Fall

Interview Preparation

Meeting....
"Good morning." Stella greets everyone as she sat down at the table next to me. She gave me a  warm hug and smiled. I returned the smile as Scooter stood up from the table and began to talk.
"Okay so in about 3 weeks you guys have your first interview as a married couple. The interview is with Vogue. Their will be a photo shoot as well. This is the time where you guys would talk about your relationship." He says.
"Okay so what is the story that we're going with?" I asked slightly annoyed about this whole thing. Justin could sense my annoyance and grabbed my hand and placed it in his.
"So you guys have been dating for about a year and a half.  You wanted to keep your relationship under tight wraps because you didn't want media to destroy it." I rolled my eyes.
"Isabella is there a problem?" Scooter asked and the whole room turned to me.
"As a matter of fact there is. How are we supposed say we were dating for a year and a half? Do you not realize how long that is to hide a relationship? What about how we met?"
"Simple you guys met at a party that you both attended. Justin asked you out on a date and you said yes. Anything from there you guys can improvise." He said. I sat back in my chair and remained quite.
"You good?" Justin whispered in my ear. I nodded not even looking at him.
"Can you guys  give us a minute?" Justin asked and everyone stood up and exited into the hallway.  He swiveled his chair around to me so that we were face to face.  Justin raised his eyebrow and I looked away.
"What's on your mind?" He asked
"This is so stupid!"
"What? This interview?"
"No.... this bullshit ass story that they've come up with. Like how are we supposed to pull a year and a half relationship out of our asses?" Justin looked at me and sighed.
"Look Bella this is what we both signed up for. I know this isn't what our deal to each other is, but just think of this part as the work part. It'll be over soon. After this we'll go get something to eat because I know you're hungry okay?" I nodded still slightly annoyed with this whole situation.
"Give me a kiss and fix your face." I looked up and pecked his lips. He grabbed my lips and kissed me again, making me smile. Justin waved for everyone to come back in so we could continue with this bullshit.
"You cool girl?" James asked.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Okay back to business." Stella stood.
"Alright the first date was a..."
"I will talk about the date where Justin set up the little picnic on the beach." I interrupted him.
"Okay sounds good."
"I think we're good. I mean like we have an actual relationship going on here so I think we can manage an interview." Justin says.
"I sure hope so.... we can end now but please be prepared for any type of questions. " Stella says .
In the car......
"You were being kind of a bitch today." Stella informs me.  I shrugged my shoulders at her.
"What's up with you today?" She asked.
"Nothing." I say looking out of the window. James whispers in my ear.
"Did you take your medicine this morning?" I just simply nodded.
"You need to get your act together!" Stella says sharply. I just continued to look out of the window as we passed by the L.A traffic. About 20 minutes later we arrived to the house and I immediately got out of the car.
"What's wrong with her?" I could hear Stella ask Justin and he sighed and shrugged. I walked upstairs into the bathroom and ran a bath. I just wasn't in the mood to be around people today. I tested the temperature of the water and poured bubble bath into it. I pulled out my collection of face mask from under the sink and decided on which one I would use. After picking out one of the masks I put my little container back under the sink and closed the door. My phone began to ring and I walked back into my room and sat on the bed and answered the incoming FaceTime call from Ming.
"I hear you're in a mood today?" She greeted me with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess."
"What's the problem?"
"I don't know. We had to sit in this meeting today and then scooter is saying things like we need to tell people that we were dating for a year and a half. Like that's so stupid and no one is going to believe it. Now we have to pull a year and a half of a relationship out of our asses."
"That's definitely a long time sis. I'm home right now. We can grab something to eat."
"Okay I'll call you when I get out of the tub." I hang up the phone and Justin enters the room. I stay quite and lay on the bed waiting for the tub to fill up. He comes and lays on top of me.
"Bella?"
"Yes my love?"
"Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"No."
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yea I'm sure." I am not ready to tell him about my disorder yet. Not too many people know about it. It's not something I like to talk about. He continued to lay on top of me. I needed to get up and check on my water.
"Jus can you go check on my water. If it's ready can you put a bath bomb in it?"
"Of course." He said getting up and going to the bathroom.
"It's ready." He shouted from the bathroom. I stripped out of my clothes and put them in the dirty hamper. I walked into the bathroom and applied my face mask. Justin sat on the toilet and watched me through the mirror.
"I'm going to be honest with you right now. I don't know if I should stay in here with you or give you some space." He said scratching the back of his neck.
"Get in with me." I said looking at him through the mirror. He smiled and stripped stepping in first. I figured this was another way to be intimate with him. I followed in after him and sat in between his legs. The water felt good on my body and closed my eyes and laid my head back. It was silent for a few minutes. It was comfortable and relaxing.
"What's on your mind?" Justin asked breaking the silence. He kissed the side of my head and ran his hand up my thigh.
"I don't know I just feel a little weird today. It's nothing you did, and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way."
"I get it. Sometimes I have my days where I just don't feel like being bothered, and then it'll be your turn to take care of me." He laughed and I couldn't help but smile. I'm really enjoying this moment.
"Thank you for being patient with me. I really appreciate you."
"You're welcome sweet heart. I really miss your family, I can't wait for the family reunion."
"Everyone is really excited to meet you." I smile playing with his fingers.
"You know I can't wait until you meet my family."
"I'm actually quite nervous to meet them." I admit.
"Why?"
"I want them to like me. Family is everything to me."
"You have nothing to worry about. You're personality is amazing.  You're beautiful and kind. They will love you." He says, and then it hit me.
"Maybe we should bring them to Georgia for my family reunion." I get excited.
"That would be awesome. Then we can announce our official engagement."
"Yeah." I couldn't help but to get excited about these plans. I sat up and turned around in the water, so that I was facing the Justin. I kissed him deeply. He slowly ran his hands down to my back as we continued to make out. I could feel him getting excited underneath me. I pulled away and looked down and he was at full attention.
"Sorry." He whispered.
"No need for an apology. I got a little excited too." I laugh. He placed a kiss on my forehead and lifted me out of the tub and pulled us into the shower. He washed and kissed all over my body. Now it was my turn to wash him. I decided to take full advantage and I began sucking on his neck making sure to leave a mark.
"Why must you drive me insane? You're making it so hard to respect your wishes." He whined. I giggled and continued to wash his body. After we both got out of the shower we, laid on the bed in our towels. I just remembered that I am suppose to hang out with Ming. I got up and walked into the closet.
"Where are you going?" Justin asked.
"Ming is back home and we're gonna grab something to eat and maybe do a little retail therapy." I said coming out of the closet laying my outfit on the bed. I wasn't in the mood for a something extravagant so I decided on a pink floral flowy dress with gladiator sandals. I put my hair up into a ponytail. There was a knock on our bedroom door. I remember Justin being in a towel so I asked his permission for the person to come in.
"Do you care if James sees you in a towel?"
"Nah it's fine I'm going to go get some clothes on." He said getting up and kissing my cheek.
"Come in!" I shout, and James walks in and stands at the door.
"I'm going out with Ming are you coming?" I asked.
"Of course!" I sprayed my perfume on my body and walked into the closet to where Justin was sitting on the bench on his phone. I walked up to him and sat on his lap.
"I'm leaving and I'll be back a little later on tonight." I said
"Okay I'm going to go to the studio and work on some new stuff. I don't know what time I'll be back, but if I'm not home by the time you get in don't wait up on me. I'll see you in the morning." My face dropped.
"You want me to sleep without you?" I asked
"I'll try to get home as early as possible. I just don't know what time that'll be sweetheart. If I'm not home have Ming stay the night." He kissed my forehead.
"Okay." I said getting up and going to head out but Justin grabbed my wrist. He pulled me into him and placed a kiss on my lips.
"Be safe okay?"
"I will and you be safe too." I walked out of the closet and James and I walked to the garage to get in my G wagon.
"Call Ming to see if she's ready." I tell James. He nodded his head and called her on speaker.
"James!" She answered excitedly.
"Girl we are on our way to the house. Are you ready?"
"I just got out the shower just come in." She said. I rolled my eyes at James because we both knew she is about to take forever to get dressed.
"Alright I'll be at your house in like 15 minutes." I say as James hangs the phone up.
"Do you love Justin?" James asked out of nowhere. I looked over at him with a wtf face.
"Where the hell did that come from?"
"I don't, I see how close you are to him and I couldn't help but wonder." He shrugged.
" I don't know, I mean like I just know I like him a lot." I say.
"Okay." A good 10 minutes go back and we pulled into The Simmons house hold and get to the gate. I punch in the number and the gate opened. We drive up the house and parked in the front. I used my key and opened the door.
"Whose that?" I could hear mama Kim ask who I'm guessing is Aoki.
"It's Bella!" I say walking into the kitchen and giving her an hug and a kiss.
"I was about to say, I know there isn't a stranger just walking in my house." She says.
"No I have a key remember?" I asked dangling it in the air.
"Oh right, I forgot we gave you one. Well Ming is upstairs she's probably not dressed though so you know what that means." She chuckled and James and I walked upstairs into her room. We reached her door and I opened it. Music blasted as she curled her hair on the mirror. There was clothes all over the place and she was still her bra and panties.
"Ming what the hell. How are you still not dressed?"
"I can't find anything to wear."
"Girl were just going out on the town nothing major throw on some short and a t shirt." James said.
"Y'all can pick it out." She said continuing to curl her hair. I went over to pile of clothes on the bed and found the matching dress to mine and I sat it out on the bed and picked up the rest of the clothes off her bed and into her closet for her to clean later.
"Oh we're gonna be twinsies." She smiled unplugging the curling wand. After she put on the dress and sprayed her perfume and we were downstairs.
"Bye ma!" She shouted as we left.
"Bye babies be safe!" She called back. We hopped in my car and sat there.
"Okay so what should we do first?"
"Well trying to find an outfit worked up my appetite so let's get something to eat."
"Cheesecake factory!" James shouted.
"You're such a basic bitch." Ming said as I pulled out of the drive way.  My phone began to ring. "Hubby flashed across the screen and I pressed the answer button and waited for it to connect to my car speaker.
"Hello?" I answer
"Hey babygirl." He said and I couldn't help but smile.
"Hey."
"I'm calling to let you know ahead of time that I won't be in until tomorrow morning." I pouted
"Alright Justin."
"Please don't be mad, I'll be home first thing in the morning."
"I'm not mad, I'll just make Ming and Jay sleep over it's not a big deal." I sigh and hang up. They both looked at me and laughed.
"Look at you getting all attached." Ming laughed making me roll my eyes.
"I am not attached, and I don't want to talk about this any further." I continued to drive as we made our way to "The Cheesecake Factory."
Once we got there I parked my car we headed inside. The waitress got us a booth in the back of the restaurant. On our way to the table people were recording and taking pictures. When I finally reached the booth I mentally sighed.
"Your waitress will be with you in a moment." the hostess said as she handed us menus. I smiled as she walked away.
"Bella are you alright?" Ming asked seriously concerned. I look at her and nod.
"I wish people would stop asking me this. I am fine and there is nothing wrong."
"You're off today. Did you, You know?" She asked indicating my medicine.
"Yes Ming I took it this morning."
"Does Justin know?"
"I haven't said anything to him about it, but I think he over heard jay ask if I took my medicine this morning because he asked if I had anything to tell him." I shrugged.
"When do you think it will be the right time to tell him?"
"When I'm ready to tell him." I said dropping the topic as our waitress approached our table.
"Hello and welcome to Cheesecake Factory my name is Emily and I will be your server. Can I start you guys off with drinks and appetizers?"
"I'll have a strawberry lemonade and the stuff mushrooms for my appetizer." I say
"I'll have an ice tea, and buffalo wings mild." Ming said.
"I'll have a coke with cherries, and I'll have the mozzarella sticks." Jay says.
"Okay I will be right back with your drinks." The waitress says and takes off. I pulled my phone out of my purse and scrolled through Instagram.
"Bella!" Ming snapped. I just looked at her.
"I don't like your attitude like wtf is your problem. You've been moody and on edge Speak up." I just continued to look at her. The problem is I don't know what was wrong but something inside of me just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. I covered my face and let the tears drop.
"I don't know! Okay I don't know what the problem is!" I sobbed.
"Tell me how your feeling right now." Jay says moving closer to me.
"I just don't feel like myself today. I can't explain the feeling but I feel off and I don't know why." I cried. They did their best to try and hide my face from cameras.
"Do you want to leave?" Ming asked. I shook my head no.
"What do you want to do?" She asked.
"Give me a second, I'm going to go to the bathroom." I say getting up and walking to the bathroom. I walked into the stall and sat on the toilet seat and sobbed a little more. I called my mom because I knew she would get me back on my rocker. She picked up on the third ring.
"Hey beautiful." She said all happy.
"Ma it's happening again." I whispered.
"Okay baby breathe first. Inhale and exhale." I did as she instructed.
"Are you calm?"
"More than before."
"You need to call your doctor honey and talk to him about the pills you're taking. I think it's affecting your body and mental state. If you want we can go in together." She offered.
"Okay. Ma thanks."
"That's what moms are for. Now where are you?"
"I'm at the Cheesecake Factory with Ming and Jay."
"Alright be careful call me back if you need me. You know you can always come home." She said.
"I know mama. I love you bye." I hung up the phone and walked out of the stall. I looked in the mirror and my eyes were red. I took some paper towels and blotted my eyes. I walked out and back to the table. The food was on the table and so were the drinks.
"Better?" Ming asked
"Better." The rest of dinner went by quick. I just wasn't in the mood to hang out anymore so I drove home and got in the bed. Ming and Jay walked in.
"You want us to stay here with you tonight?" Jay asked. I nodded my head yes and they climbed in the bed with me. I laid my head in Ming's lap and she played with my hair while Jay rubbed my back. It's times like this where I appreciate my friends. I slowly felt myself drifting off.
An hour later I heard the bedroom door open and close. I didn't open my eyes to see who it was. I could feel Ming and Jay slide out of the bed.
"Thanks for calling me." I heard a voice say.
"No problem." Ming said
"You guys are more than welcome to crash in the guest rooms. It's pretty late." The voice said.
"Thanks." They said in unison. I lift my head up and look over to see Justin taking off his shirt.
"Justin?"
"Hey baby girl. Ming called me and told me you were going through something so I left the studio early. Are you okay?" He asked sliding under the cover with me and holding me. I laid my head on his bare chest and listened to his heart.
"Yea I'm okay now." He placed a kiss on my forehead.
"Bella I know you're hiding something from me and I just want you to know that you can tell me anything okay?"
" I suffer from bipolar depression." I say. It was quiet for a moment. I don't know what's going through his mind.
"My mom suffered from depression." He said. I looked up at him and he stroked my hair.
"I will do my very best to be here when you need me. I am going to read up on this and make sure that I know what to do when the time comes." I couldn't help but smile. The only person who really stuck through it with me was my mom.
"Thanks Jus."
"Let's go get some ice cream." He said scooping me out of his lap. He turned around and bent down. I hopped on his back and we were on our way to the kitchen. As soon as we were downstairs we seen Ming and Jay sitting on the counter eating ice cream.
"Hey save us some!" I laugh as Justin put me on the counter. He went to the cabinet and grabbed two bowls. Jay slid the ice cream carton down to him and he scooped us out some ice cream. When he was finished he passed me the bowl with a spoon. I immediately picked up the spoon eating the ice cream.
"This counter is super comfortable. I feel like I can sleep here." Ming said and we all laughed.
"I don't think you want to sleep on the counter girl."  Justin slid in between my legs as he continued to eat his ice cream.
For the rest of the night we talked and ate ice cream. I began to feel better but I definitely need to go see my doctor about new medication.