Relentless

Chapter 37

Juliet

"Good morning, Jul! Merry Christmas!" Lisa cheers, coming into my room.

"Merry Christmas, Lisa." I say, waking up and sitting up in me bed. The sun is piercing through my window and birds are chirping. It's supposed to be winter. There's supposed to be snow, not eighty degree weather. I stand up and walk down the hallway and past the Christmas tree. I didn't tell Lisa that I wanted anything for Christmas. I just want my notebook and pencil.

When I arrive in the kitchen, Lisa is making us coffee and pancakes. She is a great cook, much better than my Mom was.

Now that I think about it, this is the first Christmas without my Mom. I try to push the thought aside and focus on what I do have. I have Lisa.

I've been thinking a lot about Genevieve. I loved performing and writing my own material, but hated what I was doing it for. Now that that part of my life is over, maybe I could get into performing again. I don't know how the fandom would react, but it's worth a shot. But, in order to do that, I have to tell Lisa. I need to tell her before I tell the millions of people.

"Lisa." I sit at the kitchen table and watch her place the pancakes on our plates. She sets them down on the table and then sits in-front of me.

"What is it, honey?" She asks, sipping her coffee.

"I have to tell you something but... I'm not sure how you'll react."

"Go ahead. I'm all ears."

"Okay... Um... When I was umm..." I take a deep, shaky breath and look at her. "Okay, so you know how I sing?"

Duh, of course she does!

"Yes." She replies.

"Well, when my Mom married Daniel, he wanted to use my voice for money. Long story short, he took me to a recording studio and this guy signed me but I didn't want to be known to the world as Juliet Summers. I wanted to be known as... as Genevieve King."

Lisa spits out the piece of pancake that was in her mouth and starts coughing when I say Genevieve's name.

"W-what?"

"Daniel made me give him all of my money every week. After the car accident I received a call from my manager. I pretended to be someone else and told him that I died. I didn't want to be Genevieve anymore. I wanted to leave everything that happened behind me and start a new life. But now, I feel like I want to pursue a real career in the field. I want the world to love me for me."

"Whoa, hang on." She interrupts me. "You're Genevieve King?"

Keep up, would ya!

"Yes, Lisa. I am Genevieve King."

"Prove it to me."

Oh geez.

"You should know
I'm never gonna change
I'm always gonna stay
When you call for me
I'm right there
Right there

'Cause you listen and you care
You're so different
No one compares
And if you never change
I'm gonna stay right there
I'll always be right there"

I stop singing to see her jaw on the floor. That was definitely proof.

"Oh my God... My niece is a celebrity!!" She cheers, starting to freak out.

"Lisa, snap out of it!" I say, laughing. "Will you help me?"

"Yes, of course! First thing's first! Let's make a video!"

Here goes everything.

Ashton

It's Christmas and I'm sitting in my room watching videos of Genevieve King. I loved this woman with everything I had and now I pushed her away. And why did I push her away?

Because I don't want her to hurt even more when I have to pick up everything and desert her in a month.

It is much easier to leave with her hating me. If she stayed with me, I wouldn't be able to leave her. I wouldn't be able to walk away.

I can't believe I got drunk the other night and called her. I can't do that! I can't go back to alcohol! Not again!

I feel empty. I feel like a part of me was ripped out and thrown in the trash. But I can't be selfish. I can't keep her by my side and watch her break when I leave. But I hope she knows that what we had was real.

"Merry Christmas Ashy!!" Antonia says, coming into my room and jumping onto my bed.

"Merry Christmas Ant!" I reply, trying to sound a little cheerful for her.

"Why are you still in your room? It's noon! Come downstairs so we can open presents!"

"You go, I'll be down in a minute." As she leaves my room, I close my laptop and grab my phone, staring at the old text messages between Juliet and I. I should've told her I loved her more. I should've told her that she was everything to me. But I didn't.

I just lost the best thing that ever happened to me.

Song in this chapter:

Right There- Ariana Grande