Why Your Love Went Away (Justin Timberlake/Britney Spears)

Chapter 2 Don't Want To Talk About It

"Okay guys, that's enough for today," Barry called out. Barry was Britney's choreographer who always managed to push the dancers a little too hard. Britney silently thanked the Lord he was letting them go early today.

Britney went over to get her jacket and took a swig from her water bottle. She just wanted to go home and sleep for hours. And maybe take a nice long bath... yeah, that sounded good.

Britney picked up her new phone and checked to see if she had any messages. One from her mom, one from dad and...six from Justin? She had only been in the studio for 3 hours. And although Justin definitely loved her a lot, he wasn't the type to be clingy. What was going on?

Britney picked up the phone and nervously dialed Justin's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Britney."

"Justin..."

"I need to talk to you. In person. Now."

Britney almost gasped. Justin was a complete goofball most of the time, it was rare to hear him sound this serious.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Britney asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Oh, I'm  great. Just  great," Justin said bitterly.

"Justin, why are you acting like this? What's going on?" Britney asked.

"Just...just meet me at my hotel room," Justin snapped.

"Justin...Justin?" Britney asked hesitantly.

He had already hung up.

Britney pushed past the crowds of paparazzi with her bodyguards and practically ran to the limo. She told him Justin's hotel address and politely asked him to step on it.

By the time she reached his hotel, Britney was already sweating. She tried to stay calm, but she could barely keep herself from shaking.

Deep down, she knew what was happening. She tried to deny it, tried to push it down but she knew she couldn't hide from it any longer. Not anymore.

When she got to the hotel room, she anxiously knocked on the door and then withdrew her hand like she'd touched fire. The urge to turn and run was strong.

Just when she was about to run back out to the limo, Justin opened the door. His face was red and his eyes were glazed over and puffy. As soon as he saw her, his hands balled up into fists.

"Oh my God. Justin..." Britney began. "What happened? Have you been  crying? Are you-"

"Save it," Justin spat. "You can drop the act."

"What  act?" Britney asked. She really didn't like the way he was talking to her.

"You can stop pretending you give a damn about me."

"...I'm not pretending, I do care about you Justin. You know that," Britney insited. "Why are you being like this? I just don't get it...yesterday you said you loved me, told me I was  perfect, and now you're treating me like trash..."

"Oh, you wanna know   why?" Justin said angrily, his jaw clenching in rage. "You wanna know  why, huh?"

"Stop playing games, Justin!" Britney practically yelled. "I get it, you're pissed off at me. But I don't know what I did, so why don't you just freakin' tell me so we can work this out."

"Oh, we're not working anything out,  baby. We're done. It's over, Brit." Justin said menacingly.

Britney's heart stopped. "We're  over? What do you mean, we're just over?! We...we've been through shit before Justin, but we always get through it, always. Whatever this is, whatever happened... we can get through it. We love each other, Justin. We have to at least try."

Justin just shook his head as he felt a bitter tear roll down his cheek. At any other time he wouldn't have been caught dead crying in front of anyone, but at this point he just didn't give a shit anymore.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Justin asked harshly.

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about," Britney replied.

"I know what you did, Brit. He fucking  told  me himself. Wrote me a fucking  note."

Britney froze with horror as Justin pulled a crumpled up piece of paper out of his pocket and threw it right at her face. She just stood there like a dolt and let it hit her.

When she finally got the courage to pick it up, she immediately recognized Wade's handwriting. Britney felt sick to her stomach. He was never supposed to find out about her affair. Not from  him, anyway.

Britney had no desire to read the rest of the awful letter, throwing it to the ground as tears came to her eyes.

"He's a liar," Britney whispered, praying to God that Justin would believe her. "We didn't do anything, I swear Justin...we talked after rehearsal one day, and he wanted to get together with me, but I turned him down. I guess he got mad and he just...this was how he got back at me."

Justin just shook his head. "Must've gotten lonely on tour, huh Brit? Real freakin' lonely, I bet..."

"We. Didn't. Do. Anything!" Britney yelled. It was a lie and she knew it, but she desperately wanted him to believe it. She had wanted to believe that Justin would forgive her for cheating , but now she could tell there was no chance of that. She felt so stupid, so naive...Justin was way too proud to ever stay with a girl who cheated on him.

"Enough with the fucking lies Britney!" Justin yelled. "How the Hell am I supposed to trust you again if you won't stop bullshitting me?"

"I'm...I'm not lying Justin," Britney said shakily. Her anger was starting to fade and now all she was left with was pure sadness. She hated it when Justin yelled, but she hated it even more when he was hurting. Most of all, she hated it when she was the one who hurt him. "I... I love you, I love you so much. I would never cheat on you. I would never throw away what we have. Never."

For a second, she thought she saw something like sympathy in his eyes. But it was only for a moment, and soon his clear blue eyes went cold. "I can't listen to this bullshit anymore," Justin said sharply. "Get the fuck out. Now."

Britney felt angry tears stinging at her  eyes. "You're an asshole!"

Justin ignored her. "I told you to get the fuck out, Britney. Don't come back until you're ready to face the truth. Or better yet, don't come back at all."

Britney stormed towards the door. Regardless of what she'd done, he had no right to talk to her like that. She knew he was hurt, but he didn't have to be such a jackass about it.

Just as he was about to close the door, Justin got right in her face. For the first time she could smell the booze on his breath.

"You know what the funny thing is, Brit?" He whispered menacingly.

Britney said nothing as she motioned to back away from him. He came right up to her again so that he was only inches from her face.

"If you had just been fucking  honestwith me, I would've forgiven you."

Britney just stared into his watery eyes, now clouded with anger.

"Too late for that now, I guess," Justin said bitterly. "Because I never want to see your fucking face again."

"...No...Justin, I-..." Britney said quietly.

"Have a nice life,  baby," Justin spat as he slammed the door in her face.

Britney couldn't breathe. Her throat hurt and her chest was tight and she just wanted to die.

She should've just told him. He would've understood if she had been the one to explain it...

But that was a lie, too, and she knew it. It had been over with Justin the second she let Wade put his hands on her.

It had been over for weeks now, and she knew it. She knew it had been coming all along.

But she had no idea it would hurt this much.

Britney ran out to her limo, put her head in her hands and cried.

This time, Justin wasn't there to hold her.