Because Lily technically sa'd Johnny in American Satan since he was high and told her no at first.
"Babe! We're gonna be late, let's go!" Gretchen called from downstairs, waiting patiently for her boyfriend as he got ready for their counseling session.
Johnny slid on his leather jacket, and exited their bedroom, walking down the flight of stairs that led to the living room. "I'm ready, we can go now." He said with a smile.
Couple's counseling was in fact Johnny's idea despite what most people may think. Johnny was well aware of the fact that the break in trust within their relationship was his fault and his fault only, so he was going to fix it any way he can.
Even if that meant sitting therapy every week for the foreseeable future.
Gretchen gave Johnny a soft kiss, and took his hand, leading him outside to his car.
"Its such a beautiful day, we should go to the park after this." Gretchen said after they got into the car, and Johnny put the top down.
"We should, it would be fun." Johnny agreed. Frankly, he wasn't sure if that was a good idea, he didn't want to get recognized, but he was sure they could find a secluded spot to be alone together.
The drive was mostly quiet apart from Gretchen talking about school, and her soccer team she was coaching every so often to break the silence. Johnny loved listening to her talk about anything. Sometimes staying clean was hard, but whenever he looked at her, he was reminded of what addiction almost took from him.
Johnny held her hand as he drove, running his thumb over her skin rhythmically as music softly play from the stereo. He liked moments like this. They could forget about everything and just exist in their own little world where Johnny isn't a world famous rockstar that got hooked on heroin, cheated on her, and all around fucked everything up.
Gretchen lifted Johnny's hand, and kissed it gently, tracing the veins and tattoos with her eyes as she listened to him hum under his breath. Things were a lot better than it had been, but they still had a long road ahead of them to rebuild their relationship to where it had been before(Gretchen wasn't sure if it would ever be like that again, but god did she want it to be).
How do you forgive someone for cheating? Sure, Johnny was high, and Lily said that she initiated it, but Johnny still did it.
He still had sex with his bassist, he still broke Gretchen's heart and trust. Nothing changed that.
All they could do was move forward.
Easier said than done, that was for sure.
The band was on hiatus, the only members that ever came by was Vic, and Leo on occasion. No talk of a tour, another album, nothing. Gretchen wasn't sure how long that would last. For better or worse, this was the career Johnny chose, and if they were going to stay in LA and be able to afford the mortgage on their house, he needed to get back on the road.
Back on the road meant stuck in a bus with Lily eight months out of the year, and Gretchen didn't know how to feel about that.
She wanted to trust Johnny, she really did, but how could she fully trust him now? How could she trust Lily not to try anything again?
Gretchen didn't know the details of that night, just what little bit she saw via the facetime call. She didn't know whether or not she wanted to know anything more than that.
Johnny pulled into a parking space outside of their counselor's office, and got out, walking around the car to open Gretchen's door for her, and offered her a hand.
