Saviour (Black Veil Brides)

A shocking visitor

Twenty minutes later I was sitting outside the house with Ailsa taking a drag of my cigarette, watching the smoke slowly disappear into the stars. We had been sitting silently for a while and I could tell there was something off about Ailsa.

“When did you start smoking Bliss?” she asked, fighting to light her smoke in the wind.

“Quite some time ago actually, I never told Anabella or Andy though, they’d both have my head on a stick if they knew I did. I started after Ashley started chain smoking, he was furious actually.” She laughed and laid her head against the front door.

“Is there something wrong Ailsa?” I asked, turning to her.

“I got kicked out, I’ve been living at random shelters I found on my way over here and worked small jobs until I got enough money to get a plane ticket here.” She looked up at the sky and took another drag of her smoke, slowly exhaling.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. Why didn’t you just call me? I would have paid for you to get over here right away. You could have been with family for so long now.” She just shook her head and smiled at me.

“We all know why I didn’t Bliss, because I’m too proud. I’m too stubborn to take things from other people.” Then we started laughing and it looked like a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

“Wanna go inside? It’s freezing out here.” She said and I laughed some more

“Well you’re definitely not in Canada anymore” and with that we stood up and dropped the end of our cigarettes into our half empty coke cans and went inside.

***

I woke up to someone gently shaking me and I was about to smack their hand away when I realized who it was.

“Dad?” I asked, not entirely sure if I was still sleeping.

“Hi baby girl, sorry to wake you up but I’ve been here for about an hour and I didn’t think you’d be getting up anytime soon.”

“Why are you here? I mean I’m happy you are but why?” I asked and he just laughed.

“I wanted to see you and Belles and little Carolyn but I guess it’s just you and Carolyn.” He said sitting on the edge of my bed.

“Yeah, Anabella went to take care of Andy until his ribs are healed. I’m so happy you’re here dad! I missed you so much!” and that was the truth. It’d been months since I last saw my dad and seeing him instantly made me feel better about everything.

I got up to give him a hug when my phone started to ring. I quickly grabbed the phone only to see Ashley’s name lighting up my screen. Instantly my heart began beating and a smile found its way onto my face.

“I’m going to assume that you’ve been waiting for this call for a while so I’ll just step out for a minute. I’ll be downstairs making breakfast when you’re done. Take your time, I’ve waited months to see you, a few more minutes won’t kill me.” And with that he was gone and I was left with a lump in my throat and a call to answer.

“Bliss, are you there? I can’t hear anything.” At the sound of his voice my heart stopped.

“I’m here Ash.”

“Okay, thank god. I know I told you that I’d call you last night but I spent all night thinking about everything that’s been going on and I’ve made my decision. I want to be with you. I want nothing more than to have you in my arms and see your smile. I love you Bliss and as much as that terrifies me I can’t ignore that any longer.”

“I love you too Ashley, god I love you so much. You’ll be home again soon and we can be together then. We’ll work through whatever comes up when it happens. I need to go but I’ll call you back later. I love you okay? Bye Ash.” I hung up before he got a chance to say goodbye but I knew if he said anything else I’d talk to him for hours.

Walking down the stairs I sighed, I knew I had to tell my dad about Ashley but I didn’t know how. I was so scared of him freaking out, I knew I had to tell him soon but I couldn’t ruin seeing him already. He’s been here for all of an hour and a half and I was ready to ruin his surprise.

As I descended the stairs I could hear his voice coming from the kitchen but I had no idea who he would be talking to. Cody had a meeting this morning and Ailsa went to it with him. I snuck around the corner only to find him talking on the phone. I was going to walk in when I heard my name being mentioned.

“I know I came here to tell them but only Bliss is here Emerson. I can’t only tell one of my daughters, what will she think? How is she going to take it?” By this time my stomach was caught in my throat and my mind was racing. Who was Emerson? And what did my dad have to tell Anabella and I that could be such a big deal?

“Well Bliss should be down any minute now so I should go but I’ll call you back later okay? I’ll try to figure something out. Okay, I love you too. I’ll be home in a few days. I miss you.” I couldn’t keep the words in my mouth when I comprehended what was going on. My dad loved someone and it wasn’t my step mom.

“Dad, are you cheating on Jayne?” The second the words left my mouth I panicked. I was about to leave the room and run upstairs when my I saw his face drop.

“Bliss, there’s something I have to tell you. Jayne and I have been divorced for over a year now. The marriage wasn’t working, just like my marriage with your mom. It was nothing either of the girls were doing I just didn’t love them the way I was supposed to.” His face was bright red with shame and his hands were shaking.

“Dad, what do you mean?”

“I think you know what I mean Bliss, just think about it.” I looked into his eyes and saw the pain that filled them. That’s when it clicked and everything came crashing down. Just like a puzzle all the pieces came together; my parents’ divorce, the constant fighting, my dad leaving the military.

“You’re gay aren’t you?”

“I’m so sorry baby girl, I’m so so sorry.”