Heaven Help Us

The Studio

Rain’s POV

I hadn’t talked to Andy for five years. Not a single word.

While Jepha was still an infant, who would occasionally wake up crying in the middle of the night, Dante would get up and handle it, almost every time, and never complained.

Jeph didn’t know who his daddy was and had never really asked.

He was an intelligent child and Dante and I agreed to get him tutored at home until he’d be old enough to enroll at Idyllwild and could have arrangements to either be on tour with me or have someone looking after him.

Jepha learned to walk at an early age, was reading and talking a bit before his first birthday, and had an extreme interest in music. He had a drum kit, a custom bass and electric guitar, enjoyed violin, thanks to Jinxx, and singing.

Raven decided he didn’t want to attend college, and started pursuing an acting career.

Dante, Asher, and I supported him in that decision.

I still missed Andy. Some of his stuff could still be found around our place, even though when we’d moved, I’d seriously thought about getting rid of it all. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had all of our pictures in an album with pictures of Jepharee. We had several albums full of pictures of Jepha and everybody.

There were tons of DTY songs that I’d written about Andy, but I knew that he’d never respond.

A lot of people fussed over Jepha when he was on tour with us. Zac, Rose, Damon and Matt forced me to take the master bedroom on the bus if Jepha was with us, so that he’d be comfortable and happy.

Which, to be honest, he was happy if he had some form of good music, a few books, and some toys.

He adored Sammi and had become a vegetarian at the age of three, having talked it over with her. When she’d watch him, she’d take him to cemeteries or parks and he loved that more than almost anything else.

Ashley would teach him chords on the bass, and take him shopping sometimes; Jinxx helped him with violin and guitar from time to time, which Jeph loved.

Gerard, Mikey, Frank, and Ray were constantly coming over and giving him gifts and spending time with him, Alicia and Christa cooing over his adorableness.

Gerard got him into different types of art almost as soon as Jeph could steadily hold a pencil. It rapidly progressed from just drawing little pictures that were barely recognizable as anything but scribbles, to perfect shapes and simple objects, then to animals and so on. As Jeph got better at drawing, Gerard started teaching him about painting and sculpting.

Frank encouraged his reading skills, and was always bringing books and different things for him to read, helping him with the words he couldn’t get, and definitions.

He was talented and artistic as hell, and never failed to make us all proud.

Everyone liked to participate in raising him, which was awesome. He had a great family, and was a happy, polite child. I couldn’t really ask for more, despite how much I wished Andy could see his little boy; the one he didn’t know he had.

I held Jepha’s hand as he, Dante, Raven, and I walked into the house, coming home from the nearby park. A small flurry had begun on our way home. That November had been really frigid, even in LA.

“Go get ready for bed, Jepha.” I told him.

He nodded and skipped off to his room.

I set my phone on the island in the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a sippy cup of apple juice. Jeph knew the drill; he was potty trained and was pretty adept at not wetting the bed.

I heard my phone ring. “Dante, would you get that? I’ve gotta make sure Jeph has his pajamas on right.”

“Sure,” He said, picking up my phone. “Hello?”

I walked out of the kitchen and to Jeph’s room. He wasn’t in there.

“Jeph?” I called. He liked to play games sometimes.

“I’m in here, Mommy,” He called back from somewhere close by.

“In where, Jepharee?”

He took a moment to respond, as if thinking. I could practically see him with his eyes screwed shut and tongue poking out the side of his mouth. “…The studio!”