In Strange Places

21 - Song Of Love For Julia

"Fancy meeting you in this lovely hotel, Julia." There was no mistaking Patsy's sneering tone as she flipped back her hair. "Bit out of your budget isn't it? But again if you're sleeping with a famous rockstar, you can afford to come to such places."

"What are you doing here Patsy?" I wasn't that surprised to see her. And I knew from the way her eyes glinted at me that I wasn't walking away without an argument.

"Isn't it obvious? I came to meet Liam."

"I thought the only thing obvious was that he left you."

"That's what the papers told you", she said bitterly. "You don't know half the truth. And honestly, you shouldn't be jumping into bed with him when he's hiding things from you."

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason for Liam to hide things from me."

"That's where you are so wrong, Julia. He will always be hiding things regardless of whether he loves you or not. That's just how he is, there's no changing that. Trust me I have tried."

I knew she was trying to get into my head with her fibs. Liam's notoriously unstable streak with relationships and lies didn't help matters much.

"There's nothing I have to know", I said calmly. "Except for the fact that Liam wanted to me to come here with him."

"He brought me to Paris before you. So don't consider yourself someone special because it's no big deal. Besides-" She smiled condescendingly. "He's taken me to better places than Paris, if you know what I mean."

My apathetic expression remained unchanged. "Yes but it wasn't you moaning in his bed last night now was it?"

There was a sudden stinging sensation against my cheek that nearly made me drop my plate. Patsy glared at me, hand slowly falling to her side. I belatedly realized she was wearing a ring.

"Don't you dare say shit like that, you hear me?" I noticed that her voice was trembling. "Liam is gonna dump your ass quicker than you can say 'fuck'. You'll be left with nothing in the end, just you see."

She turned on her heel and stormed out the hall. My appetite fizzled out entirely by the time she disappeared into an elevator. With a hapless sigh, I put away my plate and left the restaurant.

I briefly entertained the idea of going for a long walk, just vanishing into the cobbled streets outside until the mess Patsy made would clear itself up.

I told you before but I'll say it again, I won't leave you. Not without good reason at least.

Was Patsy a good enough reason? I didn't know. Despite the ugly feelings she had left me with, I couldn't leave. Not when the memory of my last night in Hamburg swam in my head.

My conversation with Noel, Liam's panic when he realized I wasn't around, the tight hug he pulled me into after...

Because you can't fuckin' trust me enough to stay.

With a shuddering sigh, I went to the loo to regain my composure. As I washed my face at the sink, I noticed a small red welt blooming across my cheek. Patsy's ring had left its mark. I stared at it for a long time before cursing my reflection and walking out.

I stood in the lobby of the hotel, eyes shifting between the sliding glass doors that led to the rest of Paris and the metallic elevator doors that would take me to the root of my problems.

I knew Patsy had gone upstairs to Liam. Did I dare leave her with him? Was it worth it to confront her and Liam? Was this love worth fighting for?

The words echoed in my brain, sending tingles down my spine.