The Sky Under the Sea

~ Time lapse: 3 days ~



[Bo]



More and more often this week I’d needed to take the sleeping pills. Each night I woke up in a cold sweat, panicking that Aaron had found me or worse, my friends. I was amazed at how fast our band and Pierce The Veil had bonded, but I was glad for it. It was always nice to befriend new people, especially since we got another tour out of it.


I tumbled out of bed and threw on some leggings and Jaime’s shirt. I’d been wearing quite a bit this week, and I’ll be honest and say that I missed the goofball. I missed him more than I thought I would. He was one of my best friends and I sense he wanted to be more than that, but I wasn’t ready. Not with everything happening right now. Yet I couldn’t help myself fall a little more for him each day. I didn’t want it to happen, but I couldn’t stop it. The optimistic part of my brain told me to let it happen, but it was soon overpowered by the rational part of my brain that screamed ‘Look what happened with Josh’.
 I hadn’t even planned on ending up with his shirt, but with everything that happened and me going to hospital, I just forgot about it until I emptied my bags.


Walking past the mirror, I stopped and lifted up the side of my shirt. 
Just above the tattoo I got for my brother sat a red cut about an inch long from where they put the tube in my lungs. It burned all the time and nothing seemed to stop it. Dropping my shirt, I slipped on some vans and grabbed my bag. 
I was going insane being cooped up in this house. Scribbling Oscar a note that I was going to the guitar store, I pulled on my headphones and started walking down the street. It was only a few blocks there, a route I’d made millions of times. I wanted to get some new picks for the upcoming tour, and we were leaving in a few days. 


The whole way there I felt as though someone was following me, but whenever I turned around there was no one there.
 Soon enough I’d reached the shop, the bell jingling as I walked in.


“Joey! Hey man.” I greeted the man behind the desk with a hug. This was Joey, one of my brothers best friends and my go-to guy for all things bass related.


“Bo! Nice to see you back in town, how was Warped Tour?” He said, grinning.


“Fucking awesome. I wish we could go back.” He nodded.


“I heard about the ‘Collide With The Sky’ tour with Pierce The Veil! Congrats to all of you, thats huge news.” A grin involuntarily spread across my face.


“Thanks, I’m so stoked for it.” And I really was. All the drama aside, I was dying to get back on tour. It was my most favourite thing to do in the world.


“When do you fly out?” Joey asked.


“On Saturday, so three days away. Which is why I’m here. I’m after some new picks, need to spice things up a bit.” Joey raised and eyebrow.


“What did you have in mind? Your last ones were blue with the bands logo on it, yeah?” 
I nodded.


“Well I thought I would leave your genius mind to the design, but preferably something red.”


“What colour is your bass again?”
 Smiling at the thought of my guitar I said,


“Blue and black.” Joey laughed.


“Not one for subtlety I see. Leave it with me girl, I’ll see what I can do. Come down on Friday and I’ll have it all sorted.” I thanked him and left the shop. It was only mid afternoon, but I was hungry so I decided to head back.
 About a block before I reached the house, a hand grabbed me around the neck and shoved me up against the wall.


“Hey there, Bo. Long time no see.”
 My stomach churned as I recognized the voice. 
It was Aaron.


“What do you want?” I managed to choke out, my toes dangling a few inches off the ground.


“What do you think? You sent me to rot in jail you bitch. I want payback.”
 He leaned in close, his mouth a few centimeters from my ear.


“I. Want. You. Dead.” He said, pausing between each word. 
The corners of my vision were beginning to fade and I knew I was going to pass out soon. 
Pooling all my strength, I lashed out with my foot and kicked him in the groin as hard as I could. My foot hit the target squarely and he released his grip momentarily, long enough for me to turn and run.
 The entire way back to Oscars house I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my lungs burning with the effort. As soon as I reached the front door, I flew up the steps and locked it behind me, curling into a ball on the floor. My chest heaved as I tried to breathe as much as possible.


“Bo, is that you?” My brother called from down the hall. My heart was thumping in my ears and I sucked in air like there was no tomorrow. I was too scared to say anything.


“Bo are you- Fuck what happened?” Oscar ran over to me and was soon crouched next to me.


“Hey it’s okay Scarlet, you’re safe here. Shhh, it’s alright now.” He reached down and picked me up in his arms, carrying me back into my bed.
 Oscar took off my shoes and tucked me into bed, stroking my head.


“Go to sleep Scarlet. You’re okay now. Here, take one of these and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Oscar handed me one of my sleeping pills and I gulped it down, wanting to be safe and asleep more than anything.

He’d called me Scarlet. No one had called me that in years. Technically it was my real name, Bo being my middle name. I stopped using it when Blake died because I couldn’t stand to hear it. He always used to tell me how beautiful my name was. The only people who ever used it were Oscar, and Josh when we were dating. I felt bad not telling anyone, but I wasn’t her anymore.

Soon the pills took hold and I saw nothing but black.



When I woke up an eternity later, I rolled over and checked the clock. It was nearly 11 in the morning which meant I’d been asleep for nearly an entire day. Groaning, I rolled onto my back. I’d missed practice, and now there were only two days before we left to go on tour.

 Snatching the water bottle from beside my bed, I drained half of it in one go. As I did, I realized why my neck was so sore. In a flash I was out of bed and in front of the mirror.


The bruising was a deep purple colour and it went all the way around the front of my throat.


How am I supposed to hide this?


Even though it was fairly warm, I tugged on a hoodie and ran my hand through my hair before leaving the room.
 Voices greeted me as I entered the kitchen. Everyone was there. Chloe, Jeremy, Sam, Oscar.


“Hey guys.” I mumbled, my voice hoarse, sliding into a chair at the table.

Oh shit.


“What happened yesterday?” Oscar was at my side. All I could do was shake my head, not wanting to hear how bad my voice had gotten.


“Bo, talk to us. It’s okay.” Jeremy put his hand on my shoulder and rubbed small circles, soothing me.


“Oscar told us you went to the guitar store and when you came back you were crying and shaking. You can trust us Bo, we want to help.” Jeremy crouched down in front of me, forcing me to look at him. I was so scared.


“I.. I went to the guitar store to get some new picks for the tour.” I wheezed out somehow.

“The whole way there I felt like someone was following me, but every time I turned around there wasn’t anyone there. It was on the way back, I was five minutes from being home when… when..” I couldn’t even say it, the memory as raw and fresh as the bruises on my neck.


“When what?” Oscar said gently. Pulling my knees up to my chest I took a deep breath.


“Someone grabbed me from behind around my neck and pushed me up against the wall, choking me. It was Aaron and he wants me dead. He found me, Oscar. What am I going to do?”
 The mention of Aaron’s name caused my brother to tense up.


“Holy fuck.” He breathed, straightening up.

“So that’s why your voice is off this morning?” Meekly, I nodded.


“Who’s this Aaron kid?” Sam asked Chloe quietly. She cast a quick glance at me. Sam and Jeremy didn’t know about Blake, about how he died.


“You remember my brother Blake, right?” They both nodded and I quickly continued.


“He didn’t die in a car crash like I said. He was killed, and Aaron was the one that killed him. And I saw it.” Burying my face into my knees, I went quiet. There was no sound to be heard in the room whatsoever.


“Woah. So he’s managed to get out of jail, and now he wants to kill you?” Jeremy breathed, straightening up. 
Oscar replied for me.


“Yeah. My friend saw him on the streets a few weeks ago and called me to warn Bo. That’s why she’s staying here, I thought she’d be safer with me. The sooner you guys get to the USA, the safer she’ll be.” His voice was shaking a little.


“Why’d he kill Blake?” Sam wondered out loud.


“Not now, Sam.” Chloe hushed him. She stood up, walking around the table and giving me a hug.


“I’m so glad you’re okay Bo. If you pack up everything you’ll need from here, you can come stay with me until we leave. Okay?” She squeezed me tighter, accidentally putting pressure on my neck. I let out a small gasp and prayed she didn’t hear it. 


She did.


“Bo, take off your jumper.” Chloe stood back, worried.


“It’s nothing.” I protested.


“Bo. Off with it, now.” Oscar commanded, now at her side.
 Without a word I pulled it off and dropped it to the ground.


“Oh my god..” I looked anywhere except my brothers downcast face.


“If I ever see that fucker again, I’ll kill him myself.” Oscar roared. Chloe grabbed his arm.


“Enough! That won’t do you or Bo any good, now will it?” She said sternly. 
Snatching my jumper off the floor, I tugged it back on.


“Look at what he did to my sister! I’m supposed to protect her, how can I just let him do this?” He was storming around the kitchen, running his hands through his hair. 
Oscar wasn’t usually an angry person, but when it came to me he was very protective.


“Oscar! Calm the fuck down would you?” Jeremy shouted.

“If you get yourself locked up for doing something stupid, how is that going to help? Calm down mate. Let’s just get through this tour, and then we’ll sort it out.” Jeremy was good like that, always trying to keep the peace.


“Come on Bo, lets grab your stuff. The sooner everything is packed and ready to go, the better.” Chloe gently pulled me into my room, grabbing my now-empty suitcase on the way in.


“Do you have a bigger case?” She asked, and I nodded, worried my voice would fail me again. Reaching into the top of my cupboard, I pulled it out. Wordlessly, we began packing. It only took forty five minutes to grab everything from that house, the rest would be in my apartment.


“See you brother. Are you going to come to the airport on Saturday?” I asked, pulling him in for a hug.


“Of course. Your flight is at 9:30, isn’t it?” I nodded as his arms circled my shoulders. 
Sighing, he whispered into my ear,


“I wish you’d let me come with you, sis. There isn’t much I can do to keep you safe from another country.” I took a few steps back.


“I’ll be fine. We’re all sharing a bus, so I won’t be alone. Besides, I have Mike, Tony, Vic and Jaime to watch out for me. And trust me, you wouldn’t want to mess with them.” Somehow I managed a small smile.


“I’ll see you in a few days.” 
He waved goodbye as we walked out of the kitchen, Sam and Jeremy following suit.
 The drive back across town was silent, and soon we were back at mine and Chloe’s apartment.
 Two hours later, a stack of bags sat in the entry way and we were all ready to go.


The next few days passed by in a blur. Most of my time was spent in the apartment, except for when Sam drove me over to the guitar store to pick up the new picks.


I was admiring them on the drive back.
 Joey had outdone himself.
 The picks were a deep red marbled colour, our band’s logo embossed onto one side and a bass clef on the other side in black.
 Smiling, I fingered the tattoo that sat behind my left ear. It was a bass clef too, and hardly anyone knew I had it because it was hidden most of the time. 

Before I knew it, we were at the airport checking in our luggage. Jeremy had already organized for our equipment to be flown over a few days earlier. 
Chloe was so excited she was nearly jumping out of her skin. The grin she wore hadn’t faded all morning. Even though I’d slept most of the last few days, resorting to more tablets, I still felt drained. I was jumpy, always scanning around nervously.


“Relax Bo. We’re getting out of here for a few months. Forget about it all for a while okay?” Jeremy walked over and gave me a hug. 


“I guess you’re right. It’s not like he’s going to follow me to America.” Smiling at him, I gave him another hug. 
My other band mates had gone through customs while I said goodbye to my brother.


“Call me every night, okay? I don’t care what time it is for either of us, I want you to call me at least once a day. And don’t go anywhere alone. You never know what kind of creeps are out there.” Oscar pulled me into a hug, reeling off everything I should and shouldn’t do. 
Playfully, I slapped his arm.


“I’m nearly 24 Oscar, I can handle a tour. Warped went off fine, and so will this. Relax.” Ironic I was the one telling him to relax.


“You call nearly dying and being in the hospital for a week fine?” I rolled my eyes.


“Maybe not, but that was my body, not other people.”


“I just want you to be safe, okay? I love you. Now go kill it!” My brother gave me one last hug, pushing me towards the gates.


“Bye! I’ll talk to you tonight. Love you too.” I waved goodbye and walked through the gate, relieved to be getting away from everything.