Book 1: Echoes Of The Past

Chapter 23 - "You're One of 'Those' People?"

He binned the condom and washed his hands before turning and making his way back over to Ivy as she lay there watching him.

"Come and warm my feet up." She grinned at him, pulling back her bedsheet for him to climb in next to her.

"Ivy...don't tempt me." Shannon warned her.

"Shannon, just get your ass back into bed with me." She told him sternly.

"Yes Miss." Shannon saluted. "You don't have to tell me twice." He rushed back over to the bed and climbed in next to her.

Instantly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his body, gently running his fingers through her hair.

"Seriously though Iv. I hope I was good enough for you." He whispered looking at her.

"Shannon Leto. I never thought you'd be insecure about your sexual performance." She saw the look of concern on his face. "It was fine, you were fine." Leaning forward she placed a kiss on his nose. "So tell me about your life after I left and moved to LA."

"You really want to know?" He tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Yeah I do."

"I-it-it's not pretty Iv."

"I want to understand you."

"Hell, so do I!" He joked.

"I'm being serious Shannon."

He rolled onto his back, propping one arm up underneath his head and looked up at her bedroom ceiling."

Ivy moved to lay her head on his chest and he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders.

"When you left. I just gave up on everything. You know I wasn't doing well in school? So I-I dropped out. Mum eventually kicked me out. She didn't want to, but I deserved it. So I moved in with some of my biking buddies.

We all moved to live in this big house together, right in the centre of Bossier City, it was kind of like a frat house/party house; Jay had moved to New York by then to go to the School of Visual Arts, I didn't know what I wanted go do with my life, hell, I didn't know what I was doing day to day.

None of us really managed to hold down jobs and I got a few misdemeanours for theft and selling drugs-"

"What?" Ivy looked at him, lifting her head from his chest. "You were a drug dealer?"

"Well I wouldn't go that far. It was just some weed and cocaine here and there."

Ivy felt Shannon running his fingers lightly up and down her back and shuddered.

"I just gave up on life really. There wasn't any point for me that I could see. With the drugs obviously came the drinking. It got to the stage where I'd wake up and reach for the bottle and just continued to drink throughout the day until the evening.

My lowest point came when I overdosed."

"What the fuck Shannon! Why didn't anyone tell me. I would have come back."

"It is what it is...it kind of turned out for the best, strangely, because it was then that Jay suggested about starting up the band with me. The band basically saved my life." He shrugged.

"I'm so sorry I did that to you. I feel terrible." Ivy told him quietly, slowly walking her fingers down his chest to his stomach, where she lightly trailed a finger to encircle his tummy button.

"You didn't know, and besides it was my fault. The only person I can blame it all on is myself. I pushed you Way by being a dick to you. I guess I didn't know exactly how much you'd mean to me until you were gone." He sighed.