Strings (27 page)

             
Luke wanted Kelsey Gibbs found. He wanted to look the girl in the eye and ask her why she was doing this. Even if he had cheated in a moment of drunken madness he would never say those things about Melissa, never. That was what had hurt her most –that he had apparently been so cruel about her. Jay-Den had tried to track her down, but she had vanished. Melissa didn't have a team of people to help her as he did – she was on her own, and that thought was tearing Luke apart. Even if she wouldn't even speak to him, he still wanted to protect her from it all. But it had hit the news like a nuclear bomb and Luke felt blown away by it.

             
‘You need to eat,’ his dad said, not really knowing what else to say. He was worried about Luke’s beer intake and chain smoking. 

             
‘Not hungry.’

             
‘Well at least have this,’ Stu said handing his son a coffee. 

             
Luke took it and held it in both hands staring at the steam rising from it. ‘I don't remember that night. If I could just remember something…’ the frustration in his voice was clear.

             
‘What, there’s nothing at all? You must have seen this girl, even just to say hello to?’ Debbie asked.

             
Luke shook his head. He’d woken next day feeling awful but put it down to exhaustion and a hangover. They had done a gig almost every day for nearly two months and it was hard work.

             
‘Luke, I want the truth…’ She hesitated. ‘Were you doing drugs?’ He knew that lying wasn't going to do him any favour so he nodded. She asked what.

             
‘Does it matter?’

             
Debbie decided she didn't want to know, but it was something she worried a great deal about. ‘Did you speak to Melissa?’ she asked instead.

             
‘No.’ He sounded choked up, and looked away from his mum’s gaze, trying to hold back the tears he could feel welling up again.

             
‘I can’t believe how much I miss her.’ He hadn’t expected the pain in his heart to be so bad. ‘She’ll never forgive me.’

             
‘Give her time. That girl loves you, but right now she’s hurting, and you can understand why. Let her come to you when she’s ready,’ she said softly. ‘Don’t push her.’

             
‘Don't you think I’m feeling the same?’ he snapped.

             
‘Yes, but think of it from her side of things. She’ll be fighting with her emotions; the Luke she knows and this Luke.’ Debbie pointed at the paper hanging out of the bin. ‘Everything she knew and loved has just been ripped up and stomped on. Every fear she had just came true. She won’t know what to believe any more.’

             
‘She should trust me …why isn't she listening to me?’ There was a hint of anger in his voice.

             
Debbie frowned at her son. ‘Don't be angry with her. This isn't her fault.’ Luke knew that, and he knew he was frustrated and angry at the situation, not with her.

‘You should move into your new home. It's yours and you have to get it ready for her because I believe this will
all be sorted out. Melissa will come back if you’ve done nothing wrong. You just need to work out how to prove it, and fight for her.’

             
‘Maybe,’ he said, sounding unconvinced. He got up and grabbed another beer from the fridge before opening the back door and leaning against it while he lit another cigarette. How do you fight something like this? He wondered. He didn’t have the answers, so where did he even start?

             
‘The image of a rock star might be drink and drugs, but you don't actually have to live that way all the time,’ Debbie lectured him. ‘Luke Black, don't roll your eyes at me.’ She took the beer from him and poured it down the sink. Luke had to sort this mess out, and drinking wasn't the answer. She left him to his thoughts, and went into the garden.

             
‘Get out of my garden,’ she yelled as she spotted someone hiding by a bush by the back gate, obviously trying to get a picture. No doubt they’d managed to get a shot of Luke when he had opened the door.

*****

‘Oh, Melissa, darling ... I'm so glad you finally let us in.’ Jean hugged her distraught daughter, followed by her dad, who was not at all happy. He and Luke had already had words over the phone, and they hadn’t been pleasant ones.

             
‘I’ll rip your head off for doing this to my baby,’ Mick had said, among other threats. They’d argued as Luke pleaded his case, but as far as Mick was concerned the damage was done.

             
They both sat with Melissa while she sobbed and tried to find reasons for why it had happened – maybe she wasn't pretty enough, or she didn't give him what he needed perhaps. Both were ridiculous, they told her. It was not her fault. It was his, for not keeping it in his pants.

             
‘You’ve done so much for him... he should be grateful.’ This was not how Mick expected his daughter to be treated. She never hurt anyone, so why did people keep letting her down?

             
Beth arrived later, almost knocking Melissa over as she bounded in through the front door and locked her in the world’s tightest hug.

‘Don't shut me out
babe… I’ve been going mental.’ Beth was on the verge of tears as Melissa apologised but explained she just needed time to herself to think it through. She was still completely blindsided by everything that had happened.

             
‘He called me that night, said he loved me and he would be home the next day. So was he with her while he was feeding me that shit?’

             
There wasn’t anything they could say to her. No one had any answers. She told them that Luke was coming over the next day and that she’d made her decision – it was over. The trust was gone, and things could never be the same. Just the same as screwing up a piece of paper – the creases would always remain. Beth's face fell.

             
‘What?’ Melissa snapped at her, looking annoyed.

             
‘Nothing. I just think maybe you should hear him out before making your decision.’

             
Melissa glared at her. ‘Oh, I see. You’re on his side?’

             
‘No!’ Beth explained that all she meant was that Melissa should talk to him first then make her decision. If she still felt the same then of course she would support her. She just didn't want to see her making rash decisions. Beth was angry with Luke too, but she also knew how much Melissa loved him and she wanted her to be sure before walking away and possibly regretting it later. ‘You know I’m always on your side.’ 

             
Melissa wasn't listening to reason and she shocked everyone by yelling at Beth for forgetting where her loyalties should lie.

‘This is good for you – you can have the full limelight now. The only fully fledged Eagle girl. Don't worry, you can
still be with Dale if that's what’s worrying you,’ she ranted as she paced the room.

             
Melissa’s phone rang and she picked it up and threw it across the room, and Jean watched her daughter fall apart right in front of her eyes. ‘For fuck’s sake, why won’t they just leave me alone?’ If it wasn't Luke, it was a journalist wanting a juicy quote.

             
‘Liss, don't be a bitch. I know you’re hurting, but don't blame me!’ Beth had spotted the empty wine bottle and knew Melissa was drunk. Her parents clearly hadn't noticed but Beth knew this was the drink talking. She tried hard to stay calm as Melissa took all her fury out on her.

             
‘You can continue being the awesome girlfriend that everyone thinks is cool, and Luke’s fans can rejoice now he’s single. I was never good enough for him anyway. And Kelsey fucking Gibbs isn't even that pretty!’ Beth could see the complete devastation in Melissa’s eyes and knew she was more than upset and heartbroken. She was utterly destroyed. ‘He’ll be fine because he’s a rock star! But the world is laughing at me.’ Beth just sat quietly staring at her as the nasty comments poured out and she puffed on yet another cigarette. ‘Go for it, you said, because you wanted Dale so much – I knew even then he would break my heart. And you pushed me to do it.’ Melissa couldn’t stop. ‘Some best friend you turned out to be.’

             
‘Melissa, stop it now.’ Jean couldn't bear to see them fall out and had to stop this.

             
Beth was shaking, tears rolling down her face as her only true friend tore strips off her for no good reason.

‘Liss ... please don’t,’ Beth begged her.

              ‘No. Beth can take my spot now until Luke finds someone else. That bitch can take the shit off me. Maybe it’s a good thing. People will eventually forget about me and let me breathe again,’ she cried as she stormed out of the door. The cameras started snapping immediately. ‘This lot can find some other mug to hound. Leave me the fuck alone ... get away from my fucking house,’ she screamed into the wind as her dad pulled her back inside. The anger and hurt chipped away at her heart and the feeling of betrayal was too much to bear. She was lashing out and trying to transfer some of the hurt she was feeling to someone else. ‘Don't worry, when Dale fucks you over we can cry together.’

             
That was the last straw for Beth. She leapt from the sofa and slapped Melissa hard across the face, making her stumble backwards into Jean.

             
‘Melissa Webb, you stop this now. It’s Beth for god’s sake,’ Jean begged.

             
The two girls eyed each other across the room but there was silence. Mick looked lost as his family fell apart in front of his eyes.

             
‘You take that shit back, Liss, or I swear to god I will walk out that door and never come back.’ Beth had come to support her, but Melissa had broken her heart with just a few words. She was getting the blame for everything, or so it seemed. 

             
‘I'm so sorry,’ Melissa wailed, holding her arms out to Beth who ran into them. ‘I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry.’ The slap had snapped her out of it. It had been totally deserved and she didn’t mean any of it. Beth hugged her, crying too because everything was such a mess.

             
Melissa was shaking like a leaf as all her emotions escaped.

‘I believed in him ... I helped him achieve his dream and this is how he treats me. I’m such an idiot.’
She spent the next hour apologising until Beth started to find it annoying and told her to stop or she’d slap her again.

             
Her parents headed home around midnight, promising to be back next day once she’d seen Luke. They would help her out with her rent for a couple of months, so she needn’t worry about anything for now.

             
‘Your parents really are amazing,’ Beth commented once they had left. Melissa was well aware of that, and very grateful to have them. Beth grabbed her bag and retrieved her iPad. She messed with it for a few seconds then handed it to Melissa. On the screen was a Facebook fan page which made her smile. It wasn't one for the boys but one for her and Beth. She hadn’t known they had one of their own. Beth pointed out that was just one of twenty pages for the girls, but this was the most popular. 

             
‘Melissa Webb & Beth Watkins Fans ... 8345 likes

This page is dedicated to Melissa Webb and Beth Watkins (Girlfriends
of Luke Black and Dale Baxter from The Black Eagles. We quite like them too). They are beautiful and stylish and we think they both rock.’

             
Their status update from one hour ago read:

‘We are still devastated over the news that hit the press a few days ago. We don’t know what is really going on, but we will always be fans of Me
lissa Webb. We pray that the stories are just lies, because they are perfect for each other. It has to be Luke and Lissa always, and wherever Lissa is we hope she is being looked after. Beth, we hope you are kicking ass right now …’

             
‘Wow,’ Melissa said, feeling slightly overwhelmed. It was sweet, she thought, but also strange to think that so many people liked and cared about her when she’d never met any of them. But it was comforting in a strange sort of way.

*****

Once Melissa was asleep, Beth called Dale. He was with Luke, who wasn’t coping well either. Debbie had come home from work to find Luke so drunk he hardly knew his name. She couldn’t get hold of his dad so in a panic had called Dale and he’d driven straight from London to help sort him out. Debbie had found him lying on the kitchen floor after downing a whole bottle of neat whisky. He hadn't even hidden the fact he’d been doing drugs. Dale had carried him up to his room, dumped him on his bed and stayed with him to make sure he didn't choke on his own vomit.