Forever & Always

Chapter 39

•Selena's POV•

We all sat down cross legged in the middle of the stage. I was across from Pattie and between Justin and Scooter in a circle.
I took a deep breath before speaking. Justin took my hand in his and gently squeezed, reminding me that he was right there. Pattie and Scooter patiently waited for me to speak. I closed my eyes and opened my mouth.
"When I was 16, my mom passed away." Tears started to brim my eyes and I took a breath before continuing.
"After that, my dad got into drinking and he became abusive. Almost every night he would beat me up. I always took the punches without complaint in fear that he'd touch Scarlett." I started to sob and Pattie pulled me into a hug. After a couple seconds, I felt Justin wrap his arms around us and Scooter soon followed and completed the group hug. We just sat on the stage and hugged for a long time.
After what felt like hours, we all pulled away and I continued with my story. "After my mom passed away, my
dad picked up our life and moved to Atlanta, where he's from. A few weeks ago, I decided to run away back home to Texas to get away. That's how Jay and I met, he had the seat beside mine on the plane and he remembered me from elementary school." I breathed, getting to the lighter and happier point of the story.
"Since my father was always drunk,
I basically took care of Scarlett myself. I took her to school, made sure she did her homework, cooked for her, made sure she had everything she needed. That's why we're so close. I'm basically her mom." I nervously chuckled to try and lighten the mood.
"The thing is, since I'm not 18 yet, my dad could track me down and force me to go back to Atlanta. If I'm forced to do that, I'd probably die from the fear and anxiety. I can't go back there. I can't have Scarlett go back there."
I started to sob again and this time Justin pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me in a hug.

•Justin's POV•

I was really proud of Selena for coming forward with her past and telling my mom and Scooter. I knew they'd keep it a secret, and I was scared something would happen so I needed backup.
Selena finished her story and just sat in my lap and cried. I heard my moms gentle voice speak up.
"Sel? Did he ever abuse you more than physically?" My mom asked and Selena shook her head, knowing what she meant.
"Surprisingly, no. He didn't. He would just violently beat me up." Selena stated.
"Sweetie, I know this is a sensitive topic but I really need to know. Have you or do you do things to deal with the pain?" My mom asked slowly. Selena proudly shook her head, denying any suspicion of her self harming or drug abuse.
"Never. I couldn't set that example for Scarlett. I stayed strong for her. She's my everything. Everything I do is for her." Selena whispered.
I pulled Selena closer into my chest. I was so proud of her.
"So what's the next step? What happens from here?" Scooter spoke for the first time during this meeting.
"Just wait it out until my birthday I guess. Once I turn 18, I can claim full custody of Scarlett. My mom listed me as her God mother. All I gotta do is plead my case in front of a judge." Selena whispered.
"Why can't you go claim custody now?" I wondered aloud and Selena answered me. "If the judge knew our situation, he'd send Scarlett to a foster home since there's no suitable guardian right now. I need to keep us hidden so I can keep her safe." Selena quietly said.
"When's your birthday?" My mom asked and Selena told her.
"Okay. That's in roughly 3 weeks. All we gotta do is keep her hidden. That means so social media posts, no pap sightings, no going out in public. It's easy to track where Justin is because of the tour, so your father could easily come to a show." Scooter laid out the game plan.
"What if he finds me though, what if he knows I'm with you guys?" Selena asked and Scooter gave her a sympathetic look.
"All we can do is pray he doesn't. Selena, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you and Scarlett are safe." Scooter promised and I was touched. He never really liked any of my past girlfriends, so to know he cared about Selena enough to promise to protect her really meant a lot to me.
"Okay. It's really late. We all need to go to bed right now." My mom stood up. Selena stood up out of my lap and hugged my mom and then hugged Scooter.
"Thank you. You'll never know how much I appreciate this." Selena said.

We went back to the hotel and
Justin and I tip toed down the hallway and slid into our room.
I peeled off the sweats and tank top I was wearing and Justin handed me a shirt to wear to bed. I pulled it over my head and climbed into bed with Justin. He tangled our legs together and pulled me close.
"I'm so proud of you. You have no idea how strong you are. I love you so much Selena. You're amazing." Justin whispered to me as before he kissed my cheek. Just having him say that made the past hour of pouring out my feelings completely worth it.
"Thank you. I'm proud of you too. You're going to kick ass on this tour. I love you Jay. So much. Thank you for protecting me." I whispered and kissed Justin's lips before sleep recused me from my racing thoughts.

•the next morning•

•Selena's POV•

I rolled over and woke up in Justin's arms. His eyes fluttered open after I had stirred.
"Good morning beautiful." Justin said in his husky morning voice and I swooned.

"Good morning handsome." I giggled before I kissed Justin's lips.

We got up and got ready for the day and then Kenny drove us to the arena.

I plunked down in my usual front row spot and Pattie wandered over and sat down beside me.

"Hey sweetie. Can we go for a walk?" I nodded then followed Pattie as she walked up the stairs. We started to walk laps of the arena, out of sight from the papz.

"So, I wanted to explain why I asked if you deal with the pain." Pattie said slowly and I patiently listened.

"When I was little, I was sexually abused multiple times." Pattie said quietly. I stopped walking and pulled her into a hug. We just stood and held each other for a few minutes as we both cried. After a couple of minutes, we pulled away and kept walking.
"I did drugs, drank alcohol, cut my hips, you name it, I did it. I even tried to take my own life." Pattie said solemnly and I couldn't believe that I was witnessing such a strong woman show a vulnerable past.
"Selena, I know what you're going through and it sucks. All I have to say is that I love you, and I'll always be here for you. Even if it's at 4 in the morning, and you can't sleep and just need someone to talk to, my door is always open. I want to help you and be there for you." Pattie said sincerely to me and I cried even more. I reached forward for another hug.
"You have no idea how much those little words mean to me. Thank you Pattie. You have no idea how thankful I am." I said quietly and questioned what I did to deserve all of this love and support. 

•Justin's POV•

I watched my mom walk off with my girlfriend. I knew exactly what their conversation was going to be about.
I angrily reached up and pulled at my hair in frustration.
"Justin. C'mon let's go." Scooter yelled at me and I groaned.
"Scooter, I can't do this right now." I groaned almost crying. Seeing Selena in pain and knowing that there was nothing I could do to fix it was one of the most frustrating things I ever experienced.
"Do you need a break? We can slow it down." Scooter asked me and I nodded, tears brimming my eyes.
"Okay everybody, take an hour break. We'll try again later." Scooter said as he looked at me from across the stage.
As soon as everyone dispersed and we were the only ones on stage, I did something I didn't realize I was doing until I was in the moment.
I ran over to Scooter and hugged him and cried.
"I want to help her Scooter but I don't know what to do." I sobbed and Scooter rubbed my back. He was basically like a second dad to me so I could talk to him about anything.
"There's a gym in the basement. Go hit something. Let it all out." Scooter whispered to me and I nodded.
I found the gym and there was a punching bag in the centre of the room. All it took was one swing and then another and then I was hitting like I wanted to kill. All of my hatred for that man left my body. When I couldn't hit anymore, I sat down and leaned against the bag.
"It's crazy how one person could make someone's life complete and total hell." I whispered to myself.