My eyelids fluttered open. I was sitting at an all-familiar table. My head throbbed and my vision was blurred.
"Where- "panic crawled up my throat as my vision cleared. I was at the HGC! How did I get here? Then, I remembered Julie, Caleb... I wanted to get angry at Julie, but I physically couldn' brain kept on telling me it wasn't her fault. Caleb tricked her, but Julie agreed... I shook the idea out of my head. I stood up and tried to poof away, but something was wrong. I ran toward the exit and made it only a few steps forward when I stopped. Not willingly. It felt as though my legs were stuck in dried cement.
"Where do you think you're going?" A voice asked, as I was forced to turn around to see Caleb, grinning wickedly. Next to him was willie, not daring to look me in the eyes. I was terrified.
"L-let me go!" I stuttered.
"That's not up to you." Caleb responded. I tried to steady my breathing, like Luke would instruct Alex to do when he was overwhelmed. God, I wanted my friends. Luke Alex, even Julie. They were my only family.
"Her fault..." my brain hissed. No. I refused to blame her. Last time I blamed a family member and yelled at them, it pulled the family apart... my dad had always been a loser, but he hadn't started drinking until he lost his job, not even a week after Luke ran away. My mother was stuck working a full-time job to pay the rent and raise two teens instead of one. Even still, she was kind, and supported the band, which Luke appreciated, which led to him helping out in any way he could, whether it was performing outside the house, by the beach for tips to get food, or even small things like folding the washing. Luke had really joined the family with ease, and he seemed happy, except for one issue. My dad. Luke and I constantly wanted to practice, but if we did, we would end up dodging glass bottles, so anytime we wanted to practice, we either had to go to Bobby's, or practice at the beach across the road. One day, Luke went off to get some money, my mum was at work, and I was tuning my bass quietly. It wasn't quite enough, as my drunken father stormed in, screaming at me
"How many times! Quit playing that stupid thing!" I took a deep breath, watching my words so as not to anger him more.
"Sorry, I won't play it in here again."
"Just stop playing altogether."
"I can't I'm in a band with my friends."
"This little band of yours will result to nothing. It won't get you a job, or a wife. Get your head out of the clouds and earn some money for the family instead of sitting around." I saw red. I could usually shrug off anything he said, but when it came to the band, I wouldn't just ignore his comments.
"You can't talk!" I yelled. "Maybe you should listen to your own advice, get your ass off the couch and maybe when you get a job and quit drinking, I'll stop playing, deal?" My dad glared at me. I quavered, regretting my outburst.
"Get out!" He shouted, throwing his empty glass bottle at me, which exploded against the wall, showing me in glass shards, embedding themselves in my right shoulder. I grabbed my bass and pushed past him, almost knocking him over as I ran to the door. As I crossed the road, I saw Luke performing, and I felt really guilty for getting kicked out, as it was kicking him out as well. But I couldn't stand another bottle being thrown, especially at Luke. I took a deep breath as I walked over the road, to the beginning of the pier. Blood was trailing its way down my shoulder, and the salty air made the cuts sting, but I forged on to the old wooden boards, where Luke was playing, only a few metres away. he turned to me, and immediately stopped playing, rushing over. I burst into tears.
"Hey, what happened!" He asked, holding me close. His hand gripped my shoulder, and I winced. He pulled it away, seeing the red.
"He kicked me out," I began. "I yelled at him, and he kicked me out. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." I sobbed... I was jerked back to the present. Caleb wasn't smiling anymore, he seemed distracted, looking towards the exit. Suddenly, I was shot back, across the room, in the stage wings. Luke and Alex appeared at the exit. I went to shout out to them, but my mouth wouldn't make a sound. Caleb appeared in front of them willie looked over to me, looking upset. He mouthed sorry, before joining Caleb.
"Have you seen Reggie?" Alex asked.
"No, I haven't seen him." He lied; I knew Alex would trust willie.
"Guys! I'm over here!" My brain screamed, trying to force the words out of my mouth. Nothing happened, and I watched as my best friends disappeared, as did my chances of escaping.
