‹ Prequel: Snapped Guitar Strings and Broken Hearts
Stitched Back Together
Chapter Two
We finished up dinner, wiping off the table to clear it of lettuce, cheese and tomato. Most of us had gone vegetarian. Jake had managed to be vegan. But we didn’t mind. It was just a small detail in our lives that helped an animal somewhere.
Aiden was sitting in the dining room, painting her nails neon green to match the streaks in her hair. She snacked on Skittles, Caleb watching her from afar. They were the cutest couple.
And did I mention that Caleb had grown about half a foot? Him and Aiden both had gotten a lot taller. Which was especially good for Caleb since he had a bigger drum-set now.
“ Aiden, do you want to come down to work with me today?” I asked, slipping my red badge holder over my head and around my neck. It was littered with band buttons and safety pins, ranging from old rock and roll to heavy metal.
“ Yeah, let me finish up this last nail and…” She trailed off, concentrating on the colored liquid that was slowly covering up her pale nails. “ I’ll get a better shirt on and go.”
I walked into the bathroom, watching as she took the stairs up to her and Caleb’s room two at a time. The half bath was a light aqua color, with white tiling and white curtains. There was a basic marble sink and a toilet along with a shower. Nothing fancy. The better bathrooms were upstairs.
I squirted on some perfume and combed my hair back into a ponytail, bangs still in my eyes.
In the distance I could hear a dull screaming and a screech of a highly distorted guitar. The three had disappeared down stairs, probably to work on something Robby or Jake had come up with.
I smeared on a little bit of eyeliner, not bothering with anything dramatic. I heard Aiden coming down the stairs and straightened out my Killswitch Engage shirt before walking out of the room. She took my arm and I shouted that we’d be back at 9:30 or so.
“ Come on, Aiden, pick up the pace!” I shouted, tugging at her arm and heading towards the van that all six of us shared. It wasn’t that beat up for having it for about two years and we took care of it pretty well.
Once the two of us were inside the van I buckled my seatbelt and checked my mirror. No kids around or anything. Just the two of us and the road. Aiden followed suit, buckling herself in. She started to hum along with the radio as it rumbled to life. The car started to purr like normal and I pulled out of the driveway, making my way off of Cherry Lane and onto the road that would take us to the highway.
We didn’t exactly live close to the mall. It was about a twenty-minute drive. Really boring sometimes, but with Aiden in the car it’s much better.
“ Hey Gwin, do you think we can go boy shopping today?” She asked in a singsong voice. I laughed and shook my head.
“ Very funny, Aiden. We haven’t done that in forever, but sure!” I smiled and continued to drive, letting the music soak into my pores. I felt it become one with me and I hummed, tapping the steering wheel and trying not to bang my head. It was so hard to concentrate on the road. And this would be why they don’t let me drive the tour bus.
In about eighteen minutes we had pulled into the mall parking lot. I drove to the right section of slots and then scanned around the asphalt for somewhere to park. It was about another three minutes until I'd found a place to put the car into parking mode. We stepped out and I was greeted by a squeal of a high-pitched voice. I wracked my brain until I remembered who it was.
Rai.
We hadn't seen her in about two and a half years. Ricky, sure, we saw him. But Rai was a different story.
" Ohmigaaaaawd! Ohmigawd! Holy shit, Gwin, is that you!?!" She squealed, giving me and Aiden both a big bear hug.
" Aiden, your streaks are so pretty! Holy fucking shit. What're you guys doing here!?" In a few moments Rai decided to calm down and just stood there, grinning like somebody on crack.
" Gwinny works at Hot Topic!" Aiden replied cheerfully, linking arms with both Rai and I. " Me and her were gonna go boy shopping today while it was her shift. You wanna come with us?"
" Heck yes!" Rai started skipping and that led to all three of us skipping in the parking lot, making our way to the entrance. As our shoes slapped against the road cars honked their horns and people gave us strange looks.
But we didn't care.
Why should we? Their opinions didn't matter to us. They could say whatever they want but it wouldn't change our minds about skipping. No way, man.
Aiden was sitting in the dining room, painting her nails neon green to match the streaks in her hair. She snacked on Skittles, Caleb watching her from afar. They were the cutest couple.
And did I mention that Caleb had grown about half a foot? Him and Aiden both had gotten a lot taller. Which was especially good for Caleb since he had a bigger drum-set now.
“ Aiden, do you want to come down to work with me today?” I asked, slipping my red badge holder over my head and around my neck. It was littered with band buttons and safety pins, ranging from old rock and roll to heavy metal.
“ Yeah, let me finish up this last nail and…” She trailed off, concentrating on the colored liquid that was slowly covering up her pale nails. “ I’ll get a better shirt on and go.”
I walked into the bathroom, watching as she took the stairs up to her and Caleb’s room two at a time. The half bath was a light aqua color, with white tiling and white curtains. There was a basic marble sink and a toilet along with a shower. Nothing fancy. The better bathrooms were upstairs.
I squirted on some perfume and combed my hair back into a ponytail, bangs still in my eyes.
In the distance I could hear a dull screaming and a screech of a highly distorted guitar. The three had disappeared down stairs, probably to work on something Robby or Jake had come up with.
I smeared on a little bit of eyeliner, not bothering with anything dramatic. I heard Aiden coming down the stairs and straightened out my Killswitch Engage shirt before walking out of the room. She took my arm and I shouted that we’d be back at 9:30 or so.
“ Come on, Aiden, pick up the pace!” I shouted, tugging at her arm and heading towards the van that all six of us shared. It wasn’t that beat up for having it for about two years and we took care of it pretty well.
Once the two of us were inside the van I buckled my seatbelt and checked my mirror. No kids around or anything. Just the two of us and the road. Aiden followed suit, buckling herself in. She started to hum along with the radio as it rumbled to life. The car started to purr like normal and I pulled out of the driveway, making my way off of Cherry Lane and onto the road that would take us to the highway.
We didn’t exactly live close to the mall. It was about a twenty-minute drive. Really boring sometimes, but with Aiden in the car it’s much better.
“ Hey Gwin, do you think we can go boy shopping today?” She asked in a singsong voice. I laughed and shook my head.
“ Very funny, Aiden. We haven’t done that in forever, but sure!” I smiled and continued to drive, letting the music soak into my pores. I felt it become one with me and I hummed, tapping the steering wheel and trying not to bang my head. It was so hard to concentrate on the road. And this would be why they don’t let me drive the tour bus.
In about eighteen minutes we had pulled into the mall parking lot. I drove to the right section of slots and then scanned around the asphalt for somewhere to park. It was about another three minutes until I'd found a place to put the car into parking mode. We stepped out and I was greeted by a squeal of a high-pitched voice. I wracked my brain until I remembered who it was.
Rai.
We hadn't seen her in about two and a half years. Ricky, sure, we saw him. But Rai was a different story.
" Ohmigaaaaawd! Ohmigawd! Holy shit, Gwin, is that you!?!" She squealed, giving me and Aiden both a big bear hug.
" Aiden, your streaks are so pretty! Holy fucking shit. What're you guys doing here!?" In a few moments Rai decided to calm down and just stood there, grinning like somebody on crack.
" Gwinny works at Hot Topic!" Aiden replied cheerfully, linking arms with both Rai and I. " Me and her were gonna go boy shopping today while it was her shift. You wanna come with us?"
" Heck yes!" Rai started skipping and that led to all three of us skipping in the parking lot, making our way to the entrance. As our shoes slapped against the road cars honked their horns and people gave us strange looks.
But we didn't care.
Why should we? Their opinions didn't matter to us. They could say whatever they want but it wouldn't change our minds about skipping. No way, man.