Andy

I zoned out a lot on the drive to the hospital, but no matter how dazed I became, I was forever aware of the kind nurse's warm hand in mine. She sat on the bench beside my stretcher, and just watched me lie there. Her gaze was sympathetic, and understanding.

"What?" I finally croaked, my voice barely above a broke whisper. They'd already warned me not to speak, because it would strain my vocal chords, and they didn't know how much damage was done yet.

She shook her head a little bit, a strand of brownish blonde hair falling from her bun. "I understand what you're going through, hun."

I winced at her use of the name, because less than a half hour ago, the perverted piece of shit on the stretcher next to me had called me that same name.

"How so?" I wondered anyways, hoping her voice and words could distract me from my own troubling thoughts.

"I had the same... Attack. It was a few years ago, only a lot more physical damage was done." She told me softly without going into detail. I noticed how she didn't come straight out and say hers had been much worse, because that would only plant the seed of doubt in my mind, instead, she stated it as though I had gotten off a little easier.

I could tell she didn't want to go into detail, and with my own fresh memories swirling around in my head like water going down a drain, I didn't want her to.

"It was awful," She continued, "But I did find a way through it. That's when I realized I wanted to be nurse. I wanted to help people."

"And you're helping me." I whispered to her, trying to sound reassuring. But my voice was barely above a cracked whimper.

She smirked a little in amusement. "You're not supposed to be talking."

I smiled a little and sighed, looking up at the ceiling of the albulance cabin. There was an assortment of equiptment, lights and buttons, and things I didn't even have names for.

I let my mind wander, and when it did, I cringed, remembering that the son of a bitch was right there beside me, and against my wishes, he was still breathing. Of all the torture, I had to lie right next to him, listen to his breathing, all calm and smooth sailing, while I was struggling to keep from making a whistle noise when I inhaled.

My jaw shifted and clentched, and I glared at the ceiling. The nurse sighed a little, "I know... You're on edge, and probably pretty pissed. If I wasn't a professional, and by contract, not allowed to kill people I don't like, I would've killed him myself by now." She joked, nodding towards him.

My lip twitched in acknowledgement.

"Your friends said they'd be in the waiting room when we get there." She told me in reassurance. "We couldn't contact your family, though. You didn't have a license on you for identification."

"Didn't CC tell you?"

"CC?" She echoed in confusion, "Oh, those boys? No, they were sent out of the venue while we worked. One of them did tell us they'd be here soon, though."

I nodded, just a fraction shift of my chin, because the neckbrace prevented me from doing much else.

"They're all in that band, right? Black Veil Brides? You can just give me a thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for now." She suggested, still trying to actually keep me from talking or moving. I lifted my hand and gave her a feeble thumbs up.

"They lost their old singer not too long ago, huh?"

Another thumbs up. She sighed sympathetically and pursed her lips. "It's really a shame. Andy was a good kid. I actually knew him before he moved to California. We didn't know each other well, just well enough."

I wondered what she meant by that, but I didn't want to risk being scolded for asking. I rested my hand beside me again while she started talking conversationally about some of the things she has to do as a nurse. I paid attention to her every word, because it kept me distracted.

The ambulance stopped, a nice long ride, because the hospital is halfway across Pendant, and even with sirens blaring, and driving full speed, it still took ten minutes.

"Stay still." She suggested, standing up as the back doors of the ambulance opened. I looked up at her and noticed her name tag, clipped to the front of her nurse's scrubs.

Amily.

So... Like Amy and Emily together?

The other EMT's began to unload us both. Pulling me out first to rush me into urgent care.

The bright flourescent lights blinded me as they wheeled me down the halls, and like a maze, I got lost and lost track of the turns. My eyelids fluttered, and my lungs ached. My throat was sore, and this was without a doubt, the worst pain I'd ever felt. Every breath just hurt.

The bright light caused specks to appear in my vision. Shifting sparkles of dust, that could easily be misinterpeted into a set of glowing blue irises.

I hadn't realized I was smiling, just barely, until I became more aware of my surroundings. I knew I had been told to keep my eyes open, but I just didn't feel like fighting so much. I wanted to sleep it off, wake up in my bedroom, and this whole nightmarish evening could be behind me.

I closed my eyes and was out like a light before anyone could stop me.

~~~

"Sweetie... Oh, Ash."

"How is she doing?"

"Same."

"Want me to bring in Christian and the others? They've been dying to see her."

"I'd like to know what the hell happened, first."

"I know... There's no words to really describe this pain. But at least they stopped him."

"They are the reason this happened."

My eyes slowly adjusted to the unbelievably bright room.

"Mom?" I croaked.

"Ash!" She exclaimed, leaping to join my side. "You passed out, sweetie." She told me soothingly, smoothing my hair in straight waves down the front of my hospitall gown.

"Is it bad?" I croaked after a few awkward, quiet moments. My mom shook her head stiffly, unshed tears lingering in her anxious brown eyes. My Dad placed his hands on her shoulders, and squeezed in reassurance.

"It wasn't as bad as the doctor's originally thought, thank God. They don't think you'll need vocal practice in recovery."

I nodded stiffly, relieved that at least, my voice hadn't been effected. I could still smell it on me, though... Just barely, the scent of Carl's vodka and whiskey. I winced, and shook my head slightly.

"How long do I have to stay here?" I whispered, trying not to strain my voice right away.

"Just a day, at the most." My Dad told me, a small, hesitant smile on his face. "They just wanted to keep an eye on the bruising and your breathing. Then you're set to go home."

I nodded a little bit, and looked down. "Where's CC? Is he here? Are Jake and Jinxx?"

They gave me a confused look. "CC?" They wondered, like the nurse, Amily, had before.

"Christian." I corrected. "Are they here?"

"Yeah... In the waiting room. Do you want to see them?"

"Please?"

My Mom looked up at my Dad and nodded, giving his hand a squeeze before he left the room to go get them. My Mom smiled at me, "You had me so worried." She whispered. "I don't think I ever tell you enough... Just how much I love you."

Her lower lip quivered, even frozen in a small smile. Mine became identical, and I extended my arms at my sides to ask for a hug, since I couldn't sit up yet. She leaned over me and gave me a small squeeze.

"You will never understand a mother's unconditional love... Until you are one. It's not something that can be explained, and the love can never be expressed fully. It just gets bottled up inside. But just know, it's always there."

She buried her face in my shoulder, and I hugged her back tightly. "I love you, too, Mom." I whispered sincerely. Squeezing my eyes shut to force back the tears.

When she pulled away, she was laughing, her own tears had finally spilled. "We are such a mess." She smiled, wiping under her eyes with the heels of her palms.

I smiled at her in agreement.

"Look who's up."

I looked over to the doorway, where CC, Jake and Jinxx stood with my father. CC grinned at me and stepped into the room.

"I'll give you guys a chance to talk." My Mom said with a fading smile as she got up to leave. CC came to take her spot beside me, his smile faltering and becoming sympathetic.

"I'm really sorry... That's the lamest apology I could possibly give, but I mean it."

"I appreciate it." I replied in my low, scratchy voice.

"I actually had something I wanted to tell you... Kinda unrelated, but I thought of it while I was in the waiting room."

My brow furrowed. "What's that?"

He sighed, looked up at the ceiling for a few moments while he chose his words carefully. "When Andy was in the band, and we were on tour for We Stitch These Wounds, we were playing at this stripmall in Denver. Anyways, Andy was always 'adventurous' while he performed."

I looked at him in confusion, he smirked in amusement and continued. "He climbed all over shit like a little kid. He'd be up on the amps and crap. Well, on this particular night, there were these stone pillars around the stage area, and between them was the hallway around the stage. We were playing, and he climbed up on them, doing his thing. Then, he goes to jump off of it, onto the stage, misses the stage completely, and collides with the concrete wall around the stage, shattered two ribs and dislocated one."

I stared at him in shock, wondering how the hell Andy had not told me about that one.

"After security made sure he was okay, he refused an ambulance, and got back up on stage and kept singing, even though he had to sit on this stool the entire time, he didn't quit because he felt bad... Same applies to you, I think."

"What do you mean?" I looked at him warily.

"You've changed since the funeral. I've noticed it. But just think of it this way... Shit gets hard, but you've just got to keep on going, because if you don't, and you let yourself fall back into that bleak pit of doom, you'll never find yourself again."

I took a deep breath, looking down at my hands, resting limply in my lap.

"I care for you, Ash, and I know Andy did, too. He wouldn't want to see you decline after this." He said sincerely. I looked up at his brown eyes, always hopeful and kind. He was a better friend than I deserved.

"Thank you, CC." I smiled a little bit. He smiled back and leaned over to give me a hug. "The others want to see you, too. I'll go get them."

He got up and went to the door to call in Jinxx and Jake. They came in, in an awkward shuffles and said their piece. But Jake's first words were brooding.

"I'm damn sorry about all of this, Asheen. We knew how Carl was, and we were keeping an eye on him. But he still found his fucking way in..." A deep growl of anger resonated from his chest. "We hope you'll find comfort in knowing, he's fired, so is Millard. And he'll be spending a nice amount of time behind bars for the damage he did."

Jinxx and CC both nodded in agreement with Jake's statement.

"Thank you all so much. I feel like I'm getting repetitive with my word choices, but, I can't think of any other way to express it. You've all been so amazing to me."

"CC told us what happened, with Andy." Jinxx spoke up, and I froze. His gaze wasn't cold or analyzing. He believed me, and from Jake's expression, he did, too. "It's bizarre as hell to hear, and hard to swallow... But if everything you say is true, then you're a friend of ours, and we're gonna care for you in Andy's absence, because guess what, Emo Bitch Queen?" Jinxx sent me a half smile, and I grinned at his use of my nickname. "You're apart of our pack, now. We take care of our own. Welcome to the BVB Army."

Notes

Brace yourselves...
I really like the ending. :)
Chapter inspired by A Devil For Me by Black Veil Brides a really underrated song, in my opinion.
How To Save a Life by The Fray

Shoutouts to...
BVB_Rebel_Love_Song
anathema
Thanks for the comments, and helpful advice! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story!