I drug my mother up the stairs by her feet. Her head hit every stair on the way up, but I couldn't care less. She deserved it. I lay her on her bed and bound her there by chains. I was going out to celebrate, and didn't want her waking up before I got home. I decided to see what was going on today, in our great big city of Philadelphia. I got on the forbidden computer and searched around. Eventually, I found SayWeCanFly was coming to town today! "Fuck yes," I muttered. I ran to my room. "Jade, we're going out!" I shouted excitedly. Her eyes lit up. "Out?" she asked. She hardly ever got to go outside. "YES!" I exclaimed. "Get ready, we're leaving in five." I grabbed $50 and a few ones and fives from my mom's purse. "C'mon. We're hopping." I grabbed Jade's hand and we headed to the train.
"This my first time here," Jade marvled. I nodded. It was the first time I'd been here in forever. "Stay close" I warned. We searched for the bar called Finnigan's Wake. It was an all ages show tonight- this would be my first concert. After a few twists and turns, I found my way there. "Letsago," I exclaimed. We walked up to the ticket booth. "Um, SayWeCanFly for 2?" I asked. "How old?" she gestured to Jade. "Four." I responded. "She's free, so that will be... 10 bucks." I grinned. "Sweet!" I exclaimed, handing over the money. We entered the door, and the sight took my breath away. It was so awesome- basically all I had ever dreamed of. There were other kids... like... like me. It was the most peculiar of things... I felt Jade grip my hand tight- and then I saw him.
"Jade, f-follow me," I stuttered. Leading her by the hand, I walked over to him. His eyes, his long hair, his tatoos... It was him. The guy I'd always dreamt of meeting. The man who saved my life. Braden Barrie.
*Braden POV*
I looked idly about the room. I had an hour till my set, so I was just chilling here. Bored as fuck. Then, I saw this girl approach me. She was beautiful- truly beautiful. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, and she had beautiful hazel-green eyes. But there was something about her that seemed off... Then I noticed it. Both her and the small child she'd brought with her were covered in... briuses. It broke my heart, to see such a girl in this tattered, broken condition. I approached her, nervously. "Hey," I sputtered. She seemed awestruck. "B-Braden..." she whispered, and started sobbing. "Hey, hey, don't cry, darling," I soothed, taking her in my arms. Is love at first sight real? Because, if so... I might be a victim.
*1 hour later*
I just finished my set, and sat backstage impatiently chugging a whole bottle of water. I'd learned very few things about the girl, except her name was Melody and she was 17. On account of wanting to know her better, I gave her and the child a backstage pass. After 5 long, long, long, long, long, long minutes, she finally turned up. "Hey, Melody," I smiled nervously. "H-hi," she stuttered. "B-Braden, this was t-too kind of you..." I shook my head. "Nah, my pleasure." She sat down in the seat next to me, the little girl at her feet. "Braden?" she asked. "Yeah?" I replied. "Would it be okay if I vented to you? I'm all alone in this world, and I just need a shoulder to cry on." This statment made me sad as ever. What perils had this beautiful, beautiful girl gone through? "Of course." She smiled weakly. "Okay..." she began.
*Melody POV*
This was surreal. Was I seriously going to spill my life story to Braden? We'd only just met but... There was a connection... "Okay. So everything was fine until my grandma died when I was 9. Before that, I practically lived at Grammy's house. Mom was still abusive, but I rarely was around her. I had friends, and was hardly bullied. But then, Grandma died. She left me with my house I live in to this day, but also left me with an abusive whore of a mother who turned to prostitution for money." I paused, taking in Braden's expression. He was a little sad, but he hadn't even heard the worst of it. "Well, after Grammy died I lost all my friends, and my world went WOOSH! down the drain. I was majorly bullied- called fat, ugly, slut, any other name under the sun. At the young age of 10, I developed anorexia and started self-harming. And when I was 13, Mom popped her," I gestured to Jade, "out."
"So I was left, an abused, self-harming, bullied anorexic 13 year old girl with a child to care for. It was hard. Fucking hard. I'm technichally not anorexic anymore, because I wanna set a good example for Jade, but I only eat a tiny serving of each meal- barely enough to keep me the slightest bit full. I still self harm, and mother abuses us both, daily." I looked at Braden, and he looked completely horrified. "Why, that bitch..." he mummered. A tear rolled down his cheek as he hugged me tight. "Listen, Melody..." he whispered in my ear, "I will get you out of this. I promise. One day, I'll heal your cuts and care to your injuries. I. Will. Protect. You." When he let me go, both of our eyes were filled with tears. "Braden... why do you care so much? I'm just another stupid fangirl with stupid issues... I love you so much for caring... but why do you?" Braden sighs, and said a phrase I'd only dreamed of him saying- "Because, Melody... I think I love you back."
