It's Called Warped Because Hell Was Already Taken

The brightness was astonishing.
I opened my eyes, nearly blinded by the whiteness of the room.
What the fuck?
Oh.
Why the fuck am I in a hospital?
Shifting a little in the bed, sharp touches of pain coursed through my body; causing the memories to come flooding in.
Zack.
He did this.
“Ashley…” I mumbled under my breath.
“Speak up Andy.” I voice prodded.
It was then I realized I wasn’t alone.
Looking around the room, my gaze drifted from Jake to Jinxx to Bailey to Ryan.
A smile formed on my lips when I saw Ronnie. He’s okay.
I’m okay.
Making a visual full circle, my frown disappeared into a frown.
“Where’s CC?” I asked, trying to keep in a yawn.
It was Jinxx who answered me, discomfort clear on his face.
“That’s….a long story. He’s back at the tour bus.”
What had happened?
My frown deepened when I realized Ashley wasn’t there either.
My baby.
“Ashley…” I breathed, loud enough to be heard.
“I’m sure he’s back on the tour bus with CC.” Jinxx was assuring me. “Or maybe with Danny and Ben.”
I could feel my heart break a little more.
They didn’t know what happened to Ashley…and I was the one who had to tell them. They were probably still getting over the scare of my possibility of being comatose.
Now this?
I’m a terrible friend.
“No…” I began. I had to stop, forcing myself to keep the tears from falling. “Ashley’s dead.”
I closed my eyes, I didn’t want to see their reactions.
“W-what?” I heard Jake question.
Opening my eyes slowly, I could see everyone had gone several shades paler.
Especially Jinxx.
He feels like he’s the bands father, and he’s probably thinking he failed at it.
“It isn’t your fault.” I whispered.
I tried to reach out to him, but a fluid drip was taped to my arm, keeping me back.
“I know…”
I was too tired to keep thinking about this. I didn’t want to see the agony on their faces.
Closing my eyes, I let myself drift of to sleep.
I’d deal with this later.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was another day.
I had slept all of yesterday away.
Kellin, Bailey and Jake weren’t in the room. Neither was Ryan.
Ronnie and Jinxx were huddled together in a conversation. From what I could hear, Jinxx was filling him in what happened.
“Jinxx?” I called out softly.
He stood up instantly, rushing to my side.
“You’re awake!” he smiled.
I reached out, grabbing his hand. I realized I was no longer attached to the IV.
“Morning Andy.” Ronnie smiled.
I felt safer when they were surrounding me.
It’s silly, but I felt like a small child at the moment. I needed comfort.
“Where’s everyone?” I asked.
“Kellin and Bailey left last night. Jake and Ryan went to get coffee.” Jinxx answered me.
“Oh.”
I let out a yawn, stretching lightly.
“Don’t tell me you’re still tired.” Ronnie joked.
“A little.” I admitted.
“You’ll be able to sleep on the bus.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah. You’re allowed to leave now, we were just waiting for you to wake up. We had to cancel our last show in Oregon, so now we’ve just got the long 26 hour drive to California.” Jinxx made a face.

“Andy!”
Jinxx was helping me out of Jon’s car, when Bailey spotted me.
We were back at the venue, basically abandoned.
The only other bus besides ours was Falling in Reverse’s.
“Hey Bailey.” I greeted her tiredly.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, embracing me gingerly.
“Tired. Sore. Glad to be going home.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be home soon.” she told me before hugging Jinxx.
“So everyone left?” I asked, looking around.
“Warped Tour is over.” Jinxx reminded me. “Falling in Reverse and us were the only ones who didn’t do the last show. That’s why Kellin left. His manager wouldn’t allow them to miss the show.”
“Oh.”
“Come on, let’s go inside.”

Followed by Jake, Bailey, and Ronnie, we stepped inside the tour bus.
“CC?” Jinxx called out.
There wasn’t a reply from him.
“I’ll call him.” I suggested.
A minute later, I tossed my phone on the couch. “It went straight to voicemail.” I informed the guys and Bailey.
“Well, while we wait for him to come back, I suggest we talk about what happened.” Jake began.
I kept quiet.
I didn’t want to think about Ashley. He was dead, why did it matter?
“Andy,” Jinxx started. “What exactly happened two days ago?”
“I was leaning against the stage, and Zack appeared. He started hitting me, and made me…do things.” I swallowed back tears. “He kept hitting me, talking about how he loves me. I kept thinking about Ashley. I was finally going to forgive him, but then he told me he was dead…I was passing out when Bailey came.”
I stopped then. I couldn’t remember much of what happened after that.
Besides, they already knew this part of the story from Kellin and Bailey.
“It’s going to be okay Andy.” Jinxx had his arms wrapped around me protectively.
“How would Zack know Ashley’s dead?” Jake mused.
“Unless…” Ronnie spoke up.
“Unless what?” I asked, my voice muffled by Jinxx’s shirt.
“Unless Zack’s responsible for Ashley’s death.”
“You mean murder?” Bailey gasped out.
“Yeah…”
I didn’t speak my opinion. The tears were falling fast, soaked up by Jinxx’s black shirt.
“I’m sorry.” I sniffed pitifully.
“It’s fine Andy.” Jinxx assured me.
He kept rubbing slow circles on my back, and I had to admit it helped calm me down.
“The barbeque was the last time I saw Ashley…” Jake added.
“That was days ago!” I sat up.
“We haven’t left the venue since. We had a day off when we arrived, and that’s the last we saw Ashley…drunk.”
I swallowed.
“I shouldn’t have told him to fuck off.” I began crying again. “I should have forgiven him then, like you told me too.” I looked at Ronnie.
“Don’t start blaming yourself.” he warned, hugging me from the side.
“It’s kind of hard not to.” I mumbled.
“Calm down Andy.” Jinxx whispered softly.
“Is there anything else that could help us?” Jake asked.
“He was with Hannah…and he was getting pissed that she wouldn’t leave.” Bailey spoke up.
“Could she have anything to do with it?” Ronnie asked.
“She’s dating Zack.” I blurted out.
“What?!”
“The other day…when Zack found me. He was asking how I felt that Ashley had cheated on me with his girlfriend.” I said slowly.
“They’re working together!”
“With Ashley out of the picture, Zack could have you all too himself! If Bailey hadn’t found you, you would have been his next victim.”
“Remind me to tell you how much I love you.” Jinxx told his little sister.
She beamed for a second, before her eyebrows furrowed down in thought.
“Andy.” Jake caught my attention.
“What?” I asked, afraid of what he was going to say.
“You need to tell the police. If we’re correct, you could be dealing with a potential murderer. Even if he didn’t, you still need to report him for assault, and possibly stalking.”
I nodded.
How did this end up happening?
A few months ago, I was completely happy with Ashley, headlining our first Warped Tour.
Now, my boyfriend was dead and I had a crazed psychopath after me!
Tears running steadily down my cheeks, I leaned against Jinxx.
He kept me calm.
There’s a reason why he acts like the authority figure of the band; he just has that aura surrounding him.
He makes you feel safe.
Which is what I needed right now.
We spent a few minutes in silence, mulling over the conversation. The situation.
The possibilities.
“Where, where do you think Ashley’s body is?” Jake asked cautiously, bringing a new wave of tears.
“I don’t know.” I replied dully. “We’ll let the police figure that one out.”
“Situations! Are irrelevant now!” my cell phone started blaring out from it’s place on the couch.
Ronnie smirked, handing it to me.
“Nice ring tone.” he laughed, trying to break the tense mood.
I answered it, putting it on speaker.
I didn’t even bother checking the Caller I.D.
“Hello?” I spoke into the receiver.
“Andy?” the tiny voice sounded out.
Everyone sat up taller when they recognized the voice.
“CC?” I asked. “Where are you?”
I looked at the others, who stared at the phone in my hand in interest.
“Guys!” CC’s voice rang out.
“What?” Jinxx asked, confused by his tone.
“Guys! Ashley’s not dead!” Christian blurted out.
The line disconnected.