I awoke to a soft patting on my cheek, which I lazily swatted away while rolling onto my other side to continue sleeping. A deep chuckle met my ears, and after rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I glanced up at the intruder, only to be face to face with the actual Ashley Purdy. “Woah!” I breathed, scrambling backwards a few inches. He was squatting next to me, wearing his signature black leather pants, vest and combat boots while eyeing me with a small, sad smile on his face. “Your friends told me to wake you up, so…” he trailed off before grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet along with him. I hastily ran my hands through my tangled hair and rubbed underneath my eyes to get rid of any makeup, suddenly hyperaware of my appearance - although there was nothing I could do about the fading bruises, since I hadn’t brought my makeup. He shook his head with a chuckle and gestured me to follow him into the dining area, where Lucy, Tina and CC were already situated.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Tina teased as she offered me a glass of orange juice, which I politely declined. “Sleep well?” CC asked, slinging his arm around the blushing brunette. “Yeah, fine,” I mumbled, still sending incredulous glances between him and Ashley, my mind somehow still unable to wrap itself around the fact that two members of my favorite band were within arm’s reach. “So,” Lucy said before leaning back into her chair, “I asked CC if he and a friend could help me move your stuff out of the apartment, since, you know…” The mentioning of Nick brought a sour taste to my tongue, but I swallowed it back with the intention of focusing on the pain I would be spared without him. “And look who volunteered!” Tina joked while waving her jazz-hands in Ashley’s face, to which he rolled his eyes. “I already texted him to have your stuff packed and ready, so we shouldn’t be long. Tina will be staying here with you, keeping you company,” Lucy added before nodding to the guys as an indication for them to get going. “Thanks, guys,” I said with a forced smile, and CC mock-bowed, where Ashley went over to squeeze my shoulders. “No problem.”

Ten minutes later they were gone and Tina and I were still chatting at the dinner table. “Where are your parents?” I asked curiously, which merely caused her to shrug indifferently. “Dunno. Probably out shopping or something.” “Huh.” A comfortable silence enveloped the both of us, and for a few moments it was broken only by the ticking of a grandfather clock in the corner. “You know,” Tina began as she folded her arms on the table and leant over it, “You can tell me if something is bothering you, right?” Her tone was casual, but her eyes held earnest. “Yeah, sure. ‘f course.” She didn’t seem satisfied with my reply, and a sigh escaped my lips at the thought of yet another argument. I honestly didn’t think I would be able to handle being yelled at much longer. “I’ve noticed something about you, besides the obvious bruises,” she continued bluntly, causing my eyes to snap up to her level. An endless amount of possibilities ran through my head at the speed of light, swarming my mind to the point of dizziness. At my lack of reply, she continued further: “You ran out at dinner yesterday. And you didn’t have breakfast today. And, to be honest, you seem to have lost quite a lot of weight.” Her voice faded to a murmur at the end, and I slumped in my chair, breathing out a sigh of relief. That was it? My diet?

“Thank you,” I smiled, feeling my spirit being physically lifted at the thought of her noticing my tiny weight-loss. Tina furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to answer, but I beat her to it. “It’s just a diet I’ve been on for a month or so,” I continued, curling the cuffs of Lucy’s sweater into my palms. “I wanted to be in a better shape and lose a few pounds, so don’t worry.” The crease in her forehead smoothed out a bit, but she kept her eyes locked on mine, to the point where my confidence slowly dissolved into practically nothing. It was chilling. “I believe you,” she soothed as she grabbed my hands in her own, lightly stroking her thumb over the back of my hand, “I just want you to tell me if something’s wrong at any point, alright? No matter what, no matter how small. I’m always there for you.” A thick lump formed in my throat at her kind words, and a chill ran down my spine at the realization of how long it had been since someone showed such interest and care for me. I merely nodded my head, whispering a ‘thank you’. “Anytime,” she winked, quickly causing the tense atmosphere in the room to dissipate.

By the time Lucy and the boys were back, Tina and I were sprawled across Lucy’s bed, scrolling through Tumblr together while listening to Bring Me The Horizon. Their animated voices resonated against the walls upstairs, and the two of us exchanged a brief glance of confusion. “I swear, I’m gonna kill him,” Lucy’s muffled voice grumbled from downstairs, and Tina rubbed my back comfortingly as a heavy sigh escaped my lips once again. Great. Before long, heavy footsteps were heard coming up the carpeted stairs, and within seconds Lucy kicked the door open, muttering angrily to herself. Ashley and CC followed her through the door awkwardly, lingering in the door opening a second too long. “What did he do?” Tina asked curiously at the same time as Ashley mumbled: “Bring Me The Horizon? Seriously?” I rolled my eyes playfully at his comment.

Lucy pulled at her hair in frustration before replying: “He just went on and on about what a fucking whore Amelia is and how she deserves nothing of what he gave to her.” Her exclamation stung as hard as a slap would have done, and it took great effort for me to keep tears from springing to my eyes. “Which isn’t true, obviously,” Ashley said seriously as he took in the look on my face. “He’s a piece of shit,” CC added, which caused a choked chuckle to emit from my throat. “Ashley almost punched him,” Lucy said with a smile as she bumped her hip into his. “Too bad CC held him back.” CC raised his hands in surrender with an innocent look on his face. “I just don’t believe in violence, man.”

The playful banter continued for a few minutes, before Ashley’s phone buzzed and he went outside to answer the call. A couple of minutes later he returned with a small smile on his face. “Is anyone up for partying tonight?” he asked hopefully, clasping his hands together in poorly concealed excitement. “Hell yes!” CC exclaimed, before shooting a pleading look at his girlfriend. “Please?” Tina laughed at his begging, while Ashley rolled his eyes, quietly mumbling ‘“not whipped” my ass’. “You wanna come with?” Lucy asked hopefully, not bothering to conceal her excitement the way Ashley had. “Uh…” I stalled, mentally weighing my options.

It had been ages since the last time I partied, since Nick always insisted on staying at home or going to clubs with his friends alone. And I did have work tomorrow, but exchanging shifts was incredibly easy when working in a fast-food restaurant. Since the pros outweighed the cons, I agreed with a smile on my face. Maybe getting shit-faced was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of Nick. “Yes!” Ashley cheered, although quickly adding a small detail that he had left out. “That was Jinxx on the phone, by the way. The rest of the boys are gonna be there, I think.” My heart basically leaped into my throat at the thought of getting to meet the rest of the band. Luckily no one seemed to notice the starstruck look on my face. “We’ll all just meet up here to drink before heading downtown. Sounds cool?” Ashley asked, to which everyone immediately agreed.

When the boys finally left, Tina and Lucy were both scrambling around, trying to find their absolute sexiest outfits for the night out, although Tina’s was more for CC than anyone else. “We’re gonna get you dolled up, girl, and then you’re gonna forget that that dirtbag has ever existed!” Lucy exclaimed happily, before eyeing me up and down for a second. I shied away from her scrutinizing gaze, and she rolled her eyes at me. “But maybe you should take a shower first.”

Notes

There we go! Thank you for reading :)