Rose's Journal

Chapter 47: The Encore

The movie finished two hours later, and everyone was smiling. In those two hours, they forgot about all their problems and just enjoyed being together. It was nice to live in that moment, and not think about the inevitable. After the movie, Carlos went up to bed, and Ray sat downstairs for a few minutes, doing some work.

"Carrie, are you going to be staying with us tonight?" Ray asked, looking up from his laptop.

"Yes, as long as the offer still stands," Carrie replied, pulling at her hair. She genuinely didn't know if they still wanted her to stay.

"Of course! You're always welcome here. You can stay for as long as you need. You can even move in if you want to," Ray suggested.

"Yeah Carrie! We have plenty of room here. I would love to have you stay. It will make the house feel less empty," Julie replied, reaching over to grab Carrie's hand.

"I'll let you know in the morning. I still have so much to figure out and do," Carrie remarked, grabbing Julie's hand. It felt nice to be wanted by people. It wasn't something she felt often unless they wanted to use her. But she knew this was genuine. They had every reason to not want her there, yet they still insisted. It brought a small smile onto Carrie's face.

"I'll help you get set up in the garage," Julie said as she got up, making her way to the door, Flynn, Willie, Alex, Reggie, and Carrie following close behind. They entered the garage. Flynn and Rose followed Carrie into the room in the back with the bed while Alex, Reggie, and Julie sat on the couch.

"I'll give you guys a minute," Willie said, as he followed the girls into the room to help set it up.

"A lot of memories here," Julie remarked, laying back. "I was sitting right here when you guys first appeared in here. I was so freaked out." Julie laughed. "I chased you guys around with a cross covered in charms." The three laughed, remembering the craziness that was those first couple of weeks.

"Yeah," Alex recalled. "We had no idea how much you were going to change our lives. We truly couldn't have gotten through this without you. You let us do the thing we loved the most: playing music in front of other people. But more importantly, you gave us a family. We originally thought that the three of us were all were ever going to need, but we were wrong. We were incomplete until we met you. You were the piece missing from our family. You made us whole." Julie, Reggie, and Alex were all in tears as they came together for a hug. They held each other tight. Although their family was one member short now, their love for each other still remained the same. They would do anything for one another and that would never change, in life or death. They had proven it time and time again to each other. They let go of one another and wiped the tears from their eyes.

"So, what do we do now?" Reggie asked the other two.

"I think we do the thing that brought us together in the first place. We play music. It's what we do, and we'll never be able to do it again if we don't do it right now," Julie suggested.

"I'm in," Alex replied.

"Me too," Reggie said.

Julie set up her keyboard as Reggie plugged his bass into the amp, and Alex grabbed his drumsticks.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to fix the snare yet," Julie said.

"It's fine. I think it looks kind of cool if I'm being honest. I'll just flip it over. It won't sound the same, but it will still work," Alex replied.

"It's not the same, but it's still us, and we're still playing, so let's make the most out of it," Julie said. The rest of the group came out of Carrie's new room and sat in front of them as they got ready to play. Julie took a deep breath. This wasn't the first time she was going to play this upset, but at least she had Reggie and Alex there by her side this time. Once, they got settled, Julie began to speak. "Mom, this is a song that you and I started writing before you died. You told me to keep fighting, no matter what hardships came my way. Sometimes, you can't wish for another day, and things go by too fast, especially the best things. I learned that the hard way when you died, but now I'm going to learn it all over again. But thanks to you, Alex, Reggie," Julie took a deep breath, "and Luke. I know that I can do it. But I won't be standing alone. I'll have Flynn, Carrie, and Willie by my side. I know they will be there for me, and I'll be there for them too. I'll stand tall." She began to play alone.