, his eyes practically begging her to forgive him.

"Alright," Kelsey called out through the heavy rain, her hair now matted down against the side of her face, "you saw me, and now go. There's nothing else left for you here."

"Don't do this," his voice wavered though she could hear it perfectly from where she stood, despite the distance between them. Seeing her for the first time since last night, it felt as if someone had punched him in the gut repeatedly.

"I didn't come all this way just to go back Justin."

"I fucked up big time. I know that. I know I can't take back what I said or did, but you have to believe me when I say that, that wasn't me. I would never, ever do something like that."

"But you did, and I still haven't forgotten it. It doesn't matter who you were, you let that... person take over you. You let them win," she whimpered, "You let them Justin."

"I'm sorry," taking a step forward, Kelsey took one step back, her hands raised in the air.

"Don't," she warned, "stay where you are."

Stopping though he didn't want to, Justin held her broken gaze with his own. "You can't go," he pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, hating how pathetic he sounded. "You can't leave me..."

"Justin—"

"You're everything to me, you know that?" he cocked his head to the side, his hands held behind his back. "You're my life... you're my world." Feeling the backs of his eyes burn, Justin looked away for a split second, staring up at the sky as he tried to blink them back, hoping that if they fell that they would mend perfectly with the drops of rain.

Shaking from the cold and the emotions built up inside of her, Kelsey's bottom lip trembled. "Please don't do this..."

"I can't live without you," he finally managed to find her eyes again, "I can't imagine my life without you in it, you know? Your smile... the way you laugh," pausing, he swallowed hard, "the way your eyes sparkle in the morning. You have this glow about you that makes everything better..." Smiling through the tears, Justin wiped at his face, "you make it better."

Squeezing her eyes tight, Kelsey shook her head, willing herself not to listen to his words. She knew deep down inside that if she did, she would break down and cave, and that was the last thing she wanted. She needed to be strong, to fight for herself for the first time in a very long time.

She was always the one who let things go, let those around walk all over her, and even if he didn't mean to do it on purpose, Justin was one of those people. She had always thought that if she would obey instead of fighting him on everything, it would just make things easier for her, but she was wrong.

Reopening her eyes, Kelsey gasped seeing Justin a mere foot away from her now, his cold hands reaching out to grab her face which in a quick second before she could turn her face away, he did. "Please..." she whimpered, her hands grasping his wrists, "don't do this to me."

Caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away her tears and the excessive raindrops, Justin dropped his forehead against hers, "you're the glue that keeps me together," he whispered, "I need you in my life to survive. I can't—I can't do it without you."

"You need to let me go for now," she whispered painfully, the tears endlessly spilling down her cheeks.

Dropping to his knees, Justin hugged onto Kelsey's waist, his face buried into the wetness of her t-shirt, "you can't go, you can't leave me. I fought it, I told it to go away just for you—I made it go away."

Laying one hand on top of his head, Kelsey covered her mouth with the other to try and muffle her sounds. Seeing how torn he was, was ripping her heart in two, and by this point, she was practically heaving, trying to catch her breath.

Tightened his grip on her, Justin squeezed his eyes tight, "the voices left me alone. I chose you over them, I chose you Kelsey."

"The voices?" she questioned quietly.

"The voices in my head that tell me to do all those things," he snarled irritably to himself, his hands curling the material behind her back in his tight fists before peering up at her, "they made me hurt you," he shook his head, "but I finally told them to go away."

Tangling both her set of fingers into his hair, Kelsey laid a kiss to his forehead before falling to her knees as well, cradling his face gently in her hands, "you're stronger than you think," she crooned.

"I did it for you," he whispered, "I did it for us."

Letting her hands fall to his chest, her breath hitched as Justin forced her palm flat against him so that she could feel the beating of his heart. Looking at him with teary eyes, Kelsey began to shake her head, knowing what he was trying to do.

"I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, my heart only beats for you..." Searching her eyes, Justin hesitantly leaned forwards, pressing his lips to her shoulder. Feeling Kelsey shudder under his touch, Justin pulled away before moving to her neck, and then finally her lips.

Keeping still, her lips slowly moving against his, it wasn't until she felt him try to pry his tongue inside that she quickly pulled away, "No, Justin!" she shrieked, roughly wiping at her mouth as she stood up. "You can't just kiss me and think it'll make it all go away, okay? It doesn't work that way."

Holding his hands up as a sign of surrender, he bowed his head like a child being scolded by their mother. "Okay, okay, okay..." he sighed, knowing he was crossing the line by doing that.

Pushing her hair away, Kelsey crossed her arms against her chest, "I think you should go."

Whipping his head up so fast, she was afraid he could've given himself whiplash, Justin quickly scrambled to his feet, "what?"

"I really think that you should go now," she spoke softly and despite the rowdy storm, he could hear her loud and clear.

"No, no, no," grabbing her by the shoulders, he leveled their irises perfectly. "Every time something like this happens, we always find a way to make it work."

"What did we know?" she pushed his hands away. "We thought we were doing the right thing when all along, what we really needed was some space."

"Space? You think space will fix this?" Justin shook his head, "what we need is each other."

"Not this time. You're in a place right now where you don't know whether or not to trust me. One moment you're happy to see me, the next you're ready to choke me."

At the revelation of her words, Justin froze. "What did you just say?"

Frowning, Kelsey wondered if maybe she had said the wrong thing. "I-I'm sorry, I—"

"No," shaking his head as if to tell her she didn't say anything wrong, Justin tuned everything out around him, focusing in on what she had said just as John's words from earlier that day echoed repeatedly in his head.

You would hold Kelsey with one hand then back hand her with the other?

Parting his lips in dismay, Justin looked at her for the first time seeing clearly. They were right. All of them. Kelsey for leaving, John for telling him what was going on with him, Marco for advising that they could make it, and Bruce for telling him the cold hard truth even if he didn't want to hear it.

"You're right," he whispered, staring sadly at her. To let her go was what he needed to do if either one of them was going to make this work.

Blinking, not being able to believe her ears, Kelsey didn't expect Justin to back down. He was stubborn and thought he was always right, getting his way time and time again to the point where she thought in order to get him to leave, she would actually have to pack her things and go. "What?"

"If we're going to fix whatever happened between us, I need to let you do it..." Collecting his thoughts, Justin inwardly frowned, "I need to let you do it on your own time."

Wiping her tears away, Kelsey pulled her damp sleeves over her fingers, "thank you." She uttered delicately, a fresh new wave of tears pooling over her eyes.

Nodding, he sighed heavily, "even if waking up without you beside me will probably be one of the hardest things I'll have to do," he chuckled lightly, wanting to ease the tension, "I'll manage."

Pulling her lips into her mouth, Kelsey tucked her hair behind her ears, the storm seeming to calm down to a dull pitter patter against the world. "It's going to be weird without you here too, you know, but we've done it for three years, I think we can cope with a week."

"A week?" Justin raised his eyebrows, smirking, "I don't know baby I think you'll miss me in your bed." Wiggling his eyebrows teasingly, he quickly dodged Kelsey's hand as she reached over to hit him when he grasped it in his own, pulling her towards him. "You know it's true." He grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulled her flush against him, their noses touching.

Masking her smile with a pout, she couldn't help but giggle as Justin poked her cheeks with his index finger.

"I love your smile," he pointed out, admiring his fiancé as her ring glistened in the darkness. Grabbing her hand, he kissed her knuckles, "and I hope you know that I'll be checking in on you every night."

"Every night?"

"Okay, and mornings too."

"We're supposed to be giving each other space, Justin." Kelsey scowled playfully as she thumbed his chin gently, feeling the stubble under.

"Do you really think just because you're not with me, I'm letting you out of my sight?" Shaking his head, Justin fought the urge to laugh, "You know me better than that."

Rolling her eyes, Kelsey sighed, "Fine, but don't catch a heart attack every time I'm out or I leave school early. You have a question, call me, I'll answer. It's as simple as that."

"Deal," sticking his hand out, he watched as Kelsey laughed before shaking it. Shivering from the huge gust of wind that flew by them, she peered up at him through her lashes, "I think we better head inside before we both catch something."

"Yeah, but for right now, I think I can manage to keep you warm." Fighting the urge to kiss her again, Justin decided on just holding her tight, knowing that it wouldn't be long before he had to go. "I love you," he murmured into her shoulder, instantly regretting it not knowing if she would say it back.

After what felt like several long minutes of quiet, Kelsey laid her chin on his shoulder, looking up into the sky, trying to spot the stars in the dark sky. "I know."

An hour after Justin had left from the apartment once she had given him a fresh pair of clothes, Kelsey had collapsed onto her bed, her head reeling with countless emotions, so many of which she couldn't quite decipher.

She had never been so exhausted in her entire life, the events of the past few days officially taking its toll on her.

Turning, Kelsey stared numbly at the wall, feeling somewhat better inside now that they had talked, but still feeling like something was missing. They hadn't exactly resolved everything but it was a start.

Just as her eyes fluttered to a close, Kelsey felt her phone vibrate on the stand next to hers. Turning on her lamp, she grabbed it, her heart pounding endlessly in her ears as she accepted the call. "Hello?"

"Hello beautiful."

Smiling softly, Kelsey rolled onto her back, keeping the phone tight to her ear as she hugged the sheets to her chest, "hello handsome," she breathed out.

"Are you awake?"

"I am now..."