Solomon had been delighted and relieved to hear Bo respond with a firm ‘no’.
The entire situation is a mess and in reality he doesn’t give a damn about the documentary, all he cares about is seeing Laura. He feels like an addict, he needs her, and the more he can’t see her, the more people that say no, and slam doors, and hang up phones, the more he wants her. With filming halted on this season’s Grotesque Bodies he has nothing else to do. He doesn’t want to be at the apartment with Bo, sitting around as though they’re waiting for something to happen. Their lives are on hold, which shows him how much of their lives hinges on this project. When it’s gone, they have nothing. They talk only about Laura. First about how fascinating she is, now about how to get her back. She is like the child that was taken away from them. And it was Bo’s greed and both their naivety that caused that to happen. When Laura was with them, she tore them apart, now that she’s gone, they’re linked by her, but without her or talk of her they’ve got nothing, things have grown stale.
His priority this week has been to stay in Dublin and try to make contact with Laura, both through visiting the house and trying to contact her through Bianca, though Bianca’s requests to Laura to call Solomon have failed. He’s not sure whether to believe Bianca is passing on those messages at all. With the last of his attempts failed, he can no longer sit around the apartment with Bo feeling in limbo. Their work life in limbo, their relationship in limbo. His immediate plan is to drive to Galway to beat the shit out of Rory. He has been planning this for some time, since Tuesday morning when news of Laura’s night out hit the newspapers alongside his baby brother’s mischievous mug on almost every page. He has savoured the thoughts of what he will do to his brother and now he is ready.
The three-hour car journey does nothing to calm his anger, if anything it intensifies. He has time to dwell on all the photos in the press that keep floating to the murky surface each time Laura’s name is mentioned. Laura falling all over the place. Rory laughing. Laughing.
It’s Saturday. He calls Marie to casually ask if Rory’s home. Rory works with his dad, they both still go home to Marie for their lunch. He’s calm, he’s just enquiring, he’s sure she doesn’t notice, he doesn’t say anything about visiting, about being on the road on the way. But she knows him well. When he arrives at the house, his parents, plus brothers Cormac and Donal, are there, along with his sister Cara. The entire welcoming committee sitting at the kitchen table.
‘What’s going on?’ he asks angrily.
Marie looks down at her hands, and then away, with guilt. Then she can’t take his stare any more and crosses the kitchen to fill the kettle. Tea. Distraction.
‘It’s a Solomon anger-intervention,’ Donal jokes, but Solomon isn’t in the mood to laugh. He came here to kick the shit out of somebody, not use words. He’s been waiting for this for days, far too long actually, and he’s been sitting for hours, he has a lot of energy to dispel. He doesn’t want it to go to waste.
‘Where is he?’ Solomon asks, not even bothering to disguise what he’s come here to do.
‘Let’s talk first,’ his dad says.
‘Where is the little fucker?’ he growls. ‘Look at you all, you’re like his bodyguards, always have been. That scared little shit has never had to face up to one of his messes, ever, in his whole life. And look at all the good your protection has done for him. Still at home with Mammy and Daddy, still getting a packed lunch every day. No disrespect, Mam, but he’s a spoiled little shit. Always has been.’
Mam looks pained. ‘He’s so sorry about what happened, love. If you saw him—’
‘Sorry?’ Solomon laughs angrily. ‘Good. Tell me where he is so I can see for myself how sorry the little fucker is.’
Marie winces.
‘Enough,’ his dad says sternly.
‘He’s an idiot, Solomon,’ Donal says diplomatically. ‘We all know that. He messed up, but he didn’t mean it. He’d no idea what he was doing.’
‘Lads,’ he calms himself and looks at them all, tries to make them understand. ‘He ruined her life. On a global level, destroyed her reputation. She had nothing, lived on a mountain, knew no one, no one knew she existed and then suddenly everyone knew she existed. She had a chance …’ The anger rises again and he fights hard to beat it. ‘She’d never even had a drink before. Not one.’
Marie looks upset.
‘He takes her out – to a pub. Then to a club. Some celebrity club, just so he could get in, using her as his ticket. Nothing to do with her, what she wanted – it was all for him. A free trip to Dublin for him, what can he get out of it? At no time did he call me. I would have helped. After being surrounded by photographers, she can barely stand up, and what does he do? He takes her to a party. He lets people take photos of her, throwing up, falling over, passing out. Where the fuck was he? He should have been watching her. She was his responsibility.’
This he says almost to himself. Laura was his responsibility and he knew that. He let her slip away, he let this happen. He will beat the shit out of Rory for his own irresponsibility.
‘I can’t listen to this,’ Rory says suddenly, and Solomon spins around to come face to face with him. ‘What era are you living in? She’s a grown woman, Sol, she doesn’t need minding.’
Solomon closes his fists. Picks a place on Rory’s pretty face to hammer. Takes his time, enjoys the moment. He hears the chairs scrape as they’re pushed against the kitchen tiles. His brothers and Cara standing, readying themselves. He senses them behind him.
‘Rory,’ his dad says. ‘You were wrong and you know it. Admit it, apologise to Solomon and let’s put this behind us. Be men now.’
‘Why should I apologise to Solomon? What’s he to Laura? It’s Laura I should be talking to.’
‘You’re not going near her ever again,’ Solomon growls.
‘Neither are you, I’d say,’ Rory says with a smile.
They stare each other out of it.
Rory looks at Solomon’s fist. ‘What are you going to do, hit me?’ He smiles, a teasing smile. Solomon recalls him as a young boy, mocking his speech impediment. His stutter and his ‘w’s. He feels an uncontrollable anger, a hatred so strong he’s worried about what he could do right now. He wants to hurt him but he thinks about the ways he can without ending him.
‘Say sorry to Solomon now, Rory,’ Marie says sharply and Solomon feels like he’s a child again.
‘I’m sorry,’ Rory says finally. ‘I really am. I had no idea she would get messy like that. The reason I didn’t call you is because she said she didn’t want me to.’
Solomon’s heart pounds even faster. Everything Rory says is designed to drive Solomon’s fist through Rory’s face. Then Solomon would be wrong and everybody would run to Rory’s aid.
‘She has a name.’
‘Lyrebird,’ Rory rolls his eyes. ‘Lyrebird said she didn’t want me to call you.’
‘Her name is Laura,’ Solomon says through gritted teeth. ‘You don’t even know her fucking name.’
‘I didn’t know where to take her,’ he continues his fake apology. ‘She didn’t want to go to the hotel, she couldn’t go to your place, seeing as you’d had a falling out and she had to leave, so I thought I’d take up a few people on their kind offer to help. The girls at the party were looking after her, I thought she’d be in safe hands with them. I really didn’t know.’
Rory’s demeanour doesn’t match his tone. Solomon feels his brothers near him, just behind him.
‘Of course I’m sure we all know that this wouldn’t be such an issue if Solomon wasn’t jealous because I took Laura out for a drink.’
‘Stop it,’ Marie says.
‘Shake hands,’ Dad says.
Rory reaches out his hand, Solomon takes it. He wants to pull him in, head butt him. Break that fucking nose. Rory’s grip is tight and strong for a little fella, but then Rory always had to resort to other tactics to survive in the family, to get attention, to be seen and heard. Being ganged
up against like this is a big deal for him. Even if he’s not showing it right now, even though he’s cool as a cucumber, his ‘I don’t care’ attitude doesn’t wash with Solomon. Solomon realises that this is the worst possible situation for Rory, the entire family forcing him to apologise to Solomon for something he knows he did wrong. Suddenly Solomon enjoys this knowledge, allowing Rory to think he’s getting the better of him, when the reality is that Rory’s weakness is showing. Solomon feels the tension release ever so slightly from his shoulders.
Perhaps Rory realises he’s losing Solomon’s anger, that Solomon is no longer the underdog, because he then scrapes the barrel.
‘She’s a great little ride though,’ he says, to his mother’s dismay and a yell from his dad.
Rory lets go of Solomon’s hand. Solomon’s throat is sticky and dry, his heart pounding manically, a tribal drum calling for war.
Then Solomon sees a fist arc through the air before making contact with Rory’s face. Rory staggers. Surprisingly, it’s not Solomon’s fist, it’s Cormac’s. Big brother Cormac, the responsible one. They all look at him in shock at first and no one makes a move to help Rory, who’s fallen to the floor, but then Cormac’s high-pitched cries move them to action.
‘I think I broke my fingers,’ he squeals.
Rory sits up, holding his head, in agony. ‘Who punches a forehead?’
Cara starts laughing at them all. She holds her camera up and takes photos.
Later that night, the brothers and Cara sit outside in the garden on the round garden furniture table, drinking bottles of beer. Marie is ignoring them all, giving them the silent treatment for their behaviour and their dad is supporting her by doing the same, though they all know he’s dying to join them.
Cormac’s hand is in a sling. Two fingers are broken and the mix of painkillers and alcohol has made him the entertainment of the night.
Rory sits away from Solomon, a lump the size of a quail’s egg protruding from his forehead. The storm clouds have delivered rain but nothing has dried, the landscape is utterly drenched and so they perch on the dry spots for now. One thing is preying on Solomon’s mind: did Rory sleep with Laura? He’s almost sure that Rory made it up to get at him, which he succeeded in doing, but he can’t get it out of his head. Thankfully, Cara comes to his aid.
‘You know Rory, if you did sleep with Laura, you might have to answer some questions from the guards.’
‘What?’ Rory yelps. ‘What are you on about?’
‘There’s such a thing as consent, probably not a word you’re familiar with …’
Cara explains. ‘It requires the woman saying yes. It’s a real thing. Other men actually have sex with women who aren’t locked out of their heads. Women who can see the faces of their lovers. Now I know it’s not usually how you operate, but—’
‘Shut the fuck up, Cara.’
She winks at Solomon. ‘Seriously, we all saw the photographs. The whole world saw them. She couldn’t put one foot in front of the other. If you took her to that party and did what you said you did, then you could be in serious trouble.’
Rory looks at them all, ignoring Solomon. ‘Oh, whatever. Of course I didn’t sleep with her – she could barely remember her own name. She spent the entire night vomiting.’
The relief in Solomon is overwhelming, but his heart breaks for Laura, for what she went through alone.
‘Rory was right about one thing though,’ Cormac slurs.
‘Here we go,’ Donal smirks.
‘Ah now, hear me out.’
They settle.
‘It’s clear to see that you are enamoured with this young woman, Solomon.’ It takes him a few attempts to say enamoured, but he’s intent on using it. ‘And while Rory was wrong to do what he did, you wouldn’t feel this angry if it wasn’t for your feelings for her.’
‘Cormac Fallon, Spiddal’s Dr Phil,’ Solomon laughs it off.
‘He has a point,’ Donal says.
‘Pity she likes the wrong brother,’ Rory pipes up, and receives a knock on the head from Cormac.
‘Get off me, my head is pounding.’
‘Then shut up,’ Cormac says.
They chuckle, including Rory. This behaviour is so unlike their eldest brother.
‘Bo,’ Cormac continues, scrunching up his face. ‘I’m not convinced on you and Bo.’
‘I’m not convinced on you and Madeleine,’ Solomon says quickly, taking offence, then a slug of beer.
The others oooh and watch with interest.
‘You’re right,’ Cormac says solemnly, which receives a chuckle of surprise. ‘Sometimes I’m not convinced on me and Madeleine either.’
Rory picks up his phone and starts filming.
‘Stop being a dick,’ Cara says, slapping the back of his head. He drops the phone.
Cormac continues. ‘Madeleine is … sometimes I don’t even like Madeleine.’
They all laugh while Cormac attempts to stop them so he can finish.
‘But … but … listen. She is often the most annoying person in the world. And I want to strangle her. Or leave her. But even in the worst of times – and we’ve had a lot, especially lately … this fucking menopause thing. If I could leave her until it’s over, I would. I really would.’
They piss themselves laughing, but Cara shakes her head. ‘Unbelievable.’
‘But I couldn’t. Because even when I don’t like Madeleine, I fucking love Madeleine.’
Which is possibly the most twisted but romantic thing any of them has ever said about any of their partners.
‘Anyway, where was I?’ He tries to focus on Solomon, one eye closed to help. ‘You and Bo. I don’t think you’re right together. You’re not a good match.’
‘With all due respect, Cormac – and I appreciate that you care for me,’ Solomon says softly, ‘Bo and I aren’t for anybody else to think if we’re right.’
‘Of course!’ Cormac throws his hands up and splashes his bottle contents. He reaches out and pokes his beer-drenched finger in Solomon’s chest. ‘But do you think you’re right together? Solomon, this is life brother, there’s no harm, or shame in admitting something’s not working. Get out now while you can,’ he waves his hand dismissively. ‘I don’t know what you’re hanging on for.’
The next day, struggling with a mighty hangover, Solomon drives to Dublin thinking about everything Cormac and his siblings had said to him.
It had all made so much sense last night, he would break up with Bo. Cara had coached him on the right words, they’d spoken until the sun rose, but in the cold sober light of day, it terrifies him.
He turns on the radio to distract himself.
‘And in entertainment news it is unclear whether Lyrebird will take to the stage in StarrQuest’s live final. The contestant, whose real name is Laura Button, received two hundred and fifty million views on social media following her first audition, but last weekend she hit the headlines after a night out clubbing, leading to a media backlash. Jack Starr had this to say at a press conference with the finalists today.’
‘We’re very much hoping that Lyrebird will take part. It is of course up to her, and all of us at StarrQuest will give her the encouragement and support she needs.’
‘And Lyrebird’s fellow contestant Alan, from the popular act Alan and Mabel, had this to say …’
‘Laura is doing great. She’s fine. She’s just emotionally, physically and mentally drained. It has been the most extraordinary roller coaster, for all of us, so I can’t imagine how it’s been for her. I think all she needed was a bit of R&R, being somewhere private, so she could get over what’s happened to her, because what’s happened to her has been unprecedented.’
‘On Lyrebird’s sensational night out that grabbed every front page across the world, Alan had this to say …’
‘Laura got off a flight from Australia where she’d been for only two days, working an intense schedule, she then had to go straight into rehearsals for the semi-final, which she won, and
she had a few drinks for the first time in her life. She was entitled to celebrate her success. She did nothing wrong in that nightclub, it was a misunderstanding, she needed support and help, and instead people took advantage. She learned some harsh lessons, but she has learned.’
‘Will Lyrebird perform at the final?’
‘I hope she does,’ Alan says.
‘Really? But she’s your greatest competition. You two are the favourites.’
‘She’s the most genuinely lovely and naturally talented person I’ve ever met. I hope she goes up on that stage and proves to people why she got their attention in the first place, and I hope she wins.’
‘Which just makes us all love the amazing Alan and Mabel even more. So has the Lyrebird lost her lore? Tune in to the StarrQuest final to see!’
Solomon drives the car across three lanes to pull into the hard shoulder to angry drivers’ beeps. He puts on his hazards, lowers the window and breathes deeply. He has never wanted or needed somebody so much in his life.
34
When Laura chose to close her mouth, she closed all the doors around her. To her fellow contestants who she lived with, to Curtis, who she refused to see, and Bianca, who she refused to speak with, even to Solomon, who she couldn’t bear seeing after her embarrassment, and to Bo, because under StarrGaze Entertainment’s orders she’s forbidden from speaking with any media for the foreseeable future.
Despite Bo’s protestations, despite her attempts to change Jack’s mind, sweetly and then through threats of solicitor’s letters, nothing is working. Bo can barely get to Jack, Curtis is blocking everything and it seems the whole of StarrQuest is in a panic, faced with the worldwide spotlight – attention they had enjoyed when Lyrebird was attracting hundreds of millions of online views, but not now. The backlash has moved on from Lyrebird to focus on StarrQuest and StarrGaze Entertainment. They’ve been getting it from all sides: opinion pieces in the press and talk-show panels have debated whether the show failed its star. After all, wasn’t Lyrebird their responsibility? Didn’t they effectively allow this meltdown to happen? Shouldn’t they do more to screen their contestants: insist that they undergo psychiatric tests, provide therapy before, during and after the audition process and live show? Shouldn’t talent shows have a greater responsibility for their contestants’ welfare?
Lyrebird Page 28