All or Nothing

Eliza took a deep breath in and looked at herself in the foggy mirror. She ran a hand over it to wipe away some of the mist, but it just came back.

“Just take a day for yourself,” Katie had said before she closed the front door, off to do her own errands.

Eliza took one last look at the mirror before opening the door to the guest room in Zacky and Katie’s house. The room itself felt too empty or too big or something for her tastes; either way, she scrunched up her nose whenever she was in the room, but she was glad that she had it.

After the police had arrested Jocelyn and Alex both, Hunter and Dominic had come to her to suggest a hiatus on the band. She tried to apologize to Hunter about Jocelyn, but he just smiled sadly and shook his head, saying she should go to the West coast to get some fresh air. She immediately had agreed, knowing she needed a break from the chaos.

Now, she took her time getting ready. She made sure she looked especially good. She barely had any eye makeup on, she let her hair naturally dry, and she pulled on a summer-ish dress. The weather in California was vastly different from New York this time of the year, and Eliza had missed the warmth of the California sun on her skin. Looking at her reflection, she glanced at the dress she was wearing and realized she had worn it to Val and Matt’s engagement party, and how not-so-well that day had turned out. She was determined to make this day different.

She climbed into the driver’s seat of her faithful grey Mustang, and started the engine up, the sounds of Korn blasting through her speakers. She smiled at the memory of listening to the song with Katie in the months before everything went sour.

She used the rest of the day for herself, just like Katie had suggested. She went to the mall to poke around, got her eyebrows done, and she’d even sat through a pedicure even though she was extremely ticklish on her feet. As she let the technician work on her manicure, she thought about what she was going to do next.

Earlier that morning, she’d called her friend Elsie, who’d been doing her hair before she dyed it black. After leaving the nail salon, she walked into Elsie’s salon with a big picture of what she wanted done to her hair. After assuring Elsie that she was positive, they set to work on getting it right.

Several hours later, she hugged Elsie goodbye and she got into her car to meet Katie for dinner. She’d text Eliza an hour before, suggesting they get dinner, saying that she didn’t want to eat alone and wanted Eliza there; Eliza hadn’t disagreed.

She found a parking space next to Katie and when she got out she knew she’d shocked Katie with her new hair.

“Holy shit,” Katie said as she came around the car to see Eliza. “I love it!”

“Really? I was afraid it was going to be too much,” Eliza said and reached a hand up to run through her tresses.

Katie came closer and ran her fingers through Eliza’s new hair. The top was a dark brownish burgundy that faded into dark pink, hot pink, and a light pink at the tips. It had taken hours, but Eliza knew it was worth it. She’d have to go see Elsie at least every week, if not every other week, but in the long run, she loved her hair.

“What time are they supposed to get here?” Eliza asked as they made their way down Main Street to Baja Sharkeez.

“Eight thirty,” Katie replied as they pushed past the people walking, ignoring the catcalls from the guys sitting outside at the restaurant and the one next to it.

“It’s a Monday,” Eliza whisper-yelled as they made their way to the doors. “Why are guys out like this? Go home.”

Katie laughed as they were led to their table. They enjoyed their meal just talking and laughing, making Eliza wish things would go back to the way they had been even more.

Once they were done with their meal, they took their time heading back to their cars, walking around the shops on Main Street, stepping inside of a couple.

Their stomachs full and their wallets a bit lighter, they made their way to the house where the guys and Val were headed after they dropped off their equipment at the studio. They had a month until their next concert and when Eliza had heard that, she almost went back to New York, but decided against it. She was going to have to face Brian at some point and she wasn’t going to seem like the weaker one.

Katie announced they were on their way to the house and Eliza’s heart started up double-time. When the front door opened, she forgot to breathe. In walked four guys and one female. She immediately went to Val and hugged her before turning to the guys and hugging them. A little too late, she realized Brian wasn’t in the house, but she didn’t want to seem like she was looking for them, so she moved with Jimmy to the kitchen. She’d just taken a sip of her beer when she heard Brian holler from the front door.

“Fuck, it feels good to be home!” he said as he hugged Katie.

Eliza took a step back so she was visible through the door. Their eyes connected and the smile on his face got a bit smaller. She raised an eyebrow at him and then stepped away from the doorway to finish her conversation with Jimmy.

“What are you doing, Cheese?” Jimmy asked, softly.

“What do you mean?”

“Go talk to him, Eliza.”

“Jim, it’s not that easy—”

“Yes, it is, Eliza. I guarantee it would clear up a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

Before Jimmy could reply Matt stepped into the kitchen.

“We’re going to Johnny’s, guys,” he said looking at the both of them.

“Hell yeah!” Jimmy said.

“No thanks,” Eliza said and smiled softly.

“You sure?” Matt asked.

“I’m sure. I’m really tired. You guys go and have fun. I’m glad you’re home,” she said and hugged Matt before hugging Jimmy.

Brian watched from the doorway as Eliza made her way towards them. She said goodnight to the rest of the guys and her glance fell on him. From underneath her dress, part of her tattoo was visible and he vaguely remembered his fingers tracing the words on her chest, her eyes looking up at him with passion. He loved what she’d done to her hair and almost said something to her about it, but she turned and headed up the stairs. When everyone else started heading out the door, he realized she wasn’t coming with them and his mood immediately dampened.



The next morning, all the guys met up at Jimmy’s house. Zacky and Katie were the last to show up, and Katie rushed in, looking like she was about to cry.

“What's wrong?" Matt immediately asked.

"Eliza's missing..."