Save Me (Roger Taylor FanFiction) [Wattys 2019]

25: Suspicious

*3rd January 1972*

ROGER AND I WELCOMED the new year with love and excited anticipation. We were finally together and we were looking forward to the year ahead of us. Things were finally looking up.

I had to go back to my jobs at this time but not without Roger trying to convince me to give up my job at the cafe.

"You always work too hard and two jobs is just too much for one person," he'd say.

"Roger, darling, it's fine. I'm not bothered, I can do it." I assured him, kissing his cheek before making my way to work.

So, here I stood, behind the counter at a quiet old coffee shop.

"Is there something different about you?" Sarah asked me while I waited for new customers to come in.

"About me?" I repeated, half in a daze today.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you this smiley for years. Is something different?"

"Oh, uh, I don't think so," I told her, hiding my smile because I knew it was Roger's doing. I hadn't been this happy for a very long time. Probably since before I caught Roger with Jeanette.

"Julie?"

Oh. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Jeanette stood in front of me. She looked different too. Her blonde hair was cut into a short bob with a fringe, she wore less make up and her clothes were considerably less revealing. She looked like the shadow of the girl who once drunkenly kissed me in a pub.

"Jeanette? It's been a while," I said, emotionless. I knew why Roger had ended up kissing Jeanette, but I had no idea why she had ended up kissing him. What on earth could Lucas have told her that would make her kiss my Roger?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, knowing that she must be in here for more than just a cup of coffee; she knew I worked here.

"I don't know, I just stopped by to say I'm sorry," she said sheepishly.

"What? You're here to apologise? After all these years you've decided it's finally time for you to apologise. You could have apologised when I caught you but you just stood there. You barely even looked at me. How can you apologise now?"

In truth, I hadn't meant to say all of that. I just opened my mouth and it all kinda came tumbling out. I guess I wasn't as over the accident as I thought I was.

"I don't know," she repeated, avoiding my gaze. Images of her kissing Roger flooded into my mind and I honestly wanted to punch her.

"Is that all you have to say? Can I get on with doing my job or would you like to make a bigger mess of apologising?" I don't know why I was being so horrible to her; I wasn't usually horrible to people.

"Julie, I really did want to be friends with you and I really did want to be with Brian. I just made a mistake, I was drunk,"

Why is it that I seem to be doomed to have to listen to the 'I was drunk' excuse from every single person in my life? Let's get one thing straight, that doesn't make it okay. If you hit me, I don't forgive just because you were drunk and if you kiss my boyfriend, I also don't forgive just because you were drunk!

The sooner everyone learns that, the better.

"Yeah, you really messed it up, didn't you?" I laughed humourlessly, turning around to rub some mugs with a rag.

"Julie, please forgive me,"

"Why should I? A better question, actually, is why the hell do you care whether I forgive you or not? Something doesn't smell right about this,"