Things Can't Be Bad When You're Famous... Right?

I stumbled towards the closest couch backstage right after our show was over. There were dozens of times during our set where i honestly thought i was going to pass out. I had no energy or strength whatsoever so i was surprised that i didn't fall over at all. I was tired, so unbelievably tired, to the point where i began dozing off the second i laid down on the small couch.

When my eyes opened again, i immediately shot up and retrieved my phone from within the cushions of the couch. The digital clock read 11:30pm. My eyes widened at how late i was. Ronnie was going to kill me! I looked around and noticed the guys packing up. I marched over to Ashley.

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" I shouted anxiously. Ashley furrowed his eyebrows together at my sudden outburt, stopping himself from packing away his guitar so he could face me.

"You seemed so tired, Andy. You needed the sleep." He reasoned, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I shook my head.

"No, Ronnie's going to kill me!" I whisper-yelled so no one else could hear. Ashley sighed, a bitter expression washing over his face.

"Then don't go back there. Andy, you can't let him control your life. Do you see what he's doing to you?" He spoke, referring to my battered and too skinny body. I shook my head and looked away as tears built up in my eyes.

"I have to." I whispered shakily.

I know he was just trying to help, but he didn't get it. If i didn't go back to Ronnie's, he would be so beyond furious with me. I'd recieve the worst beating of my life. I was scared, no petrified, of Ronnie and there was no way i could get out of being in a relationship with him.

Ashley grabbed my face gently, mindful of my bruises, and made me look at him. His eyes, too, were glassy with tears. "I can't stand seeing you like this, Andy. You're my best friend. Please..Let me help you." He begged. I remained silent for a moment before shaking my head once more.

"I'm sorry Ashley." I apologized softly before walking out to my car.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I shakily turned my key and unlocked the door to Ronnie's house. It was dark and quiet...too quiet. An eery feeling washed over me as i attempted to creep up the stairs, undetected. I knew i was going to have to deal with Ronnie's wrath in the morning but i was far too exhausted to care at the moment.

"You're late." He spoke up, breaking the eery silence. I stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around.

"R-ronnie?" I called out, trembling. A lamp in the living room turned on, eluminating the once dark area. I shakily walked back down the stairs and towards were Ronnie was sat on the couch, a horrifyingly calm expression on his face.

"I told you to come home right after the show, Andy. You said you would...I don't like being lied to." He spoke, causing a chill to go up my spine.

"I-i'm sorry Ronnie i f-fell asleep." I stuttered nervously. Ronnie stood up and before i could duck he hit me across the face. I fell to the floor with a thud, tears streaming down my cheeks, smearing the black makeup that lined my eyes. He rolled me over to send another punch to my jaw and i knew i would have a nasty bruise in the morning.

I didn't bother fighting, i knew better than to do that. I simply cried and cried and begged him to stop till he finally felt i got the message. It hurt to breathe and my tears burned the many cuts that littered my battered and bruised face. I was a mess and i knew that it was going to be so much more difficult to hide the aftermath of it all.

Ronnie lifted me up by my shirt so our faces were barely an inch apart. "Don't be late again." He seethed before pushing me back to the ground. "Clean up this mess. I'll see you upstairs." He ordered, pointing towards the pools of blood that covered his wood floors. I nodded weakly and stayed on the ground till he was out of sight.

Finally, i used all the strength i could muster and very painfully lifted myself off the floor. Shock coursed through me when i looked into the mirror above one of the side tables. Almost every inch of my face had blood on it and my eye was nearly swollen shut. Out of all the beatings i recieved from Ronnie, this one was one of he worst. After a few minutes i pried my eyes away from the horrible sight and limped towards the kitchen for some paper towel before limping back and cleaning up the blood. A mixture of makeup, tears, and blood dripped down my face and onto the floor, making my job even harder. Once i was finished i cleaned my face the best i could and stumbled up the stairs to Ronnie's bedroom.

"There better not be any blood on the floor." He warned as i changed into pajamas. I gulped back the second round of tears and nodded faintly.

"There isn't." I spoke quietly, my voice lacking emotion. Ronnie nodded in acknowledgment and turned light off.

I crawled into bed slowly, trying to cause myself too much pain. I felt Ronnie wrap his arm around my waist and pull me towards him and had to hold back a whimper when he applied too much pressure to my bruised ribs. If someone were to walk in, they would think we were your typical couple in love. They would be so wrong.

After what seemed like hours of my warm tears continuously cascading down my face, i finally found sleep.