6. Meet The Band

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I woke up to a growling stomach and the smell of bacon. With wide eyes, I stood up from the floor (where I must have fallen asleep yesterday) and rushed out of my room. I took the stairs two at a time on the way up, my heart pounding in my chest. The only person who ever cooked bacon in the mornings was—oh. I stopped short in the kitchen when I saw my dad standing in front of the stove, his back to me. He must have heard me come dashing up the stairs, because he turned around to face me. The two of us stood locked in an awkward staring contest for at least a couple of minutes before he finally spoke.

“Daeyna, I’m—“ He began to apologize, but I cut him off.

“Don’t.” I practically snarled. He looked absolutely horrible. His eyes had dark rings around them and he clearly hadn’t brushed his hair yet. Though, I’m sure I looked about the same. Except, the only difference between us was that the darkness on my face wasn’t from lack of sleep. It was from a hit. After another few moments of him looking at me with pleading eyes, I finally moved from my spot. Stepping forward, I entered the kitchen and grabbed a plate. I picked up a few pieces of bacon from the pile of finished ones, reached into the cupboard and grabbed a glass, then pulled the milk out of the fridge. After pouring myself a glass of milk, I made my way back downstairs, ignoring the looks from my father.

As I got ready for the day (brushing my hair, covering up the bruises, you know. Normal things.), I began texting Ashton. We hadn’t talked too much since the day in the park, but he had messaged me every once in a while talking about how excited he was and that he was happy I was going to meet his ‘mates’.

To: Ashton :) x

You busy before the gig tonite?

He replied only a few minutes later, while I was in the process of applying a little bit of eyeliner.

From: Ashton :) x

Nah. Doing nothing all day you? x

I smiled at his response and typed a quick reply.

To: Ashton :) x

Nope. Bein’ lazy as a lion today.

My phone buzzed as another reply came through.

From: Ashton :) x

You should come be lazy as a lion with me. x

To: Ashton :) x

Where u at?

I sent another reply to him, then began to get dressed. My gaze landed on the still-dark bruises on my wrist and I sighed. In Michigan, wearing long sleeves wouldn’t have been a problem. Here, however, was a different story. I opened my jewelry box and pulled out a bunch of random bracelets ranging from handmade ones to fancy sparkly ones. After pulling a lot of them over my hand onto my wrist, I picked up my phone and looked at the reply from Ashton.

From: Ashton :) x

At the park. Bring ur guitar. x

With a smile, I sent him a quick ‘okay’ and picked up my guitar, which was still in its case from the last time I was at the park. My dad was still in the kitchen when I went back upstairs. He was reading a book, an old cup of coffee sitting in front of him. A quick glance at the clock told me it had been an hour and a half since I’d come up for ‘breakfast’. It was more lunch, though, because it was 11:20 at the time. Now, it was going on 1 in the afternoon.

“I’m going out.” I said simply as I passed him. He didn’t say a word back.

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“Do you know I Miss You by Blink 182?” I looked up at Ashton, who was sitting on the bench near me. I shook my head.

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