Gone Crazy (Chapter 3)

Later that day (5:00 p.m.)

"Aaliyah rested her head on Justin's lap as she gazed up at the clear blue sky. There were no birds and not one single cloud in the sky. It was such a beautiful day. Less wind and more sun. Just how she liked it. They sat out on a blanket at their neighborhood park, watching Brandi play on the playground. She was the type that was hyper no matter if she hadn't eaten candy or chocolate. It was something that came natural to her.

Justin, on the other hand, kept his eyes on Brandi while playing through Aaliyah's soft hair. He licked his moist lips and gazed down to stare at Aaliyah. She laid there keeping to herself. Not saying a word. Whenever she did that it made him think that something was wrong. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her smooth forehead. She looked up to lock eyes with his, peering deeply in his blue eyes. "I love you, girl." he spoke softly. A smile slowly formed on her face as she batted her eyelids innocently. He chuckled softly, nibbling on the bottom of his lip. "I'm gonna marry you one day."

She leisurely sat up and brushed a few strains of hair behind her ear. "Justin..." she licked her lips and held her head down. "Do you ever think about..." she trailed off, finding it hard to put her sentence. "Well...you don't think that someone will try to come between us? You know...ruin what we have." she lifted her head to gaze in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked, a little confused. She sat there with an emotionless look on her face, wondering what was his next comment. There was nothing that could explain how she truly felt. She wanted to crawl in a corner and just cry her eyes out. She never felt so down, and depressed in her life. After the incident the other night, she began to have doubts about their relationship. And she never had doubts about her and him before. Was it trying to tell her something? Like something drastic was going to happen between them? She didn't know what to think at the time. All she could do was keep quiet. "Baby..." he woke her out of the trance. She hastily looked up to gaze in his eyes. He slowly reached out and brushed her chin delicately with his thumb. "Why would you think like that?"

"Well..." she found herself getting very emotional. "It's just...after the whole...Oliver incident the other night..." tears slowly formed in her eyes. "I just think..." she sniffled and looked away to avoid the eye contact with him. "She might try to...ruin what we have." tears slowly poured down her cheeks. "I'm sorry." she wiped underneath her diluted eyes.

"No..." she looked up to glare in his hurtful eyes. "I understand...why you're feeling this way." he paused and bit the bottom of his lip, keeping his gaze on her. "I mean...I'm having doubts also, but...if we really wanna be with each other...we will fight this. Oliver CAN'T ruin what we have unless we let her. Trust me...she's not gonna win this battle. Our love is TOO strong for her to destroy." she sniffled and wiped underneath her diluted eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe you're right." she looked up to lock eyes with his. Maybe I AM taking this a little out of proportion." she refused to believe that they would ever break up. That was something she never wanted to happen.

"Um..." he nibbled on the bottom of his lip as he thought of a few ideas. "I was thinking...since we...Well you got into with Oliver...maybe we can...stay somewhere else...until she decides to leave us alone." her eyebrows lifted up questionably.

"Excuse me? No. I am NOT...running away from that bitch. She doesn't scare me."

"It's not that. I man...I'm only trying to do this so it won't jeopardize our relationship because I know how she is. She can be very dangerous at some..."

"And SO CAN I!" she interrupted. He exhaled heavily, and held his head down, looking away. There was nothing that could change her mind. "Come on now, Justin. You KNOW me better than that."

"Baby..." he lifted his head to gaze in her serious eyes. "Just think about the baby. You don't think this could effect her? She could ALSO be in danger."

"Well if that hoe decides to touch my baby...I will seriously kick her ass. I'm sorry but I AM NOT...running away from her. Just like you said...OUR love is TOO strong for her to damage. Well if it is...why are you tryin' to run away from her?" he was lost with words. "Just like I thought."

"MOMMYYYYYYY! COME HEREEEEEE!!!" Brandi yelled from the swings. She looked up to gaze at her.

"Um...I'll be there in a second, sweetie." she gazed back at Justin who kept his eyes on her. "Um...I'm gonna go...play with Brandi. Whenever you ready...just let me know." she stood up and jogged up towards her.

Justin kept his eyes on the two as they played with each other. Aaliyah glimpsed at him as she pushed Brandi on the swings. Her smile slowly faded as she realized the look he held. Something told her that something drastic was going to happen between them, but she refused to believe it. She looked away and continued pushing Brandi on the swing.
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"Are you taking Susie with you?" Aaliyah asked as she stood by the car door, waiting on Brandi who remained seated.

"Yes. Susie is hungry also." she stepped out of the car with her Barbie doll, and grasped Aaliyah's hand as the three of them headed towards the restaurant.

"Damn. I'm already starving and we ate a few hours ago." she spoke to Justin. He pulled the door open for them, allowing them to walk in first, then he followed them in, gazing around for a waiter for waitress.

"Good morning. Table for three?" a waitress greeted them.

"Um...yes. Non smoking, please." Justin answered while stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Alright. Follow me." they all followed her towards the back area, finally arriving at their table. "Here you are." Justin pulled out a seat for Aaliyah and took his seat across from her.

"Brandi...wanna sit on daddy's lap?"

"Yes." she climbed on his lap, and sat Susie on hers.

"Would you guys like to order now?" she asked, holding a pad in her hands.

"Uh..." Justin glanced at Aaliyah who had her head in a menu. "Are you ready to order?" he asked her curiously.

"Um..." she looked up to gaze at the waitress. "I'll take the steak special. Well cooked. What do you want, sweetie?" she spoke to Brandi, handing the waitress the menu.

"I want chicken and fries." she answered. "And Susie wants burger." the waitress chuckled softly.

"She's so cute." she spoke up.

"Haha. Um...Susie's gonna have to share with you. She'll take fries and chicken strips. I forgot what special that was." she spoke scanning the menu.

"I'll give her the number six. The chicken meal. And..." she looked up to lock eyes with Justin's'. "What about you, sir?" he sat more comfortably in his seat and handed her the menu.

"Just hook me up with a medium coke. I just came here for my family. I'm not really hungry." he mentioned, taking a quick glimpse at Aaliyah who sat there watching him closely.

"Okay. I'll be back with your orders."

"Thank you." he thanked, looking away. She collected all of the menus and walked away. A few minutes later, he felt a hand grasp his hand. He hastily looked up to lock eyes with Aaliyah's.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Um...yeah. Whatever." he rubbed through his hair in frustration. "Excuse me. I have to use the restroom." he picked up Brandi, and sat her on his chair. "I'll be back, baby girl." Aaliyah watched as he headed towards the restrooms.

"Oh boy." she exhaled heavily and held her head down, closing her eyes.

A few minutes later, he had made it back to the table. "Excuse me, sweetie." Brandi stood up and allowed him to sit down. "Now you can sit back on my lap." he helped her on his lap. Aaliyah kept her eyes on him, confused as can be. She didn't get him at all. He completely ignored her like she wasn't even there. She had a feeling he was upset about the whole Oliver incident.

"Baby..." he bit the bottom of his lip and met eye contact with her. "Um...what's wrong? Seriously. Just to let you know...you're not the only one hurting inside." she spoke, trying hard not to shed a tear.

"Hmm really? Well you sure do show that in a funny way." he spat out coldly. Her bottom lip trembled from her emotions inside. She wanted so badly to break out crying, but she had to hold it in to prevent from a big scene happening in front of everyone.

"Excuse me." she stood up, covering her mouth as she rushed towards the restrooms, crying silently.

"Shit." he whispered, beginning to regret how he reacted towards her.

Two hours later

Justin pulled up in his driveway and turned his car off. He gazed at Aaliyah who sat on the passenger's side with an upset look on her face. "Um..." he reached out to touch her but she jerked away.

"Don't touch me." she spat out coldly. He sat there with a confused look on his face.

"Why are you acting like this?" she didn't bother responding. "Um...why can't you just...make this easy for the three of us? Staying at my mansion won't be that bad." she rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car.

"Come on, Brandi. It's time to go." she spoke, grasping her arm and helping her out of the back seat.

"Bye, daddy." she waved as they stepped up on the front porch.

"Aaliyah?" he called, looking out of the driver's window. She ignored him as she unbarred the door, and pulled it open, entering the house. "Damn." he stepped out of the car, and ran in the house before she was able to close the door on him. "What the hell is your damn problem?" he spoke angrily, slowly focusing in on Brandi who gazed at him with her doll in her hands. "Um...could you do me a favor and go to your room? Your mother and I need to talk."

"Okay." she ran up the stairs, and down the hall towards her room.

"Now you listen to me." he moved in closer to her as she backed up against the wall. "I don't know what the hell is your problem. I'm just trying to keep our family out of danger, but you seem like you don't care a RAT'S ASS about it all."

"I don't care? Excuse me? I DO care. Probably MORE THAN YOU!" she pointed to him. "You're just tryin' to run away from your problems like you ALWAYS do." she raised her voice.

"I'm NOT running away from my problems. I'm tryin' to keep YOU and MY DAUGHTER out of danger. You don't realize how much you guys mean to me, do you? If you did...you would do as I asked."

"No. I don't think so. Don't try to change EVERYTHING around. I'm stayin' my ass here...whether you like it or not." she spoke, crossing her arms over her chest in attitude. He shook his head pathetically.

"You're SO damn stubborn. Why can't you just...do as I asked?"

"Because I DON'T WANT TO!" she yelled. He bit the bottom of his lip as he felt his anger rising to the top.

"Well you know what? It's not your choice anymore. You're gonna take your dumb ASS upstairs and pack your things. You're going whether YOU want to or not." her head jerked back offensively.

"No I'm not."

"YES YOU ARE!" he yelled.

"NO...I'M NOT!" she yelled even louder.

"Fine. Then YOU STAY HERE and I'll take Brandi, with me. END OF DISCUSSION!" she stood there, mouth hanging to the floor as she watched him storm up the stairs, towards Brandi's room.

Chapter 4

ALL WORK COPYRIGHTED BY SHONA 2002