Toxic Dolls

Chapter 13

I wake up to a soft knock on my door. I turn as it opens, Jinny’s head popping through.

“Sorry to wake you dear, but I wanted to let you know that breakfast is in an hour. If you would like a shower, the bathroom is around the corner,” she says before closing the door once again.

Groaning I sit up, hair falling around my face. Reaching for my backpack, I stand up, dragging it out the door with me. The plush carpet feels nice against my feet as I head down the small hall to the bathroom. Once inside, I strip and lock the door. I climb in the shower, the hot water feeling nice on my skin.

After washing my hair, I step out, pulling the towel from my bag. I wrap it around my body while I blow-dry my hair. Not in the mood to straighten it, I get dressed and unlock the door.

Standing outside is Marx. I look at his hand, blood having soaked through the wrapping. My heart pangs. Getting on my toes I surprise him with a tight hug. After a second, he loosens up, his good arm pressing me closer to him, his fingers wrapping around my hair. I nuzzle his neck.

“Thank you, again.”

After about a minute, he pulls away, smiles, and goes into the bathroom. I dump my bag in my room, make the bed and head down the stairs. Andy is already down there, biting into and egg and cheese biscuit. He looks up at me and waves, pointing to the seat next to him.

Upon sitting, a plate of eggs and toast is deposited in front of me along with a fork and butter.

“Thank you”

As I start eating I realize Andy is wearing a leather jacket. I turn my head slowly to look at him, fork of eggs half to my mouth. He looks over at me.

“What?” he mumbles trough a bite of toast. I grab the collar of his jacket, staring at it as if was going to come alive and bite me.

“This is new…” I trail off.

He chuckles, “Actually, I used to wear this stuff all the time before Marx and I joined the band.” I can barely take in the jacket, much less the white tank top under it. At that moment, Marx hops down the steps clad in a black t-shirt, blue chucks, red skinny jeans and white suspenders.

I choke as he sits on the other side of me.

“Andy, Davie called. He and the guys want to go out while we are in town,” Marx tells Andy, leaning behind me.

“It’s up to Jaynie,” he replies, looking at me, blue eyes pleading me to give my permetion.

“Yes, you guys can go but you have to take me.”

The boys then smile at each other, highfiving over my head.

“You two are so weird,” says Lucy as she comes out from the kitchen with a plate of bacon. I shudder as I look at it. She then hands Marx a strip. He looks sidelong at Andy before biting in. I raise an eyebrow.

“Andy doesn’t eat bacon,” replies Lucy. “It freaks him out.”

I nod in agreement, always having been weirded out by the greasy red and white meat.

The rest of breakfast is nice, the twin’s parents joining soon after. There is a general chat about life and the tour but that soon trails off. When everything is cleaned up the family and I head outside, the boys kicking around a soccer ball (or football) while Lucy and I talk on the Jacuzzi steps.

“They're different around you,” she says, bouncing a tennis ball against the railing, her accuracy almost scary.

“How so?”

She shrugs, “Marx isn’t as mean and isn’t picking on me and Andy is actually talking. Like, really talking. Though, apparently him and dad had a row before lunch yesterday. “

I look at her, wide eyed, not having heard about it. I remembered him storming out of the house yesterday and the pieces fit.

“Dad doesn’t approve of the band. He calls them satanic because they cuss and wear all black and shit,” she stops bouncing the ball. “He doesn’t even know about Andy’s tattoos. “

“I thought no one knew about them?”

She laughs, “I went into Andy’s room to get a t-shirt when they were over one day. He was still asleep and sprawled out over his bed drooling. I think they’re pretty cool.”

I nod, turning watching the twins awkwardly rum after the ball. A few minutes of silence, and watching, pass before Lucy speaks again.

“I think they love you.”

My whole body turns to look at her, “What.”

“It’s the way they looked at you after the thing with Edward.

More silence.

"What is his problem anyway?” I ask quietly, the memory of him making me shiver.

"Who, Edward?”

"Yeah.” I shift awkwardly, pulling my knees to my chin.

She shrugs, "Andy and him have never gotten along, even as kids Edward was always trying to take Andy's stuff and it's kind of escalated from there."

Lucy falls back onto the warm wood, blonde hair spreading around her head. Following suit, I roll back, extending out my legs. Puffy clouds drift slowly across the blue sky and I struggle to stay awake.

Time ticks by until the boys trot over, pull me up and drag me to the car.

"I guess we are going to town," I laugh.

The boys nod, buckling their belts and speeding away, arriving at a pizzeria a few minutes later. The shop bell tickles as we step inside. Five boys sitting haphazardly at a table nearby bolt up. Standing back as they stampede over, I'm still nearly crushed by the back pounding and bro hugs that ensues.

Everyone shuffles over to the table, pulling over extra chairs until the group is seated. Menus are uselessly passed around as everyone orders cheese pizza.

"How was the tour?" Asks a guy with his jacket hood pulled over a flat brim hat. Snakebites and angel bites pierce his lips.

"Pretty great," Reply’s Andy while he helps the waitress pass out drinks and straws.

Marx's leans into my ear, his warm breath tickling. "That's Blake."

"Heard you jumped off some tent beam into a pit," states a muscly boy with a low black fringe and a baby face.

"Gage," whispers Marx.

A boy with black snakebites, inch gauges and hair that baby Beiber would be jealous of, leans back in his chair and snorts.

"Of course he did, our boy goes hard," he says before slapping the back of the guy beside him. The boy with feathery brown hair and twin lip rings, chokes on his drink, coughing.

"Davie and Collin," Marx informs me, his fingers brushing lightly against my leg.

The banter continues until the pizza comes and is distributed among the large group.

"So this is Jaynie?" Pipes the last boy with gauges twice as big as mine.

"Time you spoke up Benton," says Andy. “But yeah, this is Jaynie."

The others give me nods, smiles and quick waves as I shyly suck on my straw, blushing.

Suddenly, the boys all stop talking. Silence filling the air as a song begins to play over the intercom. One by one, they all stand up, throw their arms over each other and start singing at the top of their lungs. I sit in confusion until the song ends.

They drop their arms. Look around and unanimously shout.

"Karaoke!"