It's Complicated (A Black Veil Brides Love Story)

My Fault

*Riot's POV*

After Ashley helped me find a shirt and some underwear to put on, I walked into the living room where everyone was sleeping. Jinxx was on the couch . . . Well, half on the couch and half on the floor. His legs were in the air and the rest of his body was on the ground and partially under the wooden coffee table. Lying next to him was Jake, who had his arms around a girl I'm guessing he met at the bar last night. Now that I'm looking at them, I think they'd make a really cute couple.

I rolled my eyes and looked back into my room to see Ashley buttoning his shirt. I bit my lip and willed myself not to cry. What the hell were we thinking? Well, I suppose we were so drunk that we weren't thinking. Damn . . . I don't even think we used protection . . . And . . . Oh God . . . I was a virgin up until last night. Shit.

"Here," I heard a voice behind me. Echo. I turned around and saw her standing there in her red bathrobe. "You probably need this." She handed me my favorite purple mug filled with coffee just how I liked it.

"Uh, thanks . . ." I whispered as I took the glass from her. I took a sip and felt it rush down my throat and warm up my tummy. Damn that felt good.

"Oh whoa, hey. Your arm is um . . . Why is your arm bleeding?" I looked down to see the damage. Wow. It was worse than I thought. "Riot? God damn, woman! Answer me! What the hell happened?!"

"I tripped and hit my arm on my bed." At least I didn't have to lie about it.

"Jeez. Alright well I'm not surprised. Just come into the kitchen so we can at least clean it up." She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the other side of the apartment where we set our coffee mugs on the counter. "Sit." She pointed to the counter and walked to the cupboard in the corner.

I sat on the counter and winced when I bumped my arm on my knee, smearing blood on my leg. I looked around and saw Andy. He was asleep and it was super adorable, but . . . He was on the kitchen table . . . One hand was hanging off of the side and the other was tucked underneath his head. His legs were half way off of the table because he was so tall.

I started giggling uncontrollably, mainly because that's what I do when I'm upset, but also because it was so fucking adorable! I have never seen anyone fall asleep on the table like that in my entire life. He was still fully clothed and he was drooling a bit.

By the time Echo came back to where I was sitting, I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard. "Okay, giggles. What's wrong?" I stopped laughing and just stared at her as she got a rag and turned the sink on. “Don’t think I don't know you well enough to know that you laugh hysterically when something is wrong. So spill it."

I watched her as she held my arm over the sink and started dabbing it with the wet reg. It didn't hurt as much, probably because it was going numb from me being so light headed. "I had the nightmare again . . ." I whispered. She dropped the rag in the sink and looked at me with sad eyes.

"Oh, RiRi . . . I didn't know. I'm so--" I covered her mouth with my uninjured hand to cut her off.

"It was worse this time . . ." I dropped my hand into my lap. "There were . . . More people there . . . In the house with them . . . One of them jumped from the window and landed . . . Right in front of me. Echo . . . It was horrible." I sobbed and she just watched me. She knew that I hated being touched when I cried . . . This has happened too many times for her to not know by now.

"If you don't mind me asking . . . um . . . Who . . . Who all was there . . . In the house?"

I sniffled and allowed myself to calm down a little. "It was . . . Well it was the guys . . . They were all in the house and . . ." I cleared my throat and wiped a tear away. "Jake was the one who jumped . . . From my window . . ." I was extremely light headed now and I was seeing little black dots everywhere.

"RiRi . . . This is--"

And that was the last thing I heard before I blacked out and fell onto the tile floor.

*Ashley's POV*

After I got dressed, I walked out of Riot's bedroom. I saw Jinxx and Jake on the couch with the girl Jake met last night. Well then. Good for him. He needed a girl in his life.

I saw Andy lying asleep on the kitchen table and Riot was laughing hysterically as she sat on the counter. Echo was going through a cupboard for band-aids and things to clean her arm with. Echo said something and Riot stopped laughing all of a sudden. I couldn't hear what they were saying so I tried moving closer.

They kept talking, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I heard a few sniffles and Riot started sobbing. I watched as Echo didn't move. Hug her! Do something! Don't just stand there! Echo asked her something. It stopped the crying, but her voice told me that she was in so much emotional pain.

"It was . . . Well it was the guys . . ." I heard Riot say. She was talking about us. We were in her nightmare. ". . . the one who jumped . . . From my window . . ." Wait, what?

Echo sighed and started talking again. "RiRi . . . This is-- RIOT!" I watched in horror as Riot tumbled to the ground once again, but this time, I knew she wouldn't be waking up for a while.

"Echo? Echo, what happened?" I asked as I ran over to them. Echo caught Riot and was laying her on the floor.

"I don't know! We were talking and I was fixing her arm up and she just passed out!" She was scrambling to wrap the gaping wound on her arm as she talked.

"Okay, it's probably from loss of blood mixed with a nasty hangover and emotional trauma from that nightmare. Look, we just have to get her to the hospital ASAP!"

Echo nodded and looked around before standing up and running to a drawer filled with pens and paper. I saw her scribble something down in pink pen and tape it to Andy's back. She ran back over to Riot and knelt down. "Ash, you gotta carry her to the car. I'll drive, and you sit in the backseat with her. Come on! Let's go!"

I gathered up Riot's limp body and followed Echo out the door and to the elevator. We ran to the car in the lot across the street and I settled Riot in the back seat with her head resting on my lap. The whole way to the hospital was silent. I watched Riot's pale face, as if she were going to wake up and magically be okay. I stroked her hair, hoping that would help in any way possible.

I was so scared and I choked back tears as I carried her into the hospital. Echo grabbed one of the male nurses and started screaming in his face that we needed immediate help. Mostly everything else after that was a blur. I remember someone taking Riot out of my arms and laying her on a gurney so they could wheel her away. Echo made me sit next to her in the little waiting room. I think she tried to get me to talk, but the thoughts in my head were screaming at me.

This is your fault, Ashley. If you wouldn't have gotten drunk and just stopped yourself, she might actually be okay. You would be asleep, most likely, on her floor right now. But you had to go and fuck things up like usual, didn't you? It's all your fault, Purdy boy.

"It's my fault . . ." I whispered.

I felt Echo's eyes on me. "What? What do you mean, Ash?"

"It's all my fault, Echo . . ."