Unbroken

Unholy

(((Five months later)))

(CARTER’S POV)

Meri is on tour with BVB.  Tonight they were stopped in San Diego, where I was visiting my grandparents and siblings.  After my dad had died, Mum had moved to L.A, where I currently live with Ash and his parents.  We finished school last month, so we hadn’t had a chance to do much, yet.  I started my job at a tattoo parlor  with Ash.  I did tattoos and he did piercings.

“Scream! Shout! We are the fallen angels!” I hear Mordechai, the twin that looked the most like me and my dad with his black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes.  He was also really tall for being almost fourteen.  Today was his and Britton’s birthday.  We had gotten Mordechai a BVB shirt, all the albums and EPs, and tickets to go with us and meet the band tonight.  He didn’t know that we were really good friends with them.  For Britton, we got him some video games, which he loves.  He isn’t big into music and actually can’t stand BVB, which everyone finds funny.  Mellissa hasn’t changed much.  She is what most would call your average “white-girl hipster”.

My grandmother was the most excited to see me.  Apparently they visited me when I was out, but couldn’t afford to come back and see me when I woke. 

(Flashback)

(Several days ago)

“Carter!’’ she said, hugging me.  She held me at arm’s length and looked over me.  I saw her smile falter abit after she saw my snakebites and tattoos, but all she said was, “my god, you’re tall!” She was right, I guess.  Ash and I were the only ones that could look Andy in the eye without having to look up a little.  All three of us were pretty much the same height.

“CARTER!” Mordechai, or as I call him, War (his name means Warrior), screamed and ran to me, grabbing my leg and saying, “I missed you!”

“Carter!” Britton said, coming over and hugging me.  Not as excited as War was.  I knew why, he was ashamed of me and his twin.  He and Mellissa picked on War, telling him he was a freak. 

“Hey Meli!” I said, using her old nickname.

“Whatever,” she said.  I was totally wrong when I told Ash their ages the first time.  I said Meli was eight, and that War and Britt were six. She is fifteen, almost sixteen, and the boys were almost fourteen.  She was one of those girls that would make you feel like shit just to make herself feel better.  And boy, was she good at it.

(Flashback over)

“Carter? When are we leaving?” War asks.

“Soon, War,” I say.

“You still call me that?!” he asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah, should I not?” I ask.

“Yes! I try to get my friends,” he pauses, using air quotes around the word ‘friends,’  “to call me War, but they say it is stupid and childish to be called War.  And my teacher said that it was not an appropriate name for me to use at school.”

“That’s fu-“Ash starts, I look at him, “-messed up,” he recovers quickly.

“I know, right!” I say and kiss him lightly on the nose. 

“Ash, can I tell you something?” War asks.

“Uh... sure,” he says, confused.

***

(ASHLEY’S POV)

“What’s up, War?” I ask, following him to the hall.

“Don’t hurt her,” he whispers.