~ Chapter 42: Trapped  ~

[ Justin’s POV: ]

I flickered my eyes open, my vision blurry. The room I was in was loud, every sound pounded inside my head like drums. Through the foggy sight, I could make out Alfredo’s face staring down at me, his facial expressions full of concern. I heard him gasp and then all sounds became foreign to me. I couldn’t understand anything anyone was saying and my head was spinning.

And then everything just… stopped.

Every sound quieted down and all I heard were small noises, as if a television was on. A face I didn’t recognize began checking me, and I groaned, trying hard to speak.

“Wh-Where am I?” my voice was groggy.

“You’re in the hospital,” Alfredo’s voice rang in my ears. I blinked in confusion as Fredo and the other person I didn’t recognize began talking about something I couldn’t quite understand. Then I realized that the person’s a doctor.

The doctor nodded and left, just about the same exact time as Scooter came into the room.

“Is he okay?” I heard him ask Fredo, just as my eyes began to feel heavy again.

“The doctor said that…” The rest of the words Alfredo spoke came out distant, as if he were speaking a different language. Then Scooter turned his head, his eyes fixed on the sight of me.

“Justin? Can you hear me?” he asked. I snapped my eyes open again and groaned at the way the light hit my face.

“Yeah,” I grunted, trying to sit up.

“No, no, relax,” Scooter pushed me back down carefully. “You’re going to be okay.”

“What… happened?” I mumbled.

“You, uh… fainted on stage,” Alfredo said, “You were out for a long while, so we had to get you to the hospital.”

My eyes widened. “I have to get back,” I protested, trying to lift myself off the bed. “I have to keep the show going. M-My beliebers… I can’t let them down.”

“Justin, stop it,” Scooter pushed me back down to the bed again. “Your health is important too, you know.”

“Let me outta here!” I yelled. “I need to f-finish… I need to perform…”

“Justin…” Scooter warned.

“No,” I shook my head, gulping. “I c-can’t let them d-down.” I felt myself sweating. It felt as if I was trapped inside an oven. “I need to… I need to f-finish.”

“Justin, listen to me,” Alfredo gave me a serious look. “You fainted on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. Let that sink in for a moment. Do you know how worried they must be about you? How worried everyone is? Calm down and take a deep breath. The doctor said you fainted due to stress so at least try not to think about stuff too much.”

I blinked at him, feeling as if my skin was burning. I felt a drop of sweat slide down the side of my face before gulping. The room fell silent as I shifted my gaze towards Scooter.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked slowly. “About… Tonight’s concert?”

“We’re rescheduling to tomorrow. We’re doing two shows in one day,” he spoke quietly.

I stared at the ground, feeling the warmness of the room decrease. Soon enough, I didn’t feel like I was on fire anymore, and I sat up.

“Get me outta here,” I whispered. “Please..”

“We’ll get you to our hotel suite,” Fredo nodded. “Now let’s go. The doctor said we can leave.”

I slowly stood up and followed Scooter and Alfredo out the door. I tried to do what I was told — to not think too much to refrain from stress. But nevertheless, Jackie was still on my mind.

—

It was almost midnight and Alfredo and I were in the room we shared inside our hotel suite. He was laying on his bed, using his phone while I sat by the window, a notepad on my lap and a pencil in my hand, trying to write a song. There was a melody stuck in my head as I looked out the window, seeing how the sky was cloudy and the moon shone brighter than ever. I squinted at the street lights of New York City, but I couldn’t focus on a single sound. All I could think about was that melody in my head.

I tried writing down a few lyrics to go along with it, but as I thought them out, none of it was working. I tried again and again but I didn’t know what to write about that really suited the sound.

And then I thought of Jackie.

I closed my eyes and listened to my heart. Lately, I’ve been blocking out my feelings to try not to fall in love, but I knew at one point I had to stop and just listen to myself, my thoughts, and my heart and what it wants. I could feel the love I held for Jackie and it made me feel warm inside.

That’s when my feelings came rushing out so quickly, I didn’t even know if I had the time to write it all down before it left my brain. I scribbled down lyrics, writing verses and verses and trying to get everything down before I forgot.

Then I looked at all the words and smiled.

This is how I feel.

Before I could start adjusting the newfound song, I felt my phone vibrate inside my pocket. I glanced over at Alfredo, who was still too distracted by his own phone to notice me. So I quickly closed the notepad and put it with the pencil on my bed before leaving towards the bathroom. After locking the door, I pulled out the vibrating phone and answered it before pressing it to my ear.

“Hello?” I said.

“Justin?” Katie’s voice filled my ears.

“Katie?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean? I’ve been sending you a billion messages asking you if you’re okay! I’m sorry I called so late but I couldn’t calm down until I knew you were safe,” she said.

“Aw god, I’m sorry,” I internally slapped myself. “I’m fine, I just.. I’m alright.”

“You fainted on stage, Justin. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I feel good now,” I bit my lip.

“Alright, that’s good. I can finally relax,” she giggled.

I laughed along with her and then it got quiet for a bit. It felt as if she didn’t know what else to say, and I didn’t either.

“Soo…” I dragged the word, “How are you feeling? How’s, um.. The baby?”

“We’re both fine, I’ve just been having morning sickness and cravings, you know?”

“Oh,” I sighed. “Well, I wish I could be there for you, and I’m still not sure how we’re going to pull this off, but I’m glad you two are okay.”

“Thanks,” she said shyly, her voice sounding nervous. “And, uhh… I wanted to ask you a question…”

“Yeah sure, go ahead,” I prompted.

“Umm, I was wondering—… My, uh, grandparents live in New York and… My mom was telling me how I should visit them more often so… I’m actually at the airport right now and I know you’re over there so is there any chance I could see you tomorrow? Or are you, uh, leaving by tomorrow?”

My eyes widened. “You’re at the airport right now?”

“Yeah, that’s why I quickly decided to check up on you,” she admitted.

“Oh.. Well, I have 2 shows tomorrow, considering we had to cancel one, but you’re still welcome to come. I can tell you the hotel we’re staying at.”

“Wait… Really?” she sounded surprised.

“Yeah, why not? If I tell you I’ll be there for you, Katie, I’m not lying to you,” I said. “I do mean it. Okay?”

“Okay..” I could just picture her blushing.

“Now have a safe flight. I’ll see you tomorrow but for right now, I need as much rest as possible,” I smiled, even though she couldn’t see me.

“Okay, have a nice sleep and see you then,” her voice was tiny and shy. “I love you,” she blurted out.

I froze, not knowing how to reply to that. What do I say? I don’t know if I necessarily love her already. Do I just say it back because it’s the most less-awkward thing to do? How do I not hurt her feelings?

“Umm, hope you sleep well. Good night,” she said quickly, and hung up without giving me a chance to reply. I stood there, trying to process what just happened. I slowly lowered my phone and put it back in my pocket before leaning over the sink and splashing water on my face in a failing attempt to relax.

Does Katie really love me? She’s said it before back at the party, but it might’ve been a caught-up-in-the-moment sort of thing. Did she mean it?

If she does, I’d feel guilty because, to tell you the truth, I was hoping that if anyone would call to check up on me and see if I’m okay, that it would be Jackie.

But after all of this, she still hasn’t called or texted me back. Does she really hate me that much?

I’m screwed.

*******************

Katie problems… Jackie problems…

Problems everywhere.

What did you guys think? Who’s right for Justin? Katie or Jackie?

- Nina xx