"Here you go." Richie handed her the water and she took a few sips.
"Thanks Richie. You're a doll." She wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Well that's it Dorothea finally has her hooks back into John and now that Carol knows she's pregnant, she will be planning their big wedding." She barely got the words out through her cracking voice.
"God Ash don't do this to yourself! He got himself into this situation, so let him deal with it! You are too good for all this shit! So keep your head up honey. None of this is your fault."
"I know but it hurts so much. I can't take it."
"I'm going to go." Richie looked at Stacey as he was walking to the front door." He couldn't stand to see a girl cry.
Stacey walked over to him. "Thanks Richie."
"Don't mention it. Can I call you later?"
"Sure, I may be here a while with Ash though. Maybe I could call you?"
"Okay. You got my number?" He looked at her with a cute little grin.
"Yeah I do. Try to talk some sense into your boy. Ash is trying to do the right thing and she's hurting and he needs to back the hell off." Stacey replied just out of Ashley's earshot.
"Johnny is stubborn as a mule. Not a lot of good I will be at getting him to do anything. But I will at least try just for you." He replied standing close to Stacey. He breathed in deeply her perfume. "Damn she smells amazing." He thought to himself.
"Thanks Richie."
"No problem bye babe." He left out of the door and Stacey was just a little disappointed that he didn't try to kiss her.
Carol entered her house ready to tear into Johnny and he knew it was coming.
The front door slammed. "I want you to explain to me why you just treated that girl that way!" Carol yelled looking over at John laid back on her couch with his dirty boots propped up on her coffee table.
She marched over and swatted at his feet. "Get those boots off of my table! I know you know better than that!"
John quickly dropped the boots to the floor. "Sorry Ma. Look you just don't understand about Dot, it's not that simple. I just don't have any feelings for her anymore and she may be pregnant but it's all her own fault!"
"Do you even hear yourself? You have no feelings for the young girl that left out of here today carrying your baby? And how on earth could her being pregnant be her fault? It takes two willing participants for that to happen!"
"Yeah people that have all their damn memory! Dot knew I couldn't remember Ashley! I had lost the most precious four months of my life! She swooped in pretending we were still together and she wanted me to get her pregnant so she stopped taking her damn birth control pills without telling me! If I had had remembered about Ashley, I would have never touched her!"
"But apparently you did touch her! And you certainly weren't using a condom or we wouldn't be having this damn conversation!"
"She told me she had been on the pill for two years and she begged me not to wear one and she didn't come up pregnant any of the other times!"
"Well I warned you. If you want to play grown up games mister, sometimes you have to pay! Now I don't care how or why she has ended up carrying a Bongiovi baby, but you are the Daddy and you are going to step up and be there for her and the baby!"
"No I won't! She still lied to me and when I got my memory back and kicked her ass out of my apartment, she ran over here next door and slept with Jake, the guy that drives the black car!"
"Oh my Lord! Well could the child be his?"
"She said she used a condom with him. She wanted to have a baby with me. The doctor gave her a due date and it's nine months from when we were together! So no I'm pretty damn sure it's mine!"
"What is wrong with all you kids? She wanted to get pregnant at 18 by you? You can barely take care of yourself! And what's going on in your mind that you let her talk you into this crazy crap, when you had condoms? And I know you had them because I bought them and put them on your dresser for years! There is no damn way you used them all! Well your actions have consequences Johnny! I may be getting old and there is a lot of things about this younger generation of yours that I just don't get! But in my day if you had sex with a girl and she got pregnant, you stepped up and became a man and you married her and took care of your child!"
"Damn it Ma! How can I trust her after she lied to me and tricked me into getting her pregnant? She's slept around on me and you want me to marry her? No fucking way!!"
"Now I have already warned you about that hateful mouth of yours! This situation is not just Dot's fault. Nobody forced you to sleep with her without protection! The most important person here is the baby and you are a Bongiovi and we don't leave our children floundering around hoping they are being cared for! You made this bed Johnny and you are damn well going to lie in it if it kills you or me, which ever comes first!"
John stood up so angry. "I've got to get out of here!" He hurried to the door.
"We are not finished Johnny!" His Mother yelled from the front door looking out at him walking over to Richie smoking a cigarette beside John's car.
"Hell yes we are!" John yelled back at her walking up to Richie. "She's crazy. She wants me to marry Dot and play Daddy! I can't fucking do it! I just can't!"
"Here she comes Johnny! Let's get out of here!"
They jumped in the car and sped off with Ashley watching from her living room window.
"Did they finally leave?" Stacey asked looking up from a magazine when she heard the car crank up.
"Yeah John looked mad as hell. He must of been fighting with his Mom or Dorothea." Ashley couldn't help but wonder where he was going and if he was okay.
"Come on forget about him. You can't stay cooped up in this house worrying about him. Let's go somewhere!"
"No I can't, but you go if you want to. Maybe you and Richie can go do something. I saw the way he was smiling at you."
Stacey smiled. "Yeah Richie is so dang sweet, but you know he is way too complicated for me to let my guard down."
"Maybe, but who am I to say. My life is so messed up." Ashley looked out the window feeling very depressed and wishing she was with John.
"I hate to see you going through this. Ashley do you regret being with Johnny and Losing your virginity to him?"
"No I don't. I never really knew what love was until I met John, so I don't regret a single second. I've never had these feelings for anybody. I have some wonderful memories. I guess it just wasn't meant to last."
"I'm sorry Ash. I see how much you're hurting. I'm here for you. I'll help you get through this."
"Thanks Stace."
"Come on let's go for a ride. It will get your mind off of him."
"Okay. Let me change my clothes."
Ashley got dressed and they started walking over to Stacey's. John's younger brother Tony was walking up the street.
"Ashley." He called out to her.
"Hey Tony."
"Is it true? I heard my Mom and Johnny arguing, is Dot really pregnant?"
"She told John she was."
"He told Mom you broke up with him."
"Yeah we broke up, he has a lot going on and he needs to focus on all of that. I just can't be in the middle of it."
"Well I just wanted to tell you. I know how much my brother cares about you and I know he doesn't want to be with Dot, if she's pregnant or not."
"Aww thanks Tony. I really appreciate you telling me that."
"Tony!" Carol called from the front porch. "Get over here!"
"Sorry I've got to go." He mumbled walking across the street to his Mother.
"Wow she is really doing a number on all her boys." Stacey commented watching her interacting with Tony. "Come on lets go."
They jumped in the Jeep and drove toward the beach. "You need to get your stuff from Johnny's."
"I was just gonna try to do it tomorrow when he's at work."
"You need your car and there's no better time than the present." She pulled into a gas station in front of the payphone.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling Richie to see if Johnny is over there, so he can keep him busy for us to get your stuff."
"Okay."
They walked up to the payphone and Stacey dialed Richie's number.
"Hello." Richie answered.
"Hey it's Stacey. Don't let him know I asked, but is Johnny with you?"
"Yeah but I don't know for how long."
"Do us a super huge favor. Keep him busy for Ashley to get all her stuff out of the apartment. She can't deal with him right now. So pretty please with sugar and cherries on top!" She giggled.
"Okay I guess but sugar and cherries may not cover it." He chuckled.
"Okay thanks I owe you big time! Gotta go!"
"Yeah you do. Bye." He hung up.
"He's there, we've gotta hurry."
Stacey drove like a maniac over to the beach apartment.
Ashley dug out her keys and they hurried inside and started packing up her things. When they were done, she wanted to take one last look around. She had been so happy here with John.
She took the keychain and key off her keyring he had given her for the apartment and laid it on the table. She picked up a pad and pen that was laying there and scribbled him a note.
"Come on Ash let's go." Stacey gently nudged her to the door. "We need to get the hell out of here, before he gets back."
"Okay." Ashley opened the door as a tear fell down her cheek. They walked down to her car and put her bags inside.
"I'll help you get them out at your house." Stacey told her walking to her Jeep.
They both cranked up and pulled onto Ocean Avenue a few minutes before John and Richie turned into the apartment. The first thing John noticed was her car was gone.
"Ash come got her car!" He said outloud as he parked.
He got out and they ran upstairs. He flung the door open and ran to their room. All her stuff was gone. He sat on the bed running his hands through his hair. "Fuck!" He yelled.
He walked into the livingroom and saw her keychain on the table he picked it up and noticed her handwriting on the note.
He sat down on the couch and read the note over and over.
"What is that?" Richie asked.
"A fucking Dear John letter!" John remarked sarcastically and handed it to Richie to read.
"How can she do this and still say she loves me?" He questioned as he looked at the engraved keychain he had made for her in his hand.
"She's hurting too man. You can tell by this note." Richie replied handing him back the piece of paper.
John sat motionless and his face turned hard and cold and his eyes looked dark and empty as he continued to study every word on the page.
"She doesn't want to be in my life anymore. That's fine. She doesn't have to be!" He announced looking up at Richie. Pain evident in his eyes.
He opened a side table drawer and shoved the note and her key in there and slammed it shut.
"Does this mean you are going to try to work things out with Dot?" Richie asked reluctantly.
"Hell no! It definitely doesn't mean that! God I wish she would talk to me! It just seems like I keep hurting her. It's not like I'm trying to. Maybe I'm a jinx or something. I mean whenever I feel like everything is going great, that's usually when it goes straight to hell."
"Give her some time man. To get used to the idea. You just need to get your mind off of all this shit. Let's go watch Southside tonight at the Pony."
"I don't know man. I don't know if I can face everybody. I'm sure words out about Dot and how Ash gave me the boot."
"A few beers and you won't even notice. I promise. You can't sit here thinking about her all night!"
"God I love her Richie, I thought she was the one."
"I know man and maybe she is, but it's just not in the cards right now. So are we going to see Southside or what? You know you never miss a show!"
"Damn Richie my head just ain't in it tonight."
"We just have to get that girl off your mind and you will be just fine. Now go take a shower. You look like shit man!" Richie laughed.
"Up yours man. You know you're a real asshole." John replied back to him.
"I know, but that's what best buds do. Tell you the truth when you don't want to hear it." He chuckled. "Now get out of here and take your shower.
"I'm going. Southside better let me play with him on that damn stage tonight. I need it to get my mind off all this shit!" John walked into his bathroom to get ready.
Richie and John got to the club early. Southside Johnny was at the bar ordering his Jack and coke when John walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. "Hi kid what's shaking."
"Hey Southside."
"Damn what's wrong with you Johnny B? Your voice is so husky and did somebody kill your dog or something? You look like shit!"
"My voice is getting better and I wish that was all it was, it would be a hell of a lot easier."
"Oh I get it, you must have women troubles. Dang you are awful young to play the field like you do." He chuckled. "I'm just busting your chops kid. If I had your looks, I would be hitting up every broad in this joint."
"I've seen your babes Southside, you ain't hurting for company."
Southside chuckled. "Well maybe but the music business is a fickle one. If I bomb a record or take a break for too long, some of these chicks seem to forget my name. They are what my Dad called good time Charlie's. They are there when you're up and disappear when you're down. I'd give all the good time girls up for one real down to earth girl that was there for me no matter what."
"I guess that makes sense." John replied.
"What you drinking Johnny?" Southside asked and finished up his drink.
"Anything, I'm dying of thirst over here."
"Hey bartender, another Jack and coke and a bud please."
"Okay so tell me what has my little buddy all down in the dumps tonight."
"There's this new girl I been seeing. I'm crazy about her but I just keep fucking things up."
"Oh I been there. The best advice I can give you is if it's meant to be it will work out. Don't push it. You're young, don't sweat it. You have a lifetime to find the right one and something tells me you are going to break a hell of a lot of hearts along the way."
"But I only want this one girl. She's different than all these same old girls from around here."
"You're talking about the blonde right? The one I have seen you with at the Fast Lane?"
"Ashley yeah." John nodded his head. "I am head over heels for that girl."
"Well what's the problem?"
John swallowed hard and got a little nervous and looked away. "Dorothea."
"Oh no you didn't?" He shook his head. "You didn't knock up the ice queen?" Southside acknowledged but his facial expression showed he was disappointed.
John looked up at him regret of the situation showing on his face. "She gets so pissed when you call her that. But yeah she's pregnant."
"Damn it Johnny! I told you she was bad news and you needed to distance yourself from her."
"I know and I didn't mean for it to happen! Did you hear about me being in the hospital?"
"Yeah some dude tried to kill you."
"Yep Ashley's Dad and when I came to I had lost the last four months of my life and all my memories of Ashley. It's the reason my voice sounds like shit. Dot tricked me into thinking we were still together. The bitch quit taking her birth control pills and didn't tell me and now Ash broke up with me."
"Damn you are paving a hard road for yourself. I can't say I blame the hot little blonde. A baby coming changes things."
"Not for me it doesn't! I'll be there for my kid as much as I can, but I can't be with Dot! You know how she is!"
"Yeah but when you get your first look at your own kid, something you made with somebody else. It will give you a whole new outlook on life. The first time I saw my son, my heart melted."
"You have a son? I didn't know you had any kids!" John exclaimed and took another sip of his beer.
"Yeah his name is Eric, he will be ten years old next month."
"Wow it just knocks me on my ass, thinking that you are somebody's Dad. I never knew."
"Well I don't get to see him much. Me and his Mom were really young. I wasn't ready to settle down. She met an good guy that builds houses and they got married and moved to North Carolina. Eric calls her husband Daddy. He's the one that helps him with his homework and goes to his school to see him in plays, not me."
"Damn Southside, do they keep him from you?"
"No it's just hard to see him in the business I'm in and the hours I keep. But they give him a stable life and I am grateful for that."
"Well I'm sorry. I bet he thinks you are a great Dad."
"I hope so, I see him about three times a year. So when is your little bundle arriving?"
"May of next year." John replied and almost turned snow white.
"What's up kid? Are you okay?"
"I'm not ready to be a Dad. What the hell could I teach him or her? What the hell do I know? Nothing! Not a damn thing!" He swigged down the last of his beer.
"That's the great thing about kids Johnny B, they except you for who you are. They don't expect a whole lot from you. And they love you with everything they got." He grinned. "Don't worry so much kid. You will do fine."
"Thanks. I hope so."
"So this Ashley chick, broke it off with you?"
"She told me to work it out with Dot, that a kid needs both parents."
"Damn. I'm sorry. I know the ice queen ain't easy to get along with. She won't make it easy for you."
"No and my Mom wants me to marry her! No way I won't! I won't ever be her husband!"
"Well never say never. Sometimes I wish I had married mine and found a nine to five job so I could be a full time Daddy to my son." He looked at him with regret in his eyes.
"Sorry it didn't work out for you."
"Hey no worries. I have my music. My one true love. And when I'm lucky, some mighty fine ladies hanging around. Like this cute young lady behind you.
John turned around hoping somehow it was Ashley.
"Hey Johnny."
A disappointed John spoke softly. "Hey Patty. How's it going?"
"It's okay. And you?"
"I'll see you Johnny. I've got to get backstage. Be up front and I'll call you up. You too Patty if you want too!"
"Me really?" Patty smiled. "Yeah I would love to.
"Okay bye kids." Southside walked to the back.
"It's so cool you are in so tight with him." Patty smiled watching him walk away. She looked back at John. "What's wrong Johnny you seem down?"
"Ash moved out, she put her foot in my ass!"
"What did you do? It must of been a biggie!"
"You haven't heard? I thought word would be around by now." John ordered another beer.
"Nope haven't heard much gossip about you lately. I guess you are old news around here."
"Good, I hope it stays that way."
"So What's up?"
"Dot's pregnant and says it's mine. It's a long story."
"Oh well damn Johnny. I'm shocked. Are you going to marry her?"
"Nah I can't be with Dot. She's not the same girl she was when we first got together. I need to try to work things out with Ashley, but she won't talk to me."
"You love her. I can see it in your eyes. She's a lucky girl. I remember when you used to look at me like that."
Richie walked up. "Hey Patty. Johnny get your ass up we're playing pool!"
"I need some more booze first!" John looked back at her. "Later Patty." He half heartedly smiled at her as he walked away with Richie.
Patty watched him walk away.
Her eyes dropping to the backside of his jeans. She admired the way his nice luscious ass filled them out. She always regretted how things ended with him. "He's in a bad way tonight. Maybe he could use a little company." She thought as she ordered two tequila shots. She downed one quickly and headed for the pool tables with the other.
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