Chapter 6
Andy’s POV
The morning suns warm rays shine through my window, illuminating the room & penetrating my eyelids. Groaning, I go to roll over, only to remember my ribs. I try to push myself up with my arms, but every time I bend my wrist and create tension there’s a tearing sensation running up the length of my arm… Oh yeah, I forgot about last nights… incident. I swing my legs off the bed for my feet to be greeted with the freezing cold laminate flooring & I reluctantly pad my way to the bathroom to clean myself up. My battered and bruised reflection stares back at me from the mirror, the swelling on my face gradually going down. The bruises have faded fast, and my nose looks like it’s almost fully healed even though I can feel the painful throbbing in it still. At least I won’t look absolutely terrible in school tomorrow. School tomorrow… sigh. I turn the shower on, waiting for the water to heat up & take off last nights bloodied clothes. I take the wrapping off my ribs to have a look & take a shower but bruised and bloodied skin stares back at me. There are welt marks from Colton's belt & dried blood making the whole area look terrible. Just wash the blood off Andy and forget. Forget about it all. I step into the shower, the hot water attacking my skin, & see blood run down my side, down my legs and onto the shower floor. Not to mention off my left arm. I sigh and run my fingertips over each cut, gently attempting to clean them while whispering I’ll try to stop. And I do try… it just doesn’t always work. Try again. ‘Its time to change Andy’ I hum softly to myself. Time to think positively now, I have Ashley. The thought of yesterday instantly puts a smile on my face and I hop out of the shower eager to check my text messages. I carefully patch myself back up with my bandages and get dressed and hobble to my room as quickly as I can, catching my phone midway through a beep. Nice timing Biersack.
Much to my delight, it’s Ash, as I expected. He’s apparently bored out of his wits in class so I text him back, jokingly telling him to get out of there & visit me instead. I grin to myself at the thought of him actually turning up as I hastily dry my hair with a towel. I decide to risk it and sneak downstairs and fortunately for me, Colton isn’t home. But neither is my mom, I find a note from her in the kitchen telling me there’s dinner in the fridge and she’d be back at half 6. Colton wasn’t going to be home tonight. Result. I laugh blissfully & take the pizza out of the fridge to put in the oven. I brush aside my intrusive thoughts as I’ve just been surviving off drinks for days, and decide to enjoy myself. And how do I do that? Batman.
Pizza shoved into my mouth & eyes glued to the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ on my TV screen, I’m in my element until my front door knocking disturbs me. I whine in discontent while I put the film on pause & going to open the door.
“What do y… Ash! Hey, come in! I didn’t know it was you! Did you run out of school? I wasn’t being serious, I…” I’m stopped midway through my ramble by Ash taking my hand that’s still holding my pizza & shoving it into my mouth while he laughs.
“Hush, Sixx. Don’t worry about me” he gives me a ballsy wink before coming in and leaving his cowboy boots at the door.
“Sixx? Where did that come from?” I ask him in bewilderment, plopping back onto my sofa & pulling him down with me.
“It’s your new nickname! You live at number 6 and you love Mötley Crüe & so obviously you love Nikki Sixx. So Sixx it is!” he explains, taking a slice of pizza off my plate and biting into it.
“Rude; taking my pizza. And why can’t I make up nicknames for you at random?” I challenge him
“Because I already have a nickname haha, Its Ash. You already know that one Sixx, keep up.” He ruffles my hair playfully only to discover it’s still damp.
“That’s what you get… Purdy Boy.”

Ashley’s POV
Andy’s bright blue eyes remain glued to the screen even when it’s just the credits rolling at the end. That boy really does love Batman. I shove him gently, gaining his attention & offer him the last slice of pizza which he shrugs and takes. Since his moms not home till late, it seems like a good idea to invite him round to my place so I grab his arm and lead him out of the house, getting my boots on and chucking his vans at him on the way. His angry protests become muffled by the pizza in his mouth. Good, he looks like he needs more of that stuff in him anyway. He chews aggressively, furrowing his brow at me as I swing my leg over my motorbike.
“Ash, where are you going?” Andy murmurs to me, his previous content expression replaced with that of an unhappy child.
“Aw, Sixx. You’re coming with me, silly. Get on.” I pat the seat behind me.
Andy’s face lights up and he gets on, precariously balancing himself behind me as I begin to pull off. He yelps slightly as he loses his balance and hugs my waist in an attempt to… well, not die really. I laugh, apologize for the lack of anywhere to hold and try to focus on the road despite his warmth distracting me. I manage to get us both to my place, alive and unharmed.
I unlock the front door, pulling Andy in behind me. My aunts not home so we have the house to ourselves. It’s surprisingly hot, even despite it being summer so I drag Andy out into the back garden, pulling my shirt off and dropping it on the floor as we go. Andy simply cocks an eyebrow at me and I shrug. It’s hot out here. I see the old paddling pool further down the garden and laugh, asking Andy if he wants me to fill it up. He seems reluctant but I’ll get him out of his shell. I sprint up to it, connect the hose to the outdoor tap & let it fill. Andy plops himself down in an old garden chair and I do the same.
“You gonna paddle when it’s full?” I ask him, grinning like a 5 year old.
“Nope.” His blunt response goes no further.
“Oh come on Sixx! All I’m asking you to do is paddle, not take off all your clothes and do a nude photo-shoot in the sun! Come on, lighten up.” I protest jokingly, and he agrees to paddle but no more.
I sigh, hoping I’d get him to open up a bit more and at least take his shirt off and relax. Then it hits me. Squirt him with the hose. Then he’ll have to. I try to hide my grin as Andy bends to take his vans and socks off and sneak over to the pool, acting innocent as I pick up the hosepipe & let the water splash into the small inflatable pool. As he bends back up I swivel the hose in his direction.
“AMBUUSSSSHHHH!!!” I run up towards him, keeping the stream of water aimed at his torso & face, making him laugh hysterically and gasp for air. When I’m satisfied he’s well and truly soaked, I throw the hose back into the pool to let it continue filling. Andy’s laughs fill the garden, making me grin as I walk towards him, his white tee clinging to his skin. He shakes his hair like a dog, complaining that it had only just dried. But I can’t pay attention to him because as I get to within a normal distance of him, his skeletal frame is obvious & the purple bruises shine out from beneath the soaked white shirt. I glance quickly over his arms, and my eyes are pulled directly back to his left arm. Angry, red & raised lines cover the inside of his forearm, and I look at him in confusion as the smile slowly fades from his face.
“Ash… what’s wro…” he begins.
“Take it off” I command angrily, cutting him off mid sentence.
“Nah, I’m good. I’ll dry off soon, it’s pretty hot right?” he asks me, tensing up slightly.
“I said take it off Andrew.” I look him directly in the eyes and he begins to back away, getting the wrong idea of the situation.
“Ashley, please. Anything but this, please…” his eyes fill with fear and I instantly calm down at the sight of those huge blue eyes of his showing how broken he is inside.
“Andy I’m not gonna hurt you. Come here buddy” I grab him in a hug, being careful not to disturb his ribs too much. He breathes out a sigh of relief & I hold onto him for slightly longer.
'Should I?' I grab the hem of his shirt and pull it up over his head in one fluid motion, then yank on his arms softly to get them out of the soaked sleeves that clung to them. And he doesn’t even react. He just stands there looking completely pissed off & wraps his arms around his torso, obviously trying to cover the bruising.
“Give it back.” He growls deeply.
“Let me see what they did Andy. Are those welt marks? Move your arms now.” I pull his arms apart and stare at his ribs, bruised and slightly bloodied. New and old welt marks protruding from his porcelain skin, covering his stomach, side & probably his back too. He stares back at me, trying to gauge my emotions.
“If you’re quite done, I’ll have my shirt back now?” he asks somewhat rebelliously.
“Nah, I’m not done. Where did those marks come from Andy? They weren’t from those guys I can tell you that much. Wait, no, scratch that. Let me see your arm first.” I raise my eyebrows while voicing my instruction.
He holds out his right arm just to have it slapped right back down.
“The other one. Now.” I snap at him, beginning to lose my patience.
And so we stand there, staring back at one another. His gaunt frame taking away any chance he had of being threatening, despite his few inches of height advantage. After a good 30 or 40 seconds I grab him arm, twisting it so its underside can be revealed. By this point Andy realises there’s no point struggling, so lets his arm go limp in my hand. Fresh cuts stare back at me, the bright red lines covering the entire underneath of his forearm. And beneath them, scars. Layers of scars stare back at me; some new, some old. Just looking at his arm tells a story, and makes me feel like I’m not really meant to be listening. I let go. His arm drops limply back to his side, and when I look back up at his face, his eyes are squeezed shut and undisturbed tears toll down his cheeks.
“Come on Andy… Let’s uh, let’s go inside…”

Notes

CLIFFHANGER. Ha. Don't kill me guys, I love you all :D Sorry for the little wait but yes, I am back now. And you may or may not get another chapter later. ;3 Hope you all enjoyed this one <3