We Stitch These Wounds

"Jake!" I called out my voice clearly cracking, but it was too late he was already out the door. "I've got to go talk to him." I said as I tried to push past Andy to get out of the booth.

"Jade, sweetie just give him some time to think." CC said pulling me into his side.

"But you don't understand when Jake gets mad or upset at me he wont talk to me for days. When I moved he refused to talk to me for 6 months." I said wiping away the tears that were threatening to spill.

"Payton I've basically spent everyday with him for I don't know how many years now, and he's never ignored me and I piss him off on a daily basis." Jinxx said as he grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"So what exactly did you tell him when you had your wreck?" Sammie asked.

"I wasn't the one who originally told him. I didn't have my phone it was lost in my car. The hospital got ahold of my mom and she told Jake's parents. I woke up to my the phone in my hospital room ringing and I answered it to have Jake yelling at me. He wanted to know why I hadn't been answering my phone and why his mom was the one to tell him about the wreck. He thought that I was on my death bed and he told me he was leaving tour to come see me. I told him that I wasn't as bad off as he thought or had been told. That our parents were making a bigger deal out of it then it really was. He thought I was going to lose my hand and I assured him that I wasn't. They had me on a constant supply of pain medication, anxiety medication, I was pretty much zombie. I had no idea what was wrong with me besides I had three pins holding my thumb in place, I had ripped my the skin off my hand, and some of the muscle. It wasn't until about a week later that I actually found out how bad off I was and I didn't want to call Jake back and freak him out. Y'all were in the middle of tour and I knew you couldn't have your lead guitarist just up and leave on you. I didn't want him to worry anymore then he already was. I didn't intentionally lie to him I honestly didn't know how bad off I was originally." I said as I looked down at the table afraid to look at anyone in the eyes.

"So you're the reason he was acting like even more of a freak." CC said with a chuckle causing me to look up at him. I creased my brow in confusion and he continued. "He would pace around the bus constantly checking his phone. He knew you were a lot worse off then you told him. I asked him what was wrong and he said his quote unquote best friend was in a horrible wreck and was refusing to let him come visit them in the hospital. Pizza and beer didn't even perk him up."

I let out a laugh upon hearing that . "Senor Pitt's never turns down pizza."

CC shook his head laughing. "I never said he turned it down it just didn't perk him up like it usually does."

"I'm going to go outside and check on him." Sammie said giving me a reassuring smile. I gave her a small pathetic smile back before she stood up and walked away from the table. We all just sat there for a while eating and drinking in silence waiting for Sammie to come back.

"So do you have any other tattoos?" Andy asked after about five minutes of silence.

"Well I've got the Batman tattoo on the back of my neck that you saw. My whole left side from my hip to my breast has a Chinese Cherry Blossom Tree and I've got a few more that I want to get, but haven't had the time or money to get. I thought it was more important to spend my money helping out my Mom then waste it on defacing my body." I sad with a smile.

"Well someone is a responsible for her age." Jinxx said with a laugh.

"Well when you've been through as much as I have at such a young age it's either lash out and rebel or you show people that never thought you would make it that you can in fact amount to something. I was really depressed for a couple years and I did lash out and rebel horribly, but I realized that I was just making things worse for myself and it was taking a toll on my Mom. I hated her for a while because she knew what my father was doing and she was in denial of it for years, but then it dawned on me that she did get us out of that horrible situation. Maybe not as fast as I would have liked, but she did. She had spent years struggling to provide for a child who loathed her and she never once complained. The first two years after we left my father I was a horrible child. I began skipping school and doing drugs when I was 16, I was an addict by the time I was 17 Ecstasy and cocaine were my escape. They made me numb for the time being and forget for a little while. When I was high it was the only time I felt truly happy. I tried to commit suicide a few time, but as you can tell it never worked. I have no idea how I managed to graduate, but I somehow managed to graduate on time. I ran away multiple times and was almost thrown in juvie. My family didn't think I would ever amount to anything they thought I would be dead by 20, but my Mom never lost her faith in me neither did Jake and his family. I turned my life around and made amends with my Mom since then we've been best friends."

"Wow..." was all Ashley said. He was at a loss for words.

Sammie came back with a frown on her face. "I uhh ... I can't fine Jake. There was a taxi driving off when I walked out the door. I walked around the block thinking maybe he was taking a walk, but he was nowhere to be found. He wont answer his phone either."

I closed my eyes and nodded my head trying to stop the tears that were about to flow. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. "It's cool I figured he would. It's just the way Jake deals with me. I'm not sure why, but he has since I was like 13."

"Maybe it's because he knows you've been through a lot and he doesn't want to add to it. He'd rather cool down and have time to think then just blow up on you and say something he'd regret. Believe me he's blown up on me before and it's not a fun thing." CC said as he pulled me to his side.

I was surprised at how easily these people had accepted me and all of my baggage issues into their lives. It honestly surprised me how sweet these guys could be. "You know you guys are really sweet. I haven't even known y'all for 24 hours and you've accepted me with open arms."

"Well if you haven't noticed we're a bunch of outcast too." Jinxx said with a lopsided smirk.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm full and really tired do you think one of you could take me home?" I asked as I looked around the table.

"I'll take you back since I brought you here." Andy said getting up from the booth and throwing a wad of cash on the table. "That should cover the three of us plus tip." I crawled out of the booth after him.

"Believe me you're not being rude I'm tired too." Sammie said with a smile. "I'll see you on Monday if not before then." She said as she stood up and walked over to me giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye guys!" I said with a wave.

"Whoa whoa whoa where do you think you're going? We hug in this family." Ashley said as all the guys crawled out from the booth.

I laughed. "You guys just keep surprising me." I said shaking my head as CC pulled me into a hug. I gave Jinxx and Ashley hugs and walked outside to find Andy leaning up against his Jeep and smoking a cigarette. "Oh my God a smoke sounds so good." I said as I reached in my purse and pulled out my pack. I placed a Marlboro Smooth to my lips and dug through my purse searching for a lighter.

"Here you go." Andy said as he lit my cigarette for me.

"Thanks." I replied as I climbed into his Jeep.

"So ..." Andy began she he started up his Jeep.

I laughed when he couldn't think of anything to say after that. "I'm guessing you don't like awkward silence." I said with a chuckle.

"No not really comfortable silence don't bother me but awkward silence is just so ... awkward." He said with a slight chuckle. We spent the next 20 minutes talking about a lot of random nothingness. "Do you want me to go in there with you?" Andy asked as we pulled up to Jake's house.

"No I'm fine I'm just going to take a shower and go lay down. Hey will you call me if you hear anything from Jake?" I asked as I climbed out of the Jeep.

"Yea sure no problem. What's your number?" He asked as he pulled out his phone.

I gave him my number and walked into the house. I walked around the house in hopes that Jake had came back here, but to my dismay he wasn't. I sighed as I ran the water for my bath and sat on the side of the tub waiting for it to fill up. I sat my phone on the side of the tub and stripped out of my clothes. I let out a loud sigh as I sank into the warm water. I sat there in silence and just let my mind wander until the water started to get cold. I wrapped a towel around me and stepped out of the tub and looked at my phone.

I walked into my room and slowly started to get dressed in a pair of boy shorts and a tank top. I closed the blinds since there was still light outside and I turned off the lights. I laid in bed closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take over, but unfortunately every time I closed my eyes my mind started to play events of my past. I laid in bed and silently cried as I remembered the night that we moved away from Jake and how he refused to talk to me for months after that. I literally had to be dragged away kicking and screaming and how Jake chased my Mom's car down the road. He was my first friend and he was my best friend. He had always been there for me when I needed him, maybe I was being selfish not letting him come see me when I was in the hospital. I let out a loud sob when I thought about the look on his face this afternoon and the pain in his eyes before he walked away.

I felt the bed dip down beside me and a pair of familiar tattooed arms wrap around me. "Shh... it's okay. Don't cry Jade. I hate to see you cry especially when I know it's my fault. I'm not mad at you I just wish I could have been there for you. You're my baby sister and my best friend you have been since I can remember. I was mad at first, but then it dawned on me that you were doing what you thought was best for me. I remembered how even when we were kids you put other people want and needs before your own, so why should I expect any different now." He said as he kissed the top of my head.

"I'm sorry..." I said barely above a whisper. "I just ...I just ... I don't want to lose you again. I didn't know how bad off I was when I talked to you I was heavily drugged. I didn't want to call you back and freak you out again. I didn't want to ruin your chances of becoming a rock star."I sobbed into his chest.

"Why do you think you're going to lose me again?" He asked holding me an arms length away so he could look me in the eyes.

"When you walked away today. It reminded me of when I left and you didn't talk to me for months. I was afraid you were going to do that again. I just ... I really need you right now Jake. I know he's dead, but I'm still afraid. Stay with me?" I managed to get out in between sobs.

Jake pulled off his pants and shit and crawled into be with me. "Shhh... it's okay Jade. I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon. I swear I won't let anybody hurt you ever again. Now go get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up." Jake said with a yawn as he pulled the blanket over the two of us and I snuggled closer to him.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I heard a feminine voice yell. I opened my eyes and squinted against the bight ceiling light that had just been turned on. "At least you were nice enough not to fuck some tramp in our bed you used the guest bedroom." She said her voice dripping with sarcasm. I couldn't help but laugh even I knew I shouldn't.

"Emily! Emily! It's not what it looks like this is my sister." Jake said as he jumped out of bed.

"This is not your sister Jake I have met your sister!" Emily screeched. "You even kept your boxers on did I walk in too early." I had to bight my lip hard not to bust out laughing.

"Do you remember how I told you about Payton?" He asked.

She thought for a second the anger slightly leaving her face. "This is Payton? You ... sister? I thought..." She began but I cut her off.

"Hi?" I said kind of worried if I should be talking or not. I climbed out of bed and walked towards her. "I'm Payton Maddox. I'm sorry I didn't mean to freak you out. It's just I started crying and Jake came in here to comfort me and I asked him to stay with me. I would never have sex with him in a million years." I said with a nervous laugh.

"But you left like 5 years ago and you haven't seen him since why are you here?" She asked confused.

"You don't have to answer that." Jake replied giving her a pointed look.

"Oh shut up Jake I'm not going to come between y'all. My father died a couple months ago so I don't have to hide anymore. I got a job offer here and Jake said I could stay with him. I can stay in a hotel if it bothers you. I'm sorry I thought he told you." I said with a frown.

"No he didn't say anything all he said is that he had a surprise for me when I got back from my parents. I'm guessing you're the surprise." She said with a slight chuckle. "Hi I'm Emily. Sorry for freaking out like that on you."

"Oh don't worry it's no problem. I would freak out even worse then that if I had been in your shoes." I said as I hugged her back.

"Jake next time you have a girl who your girlfriend hasn't met staying at your house you might want to tell her." I said with a laugh.