Work Experience

Sarah, soon to be Baker, was so very drunk she’d forgotten everything she’d promised her fiancé before she left the house. Including no embarrassing dancing, no embarrassing karaoke, and to try really hard not to injure herself.

Though the urge to through up was slightly drowned out by the pain in her hand. The pain was caused by some nasty looking fragments of glass sticking out of her hand. She knew she shouldn’t have had that last shot.

“Ok one more injection and you shouldn’t be able to feel a thing,” The doctor said, as he held up a scary looking needle. He was attempting to numb the area she’d managed to cut.

“I really want Zack now,” Sarah whispered to her friend standing next to her and holding her other hand tightly.

“Me too,” Rhian muttered turning away from the needle. “God he is going to pay for this,”

“Okay, can you feel this?” The doctor questioned.

“Nope,” Sarah smiled slightly, everything felt a little weird, the drugs were starting to kick in. The doctor nodded and picked up the tweezers.

“Ok this will feel a bit weird but won’t hurt,” He smiled and slowly started to pull out the bits of glass.

“Oh god,” Rhian groaned turning away.

“Ducky are you ok?”

“Sarah I’ll send someone else in,” She darted out the room, the doctor looked up and smirked.

“You’d think it was her hand,” Sarah just smiled and shook her head. Watching the door Rhian and flew through.

“Are they freaking hear yet?” Rhian groaned making it to the waiting room where Niki, Taylor and a few other people were waiting for Sarah. Niki shook her head and passed Rhian back her phone.

“Matt phoned a few minutes ago, they were just parking up,” Niki explained. “Zack’s freaking out,”

“Why?”

“Well Taylor didn’t go into detail on the phone apparently,” Taylor shrugged.

“I said she was in AE, hen night was off,”

“Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” Rhian muttered, rolling her eyes and flopping down next to her cousin.

“Oh and Mike from work rang, he said he was really digging the band tonight,” Niki started to explain. “And that he was up for sighing them, you have to okay it all of course, but I can do the paper work on Monday,”

“Yeah get it done,” Rhian nodded. “They’ll be needing a good story,” She added to Taylor who just shrugged.

“Send me there details and I’ll think about it,”

“Don’t think too hard,” Rhian muttered back, looking up when she heard her name. God what a night it had been, Sarah’s Hen Night, she should have known nothing in their group could happen without a little bit of drama.

One year ago Avenged Sevenfold had finished their last tour with manager Rhian Jones. They’d said a teary goodbye, mainly from Rhian, Sarah and Jimmy, and then gone to a huge beach party thrown by the Berry twins. To finish that magical night off Zacky Baker had proposed to his girlfriend in front of everyone, in the moonlight as the water lapped up on the sandy beach. It was so romantic.

Thankfully she said yes, or that would have been embarrassing!

Two days later Rhian had been offered a new job, quite an important job at Warner Brothers, who decided they didn’t want to get rid of the woman who’d brought them one hell of an earning band.

Although she wasn’t touring anymore, she got to check out new and hot talent across the country and had a team of managers beneath her. She was paid more and even had her own office . The best part of the job was she was based here, and got to stay around her best friends, including her boyfriend of one year.

Matt and her were strong, stronger than they’d ever been. She loved that.

“Where is she?” Zacky Baker ran into the waiting room followed by his motely crew.

“Straight down the corridor, I’ll go,” Niki muttered. “Rhian might pass out,” Matt walked towards Rhian cupping her face with his huge hand. His fingertips brushed against her cheek gently.

“What’s wrong beautiful?”

“Blood, needles, glass in hand, gross,” Matt smiled at his girlfriend’s explanation and leant in to press a kiss against her lips. “They shouldn’t be in there to long, he was taking glass out when I ran out,” Matt chuckled and linked his hand with hers pulling her towards the seats.

“Taylor,”

“Matthew,” She nodded back with a polite smile. “Don’t worry I’ll get going soon,” Rhian smiled at her supportively, Matt and Taylor still didn’t get on that well, but after she wrote a good article about the support A7X manager had given them and how successful the band were he had softened to her. Rhian had tried harder with Taylor and the pair were on speaking terms. She just reminded herself blood was thicker than water, family was family and that’s just how it went.

“So what happened?” Matt questioned his arm going over the back of Rhian’s chair and she nestled in closer to him.

“A fight broke out, these two guys were going after this woman next to us, next thing I know one of them is pushed back into Sarah and she went flying, glass in hand, it fell to the floor and smashed, and well Sarah fell right on top of it,” She put her palm out to show where the glass went into Sarah’s hand.

“Wow quite the bachelorette party,” Rhian nodded, annoyed that her and Niki’s plans for Sarah’s night out hadn’t quite gone to plan. They’d spent a good number of work hours planning it. Niki was in college now and turned out to be one hell of a promising business student. She had asked to spend some time working with Rhian in her current job, and after the effort she’d put in working with A7X, Rhian could hardly say no. She’d ended up offering Niki some work for a while, and encouraged her to apply for a summer internship because Rhian saw so such talent and promise in that girl.

“You coming back with me then?” Matt questioned pressing a kiss against her hair as she lent on his shoulder.

“Mhmm,”

“Am I making you toast?”

“With marmite,” Rhian added sleepily, relaxing on his shoulder.

“Of course, you wanna pick up stuff from yours?”

“No I’ve got everything I need,” She replied closing her eyes and inhaling his sent. Matt just chuckled and tightened his grip round her. Yeah she did, she had everything she needed right in that moment, a man who loved her and let her be her, good friends around her, and a great job.

As Niki walked back into the waiting room she smirked noticing Rhian curled up next to Matt, she looked half asleep. Taylor had disappeared, while Jimmy and Brian had taken her space.

“You should not have been in a bar,” Matt muttered as the 20 year old walked up with a huge smirk.

“Cause the saints of Avenged Sevenfold never had fake ID,” She muttered back sticking her tongue out at Matt. Jimmy laughed and gave her a high five, while Brian just rolled his eyes. “Sarah and Zack said we can go when we’re ready, he’ll get a cab back, the doctor said Sarah would be pretty sleepy when the drugs where off,”

“Right lets go then,” Matt replied turning in his seat to check on Rhian. “Babe, time to go, or I’ll carry you,” He chuckled kissing her nose softly.

“No,” She huffed, slowly standing up and entwining her hands with his. “Take me home,”

“We’re calling it a night already?” Brian moaned.

“We are,” Matt indicated to him and Rhian. “You go ahead,”

“Yah dude,” Jimmy agreed. “Niki you’re in, Christ?!”

“He’s flirting with the nurses,” Brian explained. “And she is not coming?”

“No but you might be by the end of the night,” Niki smirked strutting ahead with groans from Rhian and Matt.

“Don’t worry mum and dad, I’ll bring the kids home in one piece, and far apart,” Jimmy winked following Brian as he stalked off after him.

“Oh god,” Rhian groaned pulling herself back into Matt’s arms. “I’m so glad they are grown up enough not to need me,” She mocked. That feeling of watching your children grow up and leave the nest, she felt that was close to the feeling she had leaving Avenged.

“Don’t you miss looking after them all?” Matt chuckled leading her out of the hospital.

“Every day,” Rhian smiled back. “But then I’d never have my perfect boyfriend,”

Matt Sanders got into his truck and watched as the beautiful woman next to him do up her belt. He learnt a lot over the past few years, a lot of which had come from being with her and watching her work. She taught him that making difficult choices had to happen, he’d taught her that every experience no matter what was valuable and finally he’d taught her that

Rhian Jones relaxed into the front seat of the truck as the engine roared to life and Matt took them out of the car park she closed her eyes. This was her living the dream. Sat next to her was one of the most incredible men she’d ever met; he reached for every dream and taught her how work wasn’t everything. Life was all about the experiences.