Paint Me an Image

Within the week I called Matty constantly. And then when his phone started going to straight to voicemail, I started calling Zacky twice as much. I was desperate to get one of the Baker Brothers to talk to me, to forgive me although it seemed that wouldn't be the case.

I hadn't talked to Matt since that night and I was mad at him but furious with myself. I deserved the way Matty B. had stormed out of my life, the way he'd given up on me and us, so quickly. I was furious with myself that I ruined this relationship so quickly, something I always seemed to do with in the first month to two months of a relationship.

Andre had told me just not to worry about it and that this whole situation would blow over in a few weeks, but I knew it wouldn't. I wondered if Matt was getting the silent treatment as well, and I assumed he would be, except for everything that had to de with the band, seeing as they were going on tour in just two weeks.

My parents anniversary party was scheduled for tomorrow although I was in no mood to sing love songs. Andre was very excited though. Excited to get to play in front of people again and play his heart out. I was excited too, in a way. But I knew that going to my parents house meant the Baker Residence and Maria and I was terrified of finding out how much she hates me.

Maria had always been like a second mother, coddling me and teaching me things. She was my babysitter, my friend. She was the mother of my best friend, my mother's best friend. Maria, however; was now the mother of the man I cheated on.

"You ready to head over there?" Dre questioned as he emerged from the bedroom, two guitar cases and an amp in hand.

I took a deep breath and nodded, "I guess so. But we check out the stage and then get out there. No need to hang around and converse with my parents."

Dre chuckled but nodded. "Okay, what ever you say. Let's just get going."

I agreed and skipped into my room to grab my bedazzled microphone that I love using for cute little parties. I made sure I had the extra long cord before I headed out with Andre. When we got to my parents we walked straight around back to check out the mini stage that had been set up for us.

It was black and about three feet off of the ground. The back yard looked beautiful. There were round tables with white table clothes and black trims. There were roses set in the middle of each table, in a clear vase that was not only filled with water but shiny stones as well.

There were white lights streamed from the roof of the house to the overhang of the stage. They dipped down slightly over the wooden flooring that had been placed over the green, green grass.

"Want to run through a sound check? We haven't really practiced too much."

I nodded to Andre and walked across the designated dancing area so get to the little stairs that were on the left of the stage. I walked up them slowly, taking in my change in mood as I did so. I felt calm on the stage, ready for anything. I didn't have to worry about anything that was going on outside this world, this exact time.

"I'm ready when you are, Im."

I turned and smiled at Andre, nodding my head, signaling for him to turn on the amp that he had plugged into the orange extension cord that ran from the house.

"I don't mind where you come from,
as long as you hold to me..."

I sang loudly, putting my whole heart into it, giving it my all. All The Same by Sick Puppies was a song that I had fallen in love with a million times and a row. Dre's voice complimented mine in the background, echoing certain words.

"And I'll take you for who you are
If you take me for everything
And do it all over again
It's always the same.

Wrong or Right
Black or White
If I close my eyes
Its all the same..."

I put all the anger and all the love that I had inside of me into this song, dedicating it to my parents and the fact that they had gone so long in love when I couldn't even get to the point of feeling love for someone other then my family and Andre.

I ended the song with one last powerful note and then moved onto the next one. A song called Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy. It was a song about falling in love, romancing, then being torn apart. Remembering the good times and realizing that you can't go on without that one person, your "Almost Lover".

"Your finger tips across my skin,
palm trees swaying in the wind...
Images...

You sang me Spanish Lullabies,
The sweetest sadness in your eyes,
Clever trick."

This song had a lot of breathy notes it so I kept taking deep breaths and pushing the air out of my lungs in long, timed out notes.

"Almost lover's always do..."

I ended the song on a low note, feeling my lungs beg for air. I complied, gulping it in as quick as possible as I heard clapping from the other side of the yard. My gaze shot over there and I shook with anticipation as I noticed Zacky there, clapping his hands together slowly.

"You're good," he told me as he began walking closer.

"Thanks," I murmured softly, my eyes following him with interest as he came nearer.

"Too bad you're a really terrible person. I might of thought to invite you on tour if you weren't."

I sucked in a breath of air, choking on it as I did so. Zacky's words hurt in more ways than one. The obvious "your terrible" hurt coming from the man that was one my first kiss, first crush, first true best friend, but the thought of having tour, my dream, so near to my grasp, then having it pulled out from underneath me hurt more than anything Zacky could ever say to me, and he knew it.

"Ouch," I mumbled as I ran my fingers through my hair.

Zacky shrugged, "He's my baby brother. I'm allowed to be mean to you."

My eyes grew hopeful at the new found chance to apologize. "Zacky, I didn't mean-"

"Don't. He doesn't want to hear it and neither do I," Zack shook his head at me as he pulled a cigarette out of his pack and light it, taking a drag.

"But I'm really so-"

"Just stop, Image!" Zacky shouted, pulling the cigarette from his lips, "You're not sorry! Or if you were you wouldn't have done it in the first place! Was sleeping with Matt really that important to you? That you had to break my brother's heart? He really fucking cares about you. He always has!"

"I know that!"

Zacky scoffed, "Then why didn't you act like it? Like the old, Imogen. The one who would've never talked to Matt, let alone have sex with him in the back room of some grungy night club."

I shrugged and bit my lip. "Because I'm not the same Image anymore, Zack. It's been ten years."

Zacky rolled his eyes and took another puff of his smoke as he thought about my words. "You used to be a great person," he spoke, "you used to care about everyone else but yourself." He shook his head as though it could bring forward more memories. "But now, Image. You're just selfish. Taking what you want without thinking about how it could affect other people."

I sighed and wiped the tears from my eyes. "What about Matt, Zacky! He's not entirely innocent either, you know. He's not Mr. Perfect. He was just as quick to take my clothes off as I was to take his."

Zacky chuckled darkly. "What can you expect when it you, Imogen Piers, around Matt? Everyone in this fucking town knew that he used to have a thing for you. That he'd do anything to get with you and you just went along with it, Im, you fell right into his charms." Zacky looked like he wanted to say more and for a second, he kept his mouth closed but then he added, "You gave him just what he's wanted from you since you were an eighth grader in middle school... sex. He doesn't care about you like my brother. He won't be there for you when you cry, or order chinese food and try to take care of you when you say you don't feel good."

My breath caught as Zacky replayed the details from last week.

"Matt won't drive you home, lay with you on the couch. Sure, he'll definitely sleep with you, but that's all he'll ever want from you, Image. Was throwing what my brother will do for you really worth having sex with Matt?" I could tell that Zacky was mad, but this was more of an honest question, something that he'd probably been dying to know since he found out.

I thought about for a moment, thought real hard about Matty and Matt and what I wanted for myself. And then I shook my head at Zacky and wiped more tears off my cheeks. "No. Honestly, it wasn't."

Zacky closed his eyes and took a deep breath as though he was steadying himself against the wind. Then he opened his mouth, his eyes still closed, and spoke as if he had forgiven me for the pain that I caused his little brother.

"Good," he said as he opened his eyes, revealing the emerald green orbs to me and Andre (who had been sitting quietly in the background, listening, observing). "Pack your bags, we leave for tour in 12 days."

Then Zack turned around and walked back over to his mother's yard, leaving me standing on the stage, my microphone in my hand and my jaw dropped to the ground. Had Zacky really just decided to take me on tour with him? But most importantly, had Zacky decided to give me another chance?