Chapter Fifty-three.

Alice followed Lauren back to the house. 'Lauren wait….' She called after her cousin.

Lauren spun round, 'Joey sent you to fight his battles for him did he?' she frowned at her.

'What? No, of course not' she shook her head 'I wanted to see if you were okay'

'Do I look okay?' Lauren snapped.

'Well no but….' Alice started to say.

'Leave me alone, Alice' Lauren said letting herself into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Once inside, she pulled her bags out of the wardrobe and tossed them on the bed. She grabbed a fistful of clothes, dropping them into a bag. She saw blood on the clothes, turning her hand over with a frown and discovering the bandage was saturated with blood. She took the bandage off and looked at her hand. She went upstairs to the bathroom and ran it under the cold tap, then carefully patted it dry with toilet paper. She got another bandage from the first aid box and after about fifteen minutes of trying, she'd managed to get it wrapped around her hand, sticking it down with plaster. She cleaned up in the bathroom before going back downstairs to the bedroom. She pushed the bag onto the floor and climbed onto the bed, hugging her pillow tightly. She thought about the things she and Joey had said to each other. She remembered she'd told him it was over, tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt her world ending.

*JL*JL*L*JL*

Joey took a breath and walked out of the pub after Alice returned, telling him Lauren wanted to be alone and she was apparently angry with Alice too. He walked to the arches and found Phil sitting at the desk, talking on the phone, Joey knocked on the door. Phil looked up at him.

'Grant I've got to go, I'll call you later' he said to him hanging up 'Joey. What can I do for you?'

'You said if I needed to talk….' Joey trailed off.

'Jay, I'm taking a break' Phil said grabbing his coat. He followed Joey out of the garage. They walked to the café and Phil brought them both a coffee. They took a seat in the corner by the window.

'What's on your mind?' he asked him.

'I just had a huge fight in the pub with Lauren' he told her 'She brought some vodka'

'Why?' Phil asked and he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket. 'This bloody battery has the lifespan of a fruit fly' he frowned.

'You must have got yours the same place Lauren did' Joey joked feebly, avoiding the question.

'Did she call you?' Phil asked him.

'My phone was off' he replied 'I was spending the day with Alice, I know she's been feeling a little neglected lately and I didn't want to get to distracted' he replied 'I wasn't expecting Lauren to have a wobble today'

'We don't really plan when we are going to have "wobbles" they kind of just happen' Phil told him 'What caused it?'

Joey looked up at him and realised he didn't know 'I didn't ask' he said to him 'I just…I lost my temper with her' he admitted 'Oh God' Joey groaned 'I said some things I didn't mean…'

'What was the fight about?'

'Well, it started off about how I couldn't trust her; that she went behind my back, and then it kind of turned into a shouting match about Michael'

'What happened to your face?' Phil gestured at Joey's reddening cheek.

'She slapped me' Joey said 'after she compared me to Derek, and then she told me we were over'

Phil sighed 'What part about being supportive and understanding did you miss when I explained it to you' he frowned at Joey.

'I know, I know… I just…..I flipped out as soon as she said Michael's name'

'So what's Michael been doing?' Phil asked him.

'The way he talks to her sometimes, the way he looks at her, the way he is with her, he yells at her for no reason and then he expects her to come running when he wants her and she does and it pisses me off.' Joey told him 'He kissed her a few weeks back'

'He did what?' Phil frowned.

'He told her she was sending him signals….'

'Was she?'

'Of course not' Joey said shaking his head 'she's not like that'

'And she's still working for him?' Phil frowned, not happy about the situation any more than Joey was.

'I've told her several times I don't want her to work for him and she just refuses to quit, insisting she wants…needs to earn her own money, be independent' Joey told him.

Phil took a breath and let it out slowly 'I may be able to find her a job at the club, office paperwork or something, I can have a word with Janine' Phil said 'she doesn't have to be in the club to do the work, we could arrange for her to work from home or in Janine's office' Phil said, almost as an after-thought 'and you … you need to talk to her, listen to her, apologise for being an idiot'

Joey sighed and nodded 'I know' he ran his hand over the back of his neck 'She looked so hurt, so bewildered at my outburst…..almost the same look she had when I finished with her when she was drunk…. as soon as she said she had been to see Michael…..I lost it…'

'You leave the job front to me. You have to convince Lauren that she needs to quit and that it's not the end of the world to lean on you for a little while. You have enough money?'

'We get by' Joey said 'I have to admit Lauren's money helps' Phil fished his wallet out of his jacket and pulled out a bundle of notes, holding them out to Joey, he shook his head, 'I can't take this'

'Yes you can and you will' he nodded his head 'tell her it's a bonus from the club' he told him. 'Go on. Take it!' he insisted.

'Thanks Phil' Joey said, taking the money, pushing it into his pocket.

I'd use some of that to buy her some flowers if I were you, maybe a new mobile phone' he told him 'then go home and apologise to her' he told Joey.

'Thanks Phil' he said nodding his head.

'Well, what are you waiting for?' he frowned at the young man.

Joey nodded and got up, walking out of the café just as Janine walked in.

'Ah Janine…just the person'

'What can I do for you Phil?' she asked him.

AN: So Joey's realised he let Lauren down by not being available for her, as well as acting like an idiot and a jealous fool. He knows he needs to make amends. Will he take Phil's advice? Will Lauren accept his apology? R&R as always