John smiled mischievously.  "If this boy were to kiss this girl...he'd be dead by tonight.  Ringo'd kill me."

"Not if you didn't tell." Audrey responded.

John looked at her, with genuine curiosity.

"Do you want me to kiss you, Audrey?"

It was such a straight-forward question.  She hadn't expected him to ask her.  Most of the time...this kind of flirting, on her part, had just led to a kiss...and then more.

"I just don't want to remember that today is March 14th." Audrey said, not really answering John's question. 

She reached for the bottle of whiskey and poured herself a double.  She quickly drank it and started pouring herself another drink, but before she could, John grabbed the bottle from her.

"What are you doing?  Give me that back." She said as she tried reaching for it.

"Take it easy, love...don't you think you've had enough?"

"Who are you to tell me I've had enough?" Audrey irrationally snapped at John.  "Now give me back my bottle." She once again tried to get it back, but John pulled it out of her reach.

"Really, John?  You're going to play this game?" Audrey asked visibly upset. 

"Why don't we just sit down and talk?"

"I don't want to talk...I just..." Audrey started but could feel her voice breaking and her tears sliding down her face.  "I...just want to forget today!" She cried and fell to the floor.  "...and you won't let me." She sobbed.

John immediately knelt next to her.  "Hey...hold on a minute...I...." He said trying to comfort her.  He stroked her back and tried to get her to look at him, but she had her hands in her face.  "Audrey...I...we don't have to talk about it..." John said feeling guilty. "Shhh...it's okay....hey....Audrey...c'mon love...I can make you forget....please...stop crying...huh?...C'mon....shhhh." John continued. "Please?  Audrey?  Just look at me, love."  He said as he stroked her hair. 

Audrey finally looked up.  Without thinking about it, John leaned in and gave her a very soft, gentle kiss on the lips.   He pulled back and smiled sweetly. 

"What was that about?" Audrey questioned.

"I wanted you to forget it was March 14th." John said.

"Although I appreciate the gesture, the whiskey will do a better job of that."

John sighed and finally gave up the bottle.  "I'll get the glasses."

The next morning, Audrey woke up with a massive hangover.  She looked around and saw Pattie sleeping.  She half expected the room to be a mess, but when she looked around, she found no evidence of the night before.  Neither the whiskey bottle nor the glasses were anywhere to be found...the only thing that remained was the food cart from when John had ordered dinner last night.  Audrey quickly searched her bag for some aspirin.  She went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.  She looked a mess. 

"March 15th." She sighed with relief. 

She took a quick shower and pulled herself together.  Despite the hangover, she was able to function quite well. Her mind was foggy with thoughts of last night, but one of the things that was crystal clear was that John had kissed her.  She was aware that nothing had happened between them other than the kiss, but she had purposely made that decision.  She now knew, however, that John was not completely indifferent towards her- even if the kiss had been to try to comfort her. 

Audrey went down for breakfast without Pattie.  She was finishing her cup of tea and biscuit when she saw the Beatles and their entourage come into the dining area.  She saw a few girls go up to them and the boys graciously smiled and greeted them.  Ringo smiled at her and she smiled back.  She made eye contact with John as he went to get a cup of coffee.  He winked at her and Audrey looked down at her cup.  She had to admit she was a bit embarrassed by her actions last night.  More than a bit, she was very embarrassed.  She must have looked like a right fool last night.  John reached her table before anyone else so she tried to play it cool. 

"'Morning, love. Mind if I sit down?"

"Hi John.  No, go right ahead."

"Bloody hangover." He said as he took a sip of his black coffee. "How are you doing?"

"Better." she smiled.  "You need any aspirin?"

"You got any on you?"

"Yeah." Audrey said looking through her purse. " Here." she said handing him the pill bottle.

"Thanks." He said popping a couple of pills into his mouth.

"Serves us right, though.  This is what we get for drinking that entire bottle of whiskey."

"It wasn't the quantity that has me feeling like shit love...I've had more than a bottle before..."

"Well excuse me..." Audrey teased. "Can't really afford the quality you're probably used to." she smiled.

"Hate to say it, but we have been spoiled for some time now. How about next time I'll get the drinks and you get the food?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Nobody said anything for a few seconds until Audrey addressed what was on her mind.

"I'm glad to see you're still alive." 

"Huh?" John asked confused.

"Well...as I recall last night, you said Ringo'd kill you if you kissed me."

"That's where you're mistaken. He'd kill me if he found out I kissed you..." John corrected. 

Just then, Audrey noticed Paul and Ringo approaching the table, so she was unable to continue the conversation with John.

"Hi Audrey....you all rested?" Ringo asked.

"Yeah...feeling 100 % better today." she smiled.

"Good to hear."

"You look like you got dragged through the street, mate.  What gives?" Paul said as he sat down next to John.

"Migraine." he responded as he continued drinking his coffee.  

***

"Ladies...you mind if I pull Audrey away for a few minutes?" Robert asked as he interrupted the conversation of the four girls.

Audrey reluctantly followed Robert down a long hallway.  They stopped near the staircase. 

"So...it's been two weeks now since Frank was here.  He's asking where we stand with Lennon."

"Things are moving along." Audrey responded.

"Well we don't need things to move along.  We need to get this done."

"I know we do...but it's not that easy!" she said trying to keep her voice down. "John and the others have been working most of the day!  It's hard to even see them most of the time!  I'm doing the best I can!  He's not like everyone else...there's so much more to think about that you and Frank never considered!"

Robert paced back and forth for a few seconds.  "Well we need to talk about this.  I have Frank breathing down my neck.  I admit that you're right about not having much time to work on John...but we need to get the ball moving on this.  Meet me tonight in my room so we can discuss our strategy."

Audrey hesitated for a second, but she knew that they needed to work out a plan.  Robert had been less of a jerk this past week and just maybe they could work together without killing each other...so she agreed to meet him that evening to work something out. 

"Alright...I'll see you tonight at 7." Audrey said as she and Robert headed back. 

A few seconds later, footsteps could be heard coming down the stairwell. John looked at Robert and Audrey as they walked down the hallway. 

"What the fuck?" John said to himself with a concerned look on his face.   

He had overheard Audrey's conversation with Robert.  He had absolutely no idea what the hell they had been talking about, but he knew that it involved him.  Who the fuck was Frank? And what did Robert mean when he said Audrey hadn't had much time to 'work on him'?

"John? You alright?" George said coming down the stairwell. 

"Oh yeah...everything's fine."

George followed John's gaze and saw Audrey turn the corner.

"You better keep away from that one, Johnny.  Ringo'll have your head."

"Huh?"

"Audrey.  You know Ringo is smitten with her."

"George?  What do we really know about Audrey, though?"

"I don't know much about her, but Ringo knows enough to be absolutely captivated by her. C'mon...we need to meet the others.  Let's go." George coaxed John down the hall. 

***

Audrey reluctantly knocked on Robert's door.

"Hey...come on in." He said as he opened the door.

"Hi." Audrey said stepping inside.

"Want a drink?" Robert asked.

"No...thanks.  I'm fine." Audrey said taking a seat on the bed.

"So...Frank's been on my case about John.  Where do we stand?" Robert asked as he poured himself a drink and sat down on the chair in front of her.

"I need more time with him.  I hardly see him."

"Do you at least have his interest?"

"Yeah...he's interested."

"How do you know?"

"Because we kissed."

"When?" Robert asked genuinely surprised.

"A couple of weeks ago...but like I said, I haven't had any time to follow up on that kiss."

"Their schedule has been murder.  They're trying to finish filming in a very short time span...but they're supposed to have a few days of down time coming up."

"Yeah?"

"You need to take advantage of that time.  Frank's getting impatient and you haven't gotten anywhere with John." Robert said

"Well I'm doing the best I can." Audrey said a little frustrated. "How do you expect me to get anywhere with him if I don't see him?"

"Well you're the expert, right?  Isn't that why Frank brought you on?" Robert asked as he set his drink on the ground.  "Because no man can resist you?" Robert said as he abruptly lunged forward and pinned Audrey against the bed- straddling her and restraining her hands. 

"What the fuck are you doing?  Get off me!" Audrey yelled as she struggled to get him off her!

"Isn't this what you're good at?  Isn't this why Frank called for you?  You must be a bloody fantastic shag if Frank went out of his way to go looking for you." Robert said as he forcefully started kissing her neck. 

"Stop!  Leave me alone!" Audrey yelled trying to free her hands.

"Show me what's so bloody great about you!" Robert said as he began grinding himself on her. 

"Leave me alone you fucking bastard!" Audrey yelled.  "Help!! Help!!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Robert said covering her mouth.  This freed Audrey's hand and she frantically tried to push him away, scratching at his face.

"You fucking bitch!" Robert said lifting his hand towards his face.  Audrey took advantage and shifted under his weight.  She lifted her knee just high enough to knee him in the groin.

Robert groaned and using all her strength, Audrey pushed herself off the bed and headed towards the door. 

"Ahhh!" Audrey cried as she was slammed against the closed bathroom door. Her face was pressed against it and she could feel Robert's hand reaching to unbutton her pants.

"No!  Stop it!! Stop!" She cried.

"Shut up!   You don't want to do this the easy way...we'll do it the hard way!" Robert grunted.

Audrey continued to struggle, but Robert had a strong hold on her.  He had managed to unbutton her pants and was now working on his.  Audrey reached for the door knob and turned it.  This caused them to fall forward onto the bathroom floor.  Audrey began kicking and thrashing her arms.  Without warning, Robert turned her around and slammed her hard against the floor, causing Audrey's head to hit against the tile.  Audrey felt disoriented and her eyes could not focus on her attacker.  She felt him tug on her pants as she continued to resist.

"Please don't do this, Robert!  Please!" she pleaded.

***

Audrey didn't know how long she had been laying there on the cold bathroom floor.  She hadn't moved since Robert had left her there.  It was true that for many years, Audrey had sold her body for money, but this was the first time she had been so savagely abused by a man.  Even though she wasn't proud of her past, it had always been her choice...even with Frank, she had chosen to follow though, but this...this was something she had never prepared for.

After some time, Audrey forced herself to get up.  She slid her panties up and pulled her pants up.  She buttoned her shirt and stood up.  She was afraid to look in the mirror, but did so anyway.  She stared at the girl looking at her and although she looked familiar, she could hardly recognize her.  How was it that she had managed to find herself in this situation?  How was it that she had agreed to associate with these type of people again? She had been forced...that's how.  Audrey sighed and walked out of the bathroom. 

She found Robert sitting in the armchair next to the window, with his legs propped on the bed and a drink in his hand.  Audrey glared at him with anger, resentment and absolute disgust.

"I don't know why everyone makes such a big deal about you.  You're nothing spectacular."

"Burn in Hell, you bastard." Audrey said as she walked out of the room. 

As she closed the door and began walking to her own room, she could feel the tears fall down her cheeks again.  She knew Pattie would be out.  She had made plans with George and Audrey was thankful when she confirmed her room was empty.  She looked at her bed and ran towards it.  She grabbed the pillows and began punching them with all her force until she no longer had the strength to continue and collapsed into them, sobbing.  After a few minutes, Audrey stopped crying.  She took a few deep breaths before heading into the bathroom.  She removed her shirt and cringed at the sight of herself.  She had bruises all over her arms and a few scratches around her ribcage.   When she took her pants off, she saw part of her panties were torn and her legs matched her arms. She sighed and closed her eyes.  In reality, her entire body ached and her head hurt.  Just then, she heard a knock on the door.  She listened, hoping the person on the other end of the door would leave, but instead she heard John's voice.

"Audrey!  I need to talk to you." 

After a few seconds.  He knocked again. "I know you're in there!  I saw you come in!  I'm not leaving until you answer the door!  Audrey!"

The last thing she wanted to do was talk to John...or anybody for that matter.

"Audrey!  Open the door!  We need to talk!" John insisted.

Audrey grabbed the robe that was hanging behind the bathroom door and loosely tied it.  She put her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath before heading to open the door.

"John..." she said as she opened the door. "...this really isn't a good time...I was about to take a shower."

John didn't say anything.  He walked straight in and closed the door behind him.

"You know, I was contemplating whether I should come here or not...thinking if it was a good idea...going over it in my head over and over again...." John said flustered. 

"John...I don't know what it is that you need to talk to me about, but I don't really feel well right now...you think we could talk tomorrow?"

"Oh, you don't feel well.  Let me tell you something, Audrey.  I don't feel well either...I haven't been feeling well since this afternoon...since finding out you and Robert have been scheming against me! So no, we cannot talk about it tomorrow!"

As soon as John finished his sentence, Audrey's heart skipped a beat.  She got an uneasy feeling in her stomach and fear sunk in.  He had heard them...talking this afternoon at the stairwell.  She started panicking.  Everything that had happened to her today was just too overwhelming. 

"Say something!" John demanded.

"Ummm....I...uh..." she began stepping away from John. "I....uh..." she started again without finding any words.

"What the fuck is happening?  Who are you?" John asked taking a step towards her. 

Audrey didn't know what to say.  She looked at John blankly, not knowing how to react.

"Who's Frank, Audrey...and what does he want with me?  What do you want with me?"

"I don't know who you're talking about." Audrey said turning around so she wouldn't have to keep looking at John.

When she turned around, she heard John gasp.

"What's going on?" she heard John say with a softer tone.  She could feel him approaching her but she still didn't turn around.

She felt John standing next to her. 

"Your head is bleeding.  You need to go to the doctor, love."

"What?" Audrey asked turning to face John as she touched the back of her head.  She immediately felt something wet and when she pulled her hand back, she saw it was stained with blood.  She stared at it not knowing what to do.  This was surely a result of when Robert had slammed her against the bathroom floor.  John had gone to the bathroom and was back with a wet towel.  He gently placed it on her head and had her hold it there.

"Put some pressure on it for now."

 Because Audrey had to raise her arm to hold the towel in place, the sleeve of the robe slid down her arm, exposing the  black and blue bruises, which instantly caught John's eye.

"Audrey.  Tell me what happened to you today."

"Nothing happened."

"Then how do you explain the cut on you head...and these bruises on your arm?" John asked as he gently traced her arm with his fingertips.

The room was quiet.  Audrey could hear her own heavy breathing, feeling her chest rise up and go down.  She was starting to panic...what excuse could she give John?  And then...John did something Audrey never expected.  He undid her robe.

"Oh Audrey." John said with such sadness in his voice as he looked at her.

"It's nothing." Audrey said softly

"How is this nothing?  Just look at you.  You're bleeding and covered in bruises and..." he stopped  abruptly and moved his hand to touch her torn panties.  "No...please don't tell me...." his voice grew concerned. 

There was no need to say it with words.  Audrey's face said it all.  Perhaps it was the tear that feel from her eyes or the absolute sadness with which she stared up at John.

"Who was it?  Who the fuck was it?  Was it Robert?  Was it?  I'll kill him!"  John said furiously as he started heading towards the door.

"John! No!" Audrey cried as she ran towards the door and blocked John's path.

"I'm going to fucking kill him!" John said trying to get Audrey to move out of the way. 

"You can't!"

"The fuck I can't!" John hissed. 

"John! He'll kill you!" Audrey continued.

"Who? Robert?  He's the one that's going to die right now."

"No!  Frank!  Frank will kill you...and he'll kill Grace!"