Damaged Hearts

I wasn't keen on the idea of traipsing off after Lacey to the sunny state of silicone tits and peroxide blondes, where I would undoubtedly stick out like a sore thumb among the throngs of fame-seekers and valley girls who would do anything just to get their fifteen seconds of spotlight. I just wanted to stay in the shadows and underneath the radar, where I would be safe from judgment and heartache. I didn't want fame and I didn't want to be the center of attention, nor did I want to become one of those party sluts that were notorious in Cali. I just wanted peace and quiet. Was that too much to ask for?

The answer to that question came when Lacey and I arrived at LAX airport and were greeted by her fiancé and a couple of his friends. Lacey's fiancé greeted her enthusiastically, kissing and hugging her like his life depended on it. It was a sickly sweet scene to see them being all lovey dovey, but at least I knew he loved her by the way he kissed her. The chemistry in that kiss and the way he embraced her was proof that they really did belong together.

"Zacky, I want you to meet my best friend." She murmured once they were done exchanging spit in the middle of the airport. She grabbed him by the hand and brought him over to me, as I was standing a few feet behind them to give them some privacy. "Zacky, this is Tuesdae. Tuesdae, this is my fiancé Zacky."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Zacky murmured, sticking his other hand out for me to shake. He spoke through plump lips pierced with snakebite piercings, eyeing me curiously through his jade green eyes. His olive-toned skin hinted that he was of possible Italian heritage, but it was all the tattoos running up and down his arms and parts of his hands that had me intrigued. He wasn't the type of guy I saw Lacey with, but he did make her extremely happy, and that was enough for me.

I shook his hand, nodding my head as I forced out a small greeting in return. I silently wondered if the other two guys found this to be as awkward as I did. It was bad enough I was in a strange and unfamiliar place against my will, but to be faced with three unfamiliar people, guys no less, just made it all the more uncomfortable. I just wanted to know where I would be staying and get there as soon as possible, so I could become a hermit again.

But once again, Lacey grabbed my attention to introduce me to the other two guys. "Oh, Tuesdae, these are two of Zack's buddies, Brian Haner Junior and Johnny Seward."

This Brian character was something else. His hair was the very color of burned charcoal and sticking up in every direction possible on top of his head. His candy eyes were lined in noir eyeliner, giving him the impression of a rock star, which I knew him to be. He was big, taller than Zacky and not near as friendly either, as he stood behind his friends glaring at me like I was unwelcome in his and his friends' lives.

Next to him stood Johnny Seward. He was shorter than the other two guys, even shorter than both Lacey and me, which was a hard feat to accomplish seeing as Lacey was only 5'5 and I was taller than her by four inches. He was sporting a dark brown buzz cut with sunshades over his eyes and a silver hoop in his nose. Like the other two, he too had tattoos running up and down his arms and even some of his neck. Unlike his friend next to him, though, he actually smiled at me and even managed to wave at me.

With the three of them came the paparazzi, and that alone made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I didn't want to be bombarded with pesky photographers. I just wanted to be left alone, but I should have known that that wouldn't be possible with Lacey's fiancé and his friends being part of such a well-known rock band and even Lacey herself was a pretty successful photographer. I should have known that leaving the airport would prove to be quite a task.

I could just see the tabloids now. "Blue-haired Girl Seen Walking Out of LAX Airport with Avenged Sevenfold and Lacey Gerhardt." I'm sure it would come with a lovely picture, too. Probably not a good one either, seeing as how I'm suffering from jetlag and haven't looked in a mirror since I was still in Dallas. Oh, I can't wait to see that one!

Luckily, Zacky had the bright idea of bringing a bigger SUV, one that had two seats in the middle that resembled the front seats but had a full bench seat in the very back. Not wanting to be put in an awkward seating arrangement, I quickly claimed the very back bench seat, leaving Brian and Johnny to claim the two in the middle. Zacky chose to drive while Lacey called shotgun.

It was an hour filled with traffic jams and awkward silences before we were finally at Lacey's house, which apparently was also Zacky's.home, too. Thank goodness they have a pool house for me to stay in, because I'm not entirely sure I could share a house with the two lovebirds without shooting myself.

The pool house was designed by Lacey with all kinds of calming but bright colors, and I had to ask myself if she could've possibly designed it with me in mind because everything about it just screamed my name. There was at least one hint of blue in every room, which I absolutely loved, but it was the master bedroom with the multicolored comforter that caught my eye. It had only a little bit of blue on the comforter, mostly made up of a dark purplish color with hints of greens and a little pink. The bathroom connected to it was done with turquoise hints and an adorable decorative mirror above the sink. I toured the whole place before Lacey would finally leave me to my own, so I could collapse on the bed of the master suite and pass out for the night. It was only 6 in the afternoon, a far cry from when I usually went to bed, but I didn't care. I closed the curtains and stripped down to just my tank top and panties and collapsed on top of that more than comfortable bed.

-xXx-

When I woke up next, it was 9 at night and extremely dark outside. I could hear the sounds of the ocean from my bedroom, as the beach was only ten feet from the backyard. The sound of the waves crashing upon the shore was nothing like the noises I used to hear at my apartment in Dallas. The sound of car horns and fast driving were not pleasant to wake up to in the morning or go to bed to at night. The beach sounds were definitely a nice change of pace.

I figured the only thing for me to do was to turn on the TV in my room and find a movie to watch until I fell asleep again, seeing as how everyone in the house was probably sleeping by now. I found Law & Order SVU instead, and happily snuggled under the covers of the bed to watch the TV drama. I'm not sure what time I fell asleep, but I know I watched at least four episodes before sleep overcame me.

I woke up again at ten AM, only this time I was actually woken up by somebody. A little stranger with a shy smile, who stared at me with curious, youthful eyes.

"Is your name Tuesdae?" She mumbled, softly.

I sat up with a yawn, slowly stretching my arms above my head and bending backwards until I heard my back pop. "I most certainly am," I replied, grinning at her. "And you must be Mollie, right?" She grinned, nodding her head rather enthusiastically at me. "What are you doing here, Mollie? Did Lacey send you to get me?"

She shook her head, averting her eyes so I could no longer see them. "No." She mumbled, still shaking her head. "Her and my daddy told me not to bother you, but I just wanted to see what you looked like. I'm sorry."

I couldn't help but giggle at her pouty face. It was just too cute. "Don't get upset, Mollie Cay. I'm actually glad you came to visit me."

"Really?" She asked, excitedly.

"A huh," I nodded. "If you want, I can get dressed and we can go see what everyone's doing at the main house. How's that sound?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, come on. I might need a little help finding something to wear."

Little Mollie Baker was adorable, all chubby cheeked and bright-eyed. Like her daddy, she had raven-colored hair, reaching to her waist in length; though, her eyes were a golden hazel color instead of green like her dad's orbs. She was dressed in a pair of white shorts with a cute navy blue tank top layered over a thicker-strapped white one, a navy blue headband with a flower on it in her hair.

"Wear this," She murmured, holding up a pair of my white lace shorts.

Grinning at her, I grabbed them with an approving nod of my head. "I know just the top to wear with them, too." I began digging through my suitcase on a hunt for the top that I wanted to wear and finally found it at the bottom. It was a sleeveless navy blue babydoll top with a white collar made of lace around the neckline. I held it up to show Mollie, who nodded her head enthusiastically.

After finding my white and gold anchor ring and matching earrings, I grabbed a matching pair of lingerie pieces that wouldn't show through my clothes and went into the bathroom to put them on. Afterwards, I grabbed my navy and white polka-dot headwrap and used it to pull my hair back from my face, completing the Rockabilly look by pulling my teal-colored hair into a messy twist/bun and using a hair tie to make it stay. I did a quick sweep of eyeliner on the lids of my eyes, adding mascara to my already long lashes, and then headed back into the room to find my blue and white polka-dot flats that I knew would be really cute with my outfit.

"How do I look?" I asked Mollie once my outfit was complete, doing a twirl so she could see everything.

She held both of her thumbs up once I finished with my twirl. "Cute!"

"Well, let's go then, little one." I grabbed my phone and shades from the bedside table before grabbing her hand and walking out of the pool house.

We entered the house through the sliding glass door, which brought us into the dining room, where we could see everyone in the kitchen. Mollie was the first one through the doorway of the kitchen, greeting her dad happily as she climbed up on his lap.

It was Lacey who noticed me in the doorway first, greeting me with her model-like smile. "Hey, babe. Did you sleep well?"

"I did," I replied. "Thank goodness this cutie pie came and woke me up because I probably would have never woke up."

"Sorry," Zacky apologized on behalf of his daughter. "We told her not to bother you."

I waved his apology off with a flick of my wrist. "Don't apologize. Kids will be kids. Besides, I never would have figured out what to wear if it wasn't for her help."

Mollie giggled and began to tell her dad all about how she helped me get ready. She was just too cute!

"You're really good with kids." An unfamiliar voice announced. "Do you have any of your own?"

The face belonging to the voice was not one that I recognized, but she was more than pretty. Her skin was the color of coffee-milk, light but tanned naturally due to what I'm assuming was her mixed heritage. Her eyes were a dark green, contrasting greatly against her skin. She was wearing a black tank top with the word love in neon patterns on it, having paired it with a pair of studded shorts and neon orange feather sandals. Neon bangles ran along her forearms, catching my attention with their vibrant colors and dinging sounds every time they hit one another.

It was sad how obsessed I was with bright colors . . .

"No. No kids for me at the moment." I told this stranger woman, trying my hardest not to think about why I was here. "I'm Tuesdae, by the way."

"L'Dasha Trent," She replied, shaking my hand. "Everyone calls me Dash or Dasha, though."

"It's nice to meet you." I replied, politely.

"I could say the same to you," Dash grinned. "You gave Lacey here quite a scare when you passed out."

"I scared myself," I mumbled honestly, joining in when Dash and Lacey both chuckled innocently.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Zacky announced, suddenly. "Why don't we get everyone together for dinner tonight? We could go to that Italian joint on Main Street and get all dressed up, so Tuesdae can meet our friends."

"I think that's a lovely idea, babe." Lacey agreed, grinning proudly at her fiancé. "What do you think, Tues? Is that alright with you?"

I took a moment to think it over while looking around the room at the three of them, and then at cute little Mollie Baker. "I would love to meet the others." I replied in an attempt to think positively. "But I really don't have anything to wear to a fancy dinner. All of my stuff is in the process of being shipped over."

"Don't worry, love. We can easily fix that." Dasha informed me, sharing what I assume was a knowing grin with Lacey, making me wonder if I'd regret going along with this whole dinner thing.