she's leaving home 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 [𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐰𝐨]

XIII

—𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐋—
[𝟎𝟕.𝟎𝟒.𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑]

"MAYWEATHER!"

...silence

"MOLLY! COME OUT!"

there was more pounding on the door and then there was more silence. molly's days had blurred together like the rain-soaked streets of liverpool, each one a step closer to the inevitable.

groggily, molly sat up in george's bed. but he wasn't there. at the time, he was across the U.K. in leyton, london on tour with the rest of his beatles buddies. molly missed him terribly.

she stood shakily, stumbling toward the door. her head was pounding with a headache. "what is it?"

it was george's mother, louise. "it's cynthia, she's in the hospital now and she called for you," louise explained quickly. "she wants you to come down as soon as you can,"

abruptly, molly snapped out of her stupor.

"what? now? but john's—"

"in london with the band, i know," louise cut in, her voice terse. "her mother is in canada... she needs someone there."

she nodded quickly, turning around to grab some things and head to the hospital. as she dressed, molly's mind raced. george was in london too, along with the rest of the beatles. they were riding the wave of their newfound fame, their first album "please please me" having been released just a few weeks ago. molly found it to be spectacular, and she was so proud of her boys.

from watching them perform to watching them argue and fight, to watching them record their album in the studio, she was there for it all. the thought of george made her heart ache with longing, but she pushed it aside. now, she had to go help cynthia deliver her and john's baby.

she gathered a backpack full of clothes and essentials and made her way out the door. luckily for her, when george went on tour, he left his car behind. george owned a little blue '55 ford anglia deluxe that ran beautifully. in fact, when george got the car, molly went with him and ringo to get it and on the way back, george and ringo even raced. this scared molly, and later on george got many speeding tickets, but he was happy.

so, with louise's permission, molly made her way downstairs, out back and to george's car. the streets of liverpool were eerily quiet as molly made her way to the hospital. rain sprinkled onto the windshield as molly carefully drove. though she didn't yet have her license, george had been delighted to teach her to drive. if she got caught, however, she would be in deep trouble.

as molly drove, she thought of cynthia. she and john's marriage was still under wraps, brian fearing it might tarnish the band's image. and now, with a baby on the way, the stakes were even higher.

at the hospital, molly found cynthia in a private room, her face contorted in pain. she hated hospitals.

"oh, molly," cynthia gasped, reaching for her friend's hand. "i'm so scared—john should be here, my mother-"

molly squeezed her hand. "i know, love. but you're strong. you can do this, im here."

and so, as the hours ticked by, molly stayed by cynthia's side, offering words of encouragement and wiping her brow. she thought about the whirlwind of the past few months—the beatles' rising fame, the secret wedding, and now this. she wondered what george would say if he were here, imagined his gentle voice and comforting presence.