15 APRIL 2233

TARA

Hazel green eyes scanned around the room, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. There were some lights, some backgrounds, and people scurrying around as they tried to make everything look right. Tara shifted a little in her seat, reached down to scratch at her ankle, and then sighed as she slumped in her chair. There was a quiet laugh next to her, and she narrowed her eyes at her companion for the day. Hazel brown eyes met hers, while the other woman continued to laugh, and Tara made her sigh even louder this time as she crossed her arms.

“You do realize that this is ridiculous, right?” Tara asked and glanced over at her companion again.

“I was told to get a story about strong and independent women, and the women of Briar Lodge seemed perfect. Come on, smile a little. You and your friends are gonna be even more famous than you already are,” Casey Adams said with a bright smile. Tara thought about arguing, realized that it would be pointless, and bit the inside of her cheek as she watched Casey’s cameramen run around.

The Women of Briar Lodge…it does have a nice ring to it. It’s only been three years since Tara moved to California from her small hometown of Briar, Alabama. It felt more like a lifetime, or three. She moved out west with her closest friend, Emily, and they set up a home for anyone that didn’t want to live alone. So, six months after moving across the country, Briar Lodge was opened up. Now, including Tara herself, eleven women lived in the house that Tara and Emily bought. It took them time to fix it up the way they wanted it, but it’s perfect now. She never would have thought they’d attract enough attention to get a magazine article written about them though.

“Why do I have a feeling that this is going to take all day?” Tara whined. Just a little. Casey grinned at her, showing off straight white teeth from behind bright red lips, and then she pulled out a notebook.

“Okay, first up is Emily Kinston. Stats?” Tara straightened up as Emily walked into the room and started to talk to the main photographer, and her smile was genuine when she looked over at Casey this time.

“Stats, okay, I can do that. She’s twenty-seven, like me. Long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, five-eight. Her ears are only pierced once, and her bellybutton is pierced too. She’s got a tattoo of a spine going down the length of her spine. She got it because of something her dad would always say. Girl’s got backbone. There’s a rosary on her left foot, and there’s a quote on top of her right foot.Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil,” Tara recited. Casey looked down at where Tara’s feet were swinging, and Tara shrugged as the journalist made the connection. Tara had the same rosary tattooed on her left foot, but the quote on top of her right foot was different.You must walk through Hell to get to Heaven.

“And what does Miss Kinston do for a living?” Casey asked. Tara looked over at where Emily was being positioned by the photographer, and she kept watching the way Emily smiled as she answered.

“She’s the youngest of five with four older brothers, but she’s the only one that followed in her father’s footsteps and joined the Army. She served for four years before retiring, and she’s a nurse now. Oh, and she models every once in a while.” What Tara wasn’t going to tell was that Emily disappeared for a year after her time in the service was up. To this day, Emily still won’t talk about the things she did in the Army or what she did during her yearlong disappearance.

“Next is Samantha Madrazo.” Emily left the room and whispered something to Sam as they passed in the doorway. Whatever it was, it made Sam laugh hard enough to throw her head back. Brown hair flowed behind her, with her natural curls bouncing down to the middle of her back, and Sam was still smiling when light brown eyes met Tara’s. Tara gave her a thumbs-up and then watched as Sam moved over to the photographer.

“She’s only five-one, age twenty-five. Her ears are pierced three times now, the left side of her nose, and she has angel bites. There’s a Deathbat tattooed on her left hip,midnightis on the back of her neck, and she’s got half of a heart behind each ear. You get all that?”

“Your Southern drawl is so slow that it’s easy to keep up. Occupation?” Tara swatted at Casey’s arm but answered the question anyway.

“She’s a writer. I think her last book is still on the Best Seller’s List.”

Sam really was something else. They say that good writers have lived interesting lives, and Tara believed there was some truth to that. Sam’s life was different, but Tara wouldn’t call it interesting. Interesting implied all good things, or just things slightly out of the norm. So interesting didn’t fit Sam’s life story. Tragic, maybe. Sam ran away from New York City with a man named Victor, because he was the love of her life, when she was only sixteen. They ran away to California and built a life for themselves. Victor worked construction while Sam waited tables and wrote on the side, and they got married when Sam was eighteen. By then, they could afford to move into a house. Then Sam got pregnant, and their lives were like something out of a fairytale. Until Sam miscarried at five months. Her and Victor drifted apart after that, until they eventually got a divorce. It’s a good story, but it wasn’t one that Tara was going to tell.

“It is. Okay, next up is Reina Cortez.” When Reina walked into the room, all eyes turned to her. Today her black and burgundy hair was falling free down her back, instead of pinned back away from her face, and Tara could see the amusement in her copper brown eyes from across the room. That poor photographer wasn’t going to know what hit him.

“Twenty-six, five-four, and amazing. Her ears are pierced twice. Then there’s her bellybutton, right eyebrow, and left side of her lip. There’s a Deathbat on her lower back, a butterfly with a skull in the wings between her shoulder blades, and between those two in the center of her back is a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. Let’s see, she has “toxsyn” scripted on her right wrist. A small lightning bolt next to her left eye. Oh! There’s a belt going around her bikini line of roses, thorny vines, flames, and bats come off of it and cluster along her right ribcage. Then on her left ribcage there’s a skull with a rose between its teeth.”

“She’s the tattoo artist, right?” Casey asked while she was still furiously writing in her notebook. Tara expected to see smoke rising from the page at any moment.

“Yeah, she owns Toxsyn Designs.”

Reina and Sam moved into Briar Lodge at the same time, because they’d been friends ever since Sam moved to California. Reina was there for Sam after the miscarriage and divorce, and Sam was there for Reina. The tattoo artist was originally from LA, the city that Briar Lodge was located in, and she lived with her single mother and younger sister. Growing up wasn’t easy for Reina, and she started doing drugs when she was thirteen. She experimented with everything, but her main addiction was heroine. Sam convinced Reina to go to rehab and get better, and Reina finally did after a close call. After a year of rehab, she pulled her life together and started saving up for her own shop. Which she now had.

“Remind me to stop by there for my next piece of artwork.” After Tara hummed and nodded, Casey continued. “Okay, Aiden Angelis is next.”

“Also twenty-six, tops out at five-ten, her hair is naturally black but the burgundy isn’t. Her bright violet eyes are natural, not contacts. Her ears are pierced three times, and she’s got snakebites. Has a quote going around her wrist that saysit’s better to try to succeed than to give up. There’s a pin-up drummer girl on her right ribcage, and she’s got this amazing Batman themed back piece. Complete with Batman, the Joker, and the Riddler.”

Aiden grew up in one of the poorer cities in California, so she learned how to survive without what most people consider necessities at a young age. There were times when she didn’t have any lights, running water, or even food. At sixteen, her mother kicked her out because she couldn’t afford to keep her anymore. Aiden was homeless for several months, until she finally found a job at a small restaurant. She made a deal with the owner; Aiden lived in the small space above the restaurant for free, and in exchange she worked overtime for no extra pay.

“Isn’t she a writer too?” Tara looked across the room where Aiden was turned to the side so that the photographer could get a picture of her rib piece, but Casey didn’t look away from her notebook.

“When she feels like it. She owns a restaurant here in town. Fiction Eatery?” This time Casey looked up with a surprised look on her face.

“That place is delicious!” Tara nodded, because she already knew that Aiden cooked the best food in the state, and Casey watched as the next woman walked in. “That’s Audrey Barakat, right?”

“Yeah, she’s the baby of us. Only twenty-four.” Audrey’s bright red hair was curled in a few places, and Tara watched as the photographer fixed her side bangs. Probably so that the camera could capture her bright green eyes. The photographer was a short woman, and she was balancing on her toes a little since Audrey was five-seven.

“Alright, give me the stats.”

“Only two piercings, her tongue and a Monroe on the right side. She’s got two daggers on each wrist, Corpse Bride on her right ribcage, and Edward Scissorhands on her left ribcage.” Casey quickly wrote it all down and then tapped her pen against the notebook.

“Multiple careers?”

“She works as a tattoo artist in Reina’s shop, but she also writes and does some photography.”

“Isn’t she Jack Barakat’s little sister?” Tara caught Casey’s eye, and she relaxed a little when she saw the professional look on Casey’s face. She trusted Casey, but there’s nothing wrong with being a little overly cautious.

“Yeah, but he’s in England now.” Audrey never really got along with her parents, they couldn’t see eye-to-eye on anything, but Audrey loved her older brother. She was tempted to leave with him when his band, All Time Low, left the United States. She decided to stay in the end though and left Maryland for California. She moved around for a while before meeting Aiden, and they moved into Briar Lodge at the same time.

“Pyper Matthews. I already know her, but I want you to give me the stats anyway.” Audrey was out of the room now, and Pyper was standing in her place. Her long blonde hair was braided today, but the black streaks in her bangs could easily be seen. Dark blue eyes glanced over at Tara for a moment, and Tara made sure to smile at her before Pyper focused back on the photographer.

“Twenty-six, five-two. Quite a few piercings. Ears three times, left cartilage, the right side of her nose, her left eyebrow twice, and the left side of her lip. Only a few tattoos though. There’s a tiger on the cap of her shoulder, a razor on her left wrist,carpe diemon her right wrist, a Deathbat on her right hip, and angel wings across her upper back.”

“And her occupation is a model.”

“Yep.” Pyper was a model now, but that’s not what she was when she first moved to California. When Pyper was growing up, her father and older brother took every opportunity to tell her how worthless she was. Her mother never said anything to defend her daughter, so Pyper spent most of her time with her maternal grandparents. Her grandparents passed away within months of each other during her senior year of high school, and she left right after graduation. After getting to California, she worked as a bartender. She went to an audition on a whim and was surprised when she was chosen, and she’s been a model ever since.

“Alright, you have to tell me about Patricia Vicious.” Tara looked over just in time to see a flash of blonde, black, and pink. Patti’s hair was cut off just below her chin, and the three colors were mixed into a perfect blend. All three colors also seemed to make her blue eyes even brighter than they already were.

“Twenty-five, and six feet even. Her tongue is pierced twice, and I lost count of how many ear piercings. They line both of her ears. Then there’s her bellybutton, septum, and snakebites. She hasnever back downacross her collarbones, and her back piece is made up of her favorite meaningful lyrics from several bands.”

“And her occupation is?” Casey asked it with an excited little wiggle, as much as she could wiggle in her seat, and Tara rolled her eyes.

“She’s a cage fighter, but you already know that.” Casey did a little cheer, because Patti was probably the most famous out of all of them. Most people don’t know how she became a cage fighter though. They didn’t know that she was originally from New Jersey, and that her single father started beating her when she was only seven years old. Patti stayed in and out of hospitals until she was sixteen, which was when she ran away. She kept running until she couldn’t anymore, and she found work on a fishing pier in California. There she met a man named James, who became the big brother she always wanted. He gave her a place to live, helped her get her GED, and later enrolled her in a self-defense class. That’s where she learned kickboxing, jujitsu, and ti kwan do.

“Next we have Lindsay Henderson.” Lindsay had straight black hair that stopped at her mid-back, and she was letting it all hang loose today. Her bright blue eyes weren’t hidden behind frames either.

“Twenty-five, five-five. Plugs in her ears, septum, and a medusa piercing. She has a sparrow chest piece, her arms are sleeved in various styles,foreveracross her knuckles, a sugar skull bride on top of her right hand, and a sugar skull groom on top of her left hand.”

“Occupation?”

“Tattoo artist at Toxsyn Designs, and she works part-time as a hair stylist.” Lindsay was still a bit of a mystery, because she liked to keep her life private. She was still an amazing listener though. All Tara knew about her was that she didn’t have any living family members, her best friend was Tori, and she was originally from Canada.

“Victoria Gasperi is up next, and I really love her hair,” Casey said as the next woman walked into the room. Tori’s long wavy hair was currently a dark teal color, and it really set off her green eyes.

“Twenty-five, five-eight. Snakebites, a small nose stud, and her ears are gauged. She has a cheetah print cap sleeve on her right arm, sparrows on her hips, a rockabilly skull on her right ankle, a tiger on her left calf, and adia de los muertossugar skull chest piece.”

“She’s another one with multiple careers?”

“She mostly works as a sound engineer, both recording and live mixing. She works as a model part-time, and she volunteers in hospitals whenever she can. Children and cancer wards usually.”

“You girls are trying for sainthood, huh?” Casey asked as she continued to write Tori’s stats. Tori was probably the most traveled out of all of them. She was originally born in Italy, moved to England when she was six, and then moved to New York when she was eight. When her parents moved back to England when she was eighteen, Tori stayed behind and moved in with Lindsay. It wasn’t an easy decision for Tori; she never really got along with her mother, but she’s the definition of a daddy’s girl. She decided to stay though, and her and Lindsay moved to California together.

“Okay, Raven Lawson.” Tori left the room after saying a few goodbyes, and Raven walked in next. Her dark brown hair was down today, and it looked like she was wearing contacts so that her light brown eyes could be seen.

“Twenty-five, five-one. Her only piercings are her snakebites. Has a Deathbat across her shoulder blades with the wings extending all the way down her arms to her hands.Seize the dayis across her lower back, the cat from Emily The Strange is on her left hip, and the My Chemical Romance marching man is on the right side of her neck.”

“And she’s a photographer?”

“Yes, she’s a photographer. A very good one too.” Out of all the women that lived at Briar Lodge, Tara has known Emily the longest. After Emily, was Raven. Tara met Raven when Raven was only eighteen, Tara was twenty-two, and that’s when she learned that Raven was kicked out of her home after she graduated high school. Raven didn’t want to follow the life plan that her parents had decided for her, so they kicked her out. Tara was able to convince Raven to move in with her, and Tara’s immediate and extended family accepted her with open arms. Raven left when she was twenty and made her way over to California. They found each other again after Tara moved to California a few months later, and Raven moved into Briar Lodge right after Tara and Emily did.

“And last but not least?” Tara raised a brow when Casey just continued to stare at her, and Casey rolled her eyes. “Short brown hair, hazel eyes…I keep forgetting how tall you are.”

“I’m five feet even, and I’m twenty-seven. My tongue is pierced, and that’s my only piercing. I have a full Lady Justice back piece. The Used heart is behind my right ear. My right arm is sleeved with flowers and gears in blacks and grays. My left sleeve is identical, but it’s in full color. I havecarpe diemacross my collarbones. There’s a Deathbat wrapped around my left thigh, and a marching “black parade” wrapped around my right thigh. And you already saw the tattoos on my feet.”

“Occupation?” Casey asked with a small grin.

“I’m a therapist, with a PhD in clinical psychology. Sometimes I write books. Can I opt out of the photo shoot since I narrated this whole thing?” Tara asked with a small whine.

“Hey, Hayley! Tara Christens is your last one!” Casey yelled out. Tara cut her eyes over at her, but Casey was too busy scribbling in her notebook to notice. So, with a huff that was completely ignored, Tara got to her feet and walked over to the photographer.

As she was positioned for the photoshoot, she thought over her own life. She grew up in a small town, dirt poor, but her mother did the best she could. It was just Tara and her mother when she was growing up. Her mother remarried when she was nineteen and had Tara’s twin sisters, Cadence and Melody, but her stepfather died in a car accident only a couple of weeks after the twins were born. When she was fifteen, Tara fell in love and fell in with the wrong crowd. By the time she was sixteen, she was an alcoholic and addicted to a wide variety of pills. Despite being continuously drunk or high, she took college classes while she was still in high school. After getting her Master’s degree at twenty-two, she decided to get clean. When she made that decision, the love of her life disappeared. So she tried to get herself clean, failed for about a year, and then got clean after Emily came home and kicked her ass into shape. At twenty-four, her and Emily left Alabama and set out towards California. After she got her PhD at twenty-five and started practicing, she reconnected with her old flame. Everything was going great, until about two months ago. Tara was not dwelling on her recent breakup right now though. She was going to focus on this photoshoot and then maybe she’ll work on talking Aiden into cooking a feast for them.

|XXX|

“That was brutal! I’m a photographer! I take the pictures; I don’t pose for them,” Raven exclaimed and then fell onto a couch. Her elbow caught Pyper in the ribs, and she quickly apologized while Pyper reassured her that no harm was done in a soft voice.

“I hate sitting still for that long. Thought I was gonna go crazy,” Emily remarked and stretched to make her back pop.

“But it was for a good reason. Did Casey get everything she needs?” Tori asked quietly. Tara managed to stop chewing on the delicious homemade pizza that Aiden whipped up, and she blinked as she processed Tori’s question.

“Yeah, I think so. She promised to email me a copy of the whole spread.” Sam ruffled Tara’s hair as she walked past, but Tara was still too busy eating to care about fixing her hair.

“She set up an appointment for this weekend,” Reina said right before Sam fell into her lap.

“New business is always a good thing,” Lindsay mused aloud.

“New business is awesome! We’re awesome! That’s why we are gonna be featured in a magazine,” Audrey said as she strolled through the living room.

“Hubris,” Patti admonished as Audrey sat next to her on the loveseat.

“So, I guess that’s it for today?” Aiden asked. She was standing in the doorway to the living room, and everyone turned to look at her.

“That’s everything,” Emily decided. The whole room let out a collective sigh, because that meant it was time to unwind and just be themselves. It was time to relax.

27 APRIL 2233

TARA

“Dammit!” Tara yelled as the front door slammed behind her. She could feel the vibrations going through her body as she leaned back against the door to kick her shoes off, and the bag that had been hanging precariously on her shoulder slipped off and banged quietly against the rug covered floor. Hazel eyes narrowed in a glare down at the bag as she forcefully kicked her second shoe off, and she growled quietly under her breath as she walked off into the house. Socked feet carried her into the kitchen, where Aiden and Emily were talking quietly, but Tara went straight for the fridge.

The heavy box that she had pinned under her arm, that was digging into her hip, got tossed up onto the counter right next to the fridge. With that burden gone, she threw open the fridge door. Probably a little too roughly. She grabbed a small can from one of the bottom drawers, gently closed the door while whispering an apology to the fridge for the earlier rough treatment, and then turned to rest her back against the counter. Her free hand shook a little as she stretched her arm out along the counter, but the hand wrapped around the can was surprisingly steady. She popped the top with one hand and then raised the shiny red can to her lips and sipped.

“Are you going to tell us why you slammed the front door and are now acting like a crackhead?” Emily asked after Tara sighed. Tara always sighed after her first sip. She watched as Aiden nudged Emily in the ribs with her elbow, but Emily’s dark brown eyes never left her target. (Because Tara definitely felt like a target from the way Emily was staring at her.) Emily didn’t even blink when she elbowed Aiden back.

“I lost Kristy,” Tara mumbled and looked down. Her bright green socks had candy canes on them, even though it was spring and nowhere near Christmas, and she wiggled her toes to keep from crying. She loved her job, loved what she did with every fiber of her being, but it seriously had its bad days.

“I thought she was getting better,” Aiden said quietly. All of them talked about their day to day lives, so the girls knew about Kristy. They knew about a lot of Tara’s patients.

“So did I. She took a bad turn yesterday. Passed away a few hours ago,” Tara said and slumped even more against the counter. She raised her empty hand and slid shaking fingers around the rim of the can.

“I thought that was what you were wearing yesterday,” Emily said. Tara looked down at her plain black slacks and wrinkled green shirt.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to just leave her there. She didn’t have anyone else,” Tara said while still staring down at her clothes. She probably looked horrible, and she was the last thing Kristy saw before…best not to think like that.

“Do you need anything?” Aiden asked. The chair Aiden was sitting in creaked, like Aiden was preparing to get up, and Tara quickly looked up.

“No, I’m fine. I’m just going to go lay down,” she said and turned to scoop up her box. She gave them a tight smile, just a small twitch of her lips, and then quickly walked away. She knew her friends only wanted to help, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.

Her bed called to her as soon as she walked into the room, but she ignored it. Sleep could wait. She wasn’t all that sleepy anyway, and who knows what would follow her into her dreams? So instead she gently dropped the box on her desk chair and moved over to her dresser. She found some clean clothes, something more comfortable than slacks and a blouse, and then moved into the bathroom. Her shower didn’t last long, and she didn’t enjoy it like she normally did. Her mind was too busy thinking of other things to enjoy a simple pleasure, such as hot water. Her hair was only halfway dry when she power walked out of the bathroom, and a wet chunk stuck to her cheek and tickled her chin.

“I can do this,” Tara whispered as she stood in front of her desk. Water droplets fell on top of the light brown box, but she wasn’t sure if they were from her hair or her eyes. No time to worry about it.

She opened the box slowly, one flap at a time, and started pulling out small CD cases. She lined them up, in order, on top of the desk. Then she moved the box out of her chair and fell into it. She loved her chair, it was a comfy chair, but she felt like she was sitting on a pile of bricks as she reached for her CD player. Her fingers were shaking again as she picked up the first case, and her throat felt like sandpaper as she popped it open and placed it in the CD player.

To help her better connect with her patients, Tara always recorded her sessions. Old style. She preferred to record because she could actually look at the person she was listening to instead of furiously writing down everything they said. It was easier to go back and listen, instead of reading hastily written notes and depending on her memory to fill in any blanks. It was something she’d done since she first started practicing two years ago.

Kristy Marie Watson was one of her very first patients; she came in the first week that Tara started practicing. Tara had been twenty-five at the time, and Kristy had just recently turned twenty. Kristy had been fighting depression for years, and she had recently been diagnosed as bipolar. Tara didn’t think there was anything wrong with Kristy. The younger woman just needed a friend, someone to talk to. Kristy was very intelligent and friendly, but she was also extremely shy so no one had ever taken the time to get to know her.

“Kristy, can you tell me why you did this to yourself?”Tara’s voice was quiet on the recording, but she could remember being afraid. So afraid that she would mess up and do more harm than good.

“I wanted to get away.”Kristy’s voice was quiet as well, but there wasn’t an undercurrent of fear in the quiet tone. Her voice had been…hopeless.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Why were you trying to get away?”

“Because there’s no point anymore. There’s no one left to save me.”

“There’s me.”Tara hadn’t been behind a desk; she’d been sitting in a chair, and Kristy had been in a chair right across from her. She’d reached across the small space between them and taken one of Kristy’s pale hands in both of hers. Kristy’s hands had been cold, and thick bandages had hidden her wrists.

“Why do you want to help me? You don’t know what it’s like, how I feel. You’re just another person who’s going to empathize with me, that’s all.”Kristy never raised her voice; her tone stayed even and calm. Tara had rolled the sleeves of her blouse up then, and it was before she got the tattoos that completely covered her arms. Kristy’s eyes had widened when she saw the scars that lined the underside of Tara’s forearms, from her wrists to the crooks of her elbows. Tara had even held still as Kristy’s steady fingers traced the deeper lines.

“I’ve been where you are, Kristy, and I’m going to help you.”

“What about when you give up? Then what?”Tara could still remember Kristy’s dark brown eyes searching hers, because Tara had refused to look away.

“I’m not going to give up. I’m here until the end.”

Until the end…it was a promise that Tara kept. She was there for Kristy until the very end. Kristy had went off the deep end. She stopped taking all of her medications after her last failed relationship, which was something she had failed to mention at her past three appointments. Kristy drank all of the liquor she could find in her home. When she ran out, she turned to the bottles of cleaners under the kitchen sink. Then she had bled herself out. By the time Tara made it to the hospital, because Tara was Kristy’s emergency contact, it was too late. So Tara stayed by her side, gripped her hand as hard as she dared, and listened to her talk. Even as Kristy’s voice faded into hoarse whispers.

“Tara?”

“Yeah, Kristy?” She had to lean closer to hear her, and she shifted her grip on Kristy’s hand as she waited for her to speak again.

“Do you remember all those older bands?”

“Like who?”

“The greatest ones,” Kristy said with a small laugh. She looked more relaxed, more at peace, than Tara had ever seen her. Her eyes were clearer, and it seemed as if her smile was etched permanently on her face.

“Personally, I was always a huge Avenged Sevenfold fan. I cried for weeks when I heard they were gone.” Off and on for weeks, anyway.

“Yeah, me too. And The Used too. I loved those crazy fuckers.”

“Who didn’t? Did you ever see them live?”

“Yeah. I’ve only been to three concerts in my life.”

“Who’d you see?” The beeps on the heart machine monitor were coming slower and slower, but it looked like Kristy was breathing easier.

“Avenged, best show of my life. My Chem, that was a night to remember. And then The Used.”

“I only ever got to see Avenged live, but it was an experience I’ll never forget.” Tara’s head was resting near their joined hands, and she was looking up at Kristy. The younger woman shifted, and her long brown hair spread around her and draped over the sides of the hospital bed.

“Bands like them, they were real, you know? They used to save me, back when I was younger. I was sixteen whenNightmarecame out, and I remember running all the way to the store as soon as school got out. It was the same way withDanger Days,but I was driving by then.”

“Yeah, they were great.” A small sigh escaped Tara’s lips, and she looked up to see Kristy already staring down at her.

“I wish I could have seen them all one more time. They were life savers, and now they’re gone. Like me,” Kristy said with a wet laugh. Her voice was below a whisper now, and it was getting harder to hear her. Tara carefully stood up out of her chair and leaned down next to Kristy, resting her head next to hers. Tara’s eyes were burning with unshed tears, and Kristy’s fingernails were digging into the top of her hand. A sob caught in Kristy’s chest and made her body shake, and Tara had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from doing the same.

“It’s okay, Kristy. You can let go now,” Tara whispered. It was a clichéd thing to say, Tara knew that even as she said it, but she felt like Kristy needed to hear it.

“See you on the other side,” Kristy whispered back. Kristy gave Tara’s hand one last squeeze, hard enough to draw blood, and then everything went still and quiet. Tara could hear the sound of the flat line on the machine, but it sounded like everything was underwater. Hands were on her shoulders and pulling her back, and Kristy was gone.

“Doctor, doctor! Give me the news! I got a bad case! Of loving you!” Tara jumped in her chair, banged her knees on the underside of her desk, and spun the chair around to see Audrey standing in her now open doorway. A hairbrush was gripped in one hand as she sang, but Audrey’s smile faded as bright green eyes met Tara’s. That’s about the time Tara realized she was crying again.

“What happened?” Audrey asked and stepped farther into the room. She fell into Tara’s lap, and Tara’s arms immediately moved around her waist as she dropped her head onto Audrey’s shoulder. In Briar Lodge, lending a shoulder to cry on was usually very literal.

“I lost Kristy last night,” Tara said quietly. All of the girls had actually met Kristy, at some point or another, so Tara knew that Audrey would understand why she was so upset.

“I’m sorry, Sweet Christens. So what are you going to do about it?” Audrey asked and managed to look down at Tara despite the weird angle. Hazel eyes filled with confusion, because…what?

“You lost me, hun.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Audrey repeated. Was there anything that could be done? Besides funeral arrangements?

“They were life savers, and now they’re gone. Like me.”

“I know what I’m going to do,” Tara said quietly. The fingertips of her right hand touched the top of her left hand, and she felt the four crescent marks that Kristy had left in her skin. Those marks will scab over soon, possibly scar, and they’ll be a reminder. Kristy might be in a better place now, but she’s not completely gone. Because she’s not going to be forgotten. As if sensing Tara’s thoughts, Audrey jumped up and pointed at the open doorway.

“Then do it!” Audrey yelled with a bright smile. Tara smiled back and then popped up out of her chair. She nearly tripped running down the stairs, but she managed not to fall flat on her face.

“Aiden!” Tara yelled as she ran through the house.

“What?!” That was definitely Aiden’s voice, but Tara couldn’t tell where she was exactly.

“Restaurant! Thirty minutes! Everyone! Be there!” Tara yelled as she grabbed her discarded flip-flops from the living room. She was still running, or hopping, as she tried to put them on.

“Why?!”

“I’ll! Explain! Later!” Tara yelled as she pulled on the front door and stepped outside. Thankfully with both flip-flops on. She ran past a shocked Patti on her way to her car, and she smiled at the four marks that stood out on her left hand before taking off.

AIDEN

“What was all that about?” Aiden asked after the yelling stopped. She was still sitting in the kitchen with Emily, and Audrey hefted herself up onto a counter. From the sounds of it, Tara just ran out the front door.

“Maybe she’s finally lost it,” Emily shrugged. Those two were raised together, have known each other since the crib, so Aiden trusted that Emily would know if there was something seriously wrong with their friend. Emily seemed untroubled, so everything was probably okay.

“What’s up with Tara? She almost tackled me to get out the door,” Patti said as she walked in.

“I don’t know,” Aiden said and looked over at Audrey. The younger woman did come into the kitchen while Tara was yelling like a madwoman, and Aiden doesn’t really believe in coincidences.

“She was upset about Kristy, and now she’s going to do something about it,” Audrey said with a bright smile. It’s bright because it makes the corners of her eyes crinkle, which somehow makes her green eyes even greener. It’s a smile that promises trouble.

“In my restaurant?” Aiden asked and pointed to herself. Tara can’t cook. It’s one of the house rules, so why was she going to Aiden’s restaurant?

“Is that where she was going?” Patti asked and leaned against the counter next to Audrey.

“I’ll go track her down while y’all call everyone and get them there,” Emily said as she got to her feet. She gave the room a quick salute before disappearing, and Aiden turned to look at the two remaining kitchen occupants.

“Let’s get everyone together,” Aiden said and stood up. Time to get to work.

TARA

“Anyone home?!”

“Nope!” Tara yelled. She recognized the voice instantly; it was a voice that she’d known her entire life, and it was a voice that she responded to without a second thought. Emily walked into the main dining area a few minutes later, and Tara smiled over at her.

“Too lazy to cook, huh?” Emily asked as she sat down at the one set-up table. Aiden’s restaurant was closed for the day, but Tara knew where the spare key was hidden. (All the women at Briar Lodge knew where the spare key was hidden.) So after letting herself inside, Tara had taken the chairs off of the biggest table and put a tablecloth on it.

“Me? Cook? Are you trying to burn the whole city down?” Tara asked with a small laugh. She placed the last pizza box on the table and took a moment to smile at her accomplishment. Then she fell into one of the seats and rolled her head to the side to look over at Emily.

“So, what’s all this for?” Emily asked and gestured to the tower of pizza boxes with one hand.

“I had a feeling that no one ate supper yet.”

“Why here?”

“Lindsay and Reina will be here first, because it’s closer than the house. Sam’s probably with Reina. Tori is most likely in her studio, so she’s closer to here. Pyper had a shoot today, so she’ll come by this way too. Raven had a shoot too, and you know her office is close to here.”

“What you’re saying is that Aiden’s restaurant is closer than the house, and that everyone should be here soon?”

“Should be.”

While they waited, Tara and Emily shared gossip from back home. They both loved California, but that didn’t stop either of them from getting a little homesick from time to time. Between Emily’s four older siblings and Tara’s two younger siblings, they had a lot to stay caught up on. Family dramas were common and passed on from their mothers, and Tara’s mother always had the juiciest small town gossip. So they traded the newest stories until the sounds of the restaurant doors opening signaled arrivals.

“I have arrived!” Sam yelled as she walked into the dining area.

“And I smell food!” Reina yelled from behind her.

“Quit your yapping,” Lindsay teased and easily walked around both of them.

“Who’s yapping this time?” Raven asked without looking away from her camera.

“Everyone’s always yapping,” Tori replied and ruffled Raven’s hair.

“What’s happened this time?” Pyper asked as she looked around the room.

“Nobody knows,” Patti said and sat down.

“I sparked the idea,” Audrey said and winked over at Tara.

“I got everyone!” Aiden yelled as she walked in last. Everyone slowly settled around the table and started grabbing their preferred slices of pizzas, and drinks from the cooler next to the table were passed around.

“So, why are we here?” Emily asked after everyone was situated.

“Kristy died last night,” Tara said quietly and waited for it to sink in.

“What? How?” Lindsay asked first.

“Suicide.” Tara took a slow breath in and then released it, and she kept focusing on keeping her breathing even to keep from bursting into tears. Again.

“I thought she was getting better?” Raven asked next.

“I thought she was too. But, I have an idea,” Tara said and made sure to look each woman in the eye.

“What’s your idea?” Reina asked when the silence stretched on for a little too long. Tara took a deep breath, held it, and then spoke as she released it.

“I want to bring back some of the real bands,” she said quickly.

“Yes, please!” Tori yelled. It was no secret that Tori disliked most of the bands she had to work with. They were nice enough people, but it wasn’t the music that all of them loved.

“And how are we going to do that?” Sam asked.

“It’s not exactly going to be easy,” Aiden said and looked over at Tara.

“That’s the fun part, right?” Tara asked with just a hint of nervousness.

“Was this your doing?” Pyper asked and looked across the table.

“Of course it was,” Audrey answered with a wide grin.

“She did help,” Tara admitted and looked over at the younger woman.

“Okay, so what now?” Reina asked.

“Well, I was thinking we could talk to The Management since they’re the ones who got rid of them in the first place. We’ll see what happens from there,” Tara said and shrugged.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lindsay said with confidence.

“I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces,” Patti said with a quiet sigh. The Management was going to be pissed, Tara’s already figured out that much. The Management chose to regulate music and have complete control over all recordings and live shows, so they weren’t going to like the little rebellion that everyone was currently planning.

“Tori, I was thinking it might not be a good idea for you to go. I don’t want you to lose your job over this,” Tara said and looked over at her.

“Are you kidding? I definitely want to be a part of this. If I lose my job, I’ve got at least two more to fall back on, right?” Tori asked with a smile. It was a good point. Tara smiled back and nodded, and the decision was made.

THE NEXT WEEK

“Absolutely not! Those bands are gone for a reason!” Dick Kirkland yelled. He was the head of the music branch of The Management; the ultimate decider on what bands were allowed to exist and how those bands performed. He was sitting at the end of a very long table, and only two other people sat beside him. A meeting had been taking place until all eleven women stormed in. Now here they all were, three hours later, still arguing.

“And what reason is that?!” Tara yelled and slammed both palms down on top of the table.

“They weren’t good enough!”

“Says who?!”

“Me!”

“What about their fans?! Did they have a say in anything?!” Someone cleared their throat, and Tara glared down the table one more time before straightening up and stepping back. Tori stepped up to take her place, and Tara crossed her arms.

“Mr. Kirkland, the fans want their bands back. We want our music back. People need this reunion tour, and you are going to give us the okay on it,” Tori said. Her voice was calm the entire time, but her green eyes were spitting fire down the table. Mr. Kirkland loosened his tie some more and squared his jaw as he glared at each and every one of them.

“Fine, have your reunion tour. I won’t do anything to stop you. I also won’t do anything to help you. You are on your own. You will finance the whole thing, you will arrange the whole thing, and you will be responsible for the whole thing. And when it blows up in your face, you’ll be the ones to blame,” he said.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Tara said and turned to leave.

“Mission accomplished,” Emily whispered. Tara glanced over at her and couldn’t hold back a smile, because Emily was right. Mission accomplished.

Notes

I wrote the beginning of this story the way I did for two reasons. Reason number one: I wanted to honor the real amazing women who originally provided the descriptions for the "cast" of OCs. The names are of real fans, real awe-inspiring people, and they deserved to be recognized. Reason number two: I wanted to test people. If you can read through all of that and keep going, you'll enjoy the rest of the story.

I also think it's important to know that this story is a rewrite. Over 30,000 words has been added to the original content. I'm now working on all brand-new material. So if you've been reading fanfiction for over five years, you may have stumbled across something that looks like this. I didn't steal it. I'm just rewriting it and making it better. (I hope.)

For anyone that's curious, this story is also posted on avengedsevenfoldfanfiction.com because I wasn't sure which fan site to post it on, so I decided on both.

Here's Tara's Sleeves (full instead of half)


And Tara's Back Piece