The Wilt Of The Rose

Acht und Zwanzig

We were back home after our first concert of the tour, why? because the first concert ended bloody. It started out okay, just like always, Landric joking around, Ansel roasting every person he could see, then halfway through the fifth song the screaming started.

"Hey is everything alright in the back?" Landric voiced out his confusion making the rest of us freeze on our instruments. That's when I heard it, shrill, horrifying screams colliding with the excited cheers. "Ow, what the fuck." Landric hissed through his teeth holding his shoulder microphone in his hand falling to the floor causing a high pitched squeal to echo through the stadium.

"You're bleeding what the hell was that." Before Ansel could reach out to Landric a black shadow pushed the tall blonde to the ground. I didn't see what happened as the two bodies rolled off stage and head of security rounded up Ansel, Mitch and myself pushing us off the stage. After the three of us were secured in a backroom Paul rushed off in search of Landric, but not long after the man had left the blonde in question was pushed into the room.

"I told you you would be targeted but did you listen to me?" The shadow who had saved Landric was none other than The Rose herself, seething anger and all. The Rose ripped the sleeve off of Landrics shirt to examine the wound in his shoulder she cussed to herself, picking up the gun she had dropped when she came in the room. "It doesn't make sense," she muttered to herself while examining the machine in her hands.

"Landric you know who The Rose is? And didn't tell anyone?" Ansel scolded the blonde who was picking at the sling his arm rested in.

"How was I supposed to bring it up? Hey, guys wanna talk about a serial killer's identity? Ow, why would you do that!" Landric swatted at Chandler's hand that fiddled with his bandaging.

"Yes! so your super smart friends can talk you into doing the right thing and reporting her to the police! Chandler, you tell him, he might listen to you." Ansel handed the conversation over to the one drinking straight from a tequila bottle. She froze and if her face could speak for itself it would be saying "well this is awkward".

"She does bad things Lanny, and she is a bad person-" Chandler spoke slowly like she was still trying to figure out where the sentence was going.

"She's not a bad person, she's misunderstood, the world has been bad to her now she is getting her revenge it's only fair." Landrics hands were curled into fists and he looked pained.

"She kills people, man," I spoke up from my place on the wall.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this yet again, but Chandler you're the closest thing I have to a criminal, no offence."

"Stop bringing Ainsley into this! it's not her fault!" I jumped at Landrics outburst as did Ansel, whilst Chandler looked like she'd rather be anywhere else as she drank from her bottle in silence.

"Please, explain to him how having a shit childhood doesn't give you the right to murder people. I mean Landric look at yourself you were borderline kidnapped and here you are, successful, rich, and pretty!" And it was at this moment I decided to let Ansel's dad mode fully take over as he scolded his teenage son.

I ended up curled in my bed scrolling through Twitter trying to piece together what had happened. I had zoned out through the whole police questioning, ambulance checkups, and everything else, I didn't fully come back until Mitch stated he was done with all this and we hadn't heard from him or Leigh-Anna in a few days. I was a mess our whole lives had flipped upside down in the past few months and I couldn't help but wish I had never abandoned my store back home. Life hadn't been the same since we came home from tour nearly a year ago, I even had Nina back. Nina, someone I hadn't spoken to since the airport the day we left, I pushed myself out of bed and planned to go visit her at her studio.