Saviour

Ashley’s POV

We arrived early to Colorado where we were meeting the third band who was co-headlining the tour with us. We stopped at a bar that a few of the members worked at. When we walked in, I saw two teenage boys, maybe 17 in age, working behind the counter. All of us – us being my band and Avenged Sevenfold – walked up and sat down.
“Are you guys from Confessional High?” Matt asked.
“Yeah I’m Mark and this is McKenzie. Just a second and we can get another member.” Mark said as he was tying an apron around his waist. As we were waiting we ordered some food.
Another boy walked in but he wasn’t dressed like the other two. The first two were wearing black button up shirts and black jeans whereas this one was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
“This is Deavon he’s our lead singer’s cousin. Babe can you get Em?” Mark asked.
“Beautiful!” McKenzie called out and a moment later a beautiful girl around the boys’ age walked out with her shirt almost completely unbuttoned. When she saw us she stopped and blushed. She stood there for about a minute which gave me plenty of time to stare at her beautiful stomach. She hurriedly buttoned the rest of her shirt while still blushing.
“Nice one Em” the new guy, Deavon, said sarcastically.
“Deavon my offer still stands from last night” the beautiful girl stated which caused Deavon to pale instantly. It made me wonder what her offer was.
“I’m good thanks though” Deavon said before running off somewhere. Mark and Em laughed. I liked her laugh a lot. It was pretty.
“Emmy!” someone called from the back and as she walked back there she tied an apron around her waist.
“Coming Nicky!” moments later she walked out with her arms loaded with plates. Probably the food we ordered.
“Gorgeous will you help me with these?” she asked and McKenzie took some of the plates off her arm. They loaded them all up on plates and each took one. Em went towards the tables behind us and McKenzie handed our food out to us.
“That was Em. She’s our lead guitarist” McKenzie said after Brian asked who that was.
“Is that short for something?” Jinxx asked.
“Emerald but she hates it so much.” Mark stated.
“It’s a beautiful name though” Andy commented.
“She’s a strange one."
“You’re one to talk Deavon” McKenzie retaliated.
“Whatever,” Deavon sulked. Another boy walked in who was dressed like Mark and McKenzie.
“Emmy-cakes!!” the boy called as he tackled Emerald into a hug.
“Easy there Jimmy-cakes” Emerald said as she hit the ground. I watched her bite back a groan as McKenzie, Mark and an older man who had just walked out looked over at her worried.
“I’m sorry Emmy” the boy said as he helped her up.
“Don’t worry about it. No harm no foul right?” she said as she straightened her clothes out.
“You sure nothing’s hurt?” he asked as Emerald took a seat on a stool that was behind the bar.
“You guys worry too much. Where’s Nina when I need her?” Emerald asked.
“Detention” Deavon stated.
“Again? For what?” Mark and Emerald asked at the same time. The two high-fived each other and acted like it was nothing.
“Every time you do that I always expect Em to demand that you make her a drink of some sorts. And her math teacher hates her still” Deavon said.
“I only do that to you” Emerald said before looking around.
“Are you hungry Emmy?” the older man, probably the owner of the bar, asked her as she grabbed a glass and made some sort of mixed soda drink.
“Sure thanks Nicky” She said as she stole a couple extra cherries and quickly ate them.
“I saw that child” Nicky laughed as he made his way back into the kitchen. Emerald laughed and told him that she had no idea what he was talking about.
“You know if you didn’t ‘forget’ your lunch at home you wouldn’t need Nicky to make you food” Mark commented. The way that he said that made me wonder if she starved herself. She was extremely thin.
“That takes half the fun out of it. I would have to give Nicky another reason to make me food” she said jokingly.
“Where’s Danny?” she asked; I wondered who Danny was. Maybe their singer?
“He left school early and didn’t give us an excuse. As far as I knew there was no family emergency” Deavon said before Emerald started singing “The Mortician’s Daughter.”
“We booked our flight those years ago, I said “I love you,” as I left you. Regrets still haunt my hollow head, but I promised you that I will see you again, again. I sit her and smile dear. I smile because I think of you and I blush. These bleeding hollow dials… this fuss. A fuss is made of miles and travels when roadways are but stones and gravel. A bleeding heart can conquer every crutch.” She sang softly and refilled all of the bottles that were open. She turned around and blushed again. We were all watching her because she had a beautiful voice. She just turned back around and finished what she was doing.
“You should sing more Sweat Pea” I heard a voice say. I watched as Emerald got really excited and turned around.
“Grandpa!” she exclaimed and rushed around the bar to hug the old man that was standing next to Andy.
“Hey there Sweat Pea” Emerald’s grandpa said as he squeezed her.
“You’re looking better than the last time I saw you” he said as he followed her around the bar to where she was sitting.
“Yep everything is better now” she said happily. Was she really happy though? There was a hint of sadness in her eyes as she said that.
“How’s school going?” her grandpa asked.
“It’s going. Only two more days” she said enthusiastically as she made him some sort of alcoholic drink.
“And then four months off” McKenzie continued just as enthusiastically.
“And then nine months of torture again” Mark deadpanned.
“You have nothing to complain about. You have half days everyday” she told him just as Nicky brought out her food.
“You want anything dad?” Nicky asked after Emerald thanked him. Emerald’s grandpa shook his head. So they were related.
“I’m fine Nick.” Emerald’s grandpa said before taking a large gulp of his drink. I watched as Emerald took a large bite out of her smothered fries.
“Have you been eating enough Sweat Pea? You look thinner than you did last time” Her grandpa asked worriedly.
“I’m fine grandpa. Nicky won’t let me starve” she said before taking another bite.
“I worry about you is all. When was the last time you went home?” he asked.
“Yesterday” she said plainly.
“Was that before or after you went to Mike’s?” Mark jumped in.
“Before. And before you ask I was there for two hours.” After that she walked away.
“She always has hated talking about her problems” her grandpa said.
“I’m aware” Mark stated.
“Who’s Danny?” Jinxx asked.
“Our lead singer and Deavon’s cousin” Mark answered shortly.
“Is there a place we can smoke?” Andy asked after a few minutes of silence. Although I don’t smoke I decided to follow Andy outside anyways. After getting directions we walked out only to find Emerald curled up against the brick wall. She looked up briefly and I could see the tears in her eyes. When she looked back down, Andy and I shared a worried look. Why did we care? Because she seemed hurt and in need of someone who she didn’t know very well.
“You know they are just worried” Andy commented. Emerald looked up again and nodded.
“I don’t need them to worry. And I don’t want to talk about it” she said before either of us could ask any questions about it.
“It’s okay to cry you know” I said. She just shook her head.
“As much as you may not want to talk about it, you need it. You are surrounded by people who will listen to you and help you.” Andy said after a few more minutes of silence.
The door opened and Jinxx silently asked us if everything was alright. We both shook our heads no and he closed the door. Emerald let out a shaky sigh. Andy walked over and wrapped his arm around Emerald as she started to cry. I sat down on the other side of her and started to rub her back as she leaned into Andy. We stayed with her until she finished crying. It broke me to see tears on her face though.
When we went back inside Emerald ignored all questions that were directed towards her about what had just happened. She seemed tired and the more questions that were thrown at her seemed to make her more pissed off.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it Sweet Pea?” her grandfather asked her. He was starting to get on my nerves with the amount of times he’s asked her that question.
“There’s nothing to talk about” She said tiredly.
“Are you going to go home tonight?” he asked her. I saw her tense up again.
“No” she said plainly before walking off somewhere.
“The boys will make sure she goes home dad” Nicky said as he gave a pointed look to Mark, McKenzie, and Deavon. When Nicky and his father left the three boys laughed.
“It’s your turn Deavon.” Mark commented.
“Fuck no it’s not. The last time that I tried to get her to go home she almost tore my arm off. It’s your turn” Deavon retaliated.
“Babies” I heard a female voice comment as she walked up to them. She gave each of the boys a hug and kissed Deavon’s cheek.
“You take her home then” Mark said.
“Hey baby doll I’m taking you home tonight” the she shouted towards the back.
“Sure whatever” I heard Emerald shout back.
“How do you manage to do that? If I even mention her going home she freaks out and does everything she can to not have to go home.” Deavon asked.
“I have my ways dear. Plus unlike you fucks I stay with her if there’s no one home and if there is then I grab her stuff and take her to my place. And by the way, she’ll be practically sleeping by the time her shift ends. She hasn’t been sleeping well all week.” The girl said confidently.
“And why hasn’t she been sleeping?” Nicky asked as he walked back out.
“Who knows with her? She told me that she wasn’t sleeping but she couldn’t remember what she did instead. It doesn’t matter though. When we leave for tour Friday I’ll make sure she gets some sleep.”
“What would the band ever do without you Nina?” Nicky asked.
“Loose rhythm and possibly kill each other?” she said with a smile. McKenzie flipped her off.
“The only one I would be afraid of actually succeeding in killing me would be Em. She would be the one who would get homicidal before the first month.” Mark said laughing.
“I’d kill Deavon first.” Emerald said as she walked back to the bar.
“Why me?” Deavon complained.
“Because you annoy me more than Danny, Mark, and McKenzie. And if I killed Nina I’m not quite sure what would happen.” Emerald said as she hugged Nina.
“Tired yet?” Nina asked. Emerald nodded before sitting down and putting her head in between her hands.
“You wanna go home or to my place? Mom’s gonna be there” Nina asked.
“Neither.”
“Wanna go to Mark’s then?” at this Emerald nodded. Nina rubbed her back until Emerald fell asleep.
“Call her house and see if anyone’s home” Nina commanded. Mark pulled out his phone and dialed a number. After a few minutes he hung up.
“No one answered” he said. “You gonna take her home?”
“Yeah; it’s closer to the school and I don’t want her to fall asleep in class again.”
“She falls asleep in class because math is boring and we don’t do a whole lot in there.” McKenzie commented.
“That’s beside the point. Give her a book and she’ll be happy.”
“And Kristen hates it when she falls asleep. Monday she slept through most of the day. She never sleeps through art.” Mark commented.
“I thought art was on Tuesdays and Thursdays” Deavon asked.
“She has art on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She has music on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” Mark told him.
“What does her schedule look like next year?” Nina asked.
“Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays she has psychology and math then a bunch of CCA classes and Tuesdays and Thursdays she has Civics and more CCA classes.” McKenzie stated.
“What CCA classes is she taking?”
“English comp 1, astronomy, US history 1, and some other one that I forget.” Mark said.
“Sign language” McKenzie stated.
“She knows sign language already” Deavon asked.
“She needs a foreign language and that’s what she chose.”
“Alright her shift is over. Make sure she gets home. And Nina you should go home to since your mom is in town.” Nicky said as he walked in.
“Fuck that I am not dealing with her shit tonight. I’ll make sure Em gets home Nicky.”
“Do you guys have anywhere to stay since you’re here early?” Mark asked.
“We were going to stay on the buses” Matt stated.
“Nope Em’s house is empty. She won’t care if you stay there.” Nina said before walking out.
“There really is no point in arguing with Nina. She won’t take no as an answer.” Mark stated as he watched Andy open his mouth to say something.
“What about the buses?” CC asked.
“Park them at her house. There’s a place that we can park them in where no one will see them.” Deavon said as he started grabbing stuff.
“Should we wake her or…” Mark questioned.
“If you wake her up Nina will bitch at you. Em might not get back to sleep if she realizes we’re taking her home.” McKenzie stated.
“I can carry her. I doubt she weighs that much” Matt said as he walked around the bar and gently picked up Emerald. All of us walked out towards the buses and followed the group of kids as they drove towards Emerald’s house.
“Ashley’s got a crush!” CC announced as soon as we started driving. I rolled my eyes but smiled a little.
“Well you’ll be seeing her a lot more in the next three months.” Andy said supportively.
The rest of the ride consisted of the guys making fun of me for liking Emerald but I just brushed it off. When we arrived at Emerald’s house we all walked into the house and stopped dead in our tracks.
“When they said it was empty I wasn’t expecting it to be this empty” Jake said as we all looked around the bare living room. There were a couple of couches, a loveseat, an entertainment center, and a couple of chairs but not much else. There were a few family portraits hanging on the plain white walls but not a whole lot more.
“She hates it here because it doesn’t feel like a home.” McKenzie said as he closed the door behind us.
“Where is her bedroom?” Matt asked quietly. I looked over at him to see that he was still carrying a sleeping Emerald.
“Follow me” Nina said as she walked past us. We all followed her to what I guessed was the basement. The atmosphere in the basement was much different than the living room. The walls were black with neon green, hot pink, neon purple, neon orange, and neon blue splattered on them. There were pictures everywhere and a couple of guitars were placed on the walls. Nina led us through the first room into another one, almost the same size, that held a giant queen sized bed with zebra patterned bedding, a couple of cherry oak dressers, a cheery oak desk, and decorated walls everywhere. There was a futon against one wall which had a bunch of stuffed animals displayed on it. One thing we all noticed was the three poster boards hanging above her bed which had multiple pictures of me collaged together.
“She’s got you on her wall Purdy” Jinxx stated with a quiet laugh. None of us wanted to wake Emerald up. Everyone laughed at that.
“Mark, get me one of her hoodies will you” Nina asked while Matt set Emerald on the bed gently. Nina set to work on taking her boots and socks off.
“Fuck I hate this uniform” Nina said as she pulled Emerald’s skirt off and began unbuttoning the shirt.
“Zip up or pull over?” Mark asked.
“I don’t care” Nina said as she pulled Emerald’s shirt off of her and threw all of her dirty clothes into a hamper. Mark threw a hoodie at Nina who, with the help of Matt, put it on Emerald.
“You guys act like you’ve never seen a girl almost naked before” McKenzie commented with a laugh as he walked in. We were all trying not to look at them as they undressed and redressed Emerald. He started taking the stuffed animals off the futon and setting them on the floor next to it.
“You know if she sees that you did that she’s gonna be pissed” Nina commented.
“Eh she’ll get over it.” He said with a shrug. He handed a stuffed lion to Nina who put it next to Emerald’s pillow. We watched as Emerald curled up into her blankets and her hand blindly reached for something.
“It’s by your pillow beautiful” McKenzie stated without looking at her bed. Emerald grabbed the lion and cuddled it to her chest.
“Turn off the damn lights” She mumbled in her sleep. Nina laughed and shooed us all out before turning off the lights. Then she went around and figured out where everyone was going to sleep.
“Ashley do you mind staying in Em’s room?” Nina asked since I was the only one left and she didn’t want to give anyone the couches since “they were uncomfortable to sleep on.”
“That’s fine” I said calmly. I was excited though.
“She might wake you up. If she does just come get me” Nina told me as she led me back into Em’s room. She told me where she was sleeping and left me to go to sleep. I took the pillow and blanket that was left on the futon and started making a bed.
“Ashley?” I heard Emerald say. I looked over to see her sitting up in bed.
“Do you need something?” I asked calmly.
“Is this where Nina had you sleep?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah is that okay?” I asked her.
“The futon isn’t all that comfortable. That’s why the stuffed animals were there. If you want the bed can fit both of us” she said as she slid over. I hesitated before agreeing and walking over to the bed. I took off my boots and shirt as I walked over. I was about to take my pants off when I realized that I wasn’t sure if she would be comfortable with that.
“Go ahead. I don’t care if you want to take them off” she said as she lay back down.
“Thank you” I told her as I took my pants off and climbed into bed. She smiled before closing her eyes and pulling the blanket back up to her shoulder. I got comfortable and tried to get to sleep.
“Do you mind if I cuddle you?” she asked quietly. Despite myself I smiled.
“Go ahead” I told her and a minute later her head was lying on my chest and her arms were wrapped around me. I smiled and gently wrapped my arms around her waist. I felt her smile against my chest. I waited until she was asleep before I allowed myself to drift to sleep.