★Encore★

[PirateOTC]

He stood there, looking at the door for minutes after she left, then suddenly he burst out in tears. The demons in his head surrounding him, trapping him in thoughts he didn't want to have. He crawled up like a little child in bed, holding the blanket tight, trying with all the power he had left to block out the demons and the darkness.
"No, go away, please, please...please..." he whimpered quietly and closed his eyes tightly.
"I'm not my dad, I'm not my dad, I'm not my dad..."

(Have to go to sleep now! I won't be online tomorrow. Take care!)

[PirateOTC]

Rose had one of the security bodyguards drive her home and drop her off at the apartment. He had to sneak her in considering the place was surrounded by news cameras and paparazzi. She said goodbye to him at the door and entered the dark apartment by herself.

"Bummer your brother is such a loser."

Rose nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice coming from the couch in the dark living room. She flicked on the overhead light quickly, brightness washing over them both.
"Aiden? You scared me half to death! How did you get in here? I thought you were busy..."

"I was, not anymore. And I figured since we know your brother ain't coming home tonight, there was no reason I couldn't come here."
Aiden stood up off the couch and approached her. He didn't ask how she was or if she wanted to see him, he just assumed she did. And he wasn't so concerned for her well-being.
His hand slid to the side of her neck and then moved to cup her throat, not squeezing though, somewhat tenderly.

Rose wasn't sure of the motion, but she didn't pull away from him, she had a hard time refusing Aiden of anything. He reminded her so much of her dad, she would feel bad if she ever said 'no' to him.
"How did you get in here?"

"Not important."

The guilt-feelings was washing over Embry as he sat in the hospital-bed. He knew he had his cellphone at home so he couldn't even call his friends which frustraded him. And as soon he left the room, the nurses made him go back to bed again. He wanted to ask for a psychologist, but he kept silent and stayed in bed, scared of letting his thoughts go into action...

Rose found herself on the couch under Aiden before she really knew what was happening. She had never really had to deal with anything like this before, but she was so easily manipulated simply because she had a hard time saying 'no' to anyone that she felt bad for. She blamed her parents for that.
"Aiden-- umm-- maybe we can stop?"

Aiden grunted a little bit, pulling his face back from where he'd been working on leaving a hickey on her neck, "Why the hell would we stop? This might be our only chance to do this with your brother gone." His hands slid up under her shirt greedily, ignoring how she squirmed, uncomfortable underneath him. "Lay still, you'll like it."

Rose bit her lip, but she didn't say no, embarrassed that she had already. She tried her best not to cringe and shy away from him, but she hated every minute of it. It made her want to cry, but she had cried enough today.

"I can't stay here" he suddenly said to himself. Getting out of bed and opening the window. He stopped mid-way and looked around. He had been given a private room which was great and no nurses were around right now. With lots of effort and time he managed to get the window open enough so he could slip out of it. He had removed all the tubes and needles that were in him and he was at least happy that he still had his own clothes on.
"Shit!" he whispered as he realized the group of papparazzis on the ground underneath him. A lot of shouting started when they looked up and saw him balancing on the wall, but he was quick to climb over onto the roof before anyone could get a photo of his face, at least he hoped so.
Soon there was a lot of action going on, everyone wanting to find Embry who was a master at sneaking away. He was soon running on a backstreet.
"Sorry!" he called when he passed a transvestite and snagged his wig. At least it would be some disguise for him...being famous was a bitch.

It didn't last long, which was a relief for Rose since it hurt like hell to begin with. She didn't like a single minute of it, uncomfortable and in pain for the majority of it. Aiden was neither gentle, nor caring with her. But not once did she complain underneath him, letting him do what he wanted. Sometimes she wished she had more of a backbone the way her parents had, she used to before their death, but it had just left her in the last two years. She'd become introverted and easily manipulated.

Aiden pulled himself up from Rose, groaning a bit as he fixed up his pants and watched her pull down her dumb, floral-printed dress.
"We're still hanging out tomorrow, aren't we?"

Rose nodded meekly as she stayed laying on the couch after she had adjusted her clothes, "If you want to."

Aiden nodded, "Yeah, I got somebody you should meet. It'll be fun."

It took about 45 minutes for Embry to get to the apartment. He tossed the wig and the coat he had managed to steal on his way to use as disguise and he stopped outside of the apartment door to catch his breath. The door was unlocked, which he found kind of odd.
"...Rose?" he called when he walked silently into the apartment

Rose sat upright on the couch, alarmed by the familiar voice of her brother. She didn't know what to do, obvious enough that she wasn't alone considering that Aiden was still standing right in front of the couch. She was just grateful they were dressed and it wasn't too clear what had gone on. She didn't want her brother to find out about that stuff.
"Embry, what are you doing home?"

Aiden didn't run off. He wasn't much of a runner and he was quite a bit bigger than Embry, so if it came to an altercation, he'd be able to hold his own.

"I'm..--" he started as he walked towards the livingroom. He stopped when he saw Aiden.
"Oh uuh...well, I got discharged..kinda.." his eyes flickered between Aiden and Rose. He had seen Aiden before, he knew he had some bad reputation...

Rose moved to get off the couch, but she couldn't manage the first time, not realizing how sore she was because of what she'd just done with Aiden. She tried a second time and managed to successfully get off the couch this time.
"Before the tests?" She realized that he was probably wondering about Aiden and she felt necessary to say something, "Oh, Embry, this is Aiden--"

Aiden turned toward Embry, looking the kid over briefly, nodding his head some. "Aiden Mc'Callie." He was quite proud of his reputation really-- anything but a good one.

"Yeah..Hi" he replied both Rose and Aiden. He saw Rose looking kinda sore and asked;"Are you okey?"

Rose frowned, "Yes, I'm fine. You should probably be resting, don't you think?" She turned her eyes to Aiden, "Um, thanks for coming to visit." She wanted him to leave, it was just so awkward.

Aiden got the cue, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Rose nodded meekly, watching him walk to the door. She didn't speak until he was gone, looking back at Embry, "Did you really get discharged or is that a lie?"

He spoke at the same time as Rose; "How do you know Aiden??". He sighed and answered her first;"I couldn't stand that place..But I'm fine!"

Rose frowned a little bit and shook her head, "You shouldn't be back Embry. What if you're not... better?" She was grateful they had spoken at the same time and she could concentrate on him and not anything to do with Aiden.

"I'm fine okey...and I'm done with that shit..just so you know.." he was referring to the drugs. He walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat

Rose didn't have it in her to argue with Embry and she just gave another meek nod. "Okay." She sighed and gently reseated herself on the couch again. She looked at the time, well past 2 in the morning, but she knew sleep wouldn't come for a while. "You should get rest though, Embry."

He put a frozen pizza in the microwave and pushed START. "Why was Aiden McCallie here?"

Rose frowned down at the ground in front of her, "He's a friend... I didn't know you knew him." She wasn't aware that Embry had even heard of him, but the way he'd reacted now, it was overly obvious.

"He's a jerk!" he said, not caring if he was Rose's friend or not.

Rose didn't deny that, shrugging her shoulders some even though Embry was in the other room.
"So? He's not a jerk to me. He's... nice."

He didn't like it one bit that Rose was hanging with Aiden, but he wasn't gonna sound like some dad. He walked out to the livingroom to Rose.
"If he starts any fucking trouble with you..." he warned

Rose looked sharply at Embry, "Do me a favor and please just stay out of this? I think you have officially caused enough trouble for the next couple of weeks combined." She bit her lip as she finished, knowing that had been overly harsh, but it had snapped out before she could stop it. "I can take care of myself." She finished up.

Embry gave her a look but was quiet. He turned and got his pizza from the oven and walked to his room, slamming the door shut to make a point..

Rose put her head in her hands, feeling terrible now. She just sat on the couch for the majority of the night, knowing Embry was upset with her, but she didn't go to apologize it. It would be easier if he didn't like her right now.

By morning, Rose had fallen asleep on the couch, quite peaceful there despite the sunlight streaming in. Her phone had died and she hadn't got a single one of Aiden's calls of annoyance for her not showing up.

Aiden was on his way up the stairs to the apartment now, banging loudly on the door.

Embrys eyes snapped opened by the loud banging. He listened and when he heard the banging again, he got out of bed, got dressed and while he walked to the door he saw Rose sleeping on the couch. He looked through the peeking-hole and saw Aiden.
"What do you want?"

Aiden grunted when the door wasn't opened, he was just spoken to through the peephole, "Your sister. She was supposed to come with me this morning." He muttered in an annoyed tone, "Open the door, loser.

He sighed. "Wait, I'll wake her up" He didn't unlock the door for Aiden, letting him wait outside as he walked into the livingroom and nudged Rose.
"Rose...hey...Aiden is here"

Rose sat up slowly, still looking exhausted from lack of sleep. "Hmm?" She rubbed her eyes before realizing what Embry had said, "Here? Oh no, what time is it?" She looked around, but she didn't see Aiden anywhere.

"He's outside...it's..." he looked at his watch. "11"

Rose cursed softly as she got up, "Will you let him in? Tell him I gotta take a shower and stuff. Just... like wait with him for a bit, will you?" She didn't wait for his answer, hurrying to her room and bathroom.

He walked back to the door, unlocking it and letting him in.
"She'll be here soon, she's taking a shower"

Aiden smirked as he walked in past Embry, seeing no point to be nice to the kid. He wasn't trying to impress him the way he was with Rose.
"Did she say anything about me joining her?"

He didn't understand what he meant first and frowned and looked at him walking past, when his tired brain connected to what Aiden had said, he replied;"No.." with an "of course you're not gonna join her, you jerk"-tone in his voice..

"Shame."
Aiden shook his head and wandered into the kitchen, opening up the fridge without asking. He searched inside for a minute and finally came out with a can of coke.
"Heard you've been dabbling a bit... with the pansy stuff. You know I could get you something stronger if you were up for it. Show you how to handle it so you don't end up in the hospital."

[PirateOTC]

Embry quickly followed Aiden, disliking how he behaved.
"I don't want any help from you"
he closed the fridge-door right infront of Aidens face

Aiden shrugged a bit, "We're a lot more alike than you think." He popped open the can of soda and took a long drink, headed to sit on the couch in the other room.
"You got a problem with me or something? I'm just tryin' to be friendly. I heard you had a bad temper."

He followed Aiden into the livingroom, irritated. "Actually I have a problem with you" he said frankly. "Not like you'd care...and I don't need any help. I'm doing fine without getting sent to jail..!"

Aiden raised a brow curiously.
"Your dad was sent to jail. Quite a few times if I remember correctly. Builds character." He shook his head, "What's your issue, man? You and me, we're not so different. I'm just cooler."

"Your attitude sucks, man! You're gonna piss me off" he walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it;"Seriously, Rose, I'm gonna throw him out soon!" he looked back at Aiden, showing he wasn't lying about that.
"And I'm not my dad!" he replied to Aiden

Rose walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a robe, frowning at Embry and then looking over at Aiden, who was casually seated on the couch. "Everything okay?"

"I don't have any problem." Aiden said with a simple shrug, enjoying the view of a dripping wet girl.

Rose looked back at Embry, lowering her voice, "Just behave for like ten more minutes while I get dressed. Please?" She stressed.

"I'm not the one who's not behaving!" he said with a low voice back to her.
"You're dating this jerk, aren't you?"

Rose frowned at him, "No, I'm not dating anyone, Embry. Please don't call him a--"

"We're just fucking."
Aiden piped up from the couch.
"Big difference, Emo." He decided on that nickname for the young guy. It was suiting in his opinion.

He wasn't pissed off now at the fact that his sister was having sex, he was pissed off that she was having sex with Aiden and to release his anger, he pushed Aiden back by his chest.
"What the fuck did you just call me?!"

Aiden laughed, still seated on the couch, he let Embry push him a bit, keeping his temper about it-- fortunately.
"Called you Emo. With your girly, little haircut and dye." He shook his head, clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, "You try to hard and still you don't succeed."

"Aiden!"
Rose snapped, unable to help it when she knew if he kept going Embry would start a fight. "Just wait for me outside, please?"
She went forward to grab a hold of her brother's arm.
"Please, for my sake, calm down. You've done more than enough to get yourself in trouble this week. No more."

"I want him out of the apartment, NOW" he jerked his arm away from Rose and got into his room and closed the door. He paced around, breathing heavily, trying to calm down his anger...eventually he punched his fist into the bed several times

Rose watched Embry go, listening to his explosion of anger in the other room, although she was grateful he hadn't done it out here. She bit her lip and looked over at Aiden.
"Can I just meet you tonight... this evening when I have to be there? Please--"

Aiden got up with a grunt, pushing the empty coke can into her hand. He eyed her in the towel, "You owe me... majorally. And if you don't show up tonight, the whole deal if off. You'll regret it. Got it?" He grimaced and then walked out, leaving them alone... for now.

Rose turned from Aiden when he was gone and she stormed toward Embry's room, angry and unable to hide it. She still held the towel around her as she slammed his door open, creating a small dent in his wall.
"If you could PLEASE try not to ruin my life one thing at a time, I would greatly fuckin' appreciate it!"
She turned as soon as she had yelled at him and walked across the hallway back to her own room, shutting the door with a loud bang.

He grabbed his hair in anger and slammed his door shut again, sitting down on the bed, breathing heavily. Soon he reached into the drawer of his nightstand and grabbed a white pill-bottle, shaking two pills out in his hand and swallowed them without hesitation. The bottle was marked Sedative. He had been given it by his psychologist when he was going to appointments there..

Rose walked into her room in anger, dropping her towel to the floor since she no longer needed to hold it up when she was alone. She ran her hands through her tangled and wet hair, shaking in anger. She didn't know what was wrong with her-- she never got like this, at least not in the past two years. Her eyes scanned the room and she stopped on the last picture she'd taken with her family-- Thomas and Alex and Embry. It was a sweet picture, they were in front of a stage that Thomas had played on later that night and they truly all looked happy then.
"What happened?" She wondered aloud. "What happened to that?"

Embry laid down on his back in the bed, waiting for the pills to work, which didn't take very long. It wasn't like taking drugs and get high and happy though. This just calmed down his nerves so he wouldn't explode...
After about 30 minutes of staring up at the cieling he walked over to Roses door though and knocked softly on it.
"Rose...Rose...I'm really sorry...I'm sorry I've been fucking up lately, I just..-- I just don't know what to do anymore, you know..."

Rose opened the door a crack, makeup on her face, more than she usually wore. And she only opened it a crack so her face alone could be seen.
"Just leave it be, Embry. I understand, okay?"
She didn't, not really. But she couldn't blame him. He was going through just of a rough time as she was.

He nodded and was about to go, but stopped and looked at her again.
"I just don't want you to get hurt, you know that right?"

Rose frowned slowly, "I know that, Embry... I don't want to get hurt either." She bit her lip and chewed if for a moment before she spoke again, "Maybe if you want to come tonight, you can." She was nervous to invite him, but she felt it was necessary.

"Is it a party? ...wait, it's at Aiden's place?"

Rose shook her head, giving him the one minute gesture. She disappeared into her room and came back out with a little flier. "Here's the address. It's a bar... kinda like a little night club place."

He took the flier and read it. "Alright...well, I guess it's better than being bored at home.." not that he thought he would fit in at the club though...

Rose nodded a little bit, "I'll meet you there. I... umm... have to be there early for something. Just, please keep your temper, okay?" She didn't wait for his answer, closing the door gently so she could get finished dressing.

~Skipping all the way to the night~

Since Rose had been going to the party way earlier than him, Embry was arriving on his own to the club...well, not really.. the security guards were surrounding him so he could get into the club through VIP-section, but once he was inside, he was on his own. He stood in a corner, watching all the people. A lot of them were dancing to the recent club beats and the rest of them were mingling around with a drink in their hands.
After checking the place out, he walked to the bar and waved his credit card to the bartender to get his attention.
"A rum and coke, please!" he called over the music

[PirateOTC]

The bartender looked doubtfully toward Embry, "How old are you, kid?" He wasn't about to get in trouble for serving someone under the age. He didn't recognize Embry as someone potentially famous in the darkness of the club.

Aiden was wandering up near the small stage, glancing at his watch occasionally, "Five minutes and it's your turn, sweetheart." He glanced to his side at Rose, who was standing frozen to the spot. He jostled her slightly, "Don't freeze up on my up there. It was hard enough to get them to have an open mic night, I really don't want you to fuck it up." He glanced up as the loud music was lowered and the open mix night was announced.

Rose watched someone else take the little stage as the patrons of the bar scattered around to tables to watch the show. It was dimly lit, just one spotlight on the performer on stage. They could do anything they wanted to-- read poetry, do magic tricks, anything. Sometimes the crowd laughed and booed them and sometimes they actually seemed interested.
Rose swallowed her nerves, wondering what they would do to her. She felt Aiden's hand on her lower back, shoving her forward to the stage when it was her turn. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs like a frozen statue for a moment, acoustic guitar in hand. She had never played aloud for anyone, ever in her life. Why had she thought this would be a good idea now?

Embry sighed and took out his ID card from his wallet and pulled his hair away from his face a bit. When the music faded he looked towards the stage and frowned and then at the bartender;
"What's going on?"

"Open mic night. Get up there, do whatever you want. There's a sign up sheet." The bartender checked his ID as he nodded across the room toward the stage where the sign up sheet was. "Go ahead if you want, don't think there's too much going on tonight." He passed Embry a drink now that he was sure he was twenty-one.

Aiden grunted when Rose stalled at the bottom of the stage and he walked after her, leaning down to her ear, "Either you do it or you don't, but don't just stand there like a fool."

Rose blushed deeply as she heard Aiden and it kicked her into gear. She stumbled the few steps up to the stage, unable to see anything with the spotlight baring down on her. She'd half attempted to wear something nice, a simple black dress with her hair hanging down around her face. She'd rather not be recognized for being a Bradley, not tonight. "Hi..." She spoke into the mic, wincing when it made a screeching feedback noise.

Embry took a sip, but didn't swallow it as he heard Rose in the mic. He quickly looked towards the stage, swallowed the drink and frowned.
"what is she...---" he mumbled to himself and walked closer to the stage.

Rose heard someone from the back of the crowd, although she couldn't see anyone, yell to hurry up and do something. She felt her nerves in her throat again and she let out a slow breath to try and calm down. This had to be a bad idea.
All the same, Rose's fingers started to strum the chords on the acoustic guitar, the mic catching the sound and echoing it throughout the bar. It was the only noise she could hear and it immediately reminded her of her dad. Rose had learned to play guitar from Thomas, although he had always been more intent on Embry, it hadn't meant she wasn't learning by just watching.
Rose brought her lips close to the microphone, closing her eyes as she sang. She was shaky at first, mostly just scared and nervous, but eventually she forgot where she was. It was just like singing in her own room when Embry was not home and no one was there to hear her-- except now everyone could hear her.

"Today, I'm gonna write a sad song
Gonna make it really long
So that everyone can see
That I'm very unhappy

I wish I wasn't always wrong
I wish it wasn't always my fault
The finger that you're pointing
Has knocked me on my knees
And all you need to know is
I'm so sorry, it's not like me
It's maturity that I'm lacking
So don't, don't let me go
Just let me know that growing up goes slow

I wonder what my mom and dad would say
If I told them that I cry each day
It's hard enough to live so far away

I wish it wasn't always cold
I wish I wasn't always alone
When the party is over,
How will I get home?
And all you need to know is

I'm so sorry, it's not like me
It's maturity that I'm lacking
So don't, don't let me go
Just let me know that growing up goes slow

If all the rules are meant to bend
And you swore you were my friend
Now I have to start all over again
Cause no one's going to take your place
And I'm scared I'll never save
All the pieces of the love we made

But I'm so sorry, it's not like me
It's maturity that I'm lacking
So don't, don't let me go
Just let me know
That I can slip and fall
And you won't let me go
Just let me know that growing up goes slow

And I'm so sorry, it's not like me
It's maturity that I'm lacking
So don't, don't let me go
Just let me know
That growing up goes slow."

[PirateOTC]

It was silence for a short while when Rose had played the last chord. Embry stood with his mouth opened in awe. He had never heard his sister play like this, nor sing like this.
He broke the silence by shouting;"HELL YEAH!" and he brought the whole place into applauding Rose

Rose reopened her eyes when she heard Embry's shout and her whole face turned pink in embarrassment. She bit her bottom lip, mumbled a short 'thank you' into the microphone and skittered down from the stage, letting whoever was next take her place.

Aiden caught her as she was trying to escape, one around around her waist, he forced a kiss on her lips, not caring that she didn't kiss back. "Was lovely. Told you it wouldn't be hard. Just had to make sure you had the balls to do it before I take you to meet him--"

Embry walked through the crowd with the drink in his hand and reached where Rose and Aiden was standing. He didn't care about that Aiden was there now as he grinned to his sister;
"That was awesome!" he took a sip of his drink

Rose turned her attention t Embry, grateful that he was there now, "Yeah?" She asked sincerely, "You think so?" It had taken all the nerve right out of her to go up there and do that. She beamed slightly to know her brother had liked it-- one of the only people she would ever want to impress.

"Yeah, did you write that song by yourself?" he was very proud of his sister

Rose nodded a little bit, "Yes, well yes, of course. I don't really have anybody to steal things from except you. And I would never steal anything from you." She chewed her bottom lip, motioning to the stage, "Why don't you go up there? I'm sure they would love to hear you, Embry."

"eeeh...no, I can't do that...I mean..--" he started excusing himself

Rose frowned, "Embry, if I can do it, I surely think you can." She was used to her brother wanting to sing.

He sighed and looked towards the stage, thinking about what song he could sing. He had written several songs by now, but it was a long time since he had performed any live...
"Alright...can I borrow the guitar?" he motioned for the guitar that Rose still held.
"I just have to, uuuh...think of what song to play.."

Rose gladly handed over the guitar to her brother, smiling encouragingly at him. She thought the world of Embry and his singing, no matter how much it pained her to hear him sound just like Thomas.

Aiden frowned at Rose, "What are you doing? He's going to steal your limelight."

Rose shook her head, "He can have it. I just want to hear him."

He walked up the stairs onto the stage and made his hair fall down over his face, in case someone recognized him right away...
"Alright.." he said in the microphone, not a bit shy.
"Well, apparently I'm gonna sing a song for you too...first of though, who in here thought that she was awesome?" he pointed towards Rose and the audience cheered and applaused again. Embry smiled towards Rose and then looked out over the audience, of what he could see of it.
"Alright.." he adjusted the guitarr. "This song is one I just finished, I hope you'll like it"
He licked his lips and started playing...

dear darling
your friend
left a message on my machine
she was frantic, saying you were talking crazy
that you wanted to do away with yourself
I guess she thought I'd be a perfect resort
because we've had this inexplicable connection
since our youth
And yes, they're in shock, they are panicked you and your chronic, them and their drama
You, this embarrassment, us in the middle of this delusion

If we were our bodies
If we were our futures
If we were our defenses I'd be joining you
If we were our culture
If we were our leaders
If we were our denials I'd be joining you

I remember vividly a day years ago
we were camping you knew more than you thought you should know
you said "I don't want ever to be brainwashed"
and you were mindboggling
you were intense
you were uncomfortable in your own skin
you were thirsty but mostly you were beautiful

If we were our nametags
If we were our rejections
If we were our outcomes i'd be joining you
If we were our indignities
If we were our successes
If we were our emotions i'd be joining you

you and I
we're like 4 year olds
we want to know why and how come about everything
we want to reveal ourselves at will
and speak our minds...

And never talk small and be intuitive
and question mightily
And find God my tortured beacon
we need to find like-minded companions

If we were their condemnations
If we were their projections
If we were our paranoias i'd be joining you
If we were our incomes
If we were our obsession
If we were our afflictions i'd be joining you

we need reflection
we need a really good memory
feel free to call me a little more often...

[PirateOTC]

Rose's lips trembled as she listened to her brother sing that song, every part of it resonating with her. Sometimes she hated the fact that he wrote stuff like that, it made her so damn sad, but she knew that she couldn't blame him. The only people to blame were her parents and they were long, long gone now.
As Embry finished she didn't have to start the clapping, the crowd took care of that. They recognized his voice pretty easily-- he sometimes seemed like the reincarnation of Thomas. People loved it, but not Rose. She liked to think of him differently, only because Thomas was a poison to her now.

Aiden grabbed a hold of her arm, knocking Rose out of her thoughts. "You brother is good, but he's already fuckin' signed. Can't do much for him unless he's willing to trade over... and my... uhh, employer, he's only interested in you."

Rose shook her head, "Not now, Aiden, I want to see if he'll sing more."

"Thank you...Thank you...! umm....yeah..have a great evening and..such" he smirked and left the stage, walking over to Rose, feeling uplifted at having been onstage again. He really loved performing, he couldn't deny it but he wasn't the one to stay onstage for too long either...

Rose turned toward Embry when she saw him coming over, smiling widely at him to show how proud she was that he'd gone up there and performed. The smiled was quickly wiped away by what Aiden leaned down and muttered into her ear. She looked sharply at him for a moment and then turned her crystal blue eyes back to her brother. She forced another smile, "You are a hundred times better than me." Rose kissed his cheek sweetly.

He kissed her cheek back and hugged her.
"Thanks.." he got interupted by the crowd chanting:"ENCORE, ENCORE!"
Embry looked over the audience and then back at Rose...
"Would you like to do a duet?" he completely ignored Aiden now, but he saw his anger..

Rose shook her head quickly, "Oh no, I don't know any songs that you do." The only ones she knew were her father's and there was no telling how the crowd would react to them singing one of their father's songs. It might get crazy in there.

"Are you sure?" he looked at her and then back at the crowd.
"So eeh...can I borrow the guitarr again then?" he smiled at her, being hooked on performing again

"Of course."
Rose handed him the treasured guitar, "Take good care of her." She teased gently as she gave it over to him, knowing he wouldn't do anything to harm it. She felt Aiden's hand creep around her waist as she stood there, watching Embry go back to the stage.

Embry smiled at Rose and gave a kiss on the guitar to show how careful he would be with it and he got a bar stool up on the stage, fixed the microphone while the audience started cheering. He smiled a genuine smile out to the audience and said in the microphone;
"soo..my name is... Bartholomew Cubbins and I..--" he stopped when the audience laughed and some boo'ed.
"Yeah I know...blame my parents for the stupid name.." A girl in the audiende yelled;"BRADLEY! EMBRY BRADLEY!" and Embry looked towards her and pointed at her;
"Now I don't know who that is, but I've heard he's...--" he turned towards Aiden, looked at him and said;"..a fucking emo-kid"
the audience applaused and Embry sat down on the stool.
"I guess you've all heard this one on the radio...it's from a very famous singer...a kinda good friend of mine actually.." he started playing the intro for his dads song "Dumb", which had been a huge hit and was a song he had personally written for their mom before they had gotten married...

Rose felt a shudder creep up her spine, knowing the first few chords of that song. She had worn it out years and years ago, listening to it with her mother. Her mother had loved that song, since it was for her. She thought about it now, thought about her mother-- nearly making her smile, but he mind flashed back to the days she'd found her parents.

**
"Mom, you'll never believe who wants to put me in their--"
Rose started a shout toward the house as she walked in, noticing all the lights in the kitchen were on. But when she walked in there, it was empty. She was only fourteen, but even then she could feel the haunted emptiness of the place.
"Mom?" She asked, walking back around the corner and looking up at the stairs. The lights were on up there too. Something smelled fishy, but at the time Rose didn't know what it was. The scent of blood. A lot of it.
"Dad?"
She called when there was no answer. She slid her hand on the railing and slowly walked up. "Embry, are you here?" She doubted it, her brother never got home from school before she did.
"Hello? Did everyone leave every light on in the house?"
She joked figuring she was alone now. She stopped at her parents door that was cracked open, the overwhelming smell of steel hitting her. She tensed up and then quickly pushed open the door to the bedroom-- a move she would forever regret.
Alex's body was strewn out across the mattress on the bed, her blood matching the crimson silk sheets her parents owned. The room had always been darkly decorated, but at that moment it looked like a black hole of hell. Her mother's eyes were wide open, staring toward the doorway where Rose was standing stock still. Rose could make out the gunshot wounds to her chest and stomach, although it was impossible to tell how many. Blood was everywhere.
Thomas's body was on the floor in front of the bed, gun laying beside him, hand still barely around it. There was a clean and round bullet hole in the side of his temple, a thick line of blood had dribbled down the side of his face and pooled under him on the carpet. Those stark blue eyes didn't seem so blue anymore in the darkness, but they stared toward the bed where her mother lay.
Rose had screamed. She had not stopped screaming, but even over it, she had remembered the song that was playing on the stereo in the background. Dumb.
**

Rose turned her face away from Embry, her skin the color of ash, feeling sick and wanting to be sick. She grabbed a hold of Aiden, who frowned at her, not sure what was going on. Rose had her eyes closed and her pupils flickered back and forth underneath them, like she was dreaming.
"Take me out of here."
She mumbled softly. She had never told Embry about that song. About what she'd seen that day when she walked in on that scene. She had thought it better to let him think his parents died in some cool way-- she was sure that was what he thought. But he had not seen the reality of it. And that was what damaged Rose so badly. She'd seen the horror and it was never going to go away.
"Please get me out of here."
She repeated to Aiden, who steered her toward the exit, holding her up so she wouldn't fall.

The audience and Embry was all caught up in the song and memories, both good and bad...but no matter, it was clear that hearing this kid play his dead dads most famous song was hitting something inside everyone who was there. Embry just didn't know it made his sister feel sick and he didn't notice her walking away.

When he sang the last "I think I'm dumb"-verse and silenced the guitar, there was a silence so thick you could feel it in the atmosphere of the club. Embry opened his eyes and they were teary-eyed.
"For a great man, gone too soon" he said in the microphone and the audience started applauding when Embry left the stage.He walked over to where his sister had been, to give her back the guitar, but when she wasn't there he frowned and walked through the crowd looking for her, calling her name

Rose was already in the passenger's seat of Aiden's car, her eyes still closed tightly. She could hear him start the engine and pull away from the lot, not caring where they were going. She leaned her face down in her hands for a couple minutes until she had composed herself.
"Where are we going?"
She finally asked as she slowly sat up straight again.

"I got someone for you to meet."
Aiden said with a grin, pulling up to a rather big, mansion of a house a few minutes later.

Embry was by the bar, his phone to his ear as he listened to the signals when he tried to reach his sister. When she didn't pick up, he cursed under his breath and he was just about to leave the club, when someone lay a hand on his shoulder;
"You were SO good up there!"
Embry turned around and looked into two brown eyes, a brown lock of hair was hanging down between them and a pretty smile through red lipstick made him not want to leave just in that second.
"I was a die hard Passionate Violence fan when I was just a kid, but this was the best version of "Dumb" I have ever heard!" the girl said before Embry got to say anything.
"Oh..thanks" he smiled back now
"Can I buy you a drink? No, really, can I? I'm not a crazy fangirl, I promise!" she laughed and Embry looked towards the entrance, then back at the girl.
"I'm Michelle, by the way" she reached out her hand.
"Oh, hi..Embry" he shook her hand and accepted to be bought a drink at the bar

[PirateOTC]

Rose hesitated in the doorway of the mansion as Aiden knocked heavily on the door. It was the middle of the night, she felt like she was intruding in some way, but still the door pulled open to reveal a very handsome man. He looked to be older than Rose, maybe by 5 or 10 years.

He smiled down at Rose, recognizing her easily, although he didn't let on to that. He had seen more pictures of her than anybody else lately. He glanced at Aiden and nodded slightly, "Thanks, she'll be fine here. You can go home."

Aiden didn't argue with the guy, but Rose seemed alarmed by this. She didn't know this stranger and she was nervous as Aiden turned away, "Hey, wait--"

Aiden didn't wait and the stranger reached a hand toward Rose. "Don't worry. It's nice to meet you. I heard you got quite a career ahead of you as a singer."

Rose turned her eyes back to the handsome man. "Well, I don't know. Tonight was the first time I've ever sang aloud to anyone before." She looked over her shoulder as Aiden got back in the car on the driveway and backed out. "I'm sorry," She turned to the stranger. "but who are you?"

He smiled, holding his hand out to her again, this time so she could shake it. "James Harth. Pleasure to meet you, Rose."

"Who are you calling?" Michelle asked Embry now as he had tried to call someone on his phone for some minutes now as they were sitting in a lounge-area of the club.
"My...my sister..."
"Oh, Rose? Was she here too?"
"Yeah, she performed before me"
"Really?! Fuck, I missed that! I just came to the club in the middle of your song, what's it called..."joining you"?"
"Yeah.." he tried to call again.
"I'm sorry I missed her, I didn't know she sang too!"
Embry knew he was being impolite when he was on the phone while this girl was talking to him and even bought him a drink, but somehow he felt worried about Rose all of a sudden...

Rose shook James's hand, not recognizing his name. Her parents had not been forth coming about their past, so she knew nothing of the Harth name. Her last name had always been Bradley as had her brother's and mother's. She never questioned it.
Rose let James usher her inside the massive house, looking around it in awe. She felt the vibration of her phone, usually something she would ignore when she was with Aiden, but she didn't now. She reached into her bag, seeing Embry was calling.
"I'm sorry, just a minute, okay?"
She asked James, who gave her a simple nod, still watching her most itently. It almost made her uncomfortable.
"Embry?" She asked on the line.

"Hey, Rose! Where'd you go?" he raised his voice since the DJ had started playing music in the club again
Michelle looked at him while sipping her drink. She had never been close to anyone of the famous Bradleys, not like this and she took in every motion he made as he sat there talking on the phone. She didn't mind being ignored right now..

Rose turned her back to James, feeling awkward with him staring at her like that, "I'm sorry I missed the rest of your song." She apologized at once even though it wasn't true. "Aiden just needed to go..." She wasn't one to usually explain things, "I'm actually in the Woodlands right now. At a house-- a really nice house. Umm, James Harth's house." She looked over her shoulder at him and he was smiling at her casually. "I guess he's a music producer."

Embry recognized the lastname Harth, but right now he wasn't able to place it.
"The Woodlands?...alright..Do you want me to send a security guard and a cab, just to take you home later?"
He normally didn't try to be an extra-dad to his sister, but he got worried right now and he couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was...

Rose would have normally blown this off, but it was the middle of the night and James was looking at her with the oddest expression.
"Yes, that'd be great, actually." She wanted to tell him to send it right now, but she didn't want to insult James. She licked her lips.
"You just enjoy your night, Embry. Don't worry about me." She didn't want to hold her brother back in anyway.

"Alright" he looked at his watch
"I'll have someone over in...two hours? Do you know what company he's working for?" he had been going through meeting like these himself, with big music business and producers but he knew a meeting could last from 10 minutes to 3 hours..
Embry felt a hand touch his thigh and he looked to his side, seeing Michelle there smiling at him and holding his drink up for him to take a sip through the straw as he was busy on the phone. He took a sip and Michelle stroke his hair away from his face, moving closer as she put the drink on the table again.

"No, not yet. I'll let you know."
Rose said softly on the phone, too embarrassed to have James looking right at her to have this conversation about him with her brother.
"I'll talk to you later, Embry. Be good." She hung up before he'd have the chance to say anything else.

James smiled, "Was that your brother?"

Rose nodded, "Yes, he's just curious--"

"I imagine so."

~Next morning~

Embry got out of dreamland when he felt soft lips kiss his chest.
"hmm...?"
Michelle smiled at him and continued kissing his chest, down to his stomach and underneath the covers of the messy bed they were laying in.
"wait..." Embry mumbled with a tired voice, but then moaned softly and said;"Alright, just kidding...!"

Rose lay in her clothes from last night on the couch. She hardly ever slept in her room anymore, uncomfortable with it somehow. She was fast asleep on the couch, looking a little worse for wears. She had not come home until late and then she had had to spend a majority of the night listening to Embry and some girl in the other room having a 'great' time.
Oddly enough, although it had been plenty loud, she hadn't been bothered to have to listen to it. Just annoyed it had been so late at night when she was so tired.

"No..don't stop.." Embry looked down at Michelle when she came back up, smiling and she kissed him on his lips.
"Do you want me to go?" she asked on his lips.
"No..."
Michelle smiled and kissed him again and rolled over so that Embry was laying on top of her.

Rose woke up slowly, not sure what it was that woke her up-- the sun or the sound of muffled voices from Embry's room. She sighed and slowly stood up from the couch, knowing she had not had much sleep, but lately she had been getting less and less. She padded down the hall and stopped at Embry's door, leaning her ear close to the wood to listen to what was happening.

Embry wasn't concerned about his sister anymore. He knew that she had come home with no broken bones or whatever and that was all that mattered right now. He was actually very glad that Michelle was here and had spent the night, it gave him something else than the future, his career, his sister or his parents to think about. He was normally not that kind of boy who brought home girls at all, but in this moment he wondered why he didn't do that more often..
"Yes, Embry...!" Michelle moaned underneath him and gripped tightly in his hair on the back of his head as he kissed her neck

Rose blushed softly as she realized what was going on. She felt bad for spying on Embry in that moment and bad that he was experiencing something fantastic when she felt like shit. She pushed away from the door quietly, glad at least her brother was happy-- for the moment. She walked into the kitchen, but she wasn't hungry. She stood lost, barefoot for a while, and eventually walked out onto the balconey. That way she didn't feel like she was spying and Embry could do whatever he wanted with that girl and wouldn't have to worry about being embarrassed later. She leaned heavily on the railing of the balconey, looking straight down, the wind whipping her long hair around.

~Awhile later~

Michelle was getting dressed, as Embry was.
"So can I see you again soon?" she smiled and walked over to Embry and put her arms around his neck
"I'll give you a call" he grinned and kissed her as he zipped up his pants.
Michelle took his hand as they walked out of his room and out to the hallway.
"Aren't you hungry?" Embry asked
"No, I'm fine" she put on her shoes and gave Embry one last kiss before leaving the apartment.
Embry locked the door once she had left and he smirked to himself

[PirateOTC]

Rose leaned precariously close over the edge of the balconey, knowing what she was doing, but somehow not seeing it as dangerous. It was relieving in a way, making her heart beat quicker and her pulse flutter wildly against her throat. She closed her eyes, standing on her tip toes so she could lean out as far as possible.
Time passed by a million miles a minute this way. She loved it.

Embry walked past the livingroom and felt the wind blow, so he took a quick glance towards the balcony and saw Rose. He stopped and watched her
"....Rose...?"

Rose's eyes opened a second after she heard her name, the moment gone and she was brought back to reality. She turned from the edge of the railing and looked over her shoulder at Embry, smiling.
"Good morning, how did you sleep?" She played as if she was not aware of the girl he had had over. It was easier to pretend she didn't know.

"Good...so how was the meeting with the producer?" he leaned in the doorway of the livingroom, his hair looking like a tiny landmine had exploded in it, but at home he couldn't care less about what he looked like.

Rose just nodded quickly, "It went very well. No problems at all." She walked past him and back into the living room. "What are you doing today?"

He shrugged. "Might just hang around town.....hey, what was the name of that producer?" he realized there was something about the name she had told him last night at the club

"James Harth."
Rose said after a moment, although she had memorized his name pretty well after last night.
"He was very... professional. He's had many successful clients. And he's filthy rich. Kind of has an empire built around his production company.


He thought about the name Harth for a moment and walked back into his room. "What's the name of the company, did he tell you?"
While he was in his room to get his laptop, he opened the window to get the stench of sex out of there....

Rose shrugged, "He just called it LH Productions. I've heard of it before, just never really thought anything about it." She watched him go get his laptop. "It's a legitimate deal, Embry. There's no reason to inspect it."

He got back out in the livingroom, sitting down on the couch as he started the laptop.
"I know I've heard of his name before, I have to check it out..."

Rose frowned, "I wish you wouldn't." All the same she went to go sit beside him. She tried to clarify last night, but some of it had been a blur. Actually most of it had been a blur, but she had found herself safe and on the couch this morning, so whatever it was could not have been that bad.

"It's not that I don't trust you" he typed in 'LH Productions' and 'James Harth' and got a direct hit for the companys official website.
"How come I never heard of this company...?" he said mostly to himself as he clicked the link

"Probably because dad never used it. You don't pay attention to anything if it doesn't have to do with dad."
Rose said harshly, not sure why she was being that way in the morning. But she felt like she was being accused of something she shouldn't be doing, even though she knew Embry was not doing that at all.

He frowned at her tone and looked at her;"What crawled up your ass?"

He looked back at the screen, quickly reading the "About Us"-page but his eyes stopped at the sentence;
'Formed by Luke Harth and his son James Harth' and a photo of two of them.
"Oh my god..."
He sprung up out of the couch, leaving the laptop and Rose and he started rummaging around a bunch of files he had in his bookshelf in his room. The file he was looking through now had all the papers from their parents wedding and other stuff in it. Insurances, contracts etc that Embry had kept away from police.
"Harth, Harth, Harth...." he mumbled as his eyes quickly scanned the old papers.
His eyes widened suddenly and he swallowed as he saw the name Luke Harth in one of the papers..
"Rose...! Rose!!" He yelled for her

[Devyn]

Rose had been looking at the screen of James and the apparent picture of his dad standing there. She read the name Luke underneath, but she didn't think one thing about it. She just inspected the picture, smiling a little bit at James. He had been the biggest gentleman to her last night. She was not used to being treated so special.
She flinched now as she heard Embry calling for her from his room. She set the laptop on the couch and quickly moved into his room, "Embry, good god, what are you yelling about?" She frowned to see him at the shelf where she knew he kept their parent's stuff.

[PirateOTC]

"Look" He said, holding up a paper for her to see.
"I knew I knew the name Harth from somewhere..." on the paper, which was from their parents wedding, you could clearly read that their mom's name had been Alexandra Harth before she married Thomas