Bang! Bang! Guns Go Bang!

Ryan

She hasn't come out of her room for almost two weeks... she won't let me in either. Emily won't even speak to me anymore. I knew that he was bad news from the start! He hurt he so badly... I would kill him, but this job pays well, so I plan on keeping it. Damn him.... I thought angrily as I scrubbed the one plate I used each night for dinner... the only one used at all.

Emily hasn't left her room... and she won't even tell me if she's hungry, thirsty... or alive even. The only proof that she is still alive are the noises she makes at night. Most of them are sniffles and choking sobs, but some suggest that she's been taking a razor to her arm again... and it sounds like she's digging deep. I walked back to her door, and heard her TV was on.

"Tonight at eleven: Domestic Violence, how to avoid it, and what to do if you're a victim. On our Exclusive Seven, the uprise of a new band here in Georgia, the anguished screams of the band From First To Last reach the ears of our teens, but what are they saying? The answers, coming up next on Live Five News." The newscaster spoke suspiciously, as if the brainwashing wasn't bad enough. The TV clicked off, and a cry arose from Emily herself.

"I know what the message is! Leave them alone! They've done nothing to hurt any of you heartless people! Leave! Them! Alone!" she wailed. A tear escaped my eye. Even after all that's been ravaging her after that tussle with Sonny, she's still in love with him... and the rest of the guys as well. I knocked on the door lightly with one knuckle.

"Emmy? Emmy are you alright? I heard you yell... please tell me you're okay." I said. I heard bed sheets ruffle and the lock click. One eye peaked out from the crack between the frame and the door itself, a cloudy, bloodshot, pale green eye. She opened the door all the way, her hair was still sleek, from her midnight showers, but the red was gone, and the natural black-brown roots showed, it had grown three inches, and now brushed the back of her shoulders.

"I'm not... okay Ryan. I'm just not okay anymore... Ry-Ry!" she cried, throwing the door open and her arms around me. I looked down at her, just trying to understand how much this must hurt for her. Just about three weeks ago, I got a call from her. She was so happy, she said that Sonny had told her that he wanted to marry her, and gave her a locket... which I saw later when she and the others had come over after the fight. I know he loves her, still even. But what he's done to rip this girl, my sister, apart so viciously... it's far beyond unforgivable.

"I'm here Emily. I'll protect you, for as long as I have breath in my body, I will never let anyone hurt you again!"

"I know Ryan... but," she hesitated. "I can't help it... I still love him." she whispered, grabbing a handful of my shirt. She choked out another sob, and hugged me tighter. Leading her into her room, I saw that it was still clean, but some of her posters were ripped, and one of them had what looked like red paint on it... but I knew better than that. She had on a long-sleeved shirt that was black and blue striped, like the one Sonny had, and a pair of old jean shorts that barely hung onto her hips, and dangled freely on her legs.

"Emily you need to start eating again. This isn't good for your health, and the last thing I want for you is to regain your eating disorder." she shook her head.

"No. I don't want to have that again. Okay, I'm actually really hungry." she tried to laugh, but it was a failure bound to happen either way.

After she ate her fill, she went to the couch and curled up in the corner, watching a cheesy cartoon. I watched her of a while, her sullen face and sunken in eyes gave her a haunted look. The ghosts of her past swirling around her and through her like water in a pond. But, she looked a little at peace... in a funeral-type way.

"Ryan, please don't stare. It's rude." she said, her eyes still glued to the TV. I stopped, and went to sit next to her. I had the strangest feeling that somehow, Sonny had killed her, and replaced her soul with a brick.

Sonny

I woke up again, and the right side of the bed was empty. I sighed and tears welled up behind my eyes, already sore from crying so much. Travis and Matt came into the room moments after, looking sad and withdrawn.

"We know you miss her, we miss Emily too, more that you know, but you should know, Ryan's here." I looked at them, incredulously at first, then in surprise.

"Ryan? But he said to leave him alone the other day in the studio!"

"We know, but he's here, and wants to see you."

I walked out of the room, the other guys following me, side by side in the hall. Ryan was talking to Derek, who was, no doubt, asking 'is she was really okay'. He had become his old silent self since she left and it was awkward with him not talking as much.

"Sonny."

"Ryan."

"Listen, you know you hurt Emily. And I know that you were wasted, but she took it to heart and mind so bad that she won't even come out of her room. Today, I actually got her to watch TV with me, and help me cook dinner. But she's lost weight, she's bone thin! And she... she's just changed drastically! She looks like a corpse, Sonny! A fucking corpse! Her eyes have lost their shine, her cheekbones are visible, and she gives everyone who sees her the feeling she's dead!" he roared, the sadness he was enduring was evident in his voice, and it cracked under it.

"I didn't mean to hurt her! Do you honestly think that I would risk losing her on purpose? After all that we've been through, and all that I've said and done for her, I would just throw my love for her away like this? Never! I can't even remember all that happened! But I know that I've done something she'll probably never forgive me for, but for fuck's sake, I still love her!"

"You leave her alone. Don't ever call her, speak to her, talk about her... don't even think about her. You stay well clear of her, or I will kill you. You still have recording with me as the band, but after this is done, I don't want to see you when and if you come back for another record." he wiped away the tears that had fallen as he spoke, and nodded to Travis, Jon and Matt, Derek whispered something to him, and he nodded.

"I'm sorry Sonny, but you've fucked it all up." he walked to the door. I ran after him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Give her this. It's Emily's... and she deserves to have it." I shoved the locket in his hands, he looked down and, with more tears in his eyes, thanked me, and gave me a hug. He got to his car and turned over the engine, and when he turned the corner, it came to my mind, I'm never going to see Emily again.