You Rock Like Escape The Fate

“Think about it. You’ll make the right decision, you always do,” Hayley told me before patting my knee gently and walking out of the room. The house was quiet at this time of night, other than the soft talking between Ronnie and Hayley downstairs. The silence gave me time to think. Lying down and closing my eyes, I let it all sink in. I didn’t leave anything out; everything from the last ten weeks, more or less, went through my mind at once… all of it. But only certain things really stood out, made me smile or frown as I thought about them…

I remembered driving up to the cabin and being so happy to see Bryan waking up, and how much it really hit me when he expressed how much he hated me. I remembered the day Bryan found out my middle name was Jessi and how our little name-calling feud started. I remembered the lyrics he wrote and the silent passion he had for the music. I remembered him fighting off the wolf with me, and saving Leila from the fire, and telling me who Allison was when it seemed like such a deep dark secret. I remembered him breaking down, and the words he’d spoken to me when I needed them the most.

After a moment of laying there in the quiet and remembering all these things, there was something I noticed… They were all Bryan… I tried desperately to make sense of it in my mind. Why was every important memory about Bryan…? Then, without a moment’s notice, it hit me. I was inlove with Monte Bryan Money. My eyes popped open as I realized it. I repeated it in my mind, I love Bryan… I LOVE Bryan… I LOVE BRYAN!! I felt a huge smile spread through my face as I thought about it more and more. It finally made sense, why I cared about him so much, why he was constantly on my mind, why our little moments meant so much to me. The way my heart would quietly begin to pound against my chest around him, or the smile that would cross my face when we played our little games of Punch-You-Punch-Me. But as with everything that happened to me, it all came crashing down. Just because I finally knew I loved him didn’t suddenly mean he would return the feeling. In fact, he hated me. Sure, he was a nice enough guy to be there for me when I was upset, but that didn’t mean he likedor loved me in any way. I sighed and raked my fingers down my face in frustration. Would anything ever just be easy for me?

A small trail of light was let into the dark room from the hall when someone pushed open the door. “Hey, Liesl…?” Max’s voice called into the room quietly.

“Yeah?” I replied, my voice rough from being so quiet for so long. I looked up to see him poke his head in.

“Rob’s awake, just thought you’d wanna be the one to brief him since Hayley’s uhh… busy,” he said, scratching his head. I gave a weak smile and bit my lip, nodding. He sighed and came in all the way, walking up to the bed and looking down at my helpless form. He gently grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, opening his arms for a hug. I hugged him and buried my face in his chest, glad that he was my best friend.

“You’re gonna be okay, Jessi, I promise… He’s in a better place,” he murmured, squeezing me comfortingly. My uncle… I just couldn’t believe he was gone… I sighed and nodded into his shirt.

“Thanks for being my best friend, Max,” I said as we pulled away.

“Anything for you, Jess, you’ve kinda become like a sister to me,” he grinned, ruffling my hair and laughing as I gave him the dashdotdash -.- face. “No but really, you know you can talk to me any time, right?” he asked. I smiled and nodded. “Now let’s go see Rob,” he suggested as we left the room and went to the room Ronnie would now be sharing with Robert. I walked in to see Robert sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands as he tried to wake himself up. I smiled as Max tapped his shoulder and pointed me out.

"Hey dude, this is Liesl, one of my new best friends. She's just gonna explain what's goin' on, so uhm… don't freak out on us," he told Robert. Rob nodded cautiously and looked to me. I walked up to him and told Max he could go back to sleep, since it was getting late. He sighed and nodded, waving to us both as he left the room. I sat next to Robert on the bed and pulled his aviators off the bedside table, holding them in my hand and looking down at them in nervousness.

"So... I'm Liesl, like Max said. Nice to meet you...?" I tried, smiling and holding out my other hand for him to shake. He shook my hand and nodded, still waking up from his 5 day slumber. "So, it's a really long story, but I'll try and keep it simple. You know your record producer's son, Jason?" I asked. He nodded. "Well... Hayley, my best friend who you'll meet later, met him one day and she and I had been new fans of you guys for only a few days, and he gave her his myspace. We checked it out and he basically had a blog up that was so hateful to you guys, he kept saying awful things about how badly he wanted you dead,” I stopped for a second.

“That guy was always a total creep…” Robert’s tired voice croaked.

“Yeah…” I replied. “So, we got worried about you guys and decided that the only way to keep you safe from him, since we knew nobody would listen to us if we just tried to warn you, was to kidnap you ourselves and hide you until we got him put away…” I explained. For a second, his eyes bulged a little and his mouth parted in surprise. “You guys get to go home the day after tomorrow, we’re having Leila’s birthday party at noon tomorrow. I promise we aren’t psycho serial killer fans, we’ve been spending the last month with Max, Bryan, Craig, and Ronnie so it’s all good,” I hurriedly explained. His head popped up at the last name on my list. I gave a soft smile as memories ran through his eyes.

“R-Ronnie…?” he asked. I nodded quietly. We heard footsteps climb the stairs and soft voices saying goodnight. I heard Haylz start walking to our room as the door to the room Robert and I were in was pushed open. Ronnie stepped into the room and stopped in his tracks when he say Robert sitting on the other twin bed, wide awake. I nudged my head in the direction of Ronnie and Robert slowly turned to see his old friend from years ago. Ronnie gave a sigh and smiled, shrugging and sticking his hand out. Robert sat there for a second, starting to cough a little tiny bit. He pulled his arm back and clapped his hand to Ronnie’s, Ronnie pulling him to his feet and into a manhug. They patted each other’s backs in their hug, having not spoken in so long. They pulled away and Ronnie smiled at my happy grin.

“I missed you, man,” Robert told him.

“Same here, Rob,” Ronnie replied. I got up off the bed and fixed my shirt a little.

“Here’re your aviators, Robert,” I said, handing them to him. He grinned and took them, immediately putting them on. I rolled my eyes and laughed quietly.

“Thanks, uhm… Liesl, right?”

“Yep. Ima let you guys catch up, okay?” They nodded and I gave Ronnie a quick hug before leaving the room and trying to decide if I was tired enough to go to sleep. I can’t believe I’m inlove with him… I thought to myself. I knew it would be reeling in my head over and over, that if I didn’t get it off my chest I would completely lose my mind. Whether or not I had one to lose was a totally different story. I walked over to Max and Bryan’s room, peeking in to see Bryan fast asleep but Max sitting up in his bed staring into space. Great, just the person I needed… I thought triumphantly. I knocked lightly on the door frame, not wanting to wake Bryan. Max looked up and smiled, waving me in. I walked over and sat on the bed, sitting Indian style on the comforters.

“Aren’t you tired?” he asked me with a crooked smile. I shook my head ‘no’ and he chuckled quietly.

“Max… can I ask you something?” I asked. He nodded and looked at me.

“Have you ever… loved someone… that you knew would never love you back the same way?” His facial expression was one of resentment for his past, something I noticed in him whenever it was brought up.

“Oh yeah… More than once,” he replied, thinking back. I sighed and started picking at the lint on the comforter. “Have you…?”

I wasn’t sure if I should answer, because maybe he’d figure me out too soon. He slowly started to smile, and I looked back down, peeking at Bryan’s sleeping form from the corner of my eye. When I looked up at Max, he was smiling like he knew what thoughts were pacing through my tired mind.

“What…?” I asked cautiously. His head turned to Bryan with that annoying smile that basically made me feel like my own thoughts weren’t even private anymore. He moved his gaze back to mine and raised his eyebrows in question. I bit my lip and shook my head ‘no’ with uncertainty.

“It’s him, right? I knew I wasn’t crazy!” he whisper-yelled. I slapped my forehead with my palm as he celebrated his victory. A minute passed and he stood up, telling me he had to run to the bathroom. I nodded and sat there, waiting. My eyes drifted to Bryan as he slept, and I could feel my heart beat a little faster. God, why didn’t I see this before? I wondered to myself, wishing I had realized my feelings before now…in two days, he had to go home. I heard a gasp and looked to the door to see Max doing the running man and cabbage patch, whispering ‘oh sweet victory’ repeatedly. I groaned quietly and laid back on the bed.

“You were so looking at him like you might kiss him at any moment, dude!” he whispered, looking so amused.

“I’m serious, though, Max…” I muttered, my face falling slightly. He got the ‘oh…’ look and sat down on the bed again.

“Sorry, Jess. But… I don’t think he hates you as much as he pretends to,”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, sitting up a little, and feeling my hopes go up a bit.

“I mean… you probably aren’t the only one that feels this way,” he explained. I scrunched my face up in confusion.

“About him? Well duh, there’s all those crazy fangirls that love him like crazy,” I reasoned. He looked up at the ceiling and begged for mercy, then returned his attention to me.

“No, both of you… about each other,”

“I’m so lost…”

“Oh good god, forget it,” he replied, flopping down on the bed in frustration. I shrugged and felt myself start to get sleepy, so I hugged Max and thanked him for listening to me, then tiptoed back to my room and passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

---

The morning went as usual; Bryan and I didn’t really talk at the table. Leila was still asleep, so I decided to tell everyone my decision before her party. Bambi had just arrived and they all sat in the living room, talking as they waited. Daisy came down the stairs and saw everyone gathered on the couches, so she went and sat on Max’s lap. He smiled genuinely and wrapped his arms around her torso. I sighed and stood at the front of the room, looking at our little family. Max, Craig, Bryan, Ronnie, Robert, Bambi, Hayley, and Daisy.

“Well, you guys… There isn’t much to say here. Just… I’ve chosen to sell the James Family acreage and cabin, and I just wanted you to know that…” I said. Their faces took on sad expressions, everyone looking around and remembering each memory we’d all made here. I saw the mess Craig and I made in the kitchen, and the game of soccer out on the front yard. I saw Max and Bryan doing a weird dance with Leila in the living room and heard Hayley’s shrill scream when she stepped out of the shower to see Ronnie in the bathroom.

“But… how can you do that? With everything that’s happened here? You frikin grew up in this place!” Bryan argued, standing up.

“It’s not like I want to, okay!? I just… what am I supposed to do with 36 acres? I’d have to maintain the lake we have out there, and keep that little beach clear of debris just like Uncle Ben always did. I’d have to hire maintenance workers for the land and I have school to go to! There are so many reasons for me to do this, can’t you see that!?”

“We would all help you, Jess,” Craig offered.

“No, you guys are gonna be touring. Hayley’s going to tour with Ronnie, Leila’s gonna be at home with Gab, so on your free time, I would NOT allow you to come help me here rather than be there even if you tried, and you all have lives to get back to, okay?”

“This is ridiculous, you’re making a huge mistake! You love this whole entire place… we all do! You’re not thinking straight, Jessi,” Bryan countered. He stalked out of the room and up the stairs, and Max looked at me sadly.

“I’m sorry, you guys…” I muttered, hanging my head in shame. They told me it was okay, and poor Robert was left out because he hadn’t really made any memories as of yet at the cabin. I got hugs from everyone and we all decided to start getting the living room made up for the birthday girl. Today would be all about Leila, and I would forget about Uncle Ben, and selling the cabin, and, well…Forgetting Bryan? That just might be impossible……