Okay late night update! I have a quick request along with the chapter. On my profile, there is a poll in which you can vote for who you think Rose should end up with! I'm torn and I think the poll would help me make a decision. Well, without further adieu, enjoy and review!
p.s. i didnt mean to rhyme sorry
It was Ringo who ultimately convinced me to move on from George. He told me that I couldn't keep doing things for people and forgiving people and have that count as love. I had to find someone who I loved unconditionally. Even if it meant saying goodbye to some people that I'd loved forever.
So it'd been a year since I'd last spoken to John or George. I knew that it was too easy for George to hurt me and John would always be miserable around me if he truly loved me the way he said he did. It was painful to leave them completely, but it had to be done.
They were the biggest band in the world now. Even though they were so famous, they were still my favorite people on Earth and I missed them terribly. It wasn't the fear of moving on without them, it was the fear of never going back to them. No one ever told me just how much it would cost to choose in life. They never told me that even though you can move on from certain things, it may in turn cost my heart.
The only person I regularly talked to was Paul. He called every other day if he could. He was coming back one night and rang me.
"Hello?" I answered. I could almost see Paul smiling.
"'Ello, miss. I'm looking for a little ninny named Rose. You wouldn't have happened to see her round, have you?" he asked jauntily.
"Don't believe I have, sir. I'll keep me eye out for the bird though," I grinned. He laughed lightly.
"How are you, love?"
"Smashing. You?"
"Smashing?" he scoffed. "What are you, some bloody London git?"
"Piss off," I snickered. "Anyway, how's Ringo? And, eh, John…and…"
"George?" he said flatly. "Fine. They've got themselves a bird. They're nice. Can't complain. They haven't talk about you since you got that new bloke."
Ah, my dearest Sullivan. We'd met about nine months ago. He was the most respectful man I'd ever met—even over my own father. He'd never laid a hand on me and I felt different about him. Different from every boyfriend I'd ever had. Even George. He moved from America to work in Liverpool. He confided that he had a daughter back home in Florida with his ex-girlfriend and since then, he'd learned how to treat a girl with love and respect.
"His name is Sully, Paul," I corrected calmly. "And you know it. You're just angry because he treats me right and you have nothing to complain about."
"Don't be daft, he's a tool," Paul protested. I heard the door unlock and I smiled.
"I've got to go, Paul. I'll see you soon!"
"Alright," he said hastily. "Love you."
"Love ya back." I hung up and ran to jump into my boyfriend's arms.
"Hi, sweetie," he said tiredly. He kissed my cheek and set me down. He worked as a business analyst in Southport, so he had quite a drive both ways every day. He tried to explain his job to me in detail many times but I could never understand what he actually did.
"How was work, love?" I asked as I made a very quick dinner. His eyes lit up.
"It was great. I had to evaluate the solution they chose for a new business opening in Preston through its design and construction to make sure that it met the business's needs. It was so interesting they way that the architecture of this new building almost completely reflects the southern Gothic style during-,"
"Sweetheart, I don't know what you're saying," I interrupted bluntly. He stood and grabbed my waist, gently pulling me toward him.
"Sorry, sweetie," he laughed. He kissed me sweetly and my whole body warmed up. We ate dinner and he pretended to be a food critic. He would taste his food, taste mine, feed me a bite, or swish a swallow of wine in his mouth fancifully. We were in stitches and before long we were practically asleep on our feet. When we went to bed, he suggested that we have lunch together tomorrow.
"That sounds like fun," I yawned, tucking myself under his arm. He kissed my forehead and just as we were drifting off, the phone rang loudly.
"I'll grab it," he groaned. He reached over and tiredly greeted: "Hello?" I closed my eyes and tried to listen to the conversation. "You're kidding me. Alright. Thanks. We'll be right there." He hung up and I looked at him curiously.
"What's the matter?" I asked. He exhaled deeply.
"Get up. Get dressed," he sighed. "We have to go to the police station."
"What? Why?"
"Your buddies, Paul and George, got into a fight with a guy at a bar and they called you to come get them."
"I didn't even know they were in town yet," I yawned again. He shrugged and handed me my coat.
"Let's go." He drove us to the station Paul and George were drunkenly sleeping, resting on each other's heads.
"Oh my God," I sighed. They were so embarrassing like that. As I talked to the officers, I was surprised to learn that Dan had approached them and provoked them by shoving Paul and throwing his drink in George's face. They retaliated quickly and soon Dan was lying unconscious on the ground. They were arrested while they were still furiously spitting curse words at him. The officers shook them awake and Paul hopped up and bounded over to me.
"Rosie, my darling," he slurred drunkenly. He only called me Rosie when he was plastered and thought we were teenagers again. "I missed you so, so, so much!" He glanced at Sully. "Who's this bloke?"
Sully wrapped one arm around my waist and offered the other to Paul. "Sullivan Braddock. I'm here to bail you out." Paul's demeanor changed immediately.
"Well, like I always said," he said cheerfully. "Rosie's friends are my friends!" He leaned on me heavily.
"Sully, you don't have to do that," I sighed. "I'll get them out."
"Sweetie," he said soothingly. "It's alright." I smiled at him as he went to the officer's desk to discuss their bail. George ambled over to Paul and me soon after, and I artfully avoided his eye contact.
"How the hell is he gonna get us out," George grumbled. I shot him a cold glare.
"He's a business analyst and he has a degree in law. He makes good money," I snapped.
"Oh, so you're only with him for the money. Is that it?" Though my temper flared, I chose to ignore him and focus on Sully. How dare he accuse me of using my boyfriend? I wish I could chalk it up to drunkenness, but the accusation seemed to come straight from the core. "Well?"
"No, George. That's not it," I said lowly. "I'm with him because he treats me like a princess and he takes care of and provides for me. He does what I ask him and he loves me unconditionally. No matter how long we're apart or how long we don't speak. That's why I'm with him." With each word I uttered, his face fell more, and I couldn't help but take slight satisfaction in that.
"Rose," Sully called. He motioned for me to join him. He told me that Dan would be arrested and tried for assault, criminal threatening, and (as delayed as it was) rape. My hands started to shake so I went to the bathroom while he finished the paperwork to bail the guys out.
I splashed water on my face and tried to slow my heartbeat down. I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. I couldn't believe that after all this time, Dan was finally being punished for all the things he did. What he did ruined my life. I lost friends and wrecked relationships. However, everything that happened rewarded me with Sully. Could I really ask for more than that?
When I came back, Sully held Paul up with one hand and helped George stay balanced with the other. I took Paul's weight from him and kissed his cheek. He really was amazing. We hauled the two men to the car and got them settled in before we took off driving to Paul's flat. We quickly got them into the house. George tried to take my hand but I pulled it out of his quickly. I knew Sully saw, but he looked away as soon as he could. I instructed Paul to call me the next morning and we went back to the car.
Sully knew about the tumultuous nature of George's and my relationship, but he never brought it up. He could tell that it pained me.
"Listen, Sully," I sighed as we walked down the block to the car. "About me and George, it wasn't-,"
"You know," he interrupted. "Every Christmas, my family watches 'It's A Wonderful Life' on the television." I stared at him oddly. I realized that he didn't want to bring George up. He changed the subject quickly because he wanted to focus on us and on our future. "Maybe one day, you can come watch it with us too." For the first time, what's past was past. I took Sully's hand and we finally made our way home.