Michael

Her parents try to deny everything, but in the end, they weren't going to get away like that.

They'll have an investigation made, and they'll ask Brianna to verify what Toby said she told him. Nothing's mentioned of it, but I know that if she ends up being taken away from her parents, Toby will try to get her. Although, if she has relatives, especially nearby, that could prove to be difficult.

Even though she's not awake yet, I've at least made sure that Bri is going to be okay, and I know we should get back to the venue, so I ask Toby to keep me posted and Duncan and I head back.

We come back to find Jeff, Jody, and Ms. Ciara entertaining themselves with our usual pre-show games, ping-pong, cornhole, and card games, and we join in until it's time to head out on stage.

Before we go into "Save Your Life", I stop to talk for a little.

"As some of you may know," I begin as the cheering dies down, this hasn't been a normal afternoon for us to say the least. Early this afternoon, a young woman named Brianna Kelly decided that her life wasn't worth living and swallowed two bottles of pills."

The crowd goes to a hush as I say the words, and I go on to tell the rest of the story, finally turning to where Ms. Ciara is on one side of the stage.

"First of all, I would like to honor the woman who saved Bri's life before the ambulance pulled up... will you help us say thank you to a certain Ms. Ciara?" They all erupt in cheering, and I wait until it dies down to go on. "And, I want to ask all of you to join with me in lifting Bri's life up to God... praying for healing, not only in her body, but also where she needs it most, deep in her heart. And I'd like to dedicate this next song to her. It's called 'Save Your Life'."

Dear friend, you've been trying again.

Doing whatever it takes to fit in.

Fallen for the lies of the world.

You tell me you'd pay anything just to not hurt.

What you want I ain't got.

What I have can't be bought.

There's something better I can give.

If you surrender, you will live.

Just gotta taste, and see it's good.

I'd make you see it if I could.

It's gonna save your life.

It's gonna save your life.

Dear friend, I'd be lying to you

If I told you this road that we travel would be smooth.

Sometimes, you just wanna give up.

Tryin, and tryin, but nothing is ever enough.

Chasing things, but what for?

You've seen it all, but want more.

There's something better I can give.

If you surrender, you will live.

Just gotta taste, and see it's good.

I'd make you see it if I could.

It's gonna save your life.

It's gonna save your life.

I can see now you want this.

And you know that you need this.

Get away from the darkness.

Get away from the darkness.

I can see now you want this.

And you know that you need this.

Get away from the darkness.

Gotta know who Christ is!

There's something better I can give.

If you surrender, you will live.

Just gotta taste, and see it's good.

I'd make you see it if I could.

It's gonna save your life.

(It doesn't matter with this life.)

It's gonna save your life.

(It doesn't matter with this life.)

It's gonna save your life.

(It doesn't matter with this life.)

It's gonna save your life.

(It doesn't matter with this life.)

It's gonna save your life.

Bri

My entire body hurts as I drift into consciousness.

I open my eyes reluctantly, trying to grasp where I am and what happened to me. And it hits me.

I'm not dead.

I failed. Again.

My eyes close again against the rush of tears that flow out. I can't stop them, and I don't care enough to try anyway. I just can't believe this is happening to me again.

"Bri..." The whisper is gentle and familiar, but it only makes my shame increase. "Bri, Sweetheart, it's okay," he continues, gently placing a hand on my arm and squeezing lightly.

I don't answer, and Toby doesn't push for me to. He just sits there next to me, not moving his hand, and lets me cry.

After a minute or two, a nurse comes in, and I straighten slowly, bracing myself for the lecture. But, this time, her face is a lot kinder than I remember from last time.

"It's good to see you awake, Brianna," she says with a smile. "We were afraid we were going to lose you there."

I don't answer, and she becomes a little more serious.

"Alright, Bri, I do want you to know that taking those pills was not the right answer."

Stupid of me to think she was gonna be different than the last one.

"But..." I tense as she says the word. "I know you've been through a lot lately, and I want you to know that's going to stop. Just answer a few questions for me, alright?"

I nod hesitantly.

"Were you raped by Lincoln Renthart about seven months ago?"

I take a deep breath. "Yes." It comes out a tiny whisper.

She nods in return. "And have your parents been abusing you over the past bit of time?"

I hesitate, looking at Toby. He squeezes my hand in encouragement, and I take a deep breath.

"By my dad. Yes."

"Alright, thank you, Brianna," she tells me. "That's all I need from you for now. We want to watch you for liver damage, and we need to keep an eye on the gun wound anyway, so you'll be here for another day at least. I'll see you in a while."

And she turns and leaves the room.

"I... I'm so sorry," I whisper, unable to look Toby in the eye.

"Bri, Sweetheart, it's okay," he murmurs back. "I'm just so glad you're okay. I'm so sorry you've been going through all of this."

I bite back tears, staring at the sheets of the bed. "Is it never gonna end?" the question comes out barely more than a whisper.

"Brianna, look at me," he says gently.

I do, slowly, reluctantly.

"God is not finished with this situation yet," he tells me, looking straight into my eyes. "He's gonna make something good out of this. I promise. Just keep your head up, and don't you ever let up."

A few tears escape my defenses as I think of the next part of the song. "So... I get through this storm just so that I can face the next one? What's the point, Toby?"

"I..." he starts, but exhales reluctantly. "I don't know, Bri. Sometimes we never get to know why we have to face the trials that we do. But someday, when we're up in Heaven, everything is gonna make sense, I promise."

I hesitate, but I can't help but ask the question on my mind.

"So why is it so wrong to want that sooner?" I ask quietly, more tears beginning to roll down my face.

"Because there are people here who love you so much, Bri," he tells me desperately. "That we can't bear the thought of living without you. And because you have a great purpose that only you can fulfill. And every heartache you live through just brings you closer to that purpose."

"But..." I squeeze my eyes shut as the rush of tears begins to flow out in full force. "I... I don't even know who I am anymore, Toby! Everything... every little tiny part of me... just hurts. It feels like I die a little every day. I can't keep living like this!"

"I know, Baby, I know," he says, with tears running down his own cheeks. "And it's gonna end. I promise. I promise, it's gonna end."

I don't have the words to respond, and I just continue to cry, my eyes shut in an unsuccessful attempt to make myself stop. And, suddenly, I feel two strong arms wrap around me, and I'm crying on the shoulder of the man I admire most in the world.

A/N: I know it's been like two weeks and I am SO sorry. I wrote about half of this at two o'clock in the morning because I was trying to escape the fact that the human brain (or maybe it's just my stupid brain) can't comprehend it when someone you love dies, so I know the writing sucks, and I'm sorry about that too, but I had to get something out there. Anyway, I'll try to do better next time. Thanks for sticking with me.