Carry On

When we got to the studio everyone was already there. The first person to greet me was Jimmy. He had run out of the booth, across the studio, and over a couch to pick me up and twirl me around, "Careful, she's sore," Dad warned and Jimmy immediately put me down, a sad look on his face.

He looked me all over, as if to check for any other damage before he placed a large kiss on my forehead. It was then that Johnny smacked him away so he could also give me a hug and well wishes before I got comfortable on the couch.

I crossed my arms, kicking my feet up on the coffee table as Dad sat down next to me, guitar in his lap. He motioned to Matt, who began to play the track through the speakers and Dad played along. I watched him as he did his runs, playing solos and sometimes even messing up, "Your wrist left wrist is arched too high," I mentioned between a music break. I swore I could see the corners of his mouth tug into a smile, but I was sure I was imagining it.

After four hours in the studio the office phone rang. As the rest of the band kept playing, Matt went to answer it in the other room. He was gone five minutes before he came back, a grim look on his face and a computer in his hand. "Brian," He stated darkly and I turned to Dad, who put his guitar down as Matt sat between us. He opened the laptop, revealing a popular blogging website I had heard of a handful of times.

Synyster Gates' Daughter Attempts Suicide
According to an inside source, between the hours of nine and ten last night, Elizabeth Haner attempted suicide. Elizabeth, popularly known as Liza, was found in her room by her father. Synyster Gates, the lead guitarist for popular rock band Avenged Sevenfold, found his daughter bleeding profusely before taking her to the hospital.

"That's not even true," I snapped.

"It gets worse," Matt said softly and scrolled down. Dad cursed, getting up off the couch and running his hands through his hair, trying to calm down his breathing.

Pictures of my room were shown. The blood and exactly where Matt had left the knife were the same as it was this morning, "How did they get those!?" Dad demanded.

"Dude... I dont..."

"It says 'inside source' so which one of you fuckers said something, huh?" Dad looked around the room to the rest of his band and it was silent. The other four members standing completely still, trying to comprehend what Dad was accusing.

"Why would it be any of them, Dad?" I asked and he turned to me.

"Liza, please just stay out of this," He said surprisingly soft for how angry he was.

"She's right, Gates. None of us would do this. Besides, it says you found her and took her to the hospital, which isn't true. So someone only had part of the story to tell," Matt reasoned, siding with me for the first time in my entire life.

Dad took a deep breath, looking around the room. He let out a frustrated groan before turning around, as if he were trying to hide his stress from me, "Dad, it's okay," I said softly.

"It's not okay, Liza," He snapped before he took a deep breath speaking as soft as he possibly could, "It's not okay because people will always have this idea of you. They will always see you as my daughter who tried to kill herself," He said sadly.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about her than your reputation, Gates?" Zack took a step forward, causing Matt to stand up and eye him warningly.

"Shouldn't you mind your own damn business, Vengeance?" Dad mocked. Zack took another step forward and Matt put a hand up to him.

"Listen, the only way we're going to work through anything is if we figure out who said something. Now, who all knows?" Matt asked. Dad shrugged.

"I don't fucking know anymore. Maybe she went and told her friends," Dad muttered and I glared.

"I didn't, as a matter of fact," I snapped and turned to Matt, "You guys, the girls, Larry... And I think the neighbors suspected something. They were whispering this morning," I answered.

"Well the neighbors wouldn't know much. When I took you out of the house they weren't there and a lot of the lights were off. Besides, they would obviously know I'm not your dad," Matt stated and I nodded.

"Oh my God," Dad groaned and we all looked to him, "The cleaning service," He stated, "Larry called a cleaning service and had to explain the situation in order for them to not freak out and call the cops. That much blood looks really suspicious to a cleaning company, if you know what I mean," Dad had put the pieces together.

"Listen, don't worry about anything. I'll call Larry and tell him to get the cleaning service to sign a confidentiality agreement so they can't discuss this with anyone anymore. In the meantime you need to put a statement up. Let the fans know to not worry about anything regarding the new album and tell them this was a hoax. Tell them the pictures are fake," Matt ordered Dad. Dad sighed, nodding as he went for the laptop and Matt went off to call Larry.

I sunk into the couch and Zack sat down next to me as Dad was busy typing away. Johnny was beside him, letting him know what sounded believable and what didn't, "This is all my fault, isn't it?" I asked.

Johnny shrugged, "Stop worrying about things. Let your dad handle it," He said and I shook my head.

"I don't like Dad handling things," I muttered and he smiled.

"How are you feeling?" He asked cautiously.

"Fine," I lied.

"Well," He sat down, "I guess you're heading back to school tomorrow. Are you okay to do that?"

"Yeah. Besides, I'm behind on work. It's stressing me out," I sighed.

"Don't be stressed. Everything is okay. You have a lot to be thankful for still. You're alive," He smiled and I held back the urge to roll my eyes.

I felt my phone vibrate multiple times in my pocket, and I could only imagine who was texting me. It was probably Amanda or Alicia. It could be Sherri. That girl's always been obsessed with me, and I wouldn't be surprised if she followed any news surrounding me. And it could be Michael, because we were due to hang out later so he could make up the fact that he got me so stoned my face nearly melted.

I pulled out my phone, bracing myself for the texts to come. I opened the first one, shocked to see it was Mom. Hey honey, just wanted to see how you were feeling. Call me when you get a chance. Of course, because Mom doesn't have time to make actual phone calls.

The second one was from Amanda. You tried to off yourself!? I texted you to ask if you were fine. In case you didn't know, 'fine' is not a synonym for suicide!

The next one was Alicia. I don't know what's going on with you, but you should know you have both of us here for you. You should have come to us.

The final one, was in fact Michael. Are you okay? Things are getting pretty crazy here at school. You want to go out later to take your mind off of it? If you need anything let me know.

I replied to Michael first, seeing as he was the only one who truly seemed to be worried about me. I told him I was fine, and that the entire thing was actually a hoax from an Avenged Sevenfold fan. I then said I would let him know about hanging out. I wasn't exactly sure if Dad wanted to let me out of his sight yet.

I tucked away my phone before pulling my legs to my chest, leaning my head against the side of the couch. I just wanted to sleep, and hopefully never wake up.