August 2018
Amy's weekend in Glasgow had been phenomenal. Her, Laura and Lorna had been to look at a couple of the potential wedding venues from her and Jack's short list, not that it was that short a list. Although she hadn't seen 'THE' venue, she had got some new ideas, but most importantly she had also tried on her first couple of wedding dresses. The whole thing was feeling so much more real, especially when Jack was so keen to set the date. He'd even arranged for them to do an exclusive interview on their engagement with a magazine when she got back home. This was going to be their first official interview together, and as nervous as she was about it, she knew with Jack's stardom in ascendancy that it was a forgone conclusion, she was going to be in the public eye anyway, they may as well do it on their own terms.
The night before had been pretty wild with her and Laura, as it always was and now she was starting to regret booking the train so early. As it was by the time she'd dragged herself out of bed and her mums car got stuck in traffic, it was a miracle she actually got to the station with just enough time to grab a bottle of water from the shop to help with her hangover. She kept telling herself that in just over four hours, she'd be home, relaxing in a bubble bath and watching Netflix with Jack. She was intrigued though, since she'd been away he had promised her a massive surprise when she got back, and as much as she was super excited for it, she hoped whatever it was that she could do it in her pyjamas. As she paid for her water she saw the pile of newspapers on the cash desk with Jacks face on the front.
'The train departing from platform 6 is for Birmingham New Street' boomed the voice from the tannoy.
Pushed for time she handed the paper to the assistant, paid and ran to the train, only just making it in time before the doors closed. After she stowed her suitcase, she found her seat. She'd booked a table but there was already someone sat opposite her. Great, they'd be able to watch her catch flies when she fell asleep. First things first though, she text Jack to let him know she was on her way home. He quickly replied with a topless selfie of him in bed pouting at her empty pillow, with the message. 'Missed you being here'
He was so cute. 'Be back very soon, you should stay right there' she'd replied. If one thing could cure a hangover, it was one million percent sex with Jack.
'What a guy Super Jack is ay?' Said the man across the table from her, pointing to the newspaper. It was only then that she began to process what the headline said.
'My nights of passion with Jack Grealish'
Wait what?
It couldn't be true? She had to read on, as much as she didn't want to. As she was choking on all the sordid details, Jack text her back to say he'd be at the station waiting for her, he couldn't wait to see her and he loved her so much. Right now that was the last thing she wanted. She read on...
'We met in Tenerife, and I knew he had a girlfriend but he was hungry for me. He told me he'd never wanted anyone more than he did me right then'
She felt sick.
'We had sex four times that night and he still wanted more'
'I visited him again at his flat the week we got back and had sex in the bed he shares with his fiancée'
'He still slides into my DM's, even though I hear he's just got engaged. But if he doesn't care, why should I?'
There was even a picture of them looking cosy together in Tenerife.
Amy looked up at the guy across from her.
'Can you watch my stuff, I need the bathroom' she asked, and ran away without waiting for an answer.
The electric door was barely closed before she began to vomit into the toilet. Tears flooded down from her eyes and she felt a pain in her chest that she'd never felt before. She now knew how it really felt to be heartbroken. When they'd had their break before it had been bad, but now it was horrendous. She vomited again. How could he have done this to her? Thoughts rolled through her mind faster than the train sped down the track. What should she do? How should she handle it? Should she get off the train at the next station and go back to her mums or should she go home and face him? What would she even say to him?
For the next four hours she went over and over it in her head and came to a conclusion. She wasn't going to mention it, she was going to wait for him to tell her because he must have known it was coming.
Eventually the train began to pull into the station and it was time, she got off the train and put her best happy face on. She was going to give him the chance to explain what the hell had happened. He never could lie to her face, or so she had thought. He opened the boot remotely so people didn't notice him in the station and she threw her case in, taking a final deep breath in before she got into the car beside him. If she hasn't seen the article she wouldn't have known anything was wrong, because immediately he was all over her, telling her how much he'd missed her and how he was taking her to show her the surprise he'd promised her. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation.
They drove for some time before pulling up in the driveway of a random house.
'Where are we?' She questioned, climbing out of the car.
'You'll see' he winked, pulling out a key. He walked to the front door and opened it.
'Want me to carry you over the threshold again?' He asked, smiling widely. Was he for real?
'What?' She asked, her head swimming with what she'd seen earlier.
'Do I need to spell it out? Welcome home babe. I got us a new house. It's got a gym, we can extend out the back for a pool, it's close to where your new uni is and close to my training ground. The flat has too many bad memories and I want us to have a fresh start here'
It was too much for her. The flat had too many bad memories for him? She couldn't even imagine setting foot in the place now that she knew what he'd done there.
'When you say bad memories, do you mean like when you fucked that girl in our bed?' she asked coldly.
Jack stopped and looked at her, the guilt was seeping out of his every pore. He tried to find the words, but his stuttering infuriated her more.
'I mean, is buying this big fancy house supposed to make you feel less guilty? You cheated on me and it's all over the newspaper today and you think it's cool to carry on regardless as if by making some ridiculous expensive gesture and I'm going to just forget everything? Well I'm not' now she'd started, it was hard to stop. She wanted to tell him exactly how he had made her feel. 'For God's sake Jack, I've been at home this week starting to look at wedding dresses and planning our future and then this is what I come home to?'
'Amy, she exaggerated everything it's not like she said. It was when we took our break and it happened once and I regretted it immediately. I should have told you im sorry'
'Our break? Our break Jack? Well there's another lie, have you even read the story? She says she was with you in Tenerife and then again after we were on our break. You know, the break that you wanted because things were getting too serious between us. Now I see the real reason you wanted the break. You'd slept with someone else and wanted to do it again. Then you came to Ibiza and accused me of sleeping with Evan? Well no, thats not okay. I'm not going to be treated like that' she fumed.
'I know, it was stupid but I'd been drinking and it just happened' Jack was crying, his eyes were red and bloodshot, but she was far too angry to cry yet.
'What? Both times? Including in OUR BED?' She screamed. 'And what about still messaging her?'
'Honest I messaged her once and that's it, I can show you. Honestly I'm so so sorry' he was trying to hold her hand but she didn't want him to touch her.
'So am I Jack, for letting myself trust you again. You swore to me you'd never hurt me, that you'd always love me and it's a lie. You told me that I knew everything about our break and that you'd always be honest with me and you weren't. You betrayed me and you've just crushed everything we ever had and humiliated me publicly. I want to go home. Take me back to the station' she could feel herself about to lose it big time. She looked at Jack with disgust as he sank to his knees and began to beg her.
'No Amy, please, why don't you come in and look at this place properly, it's a fresh start, it's ours. I love you please' he begged as she stood shaking her head.
'I'm sorry Jack. I'm worth more than that, I'm not going to be one of these footballers wives that sits back while their husbands do whatever or whoever, I've got more self respect than that. Now either you take me back to the station or I'm getting a cab. Your choice' she shouted in his face.
'I'll do anything, please' he tried one more time.
'Then take me back to the station' she said. 'And you can take this back too' she threw her engagement ring at him.
'Don't do that Amy, put it back on, please. Just take some time and think things through. It was two years ago, look how far we've come since then'
'I will never ever put that thing back on my finger, and the fact that it was two years ago makes it worse. You have had two years to tell me, and you haven't. So let's stop messing around and take me to the station. RIGHT NOW'
Jack knew she'd made her mind up. He silently nodded in resignation. He'd messed up badly.
They drove in silence, her gazing blankly out the window so she didn't have to look at him because it was making her skin crawl being that close to him. When they stopped outside the station he tried to talk to her again but it was pointless. She grabbed her case out of the boot and looked him in the eyes.
'Goodbye Jack' she said, and he knew she meant it. For good. When she walked away, she didn't even falter or turn around. She just marched into the station and out of his life. It was surreal, and part of him thought she'd change her mind and come back out, so he sat in the same car parking space for twenty minutes, studying every passenger who came out the station despite barely being able to see for his tears. He knew he'd been wrong, he shouldn't have slept with that girl but everything had been so good since they'd got back together and he hadn't wanted to ruin it with the confession.
He kicked himself for how he'd handled it. He'd planned on showing her the house and showing her the dream life they'd have together before telling her. He hadn't thought for one moment a Scottish newspaper would have printed the story, but apparently he was wrong on that too. He held her engagement ring between his fingers. She had been his wife to be this morning, and now she was gone and he had no one else to blame but himself.
For the next week he text, called, emailed, dm'd her and anyone else who could possibly talk to her for him. He even missed a days training and drove up to Glasgow but Lorna wouldn't let him anywhere near Amy, and he could hardly blame her.
A week later Andy, Amy's Dad called Kevin. Kevin hoped for good news, but Amy's mind was clearly set.
'I know this is a bit awkward but our Amy was wondering if she could come and collect her things from the flat on Sunday and it would be best if Jack wasn't there. She'll leave her keys on the way out' Andy said, doing his best to remain civil with his friend, despite the devastation Kevin's son had just caused his daughter.
'Sure, I understand, I'll let him know. How is Amy?' Kevin asked.
'I don't really know to be honest, she's putting on a brave face but she's crying a lot and Lorna says she's barely slept or eaten since it happened'
'Jack's devastated too. He knows he's been stupid but he never meant to hurt Amy. Maybe we should get them together to talk' Kevin suggested hopefully.
'I think it's probably best we leave that conversation there before I say something I regret Kevin. He went behind Amy's back, what did he expect to happen?' Anyway tell Jack we'll be at the flat Sunday at 2 and she doesn't want to see him. Tell him not to pull any stunts. She's not interested' Andy was extra firm on that point. The last thing Amy needed was Jack to turn up when she was so vulnerable.
'I'll let him know'
*****
First thing Monday morning, once she'd got her head together, Amy called Birmingham uni and withdrew from the course. Then she called Stirling Uni and managed to get a last minute clearing place on the International Business with Languages course there. She was drawing the line in the sand. This was it, the Jack chapter of her life was over. She just wished her heart would listen to her head. She still ached for him and longed to take him back, but common sense told her it wasn't a good idea. If he'd told her the truth two years ago, then maybe, but she knew he'd never have told her if 'Sarah' hadn't gone to the papers. That's not the relationship she had thought they had.
She repeatedly looked at pictures of the girl Jack had slept with over and over. 'Sarah' was a beautiful leggy blonde with blue eyes, and huge boobs; the complete opposite of Amy. Was that what it had been? Was she not attractive? He'd encouraged her to go to the gym with him, he'd told her it was so they could spend time together. Was that his way of saying he didn't like her body? Amy's self confidence fell to an all time low as she blamed herself for Jack's infidelity. Why had she not been enough for him when she had loved him so very very much? It was irrational, but heart break and rationality don't go hand in hand.
Starting university just weeks later came as a welcome distraction from her Mum and Laura's constant worrying about her, and of course, freshers week was a legitimate excuse just to get drunk and have a ball. It was strange finding her feet without Jack again, but she enjoyed being able to do what she wanted, when she wanted without having to first check a football fixture list.
The student accommodation that she'd been allocated was nowhere near as luxurious as the flat she'd shared with Jack but she felt free, and that's where she'd met her flat mates Emma, Anna and Lucy. As she focused on going to the gym and her studies she began to feel like she was living again. There was only one rule she set for herself- 'don't let yourself fall in love again'.
Jack took the break up hard, the fact that he knew it was his own fault made it seem so much worse. After she'd cleared her stuff from the flat it just didn't seem like home anymore, and the wedding brochures that arrived with her name on were like rubbing salt into the wound.
He'd went home to his parents house for a few nights, which turned into a couple of months as he struggled to cope with his mental health. He tortured himself by watching her social media constantly. He didn't want her to be unhappy, but he had watched on broken heartedly as she began to post pictures on social media of her at uni. Her dream was coming true and he wasn't there to share it with her.
Freshers week photos were the worst, it crushed him to see her surrounded by so many other guys. He could tell by the way they looked at her that they liked her. He wondered, did she like them too. Was she sleeping with any of them? Had she moved on? He did his best not to imagine what was going on but he couldn't help it, his mind ran wild. It was almost a relief when she blocked him only weeks later, when he'd accidentally liked one of her posts.
That's when wild Jack came back, much to Chris's delight. He was pictured inhaling laughing gas from balloons. He was out every weekend and living the hedonistic kind of life everyone thought he should be living as a pro footballer. Fast cars, fast living and fast women. He knew no one would live up to Amy, so he didn't even bother to look at another woman for a relationship. He kept it strictly sexual. He would never admit it, but sometimes when the girls left he cried, because he knew that this wasn't the real him and it wasn't what he wanted.
The Villa management team despaired. The version of Jack who was missing training sessions left, right and centre, was a walking disaster. He missed easy balls and his head wasn't in the game. Set pieces seemed like a foreign concept and his temper flared on and off the pitch. He was becoming a liability and although he was supposed to be their star player, the team as Aston Villa had reached the end of their patience. It was time for an intervention.
Immediately after Dean Smiths appointment as the Villa manager, he called a meeting with Jack, his agent and his Dad Kevin.
'I'm going to lay the cards on the table. I see a good footballer in you Jack, with the potential to be great, but you are your own worst enemy and you're bringing the club into disrepute with your behaviour, both on and off the pitch. I'm now faced with a dilemma Jack. Either we loan you out again to whatever teams desperate enough to take you on in the state that you're in, or you go to rehab and work this out. We, as a club, will say you're injured and you can go somewhere professional to sort your head out before you end up dead' Dean spoke frankly and didn't beat about the bush with his words.
'For gods sake, talk about an exaggeration. I've had a few bad games and been on a couple of nights out. That's all' Jack stood up, ready to storm out.
'Sit down son' said Kevin firmly.
'Don't tell me you agree with him as well' shouted Jack, throwing his arms up in the air.
'I do, and your mum does too. We're worried sick Jack, you've been on self-destruct mode ever since....'
'Ever since Amy, yes you can say her name. It's been really hard but I'm trying my best. I just can't seem to shake this feeling off though' Jack sank into a chair and began to sob.
'And that's why you need this opportunity Jack, it's not that we don't believe in you. It's because we really do. Now we've found you a place in the countryside in Cornwall. Please give it some thought and let us know by the end of the week, or you will be going out on loan or worse, have your contract terminated' Dean insisted.
'Alright, I'll go' huffed Jack. He didn't need rehab, he needed Amy. But she didn't need him.