Forever Yours (Book 4 of 4) (Justin Bieber Love Story) ✔️

Chapter 9: Blowup

SERRINA

As Krystal climbed into the car she leaned into the front seat and shoved a piece of paper into my lap, "I swear, she hates me."

I glanced down at the page, it was fun of neatly printed words that made up a short essay. I scanned the page and my jaw dropped, "An F?" I turned around in my seat to look at her and saw that her face was covered in guilt and anger, "This is English, Krystal. You love this class." I didn't know what to say to her without being mean or losing my mind.

"Yeah, but Mrs.Donaldson is a total witch."

"Excuse me?" I snapped, "Say that again, I dare you." She bit her cheek and looked away from me. She might have been giving me silent attitude, but knowing her, thats what she wanted me to think, "Thats what I thought. Try studying next time, okay?"

I saw her face scrunch up and knew I had gotten through. The front door opened and Braxton climbed in. Today, he had a busted, swollen, bottom lip.

"Jeez," Krystal piped up from the backseat, "Brax, you gotta stop picking fights with the bigger girls."

He turned around and stuck his middle finger out at her. I grabbed it and put his hand back into his lap as Krystal began to laugh in the backseat. Amelia was the last to follow, as she had insisted on walking to the car by herself and if anybody tried to walk with her she'd run the opposite way. It was both cute and annoying.

"Hi, honey." I laughed as she bounded into the car and climbed into her seat, "How was your day?"

"It was good," She sighed and then yawned louder than I thought possible.

Justins absence was showing differently in each of the kids. Krystal was falling behind in school - something she had never done before. She had always been a straight A student so her falling behind was the way she showed rebellion. Braxton came home with new marks and bruises every few days and was giving me no explanations to why or who was doing it. Amelia was having nightmares and spent more nights in my bed per week than in her own so both of our sleep cycles were gone to absolute garbage.

To say they were the only ones affected was also an understatement. My whole life felt like it had been uprooted and thrown into the trash. I was always exhausted, depressed about the failed pregnancy attempt, lonely, overwhelmed with all three of my children suddenly being rebellious, and that was hardly the beginning of the list.

I yawned in cue with Amelia and then began to drive, "So," I began and then smiled, "How's pizza for dinner?" I didn't have to turn around to know they were all smiling.

******

I gently closed Amelia's bedroom door and tip toed into the living room. It had become a complete disaster since Justin started working again and Ive had no time to clean between taking care of the kids and keeping my sanity in one piece.

As I began to put dishes in the dishwasher and clean the kitchen, my phone buzzed once in my back pocket. I pulled it out and sighed.

Justin: Gonna be home late. Don't wait up.

I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. No, not tonight, I was waiting for him. We needed to talk and he wasn't going to avoid me.

He wasn't getting another chance to avoid me.

******

It was almost 1 AM when he finally got home and I sat up straight in my chair to see him. When he stepped into the room I almost didn't recognize him.

He was growing out a light beard that covered most of his jaw and the top of his lip. His eyes were sunken in and dark circles were forming under his eyes. He had lost a good 10 pounds and his clothes hung off him like he had lost 20. I gently bit down on my lip and stood up, scaring him into dropping his keys to the floor.

"Jesus!" He snapped under his breath and bent down to pick them up, "I thought you were in bed."

I shook my head and took a few steps toward him as he shrugged his jacket off, "I figured I'd wait. We need to talk."

He closed the final few steps between us and grabbed my face, giving me a small kiss on the cheek, "Im kind of tired. Maybe tomorrow?" He began to walk past me and I spun around to grab his wrist.

"Does that mean I'm actually going to see you tomorrow?" My tone was bitchy but it was well earned on his part, "Because if not then we definitely have to talk tonight."

He turned to face me and I caught the last half of an eye roll, "Seriously, babe? Im exhausted. I just want to go to bed."

I reached for Krystal's English test and held it out to him, "Your daughter is failing English."

Suddenly, his whole facade fell apart and his lips turned into a deep frown, "She loves English."

"You're right," I sighed, "She does, but you are making her hate it." He was now confused and slightly offended by my words, "She can't focus on anything since you started working again. She doesn't know where you are half the time and this is her way of acting out." I crossed my arms, "And don't even get me started on Braxton."

He took a step back and crossed his arms, "Whats going on with Braxton?"

I wasn't sure if it was me being overtired or just tired of his lack of help, but something in me snapped, "You would know if you were home." I bit my cheek and clenched my fists, "But you don't know," I knew I needed to calm own, "Because you're never home." He was getting mad.

"What the hell is the supposed to mean?" He waved his hands through the air in frustration, "Im out making money for our family, Serrina, so don't you dare turn this around and make me the bad guy."

I scoffed in disbelief, "Im not saying that you working is a bad thing; you putting work before your family is bad."

"I am putting my family first," He snapped and took a step closer. His breath fanned over my face and I could smell the light scent of tequila, "I am spending my time working instead of at home because I wanted my kids to have a name. I want them to have something that will open doors and make sure they'll always have a secure life."

I tasted blood as it burst from the inside of my cheek and instantly stopped biting it. I took a long deep breath and began to shake my head, "Your work has torn this family apart and if you can't see that your fucking blind!" I was almost shouting but calmed myself down enough to lower my voice. The last thing I wanted was to wake up Amelia. "Work is your first priority right now and that has to change, Justin. We have a family and you wanted more. Just because I'm not pregnant doesn't mean you get to run amok and do things without talking to me first."

He scoffed, "Fuck, really? Is this still about not asking you before taking the offer?"

I threw my hand up in anger, "This will always be about you not asking first!" I ran my fingers through my knotted hair, "You never think about me or the kids before doing things like this and I can't keep coming second to your work."

"Mommy?"

I spun around and slapped a hand over my mouth. Amelia was standing in the hallway staring at Justin and I as we fought. She looked more out of it than not so I hoped she wouldn't remember our fight when she woke up, "Whats wrong honey?" I walked over to her and crouched down so I was at her eye level.

"I had a bad dream again."

I brushed hair out of her eyes and kissed her cheek, "Go climb into my bed. Ill be there in a few minutes." She nodded and I could tell she was watching Justin over my shoulder. With a small smile at him, she spun on her heel and headed towards my room. I took a moment to breathe before standing up and turning back to my husband, "I need to sleep. You can't be in bed with us if you're getting up in a few hours." He looked like he was about to argue so I spoke up, "I made the bed in the guest room so you can sleep there tonight. Come home tomorrow and we can talk about possibly sharing a bed again." I turned around and went to my bed before he could reply.