LILY ANN

I was shuffled away from Reggie's bedside by the onslaught of medical personnel rushing to silence the monitors and inject her with some sort of sedative, probably lorazepam or something, to calm her down. I knew she would be in good hands with the doctors, so I turned to look for Brian, but noticed that he had disappeared when all hell broke loose.
What the fuck was up with that god damn smile? It was going to drive me crazy, so I knew I was going to have to find him. I ignored the questioning glances from AJ and Matt as I marched down the hall towards the front entrance, figuring I'd start in the first place I could imagine him at a time like this. Sure enough, I was right.

He leaned against the wall, one hand in his jeans pocket and one foot planted against the side of the building, and inhaled the cigarette smoke as if it was a victory. I'm sure he knew I was stomping towards him, but his eyes, covered in mirrored aviators, didn't even bother to glance my way. "Hey! Gates!"

He continued to stare out over the parking lot, taking another lazy hit off of the end of the Marlboro, and I'd had enough. I stepped in front of him and snatched his Ray Bans off of his pretty face, revealing dark and narrowed eyes that were fixated on my face. "Back up, Lily Ann," he said through gritted teeth.

I sneered at him and jabbed my finger into his sternum. "Fuck you, Gates. You've barely taken the time to come visit your girlfriend while she's been in a coma, and now you show up when she wakes up with some twisted fucking grin on your face?! After she tells you to GET AWAY FROM HER?!" My voice was steadily rising, and I continued to poke him in the chest while stressing certain words.

I knew I was causing a scene, and I damn well wanted it that way. This mother fucker had bad news written all over him, and I didn't even need Reggie's admonition to suspect Brian as being one of the reasons that my best friend was strapped to fucking hospital bed right now.

He glanced around, looking for witnesses I suppose, before leaning down so that he was eye level with me. "Don't get involved in shit that is none of your fucking business, Lily," he hissed, blowing a puff of smoke in my face.

The smoke hadn't even had time to dissipate before I reached up and punched him square in the nose, hearing a satisfying crunch followed by a spurt of blood that stained his usual white v-neck tee. "FUCKING BITCH!" He roared, gripping my wrist in his vice-like grip before I had a chance to rock his head back again, squeezing down so hard that I was sure he'd pinch my hand off with a single flex.

The next few moments were a blur of flurried activity. He had used my momentum from swinging my other fist at him to slam me into the brick surface of the hospital wall. I was spewing obscenities, angry tears smearing my make-up. Then, almost as quickly as it had happened, he was gone from my vision and Kayla and Cole were standing in front of me, hands out as if they were ready for a fight. Sure enough, as soon as I spotted Matt and Jimmy wrestling Brian away from me, I tried to launch myself in his direction, growling and screeching like a caged animal. The girls caught me by both arms and held me back as best as they could before AJ ran over to help them hold me against the wall.

"Lily Ann, what the fuck is going on?!" Cole shouted, trying to divert my attention from the struggling man across the parking lot, his face bloody and contorted with rage as he tried to claw his way back to me, screaming furiously.
"THAT MOTHER FUCKER DID THIS TO HER! HE FUCKING PUT HER HERE!" I shouted, barely aware if my words were coherent in my current state. I was shaking furiously, my vision tinged with red and my throat still unleashing primal sounds that sounded more appropriate for a battle field than a hospital parking lot.

Kayla's eyes snapped from me to him and back again as she gaped. "Brian?" She asked confused, as if she was having a hard time comprehending that one of her boyfriend's best friends and someone that she had spent time with could be capable of doing such a terrible thing.

"No, fucking Ted Bundy. Yes, that piece of shit right there!" I snapped, jerking my arm away from her small hand and pointing in his direction, which seemed to cause him to struggle harder against his friends who were desperately trying to shove him into Matt's Tahoe. I pulled against Cole and AJ and they hesitantly let me go, stepping back a couple of inches once they were satisfied that I wasn't going to take off.

I looked over and saw Zacky talking to a few cops, who all wore similar expressions of concern and seriousness. It figured that he would be the one trying to contain the situation, considering he was always incredibly eloquent and likeable in the interviews I'd seen him in for the band. He always had a calm, reasonable demeanor in situations like this, but it didn't look like it was working too well for him this time. They exchanged looks and then excused themselves, making their way over to me.

I was still breathing hard, but I had calmed down long enough to light up a cigarette and remain against the wall with the girls. "Excuse me, miss Williams?" The cop that spoke to me looked like a Super Troopers reject, complete with the bushy 1970s porn star mustache and mirrored aviators. If this had been any other time, I probably would have giggled.
"Yes sir?" I asked, surprisingly calm as I took a long, satisfying drag off of my menthol. Nothing quite like nicotine after you very probably broke an asshole's nose. He held a small notebook and flipped it open. "You're the sister to one Regina Clarkson, is that correct?" I nodded. "Yes?"

One of the other cops, a fairly attractive brunette with amazing blue eyes, frowned and interrupted his colleague. "Where did you get that nasty bruise on your wrist?" I looked down to see the marks from Brian's hand already blossoming on my small wrist, quite obviously in the shape of fingers. "Call it a disagreement," I scoffed out the last word, not really interested in pointing out the culprit just yet. Let's see what they had to say first.

The first officer, Matthews was what his shiny name tag displayed, frowned and scribbled something down in the notebook. "Miss Clarkson just informed us that a Mr. Brian Haner Jr. was the aggressor in the ongoing investigation of her injuries that she was discovered with two months ago. Do you have any knowledge or supporting evidence for this accusation?"

Cole, Kayla, and AJ all remained silent as I nodded, pointing with the two fingers that held my cigarette towards the black Tahoe on the other side of the parking lot. "I completely and wholeheartedly support that claim. Want to know about this bruise?" I shook my wrist in front of them. "He just did it a few minutes ago after he practically confessed to the deed. You want him? He's over there in that Tahoe next to the red Ford Fusion."

They nodded, jotting down a few notes and continuing to ask a few more questions, addressing the girls every so often, who all responded in quiet voices. They were probably still in shock at the events that were unfolding before them. I looked around Officer Matthews to see Zacky standing a few feet from the hospital entrance, smoking a cigarette and shooting daggers in my direction.

Oh if looks could kill...

BRIAN

"I'LL FUCKING KILL THAT STUPID BITCH, I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD!" I struggled against my friends, but it was no use. Fuck Matt and his obsession with weight lifting. There was no way I was going to be able to overpower this roid raging gorilla.

"Gates, chill the fuck out man!" Johnny yelled, struggling to hold my legs from kicking out the back windshield. I growled at him, trying to shake him off, but it was no use. He might be short and fun to pick on, but he had a grip like the Jaws of Life and he wasn't letting go any time soon.

"Um, guys?" Jimmy said, trying to get our attention, but I was blinded by pure rage at the moment and Matt and Johnny were too busy fighting me. It was a wonder no one had called the cops with all of the yelling and screaming and how the Tahoe was probably dancing all over the place from the struggle. "GUYS!" Jimmy screamed, turning around to look at us from his post in the front seat.

We all stopped and turned our heads, staring at Jimmy who was frantically jabbing his finger in the direction of the windshield. "We've got cops, man," he said seriously. Fuck. Not about the cops. About the fact that I'd never seen Jimmy serious. Even when he was kicked out of his house in high school, he had still managed to crack jokes while living in a run down laundry mat. Now his eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was set.

We all struggled to sit up and smooth out our clothes, but there was no helping the blood that was drying rapidly on my face and steadily ruining my clothes. I watched as Jimmy opened the driver door and stepped out, cheerfully greeting the cops. I couldn't quite make out what was being said, but the young one narrowed his eyes and stared in the window, pointing and and saying something to another.

Suddenly, the back passenger door opened and a cop stood there, looking like he'd just stepped off the set of one of Ron Jeremy's adult films, circa 1977. I kept my mouth shut, hoping someone else would do the talking for me. "What can I help you with, officer?" Matt asked in a friendly tone. Matt and Zack were always the ones to handle cops and interviewers. They were just that likable.

Officer 'Stache didn't even spare him a glance, taking in the crusting blood on my face and probably a wicked bruise that was forming around my eyes. That little cunt. She may be pocket sized, but she punched like a full grown man. "Mr. Haner?" He asked, his tone a little too condescending for my liking.

I arched a brow and tried to keep my expression neutral. "Yes sir?" He gestured to his own nose and eyes. "What happened to your face?" I shook my head, not looking at either of the guys that were sitting in the SUV with me. "I got into a fight. No big deal." He pursed his lips and nodded, slipping his little notebook into his back pocket. If this is what he wanted to question me about, then I was prepared to keep the heat off of Lily Ann until I could wrap my hands around her scrawny fucking neck.

"Can you step out of the vehicle please?" He glanced between the three of us and I nodded uncertainly, waiting for Matt to move before I slid out of the backseat and adjusted my lightweight leather jacket. "Alright, now can you tell me what this is about?" I asked boredly.

His hand returned from behind his back and he held a pair of shiny silver handcuffs, clicking them to release the latch. "Mr. Haner, I need you to place your hands behind your back." My eyes widened and I gaped at him. "What the fuck for?!" Matt and Johnny groaned, though I could tell they were also confused. But I knew they'd rather me just shut the fuck up and go quietly so that we could figure this out.

"Sir, please turn around," the cop said boredly, staring me down. "Not until you tell me what the fuck you're arresting me for! Do you know who the fuck I am?" I shouted at him, fighting against the two other cops that had come from around the other side of the Tahoe who were gripping my biceps and forcing me to turn around. "No sir, I have no idea who you are, nor do I care," he said, securing the bracelets on my wrists as I clenched and unclenched my fists.

"Mr. Haner, you are being taken into custory on the accusation of assault and battery and homicidal intent towards Miss Regina Clarkson. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

I barely heard him as he Mirandized me, my jaw clenching and my eyes darkening. Matt, Johnny, and Jimmy all stared at me with confused and shocked expressions as I allowed them to lead me towards the patrol car that stood near the entrance of the hospital. I remained wordless as I scanned the sidewalk, nodding to Zacky and locking eyes with Lily Ann as they pushed me down into the back of the car.

I slid across the seat, making sure that Lily Ann could see me through the back window and mouthed towards her.

"I'm coming for you..."

Notes

Another chapter for my lovely readers!

<3