"I've been down and lost for days, glad I found you on the way"
Seven years earlier
Justin
I lean against my black Maserati as I wait outside of the large school. It looks very large, and fancy. It's one of those private schools that houses probably around six different grades. A few older kids storm out of the school as soon as the annoying, high pitched bell rings in my ears. They immediately pull out cigarettes, even a joint in one of their hands. I smirk, knowing it is my shit. They light the blunt, and the brown backwoods ignites into an orange flame as the boy holds a red lighter at the end. I make my way over to them, a cocky smirk still plastered on my face.
"Hey, guys," I hum, and at the sight of me, the boy blows out the blunt and quickly hides it behind his back.
"Uh, hey," he clears his throat.
"I'm not going to do nothin', bro." I speak their language and motion for him to pull the blunt back out. I take it from his hands, placing it in my lips and lighting it skillfully, blowing out of my mouth to die down the flame. I take one, long pull before giving it back.
The boy laughs, "You look like someone I know." He takes his own pull, blowing the sweet smelling smoke into the air.
"I bet you do know me." I pull the bag of white powder and one bag of a green lump from the other.
The boys' eyebrows raise, "No fuckin' way, you're Bieber!" I smirk at his reaction as he grabs the two bags out of my hand and replaces it with a wad of cash. "I never thought I'd meet you in person."
"I was in the area." I don't typically make deliveries, but since I am at the school for another reason, I might as well kill two birds with one stone.
"That's a nice chain." The boy points at my expensive golden chain dangling over my long-sleeved black and white striped shirt. The cool metal contrasts with my burning flesh as the summer sun beats down upon me.
"Thanks, man," I send him a nod before glancing back at the school, making sure I don't miss Allison. "how many grades are in this school?"
"It's grade six to twelve." He blows out another puff of smoke. I narrow my eyes, isn't it a bit inappropriate to have grade sixes socializing with grade twelves? I hope Allison doesn't wind up in any awful situations - not that I'll let her.
I finally spot Allison's wavy blonde hair as she walks out of the school with two friends. They were all wearing checkered skirts and a navy blue shirt. I chuckle at the uniform, how cute. I raise up a hand, to catch her attention, which she immediately notices and squeals in delight. "J!" She says goodbye to her friends and rushes into my arms.
"Hey, sweetheart," I coo, patting her head.
I look up at the boy, who's eyes are wide. "You-you have a daughter?"
I laugh at his stupidity, "No, I'm just babysitting." He visibly relaxes and begins laughing with me. I bid him a farewell, taking Allison's petite hand in mine and leading her back towards my car.
"My dad didn't say you were picking me up." Allison beams as I click her seatbelt for her.
"I hope it was a good surprise." I tease and she nods rapidly. I chuckle and go over to my side of the car, sliding into the seat. "I was thinking about taking you to-"
Allison sniffs loudly, "You smell like skunk." Her eyebrows etch into a frown. "I hate that smell. All the older people at my school smell like skunk. My friends say it's drugs-"
"It's nothing, doll." I give her a small smile. I had the craving of smoking once I saw the boy at her school pull out a joint, but it completely vanished once I saw Allison. She gave me a high that no drug could.
"Allison!" A muffled voice sounds outside of my car. A small boy shaking a notebook in his hand makes himself visible through the dark windows. Allison gasps and quickly climbs from the car. I follow behind her, walking around to her side of the car to view the scene. "You forgot your notebook." The boy smiles, his cheeks turning a rose-y red. My eyes narrow.
"Thanks, Jack," Allison smiles back, gripping the notebook in her small hand. I watch Jack's face turn an even deeper shade of red as Allison's hand engulfed his as she takes the notebook. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course, Allison," he gives her a hug before trotting off to his car, where a teenage boy sat in the passenger seat. I watch as he get's in, his brother - I'm assuming -holds up a fist for him to pound. Allison's eyes also watch Jack and his brother, a dreamy and content smile on her face. My chest unintentionally swarms with an emotion that can only be described as jealousy. I'm jealous due to the fact that I'm not Allison's age, and I'll never make her blush like that. I'll never be her high school crush.
"Are you ready to go, Allison?" I ask emotionlessly. She looks over at me, but I'm already walking to my side of the car. I sit down with a huff, she slides into her seat.
"Is everything okay, J?" She asks with worried eyes. She can obviously tell my change in mood. She's so used to me babying her and treating her like a princess.
"Everything's fine, princess," I send her a tight smile. I grip the steering wheel tightly, closing my eyes. I wish things didn't have to be so complicated. Why can't I be a stupid eleven-year-old?
Allison turns her body to face me completely, "Where are we going, J?"
"I'm feeling kind of sick, I think I'm just going to drop you at home."
Her shoulders slump. "Oh, okay,"
I feel like a piece of shit as my eyes meet hers. Hers fill with confused tears, as she hugs her knees to her chest. She is so innocent, and so sweet. I know she thinks I'm upset, which relays into her being upset.
At that moment, I vow to wait for her. One day, she'll be mine. I never want her to be sad, and some day, I will make her blush like Jack did. One day, she'll kiss me. One day, she'll fall in love with me.
"Actually, let's get some food first." I turn back to the road, rolling out of the school's parking lot and speeding onto the cement.
"We don't have to, if you're sick." She shyly mumbles.
"I feel fine, baby, do you want to go to the mall?" I hate the mall, but I want to buy something for Allison. She deserves it, after all the shit I continue to put her through. She nods enthusiastically, so I merge onto the highway to head towards The Eaton Centre. Allison chats endlessly about her day, noting that her and her friends took a liking to drawing a model of the brain.
"Isn't it so cool how your head controls like, everything!" She speaks so passionately, causing me to smile and shake my head. I wish I had that, as a child. The only thing I was passionate about was snorting coke, popping pills and watching people take their last breaths. My heart aches, remembering the days. I swear, if I didn't find Allison, I would still be tumbling down into the world of murder and drugs. I had been tumbling into Hell, and I didn't even realize - maybe I did realize, I just didn't give a fuck. I no longer had anything to live for. My mother was dead, my siblings were dead to me, and my dad, fuck, my dad was the one handing me the guns and drugs.
That all changed in less than a month. My father was thrown in jail, being caught for his two hundred and seventy third murder, although, the cops thought it was his first. I vowed to never kill another soul, considering jail scared the shit out of me, and I could've sworn my dad was an even better killer than I was. If he got caught, it was only a matter of time until I was, as well. I say that, but if I ever saw anyone harming Allison, I swear to God, I would have them gasping for air in under three seconds.
Anyway, back to me becoming a saint. Once my father was locked away for fifty years with no chance at parole, I decided the hit-man business should be disbanded. I ended it all, telling everyone who worked for my father it's what he would've wanted. Don't get me wrong, all of his employees probably are still hit-men, but at least they're not working under Jeremy Bieber's name. I remained doing drugs and drinking for a while, I couldn't help it, it felt like I was losing my dad, just like I lost my mom.
There came a night where I was at a bar, high off Tec 3 and drinking anything that had alcohol in it. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I took a shot of, Patròn, I think?, and my chest began to burn heavily. I knew it wasn't in the way that alcohol was supposed to burn. It was hard for me to tell what the fuck was going on, considering the Tec 3 made everything spin in slow motion and an excessive amount of drool to fall out of my mouth. I collapsed onto the bar floor, my lungs finding it very hard to expand. I managed to spit out my last name of Bieber so the bar tender could possibly find somebody to call. Bieber was a large name, considering the Bieber establishment was linked to my uncle, Mike. They got him on the phone, and I woke up in the hospital to him crying.
Ever since that day Mike was my saviour. He offered me the position at his company, which just so happened to be the largest drug company in all of Canada, and most of the United States. It was hard at first, I had all the drugs in the world at my fingertips. I smoked some weed, did some cocaine, fucked some girls.
Then, my life did a somersault once again. I met Allison. Since I met her, I haven't touched any drug harder than weed nor have I done anything illegal. And for me, that's a huge accomplishment. She seems to have flicked a switch inside of me, stopping me from doing anything stupid. Mike pressed it a little, but she was the one to complete the mission.
"J, can we eat first?" Allison's voice rings in my ears, causing me to forget about my horrible past.
"Of course, sweetheart, what do you want?" I ask her as we roll into the mall parking lot. I drive over to the valet, stepping out and throwing him my keys. Typically, I would threaten the valet driver, knowing that they were all poor, desperate teenagers dying for an extra dollar and have probably never seen a Maserati in real life. However, as I help Allison out of the car, my lips remain in a firm line, knowing better than to yell at anyone in front of her sensitive ears.
She ponders for a moment, almost skipping. How is she always so happy? "Can we get McDonalds?"
I chuckle, "Really, princess, McDonalds?" I would have taken her to the damn CN Tower revolving restaurant, and she chooses McDonalds. Sometimes, I wonder if she knows how much money she has. I pay her father well, and her mother is a damn doctor. Now, she has me, in essence, she has as much money as fucking Jay-Z or some shit.
She shrugs, "What's wrong with McDonalds?" Her green eyes glimmer with a mischievous confusion. McDonalds was basically the most glamorous meal I could afford when I was younger. Whenever I came home with an A (which wasn't very often) my mom would treat us to the greasy fries, we all shared a six piece nugget and medium fries, as it was the only thing she could afford. I haven't been to McDonalds in about five years.
She walks beside me through the crowded mall, seemingly knowing how to weave through the frantic shoppers and lazy teenagers. I, on the other hand, am a mess. "Allison, hold my hand." I grab it, tugging her into my side. Allison has the tendency to wander off, as Darrel had warned me, she's very curious and constantly thinks I'm following her at every moment. Her black converse smack against the marble flooring as her eyes wander the shops, leading us to the food court.
"What did you do today, J?" Allison grins as he descend the escalator to the food court.
"I was just working, princess." Sold a shit ton of cocaine, that's what I did today, Allison.
She nods, "What do you work as?"
"I'm just a business-man." I place a hand onto her shoulder and lead her to the depressingly long line for McDonalds.
She gazes up at me, "What kind of business?" She pries.
"It's just selling stuff," Darrell never wants Allison to know about what he does. Which is completely understandable, she doesn't need to be tainted like that. Plus, every child who is surrounded by drugs at a young age ends up doing them when they're older, it's all about exposure.
We finally get to the front of the line and Allison places her hands onto the dirty counter, glancing at the menu. I quickly swipe her hands off the counter, "Don't touch that, baby, it's dirty."
She retreats her hands to her side obediently before ordering chicken nuggets. "I'll have uh," I look up at the menu, not knowing what anything is. "a burger?"
The cashier looks at me like I'm an idiot. "What type of burger, sir?"
"A, uh," my eyes trail over all of the stupid products. "Big Mac, I guess."
She tells me how much I owe, and I tap my credit card onto the machine. Allison moves to the other side of the counter, waiting for our order number to be called. "Here," she pulls a twenty dollar bill from her pocket, "my dad gave me money for lunch today but I didn't end up using it."
I frown, "Why didn't you eat, darling?"
"I just wasn't hungry." She pushes the money closer to me.
I take it and shove it back into her pocket, causing her to giggle. "Save that for another time, Allison, you never have to pay with me." Plus, what the hell was twenty dollars going to buy me? A pen?
Our food get's slammed onto the counter in an already wet with grease brown paper bag. I chuckle at it, picking it up and finding a place for Alison and me to sit. I set her food in front of her, watching as she smiles and digs into her fries. I pull out the awkwardly large box that had Big Mac on it, pulling it open. "Have you never had one before, J?"
I shake my head, "No," I pick it up, watching the lettuce fall back into the cardboard box. I take a bite, surprised, it's actually pretty damn good. I hum in satisfaction, eating my burger while watching Allison pick at her nuggets. She isn't a very heavy eater, which makes me wary. She needs to eat. I watch as she pushes around the three left over nuggets. "You need to eat, darling."
She pushes the box away from her, "I'm not hungry."
"You didn't eat lunch." I frown, "Let's make a deal," I push the box back towards her, "if you eat the rest of this, I'll buy you a phone." The art of negotiation is one I am certainly familiar with.
Her eyes lit up, "A phone? My dad won't let me have one until next year."
"It'll be our little secret." I wink. There is no harm in giving her a phone, I'll be the only number on it, after all.
Immediately, she digs back into her meal, chewing dramatically to show me she agrees to my negotiation. I chuckle, finishing my burger and throwing the trash back into the bag. Allison finishes, and I can tell she really was hungry.
I walk with my hand on the back of her neck as she frolics through the mall, leading me to the Apple Store. Immediately once we enter, I am swarmed by workers. "Hello, Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" The mans cheery grin matches his voice.
"Do you want the plus, sweetheart?" I ask, pointing at the larger phone. She plays with it in her hands, and I laugh at the size comparison. She can hardly hold it in both of her hands. "You can watch movies on it."
She waltzes around the store, having the worker trail behind her and feed her information I know passes through one of her ears and our the other. I laugh at the sight, sitting back and not bothering to care. My only use here is my credit card.
I pull out my own phone, glancing at the message that flashed across the screen.
Darrell - Did you pick up Allison from school? She's not home and I'm starting to worry.
I roll my eyes.
Justin - Yes.
I type the dry message and send it before placing my phone back in my pocket. Darrell is such a pain in the ass. He will constantly approach me at work, even though his work should never pass through me. He talks endlessly about Allison, but I know it is only an excuse to get close to me. After all, I pay his salary.
"J! Can I get this one?" She shines her bright white teeth at me, sporting adorable puppy dog eyes. I nod, pulling out my thick wallet and passing her my credit card. The worker eyeballs my wallet, probably drooling at the look of hundred dollar bills and 'The Black Card' I handed to Allison.
"Wow," he mutters, staring at the most prestigious credit card in the world, "you have gotta have deep pockets to have this card." I snort at his unprofessionalism. He scans the box that held the phone and hands it back to Allison, passing me the machine to input my four digit code. "Thank you for your business." He smiles before leaving us alone.
Arms fling around my torso, "Thank you so much!" Allison squeals, squeezing me tightly. I pat her head, leaving the store and taking her to one more place. She grips the phone tightly to her chest, a cheesy smile on her face.
Tiffany and Co lights up in front of us, and Allison stares up at it longingly. "You like jewelry, sweetheart?"
"I love it." She smiles, curling a finger into her dangling necklace. She shows me the small silver heart pendant. "My mom got this for me."
I nod, "You want one from me?"
Her eyebrows shoot up. "You-you already got this phone. It's okay, J." She blushes madly as scoop her up into my arms.
"I love jewelry too, Allison." I smirk, showing her the rings on my fingers, and pulling out the golden chains from under my shirt. She awes at them, the sparkling jewelry reflecting off her glowing eyes. We walk into the store, I saunter around showing Allison all of the sparkling diamonds locked away in class cases.
One catches her eyes, I watch as a shy grin peaks onto her face. I set her back onto the ground as she presses her fingers onto the glass, pointing at a pretty silver key pendant. "This one is so pretty." She gushes, staring down at it lovingly.
"What is the key for, princess?" I ask her, noticing how she skipped over all of the typical hearts and infinity signs.
She looks up at me, "The key to happiness." I look closer at the pendant, the top of the key had a kaleidoscope of silver around a yellow jewel, which almost looked like a sun.
I chuckle, she sure is wise for such a young girl.
I call over a worker and get the necklace out of the glass case, and they wrap it up in a small box. "Here you are, Sir." I look down at the price, my eyebrows raising a little. Of course, it isn't a lot for me, however, I know her parents are going to notice a ten thousand dollar pendant hanging off their daughter's neck.
I take the bag from the man after I tap my credit card and lean down so I'm Allison's height. "Listen, baby, this necklace is very expensive, you can't be flaunting it, okay?"
She nods quickly, "Yes, I understand. My mom told me to wear expensive jewelry tucked under my shirt."
I nod, "Good girl,"
She breaks out in a smile once again, leaping into my arms. "Thank you so much, J."
"Anything for you, princess."
We leave the mall, stepping back into my car. I motion for Allison to turn around, and clasp the metal onto her neck. While she admires the necklace, I take her brand new phone, setting it up and placing my number into the contacts, sending myself an iMessage, since she doesn't have a SIM card just yet.
We leave the mall, and I drive the familiar roads back to her house. Her parents will most likely be home, so I will have to drop her off quickly before her mother can see me. I roll into her driveway, sighing in relief when I don't see her mother's BMW, and only her father's Rolls Royce. I roll my eyes, I pay that motherfucker too much.
I open Allison's door, and she skips up her path up to the door. I bring my hand up to knock, and Allison wraps her thin arms around my torso. "Thank you for everything today, J."
I sigh, wrapping my arms around her back, squeezing her tightly into me. She is the only thing that makes me happy. My chest aches at the thought of going home and being all alone, as per usual.
Darrell swings the door open, smiling when he sees his daughter. Then, he sees me and his smile falters. "Daddy!" Allison squeals and hugs her dad. He pats her back.
"Thank you for taking her out, Mr. Bieber." He clears his throat awkwardly.
I simply nod in response, and squat down so my lips are next to her ear. "Remember, don't tell your dad about the phone, sweetheart. Send me a message if you need anything."
She giggles and holds her index finger up to her lips, indicating she will keep quiet about the phone. I chuckle, ruffling her silky smooth locks before trotting back to my car.
I am met with a hurricane when I come home.
"Mr. Bieber," Julie pants, "someone is here to see you."
I frown, trying to recall making plans with anyone. However, when a figure makes herself present from behind Julie, my heart clenches and I feel anger burn inside of me. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"You never called me." Melissa frowns. "So, I came here to see what's wrong."
"I didn't give you permission to come to my house." My teeth grind together and my hands ball into fists. The last thing I want to deal with is Melissa. "We are not continuing our relationship, didn't me not calling make that clear?"
"I broke up with Jacob for you!" She argues. Melissa is nothing to me. We fucked once, as I needed to get back at my cousin. Jacob recently voiced his distaste for me, and lied to Mike that I had been stealing money from the business. Of course, I hadn't been, but it definitely pissed me off. Once Mike realized that it wasn't true, he told me Jacob is probably just jealous, considering I own a larger building, and am striving, while his numbers are plummeting.
And of course, I am a man that doesn't back down from a fight. If he wants to play dirty, we'll play dirty. His girlfriend was where I began.
"I don't give a fuck what you did, get the fuck out of my house!" I bark at her.
"Why won't you let any girl in, Justin? Why won't you date anyone? I'm a good person, I have a good job, I have a normal, fun personality, what will it take to get you to take a girl seriously?" She crosses her arms over her chest, clearly frustrated with me. She is right, Melissa is surprisingly nice, gorgeous, and has great morals. But I never got involved in relationships. Before, I was a hit-man, and dating someone would have made keeping my job a secret harder. Now, I seem to have my mind on a girl I can't have.
"I don't do relationships, Melissa, and you knew that before you fucked me. The only reason we ever got together was so I could rub it in Jacob's face. You are useless to me now, he will find out soon. Now, I'm going to say it once more, get the fuck out of my house." I point to the door, I am finished with this conversation.
She shakes her head, grabbing her purse from the floor. "You're going to be unhappy for your whole life if you don't settle down, Justin." I roll my eyes at her as she struts out my front door.
"Why don't you settle down, Mr. Bieber? She's a pretty girl." Julie speaks out from her place in the forum beside the foyer.
I huff, shrugging off my blazer and placing it on the hook. "I just don't want to." And because I'm going to wait for Allison.
Julie sips her coffee. "Good luck with whoever it is, Mr. Bieber."
I frown, "What are you on about, Julie?"
"The look in your eyes, you want someone, but you can't have her. I wish you luck." She stands, sauntering out of the room and into the kitchen. I sigh, she is so much like my mother. My mom could read me like an open book, and now, so could Julie.
I trudge up to my room, stripping from my dirty clothes and changing into sweats and a t-shirt. I glance at my phone, swallowing and shaking my head as I see no new messages. I am wrapped around a young girl's finger, and she doesn't even know it. Hell, I don't even know it. I can't have her, how am I going to wait seven years for her?
What the fuck am I going to do?
My phone buzzes, and my stomach churns in excitement, but that quickly contorts into annoyance.
Jacob - Are you fucking serious, Justin?! You fucked Melissa? You're going to regret that.
I roll my eyes, Melissa probably left here and texted him, begging for forgiveness. I lock my phone, not bothering to apologize. Jacob can try as he might, but he can never hurt me. He can fuck with my business, my house, even my own health. I don't care.
I have nothing meaningful in my life that he can take away.
;)
Y'all please he's not a pedophile we would never do anything with her when she's young
-steph