Neither Heaven Nor Hell

Chapter 1: Shown

I paced around the house, waiting for Jace. We started a band about a year ago, named The Hands Of The Broken God. I'm the frontman and lead guitarist, Jace is the rhythm guitarist and backing vocals, one of my other friends, Jensyn, is the bassist and her brother, Adam, is the drummer. I've had such a crush on Jensyn for about the last three years. Other than Jace, she's the only other person that knows about what my dad does to me. She's seen the bruising on my body and face, and she feels like she can't help. Because of me, she's gained an eating disorder and become reclusive to the people she used to be great friends with.

A knock on the door snaps me from my thoughts, and I slowly make my way over and open it. As expected, Jace stands there, a silver and black sunburt-patterned guitar slung next to his usual blue and green accented guitar. "Ready? The party starts in a half-hour." He grins when I nod, and slings the sliver beauty off his back. "I know your birthday's coming up,and I couldn't help myself." I take it in my hands and run my hand up and down the ebony neck, slowly touching my calloused fingertips against the silver strings.

"Jace... You didn't have to do this...." I say, voice soft and full of gratitude. "My other one will work just fine...." My old guitar, a wood-finished Gibson, was old and worn, but works perfectly. "Fuck that, man. You needed something to get you mind off him. Let's go already." He motions me out and goes to his beat-up Saturn. I get in and put my guitar between my knees as he drives to the party. With Asking Alexandria playing in the background,he looks over at me. "By the way, I invited Elena to come along." That's not surprising, Jace and Elena spend a lot of time together. "She only agreed to come if you or I would walk her home, though." Again, this makes sense. Elena was a shut-in, and only talked to Jace and I. Jace is her cousin, and knows me very well.

I sighed. Jace would probably end up getting bombed, so it's my job to make sure she gets home safe. He'll be too drunk to drive, so walking's gonna end up being necessary. Woah, hold on. Is Jace trying to set me up with Elena? As I open my mouth to ask, he grins and the car stops. "We're here." He gets out and is immediately engulfed by his friends. I slowly exit, grabbing the guitar and exiting into the house. The host of the party, a senior, tells me to set up in the back. When we were first asked, Jensyn and I agreed on eight, so I looked down and checked my phone.

"Seven thirty...." I mumbled to myself. Guess I'll warm up for a little. I plugged the new guitar in and gave it a strum. Almost exactly in tune, the way I like it. Drop D. A few notes were still off, though, so I tuned it, lowering the volume to barely noticeable. After ensuring that it was tuned the way I wanted it, I played my way through Afterlife by Avenged Sevenfold and Coming Down by Five Finger Death Punch. A few people, in passing, complimented me on how well I played. Soon, a short blonde girl came in and looked around. I held up my hand and waved. "Jensyn! Over here!"

She smiles and holds up her striped green-and-black bass guitar. Her hoodie sleeve slips down, and three red lines across her wrist reveal themselves. She quickly lowers her arm, a look of shame shadowing her smile. Jensyn pushed her hair under the beanie she had on, and walked toward me, boots clicking on the linoleum floor. She set up, checking the levels and volume, trying to avoid my eyes. Finally, I grab her wrist and pull her into the kitchen. "Syn, what the fuck are those on your wrist?!" I grab her other shoulder and force her to look into my eyes. Her smokey Jade iris were full of tears. "Your birthday's coming up... I didn't want you to suffer alone...." She voice broke, and she pulled me into a hug, sobbing into my body. Her forehead hit a bruise, and I tried not to gasp in pain. We stood there, comforting each other until Adam came in. He glared at me, so I Jensyn go. She looked up at me, and I flicked my eyes in Adam's direction. He hates me because of what's happening to Syn.

Soon, Jensyn pulls away, and pushes past Adam. He glares at me before following her. I sigh, lowering my head. This wouldn't be happening to her if I hadn't been in that art class three years ago. It was mid-semester, and I was moved to another class because of scheduling conflicts. I strode into class, taking the only chair available, in the back. A shorter blonde, who sat next to me, was sketching in her notebook. It looked like what's his name from that Supernatural show, the one with the long hair. She glanced over at me, then went back to her drawing. That day was just a day to draw and sketch, while we talked or listened to music. Lacking earbuds, I retreated into a corner and played some Breaking Benjamin while I sketched my mother. Soon, a shadow came over the already poorly-lit area. I looked up into the blonde girl's face.

"You realize you're blocking my light, right?" My voice was deeper than usual, and much grittier. She smirked and sat next to me. "I Will Not Bow. One of my favorite songs." Her voice was light and airy, and she glanced down at my drawing. Her smile faltered a bit when she asked, "Who is that?" I looked away, trying to hide the pain on my face. "M-my mother..." I struggled to utter. Deciding not to push it, she held out her hand. "My name's Jensyn, but you can call me Syn." I turned and took her hand. "Jacob, but call me Dusk."