epilogue #2
His eyes are locked on mine, unwavering. His hand lifts, extended toward me.
Then I see it, and every last breath in my lungs disappears.
The crowd. Or lack thereof.
The stands are empty.
My mind reels at this revelation. How is that possible? I saw that our show was sold out. Why is no one here?
My legs feel unsteady as I step forward and place my hand in his.
“What is this?” I whisper.
He leads me gently to a small stool set in the very middle of the stage and motions for me to sit. My pulse roars in my ears as I lower myself onto it. He crosses to the mic stand, lifts the microphone from its cradle, and brings it slowly to his lips.
And then the notes start to ring out into the night air.
Our song. Cotton Candy Skies.
He begins to sing those words I’ve heard a thousand times, but it always feels new. Never ceases to warm my heart.
Elias’s voice threads through the space—rich, raw, and so beautifully tender. His eyes stay locked on mine as he sings, pouring himself into every word, every note, until the rest of the world dissolves.
As the song nears its end, he holds out a hand toward the band, and they stretch the final melody, drawing it out like a held breath. He lowers the mic for a moment, his voice breaking the rhythm.
“Before I finish, I want you to close your eyes, baby.”
With a small smile, I obey, letting the darkness settle behind my eyelids. The music swirls around me, lifting into the night air.
“I’m going to repeat the last line of the song three times,” he says.
“When I reach the end of the final you were still here—that’s when I want you to open your eyes.”
Elias starts at the top of the chorus again, his voice spilling into the night with a weight that only comes from singing straight out of the soul.
These words—words that mean everything to me.
To us. They roll from his lips, tender and aching, and I can’t help the smile tugging at my own even as my eyes remain closed.
I can feel him moving, footsteps circling, the energy shifting until he’s at my left side.
You were still here…
The music stretches like silk across the stage, the band holding every note suspended in the air.
You were still here…
The anticipation builds, thick as the night air. I still don’t fully understand what is happening, why there isn’t a crowd surrounding us.
You were still here…
The final word leaves his lips, lingering, reverberating, beautiful, and I open my eyes and turn, confusion buzzing in my chest, and my gaze drops.
Elias is kneeling. Mic still clutched in one hand, the other reaching into his pocket.
His eyes are bright, burning, wet with emotion, and now locked on mine.
My brows knit, the world spinning out beneath me. It doesn’t click until I see it: the glint of something clutched between his fingers, catching the stage lights. My hand flies to my mouth, tears welling faster than I can stop them.
He holds my stare, trembling but unshaken, and raises the mic again. His voice wavers at first, then steadies into something sure, something that cracks me open completely.
“Baby…when I saw you for the first time almost two years ago, I knew—I knew—that I had never witnessed true beauty before that moment.”
My throat closes, a sob breaking loose beneath my hand.
“You came into my life and planted flowers in the soil I thought was barren. Soil I believed could never grow anything but despair.”
The tears are relentless now, streaming unrestrained down my face.
“You made me believe in a kind of happiness that I never knew could be real for me. And you made me feel worthy. You showed me that I was never too broken to be whole.” His voice softens, reverent, as though the words themselves are sacred.
“I spent years trapped in a storm that felt like it was never going to break.” I stay silent, holding onto every meaningful word pouring from this man’s heart.
“But the moment I looked into your eyes, I felt the clouds begin to clear. You turned every nightmare into a beautiful dream. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that with you I would always be…safe.”
He pauses, looking down, collecting himself.
“You never gave up on me, even when I wanted to give up on myself.”
He swallows, breath catching, and then—
“I love you with everything that I am. Every part of me is yours. Sweetheart, you are my angel.”
It’s not pretty, the way I’m crying now, ugly, unfiltered, the kind that shakes your whole body. But I don’t care. All I see is him—the man I love, the man on his knees, spilling his heart without fear.
“Ramona Gwenyvere Hendrix…” His voice breaks on my name, and my heart feels like it’s going to leap from my chest.
“Will you be mine forever? Will you be my wife?”
I stand, the stool scraping faintly behind me. Elias gazes up at me as if I’m the most precious thing in existence. My hands are shaking when I reach for him, pulling him to his feet. I take the mic from him, eyes never leaving his.
“Of course I will. Every part of me is yours too.”
The smile that bursts across his face is devastating, radiant, and breathtaking.
I throw my arms around him, clutching at the nape of his neck, burying myself in him.
His arms wrap around my waist, fierce and unyielding, anchoring me in this perfect storm of sound and light and love.
I can hear Cody crying, very loudly and dramatically, beside us.
Grady and Jasper are clapping and whistling, but I can barely hear any of it—it’s just us.
But then, cheering and thunderous clapping erupts from beyond the edge of the stage, ripping me out of the trance. I jolt, spinning just as the stage lights sweep outward—spilling gold and white over the front row.
And I gasp.
Every breath leaves my body in one sharp, stunned pull.
In the very front row, standing, crying, laughing, cheering like their hearts might burst straight out of their chests—are my people.
My parents.
Ashton and Danya.
Sasha, hands flying to her mouth, eyes shining.
Nora, a hand resting over her heart.
Reign, blowing endless kisses towards the stage.
Even my favorite former co-workers Kat and Joanie.
All of them. All here. All for us.
My hands fly to my lips as joy crashes into me so fast it nearly buckles my knees. I wave wildly through blurring tears, laughing and crying all at once as they shout my name and clap as if I’ve just conquered the world.
My chest feels too small for everything inside it.
“How did you…?” My voice trembles as the question falters on my lips. I turn in a slow circle, taking in the impossible sight before me—row after endless row of empty red seats, the vast stone amphitheater stretching out under the open Colorado sky.
“Where are all the fans?” I whisper, awe flooding every syllable.
Elias doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he drops his gaze to the stage beneath our feet, his shoulders rising with a breath like he’s steadying himself for something monumental. When he finally looks back up at me, his amber eyes shine—soft and almost bashful.
“I bought all the tickets,” he says simply, a smile breaking through.
My breath catches.
“This night… this stage… It’s yours, Ramona.” He steps closer, close enough that I can feel the warmth of him, the truth in his words. “I need you to know that none of this exists without you. Not the band. Not the tour. Not the music. Not me.”
I turn back to Elias to tell him—to say something, anything—but the second my eyes find his again, my breath shatters.
A small, choked sound breaks free.
The kind that steals your breath. The kind that folds you in half with how full your heart suddenly is.
I surge forward and wrap my arms around him again, clinging to him as the moment finally crashes over me. My chest heaves, joy breaking through me in shaky, unstoppable sobs, and he holds me just as tightly.
“I gave the band its name, Atlas Obsidian,” he murmurs into my hair, “because for a long time, it was the only thing that could guide me out of the dark.” His arms tighten around my waist.
“But now…” His breath trembles. “Now I know it was never the only way.”
He pulls back just enough to rest his forehead against mine, his eyes searching mine.
“You are my true salvation, Flowers.”
My eyes finally fall to the ring in his hand. It steals my breath. The oval diamond gleams under the stage lights, encircled by a halo of smaller stones like delicate petals. The band winds and twists like living vines, every curve kissed with tiny blossoms of sparkle.
As he slides it onto my finger, it feels as though I’m being crowned with something eternal—like a flower in full bloom, preserved forever against the passage of time.
I look back at him, at those amber eyes that have always undone me. The embers are blazing more brightly than I’ve ever seen them.
I cup his face in my hands, and I whisper, “I love you,” before he brings his lips to mine. The kiss is delicate, a vow spoken without words—warmth, devotion, gratitude, love, promise—all of it is there.
And in that instant, I can feel our future settle into place and I've never felt more whole.
Whatever storms come our way, I know that we will face them head-on, together.