the drummer boy ❦ Roger Taylor

44

I felt the air knock out of me.

I didn't know what to do, but as soon as I heard his voice, I wanted to run. I wanted to leave the pub quicker than you could imagine; I wanted to be home, or with Roger, or anywhere really. Anywhere at all but here.

But I didn't. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and turned to look at him.

And as soon as I did, it all came flooding back.

The emotions, not only for the situation, but for him. I loved him. He was my first love. But now? I look at him with only disgust.

"Julia, I cant believe it's really you." He grinned, the same grin as all those years ago.

He hadn't changed much. Other than the fact he had clearly been going to the gym, a lot, he looked the same. It had been four years, and it was like a day had gone by.

"Jack, what're you doing in town?" Deborah grimaced. He kept his gaze on me for a moment longer, before looking at Debs.

"Well, you know me D, i'm here there and everywhere." Jack smirked. She scowled, tipping back her drink quickly. Tash was stiff, as she didn't really know who he was.

"You shouldn't show your face. You're a piece of shit." Deborah spat, standing up. I grabbed her hand,

"No, Debs. It's ok." I said in a small voice. Jack chuckled,

"So she speaks! God, how old are you now, Jules? Seventeen?" He ignored Deborahs comment completely, but his two friends beside him shared a look.

"Eighteen." I said bluntly. I had no time for him. He ruined too much of my life, he wasn't ruining any more. I tried to make eye contact with Eddie, the doorman. I knew him quite well, as he often would walk me back to my car after a night shift. Jack noticed, looking where I was looking. He laughed once again,

"Oh, come on, Julia. We're both adults now." He was always so patronising, even now.

"Jack, mate, lets just leave." His friend said. He could tell that the atmosphere was extremely tense. I looked down at my glass, hoping that he'd leave.

"Nah, nah, why should I? This was my boozer before it was theirs!" He exclaimed, downing his pint.

"It's not worth it, there's plenty of other pubs." The other friend piped up. They obviously knew that their friend was a scumbag, without even knowing the story of him and I.

"You can shut the fuck up, mate." He snarled. Fortunately, Eddie had picked up on what was occurring, and appeared between the group of lads and I quickly.

Eddie was a huge guy, equally as wide as he was tall. He was incredibly intimidating, and I was just so glad that he was here.

"Is there an issue here, lads?" His voice boomed, causing Jack to immediately back down.

"No, mate, no problem at all! Was just saying hello to an old friend, that's all." Jack grinned motioning to me. He was charming, he always had been. Not like Roger, no, Roger had the bad boy charm and exterior but had a heart old gold, whilst Jack seemed like the perfect man, when in reality, was a narcissistic psychopath, who only cared for him and would hurt anyone in order to benefit himself. Eddie glanced at me. I shook my head. That's all he needed.

"Get the fuck out." He growled. You'd think someone would see the size of this man and listen to him. But not Jack.

"And why would I do that?" He smiled. Typical. He was trying to get a reaction. From anyone else, it'd work. Eddie on the other hand took no ones shit, especially not from someone like Jack. Keeping his composure, Eddie took a single step closer to him. He didn't say anything, but from his clenching jaw and fist I could tell that things could escalate very quickly if Jack didn't go. His friends were practically pulling him out of the door. Jack looked from Eddie to me, then back to Eddie, and to me, giving me a smirk that sent shivers down my spine, "No worries, we'll be off. I'll see you soon, Jules."

He winked, downed his pint, gave Eddie a look of amusement crossed with anger and left, his two friends in tow, giving me sympathetic looks as they followed him.

"Fucking scumbag." Deborah exclaimed, clicking her fingers to the barman and putting up three fingers, inferring she wanted three more drinks. I wasn't complaining.

I was actually shaking from the encounter. It happened so quickly but seemed like an eternity. The second our eyes locked, I crumbled inside. But I was truly proud of how I stood my ground; I tried to show him he didn't affect me anymore. Whether it worked or not was beyond me.

"Arsehole." Tasha said, rubbing my arm. I sighed, shaking my head.

"He will never change." I said sadly, looking down to my lap.

"No. Nope. This isn't happening. He is not going to ruin your life again, i'm not having it. You're way too happy with Rog for that prick to waltz in here and get in your head. Right, get this drink down you - Charlie! Another three please! Then we're going to the club, we need to dance." Deborah instructed, barely giving me time to blink before she thrust the drink into my hand.

Deborah rarely showed this side of her, but no matter what, she was my older sister and would protect me no matter what. She didn't always know exactly how to show how much she actually cares about me, but when it happened, it was nice.

I knocked back the drink, now feeling slaughtered, and grinned. Debs grinned back.

"I love you, Debs. You know that?"

"Of course I do, I love you too, baby sis. Right, let's go!"

-

I'm sincerely so sorry for the lack of updates. I'll be honest, it's been a crazy few months! A lot of personal health issues which resulted in my mental health massively deteriorating to say the least haha. But a part is a long time coming and i'm really hoping this will be the return :) How is everyone??