Family Values

Chapter 10

Finally, at eight o'clock, we arrived home.
Craig carries me up to my room and sets me on my bed.
Sid, who had followed us, sits next to me and pulls me into his arms.
I nuzzle into his chest and sigh. "Well," I mutter. "Today really fucking sucked."
I feel him nod. "Yeah. God, I hate fighting with Corey. Sorry you had to see all that." Sid mumbles.
I shrug. "It's fine. It's my fault anyway. If I hadn't gone, everything would still be all right," I say.
Sid pulls away and gives me a stern look. "Colleen Taylor, I will not sit here and listen to you talk down to yourself. None of us knew this would happen- well," he says, correcting himself, "-we assumed it would happen. But we were just worrying. We didn't know it would actually happen. Neither did you. You were just carving out your own road."
I open my mouth to protest, but Sid stops me. "Yeah, I heard you and Corey talking. I know how you feel like your talent is kinda muddled with the others, but it's not. You completely killed Vermillion Part 2 and Til We Die. But I understand how you wanna make a name for yourself. I felt like that for a while after I joined."
Sid smiles. "To tell the truth, I thought it was kinda weird that there were, like, six other people in the band besides me. Of course," he continues, "That was before Corey and Jim joined. You know Jim and Corey were in a band called Stone Sour, right?"
I nod.
"So Jim and Corey join, and I was like, 'well, shit'. I actually considered leaving. But then Corey, man, he came with new ideas to get everyone involved and participate in new songs and things, and I just... I remembered why I wanted to join Slipknot in the first place, y'know?" He chuckles, and I lean into him again. He rubs my back and says, "And when we started getting recognized and rising up the charts, there were more and more opportunities for me to show off my mad DJ skills..." He pretends to be spinning a turntable, making me giggle.
"Anyway. What I'm trying to say is that your time to shine will come. Clearly it wasn't with that Moody bastard, but I can definitely say that it could happen with someone else, or even Slipknot. You just gotta be patient and keep working at making yourself better. And we will be with you all the way. You can count on that." Sid finishes, smiling down at me.
I return the smile and wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him. "Thanks, Sid," I say softly.
"No problem. Come on, let's get you in bed. You need some rest." Sid replies.
I nod and let go of him, kicking off my shoes and crawling to the head of the bed. Sliding under the covers, I settle into my pillow while Sid tucks me in.
He lightly kisses my forehead when he finishes, then goes to the door and turns out the light. "'Night, Col," Sid whispers. "'Night, Sid," I murmur in return.
He closes the door carefully, and I shut my eyes, falling back into sleep.
~SID'S P.O.V~
After closing Col's door, I sigh quietly and run a hand over my face. Turning, I start at the sight of Corey leaning against his door. His face was solemn, and his arms were loosely crossed. 
He gives me a small smile and pushes himself off the door, walking my way a little. "Couldn't help but listen in," Corey says, his voice low. "That was really inspiring, Sid. Col definitely needed that."
I shrug. "Just telling her what worked for me," I reply.
He nods. Then his face grows curious. "I never knew you wanted to leave before," he muses. "Did... Did I really influence you to stay?"
I lower my eyes. "Yeah. Corey-" I look back up at him. "Corey, you're my role model, honestly. You make the band come alive, and... I just..." I rub the back of my neck. "I'm sorry for getting angry with you. You're right. With every decision you make about her-" I gesture to Col's door. "You're always right. You know what's best for her and for the band."
Corey smiles again, bigger this time. "Thanks, Sid," he says. "That means a lot. I'm sorry, too. I was just so frustrated and angry with myself for letting her get hurt like that..." His face falls, and he shoves his hands in his pockets. "I keep thinking, 'You worthless bastard, you should have resisted, you should have done this, that...'" He shakes his head. "I should have listened to you, Sid," he finishes.
"Hey," I say gently, approaching Corey and resting a hand on his shoulder. "None of us thought that this would actually happen. And you're not worthless. You're the most worthy bastard I've ever met."
He chuckles and looked up at me. "Come on," I say. "I think a drink is needed."
Corey sighs heavily. "You said it," he replies.
Smirking, I sling an arm around his shoulders and walk with him downstairs.
~COLLEEN'S P.O.V~
The next morning, a soft rapping on my door wakes me up. I roll over, sit up slowly, and call, "Come in."
When my door opens, Jay walks in, holding a tray with a small stack of pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs on it. He calls out, "Morning, princess! Breakfast is here!"
A huge smile grows on my face as I watch the procession.
Behind him was Corey, holding a small rose in a vase full of water.
Following was the rest of the band holding either instruments or ice packs. Somehow, they all manage to fit into my little room, with the assistance of a little shoving, cursing and name-calling. Jay sets the tray on my lap, and Corey sits on the edge of my bed and presents the little rose to me.
I giggle and ask, "What is all this??" Chris, who was squished between Jim and Mick, answers, "Just some special treatment to make up for yesterday."
I blush a little. "You guys didn't have to do this," I say.
"We wanted to," Shawn replies from his spot in my desk chair.
I grin again and was about to reply when Jay waves his hands at me. "Okay, enough talk from you, little miss. Eat. I made that myself." he scolds.
I obediently stop talking and pick up my fork.
Corey moves from the edge of my bed to the spot next to me, slips an arm around my shoulders, and says, "All right, guys. What should we play first: Vermillion Part 2, Till We Die, or Killpop?" Everyone wanted to play all of them first, but a decision couldn't be reached. Corey turns to me. "Which one do you wanna hear, baby?" he asks.
I think for a second. "Killpop," I answer. "Of course, make us play the hard one," Alex grumbles jokingly.
I giggle, then cuddle up next to Corey.
Chris and Shawn begin playing the opening beat.
Corey rocks me back and forth slowly and sings:
She's sticking needles in her skin... I turn with an ugly grin.
Her canvas doesn't leave a lot... To fantasy.
But her peace of mind, can't stay inside the lines, it's so confusing
The methods that she's using...
She knows she shouldn't leave a mark, that I can see.
Will she ever find, one million of a kind? It's cold, and lonely.
But that's because she told me, lost inside her dirty world,
No one hurts this pretty girl but her... Oh! She's beautiful!
A little better than a man deserves!
Ooh, I'm not insane! Please tell me she won't change!
Maybe I should let her go... But only when she loves me...
How can I just let her go? Not until she loves me... She loves me... Oh...
She's drowning in herself again. My God, what a lovely sin.
I guess there's nothing left to do, but have my way...
She can feel it's right, so she doesn't close her eyes,
She smiles, and answers...
Corey pauses and lets me sing:
'Doesn't seem to matter... Lost inside my dirty head,
Something tells me I'm the one who's kept... Oh! So volatile!
A little better than a man defiled!
Ooh, I need the pain!' Please tell me she won't change!
Corey and I sing together on the last part, while the band expertly plays on:
Maybe I should let her go, but only when she loves me... (She loves me)
How can I just let her go? Not until she loves me... (She loves me)
Yeeaaaa!!!
We were meant to be together! Now die and fucking love me!
We were meant to hurt each other! Now die and fucking love me!
Die and fucking love me!
Die and fucking love me!
Die and fucking love me!!
We all finish, and I clap, smiling hugely. "Beautifully done, baby girl," Corey compliments me, kissing the side of my head.
"Thanks, Dad. You guys were awesome," I reply.
Mick smiles and tries to do a little bow, but almost gets poked in the face with Chris's mallet.
We spend the next few hours like that, just hanging out and singing and chatting. After a while, we all go downstairs (I was carried bridal style by Sid; not exactly the safest, but he claimed that, and I quote, since I was 'Slipknot's princess', I should be treated as such).
We crash in the man cave and spend a few minutes debating whether or not to either play video games or watch a movie. We settle on doing both, movie first and video games after.
Then the debating moved on to what movie, and the choices were The Conjuring, Jumanji, or Hellboy. After some arguing, the chosen movie was Hellboy.
Jim, Craig and Chris grab some snacks, consisting of cheddar popcorn, ranch Doritos, and little tubs of sea salt and caramel gelato.
I sit between Sid and Mick after grabbing some gelato, and snuggle up to Mick.
He wraps an arm around me and tucks my head under his chin. I nibble on my gelato (which was really fucking good) and the movie starts.
Corey sits in front of me and rests his head on my legs, munching on a napkin full of cheddar popcorn.
As the movie plays, I begin to get a little sleepy. Nestling closer to Mick, I allow my eyes to flutter shut. I feel Mick pull me into his lap, and Corey moves into my spot, letting my feet rest in his lap.
I nuzzle into Mick's strong chest and let the gentle rhythm of his heart lull me to a light doze.
~MICK'S P.O.V~
I slowly stroke Col's hair, and look into her sleeping face. She looked so cute and vulnerable, with her little hands tucked up under her chin, and her lashes flickering softly against her cheeks as she dreams.
A warm, feathery feeling seeps into my chest, and I knew it was fatherly love. It was soft and sweet, and I couldn't help but smile down at my beautiful niece.
I would do anything for this little girl: love her, spoil her, protect her...
My arms automatically tighten around her as a flashback to yesterday slams through my head. I wasn't able to protect her then, but I was able to beat the shit out that prick, Ivan Moody.
I sigh quietly, loosening my hold on Col. Corey must have noticed, because he gently nudges my arm. "You all right, man?" he asks softly.
"Not really," I answer, running a hand over my face. "Corey, I just... I know I shouldn't, but I keep beating myself up for not protecting Col well enough. First the horny psycho in her dressing room, now she's getting beat up? I mean, what the fuck?" I shake my head irritably.
"I know, man. I give myself the same shit. But I keep telling myself that she's here now, and that she's safe and healing. And I tell myself to love her with everything I've got, because that helps her... Stay her, I guess." Corey shrugs. "But it helps to focus on the here and now. If you keep doing that, the past will just fade into a bad memory." He smiles at me.
Returning the smile, I murmur, "Thanks, Corey. That really helped."
And it did. As I look back to Col, the fatherly love swells up in my chest until I thought I would burst.
Instead, I lower my head a little and kiss her hair. The movie spirals into its ending sequence, and I carefully reach for the bowl of cheddar popcorn.
                                                                                              ~THE END~