I opened my eyes, and found myself in an unfamiliar room. I looked around, bewildered, trying to figure out where the hell I was. The room was dark, fairly big, and quite messy. The walls were painted dark grey, nearly black, and covered in posters of bands. I recognized The Misfits, The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, and others I knew and liked. I was lying in a smallish bed, with black sheets, and there was a sofa against another wall. Clothes lay around the room, flung carelessly into corners. There was a bookcase to one side, and from what I could tell it contained mostly comics. There was also a desk filled with art supplies and lots of paintings and sketches. The wall around the desk was filled with some of this artwork, drawings of various superheroes. They were fantastic pictures, and their creator was obviously passionate about their work. I tried to sit up, to find someone who could tell me where I was, but the movement hurt my head so bad I had no choice but to lay back down. I also felt a stinging on my neck. That jab of pain caused all the previous events to flood back. Ohmygod. He'd tried to kill me. He had honestly intended to end my life. The thought made me begin to shake, trembling in fear. Tears came to me, and I buried my face in my hands and began sobbing. I cried over everything that had happened, the pain, the anger, the fear, all of the emotions spilling out of me. I don't know how long I sat there, but eventually I was pulled back to reality by a hand touching mine. I gasped, and pulled away, cringing into the pillow I lay on. Then, I recognized the person stood over me. Wait... Gerard? "Where am I? What the hell happened?" My voice was crackly. Gerard sighed. "You're in my room. You've been out a few hours. As for what happened... We were hoping you could tell us. We were on our way back from the movie store, and you ran round the corner, straight into Frank, and collapsed." He gestured behind him, and for the first time I noticed Frank, Ray and Mikey stood watching me. They looked expectant. Gerard touched my cheek, making me look at him. "Krissy, what happened to you, sugar?" He continued caressing my face, making me blush. "My... My dad tried to kill me." I whispered. His hand froze. "Y-your dad?" I risked looking up at all of them. "Well, he's not my real dad, I'm adopted. But, yeah." Gerard sat down beside me, and the others took seats, too, Frank on the floor, and Ray and Mikey on the sofa. "Tell us everything," Gerard commanded. I sighed, and looked at the ceiling, still laying down. And I spoke, telling my story for the first time ever. "My parents abandoned me when I was born. They just... Left me lying in a cot at the hospital. Apparently, my mother was very young and her parents hadn't approved, so she just left me. I was sent to an orphanage. I lived there til I was eight. It wasn't bad, I guess, it was a little place, run by nuns. Strict, but fair. They looked after us. Then, just after my eighth birthday, I was adopted by this couple, Julie and Mitch. They were pretty well off, upper-class Londoners. Julie had something wrong with her, she couldn't have kids. She was dying for a little daughter, and there I was. Mitch wasn't as enthusiastic about the whole parenting thing, but he loved his wife and would do anything for her, so they took me in. They looked after me really well, I guess, I got everything I wanted. I was a spoilt kid. I was popular, I had everything I wanted, I was a little bitch. Nothing like I am now. I was selfish, vain, and cruel. I was the queen of my school, and I loved it. But one day, Mitch came home having lost his big, important, well-paid job. He couldn't get another. We had to sell our huge house and move to a 'common' area of London. Suddenly, my perfect little life wasn't so perfect. Mitch got into alcohol, and drugs. He became a serious addict, and eventually a dealer too. Julie hated it, said she'd rather live on the streets than spend illegal money. He started hitting her, and me. Told us we could leave if we didn't like the way he did things. So that's what she did. We woke up one morning and Julie was gone. No note, no phone number, nothing. Mitch was distraught, he decided to get even more into the drug game. He came home every night, high, drunk or both. And he started to beat me up. He hated me, he blamed me. He punched me and kicked me and told me how worthless I am. I got ditched by all my friends, and I began to see myself for what I am. A fat, ugly, worthless, freak. My mum knew I wasn't worth it, Julie knew it too. And Mitch reminded me, everyday. When he beat me, he yelled it all at me. I... I started hating myself. I still do, I-I'm disgusting. And I changed. I stopped trying to fit in, stopped following fashion mags and stuff. I found my own style, for myself instead of for everyone else. I got a lot of shit, I became 'that goth chick', but I didn't really care, because I liked it. I felt like I was being my own person, for once. Me. Anyway, Mitch got a lot of money from his dealing, and people got suspicious, so he decided to whack it all by travelling. We went all over the place, he left me in hotels while he explored Europe. Eventually we came to America, and he decided to stop here in Jersey. That's about it." They all studied me. "And today...?" Gerard prompted. I winced at the memory. "Today... today he put a knife to my throat. Said he was finished with me." I touched my throat, feeling the cut there. "I kneed him in the balls, hit his head, packed my shit and ran. And now, I d-don't know what to do..." I burst into tears again. "I'll tell you what you're gonna do," Gerard spoke confidently. "You're gonna stay here, you're gonna get better, and we're gonna look after you." I stared at him. "I can't stay here." "The hell you can't!" he cried. "You think we're just gonna kick you out and send you back to that sick bastard? Or leave you on the streets? Come on, Krissy. Not happening. You can stay as long as you need, we have space, and Mom won't mind. We'll look after you." He smiled at me with that last sentence, and took my hand, surprising me. I blushed. "You're safe now, sugar."

Notes

Second update today - I'm on a role! What do we think of Krissy's story? Is it realistic? Do you like it? Let me know! Until next time :)