21 Guns

Chapter 9

"Hey guys, I'm home!" I called out, shutting the door behind me. The concert had almost arrived. I only had to wait three more days. The four months had passed so quickly. I spent most of my days hanging out with Katie and Dakota, or down in my music room. I was actually just getting home from Dakota's place. I didn't hear anything, so I figured I was home alone. I went down to my music room. I stayed away from anything requiring too much arm movement. It sucked... I would get really out of practice in doing that, but I didn't really have a choice. As soon as I was healed I'd focus on those... I decided to play the piano and let the wounds heal. I came up with a few melodies and recorded them so I wouldn't forget them. I hadn't realized just how late it was getting until my stomach growled at me.
"Fine! I'll feed you, just give me a second!" I said to myself. I went upstairs, finding my parents on the couch.

"Oh, how long have you been home?" I asked.

"We've been home all day. We stayed inside and relaxed." My mom said, in a nearly monotone voice. Something was off about them, but I brushed it off...

"Oh. Alright... Do you want me to cook supper? I don't mind..."

"That sounds wonderful sweetheart, thank you." My dad said, the same tone as my mother. Again, I just let it go, even though it was strange. I walked into the kitchen to find that all of the dishes from this morning were still in the sink. That, of all things, was what freaked me out... My parents always cleaned up the dishes when I wasn't home... I dealt with them before cooking some supper.

"Guys, supper is ready!" I hollered and I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. My parents and I fixed a plate, then went to sit down at the table. I paid attention to their eyes. They were almost glazed over and had no light in them. It scared me, it really did. Something had definitely happened to them. I had no clue what it was that had happened, but it seemed like a form of hypnosis. I cleaned up from supper, and stayed nearby my parents until they went to bed. I had to be sure that they weren't going to do anything. I waited until I was sure that they were asleep before going downstairs to my music room. I plugged my headphones into my amp and plugged in my electric guitar. If I was careful, it turned out I could play it without too much pain. I sat there learning and playing song after song until I fell asleep on my couch with my guitar still strapped on.

When I woke up, I realized what I had done. I didn't really care once I realized that it was already August 28th... I got on the plane to go to Toronto late that night! I got up, and ran to the coffee maker. I turned it on and ran to my room to find my suitcase. It was time to pack all of my stuff. I unzipped a compartment of my suitcase and packed some clothes.

I could tell that the coffee maker was done so I ran back to it and poured a cup. Fixing it how I liked it, I went back to my room. I would have run if it wouldn't have been for sloshing all of my coffee. I packed the rest of my clothes, and moved on to hygiene items, then extra things. I decided to bring my acoustic that I played during the shooting and my electric guitar with me. I planned to get them signed by Green Day for sure and My Chemical Romance if I was able to. I had all of my things ready to go by noon. My parents still seemed a bit off, but they seemed more alert than the day before. They seemed more like themselves too, which relieved me.

"Hey kiddo, are you excited for the concert?" My mom asked.

"Oh man, you have no idea... It still doesn't seem real!" I giggled. I was absolutely ecstatic, but I was maintaining some self control. I. could. not. WAIT! My iPod went off, and I saw that Katie had sent a group message with Dakota. It read "8 FREAKING HOURS UNTIL TAKEOFF!!!! WHO'S GAME TO HANG OUT AND KILL THE TIME?" I asked my parents and they let me go, as long as I was back before supper. I got ready and headed out. We were meeting at the mall.