His apartment. His Skin. His hands. His arms. His bed. His sheets.

 It's all I could think about as I boarded my plane. A line was crossed, a line that can never be taken back. That line which was a solid line is now a bit blurry.  I ran my hands up over my face, what a night. A smile I couldn't get off my face, a great day it was.

 I was going to hurt the twit who keeps scheduling my flights at ten in the morning. Who does that to someone? I wasn't hung over, I was simply tired. I can't remember what the clock said when we finally crashed this morning.

My phone buzzed.

"I saw you spent the day with Justin yesterday... and last night. I hope you are on that plane. Everyone is waiting on you to get back to L.A. today. Lots of things to do for the tour."

I rolled my eyes. I know that Sam wasn't happy with me spending time with Justin. I understood his point. However I hadn't given the press anything to run with. I had no intentions of giving up Justin because they like to write stories. They were going to write what they want anyhow, I might as well do what I wanted.

I shouldn't even reply to his message but I thought it might cause more issues.

"I'm on the plane. I will be in L.A. in a couple hours."

I relaxed into my seat as the plane started to fill up. Before I knew it I was being woke up by the constant dinging above my head. "Please fasten your seatbelt miss... we are about to land." The flight attendant says to me. I wanted to kick her in her head but I didn't. That might be bad press. I'm thinking that might be worse than me being friends with Justin.

My phone buzzed again. I thought, if Sam is checking up on me again, I am going to ream him a new one. I didn't need a freaking babysitter to monitor my every move. I clicked on the phone and saw that it was a message from Justin.

"Why did you sneak out this morning?"

I didn't respond. I dropped the phone in my bag and climbed into the back of the town car that awaited me. I wasn't avoiding him; I simply knew that this day was going to be a task in itself. I need to deal with one situation at a time.

                Leaving this morning without tell him was not what I had intentions on but when I woke up in his apartment wearing nothing, I didn't know how to react. I didn't know if what did happen last night would change anything about our friendship. Sadly I had no regrets of anything that happened. Knowing what I knew that happened was enough to tell myself to get out of there and deal with it later.

His hands on my bare skin.

The tenderness of his touch.

The passion in his kiss.

The taste of his lips.

The weight of his body.

"Ma'am, we're here. This is your residence right?" The driver asked, turning back to look at me.

I snapped out of my own thoughts. "Yes." I climbed out of the car and into the warm heat of Los Angeles. The smell of the ocean somewhere in the distance was a great feeling.

He placed my luggage on the ground, "Did you need me to take this in for you?"

"No, thank you but I can get it." There was one large suitcase and my carry on belongings. I could handle that. I was glad I had the box of things from Trace shipped to me. I would have paid more to take them on the plane with me anyways.

                Aaron's car was in the driveway which instantly made my stomach turn. I didn't want to see him. I guess I would get this over with and be done with the situation. I had lots of work to get done and in a short time if I wanted this show to be great.

                I lugged the suitcase through the garage entrance, skipping the first three stairs into the house. The kitchen seemed to be a complete mess. He had not cleaned up after himself at all. I was disgusted by the plates that look like they have been in the sink since I left.

My eyes zero in on a champagne glass sitting in the center of the counter. A champagne glass that had never been used, glasses that were a gift from my mother when I bought this condo. I lifted it to eye level. There was defiantly lipstick on the rim of that glass. Funny thing is... I don't wear lipstick.  

I began to hear noises, he must be awake. I look over at the clock on the wall, it was kind of early for him to be out of bed. I walked down the hallway to a room that used to be our bedroom. The noises were louder. The sound of a woman saying his name over and over again had become very clear.

A part of me could not believe what I was hearing. But my vision doesn't lie to me. The door to my bedroom was wide open, with Aaron thrusting with everything he had, which trust me wasn't much, into a very petite red head in my bed.

I stepped out of that doorway collecting my thoughts. Should I say something? Should I walk away? Should I flip out? Think about your career. Think about what he will never have.

I wasn't hurt. I was pissed off. Those were my sheets, my bed, my bedroom, my condo. I took a deep breath and turned and walked away. I was relieved that it was the absolute end of this relationship that was condemned from the start.

I left the condo with the luggage I walked in with. I was not going to make a scene in front of that girl, who was already going to run to the first tabloid that flashed a check in front of her face. She wasn't going to have any dirt on me. I checked into a suite at a hotel close to the sound stage. I was going to be rehearsing here for a while; I might as well be just steps away.

I had missed yet another call from Justin, one from Janelle, and one from Sam. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I wasn't answering for a reason. I left my phone laying on the night stand next to the bed and went for a run. It was hard to run in L.A. but I needed to escape. If those damn paparazzi wanted to run along side of me, then they could.

I was late. I knew I was late but I had to be ready to deal with others. Sam was going to have my ass and I wasn't going to live down being late but I have to do what I have to do at the end of the day. I picked up the phone off the table and rushed down to the lobby, practically running into the sound stage.

I entered the front door and it got super quiet. Everyone stood there, then screamed "CONGRATULATIONS!!!!"

My face turned beat red. I had no idea what was going on but I didn't like the idea of a hundred or so people staring at me like they were.

"Th-ank you" I said scared.

Sam stepped out of the pact, "Malia, you debut album is going to enter the billboard charts at number one."

I covered my mouth, surprised. The lump in my throat started the jostling of my entire abdomen, before the tears started to roll down my face. Success had a price. And that price, it was worth it. I stood there like a blubbering fool as each person hugged me and expressed their feelings on the success of the album.

I broke my silence and finally spoke to everyone as a mass.

"I don't have many words right now. Whew." I couldn't speak. I was speechless. "Thank you everyone. I just want to say I am extremely happy to embark on this new road with all of you. So let's get this show put together."

I turned to Sam and said, "Thank you for all you have done for me personally and my career... and by the way we need to have a conversation, in private." He nodded his head. There were things I didn't feel comfortable disclosing in front of a hundred people and he knew it.

Janelle came over and congratulated me, "You didn't answer my call. You always answer my calls. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing... just nothing." I said to her as I walking over to the mic stand, placing the mic in my hand. I preferred to have it in my hand.

"I know what that ‘nothing' means. And you should know that I don't give up, I will find out what's going on... Smile. You deserve to be happy. This is a huge achievement for you."

"I can't talk about it right now." I could have, I just didn't want to. "I would like to just get my work done."

"Ok, I can respect that. I'm always here for you."

"I know. Thank you for always being there."

                The crew showed me how the stage was set up, where I could walk and where I should stay away from. For some reason they seemed to tell me more than once that I had to stay away from the edge, like I was going to fall off of it or something. Make mental note not to fall of stage. That would be bad. The stage was enormous. I knew it was going to be a big stage but it was amazing to see it firsthand. The different levels that it could put me closer to the crowds were my favorite thing. "Don't fall in there either!" he laughed at me. "That would be really bad." Being a concert attendee myself I knew as the fan, what I wanted. It made the decisions easier. My label was against my idea to have a pit section so close to the stage, but I knew it was the right choice. Fans want to be as close as possible and I was going to give that to them.

"Malia..." Sam said waving for me to join him. We went into one of the offices so we could work out some final details and I had a few things to discuss with him. He shut the door. "So, Malia, what is wrong?"

"Well..." I said sitting on the couch, crossing my legs.

"I knew there was something wrong." Sam sat in the chair across from me, "You're not yourself today."

"A lot has happened in the last twenty four hours... But first I want to discuss Justin with you. I don't need a baby sitter, I'm not irresponsible. I know what I need to do and I will get my job done. I felt like the message you sent me this morning was out of line. I..."

"Malia. I'm sorry." He stopped me, "I shouldn't have sent that message. I was wrong. I apologize."

"Justin is not going anywhere in my life. He is here to stay."

"I already knew that. I saw the way you both react around one another. You have this chemistry that is undeniable. I just don't want your career to be affected negatively by everything..."

I changed the subject because I didn't want to deal with that part of the situation. "Secondly, I need a huge favor. I ended my relationship with Aaron yesterday..."

"Malia are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I just need him out of my condo. I need his things gone. I need the photos gone. I need sheets burned.  I need the bed replaced and I need the locks changed."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"We haven't been even remotely happy for a long time. Well... I haven't been happy, he just liked the money I would front him. But I finally decided I would rather be unhappy alone than with him and feel worse every day... then this morning I come home and find him in my bed with another woman."

"Oh, Malia..."

I sat up straight, "I'm not hurt. I have been over him and our relationship for longer than I would like to admit... Sam I just need someone to go there tomorrow and make sure that he is out."

"I'll take care of it. I will have someone go over and watch the locks get changed as well. Do you want me to tell him?"

"No, that needs to come from me... One more thing Sam... I would like to keep this info between the two of us. I don't want anyone to think I'm the broken hearted girl who can't put this show together. I will be fine and if I need a moment, I will take it but this isn't something I want everyone to be aware of."

He cock his head to the side, "Stubborn. That's your decision." He shuffled around some paperwork he had been staring at, "So I take it you just want to make no public comments about it."

"I don't see a reason I need to say anything about it. My private life is what it is."

He nodded his head and we proceeded to talk about all the other details that needed wrapped up for the tour. All the details that no one would even think of had to be worked out, and everything needed my approval. Annoying as it was at times, I knew that everything would be what I wanted.

As I left the room he asked again if I was ok and I just nodded my head at him. "Covers, Malia. You need to work on some covers for the show. Get with Joel or Nathan. We need a set list very soon so we get the show set in stone."

                I made the first of the two phone calls that needed to be made. Justin didn't answer so I had to suck it up and call Aaron. I tried his phone five or six times finally opting to leave him a voicemail telling him it was over. He needed to remove his belongings and to leave the key on the counter.

                He must have been screening his phone calls because it couldn't have been a minute later he was calling me back, and not in a great mood at all.

"...What the fuck do you mean I need to move out?" He screamed at me as I answered the phone.

I was still calm, he didn't deserved to be all worked up over. "I'm not arguing with you. This relationship has been over for months, it's time we both move on."

"You mean, move on to Justin fucking Timberlake. I know your game Malia. I know exactly what you're doing."

"Really? You really think so... enlighten me ol' mighty greatness..." I said chuckling to myself.

"Fuck you Malia." He said loudly, screaming at me through the phone.

"That's exactly what I thought. How does it feel to lose at your own game?"

He starts to fumble his words... "I... You... I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's fine. I didn't expect you to fess up to anything."

"You are crazy Malia." He barked, "The only person in this relationship that is playing games is you. The only person that has fucked up is you."

"Aaron. Just get your things and get the fuck out of my condo. That is my place, bought with my money that I earned. You have until tomorrow at noon. There will be someone there to make sure you are gone."

"Where is all of this coming from?" he asked, "You know I love you." Trying to weasel his way back in. He knew at that moment I wasn't kidding anymore. I wasn't playing his game.

Love? Seriously did he just use the word love? That word should mean something when it comes out of someone's mouth. "How was the love you had for the red head this morning? I hope it was everything you'll ever need in your life." I asked. He was quiet on the other end of the phone. He was caught.

"Rumors are crazy in Hollywood and you know it." He said thinking that could solve something.

"How dare you... I saw you... in MY CONDO. In MY FUCKING BED... don't tell me it's just rumors. There isn't a tabloid out there that wants to print your fucking name on it unless it's tied to mine."

I heard a smashing of glass, assuming it was something of mine. "The world doesn't revolve around you Malia. You make it sound like you are the only person that has ever had success in this industry. You need to get over yourself."

I had enough. My boil lever has overflowed. "I'm sorry that my career has just started and it's a longer span that yours has been in the last fucking decade. I'm sorry that this talent you believe you have is not actually there."

"Fuck you.... That's fine... I got everything I needed from you. It was time well wasted." He hung up the phone on me. I wanted to continue to scream at him. It was therapeutic.

I sunk down onto the chair, I got everything I needed from you, his words stung.