Mutilate My Heart

Chapter 1

Carli Gray throws the latest issue of Seventeen Forever magazine onto my bed, her dark hair flying crazily around her face in her rage. For three days straight, all she's talked about is how Mutilated Arteries kicked their bassist out of the band, as if they knew he was her favorite, and they did it just to spite her. I try to keep from laughing at her. Seriously, it's not like Vertebrae did much. He was that guy who always faded into the background onstage.

All of her words blend together, and she's almost incapable of being understood.

"Becca, are you even listening to me?" she yells, throwing her arms out dramatically.

"Yep," I say, nodding my head. "Mutilated Arteries is performing here tomorrow night, they just recently replaced your favorite band member, and the world hates you."

Her eyes grow big, and she nods quickly, verifying that I understood her mush of words.

"Exactly! I don't even know why I pick favorites anymore. This always happens to me. They always die, get kicked out, or lose their voice, or something!" she says.

She walks to my wall of posters and throws her hand over the image of Vertebrae.

"They don't even look right without him. Look!" she yells, pointing with her free hand.

She crosses her arms, walks the length of my room, and falls back onto the bed making the magazine crinkle beneath her.

"I don't even know if I want to go to the concert anymore," she says.

I roll my eyes and sit down beside her on the bed. She says that now, but tomorrow night, she's going to be ecstatic, regardless if Vertebrae will be on bass or not.

"You have to come," I try to reason with her. "This is our band! And you know if you don't, Maddie and I will still go, and when you see all the pictures of us with the guys, you'll be pissed that you weren't there."

She scrunches her mouth up to one side and stares at the ceiling contemplating my words.

She takes a deep breath, flips onto her side, and smiles. "So what are we wearing?"

My mind goes blank at her question. I was so excited about Mutilated Arteries actually coming to my town that I hadn't even thought about what to wear. I push off the bed and go to the closet. There's nothing but faded blue jeans, ripped skinny jeans, and a thousand shirts I've worn too many times.

I bite down on my lip and look over at Carli. "You want to go to the mall?"

The car beeps repeatedly as Carli leans over into the backseat looking for her purse, her legs sticking out of the door of the driver's side. Maddie Baker leans against the car and sighs loudly, like that's going to help Carli find her purse.

"Found it!" she yells, throwing the silver and black bag over her shoulder and slamming the car door.

"It's about time," Maddie says, knocking her multi-shades-of-brown hair back.

She's already five steps ahead of Carli and me and halfway down the mall's parking lot. Carli sticks her tongue out at Maddie's back and locks arms with mine.

"Maybe we shouldn't have invited Maddie to come clothes shopping with us," she whispers just loud enough for me to hear.

I laugh but shoot Carli a warning glance. Maddie stands waiting for us and taps her foot impatiently in front of the giant glass double doors of Bear Creek Mall. Carli drops my arm as we enter through the door and begins to walk backward so she can look at Maddie.