Mollie instantly felt sick at the voice in her ear but before she could react, everything went black. When her eyes opened again, she found herself bound to a kitchen chair. She instinctively tried to move her hands and feet but felt the burn of a rope on her skin. She tried quickly to assess the situation and when she looked up, she found Michael, eating the dinner she’d cooked and looking at her.
“This is delicious,” he said, putting his fork down and wiping his mouth with a napkin. “See Mollie bear, this is how we should be right now…but you had to go and tell everyone our personal business. Were you cooking this dinner for your pop star boyfriend?”
“Nope, just me.”
“Don’t lie to me you dumb bitch. What’s appealing about him huh? You obviously wanted the fame and fortune. I could have had that if it weren’t for you. You ruined me.” The pause was long and Mollie prayed for Justin to arrive back here. “And yet, you still got everything you ever wanted. A home…money…and a pretty boy toy. Now I’m here to take it from you.”
“No,” Mollie said. While he was speaking, Mollie had wriggled her hands to see how tight her binding was. “You could never take any of that away from me.”
Mollie jumped as he slammed his hands down on her table. The silverware clanged as it hit the plate and she watched as Michael pushed his chair back. Mollie knew he was going to hurt her. Her instinct was to protect herself and her stomach but without the use of her hands and feet, she had no defense. She kept wriggling her hands, trying to catch them on the back of the chair. He walked slowly up to her face and pressed the steak knife against her cheek,
“I can and I will princess,” he growled, pressing the knife in harder. “But I’m going to make you wish I’d killed you last time.”
With a flick of his wrist, Mollie could feel the skin break on her cheek. Michael laughed as he backed away. The cut hurt but Mollie didn’t want to cry. She could feel the blood trickle down her cheek and she blinked back tears. Her fingers had found the knot and she tried to calm herself enough to work at it.
“What do you want from me?” Mollie asked, her voice trembling.
“I want a public apology where you tell everyone you lied…you to break up with that dancing puppet on live television and this house and all of your money. However, I think we all know that won’t happen. So instead I want you to suffer.”
“Mission accomplished. I have suffered every single day since you hurt me.” That statement earned her a slap across the face.
“Stop the lies. You brought everything upon yourself!”
Mollie had to control her mouth so she didn’t get hurt any further than necessary. It was hard to bite her tongue, especially as her cell phone rang. She could feel it in her pocket and Michael grabbed for it. He looked at the screen and saw JC’s name, a sadistic smile spreading across his face.
“You’re going to talk to him like nothing is wrong. I’m not finished with you and I don’t need him sending a squad car out here because you didn’t answer.”
Michael flipped the phone open and pressed the speakerphone button.
“Hey babe,” Mollie said, her voice cracking as it came out. “How are you?”
“Hey…is everything alright? Your voice sounds weird,” JC said. Michael pressed the knife to her throat.
“Yeah I’m fine, I was just watching a movie, you know how I get at the sad parts.”
“Well I only have a few minutes but I just wanted to say hi and ask you to let me know if you hear from Justin. He skipped out on this thing and didn’t say where he was going.”
“Really? That’s weird. He hasn’t called me or anything.”
“I think something’s up with him. Anyway baby I gotta run. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she replied, fighting tears.
When the phone hung up, Mollie finally felt the knot come free from her hands. Michael laughed, dramatically tipping his head back. Mollie seized the moment, lunging and grabbing at the knife that he’d set down beside him. She jammed it into his shoulder, causing him to fall. Mollie pulled it out and slashed at the rope tying her feet. When she was free, she took off.
She ran for the front door, contemplating the best way. Her goal was to get to JC’s house, lock all the doors and call police but before she could even get close, he’d caught up to her. She hit the floor after he shoved her and she tried to get back up but he kicked her hard in the ribs. Mollie cried out in pain and scrambled to grab the knife that had slid from her grasp. When she got it, she tried to hit him wherever she could. She landed on his left forearm. He yelled and kicked her hard before she could get up. Mollie felt a sweat break out and Michael hopped on top of her, flipping her on her back as he began punching her face. Mollie struggled against him for as long as she could but eventually the blows became too much. Just as she succumbed to the darkness, she could see Justin running up the porch steps.
She wasn’t sure when exactly she woke up, but hearing the beep of a machine let her know she was in the hospital. It was a chore to pry her eyes open; they felt so heavy. Sucking in a big breath, she lifted her head to see JC watching her intently. He looked worse for wear. His beard had grown in and he had bags under his eyes. She remembered the confrontation with Michael but she couldn’t remember getting out. JC yelled for a nurse and the sound of his voice hurt her head. The nurse came in and checked her vitals before leaving and JC grabbed her hand as a doctor entered.
“What happened? How’d I get out?”
“Justin came back and found you. He beat the living shit out of Michael and the police came.”
“I feel like shit.”
“He got you pretty good…”
“Miss Greenspan,” the young female doctor chimed in. “You’re injuries were very extensive. You’ve got two black eyes, multiple contusions, a broken rib…and unfortunately we weren’t able to save the fetus.”
Mollie’s ears went fuzzy when she heard that and she felt faint. She must have fainted because a she woke up not long after. The doctor was still there and she held a damp cloth up to Mollie’s forehead. The doctor explained that the baby had to come out and that Mollie could take the medication and wait for it to pass naturally or they could do a procedure to remove it. She couldn’t imagine having to spend time at home waiting for this to happen so she opted for the procedure. They’d have to wait until the next day, to make sure her vital signs were stable. Mollie nodded and the doctor excused herself. Mollie rolled onto her side and began sobbing into her pillow. She could feel JC rubbing her back but she suddenly didn’t want to be touched. She turned and looked at him, his face sad though he didn’t cry, and she felt ashamed.
“I want to be alone,” she managed to get out before sobbing again.
JC was shocked that Mollie wanted him to leave but he did as he was asked. He’d had time to sit with the news but maybe she needed some time of her own. He went back out to the private waiting room where he sat alone. His parents were on their way and Johanna’s flight, which ended up being delayed at her layover, should be landing any minute now. Justin had been taken to get some x-rays on his hand and the rest of the *Nsync guys thought it would be best if they came separately so they didn’t draw too much attention to the place. JC pulled his knees up to his chest, put his face down and cried. When he was all cried out, he sat, emotionally drained. He felt helpless and it was worse that they had to be here for another day.
After what felt like hours, Justin came back. He was fine, just some bruises. He tried to comfort JC but it was no use. So JC suggested he try to go in. It was killing JC not knowing how Mollie was handling all of this so if she didn’t want to see him, maybe she’d talk to Justin.
Mollie could hear the door open but she didn’t turn to see who it was. She’d stopped crying a little while ago but now she felt devoid of emotions. She didn’t want to look at JC. Looking at him broke her heart all over again and she couldn’t take it right now. Whoever it was, they walked in slowly and came around to the side she was facing. When she saw Justin, she tried to rally some enthusiasm but didn’t succeed.
“Hey girl,” he said softly.
“Justin,”” Mollie said, reaching out her arms. “Thank you for saving me.”
“Hey you did the work, I just finished him off,” Justin said, hugging her gently. He sat in the chair next to the bed and looked at the floor. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back sooner. I wish I would have just insisted Jo get a cab…”
“It’s not your fault Jus. It’s mine…”
“Moll, this is not your fault.”
“It is. My bad life choices have come back to destroy my future. Only now I’ve taken Jayce down with me.”
“That’s not what you think, is it? Because that’s not true at all. You didn’t know Michael would be like this when you started to date him.”
“But he hit me once and I didn’t leave.”
“That doesn’t mean you deserved any of this! And you have not taken JC down. Is he devastated that this happened to you, that he wasn’t there to protect you? Absolutely. Is he crushed that you’re not having a baby, yes. But none of it is your fault. Know that.”
“I’m the reason she’s dead,” Mollie cried.
“You’re not. You did everything right. I know you feel all of these emotions but I hope you remember that everyone loves you. Nobody is angry with you, least of all JC.”
Mollie whimpered, stifling a sob. She covered her eyes with her hand, not wanting to hear any of this any longer. Justin stood up, taking it as his cue to leave. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and headed back to the waiting room. JC looked miserable but luckily, Johanna walked in and JC’s parents followed closely behind her. They each took turns trying to talk to Mollie but she refused them each time. It was late so they all figured it might be time to head home. They tried their best to get JC to leave but he refused. He tried to get comfortable on the small couch they had in the room and luckily a nurse came in with a blanket and pillow for him. He got very little sleep and when the door opened the next morning to tell him it was almost time for Mollie to go in for the procedure, he hopped out of bed.
He tried to speak to her but she didn’t respond. Instead he chose to kiss her forehead and hold her hand until it was time for them to take her. Her stillness was eerie and even as they wheeled her out, she had no emotion. The procedure went relatively quickly and by the end of the day, they were able to go home. Mollie remained silent on the way home, even when they pulled up, she only pointed to her own house, rather than tell him that’s where she wanted to be. It had been a few days since the incident and the police had taken all the pictures and evidence they needed. JC had hired someone to come in and clean it up so it looked like normal again. Johanna and Justin met them at the door and they helped Mollie gingerly climb the stairs. JC followed her into the room and grabbed a change of clothes out of her dresser. She took them and changed in the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. When she came back out, he pulled back the covers and tucked her in.
“You’re probably tired babe, let’s just relax for a while,” he said, trying to break the silence.
“I’m just going to go to sleep…by myself,” she said, pulling the covers up to her chin.
“Okay,” JC replied and you could hear the hurt in his voice. “I’m going to lay down in the other room but if you need anything, we’re all downstairs.”
“Yup.”
“I love you,” he said, one hand on the doorknob.
“I know.”
JC left the room and told everyone he was going to take a nap. Thankfully, both of their homes had six bedrooms and JC could escape for some privacy. He pulled off his shirt and climbed into the bed, hoping to fall asleep. He couldn’t process everything or face what was ahead of him without some rest. The guys had cut their tour short with promises to reschedule the dates. JC didn’t know how long the healing process would take but he knew that it wouldn’t be easy or quick. When he finally let his mind go blank, he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke, it was considerably darker and his stomach grumbled.
