Blood

For fourteen years, Mason and Kory had lived on their own. Kory took care of the bills, making sure each and every one of them were sent out on time. Mason was terrible with numbers, so this was never something he was able to do. Not to mention that more often than not he wouldn't have much time to do anything like that, what with producing several records at once at the studio. Kory dealt with keeping food in the house, and cooking as well most times. All while maintaining decent grades and keeping up on homework. It was a rarity for her to ever have any time with friends, but she didn't ever mind. In her eyes, Mason was as close to a perfect human as someone could get. He was humble, stern, caring, gentle, and judgmental when he needed to be. Mason would always be the one person that Kory could go to with anything. So why was it so difficult to open the door to the place she would always call home?

Why was it so difficult to notify both Mason and Melody that Kory was home, maybe for good this time?

She wished that Marissa would have agreed to come with her, but she had insisted that this was something they all needed to figure out for themselves. Kory agreed, yes, but the comfort would have made everything a lot easier.

With a large intake of breath, she rapped her cold knuckles on the door. She couldn't bring herself to let out the air in her lungs, not until the door opened and Melody appeared anyways.

She mumbled something incoherent, before throwing her arms around her older sister. Melody hadn't even expected this in the slightest. Other than Marrissa, she knew more about Kory than anyone. And she wouldn't have expected her to just show up randomly on her own. Curious as to what her reason behind returning was, she hesitantly pulled away. "What're you doing here? I mean, I'm glad you are because we all missed you and want you to stay. Not that we don't like you moving to do what you think is best for yourself but, I'm just going to shut up," she said, grinning as the familiar sound of Kory's laugh could be heard. She grabbed her hand, and pulled her inside.

"Mel? Who is it?" Mason asked from the kitchen, the smell of steak filling the room. He turned away from the stove, speechless at what he saw before him. It had been too long since he had seen both of his girls together.

Kory gave a small smile. "Hey," she said, as if it was a regular occurrence. Within just a few moments, she was engulfed in a bone crushing embrace. Even though she was struggling to breath, it was something she had missed so much. She hadn't even noticed how much she missed Mason before now.

"Are you back for good now?" Mason asked, curious. He hoped she would be. His life revolved around his girls and music, and not much else mattered to him. It wasn't hard to notice when something was missing. He took note of how different she looked. Still beautiful, of course, but quite different by all means. She looked a bit thinner, but you could no longer see her collar bones. It was as if her bones had slimmed as her body did. She didn't have as much color as she did when she left, and her smile looked like an imitation of what it had been before.

She only shrugged. "As far as I know, yeah. I guess you both deserve an explanation," she said, sighing.

Melody nodded. "You think?" She laughed softly, wrapping her arm around Kory's waist, "We're finishing up dinner, there's enough for you, we can talk it over then. In the mean time, you have to help because dad's clueless," she teased, pulling Kory towards the stove. "There's enough room for fries in the oven."

They spent roughly fifteen minutes before everything was cooked and ready. They sat in the living room, eating silently until Kory had decided that it was now or never. They deserved to know.

"So, seeing as not all of us know everything, maybe it's best I start with why I left. Dad, please don't get upset with me or anyone else, I can't afford that right now. Just accept it, please?" When Mason nodded, Kory glanced at Melody, who smiled reassuringly, and she went on. "Brian and I, kind of...had a thing going for a while. It wasn't anything extravagant. I didn't really tell everyone. The guys, Riss, and Mel knew but I didn't want to start any drama, so we kept it from you."

At first, Mason was completely upset with this. He would have understood if Kory and Brian actually loved each other. If it was just a fling, then he wouldn't have allowed it. But he knew what it was like to be completely in love, and if his daughter was then he'd support her. But he accepted it. Clearly, they weren't together anymore. There wasn't anything to worry about. "Okay, I can understand that," he said, nodding in understanding.

Kory sighed before continuing. "I left because I thought it best to get my story published. I needed to focus on something different, because I hated the fact that he left me hopeless. He could have left me without a second thought and I wouldn't have ever been able to recover. I didn't want things to happen like they did, but I needed to get away. Maybe I was just being pretentious, but I hated being reliant on something that was as equivalent in promise as flipping a coin. Leaving you both was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I had to remind myself that it was for the best, even if it wasn't." The next few things were going to be the hardest she'd ever have to confess to Mason and Melody.

Melody piped up then. "It was Brian's fault you left?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shaking her head, Kory sighed. "No, it wasn't. It was my fault, because he didn't do anything for me to want to leave. I was just afraid of loving someone, and I was being greedy. It was my fault. As you know, Rissa came with me to help pick out paint and decorate and help me get settled in. Everything was fine then, and when she left is when things changed. Not drastically, at first, but gradually. I spent more time at bars to occupy myself, and eventually it was more than just bars. I went to loads of parties, giving up completely on the idea of my story. Things got really bad, really quick after that. Within a few months I had been in the hospital with alcohol poisoning at least once a month. Nicole didn't want anything to do with me, but then finally stepped in. That why I'm here now, because she thinks that I need to get better, and the only thing that will help me is being around all of you. I can't say that she's wrong, because she's not, but it's still hard. For a few months, I wanted to kill myself. I don't anymore, for the simple fact that I feel like I deserve to live with what I've done. I'm a pretty terrible person, and it won't matter what anyone says, or how many people forgive me. I'll still hold a grudge against myself for it."

Melody moved from sitting on the floor, next to the coffee table, to the sofa where Kory remained. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Sissy, you did exactly what I would've done," she said, sighing.

Mason remained quiet in the chair across the small room. What was he supposed to say to his daughter who hated herself? He couldn't say that everything would be okay, because he wasn't positive if it would be. He wouldn't take the chance of lying to her. He never had before, and he didn't plan to any time in the future. He couldn't say that he'd be there for her, because he knew that whether he was or not, it wouldn't help a single thing. She needed to figure this out for herself, he knew that as well as she did. So, instead, he opted for a different angle. "Do you have a place to stay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm staying with Rissa and Matt for now. Until Nicole gets some of my things sent here, I'll figure out where to stay then," she said, shrugging. She gently ran her fingers through Melody's hair, comfortingly. It wasn't odd that Kory was the one with the problem but insisted on comforting Melody. That's usually how things happened, and comforting her younger sister often comforted Kory in return.

"This is still your home, you know that," he said, nodding. "You can stay here when your things come in. I assume you and Riss have lost to catch up on, we can wait, right Mel?"

Melody nodded. "Yeah. But don't stay there for very long, alright? We miss you," she said for both Mason and herself. She knew it was true, and sometimes it upset her that she was the only one in the family that didn't have a problem admitting that she missed someone. Mason missed her, of course he did. But why didn't he say it? It wasn't like Kory would ever completely leave him, he knew that. Why was he so hesitant to admit something like that? And, unfortunately, Kory was the same way. She'd die before she asked for a glass of water from anyone. She wouldn't admit it if she actually was hurting. She was always "just fine."

Kory nodded. "I wouldn't want to be over there too long anyways.They seem to be getting pretty serious," she said, a smirk on her face.

Laughing, Melody nodded and sat up. "I know! They're so cute, Kor, oh my god. Riss is so shy around him, and Matt's just really cute with her all the time. Like, he pulls out chairs for her and takes off her jacket and all that kinda stuff. They're my favorite," she said, giggling.

She couldn't help but to laugh at her younger sister's enthusiasm. "We're having a get together on Saturday, dad. If you wanna come, I mean. It'll just be us and the guys, how long has it been since you seen them?"

Shrugging, Mason took a drink from the bottle of beer to his right. "I saw Zack last week, but yeah. We'll be there," he nodded, smiling. He was proud of his daughters, even more than he thought he would be before they were born. He was proud of himself, for raising Kory. Sure, she might be in bad shape now, but she would be fine. She always was. She was loyal, independent, and the strongest person Mason had ever known. Melody, sweet and kind and gentle, was the last person you'd expected to be interested in the Marines. The girl who wore flower crowns six days a week, who wore sun dresses and painted delicate patterns on her arms with colorful markers, also went through weeks of training and would soon go back to even more intense training. He was so proud of the both of them.

Suddenly, Kory's phone vibrated in her back pocket, before Cherry Bomb by Joan Jett began to play. An unknown number flashed across her screen, which perked her curiosity. "I'll be right back," she said, standing and skipping up the stairs to her familiar room quickly. She slid her finger across the screen, placing the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Kory! When do you think you'll be back? I have to ask you a question," Matt said.

Kory looked at the time quickly. "I can be there in ten minutes. What's up?" She was genuinely curious as to why he couldn't just ask her now. It couldn't have been that serious, right?

He sighed. "I can't tell you now, just hurry up," he said, before hanging up the phone.

She laughed. "Pushy much?" She asked herself, before putting her phone back in her pocket and skipping down stairs. "I hate to leave so early, but Matt needs me. I'll see you at the party tomorrow, right?"

Both Mason and Melody nodded in unison. "Yeah, of course," Melody said, getting up to give her older sibling a tight hug. Kory and Mason exchanged a quick embrace, before they said goodnight and Kory departed.

She was back at Matt's within five minutes. She didn't rush as she pulled her wallet and keys from the car, carefully walking up the steps in the dark. The second she walked inside, Matt bounded down the stairs. The light was dim, but even then she could see how fidgety he was. Nervous, maybe? Kory couldn't tell. "Matt? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, more nervous than he had ever been before. "Nothing's wrong, I just needed your advice on something. I'll make you some ice cream, if you want. Rissa said that strawberry was your favorite," he rambled, walking through the living room and into the kitchen.

Kory just watched as he silently made a bowl for her. Something was definitely bothering him, but she had no clue as to what it could be. He grinned at her as he handed her the bowl. She sat herself on the counter, the bowl in her lap, and sighed. "What are you up to, Matt?"

Chuckling, he shook his head. "Nothing bad, I promise. I, uh, I actually, I just," he stopped, regaining his composure before going on. "You know her better than anyone, even me. And, I really love her. Like, a lot."

She laughed, nodding for him to go on. If only Marrissa had been awake to see how nervous she made him. She'd enjoy this.

"Well, just, here," he said, fumbling in his pocket and pulling out a small velvet box. He gave it to Kory to open, his cheeks turning a bright red.

When she opened it, she nearly choked. "Oh my god! Matt! You're gonna ask her to m-!"

"Shh! Don't wake her up, it's a surprise, obviously," he said, grinning. "What do you think she'll say?"

Knowing that Marrissa would, undoubtedly, say yes, she shrugged. "You'll have to wait and see," she teased, laughing. "When are you gonna do it?"

Matt sighed. "That's what I needed you for. I know that she'd rather have it a private kinda thing, but I'm not really sure how to go about it. I want it to be fun, and I want her to like it, but I don't want to go overboard. Does that make any sense?"

Kory laughed and nodded. "Of course it does. Just, do something that would make her laugh but cry at the same time. Do something casual but creative, simple but sweet. I'm not much help here, I'm sorry," she shrugged and laughed.

"It's fine, I just needed a few pointers. I want to do it tomorrow, when everyone's gone. Jimmy said something about taking you to Johnny's, but he doesn't know I'm gonna ask her yet. Only you, so don't say anything," he said, placing the velvet box back in his pocket.

"Of course," Kory grinned. "I'm really excited for you two! I'll even stay at Mason's tomorrow, so you have some time alone," she winked, laughing.

He shook his head. "Thanks, Kory, seriously," he gave her a small smile. He was more than thankful for her, because it was her fault that he and Marrissa had met in the first place. He somewhat felt guilty, because she and Brian hadn't worked out, but had to remind himself that he couldn't change that. It was all on the two of them.

She placed her bowl in the sink, and shrugged. "It's all good, man. I don't have to worry about her when she's with you," she said, smiling. She appreciated Matt as much as he appreciated her, if not more. He took care of her best friend when she was being too selfish to do so. What more could she have asked from him? He made her happy. "Anyways, I should probably be headed to bed. An interesting day awaits all of us," she said, sighing.

Matt poked her ribs affectionately. "Hey, it'll be fine. No one will be upset, I promise. We all missed you, Kor," he said, giving her a sympathetic smile. Everyone had missed her, this was true, but not everyone would be completely okay with her being back. He worried about that.

Kory only nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled, shrugging. "I'll see you tomorrow," she skipped up the stairs, walking into the guest bedroom that she was hesitant about. Half of her wanted to completely forget about this room and sleep on the sofa, but she had to remind herself several times that that thought was childish.

Every cell in our body is replaced every seven years; how lovely it is to know one day I will have a body you will have never touched.