TIFFANY'S POV:
I walked back into mine and Justin's bedroom a few mornings later having had a shower, seeing him stood by the window. Moving over to him, I wound my arms around his waist from behind…
"Are you nervous?" I asked
He continued to stare out of the window and nodded his head…
"It'll be fine," I assured him, leaning up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to the back of his neck "I promise."
"You can't be sure of that though," he admitted "as much as I want to believe you, I can't."
"I understand." I replied as I pulled away from him and moved to my wardrobe "But you can't let this consume you. Go and visit him today, see what he has to say, and whatever happens, we'll get through it together."
He turned and smiled at me warmly… "Have I told you how amazing you are lately?"
"Not today you haven't, but I think it's about time you did." I admitted
"You do, do you?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at me
I nodded my head and smiled at him warmly as he moved closer to me, wrapping his arms around my towel clad waist… "You're amazing."
"Thank you." I replied, leaning up on my tiptoes to kiss him softly "You're not bad either."
"I'll go down and make a start on breakfast before I have to go." he informed me, kissing my lips once again "I'll see you down there."
Nodding my head in agreement, I watched him leave the room, shutting the door behind him…
JUSTIN'S POV:
"Are you nervous, Justin?" Allie questioned as she, myself, Tiffany, Leo and Floyd sat at the kitchen table a little while later
"Yeah, a bit." I replied "I just want to know what he wants."
"Can we talk about something else please?" Leo inquired
"Sorry, Leo." Allie admitted, smiling at him weakly "Of course we can."
"Thank you." he replied
TIFFANY'S POV:
Justin and I made our way out of the house a little while later, saying goodbye to Mum and everyone else. I was heading into town to do some shopping, and he was heading to the bus station. Entwining my hand with his, I stroked my thumb over his knuckle…
"I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better…" I admitted
He smiled at me warmly as he glanced at me… "You just being here is helping."
"But what about when you're at the prison? I won't be there then." I sighed
"I'm a big boy, I'll be able to cope." he informed me "Don't worry about me."
"Easier said than done." I admitted
JUSTIN'S POV:
After saying goodbye to Tiffany, I climbed on the bus and took a seat, smiling warmly at Tiffany as she stood at the stop until it drove off, arriving outside my stop half-an-hour later. Pulling my visiting order from my pocket, I made my way in through the gates…
"Justin, thanks for coming!" Dad greeted me as I walked into the visiting room
"You're welcome," I replied "now can we skip to why you wanted to see me?"
"Can we not catch up first?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at me
"I'm fine, everyone's fine. There, that's all you need to know." I informed him "So, why did you want to see me?"
"I wanted to tell you something…" he admitted
"Okay, what?" I asked
"I'm appealing my conviction." he informed me "And my solicitor thinks I have a good chance."
I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Okay. And what do you think is going to happen if your appeal is successful?"
"I want Allie to forgive me," he admitted "I know it'll be a hard road but I want us all to be a family again. And I've been getting help for my anger, and it's really working."
"You think everything can just go back to normal?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him "How stupid are you? After everything you did, Allie doesn't want to see you never mind get back together with you. Things are good, Dad, for the first time in a long time. It'd be best if you forgot about the appeal and stayed in here."
"How can you say that? I'm your Dad." he asked
"A Dad doesn't beat his own son." I informed him "I may call you Dad but I don't think of you as a father, not anymore. After everything you've done, I can never forgive you."
"Justin, wait." he begged as I stood up and walked to the exit
"There's nothing left to say." I replied "Bye, Dad."
TIFFANY'S POV:
"I can't believe he's even thinking about appealing his conviction…" I admitted as Justin filled me in on his visit with his Dad "Do you think he could be released?"
"His solicitor thinks he has a good chance," he informed me "he's behaved himself and he's working on his anger, and it'll all add up when it goes to court. He could be out within weeks."
"We can't think about that," I sighed "no matter how scary a thought it is. Did he say anything else? About me, about Mum?"
"If he does get out, he wants to try and win your Mum back." he admitted "He wants us to be a family again, and that's when I lost it."
I pressed my lips against his cheek as he spoke… "What did you say?"
"I told him he wasn't my Dad, not anymore, not after everything he's done, and said it'd be better if he stayed in prison." he informed me "I saw him and I just knew I couldn't forgive him."
JUSTIN'S POV:
"You've not even tried to forgive him," Leo sighed as I informed him on what happened during my visit with Dad "you need to try, Justin."
"After everything he did to me?" I questioned "He beat me, Leo. He left us with Mum and caused her to have a breakdown so he could start a new life. He's not a Dad to us."
"But he's trying to be a better man, surely that has to count for something?" he asked
"To you, maybe, but to me, no." I replied "I've got all the family I need right here."
"Do you mean that?" he inquired
"Of course I do," I informed him "what makes you think I don't?"
He shrugged his shoulders… "I did something, something you're probably gonna hate me for."
"I couldn't hate you." I admitted "You're my brother."
"How about if I told you I kissed your girlfriend? Could you not hate me then?" he asked
"What?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him "You kissed Tiff? When?"
"When you told me about the visiting order," he informed me "it was all one-sided, I swear. She pulled away, she didn't want it, and neither did I, but she was being so nice, giving me advice, it just happened."
"And that makes it okay, does it?" I inquired
"No, of course it doesn't." he replied "That's why I had to tell you."
"You should've told me the minute it happened." I informed him
TIFFANY'S POV:
Justin walked into our room a little while after leaving to tell Leo about his visit with Vaughan and shut the door behind him…
"How did he take it?" I questioned
"That doesn't matter," he replied "what matters is that you've been keeping a secret from me."
I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Justin, I…"
"Why didn't you tell me, Tiff?" he asked
"You were going through enough having just received your Dad's visiting order," I informed him "and what happened with Leo, it was nothing and it meant nothing."
"So you're saying it's my fault you weren't honest with me?" he questioned
"No," I replied "I'm saying I didn't want to hurt and confuse you anymore than you already were, so I kept it a secret. I know it was the wrong thing to do but I couldn't break your heart."
"I would've understood if you'd told me," he admitted "but you've kept it a secret. We've slept in the same bed and you've been able to act as if nothing's wrong for almost a week."
"Please, Justin." I begged "You can't let this affect us."
"It already has." he informed me "I need to go for a walk, clear my head."
"Justin, please. Stay. We can talk this through." I proclaimed as he headed to the door again
"How can I stay when I can't even look at you?" he questioned
I fell to the floor sobbing as Justin shut the door behind him, rocking myself back and forth…
JUSTIN'S POV:
"Justin, where're you going, love? Dinner's almost ready." Allie informed me as I reached the hallway
"Ask your daughter." I replied, continuing to walk out the door and down the driveway
Oh dear… What's to come next, I wonder? Do you think Justin and Tiffany can make it through?
