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Andy

Interlude.

By the time my parents had gotten home, I had lost all control. I went up to my room sopping wet, and sat in the window seat, my dress dripping on the hardwood floor, but I was too numb to really notice it.

I didn't answer when my parents knocked, and I left the door locked. I had to learn how to coop again, and deal with things like the adult I was aspiring to be.

As I sat there, I remembered the last package he'd given me, and I got up and went to my desk. The paper bag was mostly speckled with rain water, and probably soaked inside, but I opened it anyways.

My fingers froze and I stopped breathing when I looked down into the bag, and from the bottom, looking back at me, was the words in bold, white font: Prophet.

I continued to pull out his worn, sleeveless denim jacket, stuffed and rolled neatly into the bottom of the bag.

I unrolled it on my bed, carefully smoothing out the damp wrinkles, running my fingers over the pair of handcuffs on the back, and listening to them jangle and clank, the way they did when Andy ran, clashing together on his back. A minor background that I hadn't realized meant so much to me.

The tiger head emblem stitched onto the back fascinated me for a moment before I flipped it over and admired all the buttons and patches that adorned his jacket. A small, Batman pin on the upper right shoulder caught my attention, and I smiled a bit. He had quite the fascination with Batman.

There were many details I had missed before, and I took a moment to take in each of them, hoping it would help me understand him better. But my moment was interrupted by a knock on my bedroom door. I considered just not answering it, but my parents would start to freak out if I didn't. So unwillingly, and reluctantly, I approached my door and undid the lock.

"Oh- honey?"

My Mom looked at me in surprise, standing there a mess, my dress dripping on the wood floor, and my hair frizzy.

"How long ago did you get home?"

"An hour." I replied, trying to force a bit of life into my tone, but it was just flat, a tone forced by my frustration, annoyance and hurt.

"Then why are you still wearing that?"

I shrugged a little and sighed, pacing back into my room.

"Why don't you go take a nice, hot shower, and head to bed early?" She suggested, and by this time, I was standing in front of my bedroom window again, looking out at the pouring rain, thunder and lightning.

"Sure." I replied, trying to force some upbeat sound into my behavior. I turned and my mom looked at me in concern. I looked at her brown, anxious eyes, and for a moment, considered telling her what was wrong with me. Tell her about Andy, and tell her the reason I'm so upset now, is because my heart is broken.

But instead, I walked towards her, and accepted the dry bundle of clothing she extended towards me, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

~~~

I avoided the mirror, except to take the time to wipe off my old, smudged makeup and brush out my tangled, damp hair. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck, my body was achey and I was probably coming down with something. All because I had to stand out in the rain like an idiot.

I put on the cotton pajama pants and white tank top, not really caring what my mother had picked out for me. I headed back to my room and checked my phone for the first time in a few days. Normally, I'd check it every ten minutes to see if I was fortunate to have messages.

Surprise hit me when I scrolled through fifteen new texts, and I checked them. The most surprising, most certainly, was the one in my inbox from an individual named Christian Coma.

"How did he even get my number?..." I mumbled, opening the text curiously.

Hey, Asheen...
Yeah, I know you don't know me, and you're probably wondering how I got your number, but that's not important.
What is, though, is something I noticed today during your show, how you kept smiling to your right as you played the piano. Not just cause, either. You kept looking at the same place...
I'm just thinking, it's had me kinda weirded out, how I saw you interacting with some invisible force all day. I'm sorry if I bothered you, and you don't even have to text back, if you don't want to. But the suspense is killing me.
-CC


I bit my lip and re-read it a few times over. Only now, I didn't have Andy to confide in, and ask him if this was going to be a problem. I was alone with my thoughts, and had to solve it myself.

I decided not to answer right away, and I went to the other texts. Most of them were from the nice people that went to my school or church, who were also at the funeral, complimenting my show, but I couldn't bring myself to smile at their words. The last one was from Elizabeth. Instantly, her tone was excited.

Ash! I just saw it on YouTube!

"Huh?..." I texted her back. What? Saw what on YouTube?

It took her a few minutes to reply. Your performance! You performed at that guy's funeral? Anyways, someone filmed it and posted it. Everyone loves it.

My eyes widened in surprise, embarrassment and anxiety.

Link me?

A few moments later the link popped up in my chat box, and I tapped it, waiting for the page to load. The title came first.

Pendant, Utah Student Asheen Hunter performing a cover The Mortician's Daughter by Black Veil Brides.

I hit play, and watched the shaky camera man zoom in and pan on me, singing the second verse, sing he hadn't filmed the first half of the song. The film was shaky, but you could still tell something was up with me. I continuously looked to my right, where, to me, Andy had been standing. I paused the video and scrolled down to read the comments.

She's really good!
Why'd she keep looking over smiling?
What band is this? This song is amazing.
This girl should be on The Voice!
Ugh, people like this make me sick. Singing a song about death at damn funeral?
You go, Ash!
I remember hearing this song in high school. Awesome job! :)
Holy crap, it's Jake Pitts


I scrolled back up to watch the remainder of the video, then I went back to my messages.

Who filmed it? I asked her, waiting for her reply.

No clue. It was uploaded by someone named BeatifulLifeXx. Any clue who that might be?

Nope.

Hm, who knows... Maybe this is the start of your music career!

Unlikely. I'm not very good at it, I mean, not like BVB. Their original version was absolutely beautiful. Andy was the singer of the band.

Andy?

The boy.

Oh. Hey, I've got to go. ttyl


I turned off my phone and sat by the window contemplating what I'd respond to CC with, or if I'd respond at all. I looked over, and sure enough, the jacket was still there, lying in a limp heap. I reached over and pulled it into my lap, and curled up in the window, hugging the fabric that smelled sweetly of cigarette smoke.

I missed Andy so damn much already, it hurts, and makes me ache, knowing I will never see him again. Not physically, at least. I hopped up and went to my mirror to pluck the photo of him out of the corner of the frame, and I looked down at it.

Sitting back down by the window, I put in my headphones, and turned on the Black Veil Brides album again, staring out the window, holding the picture and his jacket.

Notes

Comments

I just want to say, I am here to support you no matter what you do <3

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/12/20

Oh gosh, I'm getting weird vibes towards this "sketchy" part of town.

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
5/8/19

I am absolutely in love with this book!

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/30/19

Poor Ashley. Poor Andy. Poor Asheen. Wow, what a story! :)

Merelan Merelan
4/29/19

I am conspiring so many theories about this book my head hurts... lol... anyway, great chapter as usual! Can't wait to read what happens next

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/25/19