“Don’t stop, finish that sentence.” I shake my head at him. “C’mon what were you gonna say?” he insists. I blush even harder.
“Nothing. Forget it.” he laughs at me.
“You were gonna say … boyfriend weren’t you?” he says smugly. I gently slap his leg, as I try to lighten the mood and move on from my embarrassment.
“I wasn’t. Can we please move on?” I say playfully. Jonathan sniggers as he pushes his foot down onto the gas pedal.
“Okay,” his tone is sarcastic and smug. I grit my teeth and let this one go. The streets of LA are rushing by and I can’t help but think about Sydney. I hate that we have argued, and I feel terrible about some of the things she said to me. I don’t know why she would put me in such a horrible position, and now I have to go to Dallas on my own. Thanks for that one Sid.
We seem to arrive in Beverly Hills sooner than expected, and boy am I my nervous. The luscious homes pass by. I am stunned at their splendour. Never have I have seen such a vision. The road is steep and we seem to keep on climbing. Jonathon finally slows down at two impressive white gates. We join the line of expensive cars that are waiting to enter. The dark of the LA night is drawing in, and all I can see stretched out in front of me, is glowing tail lights. The cars in front slowly move forward and Jonathon sighs as we near the house. I shoot him a darting look, he looks nervous. My heart begins to pound. If he’s nervous then why shouldn’t I be? My hands start to shake as we grow even closer to the house. My eyes tear away from his and onto the stunning house. Holy crap that’s one amazing crib. The lawn is amazing, with a large water feature situated in the middle. Glowing lights line the walkway to the impressive front door. Roses and ivy climb the walls. Soft lit candles fill the water feature and Spanish style music is playing. My heart is thumping; I’m really out of my depth here. These people are from another world and there’s no way that I fit in. I always knew that Jonathon was rich, but never to this extent. His house is like something out of dream. I am way out of my league.
The valet guy kindly opens the door for Jonathon and then for me. I fix my dress as I stand and I smooth out my loose plait. My hands are still shaking and Jonathon seems tense. He tries to mask his anxiety by smiling at me as he wraps his arm around my waist. He whisks me to the front door, exchanging hello’s with everyone he sees in the process. The front door is wide open and we just barge into the house. Well to me it felt like barging in, but to Jonathon he’s simply going home. Inside the house is even more beautiful than the outside. The floors are white marble; the stair case is gold and cream and spirals at both sides. Portraits and expensive art, that I will never understand, hangs neatly on the white walls. Beautiful chandeliers light up the wide entrance. White orchids delicately sit on every one of the side tables, and the scent of lavender pricks at my senses. Jonathon tightly grabs onto my waist as he leads me further into the house. We enter a large, soft lit room. Slow music is playing as couples dance and sip champagne. Everyone is dressed so tastefully. I have never seen so many diamonds in one room. I glance down at my outfit and I sigh. I don’t fit in here. I barely have time to think when a woman rushes towards us. She is dressed in a black cocktail dress that hugs her curves. She has dark glossy hair that’s swept into an up do. Her make-up is impeccable, her skin flawless. She is stunning and very familiar. She reaches us and my heart begins to pound when she throws her arms around Jonathon. She grips onto him for what seems like forever. Her arms are draped around him and his gripped onto her. I smile at the sight, he clearly adores his mom.
“My boy,” she gushes in her Spanish accent. Her smile is dedicated to him, she loves him. This is a perfect sight. “How are you?” she questions.
“I’m good. Mamá there’s someone that I would like you to meet.” Jonathon extends his arm and pulls me next to him. I can feel my hands begin to shake as he prepares to introduce me. “This is Ashley,” he says proudly. The woman takes her eyes from her son and locks them on me. I flash her a smile as she stands observing me. Has time stopped? I feel as if she has stared at me for a lifetime. This isn’t a good sign. She finally looks away from me. Her eyes fix on her sons and then back to mine.
“It’s very nice to meet you Ashley. My name is Salma. I welcome you to my home. Please have a drink and indulge in the appetizers. If you don’t mind, may I have moment with my Son?” I am frozen and all I can manage is a polite nod of my head. Jonathon looks down at me and smiles. He lightly kisses my cheek as he takes his mother’s arm. I watch as they disappear into the crowd. I am left standing alone. I feel awkward and I need a drink to calm my nerves. I move swiftly across the room, being careful not to trip in my killer heels. There is a bar at the back of the room. I head over and squeeze myself through the sea of people waiting to be served. A large gentleman bumps into me and I almost fall to the floor. He stinks of alcohol and his breath is disgusting as he tries to apologise. I reassure him that I’m fine. and I excuse myself from the constant shouting and shoving. I straighten out my dress as I look out at the party. Dam this is awkward. I feel stupid standing alone. Where is Jonathon? I scan the crowd, but I can’t see him. I feel a little annoyed that his mom whisked him away from me. I have a feeling that she didn’t really approve of me, and that she felt the need to take her son and talk some sense into him. You’re over analysing things again. My subconscious screams at me. I take a deep breath and I try to see the positives. This a beautiful party filled with happy and no doubt interesting people. I am in Beverly Hills for Christ’s sake. Suck it up.
“There you are,” I hear a familiar voice say. I turn around and Jonathon is standing behind me. He’s holding a brandy glass in one hand and some sort of cocktail in the other. He cocks his head to one side as he grins that stunning smile. “This is for you,” he says handing me the cocktail. I smile at him and take a sip of the drink.
“This is amazing. What is it?” he laughs at me and I pout at him.
“It’s a mojito. It’s good, yes?” I take another sip, laughing and answering him as I do.
“Yes,”
As quickly as he gave me the drink he has pulled it away from me. I scold him with a cold look. He laughs at me again as he pulls me onto the dance floor. Some Spanish song is belting through the room. Jonathon has pulled me close to him, and now we are dancing quickly to the music. My feet can’t keep up. He’s really good at this. The music quickens and so does Jonathon. I grab onto him as I try to keep up with him. He’s laughing again and I can see that devilish glint in his diamond eyes. I begin to notice that he is very tipsy. I have never seen him this way before. The music stops and he drags me over to the bar. He pushes past everyone and smugly leans across the counter. He turns to face me.
“What do you want to drink?” he commands. I shake my head at him.
“Nothing I’m good,” he rolls his eyes at me as he orders two shots of tequila and a large brandy. I watch as he downs the tequila and then the brandy. My heart starts to pound, what’s wrong with him? I have never seen him act this way before. I knew that he seemed tense, but I can tell that he’s trying to mask some sort of pain with alcohol. He orders more drinks and I flinch. I need to talk to him. I pull him by the arm away from the bar and I am surprised at how limp he is. He falls against me and I have to use all of my strength to hold him up right. He grabs onto both sides of my face and he bursts out laughing.
“Ashley,” he says as his expression hardens. “I hate him!” he grunts.
“Who do you hate?” I say as I hold onto him. He’s a massive guy and I don’t know how much longer I can hold him up.
“That bastard in there,” he crashes against me and I stumble and fall to the ground. Jonathon manages to stop himself from falling on top of me, but instead of helping me off of the ground, he’s gone back to the bar. I am so embarrassed. My face is on fire. Everyone is staring at me. A guy helps me up from my embarrassing position, and I blush as I thank him. I straighten myself out and I make my way back over to the bar. Jonathon is down
ing yet more alcohol. What’s wrong with him? Who has upset him? My mind goes into overdrive as I try to push through the sea of drunken men. I feel a hand grabbing onto my arm. I turn around in confusion and I see Austin.
“Ashley, good I’ve found you.” his voice is urgent as he stands in his black tux looking really handsome. He looks tense and I begin to fear that he wants to talk to me about Sydney. I try to pull my hand away from him, as I really don’t have the time or the energy to get into it with him right now.
“Look Austin I really need to go. Jonathon is acting really weird tonight.”
“That’s what I need to talk to you about.” Austin now has my full attention. “I think you need to take him home.” I look at him in confusion.
“What? Why?” Austin sighs.
“I just saw him getting into it with his Dad. I’m scared that if he doesn’t leave, then he’ll do something that he’ll live to regret.” Okay now I’m extra confused. What on earth happened?
“What are you talking about?” Austin moves closer to me.
“I don’t know if Johnny has told you about his Dad, but he’s one complicated guy. They don’t have a good relationship, and I just saw Joseph make a total fool out of Johnny. Seriously Ashley, you need to take him home.” I bite my lip at his words.
“What did he say to him?” Austin sighs again.
“He said that he was pathetic and that he worked at a ridiculous job with no benefits. He said that he was ashamed to call him his son.” I press my lips together and shoot Austin a goodbye look. I run towards Jonathon and I grab onto him. He’s stinking drunk. His eyes are blood red and he looks as if he’s on the verge of crying. I pat his cheek as I whisper into his ear.
“Let me take you home,” he looks at me and agrees. I help him as he stumbles off of the bar stool. I holster him in my arms as I alert the crowd to move. The bar is gone, and I franticly look around this large house, as I try to remember the way out. Stares and chuckles from the other guests are annoying me, but I ignore them as I focus on the task at hand. I pull Jonathon along the wide hallway, but I feel that we are heading in the wrong direction. He’s so much taller and heavier than me, and I am finding it quite difficult to keep my balance. I realise that if I stand any chance of getting out of here, then he has to help to me. I grip onto his back as I look up at him. His eyes are red and his smug, drunken smile is irritating.
“Jonathon, pull yourself together.” I shout at him. He pulls away from me and he has an angry look in his eyes. He stumbles down the hallway. His designer shoes are almost denting the marble flooring as he walks. I run after him, but I am too late. He’s screaming at an older gentleman, which I’m guessing is his dad. The man looks cruel as he screams back at him. I finally reach the quarrelling men, and I look at the older one in disgust. My stomach is churning from the hurtful words he’s uttering.
“You’re a nothing … boy. You can never live up to the legacy that my father left me. You’re nothing and as far as I am concerned. You’re out of this family.” My hands are shaking. What a cruel excuse for a man. I grab Jonathon and I attempt to lead him away from this vile creature. “You’re hiding behind a little girl. Pathetic to the core.” That’s it I can’t hold my tongue no longer.
“And what about you, huh? What makes you so successful and think that you have the right to ridicule him? If you ask me, you’re the pathetic one.” The angry face of Jonathon’s dad is alarming. He’s hideous, how could such an ugly person inside and out, have such a beautiful child in Jonathon?
“I don’t like your attitude and for future reference, I suggest you keep out of my family’s business. Who are you anyway?” I grit my teeth as I would so love to slap this guy right now.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. I’m a stranger to you, and yet you stand there arguing with your only son, in front of me. What kind of man are you, if you can call yourself a man that is.” The guy lounges towards me and I swear he has an evil look in his demon like eyes.
“I suggest you leave … now.” he screams into my face. “Of course you’d be the one to bring the trash into the party.” he snarls at Jonathon. I am speechless, disgusted and boiling with rage. I can hardly see straight as Jonathon lunges towards his dad. He pulls him by the throat and he smashes his fist into his face. The guy falls to the floor in a pool of blood. Everyone rushes to see what has happened. Salma is the first to arrive. She pushes her way past the fancy guests and throws herself to the floor. She comforts her husband, but doesn’t spare a thought for her son. I shake my head at her pathetic actions, and I use all my force, to pull Jonathon away from his cruel family.
I manage to get Jonathon into the car. He’s conscious and stinks of alcohol. I climb into the driver’s seat of his fancy sports car. After a few minutes of searching, I finally find the ignition. I turn the key and the car’s powerful engine roars. The car is making sounds, a loud beeping sound to be exact. I look around and I try to figure out what’s wrong. Jonathon laughs at me.
“You have to put your seatbelt on or it won’t stop.” I roll my eyes and I quickly pull the seatbelt over me and click it into the holder. Next step I have put the car into drive. I rest my foot on the brake as I don’t want the car to leap forward. I click the car into drive and gently remove my foot from the brake. The car speeds forward, and I try to slow down, but my high heels are making it impossible for me to operate the brake. The car is spinning towards a well-lit palm tree, Jonathon is screaming. I focus and slam my foot as hard as I can down onto the brake. The car comes to a halting stop, just inches from the tree. I breathe a sigh of relief and I click the car into park mode. I reach down and one by one, I pull off my killer heels. I’m guessing it would be a lot safer to drive barefoot right now. Jonathon is resting against the seat; he shocks me by grabbing the shoes out of my hand. He smiles at me and then he throws my shoes out of the car. I watch as they fly through the air and I scream at him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he laughs again at me.
“They were hideous and they almost killed us.” he says in a slurred voice. I scream again at him, and then I click the car into gear and this time, I push my foot down as hard as I can onto the accelerator. Beverly Hills is quickly behind us and now all I want is to get Jonathon home.
“I said tell me where you live?” I plead with him as I stop the car at a red light. He ignores me and I can feel my temper starting to rise. This day has been one of the worst days of my entire life. Firstly, I had a non-necessary argument with my best friend. Secondly, the amazing Beverly Hills party was a sham. I was called trash and I witnessed an evil family feud. My stress levels are through the roof, and I don’t know how much more of this that I can take. I feel like bursting into tears and crawling up into a ball. The light turns green and I slam my foot on the accelerator again. Jonathon holds onto the arm rest for support. He isn’t going to tell me where he lives, so I have no choice but to take him back to my apartment. That’s something that I really don’t want to do. I am annoyed with him right now. I need space. I have seen a whole other side to him that’s scary. He got violent and off his face with alcohol. I know that his dad provoked him, but he shouldn’t have lashed out like that. He scared me. He reminded me of Brandon, and that thought could potentially ruin what I feel for him. How can I trust that he won’t get violent with me? I have opened my heart to the idea of love, but was I wrong to do that? Is Jonathon going to be a repeat of my past?
I pull into the lot of my building and I switch off the Maserati. Jonathon is lying with his head resting against the door frame of the car. He is heavy breathing and I don’t know if he’s sleeping. I slide out of the car and I flinch when my barefoot collides with the surface of the road. I march over to the passenger side of the car, and Jonathon shoots up when he hears me reaching for the door knob. He beats me to the punch and he springs out of the fancy car. I shake my head at him as he stumbles onto the gravel. I manoeuvre past him and I slam the door shut. I’m over this. I think as I kn
eel to his level. He looks into my eyes and I can see his playful side erupting. If this were any other time, then that look would have melted my heart, but tonight, it churns my stomach into a thousand knots.
“You’re really sexy have I told you that before?” his voice is scratchy from his alcohol intake and his eyes are blood red. I shake my head at him as I try to help him off of the ground. He’s so much taller than me, and you wouldn’t think it to look at him, but he’s also really heavy. I use all my power to holster him from the ground, and I make an attempt to head over in the direction of the door. We scramble but manage to reach the door of my building. Luckily, there’s someone on their way out and he has kindly held the door open for us. I thank the guy, and then I sigh when I see the staircase. I quickly glance over at the elevator, and I sigh as I see that it’s still under construction. I sigh again as I attempt to manoeuvre Jonathon up the stairs. I stumble as I climb the steps, and my annoyance levels begin to rise when he starts to laugh hysterically. I’m so over this. I’m over him and his childish behaviour.
Seventeen
The next morning I wake to a sore head. Did last night really happen? I slowly climb out of bed. It’s nearly seven and I have to be at the studio at eight. I quickly shower and as the water pelts all over my body, I think back on last night. The way Jonathon acted and the harsh words of his dad haunt my morning routine. Their family is so messed up. I can’t allow myself to get involved with all that drama, when I have worked so hard to get to where I am today. I care deeply about Jonathon, but I can’t see a future with him. He has issues of his own to deal with, and I have my past that he knows nothing about. I have enjoyed getting to know him, and I can’t thank him enough for all he’s done to help me with my music. However, he just isn’t the guy I thought he was. He offered me a trial, a chance to try him on and see how he fitted. All I can say about that is that, I tried him and I didn’t like the way he fitted. I have never seen that violent side of him, and if I’m honest he scared me a little bit. He got drunk off his face, another action that repelled me. I can’t give my heart to someone that needs to be carried home after drinking too much. I’m not his mom and I don’t need to be with someone who has two sides. Jonathon is everything that I could possibly want in a guy –on the outside that is. Inside, he’s just like Brandon. He uses his fists to show emotion and that’s a quality that I need to live without.
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