A Dawn I Thought We'd Never See

“Oleh use’ teh beh a sweet kid. ‘E ‘ad a big ‘eart an’ a gorgeous smile teh match ‘is contagious laugh. Nothin’ got between ‘im an’ ‘is music, an’ ‘is friends, an’ ‘is famileh.” December smiled into the distance, like she was lost in memories. She gave a great heave of a sigh.

“Then ‘e met ‘er, the big chested blonde bimbo I can’t fuckin’ stand. She was a bitch teh begin with. I don’t e’en know what ‘e saw in ‘er. But ‘e loved ‘er. ‘E would ‘ave given up anythin’ fer ‘er. Probableh would ‘ave quit the band ef she’d bugged ‘im ‘bout it.

“She was cruel, but she wasn’t that cruel. She let Oleh be Oleh an’ then introduced ‘im teh a few otha things. Mostleh drinkin an’ smokin’, which ain’t bad in moderation. I do both an’ I’m bloody fine. She ‘ad ‘im goin’ out e’ery nigh’. I was surprised ‘e was still keepin’ things tehgether at that point.

“Anehway, the the storeh goes ‘e’s crazy ‘bout ‘er an’ she acts like she can’t stand ‘im. One night there’s this crazy party. ‘S afteh one of Horizon’s first shows an’ e’eryone was so ‘appy. Oleh was ecstatic. Nothin’ could ‘ave brought that boy down, well, not ‘till ‘e stumbled inteh the coat closet an’ found SJ ‘avin’ sex with an old mate of ‘is.

“We all thought ‘e was goin’ teh die on the spot, but ‘e went fer a walk instead. She went chasin’ afteh ‘im while still tryin’ teh buckel ‘er pants up. It was disgustin’ an’ I ‘ad ‘alf the mind teh crack ‘er skull in, but Matteh ‘eld meh back. Said Oleh needed teh work it out on ‘is own.

“Nobodeh knows what realleh ‘appened on that walk. Oleh came back without ‘er but with scraped knuckles an’ a big bruise on ‘is side. ‘E got plastered, doin’ one shot afteh a large gulp of god knows what.” She sighed and shook head again. “By the time we all woke up an’ remembered the scene from the night ‘efore, Oleh was alreadeh knockin’ back more drinks. ‘E refused teh talk ‘bout any of it. ‘E was a bloody arse the whole day too, but we let ‘im be.

“The poor boy ‘ad jus’ gone from top-of-the-world teh ‘eartbroken in one day’s time. ‘E was more grumpy an’ moody than me on the rag. It was absurd, but again, we let Oleh be. We though it was best teh let ‘im get through the anger an’ then ‘eal ‘imself. Didn’t quite work out like that though, as yeh may ‘ave no’iced.

“’E jus’ got angrier an’ feistier until ‘e started teh take it out on e’eryone. The boys an’ I didn’t mind much. We knew where the anger was comin’ from, that it wasn’t personal, and what was undeh it. Then the boys got popular an’ started to tour, meet new people. Sometimes I think bein’ on the stage was therapeh for ‘im. ‘E’d scream an’ thrash an’ when the crowd screwmed back, ‘e’d smile. A smile we ‘and’t seen in months.

“Oleh was still bein’ a bitch to people off stage though, an’ pushin’ ‘em away. So people started runnin’ from ‘im first. Hence the reputation ‘e ‘as now.” December’s gaze turned to me again and she gave me a peculiar look. “That is, till ‘e met yeh. Now ‘e’s apologizin’ an’ sendin’ flowers as I ‘eard it from Matteh.”

“That was a part of the apologizing thing.” I muttered and lbushed. Being the focus of Oliver Sykes attention was almost always embarrassing.

“Aw, yeh’ve turned meh brotheh inteh the sappeh romantic ‘e used teh beh!” December squealed as she raised her hands and feet in the air, causing her to fall off her chair.

We were both laughing hard as Victoria exited the bathroom in short shorts and a tank top. “Do I want to know what happened?” Victoria rose her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips after throwing her duffel bag in one of the bedrooms.

“Apparently Oli’s a sap.” I giggled at December’s bright red face. She was clutching her chest and trying to breath while making some strange hiccupping noise.

“Should have known you two were talking about him.” Victoria shook her head and went to the laptop.

I groaned and threw my head back, closing my eyes as I did so. It seemed like everyone thought Oliver was always on my mind. My face scrunched as I realized he was practically always on my mind.

“I love this song! Turn it up!” December yelled, making my eyes snap open. “Emmeh! Come dance with meh!” Her manic grin was back as she grabbed my hands.

“Are they even speaking English?” Victoria picked up the bottle of alcohol and swept her wet hair back.

“’S German!” December giggled as she started to wiggle. “Come on, Em!”

“Okay, okay!” I sighed and snatched the alcohol from Victoria to take a large gulp and then I handed it back. The liquid burned but I ignored it as I forced myself to push Oliver away and just dance.