Episode 2
2205 Words
POV Fran
Gorgeous was due back in LA and my legs were like jelly just thinking about seeing her. The big man said he was going to throw her a party at his house as a homecoming for her. I had spoke to her a few days before it and she didn’t sound impressed “oh Francis I don’t want a stupid party. I will be exhausted by the time we land in LA. The big man is really sweet to have arranged it, but I really don’t want a party” I had to smile to myself. She was one of the most famous women in the world but she hated being the center of attention. That’s why she was always so happy to be in the band so that she could share the spotlight with us. That’s why I was so surprised when she told me she was going solo. And I was gutted that she was doing her own thing without me but I couldn’t be angry with her because it was me that said I needed a break from the band to begin with. I could kick myself every time I pushed her away. But now she was coming back to LA to see us and plan the anniversary show and I was over the moon to be spending time with her again. “John has a meeting as soon as we get there, he’s just bought a lot of land or something so he won’t make the party. Honestly you won’t believe how excited he is to finally meet you” The mention of her boyfriend made my blood boil. I had seen photos of him online but never with her, he was a big good looking bastard but he was at least 25 years older than her. He was a powerful guy and she was head over heels about him “I’m going to have a barbecue the day after the party, please say you will bring your girlfriend with you, I’d love to meet her” the thing was I didn’t want Lydia to meet Joanna because Joanna could be a total b***h and she had a way of winding people up “Yeah I will be there, but I don’t think she will be free that day” i said, the idea of my beautiful Lydia meeting Joanna made my toes curl. Joanna could be twisted and I hated the thought of her even sharing oxygen with my perfect Lydia. I remember the first time I introduced Joanna to Carmela and Stacey and the boys. I had been seeing her for about two months and she was still pretending that she was a nice person. We all went out to dinner and everyone was really nice to her but when we left the restaurant Joanna said she hated all my friends and wouldn’t be spending time with any of them again. She was pissed off the entire drive home. When we got to her apartment she absolutely lost her s**t. She was screaming and shouting and throwing things and then she started crying and begging for me to stay with her. I managed to calm her down but she cried herself to sleep. I lay next to her in her bed desperate to get away from her. I was battling my own s**t and I didn’t think I had the strength to be there for her too. When she woke up the next day she was really apologetic and I felt bad for her. She said she had been super nervous to meet my friends so she had a few drinks to calm herself down and she said that they had been horrible to her. Although I knew they had all been nice to her, she was adamant that Stacey and Carm were being bitchy. I decided to speak to Chris about it all and he said that when I had went outside to take a phone call that Joanna was flirting with the waiter and had asked Chris how much I was worth. I was shocked and embarrassed but when I brought it up to her she said that she was only joking and that my friends didn’t get her and that she felt misunderstood. I felt sorry for her but after a few months I began to realize that she was just a complete b***h and it was my own stupid fault for ignoring the signs. The truth was that Joanna and I had met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, I had went a bit off the rails the last time I had seen Lydia at a band meeting in Cuba and when I got home I really hit the bottle. We’d all had such a great time in Cuba because we were away from everyone but when she left me at the airport to go back to her boyfriend I was heartbroken. And when I got home she sent me through divorce papers for me to sign. I was at an all time low. I knew our marriage was just a laugh and didn’t mean anything to her but looking at those papers destroyed me. Chris and Carmela convinced me to seek help and because I didn’t want to end up like my Mum I went to a few meeting with Chris. Thats when I met Joanna, but she wasn’t the same as me, she had a DUI and lost her driving license which caused her to lose her job and rather than do community service she was forced to go to AA meetings. For the first few months we were together she didn’t drink at all which was good for me, it meant I wasn’t tempted but she wore her sobriety as a badge of honor dropping it into every conversation which was so Hollywood. And now for the past few months she was drinking again and it irritated me. It was the night of the party and I couldn’t wait to see Gorgeous. I had my hair cut twice and tried on five different t shirts because I wanted to look my best. I even had my teeth whitened, I’d lost the f*****g plot. Although I was nervous I was desperate to see her. We got to the party and the big man was already drunk. I could tell he was just as excited as me. His house was full of people. But I couldn’t see her anywhere. Tommy arrived with Lilly, she was a really nice girl and her and Joanna had hit it off which suited me and Tommy because it meant we could go and play golf and leave them with our credit cards and let them shop. I tried my best with Joanna I really did try to be a good boyfriend but my heart wasn’t in it. I loved Lydia so much I couldn’t help but compare them. She was nothing like Lydia, she was spoiled and argumentative, and Lydia was perfect but she was with someone else which was the story of my life. Unfortunately Lilly had told Joanna about the big mans party and there was no way of getting out of it so I had to bring her with me. I knew she would end up drunk and embarrassing me which made me even more nervous. I couldn’t help but notice that Tommy looked nervous too. He hadn’t seen or heard from Gorgeous since they had split up two years ago and he told me the day before the party that he was looking forward to seeing her again but now he looked worried sick “are you alright mate?” I asked as he watched the front door waiting for Lydia to arrive. He let out a sigh “Lydia might not be happy I’m here mate” he whispered to me. But Stacey over heard him “Lyds doesn’t hold a grudge honestly, I mean you guys had only spilt up two minutes and she had already moved on with John and she’s absolutely crazy about him. They are like the perfect couple” said Stacey. I had to laugh, Stacey thought she was being nice but she was actually twisting the knife and poor Tommy looked devastated. He had never got over what had happened between him and Lydia. He didn’t make any attempt to hid the fact that he was still in love with her, well not to me anyway. Obviously he was swaggering around like he couldn’t care less but every now and then he would get really down and ask me to call her and put her on speaker phone so he could hear her voice. I know it sounds creepy but I felt awful for him. I may not have a chance with her in the slightest but at least I was still in her life. But she had cut Tommy out completely and I think that’s the part that hurt him the most. When we got back to LA after our Christmas in Thailand two years ago Tommy was suicidal because Lydia had left him, and he was still protesting his innocence to this day. That was the reason I stayed friends with him. I felt guilty that I knew the truth that he hadn’t cheated on her and that it was the big man that set him up to look like he had cheated with the hotel maid. When I seen the state he was in when she left him I felt terrible for the poor guy. After all I knew better than anyone what it was like to be in love with her and not be able to be with her. Then when she started seeing John right away we were all surprised, it wasn’t like her to jump into something else so soon. Tommy was in bits when he found out she was seeing John and the big man said Mick had been on the phone to him bending his ear about it too. But this guy John was untouchable because she wouldn’t let any of us meet him, she said it was for our own good. But I didn’t know what she meant by that. I suppose he did look pretty scary in the photos I had seen of him online. I knew he was a billionaire business man so I automatically thought the way he had made his money was illegal. But when I looked further into him, he seemed a good guy. He did a lot for charity and he had three sons that all worked for him. He seemed like a good dad, but his kids were our age. He was totally different to the boyfriends she’d had before, and Stacey was right they did seem like the perfect couple. Although they were private in the press but anytime she spoke to me about him he sounded like he was treating her well and I suppose that’s all that mattered. I tried so hard to be with Joanna because I had decided it was time to try and get over my obsession with Lydia. I thought that I could eventually grow to love Joanna but now I was exhausted by pretending I was happy with her. Lydia coming home was like a bolt of reality, I was kidding myself those past 6 months with Joanna and it was about time I admitted it. Stacey, Joanna and Lilly went outside by the pool to listen to the band the big man had asked to play at the party. Tommy and I stood inside together absolutely shitting ourselves. “Why are you so nervous?” he asked, I just shrugged my shoulders “I haven’t seen her in months mate, and she hasn’t met Joanna yet and I’m not looking forward to meeting her boyfriend” he looked as nervous as I felt “what’s he like?” He asked “As if you haven’t googled him” i said with a laugh “I haven’t, honestly, I don’t know what to expect. Do you think she’s going to be frosty with me? You know, after everything that went down” he looked genuinely worried “I’m not sure” we sipped our drinks in silence as the party went on around us. “Where the f**k is she?” I said then the big man came over “will you two calm down you look like a pair of f*****g losers” I knew he was only saying it to wind up Tommy but I was still pissed off because I felt like a loser “shut up big man, Where is she?” I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit. “She’s up stairs changing her shoes” I was relieved she was actually there but shitting myself at how I was going to react when I would come face to face with her. I really wanted a proper drink to calm down but I held onto my non alcoholic beer for dear life. The big man put his hand on my shoulder “anyway here she is” I looked up the staircase and there she was!……
- Writer
