Savior, Will Be There

A girl of 21, her possessions consist of her rucksack and the clothes on her back. Her raven hair was plastered to her head, a greasy mess. This is Cherise. No last name. Last names identify families, and she had no family. She did, once, she supposed. But they had left her at the orphanage without a second glance.

Cherise has lived on the streets alone for nearly nine years. She had a terrible foster care family. So, when she was twelve, it was her turn to leave without a look back. Luckily, she stayed alive, learning the trade of the homeless. Begging, working, and stealing. That's how she was able to make it this long, watching the 'friends' she'd acquired among the streets lose their lives to strangers, or drugs.

Currently she was standing up outside the opening of the alley way she'd spent the dreary night. Rummaging through her torn up backpack for the measly three bucks she had left. Great, almost time to start begging like a dog for any scrap of food she could get her begrimed hands on.

Suddenly, a big figure crashed into Cherise, nearly knocking her down. His phone that he'd been typing on toppled to the ground. The man's now empty hands shot out to stop Cherise from following the phone onto the hard sidewalk.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking over her worriedly.

" 'M'fine… It was probably my fault anyway." She mumbled, looking down. If she'd learned one thing from living on the street is "Do not make eye contact". "Your phone…" She said, nodding to the piece of technology on the pavement.

"Oh, crap…" He bent down to examine it. The screen of the smart phone was shattered. The man groaned, mumbling profanities under his breath as he inspected the damage. "Look, I'm really sorry about bumping into you like that." He said continuing on his way. "Maybe I'll see you around." He called over his shoulder. Not likely.

As he hurried away, Cherise pulled a floppy black leather wallet from her pocket. She guiltily combed through the wallet. The man seemed surprisingly nice and polite, and what does she do in return? Steal his wallet, of course. Cherise tugged out various music store and tattoo shop business cards. He was a musician, maybe? She shrugged it off and found a wrinkled photograph. She immediately recognized the man she'd run into. He was surrounded by four other men with the same, nearly identical hair styles, dyed black and spiked up in the back. All five men were tattooed and painted with black face paint. They were definitely a band.

Finally, she pulled out a few battered bills, adding up to forty-six dollars. Cherise grinned triumphantly as she pocketed the cash and tucked the old wallet back into her backpack.

Several hours later, it was nearly dark out. Cherise was on the lookout for a place to sleep. She munched slowly on the apple she had bought with her limited amount of money. She closed her eyes as she took another bite of the delicious fruit, savoring the flavor. It was heavenly. She hadn't had anything this refreshing to eat for months. "Thank you random stranger." She muttered, remembering the man she had pick-pocketed earlier that day. She pulled out a thin, tattered blanket from her backpack and curled up against the wall in a darkening alley way. Placing the remains of her apple into her bag, she put it under her head, letting the pounding of music behind the wall lure her into an uncomfortable sleep.

Jeremy Ferguson, better known as Jinxx, the guitar player, and violinist when needed, of Black Veil Brides. He watched in disgust as his band mates started to drink themselves silly. Idiots, He thought bitterly, as he was approached by his friends. Andy Biersack, the lead singer, Ashley Purdy, bass guitar player, Jake Pitts, lead guitarist, and Christian "CC" Coma, the drummer. He shook his head at the sight of them, and spoke up. "You guys are going to have massive hangovers."

"Oh, cool it Jinxx, we haven't even drunk that much." Ashley said.
"Okay, okay. But we should get to the bus before you guys are unable to walk straight." The agreed and the five men stumbled out of the bar they had been performing at that night. Something in the alley caught Jinxx's eye. In the faint light of the summer night sky, he spotted the silhouette of a person. "Hey guys, wait." He called to the others, and he made his way into the alley, ignoring the protests his friends shouted behind him. As he approached the figure, he realized it was a girl, maybe nineteen, twenty years old. He noted her disheveled clothing and bedraggled hair. Jinxx heard footsteps, and looked up to see Ashley standing there.

"Do you know her?" He asked, bending down to look at her.

"No, but I just… dunno, I feel like I've seen her before."

"That's weird…" Ashley said, still trying to get a good look at her. Suddenly, while Ashleys face was about a foot away from hers, her eyes opened., revealing beautiful, crystal blue iris's. Ashley let out a surprised shout and his head shot violently back.

"Who are you?" She demanded, shrinking back against the wall.

"My name is Jinxx, and this is my friend, Ashley." Cherise turned her gaze to Jinxx. Realization hit him when he caught a glimpse of her unforgettable eyes. "I know you… you were the girl I bumped into earlier!" Jinxx, happy he had figured it out, looked her up and down. "Why are you sleeping out here? Don't you have anywhere to go?" She shook her head sadly, and looked down.

"Andy, guys?" Ashley shouted out to the others. The other three men jogged up behind Ashley and Jinxx.

"Wait a minute… I recognize you guys from the picture…" Cherise whispered.

"Picture? What picture?" Cherise grew red as she realized she'd said that out loud.

"U-uh, well…" She stuttered, "I-I…" She looked down shamefully and pulled something dark out of her bag, holding it up to him.

My wallet!" Jinxx exclaimed, taking it from her hand. He examined it as she placed the forty-six dollars by his feet. "What's this?" He asked her as she gathered up her things, deciding it wasn't safe to stay there any longer.

"The money I took from that wallet…"

"You must be mistaken… there's was no money in the wallet… You might have found it from someplace else?" Cherise looked up at him, confused. "So take it, it's yours." He said with a smile, backing out of the alley with a wave, the rest of his band in pursuit.

"That was really nice of you, man…" Andy said, heading toward their bus.

"She looked like she needed help." He replied with a shrug.

Cherise picked up the grimy bills from the sooty concrete of the alleyway. She wiped off some filth from the money, in an attempt to convince herself this got rid of some of the germs that covered the ground outside of a club. Cigarette ash, sweat, blood, and god knows what else.

She finally found a back alley behind a few restaurants. She knew she'd never be bothered if she crawled in-between some dumpsters. She found a good spot outside what she remembered was the family owned Italian place that always had good smells wafting from its kitchens. Cherise was pulling out the tattered blanket once again, when the back door of the restaurant opened, an old, graying man stepping out.

"Hello there." He said quietly, as if not to scare the girl. He had a heavy Italian accent, and in his hand was a small loaf of bread. "I saw you coming and thought you could use something to eat." His hand, shaking with old age, grasped the young woman's, and pushed the warm bread into her palm.

"Thank you, sir!" Cherise couldn't believe her luck as she gazed at the food, wide-eyed. "I-I could work for you, or pay!"

"No, no! You take it. I was going to throw it out anyway." Cherise strained to understand the accent, as he spoke with a small smile and a twinkle in his eye. He clambered back into his restaurant, and soon the lights flickered off.

Cherise awoke to two men's voices. She recognized the heavily accented Italian, and the other… oh! That man, Jinxx! She opened her eyes to see both standing there, facing the girl propped up by the dumpster.

"Jinxx." She said, standing up out of the shade of the dumpster. As the bright light of the sun hit her face, she hissed in pain. God, my head hurts, she thought. Shielding the sunlight from her face with her hand, she looked at the two men. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my grandfather's restaurant." He nodded toward the old man from last night. "I never got your name, sweetheart."

"Its' Cherise."

"That's a terrible name…"

"Sorry?"

"Don't be. You didn't choose it… Cherrie." He smiled at the nick name he'd come up with. "What about your last name?" Cherrie just shrugged, looking down. "You don't remember?"

"No… and I don't want to… I never earned the right of a last name. I have no family…"

"Well, you look like you need a good meal, and some rest. Would you like to come inside?" The heavily accented man asked me, gesturing to the back door to his Italian restaurant. Cherrie shook her head vigorously.

"No, no. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"I insist, please, do come in." He opened the door and Cherrie followed Jinxx into the restaurant. The small of freshly baked bread and simmering tomato sauce hit Cherries nose like a brick.

"It smells amazing in here…"

"You think it smells amazing, wait till you taste his food." Jinxx smiled, "Pop, you're a genius when it comes to cooking." The old man waved him off with a smile, blush rising on his pale, wrinkly cheeks.

"Ohh, stop." He smiled as he pulled out a wooden bowl from the cupboards. It was quiet except for the hum of the large refrigerator and the occasional shouts coming from the two doors that Cherrie suspected lead to the main dining area. As Jinxx's grandfather filled the bowl with warm soup, Jinxx spoke up. "I find it strange… that this is the third time we've came to find each other in this huge city." He looked at Cherrie. "Don't you think?" She shrugged as the steaming bowl was placed in front of her, along with a piece of bread.

"Stranger things have happened…"

"Like what?" Cherrie looked up at him, sadly.

"I said stranger things, not necessarily good things. To graphic for your innocent ears."

"You think I'm innocent?"

"Maybe not to some things, but when you've grown up with a family, and a place to live, you haven't seen most of the terrible things I've witnessed. This was just by happenstance."

"How is it that someone who lives on the streets be so smart?"

"Reading. I've read anything I can get my hands on. Books have been my teachers for the last nine years."

"Nine years?" He asked, incredulously. She nodded.

"Since I was twelve…" Cherrie started to slurp up the soup. "Oh, wow, this is so amazing…" She continued eating her soup in silence when an elderly woman burst in.

"Aldo Mancini,you better be cooking that food, the lunch rush is about to start! Oh! Jeremy, what on Earth are you doing here? Who's this girl? Aldo, why hadn't you told me my grandson was here?" She, too, spoke with an Italian accent, her words rushed out of her mouth so fast Cherrie couldn't understand it.

"I'm cooking, I'm cooking!" The old man got up and started getting busy with the blobs of dough sitting on the wooden countertop.

"I'm just here visiting, Ma. Good to see you haven't changed a bit." Jinxx replied with a cheeky grin. Cherrie looked up at them, curiously.

"Jeremy? Your name is Jeremy?"

"Oh, hush up, and now you won't ask why I go by Jinxx."

"Well," Mrs. Mancini said, "I refuse to call you anything you haven't been named. Now, who is this girl?"

"I found her outside behind the restaurant and wanted to give her a good meal." Aldo said, from his position across the room.

"Oh dear, you don't look so good…"

"Ma, don't tell her that!"

"No, she looks sick." Mrs. Mancini placed her warm hands to Cherries forehead. "Oh, no." The woman clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. "She has a fever. Better get you up to bed."

Cherrie frowned and shook her head.

"No way, I've already intruded enough! Please, don't worry about me." She stood up in a hurry, making her way over to the back door. But as soon as her hand caught the door handle, her world went dark and the last thing she remembered was her tumbling to the floor.

Cherrie's eyes opened to see a blank white ceiling, tucked into a bed. She pulled the blanket off of her and swung her legs over the side, realizing that it wasn't a real bed, but a bunk of some sort. She made her way through the covered doorway, and five pairs of eyes greeted her.

"Where am I?" She asked Ashley.

"On our tour bus. You passed out at Mancini's and they took you to the hospital. They said you were malnourished and had a temperature of 102.3. Once we assured them you'd be safe, we took you back here to rest." Ashley said, as Jinxx patted the open seat next to him on the couch. She sat down where he indicated.

"Thank you."

"There is one thing, though…"

"What's that?"

"You have to tell us why the heck someone like you ended up on the streets."

"I don't know them… except for Ash… ton?

"Close, but no, it's Ashley." Ashley smiled, and pointed to the others as he named them off. "That's Andy, CC, Jake, and of course, Jinxx."

"You really want to know?" She asked, sighing in defeat when they all nodded. "Fine, but it's not a pretty story. When I was born, I was immediately shoved into foster care. Apparently, my parents had a son, and only a son, and they wanted to keep it like that. So, after years of countless orphanages, I was adopted at the age of seven by Jim and Anne Schwartz. But then Jim started drinking, he'd hit me and Anne. When I was eleven Anne left, leaving me alone with him. A few months later, after I turned twelve, I ran away, gradually learning how to live on the streets. So, here I am, nine years later." Cherrie stopped speaking and looked up. She had five rock 'n roll bad boys nearly in tears, staring at her in shock.

"Oh, my…" Jinxx breathed, "You must have been through a lot."

"I guess…" She said, faking interest with her dirty fingernails. Suddenly, two warm hands pulled her head up gently, forcing her to look into Jinxx's eyes.

"That won't be happening any longer…" He whispered, "Because now you're staying here with me. Let me take care of you, you deserve it." Cherrie sniffled, and nodded a silent agreement, wrapping her weak arms around him He whispered the promise into her ear once more. "I will take care of you."