Change My Ways

I woke up the next morning in a strong embrace with a blanket covering me and whoever was holding me.I looked sideways to see CC asleep. I was in his lap; the chair was a one-person chair. I didn’t remember him being here last night.

“CC?” I asked quietly, waking him up. “What are you doing here?”

“Ashley texted me when he got out of surgery,” he replied softly, kissing my forehead. “You were crying in your sleep when I got here.”

“That’s because this is my fault,” I murmured, looking at Andy and tearing up. “This is my fault.”

“No,” CC said sternly, making me jump. “You didn’t shoot him.”

“But I got him shot!” I cried. “I saw him, CC.I t was the guy who kidnapped me! I saw him!”

“That doesn’t make this your fault,” he said. “You’re as much of a victim as Andy and Ashley are; so how the hell would this be your fault?” He lifted me up and stood up, grabbing my hand. “We’re going out for the day, just us.”

“But what if something happens?” I gasped. “I can’t just leave him!”

“It’s not like a little kid is coming to draw a dick on his forehead. He’s not gonna die, Alex, and if he wakes up it’ll be a nice surprise when we get back.”

“He has a week, CC,” I said quietly. “The doctor said that if he doesn’t wake up in a week, he’s not gonna wake up.”

“And that’s not gonna happen,” he assured me. “He’s going to wake up, I promise. But you need to get your mind off things. That’s why we’re meeting up with Tara, Jake, and Jinxx and going to an amusement park.”

“I don’t wanna go to an amusement park,” I grumbled.

“You need it,” he finalized, pulling me out of the room.

The day at the amusement park didn’t help as much as CC had hoped. Yeah, I smiled. It wasn’t real. I smiled so CC thought he was actually helping me. In reality, I spent all day thinking about Andy. What if something happened?

When we got back to the hospital, I headed straight for Andy’s room. CC grabbed my arm and started dragging me in the other direction.

“Where are we going now?” I whined.

“We’re going to hang out with Ashley,” he said. “Staring at your brother won’t make him wake up any faster, it’ll just hurt you more.”

I never made it to Ashley’s room. I didn’t want to go. I promised CC I wasn’t going back to Andy’s room, and he let me go do my own thing. I was surprised he let me, but I needed to call someone. I knew he would be upset that I hadn’t called him in a long time, but I needed him right now.

I pulled out my phone and called him. He was on speed dial number two, and my first emergency contact.

“Hello?” he asked, his accent already calming me down slightly.

“B-Bear?” I said shakily. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say, but I knew I needed to speak to him. There was a story behind his nickname; there was bound to be one since he decided to take in a traumatized fourteen year old girl.

“Katie?!” he exclaimed. “Where the fuck have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you!”

“I-I know,” I said. “And I’m sorry. Bear, I… a lot has happened lately, and I just don’t know how to deal. I need you guys right now.”

“Alright, where are you? Are you home?” he asked.

I shook my head, though I knew he couldn’t see, “No, I’m somewhere in New Mexico I think.”

“New Mexico?!” he yelled. “Fuck, Katie, what’s going on?”

“A lot, Bear, too much to explain,” I said softly. “In short, I formed a band, we’re on tour, and something bad happened last night at the show and I just… I’m not dealing well, and I’m terrified I’m gonna lose someone close to me and I just don’t know what to do and please, I need you.”

“We’re in Arizona right now,” he said. “We’ll be there as soon as we can. Can you tell me where in New Mexico you are?”

“Just ask Rocket about what happened with Black Veil Brides last night, he should know,” I said. “That’s who we’re touring with, so that’s where we are.”

“Oh, look at you,” he said. “Making a name for yourself. Listen Katie, I’ve got to go. But if we’re not there tomorrow, I promise all of us will be there the day after.”

“Thanks Bear,” I smiled slightly. “Taboo.”

“Taboo,” he replied and hung up.

After I escaped from the man that kidnapped me, Bear and his band found me and took me in. I was fourteen years old, and couldn’t speak worth shit. I was terrified, and in shock, but couldn’t bring myself to talk about what happened. They didn’t know my story, but they certainly kept it going. They got me interested in singing anyways. Well, Rocket did. He was the singer.

I never used any of their real names. I knew them of course, but as I was learning to trust people and speak again, something sparked my attention that led me to a nickname for each of them. I couldn’t call them by their real names anymore if I tried; they were, to me now and forever, Rocket, Bear, Chip, Squeak, and Night. We generally greeted each other with “Sunrise” and said goodbye with “Taboo.” The reasons were pretty simple. “Sunrise” represented how no matter what was going on, when we were together we were a family, so when we would greet each other the sun was rising no matter what darkness was happening in our lives. “Taboo” basically meant that we would never really say goodbye. “Goodbye” was a forbidden word, we would never say goodbye to each other, and we would always be there for each other. Therefore, the word goodbye was taboo.

“Alex,” I heard CC calling out. “Hey, Alex where are you?”

“Here,” I said, walking towards him. “I was making a phone call.”

“To who?” he asked.

“The men who saved me after I escaped,” I said.

“You didn’t tell us about that,” he said.

“You’re right,” I agreed. “Because you know them, first of all. And they’re coming tomorrow anyways.”

“Who is it?” he asked.

“Bear, Rocket, Night, Squeak, and Chip,” I said. “You don’t know our nicknames, but you know them. We’re a family. And I need them right now.”

“Oh Alex,” he sighed, giving me a tight hug. “Everything will be okay.Just you wait.”

Notes

So who is Bear and his band? You'll find out next chapter.
And on a crazier note...
um, can we just appreciate that CHEALYTHENINJA JUST TWEETED ME. I AM DYING ASDFGHJKL