Page 44 of London’s Calling, Part 1 (London’s Calling)

Mickey

That went well. I shake my head and laugh as I exit the room and head back to the ballroom, assuming it must be cake cutting time or something. But as I enter it’s clear something else is going on.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for coming to celebrate my daughter’s birthday…”

Franklin Hart is on the stage with Roni beside him on one side and Clayton on the other.

“But this isn’t just a birthday celebration. As some of you know, my beautiful daughter and Clayton are set to marry next week. However, they decided tonight would be the perfect opportunity for them to tie the knot and kill two birds with one stone…”

I can’t hear him any longer as I look to Roni, finding her already looking at me. She dips her head, breaking our gaze, before lifting it again and looking out to the crowd, straightening her spine and pushing her shoulders back.

“Reverend Turner, please join us.” Everyone turns to watch the reverend climb the stage steps as Roni and Clayton shift positions, turning slightly from the crowd when Reverend Turner takes position in front of them.

Clayton takes Roni’s hands, and I spot the rock on her finger as the light catches it.

“What the fuck is going on, man?” Fletch whispers as he and Priest appear at my side.

“You want me to fucking spell it out for you?” I snap, and my hissed words are met with more than a few glares from people around us.

“But I thought—”

“Shut the fuck up, Fletch!” Priest says, knocking shoulders with him. “You okay, man?” Priest asks, looking to me.

“Yeah, not like I didn’t know about her and Clayton, and besides, like I told you before, we were just fucking around.” I ignore the look that passes between Priest and Fletch as the reverend begins speaking. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I tell the guys, moving toward the exit.

But when we reach it, the doors are closed and blocked by the two doormen from the front entrance. I keep going only to have one of them stop me with a hand on my shoulder.

“You need to remain in the room during the ceremony, sir.”

“I don’t think so, now move,” I demand, and tack on a “please” for good measure.

“Sorry, sir, but we’ve been instructed not to let anyone leave until after the ceremony.”

I’m about to move the prick myself, but Priest stops me. “Forget it, you don’t want to cause a scene.” He tugs on my arm, pulling me away from the doors. “I get it, but you know he’d love to see you lose your shit and get kicked out.”

I hear him, spotting Franklin standing by the side of the stage and smirking this way. I know Priest’s right, but I need to get the fuck out of here. I can’t stand by and watch as she marries that cunt.

How could she do this? I had a plan, to get her away from him, so we could be together.

But you forgot to tell her about it!

Priest and Fletch guide me to the back of the ballroom, away from the rest of the guests, knowing I’m close to losing it. Yeah, I hid my true feelings about Roni from them, hell, I was even hiding them from myself, but we all knew how I felt about her; how I feel about her.

Priest passes me a beer as Clayton begins saying his vows. I swallow down the bile that rises as he gushes over her, spouting bullshit promises about taking care of her, loving her above others until death parts them.

Death is coming sooner than either of them think if I don’t get out of here.

“Just look away, man, turn it off,” Priest urges, steering me further away.

I allow it, but I can’t stand still, so I pace. I should have listened to my dad. I should have put a stop to this the second I realised I was falling for her. I was a fucking idiot.

I hear her voice as she begins repeating the reverend’s words, and I have to look.

I have to see her face when she says it.

And I need her to see me too. I slam my beer down and push through the crowd toward the front of the stage before either Fletch or Priest can stop me.

I come to a halt beside the vodka luge, directly in her line of sight.

I can feel Franklin’s smug glare from here, but I keep my focus on her, Roni fucking Hart who is about to break my heart.

“Do you, Veronica Sophia Hart, take thee, Clayton Eric Simmonds, to be your lawful wedded husband?”

I hold my breath, and it feels like forever before her eyes meet mine. When they do, it’s devastating.

Holding my stare, she says, “I do.”

And just like that, it’s done.

The only woman I’ve ever loved just married someone else.

The crowd claps and cheers as I back up away from the sight of Clayton taking Roni in his arms and kissing her.

Before I turn away, I see Franklin laughing, so when I pass the vodka luge, I give it a sharp shove, knocking it off the table.

It crashes to the ground with a loud clap and shattering in to a dozen chunks, which skate across the floor, causing people to jump back.

“Congratu-fucking-lations!” I bellow as I exit the ballroom.

“Mickey, Mickey, fuck, man. That was…fuck! Hold up,” Priest calls behind me.

But I don’t stop and march straight out the front doors only to be accosted by two cops.

“Mr Rawlins, Mickey Rawlins?”

I ignore them and attempt to walk around them, but they block my every move.

“You need to come with us, please?”

“No thanks.”

“I have to insist, Mr Rawlins,” says the first cop who spoke to me, holding his hands up.

I stop moving and pin him with glare. “Am I under arrest?” I snap, getting in his face.

“Not at present—”

“Then I have nothing to say to you.” I try again to move around them, furious when the cop won’t let me pass.

Priest steps in front of me, pushing me back and preventing me from laying out a cop. Voices echo around me, but all I can hear is Roni saying I do.

Two words that play on a loop in my head, blocking out everything else.

Two words that without context don’t mean much.

Two words that have devastated me, broken me, split my heart in two and stomped all over it.

My body is burning, my eyes glaze over and still the words play over and over. Building to a crescendo of agony so deep, so visceral, so raw, there is no way to stop what’s coming. The eruption is ruinous and savage and destructive.

A roar bursts from me as I swing my arm, connecting with anything and everything within reach. And I keep going, spiralling as my body fights against the pain, showering those around me with a wrath matched only by the gods.

Strong arms wrap around me, locking my own to my side, but I continue to fight against the restraint. I don’t stop until my body is slammed to the concrete, knocking the air from me. Words slowly seep beneath the red mist that claimed me.

“I’ve got you, man. I get it, but you need to stop. Breathe, Mickey. I’ve got you.”

I let his words wash over me, calming the beast inside. Just as I begin to relax, the heavy weight over me disappears and is replaced by someone firmly pinning my arms behind my back. The cold snap of metal on my wrists clears the last of my anger, and I collapse to the ground.

A broken man.

To be continued…