*Any quotation marks mean that the phrase, or sentence, is from the bands: Hollywood Undead, Placebo, and Flyleaf*
There is a group of girls. The oldest is Lacy, and she is seventeen. The second oldest is Rebeca, she’s fourteen. And then there’s Rachel, the youngest of them all. She is but twelve. Every day they live their “normal” public lives. Lacy stands up for her friends; but they don’t stand up for her. Rachel makes sure everyone is included; but no one includes her. Rebeca keeps her promises; but her friends lie to her. They all stand up for themselves because no one cares. They all share the same thing. They all share the pain of their pasts, the hurt of their sorrow, and the destruction of themselves.
At night, Lacy sometimes cries because she is afraid of hurting people, or losing her friends. She wants to be a better person, a role model. But people say things about her, which makes her think she can’t. ‘She waves the flag of hatred, but society’s the one who made it.’ Rebeca goes to school every day with a smile on her face. But deep inside, she knows it’s a lie. In her heart, she feels numb. She doesn't know the meaning of love towards others. She doesn't know how to be an actual friend. She doesn't even know what a true friend is. Rachel is always hurt when people look down on her because she is younger. She has all these great ideas, bursting in her mind. But when she claims she knows, they all laugh, snicker, and disapprove. They expect her to do things that are too difficult for such a fragile girl. It’s as if the whole universe’s weight is on her shoulders.
They are all careful not to break. If they break, they have to pick up the pieces of their pasts, which makes all of them shatter. Then, when the girls are finally put back together, a gentle gathering of hurtful words come their way, and break them again. They want to change their ways, but then the world revolts against them, causing them to break more, shatter into smaller shards of forgotten memories made fresh, and no matter what they do, they can never let go of their pasts. Is this how they must forever live? Each one trapped in a glass box painted with pretty colors and dazzling tricks? Every day, they stand before judging eyes, waiting for the verdict. They scratch and claw at the glass box, but they can’t break it. Everyone sees them bleed, hurt, cry, and mess up. ‘Their arms are stained with the blood of their pasts.’ ‘People take the innocence of their hearts, meant to kneel before the alter, as they are torn asunder.’
They want to cut away all their faults. ‘They want to see how deep the bullet lies.’ They want to sever the thing that keeps their spirits together, if they had any. ‘They march to the drums of pain as they burn before the sun.’ ‘They are born in a world that is falling apart.’ They are not mistakes, but they have no purpose. ‘They wish they could make a deal with God, to get Him to swap their places with someone else.’ ‘If only they could run up that road, that hill, that building, jump, and fly away forever.’ This is who they are.