If I Fell│John Lennon/Beatles FanFiction

Chapter 49 - 2.July.1964

Chapter 49

A/N: Please be aware that there is a violent scene during the second half of this chapter.

July 2, 1964

"You're gonna make me drink alone?" Catherine asked before taking an awfully large swig of wine. "Bloody hell, Liv. Tonight of all nights you decide not to get bevied up. What for?"

"I'm gonna have a bevvy, don't get yer knickers in a knot 'bout it." I leaned against the bar and tucked my dark locks behind my ears.

I still wasn't used to looking down and seeing brown hair, but it was the only way to get the fans off my tail. It wasn't as if John had announced to the world that he and I had broken up...and the boys' fans recognized me enough to be beyond bothersome, some of them still hurling awful insults at me, others just wanting to know if I could help them meet John. That was until I made the snap decision to dye my hair. Now I blended in with the crowd again, and no one came up to me to ask if I was John Lennon's girlfriend. Which I wasn't. Not anymore, anyway.

"A drink, as in one? Should I remind you what 'appened to me today?" She twirled her thick, short hair, and her dark brown eyes met mine. "Got dumped and found out me brother's kickin' me out of his flat. Just a normal day, y'know?"

Catherine rang hours earlier begging me to go out with her. It wasn't as if we hadn't been spending most of our nights at our favorite pub, stumbling out hours later. She'd become my escape from the darkness that I was still trying like hell to break free from.

The boys were only just back from Australia. That meant that as of 11:10 AM, John was in town again, and it weighed on me like a ton of bricks. As much as his return should've put me in the mood to drink away my feelings, I instead felt a bit sick to my stomach. The idea of downing whiskey at the rate I otherwise might have made me want to vom.

I was supposed to be bloody gone by the time they got back, settled into a flat across town, but the damned lease fell through at the last minute. And now I was scrambling to find something new because I needed to move on with my life. Besides, all of the boys, except Paul, were looking to move...to invest in real estate and get the hell out of London hoping to find a bit more peace and freedom.

I'd stayed in my room when George and Ringo arrived home, pretending I wasn't there, in no mood for difficult conversations. From the sounds of it, they both stumbled straight to bed, the jetlag and exhaustion from the tour getting the best of them, especially poor Richy, who had collapsed with tonsillitis and pharyngitis right before the start of the tour in June. He'd stayed behind for a few weeks to get well before joining the boys in Australia.

My grand plan for the evening had been to stay trapped in my temporary bedroom, read a book, down a few sleeping pills, and try like hell to pretend John wasn't back in the same city as me. But Catherine had sounded so desperate on the phone, and I knew that desperation all too well. So I agreed to meet up with her at our usual spot.

"It's a shite day, Cath," I said as I waved down the barman and ordered a glass of wine to appease her. She looked like she was on a mission to get sloshed, but who was I to judge? I'd done something similar countless nights since she'd gotten to town. Because feeling numb helped take away the crushing ache that persisted in my heart. "What did that bellend boyfriend of yers say was the reason behind the breakup, anyway?"

She took another long swig of her red wine. "Distance. Said it wasn't fair for me to expect him to wait around while I was off gallivanting in London."

"Thought he was considering movin' down here. What' appened to tha?" I bit my lip as the barman placed a glass of wine in front of me.

Catherine grimaced and rolled her eyes. "Think maybe he found something...or someone...who made staying in Liddypool a bit more enticing."