SHE AIN'T LIKE A SISTER NO MORE

Chapter 67 ~ "Let me go!"

JUSTIN

"Justin Bieber, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the attempted murder of Zac Reed. You do not have to say anything, but anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, or one will be appointed to you at no cost."

"Attempted murder?! Fuck me, that's a bit extreme isn't it?!" I ask, raising my eyebrows at the two uniformed police officers at Ryan's door.
"Justin, what did you do?" Jen asks from beside me, her tiny hand starting to tremble in mine. I turn in the doorway to look at her, tears already spilling down her pretty cheeks.
"It's okay Jen, I promise! I'm good with this, just get Chase to call Mom and have her sort out a lawyer for me." I smile, holding Jens face in my hands, brushing her tears away with my thumbs.
There's a sound behind me, then pressure around my wrists.
"You don't need to cuff me, I'm coming." I tell the cop whose reaching for his cuffs.

Attempted murder. What a fucking load of shit. I just gave that useless mother fucker what he deserved. I could have kept going. Believe me, I fucking wanted to.
"What did you do Justin?" She's grasping onto my shirt.
"Ssshh baby, it's gonna be fine, I promise." I whisper, but it doesn't calm her down. Her whole body is shaking now, and I hate that I've done that to her.
I think back, and wonder whether I should have left Zac and gone to hand myself into the cops immediately last night, but Jen needed me. I quickly decide I couldn't have done that. I needed to hold her last night, not knowing how long it would be until I could again. I knew they'd come for me. I didn't exactly cover my tracks. I didn't even attempt to. The fire running through my veins urged me on. That's what drove me straight to his house.
The female cop steps forward, taking hold of Jens wrists, trying to pull her off of me.
The male police officer grasps around my bicep, attempting to drag me to the car.
"Stop! Don't touch me!" Jen pushes the cop off her. "Justin, you promised you wouldn't leave me." She cries desperately.
"Baby, you gotta calm down." I say, as the woman grabs both arms and holds her away from me, as she frantically tries to break free.
I want to yell at the woman. She's holding Jen where I know she's tender and bruised. I want to scream at her to get her dirty fucking hands away from her, that she's hurting her, but I can't concentrate on anything other than trying to calm her down. She's hysterical. Crying and screaming, and it's breaking my heart.
"Chase!!! Ryan!!!" She screams desperately.
"Just let me calm her down. Please!! Just let me the fuck go for a minute. She's been through hell." I plead with the officer, who's still dragging me to the car.
He continues pulling me backwards, and I can't take my eyes off Jen as the woman officer struggles to hold on to her as she fights against her.
"Come on man, she's been through enough! Just let me calm her the fuck down." I struggle out of his hold. I'm not sure whether I was using extra strength because of the intense need to hold her, or he loosened his grip. It doesn't matter.
All that matters is that within a second, she's in my arms, clutching my shirt in her fists.
"Baby calm down!" I wipe her tears as Chase and Ryan appear from over her shoulder.
Neither of them look the least bit surprised by the scene unfolding in front of them. I wonder for a moment whether they'd noticed the blood smeared clothes I'd thrown in the trash last night.
"What did you do J?" Jen sobs again as I rest my lips against her forehead.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." I force a smile, simply to calm her down.
"Come on, in the car Mr. Bieber." I hear from behind me.
"No! Fuck. Justin, you said you wouldn't leave me. No!! Fuck, please don't go!" She cries.
"I don't think they're going to give me a choice baby." I whisper sadly, staring into her wet eyes.
"Mr. Bieber, if you don't get into the car willingly, I will have to cuff you."
"I gotta go baby." I whisper, pressing my lips against her forehead again, just so I don't have to look into her sad eyes.
Her arms come around my neck tight as she stands on the tips of her toes, and I can feel her chest rising and falling heavily against my own.
"Fuck baby, I don't wanna let you go." I whisper into her neck, holding her tight against me.
"Please don't leave me." She whispers back, her tears seeping through the material of my shirt.
"Come on kid, you've had long enough." I get pulled away from her, as Chase grabs her gently from behind, trying to get her into the house.
"Let me the fuck go!" She screams at him, fighting against his hold.
"Shit Jen, stop it! Calm down." I frown, fighting back my own tears from seeing her so scared and broken. My erratic heartbeat pounding in my chest, the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I just want to hold her until the end of eternity.
"Stop!" I mouth to her again, my bottom lip quivering, attempting to hold my own sobs in.
She breaks free of Chase's hold and runs down the porch steps, sprinting toward me. The female cop tries to grab her, but Jen quickly pushes her away.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry baby." She cries as her tiny body crashes against mine.
"What are you sorry for? You've got nothing to be sorry for." I ask, baffled that she feels any kind of need to apologize.
"I love you. I love you so fucking much. When all this is over, I'm 100% yours. Forever. I promise with all my heart J, I love you so much."
My heart pounds heavily, then skips a beat, as I breathe in a huge breath. Those words coming from between her pretty lips will be the death of me. I don't deserve such perfection.
"Get in the fucking car kid!" The cop growls, clearly running out of patience.
I push his arm away from me, then cradle Jens face in my hands.
"Say it again."
"I love you J. You'll never have any idea how much, and the words don't even cover how I feel. There are no words. You're my everything. My beginning and my end. You're my best friend, and I never have and never will stop loving you."
I can faintly hear the female cop whisper "just give them a minute", probably enjoying the little love story taking place before her eyes as though she's watching a cheesy episode of Bold and the Beautiful. But this isn't a C-grade television show. This is our life. She is my life.
Jen pulls the neck of my shirt down and reaches up on her tippy toes, her lips gently press against mine. My hands go to the backs of her thighs, and I lift her around my waist, kissing her with every ounce of love I've ever felt for her, plus some.
When we finally pull away, I'm breathless. She's taken my breath away just the same as she did when my lips touched hers for the first time. Her legs were wrapped around me then too, and she pressed her body against mine, filling every tiny breath of space between us.
"I love you. I'll be home soon okay baby? Don't worry about me. The boys will look after you." I whisper, brushing my nose against hers.
I slide her down my body, and kiss the top of her head, breathing her in, and then kiss the inside of both of her bruised wrists.
She looks up at me with those big doe eyes, and I sigh.
"You gotta let me go now baby." I whisper, giving the boys a flick of the hand behind her back, signalling for them to come and get her.
She nods, but the grip she has on my shirt doesn't loosen.
"You want the shirt?" I whisper.
She nods up at me, and I don't hesitate for a second. I throw my hand over my head and pull it over from the back of my neck. She takes it, and presses it against her nose, a tiny smile on her face.
"I love you J, be safe."
I pull her into my arms one last time, and give Chase and Ryan the 'you better fucking look after her or I WILL be up for murder instead of attempted murder' look.
Ryan unwraps her arms from around my neck, telling her that I have to go.
She doesn't look at me as Chase pulls her against him. She buries her face against his chest.
"Love you bro." Ryan says softly.
I nod in reply, watching Jens back move up and down as she quietly sobs against Chase.
"Ready?" The female cop asks.
I turn towards her to see her eyes are moist.
"Yeah. I'm ready." I reply, turning and walking towards the cop car.
I sit down on the back seat and put my head in my hands, not looking back as the car takes off.

~~~~~

It was the video that did it. No, that's a lie. From the second I pulled her from the house I knew I was going to have to beat the shit out of him and leave him hanging on to his sad excuse of a life by a thread. I had it all planned out. How to cover my tracks, make a clean break and get myself an alibi. Chase was in on it and Ryan would have had some idea what was going on no doubt.
What they didn't expect was for me to go it alone, twenty-four hours before we'd planned to do it. As I said, it was the fire in my veins that drove me there. Right into his driveway.
I didn't knock. Fuck knocking.
I went straight to the back door.
Nothing was thought out, but I didn't give a shit. I wanted to hurt him as much as he'd hurt Jen. The thought of shoving something up his ass, and completely splitting him in two crossed my mind. The thought of recording it all, just as he'd done also crossed my mind briefly.
When I found him in the lounge room, on his computer with an editing program on the screen and Jens pain-filled screams echoing from the walls, I couldn't wait a second longer.
I swiftly walked up behind him, yanked the back of his chair and watched him fall to the ground. I pressed my shoe into his throat and pushed as hard as I could. When his eyes caught mine, I bought my foot up and stomped on his face, smirking at the satisfying crack of his nose breaking.

I don't know who I am in this moment. I've been angry before. I've wanted to kill people, but this... This is some next level type shit.

My hand swipes to my right, and the computer screen crashes to the ground.
But Jens screams don't stop.
I kick my foot into the side of the computer numerous times, until the whole side of the casing caves in.
But Jens screams don't stop.
Seeing Zac move in my peripheral vision, I turn toward him and plant the sole of my shoe into his face again with a swift kick.
He falls onto his back with a groan.
I pick up the speakers off the desk, rip the cords from the back and throw them against the wall.
But Jens screams still don't stop.
It's only now that I realize her screams are in my head. Encouraging me to kill this fucker for what he's done. Urging me on.
I pick him up around the neck, surprised by my own strength and smash him into the wall.
No words are exchanged. Not one.
My fist collides with his face, causing blood from his nose and mouth to splatter across the front of my shirt. Then my fist is pounding into his stomach repeatedly. When he keels over, I bring my knee up under his chin, throwing him back against the wall.
The wild fire in my veins, her screams echoing within my own head. The intense pain in my chest.
I keep going until Jens screams finally stop.
I look down at the useless piece of shit on the floor and for a moment I think I've killed him.
Then I see him gasp a stuttered breath so I stomp on his face one last time before leaving, hoping that he'll bleed to death.

CHASE

Jen hasn't said a word. She's sitting in the corner of the lounge sobbing quietly, and won't let either of us touch her or take even a step toward her.
Ryan is sitting on the couch opposite me, his head in his hands.
It's been this way for an hour.
"I should probably call Pattie." I say quietly, looking over towards Ryan.
He nods, but he stays facing the ground, and I don't move. Not even to reach for my phone.
Another hour passes before Jen finally talks.
"Attempted murder...that's like seven years in prison right?!" She stutters in a tiny little voice.
My heart breaks, and I feel Ryan's eyes on me, but Jen is still staring at the wall.
I turn to see Ryan, and watch him swallow hard as a tear rolls down his cheek.
I turn back towards Jen.
"Attempted murder is a life sentence here sweetie."