Be my Starr (Ringo Starr)

Chapter 10 part 1: Same old

Susan didn't have a clue where they were going until Ringo took a swift turn and the realisation dawned on her that they were heading to the docks.

"Why are we going here?" She questioned. Ringo didn't answer her and parked nearby. She looked at him. "Ritchie?" He turned and smiled. Oh, that perfect smile.

"Come on Luv." Susan would follow him anywhere. Was that a good thing or a bad thing.

———

It was getting late now and the sun was starting to set. Ringo took Susan down by the docks and they both looked out into the distance.

"I come here sometimes when I need to think," Ringo said after a peaceful moment of silence. "I look at the boats."

"They're beautiful," Susan said in awe. She had never stopped to look at the view before but oh what a view it was.

"I have to be careful in case someone sees so I come when it starts getting dark." Ringo looked around to make sure no one was there.

"Do people always recognise you?"

"A bit." He sighed. "It's not what you'd think." He looked out at the dissolving sun as it faded away.

"I think it's terrible," Susan admitted. "I'd hate being recognised by someone I didn't know let alone thousands.

"People should have to pay to be allowed to see you," Ringo spoke out loud. He took a breath and turned away slightly.

"Give us some money then," Susan smirked.

Ringo smiled. "What's your story then?"

"Oh, you know. Living life." Susan wasn't sure how Ringo would react to her job yet. She almost forgot that she had pretended to be a photographer.

"You're a photographer right?"

"...Yeah." She could feel herself starting to sweat with nerves.

"Tell us about that. I love cameras."

"There's not much to it. I just take pictures of things I like." Susan couldn't believe she was carrying on with this lie but what could she do? She could admit what her real job was but would that make things worse? She worked as a trainee journalist for god's sake. What would he think of that? Maybe he'd think she was just pretending to like him to get a good scoop.

"I'd love to see some of your work. I'm sure it's great." He complimented.

"You have no idea." Susan forced a smile.

"How was it at your mum's?" Ringo asked, eager to learn more about his new obsession.

"Same old. She worries about me all the time. She still thinks I'm a kid. I can't help but feel like one when she treats me like one." Susan sighed. "It's stupid I know."

"She's just looking out for you. My mums the same. Your brother seems alright."

Dan." Susan pulled a face. "He's the devil reincarnated. He's always out to annoy me or embarrass me."

"Thank god I'm a only child." They both laughed. Ringo just somehow made everything better for Susan. He could cheer her up no matter what. "What about school?"

Susan groaned."School." She moaned.

"Let me guess, you were the girl that no one ever looked twice at." Susan nodded.

"Pretty much."

"Well they're all bloody blind, aren't they? I looked at you once and now I can't look away."

"You're probably just confused."

"Probably." He joked.

"Come on then. What was your school like?" She asked. "I bet you were the kid that all the teachers hated."

"You tell me." He said and leaned against the bannisters.

"What do you mean?"

"I was hardly at school with all the stuff going on."

"What stuff?"Ringo took a moment and glanced at her.

"I was ill quite a lot as a kid. I spent most of my time at the hospital." Susan felt her heart shatter for him.

"Ritchie... I'm sorry." She hesitated but slowly put her hand on his arm. Ringo gave her a soft look and leaned in towards her. Her hand was cold but he didn't care.

"It's alright. Wasn't that bad. I was only in a coma." He said as if it were nothing.

"A coma?" She shrieked.

"Quiet Luv, you could wake up the whole neighbourhood with that voice."

"You were in a coma?" Susan was still in disbelief. "How? Why?"

"When I was six I had this thing called appendicitis which gave me a lot of pain in my abdomen." He explained. Susan put a hand over her mouth in shock and squeezed Ringo's arm with her other.

"Oh my god." She whispered.

"They did this operation which only made it worse really cause I got this other thing called peritonitis and next thing I knew I was in a coma."

"Are you okay?"

"Well I'm not in it anymore am I?" He laughed.

"But it must have been horrible for you."

"Well, I wasn't conscious so I didn't have a clue what was going on."

"You couldn't feel anything?" Susan queried.

"Nothing."