Purple Hearts

Billie had been driving the car for over five minutes and hadn’t said a word to Charlie who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Charlie felt uncomfortable, not because he hadn’t spent much time with Billie because he had, he’d been backstage with him at a few gigs before and when he was younger when he came over to visit Franky him and Billie would have a chat about all sorts of stuff. Charlie felt awkward because in his mind all he could think of was Adrienne and of course, she was Billie’s wife.

“Where the fuck is she Charlie?” said Billie all of a sudden. He turned a corner pretty sharpish and Charlie had to hang on for dear life. Billie was concentrating on the road ahead but he didn’t look happy. Charlie was convinced that Billie still loved Franky, after all he’d written that song for her and that wasn’t all that long ago, he’d confessed his love to her before she’d flown to be with him in England and there was no way that he could have changed his feelings that quick, surely unless he was getting back with his wife because he felt it was the right thing to do and he was blocking those feelings out.

“I wish I knew,” said Charlie, “I just don’t get it at all, she seemed so tired last night when I saw her I couldn’t imagine her getting up before lunchtime. She’s so tired lately.” He said.

“You know don’t you?” Said Billie, turning another corner but this time not as fast.

“Know what?” said Charlie glancing across at him.

“About Franky being pregnant,” said Billie. “I take it she still hasn’t told Gerard yet?” He said, his eyes fixed on the road.

”I don’t think she’s told him, you know how stubborn she can be, there’s just no getting through to her sometimes. Tre doesn’t know either, I think she has this fear of telling him for some reason.”

“I guessed she hadn’t told Tre. What the fuck is she playing at telling us and not her husband to be and her Dad? Tre’s going to love the news I know it and then he’ll finally get to realise why she’s being feeling so tired lately.”

“I know but… you know Franky,” said Charlie. It was obvious that Billie still cared for Franky but how much and in what way he wasn’t sure.

“Is this it?” said Billie pulling into a car parking space outside a luxurious apartment building.

”Yeah, he has the whole of the top floor apparently,” said Charlie getting out of the car.

**

They’d knocked twice when finally someone answered the door but it wasn’t Gerard it was James and he looked dreadful.

“Oh,” said Charlie. “James, we wanted Gerard, is he here?” What the fuck was James doing here? It looked as though he’d been here all night.

But Billie pushed through and passed James, the place was in darkness, it was a huge opened plan place, the shutters were down and the place stank of booze and cigarettes.

“Gerard!” shouted Billie, not caring whether he woke Gerard or not.

They could hear a slight groaning coming from the sofa but Billie was already over to the windows and pulling on the blinds, sunlight came flooding into the room.

”What the…” said Gerard sitting up on the sofa, his eyes squinting at what was going on.

Charlie and Billie looked at him, and then looked at the coffee table next to the sofa. It was covered in empty bottles of vodka, beer, cigarette packets and ashtrays full up with cigarette ends. Alongside the ashtray Billie saw a needle, a hypodermic needle. There was a packet in silver foil and lying in the silver foil, some white powder. They both knew what it was.

Drugs.

Before Charlie could act Billie was over to Gerard and dragging him by his shirt collar off the sofa. Gerard fell to the floor.

“You fucking piece of shit, tell me that this is not happening. What the fuck are you playing at man?” He said watching Gerard get to his feet. “Your wife to be has gone missing and you’re here snorting and injecting drugs with…him,” said Billie looking over at James. He’d never liked James, he’d never warmed to him and now he knew why.

“It was a one off,” said Gerard.

“Don’t give me that,” said Billie. “If Franky found out you know she won’t want to marry you don’t you.” He said. He was inches shorter than Gerard but it was obvious that Billie had the upper hand.

“I love her and…I love her so much, I don’t want her to find out…I’ll sort myself out, please don’t tell her, I won’t be doing it again.” Said Gerard pleadingly.

Charlie felt awful; this was a dreadful sight watching Gerard beg to Billie.

“You need to sort yourself out, I think you need help.” Said Billie walking over towards the window and looking out. Charlie wondered what he was thinking.

“Gerard, you need to get help and I’ll help you, go clean yourself up, I won’t tell Franky but you need to clean your act up for her before you get married.”

”I’ll do it,” said Gerard heading off to the bedroom then he bowed his head slightly, “thanks Billie.”

But Billie didn’t speak to him anymore, he turned to James.

”And you, you little shit, clean this stuff up, for some reason something tells me that this is your doing,” he said coming over to him. “You’re meant to be Franky’s friend and band mate, you know she hates all this shit.”

“I know,” said James but he didn’t seem as ashamed as Gerard had been; it seemed as thought he didn’t really care at all.

“Get this shit cleaned up, then get yourself cleaned up, I’m taking you back to Tres.” He said. “Charlie and I will wait in the car.” Then Billie headed off out of the apartment, disgusted at what he’d seen.

**

On the way down in the elevator Billie turned to Charlie.

“This stays between you and me, OK? Franky has enough going on at the moment and if Tre finds out that Gerard has been doing this, well, Gerard’s life wouldn’t be worth living,” said Billie.

Charlie had never in his life seen anyone with such a look on his face and he couldn’t work out what emotion it was. Billie was obviously disgusted with Gerard and James and so was he but he was now worried about Franky and her future. If Gerard could lapse so easily back to the drink and drugs now, how would the future be for her?

They were silent for a moment then Billie spoke once more he didn’t look at Charlie just looked straight out of the front window, looking at nothing.

“I love that girl Charlie,” he said then turned towards Charlie, his green eyes much darker than Charlie had remembered them.

“But she doesn’t love me. That’s why I went away, hoping that she’d have changed her mind and we could make a life together but she’s with Gerard and… I just want her to be happy.”

“I know you do Billie and so do I… where the fuck is she?”

But Billie didn’t answer and Charlie thought he looked sad, this guy who was so obviously in love with his best friend and he felt sorry for him.

“What we saw today stays between you and me, that OK with you Charlie?” said Billie. “I’ll clean him up, make sure he’s clean before he marries her.”

But Charlie just nodded and thought what an awful situation this was.

**

Billie and Charlie didn’t speak to Gerard and James at all on the journey home, the two ashamed men sat in the back of the car for the entire journey, not speaking at all, no one spoke.

They pulled up onto Tre’s drive but there was a commotion at the door, Tre was being held up by Mike. Billie couldn’t get out of the car quick enough, what the fuck had happened?

“Billie, she’s been kidnapped, my little girl has been taken,” said Tre, his face awash with tears.

“What?” said Billie, his stomach sinking. No. Not his Franky. Kidnapped? Come on.

“Its true,” said Mike. “Some guy called and said he’d got her, said we wouldn’t see her again unless Tre followed his orders.” Said Mike, he looked awful, grey looking.

“What orders?” said Billie.

”We don’t know until he calls back and he didn’t tell us when that would be.” Said Mike.

“Billie,” said Tre who was by this stage clinging onto his friend. “What if he harms her? What if I don’t see her again?” he said.

“Come on, lets get you inside,” said Billie. Where was she? Where was his Franky? Yeah, his Franky and she always would be even if she married Gerard he’d always think of her as that.

He loved her so much and all he wanted to do was to tell her again.

**

It was cold and dark in this room off the basement, a kind of hidden room that hardly contained anything but an old mattress, a bucket in the corner so that she could pee in and a tiny chink of light coming from a small window, very high up. It smelt foul and she’d never felt so scared.

But she was only next door, a few steps away from home and she was sure that her Dad would come soon to get her.