Following the Stars

Chapter Forty Five

*Potential Trigger Warning*

A few days had past since Johnny and Lexie arrived in paradise. Since the first full day of being here, they had been intimate at every opportunity. Johnny could barely keep his hands off Lexie, and the feeling was mutual. He loved how when they were completely alone, she became more confident and had even taken to wandering round the house naked or at least topless a lot more than ever before. Johnny approached the sun lounger where Lexie was lying at the time, she had a cobalt blue plunge bikini on, relishing in the fact it no longer hurt to have the bikini top tied up under her chest where her broken ribs were. He handed a cool drink to her and laid down beside her. "Enjoying yourself?" "Very much so. I didn't think it was possible to be this chilled out. It's like the rest of the world doesn't exist here." Johnny smiled "Exactly darling." As they relished in the sunshine, and enjoyed a quiet moment Lexie's phone rang. She lazily answered it, it was a video call.

"Hey!! Care to tell me where you are?!" Josh chuckled.
"What? Oh I'm away on vacation. Why?"
"Because I just messaged your mum about coming over to surprise you! She told me you were out the country!"
"Oh sorry, yes it was a last min thing, just to get away you know after everything."
"And who are you vacationing with?" He asked cheekily.
"Johnny, who else?" Lexie turned the phone towards Johnny who rolled his eyes behind his shades and grunted a greeting.
Josh laughed "Of course you are. Good I'm glad you're having fun, I guess we will have to meet up soon! Anyway how are you doing now?
"Yeah definitely. We will be back in LA in May for press for the film. Are you around then? I'm doing ok, well much better than when we last spoke, the bruising has mostly gone now."
"I'll try to be and that's good I'm glad to hear it. Make sure you don't overdo it ok?"
"Oh Josh come on, if you are around when I'm there, I might even treat you to breakfast again!"
"Ha as if, make it dinner!"
"Josh!!"
"What are brothers from other mothers for hey? Ok well I better go. Have a good one."
"Talk soon Josh bye!"

Lexie hung up smiling at her phone. Josh and her had always got on well, and he had always been there for her like she imagined an older brother would be. She gently put her phone down on the table and looked over at Johnny who looked rather serious. "You ok babe?" She asked. He nodded and continued reading his book "Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded and laid back in the sun enjoying the chance to top up her tan.

Much later on, Lexie had showered and rinsed off the sun cream and sand for the day and was in the kitchen making a salad for dinner, Johnny had already explained he liked eating as fresh and healthy on the island as possible. He purposely sourced local ingredients and prided himself on it. The man in question walked into the room just as Lexie was giggling at her phone. She placed it down before continuing to chop something but still had a big smile on her face. Johnny was concerned, he knew who was making her smile like that but he didn't understand why? What was going on with her and this Josh? I mean surely there had to be something more than just friendship, they were in touch a lot of the time and he was always calling, it was a little odd, unless they were just having an affair, a secret relationship? Once these thoughts entered Johnny's mind they took over and he couldn't think straight. The nagging thought had been on his mind for a while now so he decided to have it out with her. There was no way he planned to introduce her to his kids as his girlfriend in two days time if she was already stepping out on him.

"Care to tell me what's made you so happy?" He said sternly. Lexie jumped she hadn't heard him enter the room, "what?" She said sweetly. "What's got you all flustered and giddy?" "Do I need a reason? I'm just happy?" "Happy. Are you? Or is this just one big game to you?" "Johnny what's going on?" "What's going on? I bore my soul to you, I do everything in my power to make you happy and you're in love and infatuated with some other tosser!" "Johnny, what??" "You know exactly what I mean. You are completely smitten. You and Josh." "Oh please.." Lexie rolled her eyes and almost scoffed. "Oh so you're not denying it?" "Johnny, I don't have to deny it? I would imagine after knowing me for nearly a year and dating for the last four months or so that you fucking know there is nothing going on!!" "Do I know that? Do I? Ask yourself this, if I was constantly texting two other women, arranging meet ups with them, inviting them over to London all the time and taking phone calls from them whenever wouldn't you be a slightly bit suspicious?" "No because I fucking trust you and it's not like that. Josh, Jesse and I are closely bonded but we are friends that's it." "Friends? You expect me to believe that some fucker would jump on a plane randomly to surprise you just because he's your friend?" "Yes I do expect you to think that because it's the truth." "Well I don't believe you." Those words hurt Lexie. After multiple relationships where she was the one who didn't trust or believe the other person to now have the shoe on the other foot when she was completely innocent hurt more than her injuries in that very moment. She gently put the knife down from chopping the salad and headed out the door to the beach, as the door shut behind her she heard "Oh there we go, she's off, she's running off to him now, go on go call him and tell him what a fucker I am. Go on, go write a song about me. See if I care." Johnny reached for a nearby bottle of whiskey and swigged some out of the bottle. That was not how he wanted the conversation to go but now he didn't know what to do so he just sat down on the leather couch.

Meanwhile, Lexie was walking along the shore, the tears were falling, and she had her arms wrapped round herself. What had she done wrong? What had made Johnny think all that stuff all of a sudden? Josh and her were just friends, everyone knew that. She walked further than she probably should have done as her ribs began to hurt again and as she turned round the sun had begun to set. The house was in the far distance, so she perched on a rock for a while wiping her face. She knew she had to fix whatever had just happened, she couldn't leave it like that, she began walking back staring at the sand. She got around half way back to the house when she looked up and saw Johnny with a bottle of whiskey swinging in one hand as he approached her. "Lexie.." "no Johnny, you listen, and you listen good. I'm only going to say this once. Can we sit?" She said almost out of breath due to the exercise and the pain from her ribs. He slowly followed her over to a nearby lounger which they both perched on. She took a deep breath and began playing with her hands, she didn't look at him once. It pained him. "Look, what you said hurt but you were right, there is something between myself, Josh and Jesse... but it's not what you think, it's not what anyone thinks. Not many people know this." She took another deep breath and Johnny went to say something however the deathly stare coming from the woman soon shut him up. "12 years ago, I was invited back as the only child star of the drama for the reboot. As you know Josh and Jesse were hired to replace the other kids. One day we were on set and one of the directors asked me if I wouldn't mind swinging by his office at the end of the day to discuss an upcoming storyline. I was only 18 and I was keen to prove myself. I thought nothing of it, I grabbed my stuff from my trailer and headed over to his office. I arrived, it was abandoned apart from him, we got chatting about the development of my character and the plot, when around 5-10 minutes in, he started making me feel really uncomfortable. He was getting too close to me and invading my personal space, I tried to move away, and then he made me sit down on the couch, which I did, more to just try and get him away from me, once I was sat he practically was on top of me, he kept staring at my chest and his hand was on my thigh. I had a skirt on from the set. He tried to push it up. I told him enough was enough and that he was making me feel very uncomfortable, he laughed, and lent in forcing himself onto me, he kept trying to kiss me and when I was turning my head away he decided to kiss down my chin and neck, I was begging him to stop, his hands were holding me down and trying to get up my skirt, I began to scream but he covered my mouth with one of his hands. After a few moments Josh and Jesse who had been looking for me burst in and Jesse pulled him off me whilst Josh punched him and threw him out the room. I was sobbing and shaking, the boys comforted me and got me back to my hotel where we called the police. He was picked up in a nearby bar, but was never charged because apparently it was only a kiss he stole, but it could have been so much worse if the boys hadn't of come found me. He was booted off the set and paid off to leave quietly. I owe the boys so much and they've always been extremely protective of me since. We were close beforehand as we were the only ones all similar in age but that bonded us, and ever since they've just always had my back no matter what." Lexie said all of this without hesitating for breath, she felt the faster she got it out the less time she had to relive it all. "Josh and Jesse are nice guys, yes they are handsome and charming but they mean the same to me as I'm sure your siblings do, or the way Christi and Debbie feel about you. Christ I've helped set them up on dates and all sorts, there has never been and will never be anything between us and I'm sorry if you don't believe me but there isn't much else I can do to show you otherwise." "Oh fuck me, Lexie, I'm so sorry." Johnny had his head in his hands but looked up and continued "Honestly I don't know how you can ever forgive me for my accusations." "Do you believe me? I'm not cheating on you." "Yes I believe you Lexie. Thank you for telling me, I'm sorry if you felt you had to." "No you deserve to know." "God that fucker. Where is he now? I'll kill him with my bare hands." "Johnny no, I will never let him know that he won, I couldn't bare the thought of him knowing I was weak and that sometimes I still think about it or have nightmares about it. No way." Johnny put an arm round the woman "I'm sorry Lexie. She gave me so many insecurities, one of them is a vulnerability of thinking I'll always be cheated on, as she always did to me, but I promise I'll work on it for you, for us." "That's all I ask, I'm not her Johnny. You're a dream, I could never even begin to imagine cheating on you. Why would anyone want to cheat on you?" Johnny shrugged before the pair kissed. They pulled back after a few moments. "I really am sorry Lexie."