Page 35 of Everybody Knows

With a sigh, I picked up my phone and called my mother’s mobile before I could freak out and hide away from it all. I hoped to God she hadn’t turned the television on yet.

Thankfully, she hadn’t, which gave me a chance to calmly explain what had happened. I couldn’t stop my tears as I tried to justify it, even though I didn’t feel like I should have needed to. I sobbed my heart out when I told her how Ellie had reacted.

“Lucy.” My mother’s voice was as wobbly as mine. Partly, I knew it was because she couldn’t stand to hear me upset, but it wasn’t just that. She was as concerned as Ellie and Drew. “Listen to me, darling. You think Jason is what you want, but you have to ask yourself if being with him is worth all of the fuss it’s going to cause. And has already caused by the sound of it.”

“Mum, please. Why can’t you understand how much thought I’ve put into this? And I don’t just mean daydreaming and imagining my wedding day. I mean real thought. I get that this is complicated and it could all end in a massive disaster, but isn’t that true of all relationships? Aren’t they all a bit risky?”

“Yes. But notthisrisky.”

Our conversation was interrupted as I heard my dad bellowing my mother’s name in the background.

“Hold on, Lucy,” she said, and I waited while she went to see what had made him shout. “Oh my God.”

“What?”

“You’re on TV. You and Jason have sparked a discussion on breakfast television about age gaps in relationships.”

Oh, for goodness sake. Had this not been about me, I would have laughed. The power of social media, and the media in general, was crazy. Were they really so desperate for news and hot topics of discussion that age-gap relationships were their big concern? What about the immigration crisis? What about homelessness, murder, and all the other issues plaguing the world?

For the first time in my life, I questioned my desire to be a journalist. My parents had paid ridiculous amounts of money for me to study at college, and for what? So I could turn into one of those gossip-hungry animals who interfered in other people’s lives? Realistically, I knew I didn’t have to be that kind of reporter, but at that moment, I hated everything about my chosen career.

“Lovely.” The sarcasm in my tone was clear. “And how’s that going down?”

“That’s not important. Lucy, I can’t handle this, and I’m not sure you can either. I don’t want to see my daughter on the television with people debating whether or not you are dating a pervert.”

“What?” I screeched. “You have got to be kidding me?”

“I’m not kidding. He’s almost thirty and you’re a teenager. How do you think that looks?”

I pressed the end call button on my phone and turned it off, ignoring the string of tweets and texts that had come through overnight.

A pervert? Really?I could guarantee that if I’d been just two or maybe even one year older, people would have been a whole lot less judgmental, but the ‘teen’ part of my age made everything messier.

* * *

The rest of the day was nothing short of ridiculous. The whole band, including Ellie and me, were on lockdown on the bus. Anything we needed was gathered for us by roadies.

Derek had got the first plane to Prague and insisted the show be canceled, but Jason was adamant it would go ahead. It wasn’t fair to cancel because of the craziness in his personal life.

Throughout the afternoon, the news got worse and worse, and when Drew came to me with yet another story, my insides curled with anger and humiliation. The frenzied press had apparently reached out to anyone who might know me back home, and some guy from one of my classes had been quoted as saying he was one of my friends and that I was a “sweet girl but has no experience with guys.” True as it was, that wasn’t the part that infuriated me. That simple quote had added more drama to the “is Jason a pervert” debate, questioning whether he’d preyed on me because of my inexperience.

“This is sick,” I muttered. “Sick.”

Drew nodded. “I agree. Just to be clear, no matter how unhappy we are about you and Jason, this is not what we were worried about. We know him better than that, and I just hope the rest of the world can see that too. The band’s Twitter account has blown up today, and you’ve had a lot of support from the fans. But for every one supportive tweet, there are five from ill-informed idiots. And we’re not supposed to answer.”

Lockdown meant not just staying in but keeping away from anything that might make us lash out at some troll trying to get a reaction.

I looked up at Drew. “I don’t know what to do. And… I don’t feel supported by any of you. The people who should be supporting me. MeandJason.” A tear splashed onto my cheek.

Drew nodded stiffly. “I know, Lucy. Don’t think this is easy for us, either. We’re trying to support you, but it’s difficult when we don’t think you’re making the right decision.”

“That’s not how support works, Drew. You support the people you care aboutbecauseyou care about them. And then, if they make the wrong decision, you pick them up and help them move on. You don’t shut them down before you’ve even listened.”

“We listened.”

“You didn’t! You and Ellie are so blinded by what you think that you haven’t heard a word I’ve said. And you know what’s worse? You both know how it feels to be on the crappy end of unfounded rumors, and you’re still not helping us.”

“Because we’re not sure what we’re helping with.” Drew’s tone softened.

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