Categories > Celebrities > The Used > In Love And Death
Ria
Over the next few hours that followed when the bus had begun on its way to California for the start of the tour me and Bert had built up a quick question and answer routine together.
"Age" He asked settling himself so we were sitting opposite eachother.
"19. You?" I replied.
"24"
"Favourite band?"
"Ours naturally. You?" He was watching me now, a small smirk playing across his lips. His eyebrows were pulled down to make his smile look evil. Like he was a predator and I was his pray.
"Ditto" I returned the smirk and didn't look away from those glittering dark eyes.
"Favourite song?"
"The Used?"
"Yep"
"Slit Your Own Throat. Or Maybe Memories"
"Nice choice"
"And yourself?"
"Im quite a fan of My Pesticide"
"It's a fucking awesome song"
"I know. I wrote it"
"No duh"
"Favourite movie?"
"Nightmare Before Christmas"
"Fuck you"
"It's a good movie!!"
"Pussy"
"Okay Mr. Film Critic of the year what's yours?"
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
"Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!! I was watching that shit when I was in diapers man"
"It's insane, it's twisted and sick and really shows the depth of human emotions and how low people can sink"
"If you wanna see that just watch Jerry Springer man. NBC has a dude made out of bugs. and he sings. That's sick"
"Yeah if you're like...6"
"Exactly"
"That didn't make sense"
"I don't care. Next question"
"Favourite country"
"Finland"
"Really?"
"Yeah, It's dark and cold. And it's quiet. I used to live there with my brother. You know the band HIM?"
"Heard of em. We were on the same tour once"
"He knew the singer. Ville"
"Knew?"
"He's dead"
"The singer?!"
"My brother."
"Oh...im sorry"
"It's okay"
"When'd it happen?"
"2 years ago. He was killed"
"..."
"That's the reason I'm here"
"Here, here or Utah?"
"Both. I moved here after Jamie died. Came back to look after my mother. But she's a bitch. So I moved to Utah.
"Where are you actually from then?"
"Finland. It's confusing. I was born there. My father is Finnish. Jamie is actually my half-brother. We have different father's. We never met his though. He's some scummy crack addict living in Ohio. My mother is from New Jersey. They met in Jersey, she got pregnant and he persuaded her to move to Finland with him. I was born there, hence my name Ria. It's Finnish. Then my father killed himself, so my mother brought me and my brother back to Jersey"
"How old were you?"
"I was 3. He was 7"
"Then what happened?" The smirk had slipped from his face. It was replaced by his eyes looking wide and his brows pulled into an anxious, concerned expression. His mouth was slightly open and his arms were wrapped around himself, like he was watching a crucial part of an interesting movie. I wanted to laugh but I didn't.
"When my brother was 18, he moved back to Finland. He loved it there"
"He left you?"
"He had to. He and my mother hated each other. She hit him. It was dangerous for him to stay there. It broke my heart when he left. But he rang me every week. And he visited whenever he had enough money. Then, when I was 16 me and my mother argued, and she beat me so hard I had to go to hospital. Jamie found out and was FURIOUS. He came straight back and took me with him to Finland. Just threw all my stuff in a suitcase and pulled me onto a plane. We lived together in his friend's flat. It was the best time of my life. We used to watch HIM practice in their studio in Finland. My mother was always threatening him, saying she'd call the police because he kidnapped me but he just changed his number. I didn't talk to her for a year."
"Damn"
"I know. Then one day, Jamie went out to visit one of his friends. He'd been attacked or something so Jamie went to see if he was all right. Jamie had a lot of friends in the wrong crowd. A lot of them were drug addicts or dealers. He never touched any of their stuff, he just knew too many bad people. Most of the ones he introduced me to were actually really nice. He told me he'd only be a couple of hours, but.." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and my voice was going all shaky. I hadn't thought about how Jamie died in a while, let alone talk about it. The guys all knew that was a no-go zone of conversation and they never asked. I'd told Blake about it and I assume he'd told the rest because they never asked.
Bert placed a hand on mine as a single tear fell."
"Look at me! Im telling you my life story and i've only known you for the best part of..2 hours? You don't wanna hear this" I said laughing unsteadily at my patheticness. Bert stroked a thumb across my hand.
"No I asked. But if you don't wanna talk about it anymore we can stop".
"Please"
"Okay wanna hear mine? Both my parents are Mormon, so was the town I was brought up in. Im like the LEAST Mormon person ever right? So basically, I rebel against my parents and the community, get into drinking, sex, weed, crystal meth..drop outta high school, my parents find out what i've been doing, they throw me out and I'm homeless for a year. I meet this girl Kate, we start dating and I move in with her. Our house was a drug paradise man. Eventually we split, and I move out. Then I get a call like..2 years ago. She's pregnant. We agree on keeping it and I ditch the drugs. I was gonna be a dad ya know? You can't have that shit lying around when you have a fucking kid. I was gonna ask her to marry me. Saved up and got a ring, it was a shitty cheap thing but it was al I could afford. Then last year at like...3am her sister calls. Kate had just killed herself. OD'd on heroin. And she was fucking PREGNANT man. I'd talked to her earlier that day as well. I lost my girlfriend and my baby that day, and it HURT ya know? 2 years later, here I am" He finished and gave a little flourish with his hand.
"Wow"
"I know. We're both just as fucked up as eachother" He said. He sighed and leant back.
"I wanna finish my story"
"Sure?"
I nodded.
"Shoot"
"Okay so he goes out, and while he's at his friend's, the guys who attacked him come back to finish the job. They start beating the door down and they break in. Jamie tries to talk to them but they just push him out the way. They start beating this guy again and Jamie jumps up and tries defending his friend. Then this guy just pulls out a gun and straight out shoots him. Then a police car pulls up and they all run. They call me, and tell me my brother's dead. I had to go identify him and everything. Oh God it was horrible"
Bert nodded.
"So then anyway after the funeral and everything I had to go back to Jersey. Jamie's friends offered to look after me. Ville even offered for me to stay with him but I couldn't. So I moved back in with my mother. By this time she's become this total drunk. I stayed with her for 2 years until I couldn't take it anymore. She was always screaming at me and blaming me for my father and Jamie dying. I couldn't take it so I stuffed a backpack with whatever clothes I could fit in, got a taxi and travelled as far as my money would take me"
"That's how you ended up in Utah?"
"Yeah. I was aiming for L.A but I didn't get that far. So I live on the streets for a while and then one day Blake finds me. I was busking in a town somewhere and he heard me singing and asked me to audition for his band. So I did and I got in. Then I went between the three of them sleeping on their couches and floors, till eventually I move into a Motel. But now we all share an apartment together"
"Fuck our lives suck" Bert smirked. I chuckled and raised my beer glass.
"Here's to the two most single fucked up people on this bus" I said. He looked at me and laughed and clinked his bottle against mine.
"I'll drink to that" We both took a big swig of our beer. The bus turned and pulled up outside some highway service station.
Robbie walked over to us.
"Ria? We've gotta get back on our won bus. Pete wants to lecture us all" He said nodding at Bert.
"Joy" I said sarchastically and I got up, but turned back to Bert who' remained seated.
"I'll talk to you later yeah?" I asked. He nodded and I walked towards the door.
"Ria!" He called out after me. I stopped and loked back over my shoulder.
"Favourite The Used member?" He asked grinning.
"That's nasty" I said folding my arms over my chest. He shrugged.
"Well?"
"I think you know" I said an turned and jumped off the bus.
Over the next few hours that followed when the bus had begun on its way to California for the start of the tour me and Bert had built up a quick question and answer routine together.
"Age" He asked settling himself so we were sitting opposite eachother.
"19. You?" I replied.
"24"
"Favourite band?"
"Ours naturally. You?" He was watching me now, a small smirk playing across his lips. His eyebrows were pulled down to make his smile look evil. Like he was a predator and I was his pray.
"Ditto" I returned the smirk and didn't look away from those glittering dark eyes.
"Favourite song?"
"The Used?"
"Yep"
"Slit Your Own Throat. Or Maybe Memories"
"Nice choice"
"And yourself?"
"Im quite a fan of My Pesticide"
"It's a fucking awesome song"
"I know. I wrote it"
"No duh"
"Favourite movie?"
"Nightmare Before Christmas"
"Fuck you"
"It's a good movie!!"
"Pussy"
"Okay Mr. Film Critic of the year what's yours?"
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
"Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!! I was watching that shit when I was in diapers man"
"It's insane, it's twisted and sick and really shows the depth of human emotions and how low people can sink"
"If you wanna see that just watch Jerry Springer man. NBC has a dude made out of bugs. and he sings. That's sick"
"Yeah if you're like...6"
"Exactly"
"That didn't make sense"
"I don't care. Next question"
"Favourite country"
"Finland"
"Really?"
"Yeah, It's dark and cold. And it's quiet. I used to live there with my brother. You know the band HIM?"
"Heard of em. We were on the same tour once"
"He knew the singer. Ville"
"Knew?"
"He's dead"
"The singer?!"
"My brother."
"Oh...im sorry"
"It's okay"
"When'd it happen?"
"2 years ago. He was killed"
"..."
"That's the reason I'm here"
"Here, here or Utah?"
"Both. I moved here after Jamie died. Came back to look after my mother. But she's a bitch. So I moved to Utah.
"Where are you actually from then?"
"Finland. It's confusing. I was born there. My father is Finnish. Jamie is actually my half-brother. We have different father's. We never met his though. He's some scummy crack addict living in Ohio. My mother is from New Jersey. They met in Jersey, she got pregnant and he persuaded her to move to Finland with him. I was born there, hence my name Ria. It's Finnish. Then my father killed himself, so my mother brought me and my brother back to Jersey"
"How old were you?"
"I was 3. He was 7"
"Then what happened?" The smirk had slipped from his face. It was replaced by his eyes looking wide and his brows pulled into an anxious, concerned expression. His mouth was slightly open and his arms were wrapped around himself, like he was watching a crucial part of an interesting movie. I wanted to laugh but I didn't.
"When my brother was 18, he moved back to Finland. He loved it there"
"He left you?"
"He had to. He and my mother hated each other. She hit him. It was dangerous for him to stay there. It broke my heart when he left. But he rang me every week. And he visited whenever he had enough money. Then, when I was 16 me and my mother argued, and she beat me so hard I had to go to hospital. Jamie found out and was FURIOUS. He came straight back and took me with him to Finland. Just threw all my stuff in a suitcase and pulled me onto a plane. We lived together in his friend's flat. It was the best time of my life. We used to watch HIM practice in their studio in Finland. My mother was always threatening him, saying she'd call the police because he kidnapped me but he just changed his number. I didn't talk to her for a year."
"Damn"
"I know. Then one day, Jamie went out to visit one of his friends. He'd been attacked or something so Jamie went to see if he was all right. Jamie had a lot of friends in the wrong crowd. A lot of them were drug addicts or dealers. He never touched any of their stuff, he just knew too many bad people. Most of the ones he introduced me to were actually really nice. He told me he'd only be a couple of hours, but.." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and my voice was going all shaky. I hadn't thought about how Jamie died in a while, let alone talk about it. The guys all knew that was a no-go zone of conversation and they never asked. I'd told Blake about it and I assume he'd told the rest because they never asked.
Bert placed a hand on mine as a single tear fell."
"Look at me! Im telling you my life story and i've only known you for the best part of..2 hours? You don't wanna hear this" I said laughing unsteadily at my patheticness. Bert stroked a thumb across my hand.
"No I asked. But if you don't wanna talk about it anymore we can stop".
"Please"
"Okay wanna hear mine? Both my parents are Mormon, so was the town I was brought up in. Im like the LEAST Mormon person ever right? So basically, I rebel against my parents and the community, get into drinking, sex, weed, crystal meth..drop outta high school, my parents find out what i've been doing, they throw me out and I'm homeless for a year. I meet this girl Kate, we start dating and I move in with her. Our house was a drug paradise man. Eventually we split, and I move out. Then I get a call like..2 years ago. She's pregnant. We agree on keeping it and I ditch the drugs. I was gonna be a dad ya know? You can't have that shit lying around when you have a fucking kid. I was gonna ask her to marry me. Saved up and got a ring, it was a shitty cheap thing but it was al I could afford. Then last year at like...3am her sister calls. Kate had just killed herself. OD'd on heroin. And she was fucking PREGNANT man. I'd talked to her earlier that day as well. I lost my girlfriend and my baby that day, and it HURT ya know? 2 years later, here I am" He finished and gave a little flourish with his hand.
"Wow"
"I know. We're both just as fucked up as eachother" He said. He sighed and leant back.
"I wanna finish my story"
"Sure?"
I nodded.
"Shoot"
"Okay so he goes out, and while he's at his friend's, the guys who attacked him come back to finish the job. They start beating the door down and they break in. Jamie tries to talk to them but they just push him out the way. They start beating this guy again and Jamie jumps up and tries defending his friend. Then this guy just pulls out a gun and straight out shoots him. Then a police car pulls up and they all run. They call me, and tell me my brother's dead. I had to go identify him and everything. Oh God it was horrible"
Bert nodded.
"So then anyway after the funeral and everything I had to go back to Jersey. Jamie's friends offered to look after me. Ville even offered for me to stay with him but I couldn't. So I moved back in with my mother. By this time she's become this total drunk. I stayed with her for 2 years until I couldn't take it anymore. She was always screaming at me and blaming me for my father and Jamie dying. I couldn't take it so I stuffed a backpack with whatever clothes I could fit in, got a taxi and travelled as far as my money would take me"
"That's how you ended up in Utah?"
"Yeah. I was aiming for L.A but I didn't get that far. So I live on the streets for a while and then one day Blake finds me. I was busking in a town somewhere and he heard me singing and asked me to audition for his band. So I did and I got in. Then I went between the three of them sleeping on their couches and floors, till eventually I move into a Motel. But now we all share an apartment together"
"Fuck our lives suck" Bert smirked. I chuckled and raised my beer glass.
"Here's to the two most single fucked up people on this bus" I said. He looked at me and laughed and clinked his bottle against mine.
"I'll drink to that" We both took a big swig of our beer. The bus turned and pulled up outside some highway service station.
Robbie walked over to us.
"Ria? We've gotta get back on our won bus. Pete wants to lecture us all" He said nodding at Bert.
"Joy" I said sarchastically and I got up, but turned back to Bert who' remained seated.
"I'll talk to you later yeah?" I asked. He nodded and I walked towards the door.
"Ria!" He called out after me. I stopped and loked back over my shoulder.
"Favourite The Used member?" He asked grinning.
"That's nasty" I said folding my arms over my chest. He shrugged.
"Well?"
"I think you know" I said an turned and jumped off the bus.
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