Girl I Know

When Melody opened her eyes after her little nap, which turned out to be three hours, it must have been at least 2pm already. The bus had stopped moving and she stretched her arms above her head. It was quiet and the guys were rushing about the bus getting ready for the show.

It wasn’t clear to her what the plan would be for her for the evening, but it probably would involve a few beefy security guards if her father had any say in it.

“Hey kiddo” Legend sat down in front of her and put his hands on her knees. “I spoke to my dad and he said to let you know that you are supposed to go with one of the body guards to get something to eat and then stay backstage for the show, by request of your father.”

“and if I don’t?”

“Come on honey, don’t make this any harder than it already is”

“Why didn’t my dad tell me himself?”

He sat back and looked at her sympathetically. “From what I was told, the other guys wont let him speak to you until he calms down.”

“Whatever” she rolled her eyes and looked out the window.

“Come on, your escort for the evening is waiting outside.”

“Fine!” she huffed and started towards the door of the bus while Legend followed behind her. When she got to the door she turned around and looked back at Legend after seeing who was outside waiting for her.

“Matt Berry? Really?” She whispered angrily. “I could whistle and he would fall over from the breeze”

Legend almost cracked up, but he managed to keep his composure “Please, just go with it. I’ve seen your father mad and I don’t want to see it ever again”

She huffed loudly and went out to greet Matt Berry who took her into the venue to get some food. The whole time she was eating he stuck to her like glue. When her uncle Matt walked into the cafeteria she lowered her gaze to her salad, but was forced to look at him when he sat down in front of her.

“Mel, I know you know I’m sitting here. Look at me”

She looked up and when he saw her face he closed his eyes and sighed. “I’ll have a talk with your father.” She didn’t say anything; she just turned her gaze back to her food.

“I don’t think he knows how hard he hit you”

“Like it makes a difference how hard? The fact that he hit me isn’t enough?” he could see her eyes start to water again as she spoke.

“You have a point” he nodded. “Melody, why do you continue to defy him?”

“I don’t want to answer that.” She said.

“Well, I would really like it if you did and that isn’t a request.” He smiled a sarcastic smile. If she only knew that Brian was standing right behind her now.

She put her fork down on the table and folded her hands in front of her. “You wouldn’t understand because you wanted your kids.”

Brian’s jaw dropped as he looked over her head at Matt.

“Melody, where on Earth would you get an idea that your father didn’t want you?”

“Oh I don’t know, could be the fact that he was never home when I was growing up because his band always came first and maybe it’s the fact that when ever he actually was home, he was either too busy in the studio or chasing after my mother to notice I even existed. It was always the band, then my mother and then if he had nothing better to do, then and only then would he spend time with me. I’m 18 years old and he’s still on tour and he still doesn’t want me around.” When the tear slid down her cheek she didn’t bother wiping it knowing that others weren’t far behind. “I bet he wins the award for father of the year.”

Matt looked up at Brian’s face and he was clearly hurt.

“He’s right behind me isn’t he?”

“Yeah” Matt nodded realizing his mistake.

“You’re a jerk, Uncle Matt” she got up and walked out of the cafeteria with Matt Berry chasing after her. She tried to outrun him not wanting anyone to see her cry, but he managed to keep up.

She stopped when she got to one of the gates where the seats were and ran through it and climbed all the way up to the last row where she sat down in one of the seats and cried. She put her face in her hands and sobbed while Matt Berry sat two rows in front of her to give her some space. Blade could see her from the stage while he was doing sound check wondered what the hell happened now.

--

8:00 PM

Melody watched Fiction perform from the side of the stage. It had occurred to her that maybe they would make good test subjects for a few of her pieces. She knew it was a waste of time for her to ask Blade so she made a mental note to speak to Dante and Lyric about it first and see what they thought.

She smiled inside when Dante winked at her from the stage, but the sadness in her had yet to dissipate. Brian stood just a few feet away with Matt and she wouldn’t even give them the satisfaction of looking at either of them. It was Matt who felt the most like shit. He baited her and didn’t think of the consequences that would come from the answer she gave him. As for Brian, what could he say? She was for the most part, right on the money. Him hitting her the night before only made her words sting all the more.

At 8:45 the band finished their set and walked off the stage. Dante walked over to where she stood and Brian noticed right away the attention that his daughter was getting from him.

“Hey, My sister is still coming to San Francisco tomorrow. I know you don’t need the alibi anymore, but if you want to hang around with someone else other than security she’d be available. Just saying”

“Sure, thanks” she smiled.

“Hey, you want to come back to the bus and hang out?”

“I cant. You see I may have the body of an 18 year old, but to them. I’m only 5 and need constant adult supervision so I have to stay here and suck on my pacifier till one of them comes and reads me a nursery rhyme and puts me to bed” she said pointing to her father and uncle.

He rocked back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. “I see. Well, on that note, I’m going to go back to the bus. If your babysitter manages to let you out of his sight, you’re welcome to join me later.”

“Thanks” she nodded and watched him walk away. She could see Blade glaring at her off in the distance. For someone who didn’t want anything to do with her anymore, somehow she got the feeling he was jealous of all the attention she was getting from Dante.

Promptly at 9:00PM Avenged Sevenfold took to the stage and started their set. Melody watched them and it was evidently clear that her father was in a bad mood. There were no outward glances at the fans. No shaking his head with his tongue out. No odd dialogue between him and Matt. He simply stayed put on his side of the stage and played. He even cut his solo short. It was definitely Brian Haner Jr. on that stage, but it certainly wasn’t Synyster Gates.

They played for an hour and a half and when they finished Brian handed his guitar to his tech and walked off the stage. He walked right passed his daughter and headed straight back to the bus. No meet and greet, no having a smoke or a beer outside with a few fans, just straight back to the bus. Melody never even gave him a second glance.

She wasn’t so lucky where Matt was concerned. He stopped right in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re right. I am a jerk.” She didn’t say anything she just looked at him. He removed his hands from her shoulders and took off his baseball cap.

“Please, go talk to him. I’m begging you. If I have to play another show like that with him, I’m going to beat his ass myself.”

“I don’t have anything to say to him”

“Melody, there is no doubt in my mind that your father loves you. What you said really upset him, please go talk to him, I promise you he is calm.”

“You aren’t going to stop harassing me until I do right?”

“Right” he nodded and smiled.

“Fine!” she rolled her eyes and walked away.

Melody didn’t go straight to the bus. She stayed outside for a little while smoking a cigarette and thinking about what she was going to say to her father. One thing she knew for sure was that she wasn’t ever going to apologize for what she said.

It was 15 minutes later when she walked up onto her father’s bus. His bus seemed much nicer than the Fiction bus. They had a lot more luxuries. Brian was nowhere in sight. She walked through the lounge area and down to the hall where the bunks were secretly hoping that he went to bed so she wouldn’t have to have this conversation. When she got half way down the hall, the door of the back room opened and there he stood zipping up his pants while a buxom blond bimbo giggled and walked out of the room.

“He’s all yours sugar, what’s left of him anyway” she giggled again and walked the rest of the way off the bus.

Melody turned her gaze back to her father who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Melody” he stepped towards her but she stepped back.

“Don’t” she shook her head. “Don’t tell me that wasn’t what it looked like”

He sighed and went back into the room slamming the door behind him. From where she was standing she could hear him trashing the room. He cheated on her mother again and she knew about it. Now, it was her that was holding all the cards.

She walked off the bus just as Matt was approaching. “How it go?” he asked.

“Couldn’t tell ya” she shrugged.

“He cant be a sleep already”

“Oh no. Just ask that bimbo over there” She pointed to the girl who was with her father on the bus only moments ago and was now standing outside the Fiction bus talking to Lyric and Legend. “Now that his dick is out of her, she can probably guarantee you he wasn’t sleeping”

Matt smacked his forehead with his hand and closed his eyes. “You have got to be kidding me,” he muttered.

“Trust me, I kid you not. She did all but wipe the cum off her lips when she walked past me”

Matt bit his bottom lip and headed onto the bus while Melody walked over to the Fiction bus and went straight up the steps without a word to Lyric and Legend. When she got inside she threw her camera on one of the benches and sat down.

Dante looked at Blade and then back to her. “Dare I ask what happened now?”

Melody lifted the blinds on one of the windows and pointed outside for him to look.

“Ok? What am I looking at? The girl or Lyric and Legend?” Dante didn’t know what he was supposed to be seeing. It was typical of girls to be hanging out around the bus and he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“The girl.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Ok what about her?”

“She just fucked my father”

Blade nearly dropped the beer that he was holding and walked over to look out the window. “Did I hear you right?” he asked

“Yes, I went onto the bus to talk to him and he was coming out of the back room with her and zipping his pants on the way. She was even so kind as to offer me the sloppy seconds”

“Wow” Dante handed her a beer “Here, I think you need this more than I do”

“Thanks” she took the beer and practically chugged it.

Blade walked over to the bench on the opposite side of where she sat and opened another beer. “Does anyone else know?” he asked

“Yep, Matt does” she nodded and finished the beer. Dante handed her another one just as soon as she put down the empty.

“Mel, are you going to tell your mother?” Blade remembered how Brian cheated on Stormy with Syd and it caused major friction in the family. “No, I don’t have to. I’m sure Matt will tell Aunt Sydney and she will tell my mother”

“No” Blade shook his head. “What happens on tour stays on tour. Matt isn’t going to say a word to Syd. Take my word on that”

“Well, then I guess you’ll be stuck with me for two months” She pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her purse and after taking one from the pack she lit it.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked and reached forward taking the cigarette from her and putting it in his own mouth. She sighed and lit another for herself.

“You’ll see.”