“Yes! I’ll be so happy!”
“Good. Me too.”
I sniff and turn to walk away and leave them to their time, but Mitch’s voice pulls me out of my head. “Lil, get in here and hug your family.”
I burst into the room and hug my boys as tears fall down my face.
“Why are you crying, Mom? Aren’t you happy?” Easton asks.
“I’m crying because I’m so happy, East. I love you both so much.”
“Till the end, Lil,” Mitch says, looking up and meeting my eyes.
“Till the end,” I say back.
“Till the end of what?” Easton asks, making us both laugh.
“Till the end of our lives, buddy. Your mom has been in my heart for a long time and will continue to stay there until the end of time. And now you too, East. Till the end, little dude,” Mitch says as he kisses Easton on the head and then leans forward to kiss me.
“Till the end then,” Easton says in agreeance with us.
Without us knowing, Lo took a picture of our new family the moment the three of us decided that this was it. It hangs in our house and makes me smile every time I look at it.
This is what life was all about. This was it, the moment my life felt complete. Felt whole. Felt right. Felt happy.
And I know it’ll last till the end.
Epilogue
Lily
When Mitch came back to us after he finished the last two months of their tour, we were married in front of our families and friends. We were able to start our life together.
Rock ‘Em Dead had decided, prior to our marriage, to take a two-year break. They had been performing, recording and touring nonstop for ten years. All of the guys, married and not, were ready for a break.
Easton was ecstatic that Mitch and I were getting married. I mean, what kid wouldn’t want a rock star, literally, as a dad?! The two of them became two peas in a pod. Mitch taught him how to play guitar, and by the age of fourteen, Easton was following in Mitch’s steps, playing crazy good.
A year after we were married, I gave birth to a little girl, Madeline Jane. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and her daddy’s quirky sense of humor. She quickly had Mitch wrapped around her finger.
Mitch has been the best father I could have asked for to both of our kids and an even better husband. He has loved me unashamedly and wholeheartedly every day. I don’t know if it’s even possible, but I love him more today than I did that day in Vegas.
“You nervous, babe?” I ask before he goes on stage to perform.
Rock ‘Em Dead just put out a greatest hits album, and they’re starting a new tour called their Dirty Dozen Tour. To kick it off, they are doing the first show live for TV.
“Nah, I’ve got my girl. No one else matters,” he says, giving me a peck on the cheek.
“It’s been awhile since you all performed together. I’m nervous,” I say with a short laugh. “What song are you playing first?”
“You’re going to have to wait and see like everyone else,” he says, kissing me once more.
“Can’t you two keep your hands to yourselves for five minutes?” Lo asks with a disgusted look.
“Nope,” Mitch says simply, grabbing my ass before making his way to the stage.
“Seriously, he’s going to sweat off his makeup enough without you kissing all of it off first,” Lola grumbles.
“I love that man,” I say as I watch him tune his guitar and take his place, ready to perform.
I stand with Lola, Easton, and Maddie, watching as the audience erupts in cheers. I clap my hands together and smile so big as I look at my man on stage, in all his handsome glory, where he’s always belonged.
“Hello, everybody!” Nate yells at the audience. “We’re so happy and honored to be here with you. It feels like just yesterday we were playing at our high school. Now, here we are all these years later, and we have all of you awesome fans to thank.” Cheers, screams, and clapping engulf us again. “When we were starting out, we had no idea we’d ever get here, but we are so glad we did.”
“Is it weird seeing him after all these years?” I lean over and ask Lola, nodding my head in Nate’s direction.
“Maybe, but it’s not the first time our paths have crossed,” she says with a shoulder shrug. “But we weren’t good together. Not like you and Mitch. Besides, I’m happy now,” she says as she squeezes Mark’s hand as he joins us to watch the performance.
Oh yeah, so after some broken hearts and secrets and an almost lost friendship, Lola and I are still best friends, but more importantly, she’s now my sister-in-law. I about fainted and did slap her when I found out. But Mark is exactly what Lo needed to heal, and she was what he needed to fix his loneliness.
Looking at them now and where they came from, life seems about perfect. I look back on stage to the man who healed me with selfless love. He is the reason I breathe.
“The song we are going to play for you tonight wasn’t our very first hit, but it was on our first album. It’s a song that is dear to my heart,” Mitch says, “this song I wrote for a girl who I was head over heels for, a girl who killed me with one beautifully breathtaking smile.” He’s looking at me. “This is for my Lily. I love you, till the end. Here’s Smile.”
And before the music had completely silenced, I was running on stage with tears falling down my face. I run straight into Mitch’s arms and kiss him, not caring that this is being recorded for TV. I pull apart, with my forehead resting on his. “I love you,” I say, kissing him once more, “till the end.”
About the Author
Lindsay Becs has always enjoyed writing as an outlet and a fun hobby. Having pushed outside her box, she wrote and self-published her first book in 2017. Now, she hopes to continue to explore deeper into the world of writing. Tragically beautiful love stories are what she enjoys writing most, but who knows what the future will hold.
Lindsay is also an avid reader, Netflix binger, and never goes far without coffee first. She wishes fall lasted all year long, and peanut M&M’s are her writing fuel. She is from the Buckeye state of Ohio but is privileged to have lived all over the world with her military husband, their three crazies, and eight-year-old puppy.
To find out more about Lindsay and upcoming projects, find her here!
Facebook | Lindsay’s Lovelies Reading Group |Amazon | Goodreads | Book Bub | Instagram | Email | Website & Newsletter
Other Books by Lindsay
STANDALONES & NOVELLAS
MOON | Broken Heartbeats | Mister Dimples: A Cocky Hero Novel
ALWAYS SERIES
Always | Always There | Promise Me Always
Always You | After Always
KING FAMILY NOVELS
Hate Nothing | Want Everything | Crave All
Rock Em’ Dead Series
Lullaby of Tears
Ballad of Hysteria – Coming Soon!
Special Thanks
Thank you for reading Lullaby of Tears. This book is incredibly special to me. There is so much of me within the pages of this story that it feels like I just bore my soul to you.
So, for this book, I want to thank the asshole that tried to make me weak; because without you, I wouldn’t be able to be the woman I am today. You may have broken me for a time, but I was able to glue myself back together stronger than before.
To my Liz-Beth—my Lola… Thank you for always letting me be unapologetically me. For holding me when I needed it. For telling me what I needed to hear even when I didn’t want to listen. For being my truest friend and sister. I love you so hard!
My husband… Thank you for loving my brokenness, even when you don’t understand it. You are the hero in my story and my happy ending. Love you baby.
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