Careless Mistake
by Kelli
Part 45
Late April 2005.......
Justin turned over and rubbed his eyes as he slowly opened them. There was a light beam shining in through a crack in the curtains and it was shining right on his face.
"Damn light," he mumbled, throwing his arm over his face.
He wasn't sure how long he laid like that but it seemed like awhile. Suddenly he realized the spot next to him in the bed was cold and empty.
"Brit?" he mumbled softly as he rubbed his face.
There was no answer so he let his head fall to the right and noticed it was ten am.
"Britney?" he called a little louder. "Mackenzie?"
Slowly he sat up and looked around the dimly lit room.
"Anyone?"
His voice was laced with fatigue. He had been out all day yesterday doing promotions for his album, starting with a taped interview at MTV that would air in the US and in Europe and then staying to do TRL. Then it was on to the David Letterman show and then he stopped by a couple of radio shows to do live interviews there. He was gone from the apartment a total of fourteen hours and when he got home both Mackenzie and Britney were asleep. Now when he woke up, neither were there.
He threw his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself to stand up. He cursed as he stubbed his toe on the corner of the nightstand on his way to the bathroom.
When he finally made it down to the kitchen he rubbed his face again as he wandered over to the refrigerator to get the juice out. Maybe that would perk him up a bit. He poured himself a glass and then looked around the room for a note.
Nothing.
He walked into the great room to see if she left anything in there.
Nope.
The foyer.
Nuh uh.
He went into the study and flipped through their day planner and looked at the date. There wasn't anything marked. Nothing he forgot about.
He picked up the cordless phone laying on the desk and dialed her cell phone number.
It went straight to her voicemail.
"Hey baby, it's me. Just wondering where you're at. Give me a call. Love you, bye."
He hung up the phone and threw it back down on the desk and decided to go back to the kitchen to get something to eat because suddenly his stomach was growling.
An hour later, he sat on the couch flipping through the channels, not really paying attention to what he was seeing. He picked up the phone and dialed again. This time it said it was out of range and the caller could not be located.
He hung up and started to dial her bodyguard again but decided against it. He didn't think Rob would appreciate a third phone call in a matter of twenty minutes.
"God.....come on, Brit. Where in the hell are you?" he yelled as he settled his elbows on his thighs and looked down at his feet.
Another hour went by and he was starting to get frantic. He double-checked with security in their building to make sure that they did see Britney leaving with Mackenzie on her own free will.
He fell backwards on their bed and moaned. Lyrics to another song were drifting into his mind.
Gone part two.
Only this time it also included his daughter.
His life felt so empty right this minute.
"Justin....."
He heard an angel's voice calling him. He felt a hand on his stomach, gently tickling him.
"Justin.....wake up."
His eyes flew open and he was staring into his angel's eyes.
"Huh?" he asked, trying to sit up, but this quick movement made his head spin.
"Whoa," Britney said, placing her hand on his chest. "Baby, why did you fall asleep here like this?"
He looked from side to side and realized his feet were still on the floor but he was laying on the bed, just like he had collapsed onto it earlier.
"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing one of his eyes with the palm of his hand.
"It's after two. You scared me when you didn't answer the phone."
"What?" he asked, sitting up this time.
"I tried calling you when I got your voicemail but you didn't answer. I was so worried I came home."
"You were worried about me?"
She stared at him and nodded. "Yeah. I tried calling you here and on your cell phone...."
He cut her off. "Do you realize how many times I tried calling you today? Do you?" he asked in a frantic tone.
"No," she said, shaking her head, looking a little confused. "Why? I told you where we were going...."
"You did? When?"
"I left you a note, Justin...."
"Where, Britney? I didn't see a note anywhere."
Her mouth fell open just slightly and she stood up and left the room. He followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"I left it right here," she said, pointing to the counter.
"Brit, there wasn't anything here this morning, I swear."
She started to look around the floor.
"I don't know what happened to it then."
When she stood upright she saw the worried look on his face so she walked over to him.
"I'm sorry," she said, caressing his face. "Mackenzie and I went shopping and then I ran into an old friend so we had a long lunch. My note said we'd be gone most of the day. I wanted you to be able to rest after your long day yesterday."
She stuck her lower lip out a little and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"I was just worried. I didn't know...."
He stopped before he got really upset.
"I'm sorry," she said again.
When she pulled back he looked deep into her eyes.
"How did your promotion stuff go yesterday?" she asked, stroking his cheek.
He shrugged. "It went well, I guess. It was just a long ass day."
He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.
"Yeah, I'm sure it was. Mackenzie and I missed you," she whispered.
He smiled. "I missed you guys too. You don't know how many times I thought about the two of you. It's what kept me going."
"Awww," she said before gently cupping his face and pulling his mouth to hers.
She tasted his lips and he traced his tongue along the bottom of her lip. She opened her mouth for him.
Suddenly they heard a crash from the other room and pulled apart.
"Mackenzie," Britney moaned as she left the room.
Justin followed her into the great room where Mackenzie was standing next to the coffee table with a ball in her hand.
"What are you doing?" Britney asked, with her hands on her hips.
Mackenzie looked down and then back up at Britney.
"Ball," she said, holding it out for Britney to see.
"Yes, I see that.....but where did you get that ball?"
"My guess would be from that shelf that's now on the floor," Justin said, pointing to the corner of the room.
"Da da," Mackenzie said with a big smile on her face.
"Hey there angel," he said, walking over to her. He stopped when Britney glared at him. "Right," Justin said.
Mackenzie started to walk over to Justin but Britney stood in front of him, still with her hands on her hips.
"Where did you get the ball, Mackenzie?"
Mackenzie looked down at the ground and let the ball fall to the floor.
"Ball," she mumbled, watching it roll under the couch.
"Did you make that mess?" Britney asked, pointing to the tipped shelf.
Mackenzie wouldn't look up.
"I thought you had her in her play pen," Justin said softly.
Britney glanced behind her. "That's her newest trick, getting out of it. Is there any way of adjusting it? Making the sides higher up?"
"Hmmm," Justin said, turning around to look at the play pen.
"Da da," Mackenzie mumbled.
"Don't da da him.....you know you're not supposed to touch the shelves to get any toys. Ask mommy and daddy for that."
Britney knelt down and held out Mackenzie's hands and looked at them.
"Did you get hurt?" she asked her looking up and down her arms.
Mackenzie still didn't look up.
Britney pulled her to her and kissed her cheek.
"We just don't want you getting hurt. I love you."
"Wuv wu," Mackenzie said.
Justin smiled when he heard her return Britney's words as he studied the hinges on the play pen.
"We might just have to retire this thing," he said.
Britney scooped Mackenzie up and stood next to Justin.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that. She's too big for a play pen anyway, aren't you?" she asked, bouncing Mackenzie up and down on her hip.
"Da da," Mackenzie said, holding out her arms for her daddy.
Justin took her from Britney and kissed her on the cheek.
"I missed you....were you a good girl for mommy?"
Mackenzie nodded as she studied the button of his shirt.
"She always thinks she's good," Britney said, patting her back before walking back toward the kitchen. "You hungry?"
"Yeah, actually, I am."
"Hungwy," Mackenzie repeated.
"You're always hungry," Justin chuckled, tickling Mackenzie's side. "You must have your mommy's metabolism," he whispered to her as he walked into the kitchen.
"I heard that," Britney said as she searched the refrigerator for something. She stood up. "Are you implying that I'm always hungry?"
Justin leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Not at all," he winked at her.
She laughed before pulling out the ground beef.
"I'll make spaghetti."
"Sounds good to me. You like that, angel?" he asked Mackenzie.
Mackenzie nodded.
"So.....who did you meet for lunch?" Justin asked.
Britney ran water in the sink and set the sealed package of ground beef down in the water.
"I don't think you've met her. Her name is Kristen. I went out with her brother once."
Justin cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Britney glanced over her shoulder as she retrieved the noodles from the cabinet.
"Yes......really."
"What's his name?" he asked as he set Mackenzie down in her highchair.
Britney turned back around and bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Um, I don't remember."
Justin stopped buckling Mackenzie in and turned his head.
"You don't remember?"
Britney shook her head.
"But you remember his sister's name?"
"Ba ba," Mackenzie said, slamming her hands down on the tray.
"I'll get your ba ba.....what do you want, water or juice?" Justin asked her.
"Jewce."
"Maybe I can help you," he said going to the refrigerator to get the juice.
"With what? Cooking?" Britney asked.
"No.....with the name," he said walking around her to get a sippy cup down.
"Why?"
She put the pot of water on the stove and turned it on.
"Won't it bug you until you think of it?"
He poured the juice into the cup.
"Not really," she shrugged.
He screwed the lid on and walked back over to Mackenzie.
"Well it will me. Was it a common name like Bob?"
He handed Mackenzie the cup and she took it quickly, putting it to her mouth to drink.
"Not really."
"Cameron?"
Britney turned around at the sink and leaned against it to look at him.
"Are you serious? What are you going to do....go through the whole alphabet?"
He shifted and put one hand on his hip.
"If I have to."
A slow smile formed on Britney's lips. "It was Scott."
"Scott," Justin repeated, nodding his head.
"And....." she said, slowly walking toward him. "It was one date. One," she said holding up one finger.
When she reached him she took that finger and touched his lips with it.
"Nothing to be worried or jealous about."
She stood up on her tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss where her finger was.
"I'm not jealous......or worried."
"Okay," she said, turning back around to continue preparing dinner.
"Just........curious."
She giggled.