Chapter 15:

Shane stared at the marble tombstone in front of him:"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile," it read at the bottom. It had always been one of her favorite quotes and it had suited her perfectly. She would always smile, no matter what she was going though.

He had brought her favorite flowers, sunflowers, because they used to remind her of her childhood. She had always told him about the huge fields that she had loved running around in with her friends. She had always loved nature and gardening. She had tried to get him to garden with him numerous times, but he had always refused. Now he wished he had agreed. There were so many things he wished he could have told her, but it was too late.

"I just want you to know that I will never forget you," he whispered.

"You'll always be a part of me and I hope that one day I'll see you again. I hope that you'll smile at me like you always did and then you'd tell me how proud you were of me. Even when I had messed up," tears were now running freely down his cheeks, making his voice waver.

"I know that Nate and Jason probably already told you how much they'll miss you and I just wanted you to know that we all do. You once asked me not to be sad for too long when you'd be gone... I don't think I can do it, but I will try to. I love you," he said and with one last glance left the cemetery.

The drive home was quiet. He had decided against turning on the radio; too many cheery pop songs about partying he was not in the mood for. He turned into his street and parked the car in his usual spot.

The apartment had not changed much over the past six months. He put his keys in the bowl next to the door and made his way to the living room, taking his usual place on the couch. He sighed and put his head in his hands. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there hunched over, just thinking, when a hand on his shoulder startled him. He looked up and gave a small smile.

She stroked his shoulder and walked around the couch to take her place next to him. She turned to him "Are you alright? And don't you dare tell me you're fine, I know you're not. Nobody's expecting you to be, just tell me how you really feel," she encouraged. For the last few weeks he'd always brushed her off with a simple 'I'm fine.' when they both knew that he wasn't. She didn't want to push him, but she couldn't be there for him if he didn't tell her what was really going on in his head.

"I am alright I guess," he said. "I just wish I had had more time with her, you know? I feel like I took her for granted when I should have been cherishing every moment I got to spend with her. I mean some people never get to meet their grandmother in the first place and I didn't even tell her how much I appreciated her...I miss her, Mitch," he admitted sadly. She let him rest his head in her lap and ran her fingers through his messy curls.

"Your grandma was so smart and even though she didn't remember you, I know that she knew how much you loved her. You couldn't stop this from happening to her; nobody could. But you did everything right, you supported her all the way. Everything you did for her showed how much you appreciated her, you might not have told her often how much she meant to you, but one could always see it in your actions. Don't beat yourself up about it," she said and continued massaging his scalp.

"I know you're right...I just...I always dreamed of taking my future kids to see great-grandma Caroline...I know it's silly, but I know she would've loved watching them and telling them all those funny stories she used to tell me when I was younger," he said quietly.

"Someday we'll have a beautiful little daughter and she'll be called Allyson Caroline Gray. She'll have your black hair, my brown eyes and a cute little smile. She'll be the prettiest little girl anyone has ever seen...She'll be proud to have her great-granny's name and her great-granny will be watching over her with pride, just like she is over you."

"You're amazing, you know that right?" he asked, feeling much happier.

"I've been told once or twice," she shrugged.

Shane sat up "I love you Mitchie Torres. And one day I'll make you my wife," he promised and kissed her softly, stroking her cheek.

The last few months had been hard on both Mitchie and Shane. While Mitchie's tour had been a success, she had missed him greatly those two months she was away. Then, a week before her tour was supposed to end, Shane's grandmother had passed away unexpectedly. Mitchie had visited Shane as often as she could in between her last few concerts and had even managed to attend the funeral of the wonderful lady that had never given up on him. It had not been easy, but they'd pulled through. There would always be obstacles they'd have to face, but they knew that they could do it. To some, they might appear broken, but they're really just bent.

~THE END~

Soo, this is it an epilogue of sorts. I am truly sorry for not updating! The truth is, I have lost track of what I've wanted this story to be. I was even thinking about deleting it, but whenever I got a message telling me about a new favorite or follow, I felt so guilty. I hate it when people start something and never really finish it, so the least I could do is to try and write something concluding to this story. This is really not the best I've written, but I thought this story deserved a proper ending.

I really want to thank each and everyone of you for supporting this story. Hopefully you didn't think this chapter was utterly awful... Thank you for reading! :)
- xSimplyMex