Finding My Voice

~Epilogue~

//A/N//: yesss thank the lord it is finally done!!!! thank y'all so much for reading this piece of shit, you have no idea how scary it was to post and continue posting these chapters. but just know that this one was shaky and trust my next stories will be a lot better. i swear.

mwah!   x   -   s

...

The first time I heard our song on the radio, I nearly dropped my coffee.

It was three months after the confetti rained down on us, after the whirlwind of contracts and press junkets and studio sessions that blurred into each other until I couldn't tell what day it was. Three months of learning that winning The Voice was only the beginning.

But then, one regular Tuesday morning, there it was.

"...and now, hitting number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100, here's Almighty with their debut single, Echoes."

The opening notes filled the tiny coffee shop like the world had cracked open. I froze mid-step, heart lurching as Jamie's voice threaded through the speakers—steady, smooth, familiar. Then Anthony, then Claire, Alex, and finally me. Our voices layered together, spilling into a chorus that felt bigger than all of us.

A stranger in line hummed along. Someone behind the counter bobbed their head, smiling. Nobody else knew what this meant, not the way I did, but I just stood there grinning like an idiot while hot tears stung the corners of my eyes.

When I told Jamie later, he only smirked. "Told you we'd take over the world."

I laughed, because of course he said that, but part of me thought maybe he was right.

Life moved fast after the finale, but somehow, we kept moving with it. Anthony had stepped naturally into the role of our leader, wrangling schedules, keeping us grounded. Claire was radiant in interviews, talking about the band like it was a lifelong dream instead of a crazy accident. Alex still stayed quiet, but on stage, he had become electric—his confidence sparking to life in front of thousands of fans.

And Jamie... well, Jamie was the same and not the same all at once. The same grin, the same playful nudges and sarcastic comments. But now, when the cameras were off, when it was just us, his hand found mine without hesitation. His smile softened when it was just for me. When people asked if we were dating, we didn't deny it anymore. We just nodded. And every time, my chest filled with that dizzying mix of disbelief and joy.

But it wasn't just the band that was changing. Casey married Tom two weeks after the finale, in a small ceremony tucked into the hills outside our hometown. I was her maid of honor, crying more than I should've, especially when she pulled me aside before walking down the aisle.

"You carried us both," she whispered, her veil trembling as she held my hands. "And now you get to carry yourself."

I didn't answer because I couldn't—my throat was too tight.

Now, months later, she and Tom were expecting their first baby. Casey FaceTimed me after their ultrasound, her cheeks glowing, Tom's arm around her shoulders. "We're naming them after you if they come out screaming," she teased, and Tom only grinned like he'd been waiting his whole life for this. Watching them, I realized I didn't feel the weight of guilt anymore. Just gratitude.

And as if that wasn't enough good news, Anthony proposed to Claire onstage in the middle of a small show in Nashville. One second, they were mid-song, harmonizing like they'd done a hundred times before, and the next, Anthony was down on one knee, holding out a ring. Claire shrieked so loud she almost blew out the mic, but she said yes through her tears, the audience roaring. That night, when we crammed into the tour bus after the show, she was still staring at her hand like she couldn't believe it.

"Finally," Jamie muttered, tossing a pillow at Anthony. "Took you long enough."

Anthony just grinned, happier than I'd ever seen him.

As for me, I found myself slowly adjusting to this new life. The travel, the endless rehearsals, the interviews where people suddenly cared about what I had to say—it was overwhelming. But every time I started to drown in it, someone was there. Anthony steadying me with quiet wisdom. Claire cracking jokes until I laughed. Alex sliding me his headphones so I could block out the noise. And Jamie—always Jamie, slipping his hand into mine when the cameras were gone, whispering "you've got this" when no one else was close enough to hear.

We were a band, but more than that, we were a family.

Sometimes, late at night after a show, I'd think back to that first rehearsal room, when they were strangers to me, shoved together by a twist of fate. We were awkward, uncertain, half-sure it wouldn't work. But it did. Against all odds, it did. And now we had a song on the charts, a tour on the horizon, and a future that felt limitless.

The night Echoes cracked the top ten, we all gathered in the tiny living room of the rented house we shared in L.A. Pizza boxes littered the coffee table, confetti from Claire's leftover craft project scattered across the floor. Alex actually smiled so wide I thought his face might hurt. Anthony popped open a cheap bottle of champagne. Claire danced barefoot in the kitchen, showing off her ring for the thousandth time. Casey called in from home, baby bump just starting to show, Tom's hand protectively resting on her stomach as they cheered with us over video.

Jamie tugged me out to the back porch when the noise got too loud. The night was cool, the city buzzing in the distance, the stars faint above. He leaned against the railing, looking at me the way he always did now—like I was a song he knew by heart.

"You happy?" he asked softly.

I nodded. "More than I ever thought I'd be."

He grinned, pulling me close, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before resting his against mine. "Good. Because we're just getting started."

I believed him.

The world was waiting, and for once, I wasn't afraid of it. We had music, we had each other, and we had stories left to tell.

And maybe—no, definitely—we had forever.