Save me. (Remington Leith X Andy Biersack)

Chapter 70

The three Palaye Royale brothers are shown into a room which has been set up with four chairs and four microphones, a camera, and a soft box light. They're told to sit wherever and to make themselves comfortable.

Remington sits down and talks quietly to Sebastian, who's beside him. "Why are we here?" He asks, genuinely not knowing what the point of this interview is.

The guitarist shrugs. "I don't really know. Just go with it."

The interviewer soon comes in and sits in the empty seat, and they're told that everything is ready when they are.

"Hi, today we're joined with the wonderful Palaye Royale. Did I say that right?"

Sebastian smiles and nods. "You did! Lots of people don't. We had an interviewer say PayPal Royale a while ago."

The man laughs. "Wow, PayPal Royale, that's brilliant. Could you introduce yourselves?"

"Hi, I'm Emerson, I hit things," the youngest says into the microphone, "mostly Sebastian's head."

The middle brother smiles. "Remington," he says, "I'm the singer."

"And I'm the best brother, Sebastian. I play guitar."

Remington laughs quietly. "That's not actually true. I'm the best brother."

"Oh, have you already agreed on that, then?" The interviewer asks, finding this all funny.

The singer nods. "Yes," he states, "I'm the best brother, Em is the cutest, and Seb just-he's just there." Sebastian knows Remington is just being hunourous for the interview. The boy talks again. "No, seriously, Sebastian is such a good big brother to both of us. Specially recently, I've needed him so much, and he's always been there. He probably is the best brother." He glances at the older man briefly.

"What's it like, do you think, for fans to see you as not only band mates, but also as brothers? Do you think that makes the whole fan base feel more like a family?"

Emerson is to one who answers first. "I think that-um-being brothers too kinda gives us a closer connection to eachother, and so it's fairly easy to transfer that bond to our fans, or our Royale Council, as we like to say." He's careful about what he says, not wanting to expose anything.

"But at the same time," Sebastian begins, "being brothers also means that we're effected more when one of us is perhaps sick, or injured. It brings us all down." He glances at Remington for a moment, not saying anything else.

"Do you guys get sick often? I can't imagine playing shows can be very enjoyable when you're sick."

This time, Remington answers, taking fairly quietly. "I wouldn't say we get sick any more than we would of we were just staying at home, but touring while being ill isn't great. And, of course, there's always the risk of fans catching it, too." The boy yawns after talking.

"Have you ever had to cancel any shows because of being sick?"

"No," Remington answers again, "I feel that isn't a good enough reason to let down so many people."

"But you did cancel a tour, is that correct?" The question causes all three boys to freeze for a moment. Niehrer Emerson or Sebastian want to say something that would upset Remington.

With a nod, the singer crosses his legs neatly. "Yeah-um-there was no way to avoid that," he says, "I needed it to happen. My mental health was really not good and touring was getting to be dangerous for me." It's right now that he decides he's going to explain everything. "I feel so terrible about it and there have been some horrible comments about it that have just made me feel like such a fucking let down. But-but no one knows why it happened." He pauses for a second or two. "I was-I was abused by my ex for years. She lied and she made me lie about it and it tore me apart." He knows his brothers are shocked that he's said it, but carries on. "She would call me all these names and I really did believe her by the end." He rubs his eyes. "I-I hated myself. I still kinda do, if I'm honest."

It goes quiet and Sebastian takes the younger's hand. "Me and Em had no idea for so long and I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for Rem to be so trapped in that relationship." He squeezes the boy's hand.

"It got really bad. She made me do-um-things and I couldn't-I couldn't stop her." He's tearing up. "One night she-she found me in a hotel room, alone, and-" he trails off and heaves a breath, "-she-she raped me and stabbed me. We-we called it an accident. I was in hospital for weeks." He's crying now. "Our tour manager made us tour and I couldn't handle it. I couldn't hug fans because I was-I am-terrified of people I don't know. I had a nervous breakdown and couldn't carry on any more. It was awful." His voice breaks and he sobs. He's really said it. "Em and Sebby, they've been with me though it all. I-I have nightmares and hallucinations and they're always there to help me."

The interviewer doesn't know what to say now, but Emerson talks before he has the chance to even try. "Seeing Rem hurting so much is so upsetting and I am so beyond thankful for Sebastian; that he is able to take care of both of us. He's been like a father to us and I think I speak for Remington, too, when I say that we couldn't live without him."

Sebastian exhales. "I would do anything for my little brothers."

"I couldn't be here without either of them," the singer says quietly, "and the past few months have been terrible, absolutely terrible. I think what upsets me the most is the comments I see, and the messages, from people who have no idea what had gone on that lead up to us cancelling tour. Guilty would be an understatement. I feel like the worst person in the world right now." He feels that this is as much as he can say. The boy wipes his eyes and sniffles. "God, sorry for crying."

"Don't you apologise," Sebastian says in a very quiet voice. "We've been keeping this between us for so long because when you're in the public eye, exposing news like this can be so damaging. Remington is fragile and the danger with telling fans is that he gets caught in the middle of online arguments and suddenly there's no escape. We just ask that you take into consideration that this is something horrible that has happened to Remington, and that mean comments or accusations are deadly."

Remington stands up. "I need to go," he mumbles, "thanks for having us." He quickly leaves the room and goes outside, breathing in the fresh air and closing his eyes to calm his thumping heart.

He really said it all.

"Hey pumpkin, you okay?" He hears from behind him, and turns around to look at the guitarist, and the drummer following him. The boy nods and gladly accepts the hug. "You did so well. I am so fucking proud of you."

With a long sigh, Remington sends his younger brother a smile. "Can we go home now?"

Palaye Royale, Emerson Barret, and Sebastian Danzig all re-tweeted.
Remington Leith shared a link : Palaye Royale's front man, Remington Leith, shining light on a dark period of his life.
Please watch this and be kind. It took a lot out of me to say all of this. I love you all, I never wanted to let any of you down.