Never Let You Go

Chapter 7 - Acadia's Secret Past

The door burst opened.

"Justin!" I shouted.

He rushed into the room, the door shutting behind him. Acadia whipped around and smiled at him. "Oh Justin!" she gushed, "Look at you. So good looking!" she winked and giggled.

"Acadia? What the hell are you doing to her?" Justin looked back and forth between us, obviously confused. His eyes searched my face.

"Nothing!" Acadia exclaimed, cutting me off, "but hunny, don't you know me?" she battered her eyelashes and pursed her lip flirtatiously. I looked at her in confusion. Justin crinkled his nose in thought.

"Acadia, of course I know you. What, did you fall on your head or something? Should I call the nurse?"

She laughed and slowly walked towards him, like a ferocious feline preparing to attack her prey. "Do you remember the year you moved to Atlanta, Justin?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied, confused, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember... this?" she pulled out her necklace from her shirt. It was a heart-shaped pendant, glittering in the sunlight. From where I sat, I saw and engraving, but I was too far to read it. Meanwhile, Justin's mouth dropped. His eyes grew in shock.

"How did... How did you get that?" he stammered.

"You gave it to me, silly!" Acadia was closing in the space between them, making him obviouly uncomfortable as he backed closer to the wall.

"I never gave you that necklace Acadia. Not that necklace. I only gave a necklace to a girl I met on vacation a few years ago, the year I moved."

"You're cute when you're confused," she giggled, "Justin, it's me. Serena."

"No, you're not her. You look nothing like her. I would know Serena anywhere!"

"Wait. Who's Serena?" I asked, feeling left out, confused, and slightly pissed. But the two of them continued talking as if I weren't even in the room.

"Acadia, stop messing with my head. I don't know how you managed to find out about her, or get that necklace. But I know you aren't her. Serena is dead."

Now Acadia full out laughed. "She's not dead. She's right in front of you. It's me, Justin." She pounced, kissing him with such force. She pressed him against the wall. Meanwhile, my heart felt as though it was ripped from my chest as I watched the boy I love make out with my ex-best friend and all I could do is sit by and watch. A second later, Justin pushed her away and walked towards me.

"I don't know what you're doing," he hissed, taking hold of my hand as Acadia's mouth hit the floor, "but it doesn't matter who you are, whether you're Serena or just a messed up, confused bitch with issues. I've moved on." His eyes met mine. "It may be crazy, but I fell for someone. Fast and hard. And," he bit his lip and bent his head so our noses were mere inches away. I held his gaze and held my breath, praying that this was finally the moment. "I hope she feels the same way as I do about her."

His face was so close, I could feel the mintiness of his breath on my warm face. Slowly I leaned towards him. So close...

Justin jerked back violently. Acadia and grabbed him by the hair and had him in a tight hold.

"You can't love her!" she shrieked. "You love me! I'm Serena! You gave me that necklace that day on the beach. You told me you'd love me forever. You wrote that on the necklace. Look at it Justin!" She shoved the pendant unde rhis eyes. "You said it! And then, that night... WOW that night!"

"I NEVER did anything with you! Or Serena! Or whoever you are!" Justin groaned as his captor pulled his head down. Acadia shrieked with laughter. "I remember it, oh so well! I guess you don't because you were so, well, drugged." Her eyes glowed and she seemed to have completely transformed from the girl I knew to some sort of demon.

I gasped. What did she just say?!

His head snapped up, albeit the pain it must have caused him. His face paled. "WHAT?"

Acadia was still laughing. "I might have slipped a little something into your drink when you left for the bathroom that night..." She was wild. Completely crazed.

"You aren't Serena. She would never have done that."

"Oh, but I am. You see, after our little bedroom party, I found out some amazing news: I was pregnant!"

Justin was shaking his head. "You're not he-" he muttered, then froze as what she just said sunk in. His mouth shut slowly and he looked at her.

"And I was ecstatic!" Acadia continued, flat out ignoring his comment. "I had screamed it out in the hotel lobby. Only your manager, what's his name, Scooter, recognized who I was and pulled me to the side to talk to me about it. When I told him it had to be your child, well," she looked at Justin, "he went ballistic. He was convinced that if the press or the record label caught wind of it, you would never make anything out of your career. So, I was sent off instantly. Sent back to live in Montreal. He forced me to have an abortion and change my name. Not to mention he payed for a ton of plastic surgery. His main priority was to make sure that my little secret was never discovered and that you would never find me again. I made new friends, lived a new life with new adoptive parents. Everyone in my Serena life thinks I died in a car accident on the way to the airport at the end of that trip." She stopped talking and looked at us, taking in our reactions. Justin' face was even paler than before, if that was possible. My mouth couldn't function, couldn't form any words strong enough to describe how I was feeling.

She... What... HOLY...

"I take it you're surprised!" she exclaimed, pulling Justin down as she jumped up and down like some idiotic child. Finally she let go of him and he slowly sank to the ground. I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder. He was shaking.

"I was almost a father," he muttered, "When I was 14. 14. I didn't even know I did it. I'm..." his voice broke off as he fell into a stony silence.

I looked up at Acadia. Or Serena. Or whatever the hell her name was. I was beyond furious; nothing could describe just how ANGRY I was at that moment.

"You just ruined everyone's lives. What the fuck were you thinking? Are you that desperate?!" I was starting to yell as I felt Justin start to shake again, overcome with shock. I streched and wrapped my arms around his now cold body. "What, did you plan to kill anyone who came within inches of Justin? Did you want to hurt him? You didn't have to fuck him and get pregnant. He didn't do shit. Why would you go and ruin his life like that? Is this what you wanted?!"

The girl looked down on me, her crazed eyes angry. "No," she replied, "I never wanted anyone to know. I had no choice but to tell you guys because, well, this was a tricky situation!" She laughed meniacly, then her eyes narrowed and she sneered. "But Cammie didn't need to know. That's why she's no longer with us."