The Past Is In The Past(Jolivia) Pt. 2

Chapter 20

-July 2020-
-A few hours after last chapter-

Josh's POV:

"Josh!" Matt exclaimed when he picked up the phone. "We haven't seen you in so long." He sighed, adding the rest of the cast in the call. I didn't want to talk to anyone right now, but I also didn't want to hang up. 

"Matt." I cried on my pillow, hiding my face. "I broke up with Liv." I faced the harsh reality. He gasped as his hand went flying to his mouth. "I was about to add her." He mumbled.

"What happened? I was connecting." Dara asked.

"I was too." Sofia yawned. Matt waited until everyone was in to break the news. 

"WHAT!?" Frankie screamed as high as humanly possible. Everyone looked devastated, like if they were going through the pain themselves.

"This is a joke." Julia laughed nervously. I turned to the screen so everyone could see my face. "This is real." Julia breathed out. "How?"

I thought about telling them, then I thought about not telling them. 

- Flashback-

"Joshua." Joseph called my name. I stood up from the piano to face him. "We have some things to discuss." He informed me.

"Okay, go ahead." I shrugged slightly, not understanding where he was heading.

"Here at Warner our goal is to make you as successful as you can possibly be, and that starts with who you hang out with." He explained. "Now, I have acquired that you have a girlfriend, am I right?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's amazing." I grinned.

"I did my own research and she is not exactly who we want you with. Olivia will not get you to were we need you to be."  Joseph revealed.

"Not to come off as rude, but you can't tell me who I can or can't date." I answered.

"Actually, I can. You signed a contract which clearly states we have power over these kind of situations." He replied calmly. "We are nicely asking you to move on from Olivia and find someone with more fame." 

"You mean, use them for clout." I simplified what he told me.

"We wouldn't look at it that way, Joshua. Think about it this way, they help you achieve were you need to be!" He smiled.

"I'm sorry but I'm not ending my relationship with Olivia because you said so." I stepped back.

"Listen kid, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." He crossed his arms. "You can call her and put an end to this, or I can easily wreck your career as well as hers. Your choice."

I thought about it. I would choose love over my career any day. I really wouldn't care, but it's her career I have to keep in mind too. She just started blowing up with 'All I want' and I couldn't stop her. I couldn't live with the fault that I was the one who ended her soon-to-be very successful career. "I'll just call her." I sighed, looking for her number. I saw Joseph's smile grow big, which crept me out.

After the call, I looked up to him with my glossy eyes, having no idea what to do."Good, now you have to find someone with more popularity." Joseph demanded. "Someone like Sabrina."

Woah, what?! That's too far. "Sabrina? I am not going to date her. I am not going to date anyone." I shook my head, intimidated. I tried to hold back the tears that were forming in my eyes.

"Let me remind you Joshua, I have all the information I need to ruin both your career and your ex's, so you better make a move on Sabrina if you care about the future." He scolded me. "Let's cancel today's plans. You need time to think how you're going to get her." He added, walking out. "And, hey! This stays between us." He pointed a finger at me, before he closed the door.

-End of Flashback-

"It wasn't working out. Long distance relationships are challenging." I lied. 

"It wasn't working out? Josh, seriously, you didn't answer any of our messages for, like, 3 months! How the hell do you think distance relationships are?" Frankie asked, irritated.

"I don't think we should do that, Frankie. At least not yet." Sofia bit her lower lip, thinking.

"What do you mean by 'it wasn't working out'?" Larry asked.

"It was hard to talk, I have a lot of work I need to do and I didn't have enough time for her." I explained. That wasn't a lie. I really didn't, although I tried. "I don't know, I fell out of love?" I shrugged, not knowing what other excuse to give.

"This is all Covid's fault." Julia mumbled. I had to tell someone the truth, it was killing me inside.

Olivia's POV:

"What am I going to do with my phone full of a thousand memories? What am I going to do when the cast asks? I saw him spending a life with me. I saw the future relatively easy with him. Madi, he promised me forever!" I sobbed. 

"Livvy-" Madi started.

"Why was I not enough? I bet you he never cared at all and he all draped around her." I rolled my eyes. "But, I miss him." I wept.

"Liv, I know this is hard for you. It's a heartbreak and I'm not physically there." She sighed. "You can't stop viewing life as something pointless because of a boy." She explained.

"He's more than a boy. He's a traitor." I hissed.

"Calm down, your emotions are all over the place." She noted. "You're mad, then you feel sad, then you're irritated. I'm getting confused."

"I don't want to miss him." Madi shook her head. I threw my head back and hit it with the headboard. I groaned in pain. "The world is against me today!" 

Josh's POV:

I took about 3 hours for everyone to give me words of encouragement and everything like that. I felt horrible for lying to them, and for also breaking up with Liv.

I called Larry because I needed to come clean to someone. He was a loyal person, and knew how to keep a secret. Don't get me wrong, Matt and Frankie are really good friends, but they can't hold a secret in.

"Dude." I groaned when he answered.

"What do you need? I can get you anything." He offered. I smiled slightly at his kindness and generosity. 

"I just need you to keep a secret." I sighed, sitting up in my bed.

"Okay, go ahead." He eyed me, confused. After I spilled my guts to him I asked him a favor.

"I just need you to do one thing." I wiped my tears away. "Liv probably hates me right now, and I can't blame her. She won't want anything with me. Just, please, protect her. Be there for her the way I used to be. She needs someone for support, and you're amazing for that." I tried to put a smile, but my tears were too overwhelming.

"I'll do anything." He smiled softly. "This isn't your fault, Josh. I would've done the same thing if I were you. This just proves how much you love and care for her."

"If only she knew that." I mumbled. 

"Well, why don't you tell her?" He asked.

"No. No one can know about this. She's already hurt, this would break her even more. I know." I sighed.

"Okay. If you need anything else I'm always here. I'll help you if you consider telling her." He answered.

"Thanks, Larry." I suddenly felt calmer. We hung up the call and I fell flat on my bed. What am I supposed to do now?

My dad called me. I declined the call, but then he called again. I sighed and answered.

"Yes?" I asked, sniffling.

"Josh, are you crying?" My dad asked me. Damn it.

"Uh, no." I tried to make my voice sound as natural as I could.

"Whatever it is, man up. Boys don't cry." He lectured me. He was right, men don't cry.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not crying." I bit my lip to stop the tears. This is going to be a long summer.