Epilogue

 Epilogue - Third Person POV

     The following week passed sluggishly for Laila and same as for Alex. The Sunday arrived and Laila was expected to be at Rams Head like promised.

    As the evening rolled in, an excited Alex was turned into a devastating mess from the absence of his girlfriend. His phone calls lead to her voice messaging system, his text messages left unanswered, nothing was working. Just minutes before All Time Low were scheduled to play, he had a gut feeling in his stomach that something was wrong. He raced outside of the venue, leaving his band mates baffled and in shock that he'd leave one of their biggest gigs they had ever booked in their career. 

     He drove the band's van down the highway as fast as he could. The palms of his hands were sweaty, his body being an anxious mess. He knew he was probably worrying over nothing, but the voice inside his head was telling him otherwise. 

    The sprinkles of rain were now a downpour, beating down on the windshield as Alex sped through red-lights, the petal hitting the floor with his foot applying pressure.

    Shortly, he arrived to her house, parking his car on the curb. The driveway was empty and the lights inside the house appeared to be turned off.

     He got out of his car, quickly rushing to the front door as the rain poured into the night. He knocked a couple of times, but there was no answer. He expected to have at least one of her family members to be home. He rung the doorbell a couple of times, and even peaked through one of the windows. However not a soul could be found, causing a nauseous feeling to arouse in his stomach.

     The brunet yanked his phone out of his pocket, checking to see if Laila had responded back to him. But only several messages from his angered band mates filled his notifications. 

   Alex groaned in aggravation. He was frustrated and confused at what he should do. Nothing appeared to be helpful. He maneuvered his attention at the neighbor's house, thinking they might know. 

    He trudged through the front yard with the rain soaking his clothes. His jacket kept him warm as his hand was shoved into one of its pockets, making sure the red-velvet colored square box was still there. It held an important ring, a ring that had his girlfriend's name on it.  It was driving him crazy. He was going to ask her to marry him.

    His fist knocked on the neighbor's front door. His foot tapped nervously as he waited for someone to answer.

     Suddenly, the porch lights turned on, following by the door opening. The neighbor was dressed in his pajamas, his eyes squinting from barely being awake.

     Alex bit his bottom lip, anxious to even speak. "Forgive me for knocking on your door this late at night, I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen the girl next door?" he asked, "Laila Grey?"

     The neighbor rubbed his chin as he thought hard about it. "Oh, her," he finally remembered. "I saw her family pack boxes into her car."

    The neighbor said she moved away before slamming the door in Alex's face, funny how it rained for the rest of the day.  He didn't think much of it then, but it was starting to all make sense.

    It was unreal for him. It was almost as if he was in a dream...a terrible dream. He was lost and felt stranded. 

   He walked back to his vehicle, his back hunched over, and a panic attack on the verge of happening. He sat in his car, watching the rain pelt on the windshield. His eyebrows furrowed as he deeply thought about Laila, questioning where she could possibly be. 

     Another idea sparked in his head, causing him to quickly turn on the engine and race towards his next destination. He pictured her to be in his apartment, waiting for him in the living room, her moving-boxes unpacked and a bright smile on her face.

   Alex arrived to his apartment building, and rushed up the stairwell. He got to his door and unlocked it with his key, pushing it open; his home appeared to be empty as he entered.

    Disappointment consumed his bones and blood as he walked in his cold home. Tears formed in his eyes, he was lost like a little kid, unsure what direction to go to next. He needed his girlfriend, but she was nowhere to be found.

   He pulled out his phone once again. His eyesight made it nearly impossible to check his messages.

   "Laila," he cried out, wishing she would magically appear. He didn't want to believe her neighbor's words. 

    He sat on the edge of his bed in the dark, where her smell charmed his bed sheets. He only had the few things she left behind in his apartment. Hairpins, jewelry, different articles of clothing, and many other small things that belonged to her were scattered throughout the home. However, not a single sign of Laila was found in his apartment, and it was to remain that way forever.

      Now, he was just trying to find his calling tonight. Nothing else meant anything to him as he tried to reach his one true love. It felt like losing his brother all over again, but this time, the agony was tearing his soul apart and eating him alive. 

      He wept for hours, and soon, hours lead to days, and days turned into months. He began to rely on alcohol to convert the pain into numbness. He would wake up from dreaming and put on his shoes, and make his way to her house to see if anyone would be there.

   Still, there was no answer, not even from her father or brother. Sooner or later, he had given up, and never left his apartment. Calling her had once been filled with rings after rings, until one day, it was an immediate voice machine.

    "Sorry the number you have dialed cannot be reached..."

    It irked Alex with rage as he stared at his phone for hours every day. He didn't shower, eat, and only slept if it was the intoxication knocking him out. His bandmates began to worry, and even went looking for Laila too. However, they had the same bad luck just as Alex.

-

    For Laila, she cried for hours as she unpacked her suitcase in her new room of her Uncle's house. She could no longer bear to think about Alex, and the trouble she may have caused due to his brother's death after Kenzie was murder.

    She sat in her room, guilty and wanting to end everything. Her brother and father left back to their home state after spending a week at the relative's house. They had to carry on with their normal lives as Laila had to do what she felt was right.

   She could no longer see herself date the love of her life after being exposed to the ugly truth. The truth that had torn her apart into shreds, the truth that had caused her very own boyfriend a world of pain in the first grade and so forth from a chain of reactions, and she was the source of it all. 

     Laila was never coming back now, because of what she had done was so terrible. She was now terrified to speak, and constantly dreaming of the day to return back to her boyfriend, however, that was never going to be the case. 

     As the months past, her depression became like a dark cloud hanging over her. It was constantly nagging her with every step she took. Every trace of thoughts she had always led her to thinking about what she had done. She was never going to be able to forgive herself.

     Her impulsive mind led her to unthinkable things. Her thoughts were dangerous as she kept herself locked in her new and unfamiliar room, sitting on the chair near the window every day. She spent her time writing, which was all she ever seemed to do. Some days she would barely move an inch, others she had punched her mirror or completely flipped her bedroom into a disaster. Uncle Gabe was indecisive on what he should do about his niece's alarming behavior.

  Laila's days were counted shortly, guiding her to the end. The lack of taking her medication led her to the final day. 

     She was now up home in the clouds, thousands of feet up from the ground. She was now Alex's guardian angel, towering over his head, keeping him sheltered as she watched from a safe place so she never had to lose. 

     Derek ended up leaving Caleb who had cheated on him when he went to college. He found a better man, who helped him cope with the loss of his sister. They ended up marrying six years later, and now they were soon to be adopting a new born baby, who Derek and his significant other had decided to name her after his two deceased sisters; Laila Kenzie Grey.

      George Grey ended up never publishing his book, seeing it as a disgrace because of his daughter's point of view. It now sits in ashes in a fireplace, and every digital draft he had written on his computer was thrown into the trash can on his desktop. However, his daughter's memoir she had written during her final days was kept in consideration on his desk in his study. 

      Alex never heard a single word from the Grey's. He moved on to better things. He wrote another album, So Wrong It's Right, which was filled with lyrics that reminded him of his girlfriend. As the band toured, it pained him to sing the lyrics every night at shows, reminding him of his lost love that he was never going to return.

        On the other hand, Jack and Brenna were stronger than ever. After the new album was release, her stomach began to grow, a life was forming inside her; a creation of their own. It wasn't before long until they were spending long nights changing diapers, however Jack remained in the band despite his new profound family.

       Alex envied Jack for a while throughout the years, but quickly got over it, seeing it as a waste of time. It wasn't going to bring Laila back in his life. Little did he know, no matter how hard some nights he tried to contact everyone in his hometown to see if anyone had heard from Laila, or the Greys, but every time, his intoxicated-self got the same reply. 

   "Sorry, Lex, I haven't seen her around."

   "Her family moved out of their home, so I really don't know..."

   "Sorry, Alex, but I honestly don't know."

     It left a burden on him. He was unaware of his guardian angel as he continued to travel the world, performing for different kids each night, his lyrics being sung by the fans gave him a small piece of happiness to push through.

     But it was never enough, or at least not like the happiness he had received from Laila. She was becoming into a memory as each day passed for him. He could no longer feel her touch, hear her voice, or remember how her presence could calm his anxiety.

   It was in the past now...

   and this was the remembering.

______a.n

im crying so hard you guys, my heart is shattered into pieces, jfc.

I didn't mean to kill off laila, it just sorta of happened....

Well, idk what else to write besides comment what you think, and vote too if you enjoyed.

We can all cry together in a big hug.

- Kc March 26, 2015

(it's okay if you guys hate me & if you have any questions concerning the plot, don't be afraid to ask)