Blessed Tragedy

Epilogue



Sitting at my mom's grave on the one year anniversary of her death, it still hurts like hell to know she's gone. I'll never get to see the look on her face when I get done with a show. I'll never get to hear her tell me she's proud of me. Yes, it's incredibly selfish but I want those things for myself.

As much as it hurts, I've stopped wishing that things were different. If I hadn't had the problems with my family, I probably wouldn't have turned to partying and drugs. Sure, life might be simpler if I wasn't a recovering addict, but it's that addiction that led me to Travis, and in turn to Blessed Tragedy.

Joining the band opened so many doors for me it's impossible to list them all. Most importantly, Colton and I became best friends without any expectations of more. For a long time, that was enough for me.

And it's because of my difficulties with my family that Colton and the guys refused to let me deal with Mom's death on my own. While I've never said as much to him, I think I fell in love with him the morning I got off the bus to come home. The way he was there for me even when I was pushing him away showed me the depth of his feelings for me.



Losing my mother too soon will always be one of the most painful moments in my life. I wish like hell she was here every day, but today is, without a doubt, the worst.

I wish she was here to help me get dressed. I wish she was here to meddle and worry about crazy things no one cares about. I wish she was here to give me that last piece of advice as I take my dad's arm for him to walk me down the aisle.

The only comfort to be had from losing her is the thought that she's somewhere out there and had a hand in leading Colton and I together. I know, if she was here, she'd love him just as much as I do.

“Thanks, Mom. For everything,” I whisper towards the sky. I place a single calla lily from my bouquet on her headstone so I know she'll be with me as I begin the rest of my life as Madeline Bradford, wife to Colton and still the biggest badass bitch in the business.