Strings (25 page)

‘See.’ Melissa winked at Ray as
they closed the show to the biggest standing ovation of the tour so far.

*****

After the show, they all headed to a club for a few drinks. They had the next day off to spend in Milan before flying to Norway. The girls would then have to head home. The whole Jay-Den disaster had been forgotten for now, but Luke was still very concerned about the stalker situation. Melissa assured him it was just a crazy fan who would soon get bored. If they had really wanted to hurt her, they would have done by now because they’d had three chances and hadn’t done anything other than scare shit out of her.

‘
I know, but it's still worrying me,’ Luke said as he leaned against a wall.

             
‘You both take care of each other when you go home,’ Dale said as he wound his arms around Melissa. She patted his hand and promised they’d be fine. Luke didn't react to Dale being so affectionate towards his girl – they were like brother and sister so it was no problem. He was the same with Beth, who was leaning against the wall next to Luke, tweeting as usual. He leaned over to see what she was doing. She put her arm round his neck and he kissed her cheek. They were a family, pure and simple. But it hadn't gone unnoticed. The paparazzi were circling. Melissa always felt better about things when the boys were around. They made it seem like nothing at all because they had accepted it and barely even noticed what was going on. They had taken over the club with all their entourage. As time went on, the crew started to run riot and it descended into one hell of a night.

             
Ray, Dale and Tom had to carry an unconscious Toby out, even though they themselves could barely stand. Beth got into a scuffle with one of the bar staff who’d flirted with Dale right in front of her, clearly doing it on purpose. After drinking more whisky than Melissa thought humanly possible, Luke’s feisty side came out briefly, and he called Jay-Den, leaving a very abusive (but barely coherent) message on his voicemail. Melissa wrestled the phone from him, before he said something really stupid.

*****

Melissa was mortified when the pictures from the night out surfaced next day. ‘Eagles run riot in Milan’
was the headline, with over fifty pictures of the night, none making them look good. Of course it was Luke and Melissa who looked the worst. The photos looked much worse than the reality but it backed up the story of them trashing the bar. It wasn’t true, but the truth was rarely ever written. And it was much too late to worry about it anyway. 

*****

The following day, two very delicate girls flew home and the guys continued with their tour, amid new rumours that Melissa was heartbroken because Luke had dumped her after another row, this time over her stage invasion. The truth was that Luke wasn’t at all angry. The crowd had loved it and so had he. The truth was also that she was just very hung over and sad to be leaving him.

             
There was a part of Melissa that just didn’t care any more and she stuck her fingers up as the girls walked through the airport. ‘You want the classic rock chick … have that you bastards,’ she shouted.

Hospital (3)

October 2014

‘You should have reported this sooner, Miss Webb.’

             
Melissa shrugged, too tired to argue with Fox. Besides, he was right. It had nearly cost her relationship with Luke, but she hadn’t really understood back then how serious it was. She’d just thought, or hoped, the problem would go away.

             
Liz came back in. Her timing was perfect as Melissa was running out of energy. She was also getting sick of being told how stupid she’d been.

             
‘I need to change your dressings my dear,’ Liz said, looking round at the visitors and making it clear that they needed to leave.

             
Melissa wanted Beth and her mum to stay, but having Dale and the police there was too much. Beth looked over at Jean. They hadn't seen the wound yet and Beth wasn't sure she wanted to. She wasn't sure how bad it would be, and she didn't want to react in any way that would upset Melissa any more then she already was. Jean moved to stand closer to Beth and held her hand. Liz removed the dressings and Beth sucked in her breath as she saw the black and deep purple bruising that covered the entire left side of Melissa’s face. But it was the wound that stood out. Her once beautiful face was now stitched together like a football. Beth had to get out of the room, but she couldn't run now. She had to wait for a good moment.

             
Liz chatted away as she worked. Beth didn't trust easily, but she liked how caring Liz was with Melissa, taking good care of her. When Liz had finished and Melissa was comfortable, Beth made an excuse to leave, saying that she had to make a phone call. Once in the corridor she moved as far away as she could, but only made it half way down the corridor before collapsing to her knees, sobbing. Dale was outside waiting and went immediately to her, wrapping his arms around her.

             
‘What happened? What's wrong?’

             
‘Her face, Dale, you should see her face.’

             
Beth couldn't stand there any longer. She ran to the toilets, into the first cubicle, and threw up. Eventually, she composed herself, washed her face and rinsed her mouth out. She sighed at her reflection in the mirror – it wasn’t up to her usual standard but she really didn't care. The yellow and white checked shirt she was wearing was creased and her blue cords needed a wash, but again she didn’t care. Her phone rang and she answered it. It was a client. Beth was doing the photography for someone's wedding. She couldn't back out now, so she assured the worried girl she would be there.

             
The door opened and Dale popped his head round, looking worried.

‘You’ve been in here ages. Are you OK?’

              ‘Not really, but I’ll be fine. What about you?’ Dale was taking care of everyone. But she had to remember that he was suffering too.

‘It’s really that bad?’

              ‘Her beautiful face …’

             
Dale saw the distress in his girlfriend’s eyes, and felt a wave of guilt rush over him.

‘I feel guilty, B. I should have gone with him instead of staying for another drink. I
should have been there when that psycho attacked her. I should have done something.’

             
Beth wrapped her arms round his neck.

‘Don't you dare blame yourself. No way is this your fault and I won’t have you carrying that around with you,’ she said firmly
. Dale nodded, and crouching down he kissed her stomach. Beth knew it was a messed up situation, but blaming themselves wouldn't help. This was all Amber’s doing. The police would find her and lock her away, and Melissa and Luke would be safe. Dale placed his hand on her stomach and very gently she rested her hands on his head.

             
‘We will find your Uncle Luke, I promise you,’ he said gently before standing back up, keeping a tight hold of Beth.

             
‘I want our baby to have an uncle ... and Luke will be the closest thing to one.’ Dale was going to be a dad and he couldn't even tell his best friend. Beth kissed him, grateful for a few minutes alone after the intense atmosphere in Melissa’s room.

‘
The baby will have its uncle Luke, I just know it,’ she reassured him, although deep down she was terrified for Luke. Deep down, she also feared that she would be a terrible mum. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. Opposing emotions ran through her and she fought the urge to throw herself on the floor and cry. She told herself that she was stronger than that, and she knew she had to stay strong – there was no choice. The quiet moment alone was interrupted by Dale’s phone going off.

             
‘Here’s a quote for you … drop fucking dead!’ Dale yelled before hanging up on another journalist wanting a story.

             
Beth switched his phone off and then hers. They had always coped better with the media attention. It didn’t faze Beth much, and Dale took everything in his stride. But this was a different type of situation. The world was on the edge of its seat waiting for the next part of the drama. It was like a movie, only they were the real life unwilling stars of the show.

             
‘You’ll be an amazing mum,’ Dale said, changing the subject. He promised her they’d be OK, they would be a family and would always be together. He would never leave her. He could read her like a book and he knew she had doubts, most likely stemming from her own bad experiences as a child.

             
‘What about when you tour?’ She joked, looking up at him. ‘You have to leave me then…’

             
‘You know what I mean.’

             
‘What about when I’m all fat and pregnant with swollen ankles?’ 

             
Dale kissed her forehead and laughed. ‘You’ll be carrying our child, you’re allowed a little bulk. I’ll rub your ankles and feed you chocolate.’ As he laughed, a few loose strands of his hair fell forward.

They had found out about the baby the day after Luke went missing
, so they hadn't told anyone yet. They hadn't even seen a doctor. Beth was struggling with morning sickness but they wanted to have this little secret for a while. Nothing they did stayed secret for very long. Beth wanted to tell Melissa so much, but now wasn’t a good time.

             
‘I love you,’ he whispered before they headed back to their friend’s side.

*****

‘So, did anything else happen after you visited Luke?’ Fox was back and the questions had already started when Beth and Dale got back to Melissa’s room.

             
‘No, it was about a month later. Do I really have to talk about it?’ Melissa asked. Her voice cracked and she welled up just thinking about it.

             
Beth sat on the edge of the bed and took her friend’s hand. This was going to be one of the hardest parts to talk about. If Fox thought the incident with Jay-Den was bad, he hadn't heard anything yet.

             
Melissa didn’t want to talk about it – the whole business was in the past now. It was a chapter of their recent lives they wanted to forget. They couldn’t change it, but they had got through it, eventually. Luke had wanted to erase it, make it go away, but being in the limelight meant nothing you did ever went away. The whole world knew about it, so that was never going to happen. Everyone had read it, or a version of it anyway, but nobody knew the full and true story.

The two police officers were about to hear what really had happen
ed. Lee Noels was silently excited. This was the best job he’d ever been involved with. He couldn’t believe he was sitting in a room with Melissa Webb, the most famous rock girlfriend in the world. Not to mention Dale Baxter, one of his idols. But he had to stay professional, and he realised that it obviously wasn’t at all exciting for those involved.

             
‘Please … I do need you to tell me everything,’ confirmed Fox.

             
‘Fine, if I must.’

Go for it, you said!

May 2014

‘It’s perfect.’
Melissa skipped around the lounge area of the top-floor apartment. They’d been searching for their new home since Luke had returned from their tour just over a week ago. After a day resting, he’d called an estate agent to get things moving. Once he had something in his mind he wouldn’t settle until it was done. They had agreed that London was better for Luke because when he wasn’t touring he spent most of his time in various London-based venues. The record label and most of their studio work were based in the capital. Last Track Recording Studios were one of the best, and Luke was spending a lot of time there, recording and experimenting.

Although the décor in the apartment was a little too colourful for their tastes
, it was nothing a bit of painting couldn’t fix, and they both felt right at home the moment they walked through the door.

             
Melissa was already jotting notes for the makeover, which was made all the more exciting because she didn’t have to worry about cost. The tour had been such a success that the payout, along with record sales, had set them up nicely. They weren’t millionaires, far from it, but they had more money than they had ever dared dream about. Luke had been asked if he’d consider writing for other artists or bands, but at the moment that wasn’t his focus. His priority for the time being was
his
band. He’d also been approached by several magazines who were after ‘rock couple’ features, and wanted to find out more about him and Melissa. But again he had shunned that idea after he sensed that Melissa wasn’t too sure about it.

             
‘I’m not ready for that yet,’ Melissa had said when he’d mentioned it.

             
Luke wasn’t overly keen on the idea anyway. As far as possible, their life together was their business, nobody else’s. After the Jay-Den incident, he wanted her all to himself. His team had tried to convince him to rethink some of the offers, but he’d reminded them he was in a band – he made music. There was nothing else to it.

             
‘You really want this place?’ Luke checked, but the look on her face gave him his answer.

             
The agent had been waiting outside while they looked round on their own and Luke called him back in and confirmed they wanted to rent it, with an option to purchase later. The band would be heading off on their American tour the following month, and Luke wanted Melissa to have somewhere to feel safe while he was away. Melissa felt very happy as they made their way back to Luke's other new toy – a black Audi S3. Luke was also planning his next guitar-buying spree, and he was much more excited about the guitars than anything else.

             
‘I love this car.’ Melissa almost purred as she got in and took Luke by surprise as she jumped onto his lap.

             
‘Wow, babe … seriously? This is a little public,’ he laughed as Melissa twisted her finger in the collar of his T-shirt and, pulling him towards her, kissed him passionately. Luke ran his hand through her hair as she teased him, rubbing her hand up and down his stomach. He stopped her from getting too carried away, sensing her wild streak was coming out to play again. This was way too public, even for him.

‘Ease up, Liss,’
he laughed, peeling her off him. ‘Let’s go home.’

             
Melissa giggled as they noticed an elderly lady shaking her head and looking disgusted at the public display of affection she’d just witnessed.

             
‘Some people have no sense of humour these days,’ Melissa joked, pulling his lips to hers again for another kiss before they drove off. She waved and blew a kiss to the lady as they went by.

             
‘Thank you,’ she whispered, knowing that his talent and hard work was giving her the life so many others could only dream of. Luke kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek.

             
‘Thank you, for believing in me.’

             
Life was good for them right now, and they were enjoying every second of it. They both knew things could change in an instant.

*****

‘What's his problem?,’ Tom asked as Ray, who was looking pale, suddenly stopped everything and ordered everyone except Luke out of the studio.

             
They were working on material for their second single, and Ray never interrupted studio work, so they knew something was up. Luke shrugged as Dale looked at him as he left, along with the others. Even the engineers and producers had to leave. Ray pulled Luke out of the booth and switched everything off. He was now starting to get anxious as Ray looked really worried.

             
‘Ray, what's wrong?’

             
Ray put his hand on Luke's shoulder and patted it, not sure where to start. This was going to be a big problem. Luke was his priority, and he was about to tell him something that would turn his life upside down. There was also a young girl who was about to have her world torn apart, and Ray couldn’t stop it. He wanted to bury it and protect them both, but he couldn’t. All he could do as the band’s manager was be there to guide him, and try to limit the damage. But that was not going to be easy.

             
‘Luke, I’m not paid to judge. What you do in your private time is your business. But who is the girl?’ Luke looked blankly at his manager, waiting for the punch line. ‘Come on, talk to me. If you’re honest, I can help you.’

             
‘Help me with what exactly?’ He felt a pang of dread in his stomach because Ray had never acted like this before. There was something about him that told Luke this was definitely no joke.

             
‘OK, I’ll spell it out. The guys in PR have just taken a call from Amanda Green, the top editor at
Juice
magazine, and they’ve got photos of you and this Kelsey bird.’ Ray went on to say that there had been a bidding war going on for the photos and
Juice
, according to his sources, had paid over £50,000 for them.

             
‘What photos?’ He asked, shoving Ray's hand off his shoulder as the realisation of what he was saying began to sink in. Ray explained that the photos showed him and a girl, who claimed to have been with him after their gig at the O2 on the last stop of their tour.

             
‘Fucking stop them. You’re my manager, stop them.’

             
But it was too late. They were already going to print.

             
‘Liss,’ he breathed her name. How would he tell her this? It would destroy her and would destroy them. ‘No … Liss.’ Luke looked at his manager, his eyes begging for help. But Ray couldn’t help. Luke’s claim that the photos must be fake had already been denied. The photos were not fake. The girl had taken them and the evidence was on her camera. They had not been tampered with either.

             
‘Luke, I really don’t know what to say about whatever did or didn’t happen. The point is, what they show will be the truth in the public’s eyes. You need to accept the reality and deal with it.’

             
‘Ray, I don't remember that night, I really don't.’ He remembered waking up alone the next day, but the night was a blur. He remembered coming off stage, having a few drinks and a few lines with the crew because it had been a successful tour, but he didn’t remember much else.

             
Ray pulled out his phone and showed Luke the photo of himself on what looked like the bed in his hotel room. He was propped up against the headboard, shirtless, with a short-haired girl on his lap. The only item of her clothing you could see was a red bra. He had his hand on her waist and she was leaning down, her lips on his. Luke flinched as he looked at this. 

             
‘No!’ Luke hadn't realised he was still holding his guitar until he let go of it. It dropped to the floor and he kicked at the wall.

             
Dale came flying in on hearing the crash.

‘What the fuck’s going on?!’ 

              Luke was staring at his manager, hoping for a miracle.

             
‘Home … Luke … now. You can't wait any longer. Melissa needs to know before they hit the shelves.

             
‘Luke, what have you done?’ Dale asked as alarm spread through his body as he searched his best friend’s horrified face, and found nothing but confusion.

             
‘I didn’t, Dale. I didn’t do anything.’

*****

‘Packing is so boring,’ Melissa complained on the phone to Beth while she took a break from putting her things into boxes, ready for the move. The job was half done, and there were boxes piled up everywhere, and it was starting to feel like she was making progress. The new place was almost theirs – just a few more days to wait.

             
‘It’ll be worth it for several reasons...you’ll have a beautiful home in the middle of London, and more importantly you’ll have a bit of privacy back,’ Beth reminded her.

             
Melissa wanted to be away from her current neighbours. She was sure it was one of them tipping off the press about her movements. She’d lived there for eighteen months and only since Luke became the public’s newest fascination had any of them even attempted to say hello. But now they all seemed to want to be her best friends. She couldn't wait to get out of there. She had no problem with being nice to people when they were at a gig or an event, but she would never be comfortable with it in her home life. As long as she had Luke and they took care of each other, then she’d be fine and she didn’t want or need randoms hanging around. Melissa asked Beth how their search for a place was going. Beth told her that they couldn't decide what sort of place they wanted, or where they wanted it to be, so were going to wait before making any decisions.

             
‘I’m not staying here though. It just doesn’t feel like home.’ They were renting a place in Notting Hill, but Beth wasn't keen on it. It was fine for the time being though.

             
Toby still had his house. He didn't really care much, because most of the time he stayed in hotels. Tom still lived with his parents and put up with a lot of teasing about it. He was looking for somewhere for himself, but wasn't in any rush and had taken to gatecrashing Dale and Beth's on a regular basis if he wasn’t hanging out at Toby’s.

             
Melissa heard Beth shout hello to Dale, and then heard her tone change. She could hear Dale in the background asking if Melissa had spoken Luke.

             
‘Liss, is Luke home yet?’

             
‘No … why?’ Beth said she had to go. Dale was telling her to get off the phone because Luke needed to talk to her.

*****

It was over an hour later when Luke, looking awful, finally arrived home. Melissa had been getting worried about Dale's strange behaviour; he normally shouted hello down the phone or would take over from Beth and have a conversation with her. He would sometimes pretend to be Beth and mock their conversations, which always made Melissa giggle.

             
‘What's wrong? Melissa asked.

             
Luke was just staring at her and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

‘I don't even know where to start,’ he said as he walked over to her. Taking both her hands in his, he kissed her forehead.

              ‘Luke, you’re shaking. What’s happened?’ she asked, her voice full of concern.

             
‘I need you to sit down and listen to me.’ He guided her to the sofa.               

             
Melissa started to panic as she ran through her worries. Had something gone wrong with their new home? Had he fallen out with the guys? Or was it something to do with their contract? Luke said all those things were fine. The way he looked at her, she thought he might cry. 

             
‘Luke, tell me what's wrong. You’re scaring me.’ Her heart pounded because something told her this was bad. He looked shell-shocked.

             
‘Liss, I love you – you know that, right?’ 

             
Melissa nodded and said she loved him too. He pulled her to him and kissed her, cherishing the moment for as long as possible thinking it could be their last. It was at that moment he realised just how much she meant to him, and his heart was breaking because he remembered how she had told him about her ex and how he had hurt her so much with his cheating. He had promised her he would never break her heart and now that was exactly what he was about to do.

             
‘I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I swear I don't remember.’ Melissa pulled away, looking at him, waiting for him to explain. ‘She's lying,’ he whispered.