Wanted

Frowning, Eliza took off her necklaces, rings, and the two metal bracelets and set them inside the black and silver jewelry box sitting in the back of the bus. As she set the final bracelet inside, she looked at the empty spot next to it.

“Stop worrying about it.”

Eliza whirled around to see Wiki coming into the back room. She shut the door behind her and immediately started to change out of her concert clothes. They’d converted the back area into their “changing room” after concerts. Eliza sighed and followed suit, pulling clothes out of one of her bags.

“I’m trying not to.”

“It’ll turn up,” Wiki said, smiling sadly.

Eliza nodded and changed into her own set of shorts and shirt. Once she was finished, Wiki opened the door and walked up front. Eliza made her way to the bathroom to take her makeup off, yawning the whole time.

Currently, they were in Utah. The entire group was pretty tired and the whole tour convoy was heading straight to the road to begin the excruciatingly long journey to California…or so Eliza thought it seemed. She knew it wasn’t long at all, but the thought of being able to see her friends within hours excited her. Not only that, but they would be seeing her open for Korn. Of course, they’d seen Avenged play, but this was different. There were five days between that moment and her show in San Diego which meant plenty of time for seeing them.

Climbing into her bunk, Eliza’s eyes landed on her jewelry box and she couldn’t help but think about it again.

“Where did it go?”



The next morning, Jonathan Davis followed Munky into the Shades of Grey tour bus. Everyone else was already awake and gone to breakfast, but they knew that Eliza was still inside, sleeping. The camera in his hand gave away whatever they had planned, but they didn’t care who saw them as they made their way through the bus.

Eliza was facing the opening of the bunk with one hand under her head and one by her side with her palm upwards. She was breathing lightly and they tried not to laugh as they got into position. Munky lifted the air horn close to her bunk, but not too close. Counting off on his fingers, he pressed down on the top of it, piercing the silence with the obscene sound.

Unfortunately, he didn’t plan it well, considering Eliza’s foot shot straight out and connected with his crotch. Munky fell back into Jonathan who fell over as well. Eliza shot out of the bunk, her chest heaving as she stared at the two in a heap.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“Oh, my God,” Munky cried, holding his crotch, rolling around.

Behind him, Jonathan was laughing hysterically.

“You guys are fucking retarded,” she said, shaking her head.

“You better hope Evis doesn’t want kids,” Munky cried, crawling on the floor.

Eliza and Jonathan laughed. She walked to the back of the bus and pulled on a hoodie and found her flip-flops. She jogged through the bus and down the steps to catch up with Jonathan and Munky.

“Now that you woke me up, asshole, you get to buy me breakfast.”

Munky turned around just as she jumped on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he grabbed onto her legs, carrying her across the parking lot.

“Guess what it is?” Eliza asked.

“No,” Munky replied only, knowing what was coming.

“It’s a party in the U.S.A!” Eliza sang in Munky’s ear.

“I swear if you don’t shut up,” he grumbled.

“You love it,” she said, smiling. “Jon, I want pancakes.”

Jonathan looked over from his phone. “Okay.”

“You’ve sang that song this entire trip,” Munky finished his complaint.

“It’s only been a month!”

“Jon, we’re not bringing them back on tour ever,” Munky said, running into his lead singer.

“What?” Jonathan asked, looking up from his phone.

“This thing,” Munky said, shifting Eliza on his back. “We’re not bringing them on tour again.”

“You okay?” Eliza asked Jonathan.

“Yep, I’m good,” he said and put his phone in his pocket.



Eliza flicked her cigarette away from her as she got close to the bus. She pulled the door open and jogged inside.

“You really went to breakfast wearing that?”

Eliza’s head jerked up. Sitting mixed in with her band was Katie, Zacky, Val, and Matt. The slightly frown that was on her face melted away to a huge smile. Katie stood up first and they practically ran to each other.

“Holy shit, what are you doing here!?”

“Are you kidding me?” Matt asked as he came to hug her next. “You’re an hour and a half away from us and you really thought we weren’t going to come up here?”

“Well, no, but I wasn’t expecting you guys like right now.”

“Surprise, bitch!” Katie cried.

“We’re having a barbeque today,” Zacky explained. “So we came to kidnap you guys!”

“Technically, we came to kidnap you for like four days,” Matt said, shrugging.

Eliza smiled excitedly and went to the back where Wiki was furiously putting clothes into her suitcases.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?”

“Do you know how long I’ve waited to have a comfortable bed to sleep in?”

“Matt and Val’s beds aren’t that comfortable,” Eliza said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, I wasn’t…” Wiki started, but realizing what she was gonna say, she stopped.

“No, continue,” Eliza said and stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest. “I want to hear this.”

Wiki sighed, knowing she might as well go ahead and say it. “I’m staying with Johnny.”

Eliza’s eyes narrowed for a split second before growing wide. “I knew it!”

“Shh!” Wiki said, her eyes flickering to the door. “Shut the fuck up!”

“Oh, please,” Eliza said. “You act like those guys aren’t gonna know you fucked short shit by ten tonight.”

Wiki rolled her eyes, but turned to continue packing. Eliza put her stuff in her suitcase and Matt came back to help them carry them outside. Dominic and Eliza piled into Zacky’s car with Katie up front, and Wiki and Hunter got into the backseat of Matt’s car.

An hour and a half later, they turned down familiar roads to Eliza and she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face as they drove through Huntington.

“Hey, Zacky,” Dominic called, leaning forward. “Turn left down this next street.”

“Where are we going?” Eliza asked as Zacky made the turn.

“I wanna show you something,” he said as they drove past some houses.

“That brick one up there,” he said, pointing his finger through the front seats.

Zacky slowed to a stop in front of the house and all four heads turned to look at it. There were people moving furniture from a truck into the house.

“That’s pretty,” Katie said with a smile.

“Who lives here?” Eliza asked, gazing at the structure.

“I do,” Dominic replied, happily.

Eliza’s head whipped around to look at Dominic. “Excuse me?”

He smiled at her. “Nisa and I closed on the house just before we left New York.”

“I thought you two were moving somewhere else in New York?”

“Where the hell would we find a house in the city?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

“Wait…why are you moving to California? Won’t that fuck up things for us? What about the rest of the band?”

“Eliza…” Zacky started, but Dominic cleared his throat.

“We’re all moving to Huntington Beach. You brought us all together and we can see how much stress you’re under when it comes to seeing your friends and stuff. It’s been even more difficult for you since Jimmy died and we don’t want to put you through that, so everyone’s agreed and we’re moving to California. Wiki’s moving in with Arin, Hunter and Kelly already found an apartment, and Nisa and I found this place with the help of Zacky and Katie.”

“But what about your families?” Eliza asked, incredulous.

“My parents live in Chicago, so it wasn’t like I was close to them in the first place, and you know about Nisa’s parents. Hunter and Kelly seemed really okay with it, and Wiki’s parents live out here anyway. Eliza,” Dominic explained, pointing to Zacky and Katie. “This is your family. We’re your family too, but they were your family before us and we don’t like you being away from them. Hell, we think you write better when you’re around them and influenced by them.”

Eliza didn’t know what to say, couldn’t really say anything at all, but the smile on her face and the tear in her eyes said enough. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Dominic.



The moon was full and bright over the beach as the group of friends lounged on Matt and Val’s back deck. Beer bottles clinked and laughter as well as music floated away from the house. A soccer ball was being tossed around the group for a little bit of entertainment.

Eliza and Katie sat side by side on the railing of the deck, laughing quietly about something. Eliza’s hazel eyes scanned the group again, even though she knew he wasn’t there. Sighing, she leaned in to hear what Katie was telling her. They both glanced up as Munky and Johnny walked out of the house. Everyone was present…except Brian.

They hadn’t really talked since she’d been on tour but she figured with her being so close that he’d at least come and say hello to her, but she’d been there almost twelve hours and she hadn’t heard one word from him. Of course, she wasn’t going to be the first person to break the silence, but if something didn’t change soon, she was going to have to.

Swinging her legs back and forth, she looked down at her bottle to see that she was almost out of beer. Nodding at something Katie was saying, she had just decided to get up to get another drink when the soccer ball came barreling towards her head. Just in time, she was able to move to the side and her head whipped around to watch the ball go rolling down the sand. Quickly, she jumped off of the railing and went down the steps to chase after it.

The soccer ball rolled to a stop just before the surf and she bent down to retrieve it. As she was standing back up, something in the sand caught her eye. Looking closely, she was able to see a very large arrow drawn in the sand, illuminated by the moon.

Following the direction it was pointed, she saw another arrow drawn a little further down the beach. A yell from above her brought her attention away from the sand and she turned to see Zacky yelling for the ball. Dropping it, she kicked her foot out and let it soar towards him before she turned back to the sand.

Behind her, there were no more arrows, and confused, she started walking. She looked up and squinted to see anything in the dark ahead of her. A small orange light was ahead of her, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

Arrow after arrow came, leading her higher onto the beach. She wasn’t even sure if she should be following them or not, but she’d already gone pretty far from the house. She turned back to see Matt and Val’s house fading in the distance, but she could still hear everyone talking.

Continuing her walk, Eliza could see the small orange light was getting bigger and bigger and she realized it was a fire. As she got close enough to it, she could see a bench set up around it and music playing from somewhere. Looking up, she realized she was at her old house and lights were on inside.

Not knowing what to do, she backed up in the sand until she was further from the fire, in the shadows. Through the window into the kitchen she could see Brian moving around, doing something and her heart started to break. She wondered if he was having someone over, but she knew her friends would tell her if he was seeing someone. Still, she couldn’t help the thought from consuming her brain.

Startled by the sound of the door shutting, she looked up to see Brian jogging down the few steps from the deck onto the beach and headed for the fire. Scared to be caught there, she backed up further, until Brian’s voice rang out.

“You’re early, Eliza.”