Status: Completed
We've All Been Lost for Most of This Life
Final
They were all crammed inside Matt's open garage. All the guys, their girlfriends, and a few other close friends were standing waiting for 'the announcement' to be made. Marie and Jeana were sitting by Brian and Val, Matt's girlfriend, as Matt stood sort of in the middle of the crowd. His low, excited voice could be heard saying,
"Well, we wanted you guys to know right after our parents, that we're going on tour!" Everyone was shocked. "We got a huge-ass van and we're just gonna hit the road and play wherever we can. Wish us luck!"
Marie and Jeana's eyes went wide in exactly the same instant, and they both jumped up and screamed 'Oh my god!' hugging Matt.
Their senior year of high school would end in less than two weeks, and after that Avenged Sevenfold was going to leave two months before the rest of their graduating class. Johnny was even going with them, despite his being a couple years younger. Matt and most of the other people laughed at the twins parallel behavior.
"We're gonna fucking miss you!" Marie exclaimed as Jeana yelled, "You're gonna fucking rock their balls off!"
The evening was spent partying and living up the moment. They moved to the beach building a bonfire that was just about as tall as Brian was. Half drunk he wrapped an arm around Marie's waist and sloppily kissed her cheek,
"It'll be awesome," he smiled, "And I'll be back before you know it."
"Sure Bri," She was skeptical about that last part.
"Have fun with school, and apprenticing, and stuff," he wished her.
"By the time you get back I'll be able to tattoo you, you know," she reminded him. She'd been apprenticing at her friend's tattoo parlor for the past year and a half. She was naturally artistic, and had picked up the skill really fast. On top of that, her summer plans included going to a local college to study literature,
"Dude, you'll totally have to fuckin' tattoo me, I'll save a big space, just for you."
She was gonna miss the fucker.
"Hey, Jee, tell 'em about that thing," Marie hinted vaguely. Jeana's face lit up and she threw her empty beer can into the fire, before standing up from flirting with Jimmy in his lap. She wabbled a little, totally wasted.
"I'm gonna design guitars for Schecter!" she burst out, falling flat on her face in the sand immediately afterwards. Jimmy laughed and picked her up around her waist, wiping grains of sand off of her face while leaning her against himself. Everyone congratulated her. She elaborated haltingly about how she had been accepted to a special training program, and she would intern while going to college before they accepted her to a position full time.
"I'm going to craft acoustic instruments at Harvey's shop when I have time," Shortly after saying this she passed out in Jimmy's arms. Something hit Marie at this point.
-Two Weeks Later-
"So this is really it," The tears broke loose and her voice strained. She didn't like breaking down like this in front of everyone, but it had been gnawing at her since the bonfire that this was the end of everything she'd ever known. The boys were going to be cut from her life completely, and even though her and her sister would be staying at home, they'd barely see each other with their busy schedules.
She'd finally broken up with Aaron after she's seen him making out with some other girl; she was still trying to figure out who had broken his nose though. She had this weird feeling that it should be obvious but she was totally blanking on a name. She'd known, two months ago on their first date that this was coming, but she'd stayed with him out of shier loneliness. Even more disturbing was the odd distance between her parents lately. It was putting her and Jeana on edge.
Brian let her huddle in his arms crying like a baby while some of the others tried to help calm her down. She laughed a little as she saw her twin making out with Jimmy.
"I'll miss you, Shaggy," Jeana lamented with a smile. She was much better at internalizing than Marie.
Jeana called out to Matt, using the name Fred like in the old days, the same with Velma/Johnny, and Daphne/Zacky. Marie felt the stupidity of childhood wash over her for a brief and heavenly instant.
Brian was rubbing her back now and rocking back and forth with her. He whispered 'Shh' and smiled kissing the top of her head before handing her off to his father.
Papa Gates and her were closer at that point than she was with her own father. Brian hugged his dad with one arm and pecked his mom on the cheek, then jogged to where everyone else was climbing into the van.
He turned, "I'll come back for you," he promised before disappearing through the doorway. Maire slumped over thinking Liar. But a glimmer of hope that he might have been sincere lingered in her chest.
-Three Weeks Later-
Marie was huddled in her room crying in the fetal position, helplessly depressed. Her mother had just told her about how her father had been cheating with some bitch named Kim, and covering it up for months. They were getting divorced and her father had been kicked out of the house. She crawled over to her dresser and dug a bag of coke out of her underwear drawer. Just to cheer herself up. Self medicate.
Brian was across the country thinking about her as he drove through the night, pushing the speed limits in attempt to make it to Rhode Island before dawn so Jimmy could take the wheel. He hadn't showered, had barely slept, and was living off of a bag of Cheetos a day pretty much. He couldn't trade it for the world though. He couldn't wait to see Marie so he could tell her all about the crazy shit that had happened on the road. He smiled to himself while he daydreamed about how ecstatic her and her sister must be that they were making all their dreams come true.
-Two Weeks Later-
Marie was strung out in her bathroom, convincing herself over and over again not to call up Craig and get another gram of cocaine. Fred, her friend that worked with her at the tattoo parlor and Jeana were outside the locked door pleading with her to come out. How could she explain to them that if she left this little box, she'd fall apart? She remained silent, crying, wishing she could say something to them.
She shivered as the police broke down the door and cleared the room for the paramedics. They thought she was going to kill herself. She knew some of those cops. Their sympathy was searing. They all knew about her father.
-A Few Days Later-
She was out of the psych ward in the hospital, recovering from her depression and drug abuse with the help of her family and friends. It was a miracle that her schooling and work hadn't been irrecoverably damaged.
-At Some Point in the Near Future-
"Marie!" Brian screamed running to her first, taking her in his malnourished arms and swinging her around, kissing her face repeatedly. That was new.
"Bed, Food, Shower, maybe not in that order," He told her after greeting everyone else. He started dragging her into his house with him as he spoke, "There's so fucking much I wanna tell you, what have I missed?" He was so amped up that he had been leading her into the bathroom.
"Shower first," she laughed. "I'll make you something to eat, and then I'll fill you in while you fall asleep."
"Nap with me?" He asked still humming with excitement.
"Sure."
"I missed a lot," He stroked her hair softly as he spoke in solemn tones.
"I missed you more," She countered without making much sense.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you," He voiced regret.
"If you ever say that again I'll slap you. Follow your dreams; I pulled through right? I think I just needed to know how much I could take." He hugged his body closer to his own.
"I'm not going to leave you again," he swore.
"Yes you will," She sighed. "But I'll be able to handle it better next time. Besides, you're going to find a girl one of these days and you'll have to take care of her."
"I've found a girl," He said with conviction. Her heart sunk, burning, while her throat constricted.
"Really?" She asked trying to seem happy.
"Yes," He responded, "And I can tell you right fucking now that I'm gonna take care of her for the rest of my fucking life." He was smiling like there was some joke she didn't get.
"Who is she?" Marie asked on the verge of tears.
He laughed, "You." Shock and realization gripped her at once.
"I love you, always have and I always will." He was staring straight into her wide eyes. "I've been lost without you." He kissed her with a passion that engulfed in a way works could not describe. She kissed back finally feeling like she was whole. He made her feel perfect, like she was one of a kind. "I love you."
"Well, we wanted you guys to know right after our parents, that we're going on tour!" Everyone was shocked. "We got a huge-ass van and we're just gonna hit the road and play wherever we can. Wish us luck!"
Marie and Jeana's eyes went wide in exactly the same instant, and they both jumped up and screamed 'Oh my god!' hugging Matt.
Their senior year of high school would end in less than two weeks, and after that Avenged Sevenfold was going to leave two months before the rest of their graduating class. Johnny was even going with them, despite his being a couple years younger. Matt and most of the other people laughed at the twins parallel behavior.
"We're gonna fucking miss you!" Marie exclaimed as Jeana yelled, "You're gonna fucking rock their balls off!"
The evening was spent partying and living up the moment. They moved to the beach building a bonfire that was just about as tall as Brian was. Half drunk he wrapped an arm around Marie's waist and sloppily kissed her cheek,
"It'll be awesome," he smiled, "And I'll be back before you know it."
"Sure Bri," She was skeptical about that last part.
"Have fun with school, and apprenticing, and stuff," he wished her.
"By the time you get back I'll be able to tattoo you, you know," she reminded him. She'd been apprenticing at her friend's tattoo parlor for the past year and a half. She was naturally artistic, and had picked up the skill really fast. On top of that, her summer plans included going to a local college to study literature,
"Dude, you'll totally have to fuckin' tattoo me, I'll save a big space, just for you."
She was gonna miss the fucker.
"Hey, Jee, tell 'em about that thing," Marie hinted vaguely. Jeana's face lit up and she threw her empty beer can into the fire, before standing up from flirting with Jimmy in his lap. She wabbled a little, totally wasted.
"I'm gonna design guitars for Schecter!" she burst out, falling flat on her face in the sand immediately afterwards. Jimmy laughed and picked her up around her waist, wiping grains of sand off of her face while leaning her against himself. Everyone congratulated her. She elaborated haltingly about how she had been accepted to a special training program, and she would intern while going to college before they accepted her to a position full time.
"I'm going to craft acoustic instruments at Harvey's shop when I have time," Shortly after saying this she passed out in Jimmy's arms. Something hit Marie at this point.
-Two Weeks Later-
"So this is really it," The tears broke loose and her voice strained. She didn't like breaking down like this in front of everyone, but it had been gnawing at her since the bonfire that this was the end of everything she'd ever known. The boys were going to be cut from her life completely, and even though her and her sister would be staying at home, they'd barely see each other with their busy schedules.
She'd finally broken up with Aaron after she's seen him making out with some other girl; she was still trying to figure out who had broken his nose though. She had this weird feeling that it should be obvious but she was totally blanking on a name. She'd known, two months ago on their first date that this was coming, but she'd stayed with him out of shier loneliness. Even more disturbing was the odd distance between her parents lately. It was putting her and Jeana on edge.
Brian let her huddle in his arms crying like a baby while some of the others tried to help calm her down. She laughed a little as she saw her twin making out with Jimmy.
"I'll miss you, Shaggy," Jeana lamented with a smile. She was much better at internalizing than Marie.
Jeana called out to Matt, using the name Fred like in the old days, the same with Velma/Johnny, and Daphne/Zacky. Marie felt the stupidity of childhood wash over her for a brief and heavenly instant.
Brian was rubbing her back now and rocking back and forth with her. He whispered 'Shh' and smiled kissing the top of her head before handing her off to his father.
Papa Gates and her were closer at that point than she was with her own father. Brian hugged his dad with one arm and pecked his mom on the cheek, then jogged to where everyone else was climbing into the van.
He turned, "I'll come back for you," he promised before disappearing through the doorway. Maire slumped over thinking Liar. But a glimmer of hope that he might have been sincere lingered in her chest.
-Three Weeks Later-
Marie was huddled in her room crying in the fetal position, helplessly depressed. Her mother had just told her about how her father had been cheating with some bitch named Kim, and covering it up for months. They were getting divorced and her father had been kicked out of the house. She crawled over to her dresser and dug a bag of coke out of her underwear drawer. Just to cheer herself up. Self medicate.
Brian was across the country thinking about her as he drove through the night, pushing the speed limits in attempt to make it to Rhode Island before dawn so Jimmy could take the wheel. He hadn't showered, had barely slept, and was living off of a bag of Cheetos a day pretty much. He couldn't trade it for the world though. He couldn't wait to see Marie so he could tell her all about the crazy shit that had happened on the road. He smiled to himself while he daydreamed about how ecstatic her and her sister must be that they were making all their dreams come true.
-Two Weeks Later-
Marie was strung out in her bathroom, convincing herself over and over again not to call up Craig and get another gram of cocaine. Fred, her friend that worked with her at the tattoo parlor and Jeana were outside the locked door pleading with her to come out. How could she explain to them that if she left this little box, she'd fall apart? She remained silent, crying, wishing she could say something to them.
She shivered as the police broke down the door and cleared the room for the paramedics. They thought she was going to kill herself. She knew some of those cops. Their sympathy was searing. They all knew about her father.
-A Few Days Later-
She was out of the psych ward in the hospital, recovering from her depression and drug abuse with the help of her family and friends. It was a miracle that her schooling and work hadn't been irrecoverably damaged.
-At Some Point in the Near Future-
"Marie!" Brian screamed running to her first, taking her in his malnourished arms and swinging her around, kissing her face repeatedly. That was new.
"Bed, Food, Shower, maybe not in that order," He told her after greeting everyone else. He started dragging her into his house with him as he spoke, "There's so fucking much I wanna tell you, what have I missed?" He was so amped up that he had been leading her into the bathroom.
"Shower first," she laughed. "I'll make you something to eat, and then I'll fill you in while you fall asleep."
"Nap with me?" He asked still humming with excitement.
"Sure."
"I missed a lot," He stroked her hair softly as he spoke in solemn tones.
"I missed you more," She countered without making much sense.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you," He voiced regret.
"If you ever say that again I'll slap you. Follow your dreams; I pulled through right? I think I just needed to know how much I could take." He hugged his body closer to his own.
"I'm not going to leave you again," he swore.
"Yes you will," She sighed. "But I'll be able to handle it better next time. Besides, you're going to find a girl one of these days and you'll have to take care of her."
"I've found a girl," He said with conviction. Her heart sunk, burning, while her throat constricted.
"Really?" She asked trying to seem happy.
"Yes," He responded, "And I can tell you right fucking now that I'm gonna take care of her for the rest of my fucking life." He was smiling like there was some joke she didn't get.
"Who is she?" Marie asked on the verge of tears.
He laughed, "You." Shock and realization gripped her at once.
"I love you, always have and I always will." He was staring straight into her wide eyes. "I've been lost without you." He kissed her with a passion that engulfed in a way works could not describe. She kissed back finally feeling like she was whole. He made her feel perfect, like she was one of a kind. "I love you."