"Oh come on, just a little peek…?" Jake whined and went to reach for my notebook, but I quickly swatted his hand away. Sometimes, it felt like I was really just babysitting my band mates.

"No! You can't see until we get there! There's only a couple miles left; just be patient," I exasperatedly answered. I sat in a car with CC, Jake and Jinxx. After much debating, I decided that the perfect way to make it up to both my friends and my fans was to start working on a brand new album. I decided to use some lyrics and songs I had already written in my notebook, and we were on our way to the studio at the moment.

No one had heard from Ashley, though we all tried very hard to get a hold of him. After all, what was a band reunion without our favorite bass player? I almost felt wrong, not writing the songs with him as I usually did, but what more could I do? It's hard to apologize to someone when you can't find them anywhere. I mentally sighed and decided to focus on the road.

Soon enough, we pulled into the parking lot of our studio. Before we could record anything, we had to update our manager on our new plans. As we piled into the elevator, Jake turned to me, with a shy look on his face.

"Do you think Ashley'll show up? How can we make an album without him, you know? I hope he's alright…" He trailed off, staring at his feet. I began to rub my wrists. I had been clean for a while, but I had developed a sort of habit of doing that whenever I was nervous or sad. I frowned as the silence returned to the small elevator. The doors soon slid open, and a surprising sight greeted us all. Jinxx put his hand on his hip and muttered, "Speak of the devil."

At the end of the hall, in our manager's office, two familiar faces held a conversation that none of us could have ever imagined. Our manager spoke first.

"What will you tell them?"

"I don't need to tell them anything. I know when I'm unwanted."

"What about the fans?"

"They got over Sandra, didn't they?"

"Who could we get to replace you?"

"That's not my problem, now is it?"

"Will you at least tell me what happened?"

Before he could answer, I had already stormed up behind him, practically fuming.

"Yeah, Ash. Why don't you tell him what happened?" I seethed. He spun around, caught off guard by my sudden presence and outburst. The others soon appeared behind me, more surprised and sad than mad. I, however, was bursting at the seams with anger. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words seemed to come out. So I decided that it was still my turn.

"What's the matter? Still don't have anything to say to us? How fucking dare you. Do you know how worried we were when you didn't answer your phone or show up to talk to anyone? What's the matter with you?" I wasn't even angry about the fight at the hospital; I was genuinely concerned about him. He must have found the right words, because he finally began to speak.

"Really? Because I thought you didn't care. You're one to speak. How do you think I felt when I found you?" Venom dripped off his every word, and with each phrase, I felt a stabbing sensation in my chest. I closed my gaping mouth, and began rubbing my wrists again.

"You're right…" I mumble. Our manager seems to take notice of the tension, and quietly herds the others outside, ignoring their protests. I was grateful, but I'll just thank him later. Alone with Ashley, I still avoid his glare. A strong hand forcefully gripping my arms interrupted my thoughts. Ashley yanked my wrists towards his chest, pulling up the sleeves.

"Why are you scratching? Are they itchy? Did you cut again?" His voice was full of concern, and his anger simply seemed to melt away. But I could hear something else in his voice. What was that? Was it sadness? It wasn't until I noticed the slight wince he had when he moved that I realized what happened. I blankly stared at him.

"Ashley, take off your shirt."

"Excuse me! No! Why would I-"

"Ashley, at least lift it up. Just do it."

"No way!"

"Ash," I lowered my voice, taking a step towards him, reaching my hand out for his shirt. At first, he slapped my hand away, gaining a defensive pose. I nearly whispered, "Did you… Again… Have… Did you c-cut yourself, Ash?" His eyes widened for a moment, and he simply sighed. And then he did else surprising: he chuckled.

"I guess I couldn't hide that from you, even if I tried." He sighed, smile dropping. He looked away, slowly lifting his shirt to his mid-chest. Then I saw it. A deep X carved jaggedly through his stomach. The deep red of the unhealed wound mixed with the whites, browns and pinks of old scars. It looked like a morbid art project. I was disgusted by the part of myself that thought it was almost beautiful. But that part of my brain was silenced by the screaming concern and sadness in my heart.

He dropped his shirt and leaned back upon the desk. His head hung down, hair covering his face. But I saw the familiar way his body jerked and shivered, watched the tiny little bits of water falling into his lap. My face softened, and I felt tears prick my own eyes as I pulled him into a hug. His fists clenched the desk until his knuckles turned white, and quickly released as he brought his arms back up to hug me. And we stayed like that for a while. Just knowing that I could have my best friend back was the most comforting feeling in the world. We could help each other. We didn't have to be alone anymore.

And thus, my dysfunctional, broken little family was whole again. Through all of the pain and anger, we came out stronger, closer. We were loved, and that was all that truly mattered.

A/N: So this is the end! I felt bad about leaving it unfinished, but I was just so uninspired and I actually gave up on writing for a while. Everyone goes through rough patches. I don't know how I feel about this ending; it's pretty short. But I felt it needed to be happy(: So I hope you guys liked it, I'm really glad you enjoyed reading. Remember to leave comments and reviews; I absolutely love reading them! Thanks for reading(: Bye guys!