A Game Well Played

Chapter 4: Trust Issues

I heard the crowd roaring with enthusiasm, as sweat dripped down my back. Chants of encore were being heard in front of the stage, as I found myself smiling. The others were drenched from head to toe, all of us breathing heavily. We all looked between one another, smiles flickering onto their faces, as the sweat beads fell across their cheeks, and onto the floor. Eyes gleaming with excitement, we rushed back out onto the stage, as the crowd cheered and roared, making our smiles cross once again.

Damian was the first to speak out of us all, sounding out of breath. “Thank you all for showing! It means so much to us, and to have such an amazing crowd!”

He started strumming the chords to our last song of the night. Aaron came in with a soft beat, and Sophie was going along with what Damian was doing. I, however, was singing gently to the song Damian and I wrote from when we first became best friends.

“Battered and bruised, you picked me up. Took my hand and saved it all. You knocked him down, showed not all are the same. You helped me come back and live once again.”

I walked down the little stage the mall had set up for us, my voice getting stronger as I walked down the stage.

“You were always, always there! You stayed by me, and picked me up.. You, you were always there! Every tear, every breath. Babyy, you, you saved me!”

I stood at the end of the stage, smiling and holding my hand out to the crowd. “Ohh, if you need somebody, please come to me. I’ll always be here for all of your needs. I’ll wipe those tear stained eyes, I won’t make you cry. Yeahhhh! ‘cause baby, I was battered and bruised! Yeah! You picked me up! You took my hand, you saved my life, ohh, you saved it all! You knocked him down, you showed me different! You helped, you helped, ohh, you helped me live- live once agaiinnnn!”

I stood there, holding the last note, listening to the crowd cheer as I let the others grab my hand. They cheered louder then ever, and I smiled out into the crowd, waving. “Thank you guys, all of you, for coming to see us. I honestly didn’t think we were going to do this show, but I’m so happy we did! It means the world to me, and gives me hope that one day, we’ll become big! Thank you, Edmonton!”

As I exit the stage the screaming continued, filling our ears with ‘I love you’s and a few more encores. I smiled at the others. Triumph filling me inside, I couldn’t help but start to laugh earning strange looks from Damian and Sophie. Eventually, Aaron started laughing with me, and the other two joined in, too. Tears were forming in my eyes from laughing so much and smiling. “Thank you, so much.”

They slowed down into a chuckle, and looked at me with simple, yet loving smiles. In unison, they all replied. “Your welcome.”

“No, guys. Seriously. Thank you, for everything. Being here for me, us doing this, being friends. All of it. I don’t know what I would ever do without any of you. I love you all, so, so much.”

They all came in, and started a group hug. These people were the family I never had, the people I care about most, let alone my mother. I wonder what’s wrong with her? How she’s doing? Question after question started to blur through my mind, while the hug still lasted. But, what gets me the most, is why? Why would my father, the man that abandoned me, saying I wasn’t his, would come back into my life after so many years? What did he want? He forced me out of my home in Vancouver, and made me leave my life there. Lucky enough, Sophie had an aunt who lived down here, who loved all of us… But still, not the point!

It’s just way too weird, you know?

We parted from one another, with smiles on our faces. Darkest Dreams is back, and we’re stronger then ever. Soph, Day-Day, Ay-ay, and I will make it to the top, and nobody will ever stop us. With one another, we’ll make it.