vegas lights; adopted by brendon urie

youth.

a/n: trigger warning

"maybe there's a god above, all I've ever learned from love was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you. and it's not a cry that you hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah." - hallelujah [leonard cohen]

"Wake up, you lazy bitch." He screams, jolting Maya awake with a forceful slap. She realises she's been moved from the room she fell asleep in, and now the single window in the room is covered in dirt, the door is smaller, and the roof above her head slants like she's under a staircase. She recoils to the corner of the room, her hand on her cheek where he'd left a red handprint. Her blood runs cold as memories resurface that she hadn't previously recognised. Her mother wiping blood of Maya's lip after he'd hit her in a fit of rage. Her father doing the same to her arm when her mother had lashed out. Both of the hitting her, the stinging cuts and bruises left as a reminder. She shrinks into the corner of the room and he raises his eyebrows "That's no way to treat your father." She stutters a slow sentence "You, aren't my-my father." he shakes his head, walking towards her slowly "When will you get over the delusion that those famous freaks care about you?" He mutters, delivering a kick to her side as she falls, whimpering "So when you're reading to admit that I'm your father, and that you're happier here than you were there, then maybe we can talk about something like food." He slams the door behind him, and Maya hears the click of the lock closing. As soon as she thinks about it, she realises she hasn't eaten in almost three days. So she sits, curled in a ball on the floor, a hand resting on her stinging cheek as she cries.

Brendon sighs, the police have nothing but a stolen car dumped at a dead-end street. He rubs his temples, a migraine growing at the back of his head. He's been at the police station for hours, going over suspects and evidence, anything that could lead them to Maya. Amelia fell asleep sometime after sunset, she seems to sleep a lot more in the past four days. Brendon just can't believe that his daughter's been missing for four days. That she's been scared for days, that she's been hurt for days "Sir, is there anything about the car you can describe?" Brendon looks up "Uh," he pauses again trying to recall the conversation he'd had with Maya before she'd left.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to the cafe down the road, be back in ten."

"Take your phone!" 

Brendon's head shoots up "Her phone." He breathes, the officer in-front of him looks up from the paperwork "What about her phone?" Brendon stands, almost tipping the chair as he does "She had her phone." Brendon walks to Amelia, who's lying across three chairs sleeping. He pulls her phone from the bag at her feet and opens it with touch id. He opens find my friends, searching for Maya's phone. The phone's slow in finding it's target, and as soon as Maya's contact icon appears, the police station grows noisy. Amelia jolts awake as Brendon calls Sarah and shakes her awake.

"Bren?" Sarah asks tiredly "I'm coming back home to pick you up. We've found her phone, and she might still be with it." Sarah's awake now, and nods "Okay, I'll meet you outside." She hangs up as Amelia yawns "What's going on?" Brendon pulls her into a hug "We found May's phone, and she's probably still with it." Amelia takes a moment to understand before hugging Brendon. The officer previously talking to Brendon takes the address of Maya's phone as they leave the station, turning to Brendon "Are you staying here?" Brendon shakes his head "We're coming, but I'm going to get her mom." He nods as Brendon carries Amelia, who's close to sleep again, to their car.

There's yelling above her. It's muffled so much that she's certain she's in a basement. They're screaming and smashing things. Then it grows louder, and closer until the small door is flung open "Don't you understand what you've done now? You're just like your mother. A skanky little bitch." There's a wild glint in his eyes, and she's instantly terrified as he approaches her, kicking the door closed as he pushes her into the corner.

The police unit surround the house, Brendon, Sarah and Amelia are in the police van, watching the scene unfold in-front of them as guns are fired. There's about fifteen shots before all becomes silent again. There's hesitation before they enter the house. Almost instantly a group of three officers enter and leave the building in quick succession, carrying a man's body strapped to a stretcher with them as they leave, walking to the ambulance. Minutes that feel like hours pass as they search the house. 

The last police officer steps out of the house, all wearing solemn expressions. Brendon shakes his head "No, she's in there. She has to be in there." The police officer who'd been talking to Brendon at the station shakes his head sadly "Look, you can go in if you like, but we've done a full search. If she was there, she's gone now." Brendon pushes past him and into the house. It stinks of mould and smoke. He coughs slightly as he walks through the house, looking for anywhere that could hide a small girl. He reaches the basement and searches everywhere he can think of there, until a reflection of light behind a bookshelf catches his eye. 

He shoves the shelves aside and find the door hidden behind it. He can hear crying now and he knows they've found her. Brendon pauses before he opens the door. He doesn't want to scare her. Her shirt's been ripped off, and she's sobbing in the corner of the dank basement room. In the small amount of light filtering through the window in the top corner he can see the bruises and scratches covering her body. He doesn't want to think what the man the police pulled out has done to her. He approaches her carefully, gently picking her up. She tenses for a moment before letting out a strangled cry, her hands grab Brendon's shirt as she sobs in his arms.

The police are talking to Sarah when he carries her out of the house, into the rain and towards the groups of people surrounding various vehicles. Sarah only whispers shit as she holds Amelia's hand. Brendon's crying by this point and the police officers rush over, talking hurriedly        not that Brendon's hearing it. He looks at where the man who they dragged out of the house is loaded into the ambulance. He grins at Brendon, a sadistic grin that makes Brendon feel sick.