Riley sighed as she looked at her phone and clicked answer.

“Justin…” If he was going to be brief, she would too.

There was a pause on the other end. He hadn’t expected that tone from her. He knew he deserved it, but it still took him by surprise.

“Hello? “ she continued.

“Hi. Um. Riley I...On my way back to the city. “

“Great. That means the car made it. I’ll meet you at MSG before the show as planned. Do you need anything else before then?”

“No. No, should be good to go.”

“Ok good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Justin. Goodbye for now”

“Riley...wait…”

“Yes?”

“Look I’ll be back around 4. Can you meet me at my apartment?”

“For?” 

“I need to clarify a few things.It’s important.”

“You can’t do that over the phone?”

“It better its in person.” he replied. “Say 4:30?”

“Fine.” Riley agreed. “Should I have something ordered in?”

Justin smirked on his end. He knew she was being sarcastic, but he also knew if he said yes, she could have an entire meal ready and set up at his place before he even got back.

“Not necessary.” Smiling, he decided to break the tension “I have granola bars…”

Riley tried to fight the smile that crept up on her face.

“Save me a chocolate chip. I will see you soon.”

**

The door opened and Justin smiled. “Your hair…”

“Is shorter, yes.” Riley quipped. In truth, it had grown out a little, but Justin hadn’t seen her since the first time she had cut it to just above shoulder length.

It looks good.”

“Thank you,” Riley replied as she walked in. Clearing her throat, she continued. “So what did you need to discuss?”

“Well…” He paused before continuing, noticing her coat was still on. “You can sit down, you know…”

“Will this be taking long?”

Justin sighed. “Riley, I’m sorry. I know I haven’t exactly been ...friendly lately.”

“It’s fine. Business relationship, right? No need to get chatty.”

“Marin…”

And with that, she softened a little. Shrugging her coat off and handing it to him, she made her way to the couch and sat.

“Fine. Talk.” 

She was annoyed. She had a right to be. Being professional was one thing. Being aloof was another. Truthfully, he had never been great at balancing personal relationships with business ones.

He hung her coat and sat down next to her.

“There’s not really much I can say. I know we set boundaries, but...I took it too far. I know that.”

“You have a lot going on. I get it.”

“I do, but you have been a huge help with it all, and I’ve been acting like a dick.”

Riley smirked “Not exactly news, Justin.”

“I deserve that.”

“Tour’s going well, it seems. How was Europe?”

“Good. It was... Europe. I’m used to it, but it can still surprise you.”

Riley nodded, avoiding the elephant in the room. 

“Little more interesting this time…New people, new show…”

“New people..” she repeated.

“Yeah…” he trailed off, looking down. 

“How’s that going…” she spoke softly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she silently scolded herself.

Justin’s mouth twisted into a small smile “How’s what going…?”

“Justin...I know. The internet is a thing…”

He chuckled “Didn’t think you’d-”

“Katie…” she cut him off, covering her own ass.

“Ah…” He nodded. “Well...THAT’s...over.”

“Oh?” She didn’t want to ask.

“It got...complicated.” 

He was not ready to talk about what Yolanda had said. He didn’t know if he was even ready to acknowledge if it was true. He just knew he had missed her. Every 5’5,” sarcastic, micromanaging, overachieving, guarded part of her.

“That...happens?” Riley managed.

“Yeah...I guess it does” he laughed lightly. 

There was an awkward silence. 

“Riley…” he started.

“I missed you, too, Justin” she finished

**

Riley waited backstage for the show to end. She had decided to hide out tonight and lay low. Justin had kept her busy tying up a few loose ends from Europe, and she was kind of tired. It was good to be back in the swing of things, especially now that they were talking normally again.

Lost in emails, she looked up to a door opening.

“Another one down…” she smiled at him.

“Yep... “ he answered. He rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat.

She sat up as he concentrated, grabbing his throat lightly.

“You ok?” 

“Yeah *throat clear* ...This happens sometimes…” Wincing a bit, he looked at her. “Mind grabbing me a tea? Warm?”

“Yeah...No problem,” she got up “Are you getting sick?”

“Don’t think so...Probably just overworked.” He winced again, not saying anything else.

She handed him a cup. “This is hott. Give it a minute.”

“Thank you.”

“Justin, should I call someone?”

“No. I’ll be fine…” he smiled.

“Hello?” Riley yawned into her phone. She glanced over at her alarm clock. 5:02 am.

Why was he calling her at 5:02 am?!

“Marin…”

“Justin? Do you know what time it is?”

“Marin...You can call someone now…”

“What? Call who?”

“My throat. I think it’s bad…”

Pulling the comforter off as she slid her feet down, she sat up. “Get dressed. I’ll send a car.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. You have a show tomorrow.”

“Ok. Thank you.”

Riley hurried over to her desk. She quickly flipped through her binder to find emergency contact info, including the names and numbers of doctors and emergency services. After three more aggressive calls than she had ever expected to make before 6 am, she had gotten him in to see his specialist that morning. Hair everywhere and eyes half open, she moved to focus her attention on a car service. 

She had exactly two hours to get ready, get to him, and get to the doctor. Sighing, she did the best she can, realizing she had no time for makeup. 

She pulled her hair up into what was quickly becoming a trademark messy bun, and managed to dig out a respectable enough looking fleece pullover over jeans and clean sneakers. Throwing on her peacoat and a pair of simple stud earrings, she hurried out the door into the waiting car outside. 

Deciding to give his throat a rest, she texted him as they pulled up outside his place. He was downstairs in 5 minutes in gray Nike joggers, a black hoodie, and a black beanie. Instinctively, she looked down at his feet. Dior Jordans...for a doctor’s visit. She was too tired to care, but still thought it was ridiculous.

Sliding in next to her in the backseat, he stared at her. 

“I know. I look like a potato. Ignore it.”

He smirked “No you don’t…”

“Shhh...quiet. Your throat.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence, and she decided not to comment on how worried he looked.

**

Bruised Vocal Chords.

Layman’s terms. The doctor could have called it whatever he wanted to. It didn’t matter. What mattered was he was going to have to put the rest of the tour on hold. 

Justin was devastated. Riley had stepped out of the room to make a few calls and start the process. He watched, almost numb, as she calmly balanced rapid fire text messages and rushed conversations with venues. 

She hadn’t hesitated. He hadn’t had to say a word before she had sprung into action. Her energy was executive, almost protective. Johnny had arrived shortly after they did, and broke Justin’s silence as they waited for the doctor to come back into the room with a treatment plan.

“She’s got this…” Johnny smiled “It’s gonna be fine…”

Riley’s mind was racing. She knew he had to be freaking out. She could feel a headache forming as she pushed away thoughts of him physically reacting. She had too much to take care of right now. She knew Johnny had his part to play, but for now she had left him with Justin to keep him calm. She hadn’t even asked, just acted. She was equally upset, if she was being honest. For him, for his fans. Mostly for him. She knew how much this tour meant to him, and knew the work she had cut out for her once reality set in for him.

Walking back into the exam room, she put on her bravest smile. 

 “Ok. Tomorrow is handled. We’re going to need a statement from you, but calls are being made for a new date. The rest of the venues will get back to me.”

“Thank you…” Justin whispered. 

His eyes were sad, dull. As the doctor spoke, they flickered through frustration, anger, and eventually, acceptance. 

Surgery. He had to have surgery. Riley took a deep breath. Noticing his grip on his pant leg, she grabbed his arm, squeezing until his hand relaxed a little.

“The most important thing is that you make as little noise as possible...No talking, no breathwork, no yelling, grunting...DEFINITELY no singing…”

The last word had hit Justin like an arrow to the chest. Not talking would be hard enough. Not singing? It was like breathing for him. 

Almost as if reading his thoughts, Riley spoke. “You can still write...and play.”

Justin made a face. “Uh huh…”

“How long is the recovery?” Johnny asked.

“Two to Three months.” The doctor turned to an X-Ray. “The scar tissue from your last procedure will come into play, but we will do the best we can to get you back out there...With your cooperation, of course.”

Riley’s mind drifted back into a memory. Katie and Emi had begged her to go to Challenge for the Children that year, but she had refused. She had gotten a detailed report when they got back, including how Justin was on vocal rest following a procedure on his vocal chords. Apparently, he had found other ways to make his presence known. Over the top ways.

He had been much younger then, but she started to mentally prepare herself for whatever she would have to deal with while he healed.

Justin could only nod. “No one can know” he whispered. 

“Whatever you want to say. It’s your statement,” Johnny said. 

“Bruised Vocal Chords,” he repeated the doctor’s words. “They can’t think…”

“Justin...They won’t…” 

She hoped she was right.