Chapter 2

The morning after I awoke to empty sheets. With a sigh I realized that Nick had probably left to hang out with his friends - although a quick scan of the bedside table showed no sign of a note. As I finally heaved myself out of bed minutes later, my phone started vibrating, signaling an incoming call. Lucy flashed across the screen, and a smile tugged at my lips at the thought of my best friend. “‘Ello?” I answered, startled at the sound of my own scratchy morning voice. Lucy laughed lightly on the other end. “Have you seriously slept until now?” I removed the phone from my ear to glance at the time - 11:12. “Fuck me…” I mumbled, to which my friend laughed even more. “I get that it’s Saturday, but damn girl. Anyways, would thou like to join moi at the beach?” she asked in a dorky accent, and I rolled my eyes. For a moment I weighed out my options - the beach meant swimsuits, which was a definite no. And the water meant revealing the bruises that were most likely completely visible by now, even if I covered them with makeup, so that was also a no.

“Uh… How about the mall?” I asked sheepishly. Luckily my friend agreed without further questioning. “See you in an hour!” she said happily before hanging up. “See you.” I immediately went to my dresser and picked out an outfit; black skinny jeans with rolled-up cuffs and a grey baggy sweatshirt. A quick glance out of the window showed the Sun high in the sky, and with a groan I picked up a white t-shirt with an oversized, light cardigan instead. Instinctively I gave my body a once-over before stepping into the shower. The light bruise from yesterday had turned a sickly purple color and was incredibly sensitive to the touch. My cheek was slightly better, although the slap caused a small tear in my lip. After a few minutes of reprimanding myself for allowing my body to look the way it did, I stepped into the shower and lathered myself in shampoo and conditioner along with a peach-scented body wash.

There was still no sign of Nick as I stepped out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, so I reminded myself to leave a note before I left. After tugging on my outfit and running a brush through my hair, I received a text from Lucy.

On my way! See you in 10 <3

I smiled at her message, but quickly covered my tender bruise with concealer and swiped on some mascara. “I’m hereee!” came an enthusiastic shout from downstairs. “Coming!” I shouted right back as I filled my shoulder bag with keys, gum and my phone before sauntering downstairs. “Hey!” the dark-haired girl greeted before tugging me into a tight hug, which I reciprocated immediately. Her touch was warm and comforting, although I couldn’t help but wince as she unknowingly squeezed the bruise on my arm. Before long she grabbed my arm and dragged me into her car parked in my driveway. “So,” she began as she turned the key in the ignition, “what have you been up to lately?” I clicked on my seatbelt and shrugged indifferently. “Not much. Just working, you know.” Lucy nodded solemnly, but cracked a smile when she heard me laugh at her. “Same,” she sighed as she patted the steering wheel. “Need money for this baby. And college, obviously.” Lucy and I were both taking a year off school in order to save up some money for our education. Lucy’s parents were not exactly well-off, and the recent crack in my relationship with my parents caused them to all but shun me completely. So I was currently working full-time at my local McDonald’s in order to pay the bills and save up some cash. Glamorous, I know.

Within twenty minutes we were parked at our go-to mall. Lucy insisted on dragging me into every clothing shop there was, although we left them all empty-handed. “Ah,” she sighed as we finally left the 8th store. “The joys of being poor and miserable.” I chuckled along with her, but bumped my hip into hers encouragingly. “Trust me. Once you’ve gotten an education and a stable career, you can buy as many band-tees as your heart desires,” I teased, which caused her to roll her eyes. “Or once I’ve married a rockstar…” she mumbled before dragging me towards a Starbucks located in the middle of the mall. “What do you want?” she asked with her gaze fixed on the menu behind the baristas. At the thought of food my mouth started salivating as I hadn’t had any breakfast, but I swallowed harshly before waving her off. “Nothing. I had a huge breakfast,” I lied, but Lucy didn’t seem to have any objections. “I’ll go find us a table.”

I located an empty table in the very back of the café, where I hooked my arms around my knees while waiting for my friend to return. She did so only minutes after with a frappuccino and a muffin in hand. “I forgot to tell you something,” she said giddily after scooting onto the couch across from me. I raised my eyebrows curiously and waited for her to take a sip of her drink. “Tina’s got a boyfriend.” Excitement practically radiated off of her body, but the sparkle in her eyes quickly faded at my lack of enthusiastic response. “That’s great! But, uh… Why are you so excited about that?” I asked with a chuckle. Tina was Lucy’s older sister, whom she loved dearly, and since I had spent so much time at their house throughout my life, Tina had become like a second sister to me, too. “He’s kinda famous,” she gushed, so thrilled that for a moment I wondered how she could forget to tell me something that obviously mattered so much to her in the first place.

“Is that so?” I smiled, ripping off small pieces of the white napkin lying between us. “How famous? Like, Justin Bieber-famous or small-town choirboy-famous?” “Like, Black Veil Brides-famous.” The look on my face must have been comical, for Lucy burst into laughter and grabbed my hand to stop me from tearing apart the piece of paper in front of us. “Are you serious?” I asked after a few moments of wrapping my mind around what she just said. “Deadly.” Damn. How the hell did she manage to snatch one of them? It was a well-known fact that Lucy and I, and Tina for that matter, absolutely adored that band - not just for their obvious attractiveness, but for their music as well. “So, which one?” I asked curiously, though still taking precaution in case she was just messing with me. “CC.” I leaned back in my chair heavily while crossing my arms against my chest, a look of disbelief definitely still resting on my features. “You know, I’m gonna need proof for that,” I joked, bearing in mind that there was a slim chance of me getting to know the boy, even if they were actually dating. “You can come home with me tonight and see for yourself. He’s staying for dinner at our parents’ house,” she said nonchalantly, though the look in her eyes told me that she was eyeing my reaction closely.

“Seriously?” “Yeah. I’m just gonna have to ask my parents for permission, but you know they love you,” she smiled. For some reason unbeknownst to me, my heartbeat picked up speed and my hands got slightly damp. As much as I would kill to meet any of the band-members, knowing myself, I would definitely make a fool out of myself in front of them. I would probably blush and stutter and trip, and then I would never see them again. Oh man.

“Hey! Are you listening?” Lucy asked as she snapped her fingers in my face to gain my attention, a wide smile stretched across her face. “Huh?” I asked stupidly, completely oblivious to what she had been saying for the past few minutes. “I said,” she began with an eye-roll, “that you are more than welcome to join us for dinner.” Despite my reservations, I couldn’t help but grin as excitement began overpowering my nervousness, only slightly aware of the throbbing of my cracked lip. But then reality hit me, and I realized that I would have to eat with them. And knowing Lucy’s mother, she would not settle with a slimming salad. Then I guess I’ll just have to starve until tonight, I thought glumly. “This is gonna be fun!” Lucy exclaimed, finally finishing her drink and muffin. “Are you ready to go home?” I nodded enthusiastically as I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

“Just be there at 18:30, alright?” she reminded me, to which I nodded. She smiled back at me and then sped down the street, leaving me standing alone in front of our apartment-building. “Where have you been?” Nick asked as soon as I stepped through the door. He was leaning against the archway that led into the living room, trapping me against the front door. “I was out with Lucy, like I wrote on the note,” I sighed and made a move to walk past him, but he grabbed my shoulders and made sure I stayed put. “What note?” he asked, irritation clear in his body language, and with a sinking feeling in my stomach I realized that I forgot to write it. “And you’ve been ignoring my texts and calls,” he continued angrily as he pushed himself off the wall to advance on me. Oh fuck. “It must have been on silent-“ “I bet you’ve been with someone else,” he seethed. “After everything I have given you, even though you’re not worth a second of my life, you have the audacity to go and sleep around behind my back?!" Panic blossomed in my chest and was quickly pumping through my veins through my racing heart. “No, I swear, I-“
Once again he interrupted me, but this time with a slap. With nothing to hold on to, I staggered and almost fell to the floor. “Don’t lie to me!” he shouted before slapping me once again, causing searing white pain to overwhelm my senses. My eyes were watering, but I was determined to keep them at bay as I glanced at the ceiling. “I would never be with someone else! I love you!” I cried, backing up against the solid door behind me. Nick’s face was still flushed with anger, but his clenched fist remained at his side. “Fine. Let’s pretend I believe you. One more chance. You have one more chance before I kick your ass out of this goddamned apartment,” he cursed and finally turned around to storm off into the living room. When I was alone once more, I placed a calming hand on my racing heart, the other on my throbbing cheek. Fuck. Why am I such an idiot?

With a final sniffle I went into the bathroom to assess the damage done to my face, in the hopes that I would still be able to make it to Lucy’s.

Notes