Glass Hearts

"I don't want to take it off!" I yell from the bathroom, extremely frustrated from Alan telling me to take off the bandage on my cheek.

"Come on. We have to get on the road!" He sounds like a five year old. I groan and swing the door open.

"I'll just take it off on the bus." He rolls his eyes and walks away. I'm standing in the hallway, alone, rubbing my cheek. It's been a week since I was attacked and my cheek has healed but I don't want to take the gauze off of it. I've changed it everyday but I never looked at the gash. I'm too afraid to.

"Are you ready?" Austin's voice makes me jump back and hit the wall. My heart feels like it's in my throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He smiles shyly at me and rubs the back of his neck. Austin has been nice enough to let me stay in one of his guest rooms since I was released from the hospital. He didn't want me out of sight, so to speak.

"It's fine." I smile back at him. "I'm ready to go. All of my stuff is already on the bus." He looks surprised. "Alan volunteered to take my stuff while you were in the shower." I shrug and smile before turning on my heel to walk down the stairs.

"I heard Alan bug you about the gauze." Austin speaks quietly, following me down the stairs. I sigh and nod.

"Yeah. He has been bugging me all morning. I told him I would take it off on the bus." To be honest, I don't want to take it off. The doctor said he stitched it up so it would heal nicely but I'm still afraid to see how it really looks. I don't want to look like the Joker. Austin let out a laugh as we walked out the front door.

"He can be annoying at times but you'll grow to love him." All of the guys were standing around the bus, waiting for us as Austin locked up his house. I stare at him like he's a show in the circus. "What?"

"Where is all of your shit?" He laughs and shakes his head.

"I ran it down before I got in the shower. I have a lot of shit to take with me so I packed last night." It's my turn to laugh. He really does love going on tour. As soon as I step onto the bus, Alan is in my face.

"Take. It. Off. Please?" He gives me puppy dog eyes and juts out his bottom lip. I push past him and beeline to the bathroom. I slam the door in his face and lock it. "Come on, Faith! I want to see it!" He whines loudly.

"Goddammit, Alan. Just leave me be. I'm getting ready to take it off." I remember the doctor telling me not to freak out because it will be red and puffy for a few weeks. My hands are shaky as I reach up and slowly take the medical tape off. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, pulling the gauze off.

You can do it.

I slowly open my eyes and gasp. Well, the doctor was right. It's definitely red but not as puffy. I resemble Chibs, off of Sons Of Anarchy. The scar goes from my lip to my cheek bone.

"Did you take it off?" Austin's voice floats through the closed door. I don't respond. Instead I run my finger along the length of it and shiver.

Great, another awful memory.

"Faith?" It's Austin again. I reach for the lock and click it. Seconds later, the door creaks open. "Are you okay?" He stares into my eyes, not even caring about the scar. I smile and nod.

"Yeah. It's not as bad as I thought." I turn and look back into the mirror. He stands behind me and places his hands on my shoulders.

"You're still beautiful." He whispers and kisses my head. I know what you are thinking and no, Austin and I are not together. He's just really sweet and gorgeous.

"Let me see!" Alan shrieks from the living area. I groan making Austin laugh and squeeze my shoulders.

"Go show the ginger your badass battle wound." I smile and walk out of the bathroom with Austin behind me. Alan runs to me and grabs my face.

"Dude! That's fucking sick!" He stares at it some more with a goofy smirk on his face. "You look like...Ahhh fuck! I can't remember who it is!"

"Chibs?" I question, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes! The dude from Sons Of Anarchy!" I shake my head and sit down on the couch next to Austin. "What about the one on your stomach?" Alan sits in front of my on the floor.

"Man, leave her alone." Tino smacks him on the back of his head as he walks past. "She's gonna get pissed and not take pictures of you." I laugh loudly.

"I just want to see it." Alan mumbles, hanging his head down.

"I haven't even looked at it, ginger princess." I tease, pulling my jacket and shirt up a little and start pulling the tape off. Everybody is standing in a circle, staring at me intently. "Guys, I'm not a fucking circus attraction." They all chuckle nervously and look away for a second until I pull the gauze off.

"Holy shit." Austin gasps, running his fingers across it. "It looks really good. It's not swollen or really red at all."

"It looks like a shark bit you!" Phil yells and fist bumps me. "That's fucking tight." I smile a little and trace the scar. It sends shivers down my spine. Tears prick my eyes and I quickly stand up.

"Excuse me." My voice is quiet as I head for the back room. The tears start to fall when I curl up on the sectional couch.

How the hell did my life end up like this? Why am I the one going through this shit? I'm not a bad person, yes I did some fucked up shit in the past but I thought I left that fucker in the past.

By now, I'm sobbing into the sleeves of my jacket. I usually never just break down but everything bad that has happened to me is back to haunt me. My body is shaking and I know everybody can hear me but I don't give a fuck. Someone places a hand on my back making me jump and yelp a little. Austin is sitting on his knees in front of me. He doesn't say a word. Instead he stands up and picks me up. I bury my face in his chest and try to steady my breathing.

When he starts walking, I think he's going to the bunk area but he doesn't. The door shuts quietly, followed by the click of the lock.

"W-what are you d-doing?" I choke out against his chest.

"Comforting you." His voice is soft as he lays down on the couch with me on top of him. I'm in shock. Nobody has ever cared enough to comfort me. That's why I built up my walls so high and acted tough. Now, laying in Austin's arms, my walls start to slowly tumble down. "Whenever you want, we can talk about it." His voice is a whisper as I listen to his heartbeat.

"Can we talk about it later?" I speak quietly, holding back more sobs.

"Of course." He rubs circles into my back slowly and it soothes me immensely. This is what I have needed for the past few years. Someone to be there for me and comfort me when I am upset. The silence around us isn't awkward but it's interrupted by high pitched screaming. "Well the girls are on the bus now." Austin chuckles a little, shaking my body. It makes me laugh and poke his sides. He squirms under me.

"Oh, Mr. Carlile, are you ticklish?" I straddle his waist and start tickling his sides. He howls with laughter and tries to grab my hands.

"Faith! Stop!" He gasps between fits of laughter. I can't help but to giggle along with him. My hands don't stop their torture until there is a loud knock on the door.

"Faith! Austin! Get your asses out here!" Zoe screams through the door. I stare down at Austin and he's trying to catch his breath. Zoe keeps banging on the door.

"Let's go see want she wants." Austin groans and picks me up off of him, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Austin! Put me down!" I slap his back and all he does is laugh.

"Damn it! Open the d-" Zoe shuts up as soon as Austin slides the door open. I can't see her but it's quiet for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, I feel a hand slap my ass.

"Ow! You idgit! That hurt!" I reach back and rub my asscheek.

"Is your name Bobby now?" Austin puts me back on me feet and tilts his head a little, smiling like a goofball. I smirk and poke him.

"Didn't know you watched Supernatural."

"Oh yeah. I love Crowley. He's such a dick." I giggle and shake me head. "Let me guess, you like Dean?" Rolling my eyes, I turn away and walk to the living area.

"No. I don't like Dean. I love him. He's so damn sexy. Mmm!" I pretend like I'm going to faint and start giggling like a weirdo.

"I hear Alan was giving you a hard time about your bandages." Zoe is sitting on Alan's lap when I walk in. I nod and glare at him.

"Fucker." He sticks his tongue out at me and I smack him on the head. "He was the only one bugging the shit out of me to take them off. As soon as I got up this morning, he was up my ass like a little kid."

"Shut up. I was not. I waited until you completely woke up and showered." Alan says with a glare shot at me. "You finally took the bandages off though." He has a smug grin on his face now.

"Fuck off. I wish I didn't have these stupid fucking scars. So no more talking about it. Got it?" The playfulness is gone from my voice. Everybody stops talking to look at me.

"I-I'm sorry, Faith. I was just joking around." Alan stumbles through his words and I just wave him off, not wanting to hear anymore about the horrid scars. Austin sits down beside me and pats my knee.

"Do we have any alcohol?" I look over at Austin and he nods. I perk up. "Where? Vodka?" He laughs and stands up. Everybody has gone back to their conversations while I focus on Austin. I just can't get over how gorgeous he is. Every movement he makes looks so graceful until he trips over Phil's feet and stumbles over to me. I cover my mouth to stop the giggles from coming out.

"You didn't see anything!" He jumps and points at me. "Especially because I have this." He holds up a bottle of Grey Goose. I stop laughing immediately and snatch the bottle from his hands.

"What are you talking about?" I smirk at him and open the bottle.

"Exactly." He sits down beside me and goes to put his arm around me but stops as flinch a little. "I'm not going to hurt you." He whispers and pulls me close to him. I sigh and take a long drink from the bottle. The burn down my throat is satisfying and I relax.

"Are we already getting out drink on?!" Zoe screeches and runs to grab more alcohol.

"This should be fun." Austin mumbles before loud music starts to play through the bus. "Thank god we don't play until tomorrow afternoon." He laughs and grabs the bottle from me.

"Excited to be back on Warped Tour?" I have to kind of shout over the music. He nods and passes me the bottle again.

"Definitely. It's one of my favorite torus to go on. The other bands are sick this year. You should get pictures of some of them too." He smiles at me and I thank god that I sent in my information to this band.

I just hope the rest of the summer doesn't come with anymore surprises.

Notes