I've Broken Bones For You

Epilogue

Epilogue

Five years later

"Uncle Vic!" Anthony screams from the drive way, laughing and giggling. He always looks so happy to see me. Actually, he always looks happy. Anthony runs up to me and jumps into my arms, and I swing him around like any uncle would.

"Where are we going today Vic?" Anthony asks in his five year old voice, his eyes beaming with excitement. He's such a cute kid. Jaime and Jenna make great kids, not gonna lie.

"Yeah, where are you going today Vic?" Jaime asks me with a laugh. Him and Jenna followed Anthony out of the house, of course. I usually take Anthony places every few weekends, or sometimes every weekend. I treat him like he's my kid. I love Anthony to death, he's a ray of sunshine and he's smart and super fun to be around. He's just a great kid.

"Well, I was thinking of taking Anthony back to my place and then we would go to lake." I say, giving Jaime and Jenna a look, asking for their approval. They are the parents anyways.

"I love going to your place Vic! You have a cool guitar." Anthony grins and I ruffle his hair.

"I might just let you play it." I tell him and he squeals with excitement.

"Can I, Mommy, can I?" Little kids always seem to find the need to ask their parents permission for everything, and Anthony asks in such a cute way that I'd probably always say yes to. I'd probably be a pretty bad dad, but seeing how much Anthony wants to spend time with me, I think I would be okay.

Jenna smiles, "Of course you can."

"Yay!" I say along with Anthony because I've been dying to teach him how to play, no joke. I'm in a band now, and though we're not too big yet, I want to teach Anthony as much as possible before I actually start touring. I can already tell Anthony is going to be a creative little shit.

"Let's go, let's go!" Anthony jumps out of my arms and runs to the car, opening the back door for himself. He hops in and I laugh at how eager he is to leave.

"Aren't you going to say bye to your Mommy and Daddy?" Jenna asks him.

"Hmmmm," Anthony takes a second to think, "Nope! I'm seeing you at home today."

Jenna frowns, "Oh well, I love you sweetie. Have fun."

"Uh huh, I love you too Mommy. Let's go Vic!" He buckles his seat belt and shuts the door and I can't help but laugh.

"He loves me." I say with a grin, feeling like a very happy uncle.

"Of course he does." Jaime says, smiling, "Now you should go before he gets impatient." I nod and tell them I'll have him back home by 5:00 or 6:00, and then I get into the car and start driving to my apartment.

"Uncle Vic, play some music." Anthony basically demands from the back seat and I smile. This kid is awesome.

"What do you want to listen to?" I ask him.

Anthony takes a second to think about it. He takes a lot of thinking time. "Let's listen to Pantera!" Okay, he's officially my favourite nephew. Well, he's my only nephew. For now, anyways.

So while we drive to my apartment, we both sing along to Pantera and laugh about things. Anthony is truly an amazing kid. I'm going to miss him when my band and I go on tour soon. He's basically been one of the biggest factors in my life that's keeping me happy. I am happy now. I still think about Kellin, every now and again. It's been five years though. I've finally learned to move on. I visit his grave every now and again, but instead of sulking and getting all mopey when I see a picture of him, I smile at the happy memories. I still miss him, but it's a better sort of missing.

Once we get to my apartment and we take the elevator, Anthony rushes to my door. I open it and he runs inside, but not without kicking off his shoes first. I close the door and go into the kitchen, finding something for Anthony to eat because I know he's going to want to eat something.

"Hey Uncle Vic?" I hear Anthony say as he pulls up a chair and climbs onto it, placing something onto the table, "Who's this?" He points at a picture and I take a closer look at the open book he laid out on the table. It's a scrapbook, with all the pictures of Kellin and I that I kept.

I pull up a chair beside Anthony. The picture is of Kellin sketching something at the Rock. He never noticed me taking that picture, and he just looks so focused. "That's Kellin." I tell Anthony, admiring the picture.

Anthony gasps, "My middle name is Kellin!"

I smile, "It sure is."

"He must have been really cool. And he's pretty." Anthony says, flipping through the pages. That feeling of missing Kellin is back, but I'm also happy looking at these pictures with Anthony, even though I feel a pang of sadness in my chest that never truly went away.

"He really was." I say quietly and Anthony looks over at me.

"Why are you sad?" Anthony frowns, poking my face as if that could get rid of the feeling.

I shake my head and smile faintly, "I'm not sad, Anthony. I just miss Kellin, is all. I'll always miss him."

"Where is he?" Anthony asks, forgetting about the pictures for now. I suddenly feel a little bit more sad but I smile. It's genuine.

I look Anthony in the eyes as I say, "He's up in the clouds. I can't reach him."

Anthony frowns again but then he smiles and gives me a big hug. "It's okay Uncle Vic. Everyone learns to fly one day. You'll reach him."

What's up with kids being wiser than adults? Seriously, wow. I smile and hug Anthony a little tighter. "Thanks. You're the best nephew an uncle could ever ask for."

Anthony pulls away and grins, "Duh! Of course I'm the best. That's why you shouldn't be sad because you've got me." I laugh and get up to get Anthony his food, which he's now eyeing.

"I sure do." I answer with a smile.

So guess what? That's the day when I realized that losing someone can be painful, but someday, it all makes sense. Someone dies so that someone else can be born, someone just as amazing as the person who left. I'll never find someone like Kellin again, but that's okay. Because in the end, there was only one person who was like him. And that was Kellin.