The Catalyst | Joanne

Chapter 8

Dianne walked into the kitchen the following morning dressed in a loose running top, a tight pair of leggings and her favourite trainers. Her iPhone, with headphones already attached, was neatly slotted into her back pocket.

"Oh. You're going out." Joe commented as he finished his bowl of cereal. "Was I not invited?" Dianne sighed, and Joe knew something was up. "You've been quiet ever since we got back from Brighton. Care to explain?"

Dianne shrugged. "I just need to go out and get some air so I can think properly. It's too hot in this house and I'm too tired and I just..." Joe noticed she was getting annoyed and walked over to her, wrapping his arms firmly around her in a tight hug.

"Stop. Slow down. What's happened?"

Dianne leaned into Joe's body, breathing in his scent as she felt her muscles relax. "It's stupid. Well, it's me so of course it is."

Joe stepped back, holding onto her from arm's length. "Stop it. I've told you a million times not to say that about yourself."

"But what if it's true?" she said quietly. "What if I've made a bed for myself? What if I'm pushing too far and..."

"Whoa. Stop. Di, you need to go back to the beginning. I want to help but I can't unless I know what's going on. When did all this start? Come on, sit down", Joe patted the arm of the circular chair which looked out over the city skyline, "talk to me."

Dianne followed Joe's lead, sliding onto the seat and settling against his body. "I guess it started with the girl we saw. I'm pretty certain it was her. The one from tour. I... I asked Alfie if he had any advice about dealing with people who tell you personal stuff and he..." Dianne stopped, feeling Joe's muscles automatically tense.

"What did he say" he asked protectively, almost in a growl.

"It was nothing. He's probably right. I mean, he said a lot, but the main point was that I'm not prepared for this. I guess I was naïve; I just joined in with everything you've been doing, and people have taken advantage of me for it."

Joe shook his head. "Honey, no. That's not fair. You're entitled to do all of these things and people love you. Even... even the girl you saw. She's probably got problems of her own, but you didn't do anything to trigger that. You're just you- lovely, crazy, talented, beautiful you."

Dianne tried to smile. "I guess he's just got in my head" she admitted. "It was just something about the way he spoke to me. Like I was a kid. It just reminded me that this isn't my world."

"Of course it is" Joe's voice had reduced down to a gentle whisper. "You belong here. With me. We fit together and that's all that matters." He paused for a moment, running his fingers through the ends of Dianne's red hair. "I'm here for you. What do you need me to do?"

Dianne began to stand up, brushing down her leggings. "I'm OK. I think I'm still going to go for that run. I just need some air. And some time to think. I'll only do a quick one though- to the common and back."

"Dianne, that's not a quick route. It's almost three miles." By the time Joe had finished his sentence, the door had closed. Dianne was gone.

Joe sighed, throwing his weight back onto the chair in frustration. He hated seeing Dianne like this. She was sensitive and self-conscious beneath her outgoing exterior and he had worked so hard on boosting her self-esteem. Alfie had come along with a few careless words and undone all of his hard work. Pulling out his phone, Joe dialled his sister.

She rejected the call. A few moments later, a message appeared on the screen. "Will ring back in a bit. Need to talk to Alf first."

///

Zoe put her phone on the side and walked over to where Alfie was sat, fixing the end of his slack line.

"Can we talk?" she asked gently. Alfie nodded, not looking in her direction, and she sat down across from him.

"Alfie, this is serious. Can you please put that down?" Alfie huffed, but did as his girlfriend asked. Zoe nodded. "Thank you. I need to talk to you about this weekend. What was wrong with you? You weren't yourself all day, even before the thing with Dianne, and you were off with me. Can you explain?"

Alfie sighed. "I was pissed off. I wanted to get out and finish the rope swing in the garden, but you'd planned brunch and stuff. By the time we'd done that, been round the shops and finished yet another game of cards, it was almost dark, and it was pointless getting the tools out."

"So, what I think you're saying is that you're annoyed that I invited you to join me in spending time with my brother and his girlfriend because you wanted to be outside playing with your toys?"

"That's not what I..." Zoe held her hand up, stopping Alfie's defense in its tracks.

"I'm not done." She paused for a moment, calming herself down. She didn't want this to descend into a full-blown argument if she could help it. "You wanted to be out in the garden and you were mad at me for making plans. Fine. But what I don't understand is why you turn around to a girl who is essentially my sister-in-law and take it out on her? How old are you, Alfie?! I... I'm ready to settle down and have kids with you, but at the moment you're the one acting like a child. If you're annoyed, be an adult and say something."

Alfie rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're putting those two things together. I didn't take it out on her. It was completely different- she needed to hear what I said. Someone needs to get it into her head." He paused for a moment, his anger threatening to spill out. Zoe clearly wasn't seeing what he saw; she was too mesmerized by the red hair and the silly humour to understand who Dianne was underneath all the hair extensions, sparkling white veneers and false lashes. "Why are you defending someone you barely know?"

Zoe gasped. She couldn't believe that, yet again, Alfie was trying to turn the conversation back to his (completely unfair) thoughts on Dianne. "I'm defending her, Alfie, because she didn't deserve to get both barrels from you. You tried to disguise what you said to her but I'm sure your true meaning shone through." She paused, watching Alfie smirk. "If I thought Dianne was bad for Joe in any way, I'd have said something. To him. Because I'm his big sister and I'm protective of him. But I don't. She's kind, she's funny, she's talented and they're in love. I really don't see why you've got such a massive problem with her."

Alfie shook his head. "I'm not the one with the problem. It's nothing to do with me. You're all blind to the fact that she's putting fame first because it's all she's interested in. She's fake and you've fallen for it. You and Joe. She's letting in all sorts of problems because she's too thick to realise what she's doing. If you really cared about your brother, you'd see it. She's trouble. She's going to hurt him."

Zoe pulled herself up from the sofa and hovered between the conservatory and the kitchen, staring at her boyfriend in utter disbelief.

"I don't understand why you're so bothered by this. It was one little comment she made, a question she trusted you enough to ask for your advice on, and you've taken it as proof of every negative thing you've ever thought about her. Which are all completely ridiculous." She took a breath, noticing how hard her heart was pounding. "You seriously need to think about what you're saying before it comes out of your mouth because you'll end up ruining more than one relationship."

As she began to walk out the room, she heard Alfie's voice echo around her.

"You're only angry because you know I'm right. She's trouble. You'll all see it soon enough. I'm sure of that."