You Rock Like Escape The Fate

The birthday party was just a week away and I was excited to be able to celebrate little Leila’s fourth birthday. I sort of didn’t care that we had passed our month-limit, by about like two or three days… I was enjoying this too much. Hayley’s boss had called and told her she was fired, but when she got all upset, Ronnie just assured her that they wouldn’t let her be without a job, and he’d gladly have her as a merch girl or something along those lines. That of course brought that smile of hers back pretty quick. Daisy had left about three hours ago to buy all the necessities for the party; everything from streamers to cake to presents. She was also going to stop at her apartment and get her mail and things.

“Max, can you hand me that lyric book? I’m bored,” I told him. He looked weirdly at me, but handed it to me without questioning, lightly chuckling at my randomness.

“So, what are you gonna do when you go back home?” he asked me as I flipped through the lyrics.

“Well… I guess I might apply for one of the academies my old boss recommended me for. I bet you’re happy to be going back home, eh? Only a week, right? Yep, we’ll be sending you guys right back as soon as the birthday party is over, since Jason is incarcerated now and everything,” I said, trying not to look sad as I thought about the guys going back home and maybe never even talking to us again. His face took on a sad look as well, his eyes staring at the carpet underneath our feet and the sofa cushions we sat on.

“Yeah… that’s really soon, though… I’m so gonna miss you two,” he said. Max being Max, he reached over and randomly hugged me. I laughed and hugged him back, nodding in agreement.

“No kidding, don’t you think we’ll miss you more? I mean, you guys have lives to get back to. Hayley might go on tour with Ronnie, you guys are gonna get recording, and I’ll be at home, still trying to figure my life out. Don’t worry, you guys will forget about me easily,” I said, laughing a little. He gasped overdramatically and sat back up, staring at me in shock.

“We will do no such thing!!!” He exclaimed, grabbing the lyric book back in mock anger. I laughed and tried to grab it back, but he was too fast and reached his arm far enough to keep it away from me. He started laughing and I was trying to get the book back when Craig ran up behind Max and took it for me, handing it to me and walking nonchalantly towards the kitchen like he’d had nothing to do with it. “Hey! You cheated!”

“No, I didn’t! I got this thing back fair and square!” I argued, smiling at Max. Bryan, who was playing xbox with Ronnie and sitting on the living room floor again, laughed.

“Uhm, yeah, and Ronnie could be the next Michael Jackson,” he joked, eyes still magically glued to the screen.

“Hey! Who said I couldn’t!? I just so happen to be very legend-worthy!” Ronnie yelled, hurt that Bryan would question his amazingness. I laughed at him and Hayley kissed his cheek from where she sat next to him on the floor, Leila in her lap as they watched the game intently.

I glared at the back of Bryan’s blonde head, as if he could see. “I know you’re glaring, don’t try to hide it, moron,”

“Shut up, god you’re full of crap,” I said, looking back to see that Max was rolling his eyes. Robert was asleep on the other couch, but he stirred enough to keep me quiet for a moment so he could rest. After his head had fallen back down onto the pillow and his snores returned, I stuck my tongue out at Max and said, “I’m allowed to strongly dislike, aren’t I?”

“Wait… ‘strongly dislike’?” Max asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Well, remember, I don’t hate much of anything. Actually, you’re right, Bryan over here is the exception to that rule,” I replied triumphantly. Bryan didn’t say anything, he just kept staring at the screen.That didn’t affect him, did it?

“Okay, then, Jess. Just tone down the hatred for now, will you?” Hayley said, looking at me frustratedly. It was like she had some sort of care for me hurting Bryan’s feelings, but it’s not like I could anyways, so why does it matter?

“Alright, sorry Willy,” I answered, going back to reading lyrics. After awhile, my eyes got tired, so I put it down. Max, who had been following the game of Halo, turned to me and grinned.

“Hey, you know how last night, when we broke the news to you guys, you kind of just coughed and forgave us? How come you didn’t seem so surprised, Maxafer?”

“Uhm…well… you know… uhh…”

“Go on,” Hayley interrupted, Leila turned around in her lap so she could face us. I looked around and everyone was staring at Max, waiting for the answer.

“You see… Ugh okay fine. Diaz told me, cuz she didn’t want me to feel like she lied to me? I promised her I wouldn’t tell the other guys, since she said that she only wanted me to know so I wouldn’t freak out if you ever told us,” he said, looking nervously at us. Ronnie glared playfully at Hayley, and she gave a meek smile of apology. I laughed and shook my head. Daisy, Daisy, Daisy…That girl was way too much of a goodie-two-shoes, making sure her boyfriend-to-be wouldn’t ever be lied to by her. It was adorable.

“That was it? Okay then,” I laughed. Craig shook his head, obviously still slightly angry that he and his daughter had been successfully kidnapped by two girls in their early 20s.

The vacuum turned off upstairs, indicating that Bambi was finished doing all the rugs up there. I tugged at Craig’s sleeve from my seat on the couch, since he was standing behind it, his elbows rested on the top, looking at him with a smile.

“Invite her to the party,” I whispered, nodding my head in the direction of the stairs. He smiled, nodding yes. “And besides that, when are you gonna ask her out? She loves Leila, and she has the biggest crush on you. Trust me, I see how she looks when she has to leave and it’s always in your direction,” I whispered again. He blushed and looked away, trying really hard not to smile. Too bad, that grin could be spotted a mile away.

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely,” I replied. Bambi came down the stairs and dragged the oversized vacuum into the kitchen to put it away, her hair falling tiredly over her shoulders. I gave Craig an expectant look and he drew in a deep breath before shuffling into the kitchen after Bambi. I smiled to myself and sighed contentedly.

Hayley stood from her spot on the floor and sat Leila next to Ronnie on the floor, where the little girl cuddled into his side as he played. He looked down for a minute at her, then smiled and went back to the game. I almost ‘aww’ed at it, but restrained myself and gave Hayley a cheeky grin instead.

“Liesl, you are one very crazy best friend,” she said, ruffling my hair before plopping down onto my lap. I made an ‘uff’ sound, and she laughed and turned to look at me.

“I’m not calling you fat, Willy, I’m calling myself weak, when I say that you are WAY too heavy to be sitting on my lap!” I said, trying to push my bestie off me. She just gave a maniacal cackle and laid back. Her back smushed my face and I couldn’t breathe. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. “ eaze ‘et the he’ off me!” I cried, my voice muffled by the shirt. I sighed and turned my head so I could breathe, then the weight was suddenly pulled off my lap by none other than Ronnie. He threw her over his shoulder firefighter-style and began running around the room, causing her to giggle hysterically. Of course, Bryan had paused the game and everyone was cheering either Ronnie or Hayley on. Robert was half-awake by now. He still hadn’t fully come to an understanding about the situation yet; I think the sleepy drugs were still taking time to wear off like they had with the other boys.

“Thanks, Ronnie!” I yelled, laughing.

“Sure thing, Liesl!” he replied. We heard Daisy’s car come to a slow stop outside the house. Thank god there weren’t screeching tires this time. I got up and walked twoards the door so I could help her unload the car. It had been about four hours since she left, so there was probably quite a bit to unload. I passed Craig and Bambi in the kitchen, and tried to avoid squealing like crazy when I saw that he was kissing her. How much you wanna bet he got the spark there?

As I stepped out, I saw Daisy slowly getting out of the car, a sad look on her face. Oh god, what was wrong now? She was always hyper, and if she wasn’t, something was up.

“Hey, Daiz… you okay?”

“Oh… Liesl… uhm… look, there’s s-something you need to know…” she said, walking up to me and holding a large envelope in her hand. She looked down at it, and a tear landed on the package. My heart went faster, it was like routine now. What else could go wrong?

“What is it, Daisy? Please just tell me,” I said, breathing faster as my mind tried to think of all the things that it might be. Hayley came to the door and saw us, not hugging or laughing or talking, just standing there, waiting for one of us to say something. She waved the rest of the group over, and everyone crowded at the door. Daisy seemed to have made up her mind, and she handed me the package with a shaky hand.

“I’m so sorry, Jessi,” she said, as I opened it to reveal the title of the page. ‘The Will and Testament of Benjamin James’. There was a death certificate on top of the Will, dated two weeks ago. Her arms wrapped around me as I just stared at it, unbelieving. Could this be true? Was my Uncle Ben… dead? I stuttered, trying to find words. He was everything my father couldn’t be when he was sick, and when he left. He stood by me for all my decisions, and he was the only father figure I had at my Sweet 16. Uncle Ben taught me to play the guitar, he taught me how to protect myself, he taught me that you don’t go down easy, that you must always fight to the death. And he was gone. Just like my dad, just like Nate. Gone.

I slowly handed the package to the teary-eyed Daisy, ignoring her look of confusion. These guys had seen me cry too many times, so I figured my room would just be the safer way to go. I pushed through the silent group of people, running straight up the stairs and to my room. I closed the door and went to the bed, climbing in and grasping the sheets as the tears returned. Why was life like this? So difficult… every time something good happened or things were happy, something had to turn it all upside down. This was my life.

I heard the doorknob slowly turn, but kept my face buried in the sheets as I sobbed. Footsteps approached the bed and then a hand rested on my shoulder. The person slowly pulled me to sit up, and I followed, not having the strength to go against them. They pulled me into their side, wrapping one arm around me and the other holding my hand in their lap. I cried and cried, sick and tired of losing those I cared about. I didn’t care who was holding me, I just wanted to forget everything. They rocked us slowly back and forth, and I just took deep breaths, my shaky sobs continuing.

“SShh, Shh…”

I drew in more shaky breaths, more and more until my heartrate began to slow. The tears slowed down as well, and they just rolled down my cheeks but weren’t accompanied by loud sobbing sounds. I used the hand that wasn’t being held to wipe the tears from my cheeks. That was all it took for me to see that the person who was holding me, the only one in the house with an arm wrapped up, was none other than Monte Bryan Money.

“I’m sorry, Bryan, I never meant to be such a freaking hateful waste of space!”

“You’re not, don’t say that. A little annoying at times, but you’re not a waste of space. Just… trust me on that, okay?”

“but… ugh I am always just going to be this major wreck, aren’t I?”

“Would you stop it? You’re a great person, Jessi. Trust me, just trust me,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Okay, alright, I trust you… I just can’t believe he’s gone… he was only sixty-two,” I said, crying slightly more. He moved his hand to rub my back, trying to comfort me. God, I was so messed up.

“Jess, I’m really really sorry… I’m sure he’s really happy where he is right now,”

“They already had the stupid funeral! Without me! They just buried him and the only people there were my mom and grandma. They didn’t even come looking for me, didn’t even have an interest in finding out if I wanted to say a few words to him before they covered him in DIRT!” I cried, thinking of the funeral papers I had seen in the folder. I couldn’t believe my mom wouldn’t want me to come.

“It’s gonna be okay, shhh, it’ll be alright,” he promised me. We sat there, for a long time, just him holding me and me trying to stop the tears. Finally, I stopped and gave him a hug. He sighed and returned it, slowly wrapping both arms around me. I sat up and triede to fix my hair and wipe the tears from my face. After I had taken a deep breath or two, he said something I really didn’t think he could’ve remembered. Something I told him back when I first discovered the burn on his now healing arm.

“I’m only doing this because you were there for me a couple weeks back. That’s it. You save me, I save you. End of story,”