The Wild Escape

Epilogue- Present Day

I'm now twenty-five and writing books to inspire others and tell my story, as well as share my fictional novel ideas as a side job to my two other jobs. I went to college at the same place where Keeley did, and she, Sam, and I are all still living together in the same house as nine years ago, when we all moved in together that one night. I got a job as an editor for a small magazine company in the music column. Keeley is a bass guitar designer at the local music store, and Sam is a middle school music educator. Through it all, we play in a band together now. Keeley plays the bass, Sam is the lead guitarist, and I do the rhythm guitar and lead vocals. Our drummer is one of my friends at the magazine publishing headquarters, Jace Timmons.
          We called our pop punk/alt rock band Crash The Fire. We named it that because all four of us have been through hell and survived, walking through, crashing, and putting out that fire. All of us still listen to those same bands that saved our lives. My Chemical Romance hadn't released an album since the very beginning of 2013, the year they broke up... Or should I say, went on hiatus? Through the six and a half years the band was apart, The Fam and I, including Jace, went to concerts of other bands we love, meeting them all (All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, Pierce The Veil, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and Twenty One Pilots). When the band reunited in 2019, we got the opportunity to fly out to Los Angeles and see them live again, for the first time in eight years. At nightclubs, theaters, and smaller arenas, we played gigs once a week. We put our songs on YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes for others to listen.

I've heard some stories from fans we've met over the past few years about how our music saved their lives and/or inspired them to be more confident, stay hopeful and happy, battle their hard times, and to even start playing musical instruments or singing. Those stories always touch my heart because we all know that I battled my tough times, too, and I survived and am happier than ever. We're not a real popular or mainstream band at all, but to our fans, we are their "hearts, lives, and safe havens," in the words of many fans on social media. At one venue a few months ago, I heard a rather interesting story from a fan. She said that she was battling depression real roughly, reluctantly showing her self-harm scars. I noticed that they were older, just healing up and not fresh. She said to us, "thank you for helping me come clean and live a better life."
          We always put our own advice and popular quotes on social media and say them out loud at concerts for an entire audience to hear. In the words of Keeley, "We'll never turn down a hug, a picture, an autograph, or a conversation from any fan."
          In the words of Sam, "Bands we love have helped us through our darkest times in life. We're a band that aspires to do the same for you all."
          In Jace's words, "You are so important, valued, loved, appreciated, and beautiful to us. Never let anybody tell you otherwise."
          And in my words, "Music is always there for you, no matter what. It was there for us, so we always make sure it's there for you to speak to you, relate to you, and inspire, motivate, and comfort you."
          Our concerts are always built to be safe and caring environments for our fans and for those who are especially in need of one. We do meet and greets where we actually talk to, take pictures with, and interact with our fans. We bring fans on stage with us to sing or play guitar with us sometimes. Mosh pits and audiences bring us the most joy; simply seeing other people happy, having fun, and making friends in the audience warms my heart, Keeley's heart, Sam's, and Jace's.

Cory and Richelle are still in prison. They're back at the town where my old house is, and they still have two years left to go there. I could care less about what they do after they get out of jail because they're not my problem anymore. I'm just waiting for them to hear about me being in a band with my sister... what if then they rethink their thoughts of "emo"/pop punk/alt rock music being satanic and detrimental to the soul?
          Ah, who cares, anyway? They'll hear about us sooner or later and regret what they did to me. Who cares what they think of our band? We still have a small yet tight and caring fan-base that means the world to us.

In the end, we're not just a hard rock band or a group of nerds. We are still The Fam, which Jace is now a part of. Since My Chemical Romance was a light and sign of hope for us, we're being a light and sign of hope for our fans.