Ashes on your pale skin ~ Chris Motionless

Chapter 8:

Stood outside by the overfilled bins, Justin places the hand rolled cigarette into his mouth, pulling his lighter from his pocket as he does so; igniting it.

It's his first moment of peace for the night, and he relishes in it, letting both the silent noises of the night air and his tinnitus mix into one.

However, as he stands, back pressed into the cold brick of the wall, lungs filled with smoke; he hears it.

The sound of loud shouting; not too far off in the distance.

He feels a sense of dread gnawing at the pit in his stomach; something that he's not quite able to place.

That is, however, until he recognises the shouting voice to be feminine, and he clocks that Ash had never walked past him after he'd gone out for his cigarette.

He doesn't know whether it could be related to her or not, but he feels it pressing at his conscience, so he decides to investigate.

He keeps his smoking stick of nicotine placed in his lips as he follows where the noise is seemingly coming from; finding himself walking into the car park of the venue.

It doesn't take him long to clock the singular car with the inner lights on; and it doesn't take him long to clock Ash being dragged from the car by her mother.

He freezes in shock, before dropping his cigarette and quickly stomping it out as he sees her lay kicks to the young girl.

Everything happens so quick, and he doesn't have time to process the horrific things happening to the young girl as he runs over.

"HEY GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!" He screams and he bolts as fast he can over to the car, feeling a growing rage towards Amy.

The woman looks up, with a deer caught in headlights expression, before all but scampering off and diving into the driver side of the car.

She doesn't even bother to shut the passenger door; speeding away with it flapping around in the wind.

Everything's happened so quick, he's realised that he's neglected the young girl, stood, staring at the distance where the car has left, with a vacant look in her eyes.

And, now that he focuses his attention on her, he can see her body shaking, and he assumes it must be her body's way of releasing the adrenaline that must've been built up when she was being bashed to a pulp.

Inwardly, he feels his heart drop into his chest when he notices the cuts on her cheek and upper head, presumably from the rings that Amy had been wearing. As well her left eye which is starting to swell shut.

Her injuries are bad, but he doesn't want to spoil her and force her into the hospital.

For now, he hopes he can get away with getting Chris to look at her injuries, and to try and fix what they can with the extensive medical kit they keep on the bus.

It's not that they were the most non accident group of guys in the world; always managing to fall and hurt themselves one way or another.

Chris, being the unlabelled, but now, he guesses, the labelled, dad of the band, always over prepares and over packs for everything; he supposes that's a good thing now.

In the back of his mind he doesn't even have a shadow of a doubt that Chris will take in the young girl.

After all she's been through tonight, and he presumes, with a heavy heart, that it wasn't just a one time thing, he couldn't just turn her away.

He also knows that if Chris even tried to send her away he'd have much too say about it; and he'd simply find a way to stash her into the bus somehow.

But, he strongly doubts that Chris will, keeping the man's strong heart, and also reminiscing on the genuine smiles that he'd shared with the young girl.