the Reckless and the Brave (Sequel to Scream, to be Heard)

Hurt

Alex

I looked over at Heather in the crowd, and saw her smile from ear to ear as I sang the chorus of the Reckless and the Brave. I looked up at the St. Louis arch above us, and then looked at her again. Then I saw the douchebag again. Adam. Heather turned around and looked at him, then said something and pushed him away. Right before my eyes, as she turned to look at me again with a smile, he took out a knife. He said something to her, making her turn around looking confused, then jabbed it into her chest and took it out again, then disappearing into the night. I threw my guitar down, letting it smash on the ground. Vinny, who was also in the crowd, caught her as she fell. "Heather!" I screamed, jumping down from the stage and running towards her, Zack following. I saw Rian whip his phone out of his back pocket, and Jack not understanding what was going on. The crowd gathered around us, and Vinny and Matt pushed them away as well as some other people from another band I didn't recognize. "Heather, talk to me," I said. "Say something." Her chest was covered in blood, and she was shaking.

"Alex," she said. "It hurts." I nodded.

"I know," I said, pushing the hair from her eyes. "Hold on, baby. It'll stop soon." The paramedics arrived within seconds, as we were just down the street from the hospital. They pulled her into the vehicle and I ran in, Zack behind me. I held her hand as the stuck and IV in her arm and started inspecting the wound. I tried not to cry as they pulled her shirt up and revealed the wound. Her eyes were starting to close, and she squeezed my hand and cried out. "It's okay, Heather, you're going to be fine," I said, stroking her hair. A tear rolled down her cheek and my eyes started filling with tears.

I thought this crap was over. I thought that after that first meeting with him it would be the last. I had hoped that everything would be okay. But no.

Zack put an arm aound me and told me it would be okay, but I didn't believe him. Then I saw the heart monitor and my heart broke in half. With a solid beep, the line had no waves. Then the doors opened and they ran her into a room, and pushed Zack and I out. "Heather!" I screamed as they pushed her motionless body into the room. The other guys ran into us almost, and asked how she was. "She's dead," I replied. They stared at me. "She's dead, and she's not coming back. Get over it." We sat there for what felt like an eternity in that waiting room, and the guys kept trying to tell me it would be okay. "It's not gonna be okay, dammit!" I yelled. A little girl about five or six looked at me, startled. A nurse came up to us.

"Sir, you either need to calm down or leave," she said.

"Sorry. His sister just-" Rian started.

"Oh, I understand," she said. "Take your time." Then she went back to the desk. The doctor seemed to appear out of thin air.

"The girl is alive," he said.

"Can I see her? Please?" I ran my fingers through my hair and told myself to stop crying like a wimp, but I couldn't as they led me to her room. The other guys decided to wait outside. I was led into the room. Doctors were swarmed around the bed, and scattered almost instantly when they saw me. All except the one that came and got me, he picked up a needle and gave her a shot in the arm.

"You're lucky the hospital was so close. Any longer and she wouldn't have made it," the doctor said. "What exactly happened?"

"When we were playing, and her ex boyfriend appeared and stabbed her, then ran off," I said as steadily as I could. "When will she wake up?"

"She'll probably wake up sometime tomorrow morning. If you feel the need to stay the night you can. By the way, are you two related? Because I need someone to sign the wavers and forms. Also, she'll need some minor surgery to fix some things, but nothing major. We'll do it tomorrow morning when she wakes up," he said.

"Yeah. She's my sister," I said, nodding. "I'll stay the night, too."

"I'll be back around midnight to check her vital signs again. Press the button on the side of the bed if you need me," he said. I signed the papers that he told me to. I nodded and he left, and the guys came in just as I sat down.

"Is she okay?" Rian asked. I held onto her cold hand, and nodded slowly.

"She'll be fine," I lied to myself, running my hands through my hair. "But they're going to do some surgery tomorrow when she wakes up. I'm staying the night, by the way if you guys want to go back." They nodded. Zack patted my back and they all left, Zack going out last and taking a look at Heather, smiling.

"Trooper," he murmured. I looked up at him and smiled at him before looking back at Heather, stroking her hair. With one last look, I tweeted something and pulled a blanket out of the box next to the armchair I was in, covered myself with it, and fell asleep.

Heather

As everything was going black, all I saw was Alex screaming and someone pulling him away from me. But just as I was re-visiting a nightmare I had had about ten years ago, I woke up and peeled my eyes open, feeling my dry tongue aching for water. I could hear what sounded like Alex strumming on his guitar and singing the song With Me by Sum 41. "Alex?" I said. He stopped abruptly, and looked over at me. I was in a hospital. Apparently they really like me, because I seem to be spending all my time here lately.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Honestly? I don't really feel that bad," I replied. He pushed the button the side of the bed to call the doctor.

"We'll give you the knockout medicine now, you'll be out in a few minutes. After that just call us in and we'll take her down to the operating room," the doctor said. Alex nodded and he gave me a shot, sending me almost instantly into a sleepy feeling. He then left to get the room ready.

"I'll see you when it's over, okay?" Alex said. I nodded as much as I could, the medicine making me more sleepy by the second. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said. He kissed my forehead and stroked my hair, and then everything slowly went black. I heard him call the doctor and say that I was out, and felt the movement. Then I could feel or hear nothing.

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Soon enough I woke up again, and was wheeled back into the room. The guys were all there, talking and laughing. "How ya feelin'?" Alex asked for the second time that morning.

"Like crap," I replied. "And I'm still tired."

"That effect should wear off later, so I suggest you sleep for as long as you can. And don't eat anything quite yet, but drinks are okay as long as they aren't energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster. The acids in them will eat away at the work we just did and will probably get your stomach infected, which will not be fun," the doctor said. "You can go home as soon as you're ready to go." He then left the room. Rian handed me a bag of clothes, and I went into the bathroom and changed into them. It was my favorite pear of red skinny jeans, a new Glamour Kills shirt, and Alex's old Blink-182 hoodie. I put the clothes on and slipped on the UGGs that I was given, before brushing my hair and pulling it back and then going back outside. We left the hospital clothes where we were told, and checked out.

Honestly, I thought the drama with Adam was over. When Alex told me he had run away after he stabbed me, I just wanted to hunt him down like a dog hunts down treats. But no, I had to be assigned on sleep duty.

"Alex, I really don't want to sleep anymore," I said, crossing my arms.

"Will you go if I do too?" He asked. I gave up, nodding my head solemnly. We curled up in his bunk, and he carefully wound an arm around me and kissed my head, and then we both drifted off.

But of course, my nightmare came back. Except this time it would technically be called a daymare....