All Apologies

Holding Poison

In August 2003 at the V-Festival, the Foo Fighters were asked to meet with a band who wanted to do a few shows with them. Dave had made it clear on the way to meet them that if anyone was uncomfortable, speak up and it wouldn't happen. Taylor and Dave had made sure Abi was the most aware of this since it had only been about 6 months since she was assaulted backstage. When the band rocked up at the meeting place, the boys went and shook hands and Abi hung with Dave. She turns to look for Taylor after greetings were made and sees him talking and laughing with a band member, and her stomach drops. She freezes on the spot, her eyes water, and her body trembles. She tries to back up but bumps straight into Dave, he looks down and notices something is wrong. "What is it Abi?" he asks, trying to figure out what she is so scared about. She stays completely still as she speaks, her voice just loud enough for Dave to hear, "That is the guy who tried to rape me..." Dave looks up to figure out who she is talking about, "Which one B?" Abi stands there, her eyes locked. "Is it the one talking to Taylor?" Dave says, trying to follow her gaze. The girl nods ever so slightly and Dave calls over Chris. "Hey dude, take Abi back outside for me, I will grab Nate and Taylor and we will come out in a second." Chris was super confused about what was happening, but he could tell there was something serious because Dave had that look on his face and Abi's shoulder was being held on to like she was about to float into the sky if he let go.

When Taylor finally makes it outside followed by Nate and Dave, Abi is hyperventilating and crying in Chris's arms. Taylor rushes to Abi and pulls her into his arms, "Hey baby, what's wrong!?" The girl tries to tell Taylor what is happening but can't get a single comprehendible word out. Dave explains to Taylor that the guy he was talking to is the one that attempted to rape her the year prior. Taylor's eyes went ice cold as he looked towards the band who had started coming out to see what the problem was. "I am going to fucking kill him," Taylor says as he begins to let go of Abi. She grips onto Taylor, begging him not to leave her. His eyes soften again as he looks down at the girl. His heart sank seeing how all the time she spent getting better, was washed away in seconds. Taylor yells at Dave through gritted teeth, "Tell management that we will never work with this band because that fucker hurt my kid and I don't want him anywhere near her!" Dave has the same look of anger on his face as Taylor, just less extravagant. Nate and Chris exchange a glace, "I don't think I've ever seen Taylor this way," Chris whispers to Nate. "He would walk through fire for that girl. We all would."

Dave collects himself and walks over to the band who are trying to figure out what is happening and why there is such a big commotion. "So, guys, it was nice meeting you today, but I don't think it will ever happen again." Anyone who knew Dave would have been able to see how close he was to murdering the guy who hurt Abi, but he was still trying to act professionally about the situation. Taylor needs a breather, so he sends Abi back to Chris while he paces. 

As the Foo Fighters are getting ready to leave, the guy who attacked Abi comes up and tries to talk to Taylor. Taylor turns away, trying not to snap. He tries not to act disgusted about how the guy is pretending like he has done nothing wrong. This gesture pisses off the guy and he looks over to Chris and Nate. When he sees the girl in Chris's arms more clearly, he realizes why they are being turned away. He walks back to his band and starts talking, not caring about how loud his voice is, "These assholes aren't going to even consider talking to us about anything because of that little fucking bitch!" Taylor and Dave snap their heads back around and Nate and Chris's jaws drop. Chris and Nate knew that he was making the biggest mistake of his life. "That girl gave it up to me last year at a concert after I finished helping her carry her books backstage." Taylor snaps and starts walking towards the guy with his back turned saying all this about Abi. Dave stops him, "Go to Abi, I got this." He argues but figures it's best to do as he is told. Dave walks over to the guy still calling Abi names, "Hey, buddy! You should know she is about to turn 9, so she would have been about 7-8 when this happened." His bandmates look at him, jaws dropped in disgust and horror. "She also didn't give it up to you, you tried to RAPE her!" The guy rolls his eyes and turns around, "Whatever dude, it doesn't matter." This pushes Dave over the edge, and he grabs the dude by the collar, spinning him around to face him again. Dave punches the guy's face, severely breaking at least his nose. "If you guys ever want to perform big again, I will highly recommend you get a new band member and ditch this disgusting excuse for a human." 

When Dave comes back over, Taylor is hugging Abi again while Chris and Nate are pilling themself back into the van. Abi sees Dave and jumps into his arms, squeezing him tight. Taylor yells out to the band member who was holding a bloody t-shirt to his nose, "IF YOU EVER TOUCH OR COME NEAR MY KID AGAIN, IT WILL BE ME YOU DEAL WITH! AND TRUST ME, I WILL BE A LOT WORSE THAN DAVE!" Chris and Nate jump at Taylor yelling, he doesn't do it much, but when he does, everyone fears him.