You Never Know

Hannah sighed gently as she got out of her bed, her arms reached above her head to stretch out her body. Today she was going to the beach with her Uncle and baby cousin down in Huntington Beach. They were just going to hang out and have fun like they normally did. With a small grin Hannah hopped into the shower and turned up her music, Bat Country flowing through the air as her head tipped back to wash it.

“Caught here in a fiery blaze, won’t lose my will to stay. “ Hannah sang along to the music as she washed the shampoo out of her hair, sighing happily before climbing out of he shower. She was all shaved smooth, and clean, ready for her day at the beach with family.

Walking into her bedroom Hannah adjusted her new piercing in her belly button and bit on her bottom lip, looking at her image in the mirror with a small smile on her face. A while ago she wasn’t able to do that, but now? Now she was able to and loved every second of it.

Although Hannah was nineteen she still lived at home and hung out with her family as much as she could, it was a part of her recovery. Hannah has suffered from severe depression and anxiety basically all of her life. Her demons chase her wherever she goes but luckily she found something to fight them off with. Her love for Avenged Sevenfold and what they stand for. Hannah’s reasoning was that if they can get in front of thousands of people each night without one of their best friends and stay strong, she could stay strong herself and move on without her Papa.

Hannah’s Papa (grandfather) had passed away in front of her when she was just eleven years old. When Hannah turned fifteen she was put in a mental institution for suicidal ideation. In those lonely couple of months that she was in the mental hospital Hannah had her favorite jacket with her to keep her strong, her Avenged Sevenfold jacket. It may sound cliché but she loved that jacket with all that she had. It made her stronger somehow maybe it was like they were with her.

“Hannah! Come on Uncle Russ and Maddyn are here!” the girl was pulled from her thoughts, rushing around to get done and put stuff in her bag.

“I’m coming!” Hannah responded as she rushed down the stairs, her hair in a ponytail to show off her tattoo she got done last year. The tattoo was an anchor with the saying “everything’s gonna be okay” underneath it in a pretty script the artist had recommended. Hannah loved every little bit of it even if it hurt like a bitch.

She smiled at her mom and kissed her cheek, ruffling her younger brothers hair before running out the door to see her uncle’s SUV in front of her.

“Beach day!” Hannah grinned as she climbed into the front seat, turning around to see her two-year old cousin in her car seat in a little bathing suit looking as happy as ever.

“Han-ha!” Maddyn screeched happily when she saw the older of the two, kicking her tiny legs in the car seat.

Hannah’s uncle pulled out of the driveway and made their way to Main Street, Hannah bouncing in her seat excitedly as she fiddled with the music stations in the car. She could tell her uncle was starting to get annoyed with her because she turned off the sports station but he knew she was going to do that.

With a satisfied grin, Hannah relaxed in her seat when Pantera started to blast through the speakers. She was trying to bring her little cousin up on classic rock music with rock music of today, none of that pop shit that everyone seems to like so much. Hannah’s eyes looked around Main Street, watching the people riding their bikes as they passed the car.

Hannah’s uncle pulled into a spot with Maddyn bouncing in the background, excited to finally go out into the water with her older cousin. “Come on Maddyn!” Hannah giggled softly as she unbuckled the two-year old out of her small seat.

Once they were out of the car, Hannah carried her baby cousin to the sand right by the water, setting her down before sitting next to her. “Want to build a sand castle?” she asked the two year-old softly, earning a screech of excitement in return.
The two started to build their sand castles, her uncle waiting further away from the water where he set up three chairs and an umbrella. It was nice just to go out the three of them it was like the old days.

Maddyn’s interest in the sand castles was slowly starting to fade as time drew on, the two girls almost done with theirs. Hannah looked around the beach at the people, taking in all the different people that were there when a certain group caught her eye. They all had tattoos and were tossing a ball around so it seemed. They had their backs towards her but Hannah could have sworn she saw one of them having monster tattoos on one arm. One of the guys back turned to her, making her eyes pop out of their sockets it seemed like.

On his back was “Vengeance”, making it look like a jersey with a number underneath it. “Holy fuck..” Hannah whispered.

“Holy fuck?” Maddyn exclaimed, a w making its way into the bad word.

“No Maddyn! You don’t say that!” Hannah frowned and picked Maddyn up, walking towards her uncle nervously. “Uncle Russ, Avenged Sevenfold is here!” Her eyes were wide as she exclaimed this to her uncle.

Hannah’s uncle chuckled gently and rolled his eyes as he looked over at the group. “Why don’t you go say hi?” he asked softly, tilting his head in their direction.

“Because that would be creepy…” Hannah sighed softly and plopped down on the chair next to her uncle with a groan. It was times like this where her anxiety and self-image were getting in the way of things.

Suddenly her uncle got up with a grunt and walked over to the group, making Hannah’s eyes go wide. “Oh god no!” Hannah whimpered, pulling her baby cousin up to her so she could use her as a shield. By now she could feel all of the guys stares on her. It was an uncomfortable feeling, that was for sure, but one gaze made her feel, special it seemed. Maybe it was just because it was her favorite member. Hannah peeked over her cousin and grunted quietly seeing the huge group walking towards her slowly.
“Hey…” she heard someone talk to her, seeing that it was no one other then Synyster Gates standing in front of her. “I hear you’re a big fan?” he asked with a small smile, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hannah nodded her head slowly, taking in a deep breath before, lifting her cousin up so she was resting on her hip. “No!” Maddyn screeched at the man. “Hanha wikes Awenged Sevenfold!” she giggled proudly, causing all of the guys to laugh softly.

Hannah never thought she would have the chance to meet these guys, the guys that saved her life. When Hannah was put in the hospital all she could think of was getting out to listen to her music. It was what helped her through, well that and family of course. “I’m… yeah. I can’t believe you guys are standing in front of me. I’m sure a lot of people say this but you guy have saved my life…” Hannah mumbled the last part gently, glancing up to see Matt glancing down at her with his warm hazel eyes.

“Well, thank you for listening to our music.” Johnny piped in, a smile on his face.

The guys were more then nice to Hannah, making her love them even more then she did already. Something about them just made her feel welcomed, and loved. She didn’t know what it was but it happened and felt good.

Surprisingly the guys decided to stay and hang out with the small family, playing with the baby like it was one of their own. Hannah could honestly say, it was the best day of her life.