Dirty Laundry

Lennon brought her sunglasses closer to her face, the sun's rays beating down on her like the ever-present idea of her boyfriend cheating on her. She had finally stopped thinking about it after two days of ignoring Alex’s phone calls and text. Plus, she had bigger things to worry about right now. “So when is he coming into town?” her best friend Charlotte asked. They were currently sitting outside of a cafe discussing Lennon’s new crisis : her ex-husband who’s not really her ex because they never got officially divorced, is coming back into town. “Tonight,” Lennon responded, taking a sip of her iced coffee.

Charlotte frowned. “Does he know you live out here now?” She asked. Lennon’s husband grew violent when he drank, which she already knew of course, but within two weeks of their wedding he had begun directing his anger at her. And Lennon was not one to take abuse from anyone, so she ran away. Not even telling her family where she was going. Out here in LA, she met Charlotte, and they became quick friends and roommates soon after.

“No, no one does. The only reason I know he’s coming is because I saw his face plastered all over the convention center. He’s a big time business man now,” Lennon said, rolling her eyes. Back when she knew him, he was nothing more than a street gangster with an addiction to just about everything. “Well, at least he seems different now,” Charlotte tried. “No trust me, a man like that doesn’t change,” Lennon said. At that moment, her phone binged. She looked to see who the caller was, and immediately shut it off.

“Was that Alex?” Charlotte asked. “Of course.” “You really haven’t talked to him since then? What about Jack?” “Nope, neither one since that night. Jack hasn’t even tried to call or check up on me, I think he’s taking Alex’s side,” Lennon said. “I guess I can’t blame him though.” She was wrong of course, again, Jack always had a few tricks up his sleeve. About two blocks away from the girls, Jack was walking down the street with Alex in tow. He knew that Lennon was here, according to Charlotte’s latest instagram post. He was planning to get her on Alex’s side too, but it would be easier to do so in person.

“Shit is that Lennon?!” Alex asked as he and Jack grew closer to the pair. “Yes, but you can’t go over there,” Jack said, holding his best friend back. “I just wanna talk to her-” “Yeah i'm sure you do but she doesn't wanna talk to you bud. I’m gonna go over there and try and convince her to take you back, ok? You stay here, and don't fuck up my plan alright?” Jack said. He looked Alex in the eyes, silently asking for his word. “Fine,” Alex gave in. With that, Jack walked over to Lennon and Charlotte’s table. “Huh, speak of the devil and he appears,” Lennon said sarcastically.

She didn’t know if she was necessarily angry at Jack, but she wasn’t completely liking him at the moment either. “Ladies,” Jack greeted them. “What do you want? You come here to convince me to take Alex back?” Jack looked at her, dumbfounded. It was like she read his mind. “Uh, no I uh, actually came over here to...invite you a party!” He was hoping that sounded believable. “A party?” Charlotte questioned. “Yes and you’re invited too. Alex won’t even be there, it’s at a friend of mine’s house,” Jack continued. He wasn’t technically lying. He did have a high school friend who was throwing a party tonight in honor of his successful business project. And it was Jack. Who didn’t expect him to bring a few hot girls to a party?

“Fine. We’ll be there.What time and address?” Lennon asked, cocking an eyebrow. Jack wrote down the information on a napkin. “See you there,” He winked at them, and left to go find Alex. “So do you really think there’s a party?” Charlotte asked. “Knowing Jack, there’s always a party somewhere. I just don’t know if I believe him and Alex won’t be attached at the hip.” “Good point. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Lennon and Charlotte stepped into the party, things began happening very fast. Red solo cups filled with mysterious drinks were quickly shoved in their hands as a greeting. One of the greeters began to hit on Charlotte, and she was whisked away into a sea of people, leaving Lennon alone. Luckily, she wasn’t alone for long, she spotted Jack slouched against a wall across the room. His face lit up when he noticed her. “Hey! You came!” he shouted above the noise. “Yeah, turns out you were telling the truth.” she said.

“Hey, um Alex is actually supposed to show up later, so you might wanna get out of here before then.” “I knew you couldn’t stay away from him! But i'm not leaving, i'm not afraid of him,” Lennon took a long sip of her own drink and smiled at Jack. He smiled back. “Oh! Let me introduce to my friend,” he grabbed her wrist and led her to the kitchen. “Lennon, this is Josh, Josh this is-”

“Lennon.” the man finished his sentence. He stared at Lennon, surprised that the girl who used to be his wife, his whole world, was standing right in front of him. Lennon gulped, “We uh, actually know each other.” “Yeah we used to be married,” Josh joked. While him and Jack laughed, Lennon searched for an escape. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Josh seemed harmless now, but she wasn’t so sure if he would stay that way. Jack noticed the worried expression on her face and got concerned. “Hey are you okay,” he asked.

“No, actually I changed my mind about Alex, I really don't wanna see him right now.” she lied. “Who’s he?” asked Josh. “Alex, her boyfriend. Well, they’re actually going through something right now but it's gonna work out,” Jack spilled. “I'm gonna go find Charlotte,” Lennon rushed, slipping out of Jack’s grasp. Jack called after her as she ran, feeling like he failed her and Alex. Alex was his best friend, and Lennon, well, he thought she deserved nothing less than happiness. Even if he couldn't be the one to give it to her .

Lennon had ran into an upstairs bedroom to hide. She thought about the last time Josh hit her, and how scared she was, much like right now. Her past was finally coming back to haunt her. She stopped pacing though when the door suddenly opened. “Did you miss me?” the man smirked. “Josh, look I’m sorry about leaving you but-” “But what?” he asked, closing the door and locking it behind him. “We were only married for two weeks. Two weeks Lennon, before you decided to take off without a trace. I was heartbroken for months. You were the love of my life,” he took off of his suit jacket slowly. “Did you really not know? You hurt me Josh! You hit me and yelled at me when I asked the simplest of questions! What was I supposed to do?!” Lennon yelled, praying someone outside would hear her.

“You were supposed to stay you stupid bitch! You should've been a good little wife, and listened to me!” He stepped toward her, and she stepped back, but the bed was blocking how far she could go. “I knew you hadn’t changed. All this money and fame and it only went to your goddamn head!” That was his final strike. Josh slapped her across the face. Lennon doubled over onto the ground, her cheek losing all feeling. Tears formed at the brims of her eyes, and in her vulnerability, she let them fall.

“Lennon? Lennon!” a voice yelled from the hallway. Her tears quickly turned to tears of joy. “Alex?” she whimpered. “That your little boyfriend?” Josh asked. When he got no response, he kicked her in the gut. She cried out in pain, and luckily, Alex heard her. “Lennon!” he screamed at the door, trying to open it. “Are you in there?” He began banging on it, trying to break it down when it wouldn’t open. The door finally gave way when he gave it one swift kick. Guess those karate lessons paid off, he thought. He gasped when he saw Lennon curled up on the floor. “Lennon! Oh my god are you okay?” She didn’t respond.

Alex then took a look at the shocked man in the corner, and put two and two together. “You fucking bastard!” he shouted. Alex walked over to Josh and punched him in the face, knocking him out. “You don’t EVER put your hands on a girl!” he screamed. He them remembered Lennon, and ran over to get her. He lifted her into his arms bridal style, and placed her on the bed. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Lennon, I know i’m probably the last person you want to see right now, but-” “Shh. You might have just saved my life. I forgive you, for now. As you can see, i'm no saint either,” she cut him off. He chuckled. Alex knew all about her ex-husband, and just how reckless she had been to marry him in the first place. He knew all of her past, yet he loved her anyway. “I don’t believe in saints, it’s too weird how they never make mistakes,” he said.

“Look Alex, i’m still not okay with you cheating on me. But I love you so much right now, and I want to try and make it work. I have my dirty laundry, and you have yours. But together, I don’t want it to be dirty anymore,” Lennon said. She crawled closer to him and looked him in the eyes. Alex grabbed his girlfriend’s face gently in his hands. “Dirty laundry looks good on you. You are amazing Lennon, and I don’t care if you have an ex-husband, you’ve been in a gang, have weird parents, etc, none of it matters,” Alex finished smiling. Lennon smiled too, and the tears returned. “Oh babe don’t cry,” he said, pulling her into a cuddle.

“You’re right. I have so many regrets I mean, who am I to tell you that you need to change? Even though you do,” Lennon confessed, whispering the last part. She felt Alex laugh through his chest, and realized how much she had missed his embrace these past few days. “I promise you are the only girl I want, and you are the only girl I need. One way or another I am gonna spend the rest of my life with you, even if that means taking myself apart, and putting myself back together again, so I can become even half the man you deserve. I never wanna fucking lose you again.” Alex said.

Lennon shrugged. “Just don’t make promises you can’t keep.”