Sweet Child Of Mine
Chapter One: Take Me Away
"Dino, can you please stop doing that!" Evan yelled, apparently annoyed. I stopped tapping the top of my drum-pad and looked over at him slowly. "What, Im bored, Joe and Ben are taking entirely too long to get back with the girls, and Bill has been in the bathroom for too long as well, Im bored." I said. "Well you got me." Evan smiled. I rolled my eyes and laughed. "No offense buddy, but you are really not that entertaining unless you are holding a bass or something." I chuckled. Evan rolled his eyes and took a sip of his Red Bull. "Whatever." He said. "Hey, we're back!" Shayn said as she and Ben walked into the room. They were soon followed by Joe and Nicole, with little Kate in tow. "See, we told you we would come straight back." Brittany smiled as she also came into the studio. "Finally, now I can go home and get some rest!!!" I said happily. Little Kate laughed. Everyone joined her. "Aww, she thinks Uncle Dino is funny." Nicole smiled. "Thats cute." Shayn said. We all laughed again. Bill waltzed into the room and hugged Brittany from behind. "What'd I miss?" He asked. "Kate is a fan of Dino's jokes." Joe said, sipping a nice cold coke. Bill and Brittany smiled at Kate. Pretty soon they would have a child of their own. Come to think of it, Evan and Terri will have a little one also this year. Ben and Shayn are also expecting. Jeez, is it just me, or am I the only one that has no love life or child to call mine?
On the way home from the recording studio, I decided to pick up some cigarettes and a beer, Lord knows I need them, its been a long day. I pull into the little service station and get out of the car. The 24-hour gas station appears to be empty and quiet. How sleepy this makes me feel. Just as I am about to open the door, A girl with blonde hair, pale skin, and striking blue eyes dashes out of the store angrily. "Uh, I cant stand it here!" She cries as she sits on a bench in front of the store and fumes. I stop in my place and wonder what is was that made her hate Los Angeles. I shook my head and went inside. I made my purchases and went back outside heading towards my car. the girl was still sitting there, stating blankly ahead at the full moon. I got to my car and put my things inside. I had to know what was troubling her. I made my way back over to the young girl and sat next to her on the bench. "Uh, Hi." I said giving her a friendly wave. I waited for a response. After a few seconds she slowly raised her head and looked at me. I saw that she had been crying, and had gigantic bags under her beautiful eyes. "Hi." She said, looking down at her red ballerina flats. I nodded welcoming her soft-warm voice as it flowed beautifully from the chilly October air to my ears. "So, are you alright?" I asked carefully as I noticed she seemed agitated. "No, I cant stand living here." She said, trying hard to keep in her tears. She began to sob as her eyes leaked. "Hey, don't do that...don't cry." I said grabbing my handkerchief from my jacket pocket. I handed it to her. She looked down at it and then shook her head with a slight smile. "No thats okay, I am fine, really." She reassured. I raised a brow and then put the hanky back in my pocket. "Are you going to be okay?" I asked, remembering that my pillow was waiting to be warmed and my eyes were somewhat heavy.
She looked deep into my eyes and then back at the moon. "I don't know." She said. "Come with me." I offered. She gasped as if I had asked her to go to hell. I shook my head. "I mean, I have a guest bedroom, you can sleep in that f you'd like." I rephrased, hoping I didn't sound like a rapist. Im 32 years old, she looks no more than 14, seriously, I could easily be her father. She searched my face with her gorgeous little eyes. Oh God, I sound like a fucking rapist in my thoughts don't I? "I guess." She said looking back into the store. There was a woman at the cash register talking to the cashier. "Lets go." She said abruptly. "Just like that, wait!" I said as she got up hurried to my car. She stood by the passenger side door. "Why so fast?" I said catching up to her. "I wanna go, now!" She said. "But who was that, whats wrong?" I asked confused as I unlocked the door for her. She got in. "Take me away first, then I'll tell you." She smiled uneasily. I saw that she was really going to go nuts if I didn't hurry. I got into the car and we drove off.
As we were driving off, she sighed and I noticed from the corner of my eye that she had closed her eyes. "Now, will you tell whats going on before you fall asleep?" I asked, as she turned the radio station to 98.8 The Underground. The volume of the music was low, and the song was the best song ever. Happy, by Mudvayne. "Yes, but you have to promise me something." The girl said. I nodded, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. "What should I promise?" I asked. She grabbed my hand. "Never take me back to that place, ever. If you want to ditch me or get rid of me, you can kill me or send me to another country, but never ever take me back there." She said softy. I looked over at her for a few seconds and then returned my eyes to the road. "Promise?" She asked again. "I promise." I stated, a little confused. "Well," She started. "First off, I hate my mother and all the things I have had to go through in past couple years of my life. I never knew my father, he died when I was born. the only person that I have been really close to was my mother, and I hate her guts. I have never had any friends because of her. I have never known what it feels like to be a child because of her. I always had to do everything. I was always the adult, even on the day I was born." The girl began to choke up again. I was stunned, I continued to drive, unable to speak. She sniffled and wiped her tears. "I have never known what a mother is supposed to be, I have never had one. My mother is a Meth addict." She said through painful tears. I stopped the car in my driveway and put my head in my hands. "I'm sorry about that." I said painfully. "She's beaten me badly, too." The girl said, holding her arm. I saw that it was badly bruised. "Oh my God, okay, lets get you inside right now." I said as I got out of the car. I went around the front of the car and opened the door for her. "Thanks." She said as I helped her out of the car. We got into the house, escaping the cold air and entering the pleasureful warmth. She sat on the couch. "Theres an extra bed upstairs." I said feeling my sleepiness overwhelming me once again. She looked up at me and then down again. "What is it?" I asked. She shook her head. "Nothing, Im just not really used to sleeping in an unfamiliar place. I am so used to the one bedroom apartment that I shared with my Piggy-Mom. We had two separate beds, but her snoring actually lulled me to sleep." She said, smiling a little. I nodded understandingly. "Well, Lets see, will warm milk help you then?" I asked. If snoring puts her to sleep, then I know I am not going to do the trick, I don't snore at all. She nodded. "Chocolate added?" She asked raising an eyebrow. "Of course." I said. She smiled and followed me into the kitchen.
I opened the fridge and got out the milk and chocolate syrup. I grabbed two tall glasses from the cabinet and handed one to the young lady. I got the milk fixed, chocolate for her, regular for me. "Cheers." I said as she took a sip. I drank my milk and sighed. Thirsty as hell, I was. "Thank you." She smiled. ''No problem." I had began to laugh. Drinking milk is messy, as it causes the all too famous milk mustache. "What? Whats so funny?" She said, looking at me very impatiently. "Milk Mustache, kid, thats hilarious!" I said taking a sip of my own milk again. She smiled at me slyly and said nothing. I knew that I had also grown a milk mustache as well. I wiped my mouth and shook my head. We were both laughing to hard to stop.
We sat on the couch and watched television for a while. Nightmare On Elm Street was playing on FearNet. The girl was sunken deep into the movie, paying attention to nothing else but the screen. My eyes were killing me, If I don't get sleep soon, I don't know what will happen to me. I said nothing for a while, but when I saw that my eyes weren't the only one drooping, I decided that the night was finally at its end for us both. "Okay, I think it may be bedtime." I said, standing and stretching. She looked up at me and widened her eyes. "Oh, Im not sleepy..."
"No, no, I saw those eyes closing." I said holding out my hand for her to take. She grasped my hand. "But I don't want to go to sleep just yet, the movie was getting good!" She protested as a yawn came from deep within. "Your body seems to say otherwise." I said. She gave a small smile and gave in. "Okay, I guess I can go to bed then." She finally said, taking my hand. It all of a sudden occurred to me that I had no idea what her name was.
