JUSTIN POV
The alarm clock on my nightstand blared loudly in my head. I whacked my arm in its general direction, and it fell to the floor with a clatter, but still kept honking the obnoxious noise. I had to hang off of the bed to try and reach it, but that wasn't successful. I finally just ripped the plug from the wall, shutting the thing up for good.
I rolled back on the bed and threw my arm over my eyes, willing myself to go back to sleep. Never once, in the past four years, had I used an alarm clock to wake up. Now, things were different. I had obligations. Today was going to be hell.
I turned my head to see Maddie sleeping peacefully beside me, and her nose scrunched up at the dream she was having. Her lips were moving with silent words and I had to admit, this sight was a rather funny way to wake up. She told me that her dreams were really vivid, but I had no idea what could be going on inside her head. How could she look so peaceful, yet agitated at the same time?
I took my hand and moved a piece of hair out of her face. She sighed and reached out for me, resting her head on my chest. I didn't move and let her fall deeper into sleep.
I kissed her soft skin…once…twice…
Maddie started to stir so I stopped, but then decided to kiss her again, just for the hell of it. A smile played on her lips, before she fell back into sleep.
I, on the other hand, had a hard time sleeping last night. My body didn't want to shut down but of course, I knew why: I had to get back to work.
I was actually surprised at how well Keegan had kept my professional life afloat. I was the only one who knew the real inner workings of Justin Bieber, Inc., but he did a pretty good job. Contrary to popular belief, I actually did have legitimate business ventures in the world. Keegan, not able to handle it all himself, had to hire out. The business was doing well, but not succeeding like I wanted. Well, things were certainly going to change now that I was back.
It had been a week since Maddie and I touched down in Chicago. Slowly, our lives were starting to calm down. The shock of us being back had worn off on the family. Finn stopped looking at me funny, like I was going to evaporate, and Keegan even started telling me stupid jokes again. He was already getting on my nerves.
Pattie was still in an irritated state. Jeremy said that he was still expected to move out, but he was trying hard to calm her down. It wasn't working. Jaxon told me that he was basically begging for forgiveness at this point. I knew the feeling. Pattie already said she forgave me somewhat. Jeremy—not so much. I didn't really give a shit about what Pattie’s problems were. I loved her, but my allegiances were to Maddie now. What she said at the funeral was completely uncalled for and until she apologized, I don't think I could ever look at my mother the same way again.
I didn't know how I was supposed to "re-introduce" myself into the world, but thankfully, the stupid media was all over it. One small newspaper out in some hick town upstate reported that Maddie and I were a part of the small group that landed at the airport coming from Italy. After that, everyone was looking for some kind of verification. They called Jeremy, they staked out the house, and asked everyone who knew me if it was true. No one said a word.
Maddie and I went to the grocery store a couple of days ago and a cameraman caught us. That was it. The secret was out and people went berserk. Dramatic headlines stated, "Justin Bieber Rises Like the Phoenix" and "Justin Bieber: Real or Ghost?" They dominated the newspapers. The internet was abuzz, and the local TV stations said I was some kind of fraud. Jeremy eventually had to release a statement, but it didn't give anything away about the real reasons for my departure. For the most part, faking my death was actually legal if under the heading of self-defense. That was all people needed to know.
