Too Scared to Love Again

“Are you okay?”

“Well, would you be if this happened to you?” Lynn answered harshly, as she sat up, trying to brush off some of the shattered glass from her wound. "God. I can't see anything with this stupid mask on!" she commented, as she practically handed it over to Brian and glanced down at her wound that was covered with tiny pieces of glass.

“Oh, fucking great.” she grumbled, her fingertips stinging every time she tried to touch her fresh wound.

“Let me help you.” Brian insisted, as he grabbed a hold of her torso and easily dragged her up from the floor.

Lynn soon noticed how the man who had pushed her was being held by one of their guards, Corey, a man you definitely didn’t want to mess with, considering he had won a couple of championships in boxing. She watched as the big guard grabbed the man by the neck and shoved him out of her sight.

“Come on.” Brian voiced, pulling her gently towards the counter.

“Fuck.” Lynn hissed in pain, as she saw the running blood that all but sailed down her arm. A fresh and aggressive wound was causing thick lines of blood to trail down her skin, meanwhile Brian guided her back to the counter.

“Kath, can you hand me a cloth? I need to clean up that mess,” Lynn told her co-worker, who froze a little at the sight of Lynn’s wound.

“What? You will do no such thing! I’ll handle it!” Kath insisted, making her friend sit down on a stool, meanwhile she grabbed a spray and a cloth and went to clean up the mess on the floor.

“Honey!” Donna expressed, panic whirling in her dark eyes as the older woman reached her worker.
“Are you all right, dear?” she asked, her eyes instantly examining the wound on her inner arm.

“Donna, just keep the show going. This is just nothing.” Lynn insisted, hissing a little as Donna’s cold fingers touched her skin.

“Sweet, don’t think about that now. Good God, Lynn. I think you need to see a doctor and perhaps get some stitches!” the dark-haired woman said, grimacing a little at how messy the fresh wound was.

“Nonsense!” Lynn protested. “I can just peel out the glasses myself, no problem!” the brunette assured her boss, who looked anything but convinced.

“That does not sound like a good idea.” Brian commented, his body resting against the counter and his elbows resting on top of it meanwhile his gaze looked at the wound.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.” Lynn stated coldly.

Lynn gave the man a frowning glare, as she was not in the mood to listen to his opinion on this matter. Donna however looked like she agreed with the man.

“You’re the one who helped her, right?” the dark-haired woman asked. “Drinks on me for the rest of the night, really.” she told him.

“Donna!” Lynn half-hissed.

“I don’t expect any reward for helping, ma’am.” Brian raised his hands in surrender.

"Don't be so shy!" Donna chuckled at him. "Lynn, here's what gonna happen. I'm gonna take you to the hospital and we'll have a doctor look at your wound." Donna told the brunette.

"But I'm fine!" Lynn promised. "I just need some bandage, and then I'll continue my shift."

"You'll do no such thing!" Donna argued.

"You're not here to work, you're here to enjoy the show and a night out with Gloria. I don't wanna ruin this for you." Lynn told her boss.

"Nonsense! I'm here for my girls as well!" the other brunette claimed.

"Donna, please? If you really mean that I have to see a doctor, can I at least just drive and not involve others in this mess?"

"Sweetie, I'm not comfortable with that," Donna admitted, before her eyes suddenly widened a little. "What's your name? Would you mind taking her to the hospital?" she said, turning towards Brian.

"Brian, ma'am! And yes, I could do that." he responded.

“Donna, I’m fine!” Lynn promised.

“Honey, your wound is obviously infected!” she told Lynn, sounding exactly like a worried mother.

“I agree with Donna,” Cynthia quipped from her seat. “Seriously, Lynn. I know you wanna tough it out and all that jazz, but right now you're a man down,” the blonde said to her co-worker. “Let Brian take you to the hospital.”

“I don’t need to go to the fucking hospital!” Lynn groaned. “Why aren’t any of you guys listening?”

“Because we care about you, sweetheart!” Kath voiced from behind her, as she slipped behind the counter again. “Let Mr Good Looking over here take you to the hospital.”

Brian chuckled at the way she addressed him, as he glanced over at the petite brunette, who only winked back.

“You don’t get a say in this, Lynn. Look, do you have a car or do you need to borrow one?” Donna asked Brian.

“I have one.” he confirmed.

“Great. Let me grab a towel for your wound, Lynn, and then this handsome man will take you to see a doctor.” Donna announced. “I’ll give you my number, so that you can call if anything happens, and by anything, I mean literally anything.” she instructed.

“You got it!” Brian nodded.

“You get her there safely, okay?” the dark-haired woman said, meanwhile she applied some pressure unto the towel she had wrapped around Lynn’s arm.

“Of course.” he assured her.

Lynn soon went to collect all of her belongings. Cynthia kept chatting with the guys, clearly connecting very well with Johnny, just as her co-worker and best friend went to join her least favourite person in the entire world.

“Need any help?” Brian offered, noticing how much she was struggling with carrying all of her stuff.

“No.” Lynn replied shortly, avoiding his gaze, meanwhile she pressed her way through the crowd and then disappeared through the door.

Brian chased after the brunette through the bar, and then guided her towards his black SUV. He watched as she climbed into the passenger seat, trying to buckle herself by using her unwounded arm, which really didn’t go as smoothly as she’d liked.

“I can-” Lynn caught Brian off before he got to finish his sentence.

“No, absolutely not.” she stated firmly, determined to fasten her seatbelt.

After almost five minutes, the two of them were good to go. Brian had no idea how he had ended up in this situation, and as they left the parking lot, he could sense the rather awkward tension that was settled between the two of them. Silence rested in the air, and the guitarist therefore decided to turn on the radio, not even caring that it was Britney Spears that ended up blasting through the car.

Lynn was staring out of the window throughout the entire ride. She was beyond angry that she had ended up in this situation, and even more furious that Brian had to be the one who would drive her to the hospital.

Brian hummed along to the songs on the radio, knowing some of them as his ex-girlfriend, Sophie, had been an eager pop-girl. The dark-haired guitarist took advantage of the red light and grabbed a cigarette from his crunched package and lit it up, rolling down the window the process.

“In here? Seriously?” Lynn voiced, unimpressed as always with her eyebrows high on her forehead.

Brian only shrugged back, taking a drag from the cigarette, before he offered a drag to the brunette, who looked like an angry child.

“No thanks.” Lynn grumbled underneath her breath, causing him to chuckle a little, as he shrugged again and enjoyed the cigarette throughout the rest of the ride.

The brunette undid her seatbelt before Brian had even managed to park the car. The parking lot looked less filled than usual, which hopefully meant that the line wouldn’t be too long.

Brian watched as Lynn once again gathered her belongings and started pacing towards the entrance. The guitarist had to admit that it was difficult to keep up with her, which he believed had been her intention, considering she really despised the man who accompanied her.

“You used to smoke before, didn’t you?” he asked her, meanwhile the two of them were entering the hospital building.

Lynn shot him a glare, somewhat curious of how he had come to that conclusion, as she doubted Blair had told him.

“What makes you think that?” she arched her left eyebrow, this time sounding less harsher than usual.

“I could see it in your eyes,” Brian commented with his hands stuffed into his jeans. “My ex-girlfriend tried to make me quit smoking, and I lasted for almost a month before I had a relapse.” he told her.

Lynn pressed her lips together. She had a really hard time believing that this man next to her was the same man who had approached her a month ago. This man seemed rather humbled and laid back, nothing like the one who had hit on her a month ago.

“Why did you start smoking again?” Lynn asked, the two of them finding seats in a nearly crowded waiting room, a short note resting in the brunette’s hand, as she crossed her ankles.

“I broke up with my girlfriend who’d wanted me to quit. Nothing was holding me back.” Brian shrugged at her, watching how she kept looking down at her note, almost like she wanted to say something, but then decided to drop it.

“And why did you quit?” he asked, slipping the car keys into the pocket of his hood, and then watching how she shifted rather uncomfortably in the chair, hissing a little when she moved her wounded arm.

His question caused her breath to stop up in her throat. It had been years since she put the cigarettes away, and her roommates knew why. Lynn grabbed her first cigarette on her date with Carter, a date that was located in the back of a bar. He had invited her out for a smoke, and that was the first time her lips embraced a smoke.

“My fiancée was the one who smoked, and when we broke up, I didn’t want to do anything that reminded me of him.”

Brian nodded slowly, somewhat surprised that Lynn had been engaged at some point in her life. He knew she was about the same age as him, and from what he’d experienced with her, she didn’t exactly come across as someone who had a good relationship with men in general.

“I’m sorry.” he said, noticing how she really didn’t want to talk about it.

“It’s okay,” Lynn whimpered. “By the way, just so you know, I do have a reason as to why I'm lashing out on you, even when you try to be civil." she suddenly uttered.

“You do now?" Brian sniggered. "Or is it just your way of flirting?"

Lynn suddenly glared at him, her look telling him that she was not in the mood for his goofy behavior at this point.

"Sorry." Brian said. “If you have a reason to hate all men, I’m sure it’s a good one.”

"It is." Lynn confirmed.

“Does it hurt?” Brian asked, his slender finger pointing at the wound, his eyes looking at the stained blood on her arm.

“Like a fucking bitch,” Lynn chuckled, her honey eyes looking down at the wound and hissing a little as she tried to move her arm. “I wish I could place a nice punch in his face.” she grumbled.

“You’ll get your chance.” Brian chuckled, realizing that this woman really held grudges.

The two of them remained silent for a while, as Lynn soon got up from her seat and made her way to the nurse behind the counter, explaining her situation and watching as the nurse inspected her wound.

“You’ll definitely need stitches, sweet.” the nurse stated firmly.

“How long do I have to wait?” Lynn asked, drumming her fingers against the wooden counter.

“Well, that's impossible to say. If you're lucky, I'd say two hours," the nurse shrugged. “So have a seat and get yourself a good cup of coffee.” she smiled sweetly at her.

“Thanks.” Lynn smiled, before she returned to her earlier spot next to Brian.

“If you wanna leave, that’s fine. I can call Blair.” Lynn told the guitarist, who had been busy with his phone meanwhile she had been talking with the nurse.

“That’s no point. She’s very fast asleep at Zack’s place,” he snickered. “And I don’t have anything else to do, so if you don’t mind, I can stay.”

“If you don’t mind.” Lynn shrugged.

The brunette soon picked up her phone, realizing that she should probably message Cynthia and tell her that she was still alive. As she unlocked her screen, Brian caught a glimpse of her background, seeing the picture of a young brunette with an older man, whose arms were wrapped around her. The young girl had braids and was dressed in a light pink summer dress. The man that held her seemed utterly happy, and Brian immediately concluded that it had to be her father.

“Your father?” he asked her, unable to maintain his curiosity.

Lynn frowned a little at him at first, as he was invading a private place of hers. She had to bite back the urge of accusing him of prying, as she pushed her phone back into her jeans.

"Yeah." she responded.

"It's a nice picture." Brian commented, a smile taking place on his thin lips.

Well at least you got that right, she thought to herself.

"It is." she agreed.

"New Hampshire?" he guessed on the location, taking her by surprise again.

Lynn's eyes widened a little, as she nodded. "The place to be."

"Yeah. I've been there with my dad a couple of times. Awesome view."

"You have?" Lynn asked, once again surprised.

"Yeah. We used to take a trip every year."

Lynn thought about her background image again. She could recall the good memories from that day. Her parents loved New Hampshire, and could probably go on and on about how lovely it was there.

"Lynn?" Brian waved a hand in front of her, snapping her out of the image of her father and mother in her head.

"What?" she half-snapped, not really intending on doing it.

"Sorry!" he rushed. "I was just rambling on about my dad." Brian admitted.

Lynn allowed herself to run off towards her own thoughts again. At this point all she wanted as to be by herself and relive the memories of her parents living under the same roof, regardless of the grudge she held towards her own mother.

The happy images in her head were soon replaced by what her mother had done to her dad and to her, and suddenly the memories she wanted to relive ended up bringing more hatred than love.

"Are you guys close?" Lynn asked, trying to disconnect herself.

“My dad’s like my best friend,” Brian chuckled a little. “He taught me how to ride a bike, how to drive and how to play guitar.”

Lynn smiled at his words, her heart twisting a little. She had been daddy’s little girl throughout most of her life. Her father had been so proud when she learned how to ride a bike, and she could still remember how thrilled he had been when he taught her how to drive as well. Lynn and her father did everything together; visit New Hampshire for a nice run, cook meals when her mother was at work and surf together.

Lynn could remember the day after their last visit to New Hampshire. She had decided to pay her parents an unexpected visit. Lynn parked the car right in front of their house, a silver ring on her finger and a smile wider than most things on her lips. That day, when she walked towards the porch of her childhood home, was the day the excitement vanished.

The day Lynn was supposed to share the big news with her parents was the same day her father told her that the love of his life had walked out on him. The woman Lynn had grown up with and learned to love had fallen in love with another man, and therefore moved to New Orleans. Lynn had hated her mother for doing so, and the hatred was still there.

The brunette could still remember how heartbroken her father had been. The man who had always been able to smile, regardless of what he went through, was completely heartbroken. The divorce between her parents put her father through a living hell. It was a couple of months with constant drinking and crying until his eyes felt too dry and sticky to produce more tears. It was Lynn trying to patch her father together by doing his grocery shopping, cleaning and taking him to his therapy sessions, meanwhile she at the same time tried to learn the life of college.

“Lynn?” Brian waved his hand in front of her, noticing that she had sort of spaced out a long time ago.

The brunette shook her head, almost like she tried to pull herself back to reality. “I’m sorry.” she announced underneath her breath. “What were you saying?”

“Do you want a coffee?” he offered.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Lynn replied. “My treat.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

“You’re a real piece of work, woman.” Brian chuckled a little.

“I know. Wouldn’t get by if I wasn’t.” Lynn sniggered back, before handing him her wallet.

The guitarist only shook his head, as he fished for some money and then handed her back the wallet.

“What do you want?”

“Surprise me.” Lynn responded, before she fished for her phone again as Brian started searching for the cafeteria.

Cynthia J. Thompsen to groupchat
01:00 AM
LYNN CORNELA EVANS!!! PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVEN’T BLED TO DEATH!!! YOU HAVEN’T PAID ME BACK FOR ABUSING MY NETFLIX ACCOUNT!!!!

Lynn C. Evans to groupchat
01:15 AM
I’m very much alive, thank you so much for being concerned about me, C…..

Cynthia J. Thompsen to groupchat
01:17 AM
Always a pleasure, babe. How are you and Brian holding up? You haven’t killed him yet, right? :OOO

Lynn C. Evans to groupchat
01:18 AM
Ugh… I’m surviving. He’s getting coffee right now. Hbu? Looked like you had a fun time with your future husbands:pp

Cynthia J. Thompsen to groupchat
01:18 AM
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!!
I had an amazing evening. They’re so fucking funny! Matt said that he’ll get me a backstage pass next time they’re playing! Omg!!!!

Lynn C. Evans to groupchat
01:19 AM
What a blessing…..
I’m coming home late btw. I’m stuck here for God knows how long, so don’t wait up for me.

Cynthia J. Thompsen to groupchat
01:20 AM
Ay-ay, captain! Tell Brian I said hi!!!! Good night, sweet<33

Lynn rolled her eyes at her roommate. Cynthia had been a hardcore Avenged Sevenfold-fan for years. At some point she had insisted on decorating the living room in their apartment with posters of the band, as she had already filled the walls in her own room. Of course, Lynn, being the unimpressed person that she was, had protested loudly against having lots of posters of a rock band she hardly cared about in her living room.

“You’re smiling!” Brian let out, handing her a coffee, as he returned to his earlier spot. “What happened meanwhile I was gone?”

“Chatted with Cynthia.” Lynn announced, meanwhile she took a sip from her coffee, soon realizing that he had gotten her a dark Americano with an extra shot.

“She’s funny,” Brian chuckled. “I think Matt really likes her.”

“Hopefully. I mean, everyone of you have been in her dreams for years,” Lynn rolled her eyes a little. “I’d say she’s a crazy fan, but even that would be an understatement.”

“Oh, really?” Brian asked, which earned a snorting sound from Lynn’s lips.

“Totally...” Lynn rolled her eyes again. “One time she threw a party because you guys published your tour dates. That woman is completely mental!”

“What? She did that? God, that’s actually very…” Brian trailed off, trying to find the exact word.

“Weird?” Lynn offered her help.

“Adorable,” Brian let out. “Matt’s such an emotional mess when he meets fans that are dedicated to our music, you have no idea.”

“Seriously? The hulk has a soft spot?” Lynn arched her eyebrows a little.

“Oh yes! There was this one time in Kansas when we were having a meet and great, and a fan literally proposed to him, and he couldn’t say no because he was so moved by the woman.”

“Oh my God, what?” Lynn widened her eyes, as she found that scenario extremely creepy.

“I know, I know!” Brian snickered at the memory. “Val threatened to find the divorce papers. She was furious!”

“I’d be too!” Lynn expressed, before she took a sip from her coffee. “Good God, I didn’t know he was a sappy mess.”

“That’s the thing about our band. We’re full of surprises.” Brian assured her, wiggling a little with his eyebrows.

“Mrs Lynn Evans!” the woman behind the large desk claimed out loud in the waiting room, which brought the brunette up from her seat.

Brian remained sitting, unsure if the brunette would want him to tag along, considering how much she’d wanted him to stay away when her boss told her to go to the hospital with him.

“You coming?” Lynn asked, looking over her shoulder at the very conflicted man, who was currently studying his tattooed knuckles.

“You want me to?” he raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised.

“No, I just asked to waste time.” she replied dryly, which made him laugh a little.

She really was a piece of work, Brian thought to himself.

The guitarist chased after the brunette, who soon took a step into the room, where a doctor named Lillian Harrison greeted her. The woman had thick dark curls and olive coloured skin. A nice tan covering her face, meanwhile she smiled sincerely at her patient.

“Is this your boyfriend?” Dr. Harrison looked over at Brian, holding out her hand and waiting for him to accept her hand.

“Uhm, no. Just a… friend?” he basically asked out, looking over at Lynn, who sort of shrugged in return. “I’m Brian Haner Jr. Nice to meet you.”

“Now, what can I help you with? The nurse said that you had a nasty wound?” Dr. Harrison said, meanwhile Lynn freed her hand from her towel that had been wrapped around her wound for quite some time.

“Yeah. I fell.” Lynn dropped, watching as the doctor inspected her wound with big curious eyes.
Dr. Harrison nodded several times, running her covered hand over the wound, applying light pressure that made Lynn grimace a little.

“Okay. The good news is that this does not seem like a very deep wound.” the doctor began. “However, you do need to get some stitches, but before that, I’ll have to get rid of the glass.”

Lynn only nodded, as the woman grabbed a long tweezers and then told Lynn exactly what she was about to do. The brunette kept nodding, watching as the doctor examined the wound a little further, looking very interested, before she slowly started to peel off the shattered glass that had made its way into her open wound.

And it hurt. Incredible much, actually.

“Oh God.” Lynn greeted her teeth, fighting against the heavy tears that stung her eyes, as the sensation of cold tweezers kept rubbing into her sore spot.

“I’m sure your friend could hold your hand if that helps.” Dr. Harrison chuckled a little, noticing how awkward Brian became by the way she mentioned him.

Lynn squeezed her eyes together, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip, meanwhile the sensation of blood filled her mouth. She had really underestimated the pain this project really brought along, and now she was fighting with every single nerve in her body to prevent heavy waves to ride down her face.

“There we go! You did very well, and now we can stitch you up!” the doctor announced happily, just as Lynn sighed heavily.

Good God, the brunette thought to herself.

Another good hour later, the brunette had been stitched up and bandaged. She had, with some help from Brian, slipped into her jacket, and was now finally making her way out of the hospital building.

“Look, I don’t know where you live, but I can grab a cab.” Lynn said, as it was already terribly late.

“How about we sort that out before you waste your money?” Brian cocked his eyebrows in return.

“Fine by me.” the brunette only shrugged back, too worn out to protest against him.