And They Lived Happily Never After

It's been a little over a year since the passing of my best friend, and brother, Matt. We thought that as time went on, it would be easier to heal. As life keeps moving past us, we find ourselves thinking of him with every new milestone we hit as a family, especially when the boys reach an important new height in their development.

Matthew James and Kieran Jay Sanders were born on December fifteenth at 2:00 and 2:07 A.M. Matthew made the appearance first, named after his beloved and dearly missed father, with Uncle Jimmy as his middle name's sake. Kieran was one of the only names that Matt and Ivy agreed upon before the crash, so she chose it for her second son's arrival. They are identical twins, but Matthew is slightly chubbier which makes it easier to tell them apart.

It never gets easier for her. I can't count the amount of nights I have had to go into her room in the middle of the night and hold her as she cried. Being the single mom of twin boys has been extremely rough on her, but we keep her going as a family.

Two weeks before the boys arrived, we all moved into the home that Matt secured for us with our help. We live in the often cold state of Colorado, right outside of Aspen, in a beautiful house tucked away in the mountains. There is never a day that goes by that we don't agree how breathtaking the scenery is.

After losing the front man of our band, getting away was important for us to avoid the harassment from various news sources. We didn't want to face the bad memories every day. After Matt passed away we decided to end the band, despite the amount of uproar from fans. No one would be able to fill in that void or the amazing voice he had. He really was one of a kind. We all miss playing together, but without Matt we just couldn't carry on, and no one close to us blamed us for it.

Ivy, her sons, Pixie, Zacky, their daughter, Jimmy, Johnny, and I all live together and attempt to build each other up as each day passes.

Zacky and Pixie welcomed their beautiful baby girl a mere three weeks after Ivy had the boys. They also named her after her late uncle. Matthew Charles was translated into Mattison Charlotte for her in honor of our hero. Zacky and Pixie were married five months ago, and they look happier than ever with their small family.

Everytime I look at the boys, I can't help but see a large piece of Matt in them. I know he is looking down on them and thinking that they are the most perfect boys in the entire world. If he was here, they would be attached at the hip. The boys are going on a year old with Mattison trailing right behind them. The three of them adore each other, and you can't leave them to play without hearing constant giggling. Mattison thinks they are hilarious, and it's heartwarming to watch.

"Look how adorable they are together. I think Mattison has a tiny crush on Matthew." Pixie beamed, admiring her adorable daughter. Mattison was grabbing Matthew's hand and giggling while they were in their strollers next to each other. They were talking to each other by cooing, but of course we couldn't understand them. It sure was cute to hear, though.

Winter begins in a mere week from today, and once it nears Autumn around here, the snow starts coming and doesn't stop for a couple of months. It was in our best interest to stock up on as many things as we possibly could before the weather became worse.

I looked over to see Ivy admiring the boys, her hand fidgeting with Matt's silver wedding band that she wore around her neck. I smiled thinking about that infamous shotgun wedding. There were photos on the internet, but God only knows how they got there. I place money on Jimmy selling them to the press for a quick buck when he was plastered at the reception. These thoughts that always make me smile have a frown that follows shortly after, because that was the night we lost our best friend.

"Does anyone know what they want to do for dinner this evening?" Pixie questioned.

"Spaghetti!" Zacky grinned.

"Steak!" I butted in.

"Did someone say spaghetti?" Johnny raised his eyebrows.

"Someone also said steak though, right?" Ivy grinned.

"Fine. That's two for spaghetti, two for steak. Jimbo, you've gotta be the tie breaker." Pixie sighed.

"Uh...a bottle of Jack Daniels served on a tray?" He shrugged.

"Spaghetti and steak." The girls chuckled and rolled their eyes at our indecisiveness.

We headed around the local grocery store and split up to make the trip faster. While the babies were extremely cute, they all became very restless, very quickly. I walked alongside Ivy, pushing the boys in their stroller as she made her way down her long list of items.

"I cannot believe I waited until I was completely out of baby food and diapers to come shopping. I'm terrible at this. Mom life is overwhelming." She sighed.

"Oh shush, you. You're doing amazing. Matt would be very proud." I half-smiled and rubbed her shoulder a couple of times to ease the stress.

She stood in front of the baby food jars for what felt like years, just staring into space.

"I have no idea what to even get them. I need to introduce new foods but I'm not sure what to give them." She definitely sounded overwhelmed, furrowing her brows as she continued to reach for jars and then put them back down. And she said we're indecisive.

"Here's how you do it, watch and learn, momma bear. Matthew likes the vegetables, and Kieran enjoys the fruits. We need to try giving Mattie more fruits into his diet, and Ki more veggies." I explained as I began tossing various jars into the basket carelessly. "The other morning I was eating a banana, and mushed up a small piece for them to try and they absolutely loved it. You've never bought them bananas, so we're going to get a ton of those. And you gotta stop feeding Matthew so much of the carrots, the skin on his face turns orange sometimes." I chuckled, throwing more into the basket as her eyes grew wide.

"How...do you know all of this."

"Ives I spend almost every waking minute by these boys. I do pay attention, you know. Kind of like how I refuse to leave them alone with Jimmy because he was feeding them chocolate at three months old." I chuckled wrapping my arm around her shoulder and guiding her towards the diapers.

Ever since she lost Matt, I have been watching her and the babies like a hawk. I promised him that she would always be safe and protected, along with the boys, and I don't ever take back promises.

As I was stacking boxes into the bottom portion of the basket, I heard a loud crash and looked up to see Jimmy with a basket full of liquor as he bumped into us.

"Woopsie! Sorry 'bout that. Let me just...maneuver here." He grunted while trying to scoot his heavy basket to the side.

"Jimmy have you ever thought of buying anything that is actually sustainable on any of our grocery trips?" Ivy laughed while digging through his assortment.

"This is everything I need in my life to sustain me, I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged.

"Yeah well if you want to change your mind on that, we should probably hurry. My weather app just informed me that the snow is going to start up again in an hour." I told them while adjusting the blanket over Matthew.

We walked towards the check out lines and met everyone else with their individual baskets. We got out of there in record time and started loading up our two vehicles. We would all be able to fit in one if we didn't have three car seats to lug around. As we headed home I couldn't help but think of our beloved Huntington Beach. We missed the heat and the ability to throw a good barbeque every now and then. The sights here were a good competitor in exchange for that, though.

"Alright, it's going to take a while to unload and put everything away so who's on baby duty?" Pixie asked opening the trunk of her car as we finally arrived home from a long day of errands.

"I vote me and short shit!" Jimmy clapped excitedly.

"Hey Jimmy do you have any chocolate on you?" I smirked.

"No, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing." I winked towards Ivy as she let out a laugh. It was nice hearing one from her every once in a while.

As Zacky and I started to cook while the girls put away groceries, I admired Jimmy and Johnny playing with the kids. They set up a small tea party for them, complete with terrible fake British accents.

"I say, the weather out is gorgeous today! Perfect for a nice cup of tea." Jimmy smiled with his lisp accenting every other word.

"Tis' a wonderful day for tea, by the way did you see that expose they had about the queen on television today? Outrageous what a pity that those Americans think so lowly of her." Johnny smiled. Mattison's laugh filled the air at her ridiculous uncles. She had Zacky's smile, there was no doubt about it.

"Hurry up and cook, bitch! I'm starving here!" Jimmy yelled from the living room.

"James Owen Sullivan you better watch your language around the kids! At this rate their first word is going to be a bad one!" Ivy scolded as I shook my head and chuckled. Life in the Sevenfold house was anything but boring. There was always something.

"Did I tell you I had a dream about Matt last night?" I scooted next to Ivy as I seasoned the steak and she put away the baby food in the cabinet next to me.

"You didn't mention it, no. What happened?"

"It was so weird...all we did was talk, but it's like we were actually catching up. Like he just went away on holiday or something. When I woke up it felt so real like I had actually talked his ear off."

"I have dreams like that all the time. I read somewhere that it is our subconscious mind helping us cope about the loss." She shrugged.

"It's seven o'clock and I am officially late on my schedule." Jimmy grinned digging through various grocery bags to find his alcohol stash.

"Dude you have a drinking schedule?" Zacky chuckled.

"Yes, and it's from the hours of twelve a.m. to twelve p.m., so if you'll excuse me I need to make up for the lost time since you wouldn't let me open a bottle in the grocery store." He smiled walking to the cabinet to grab a bottle that Pixie had attempted to hide.

I do have to admit, having Jimmy around really helps with everything. Whenever we all feel down about Matt, he always finds a way to make us smile and take some of the edge off. Despite his bad decisions, he also does really well around the kids. We all do, really. Ivy and Pixie keep telling Jimmy, Johnny and I to find wives already so we can have kids of our own. I was close to having one, but things just didn't work out.

Right after Matt's death, Michelle decided that our relationship wasn't what she wanted. I guess it took some depressing shit to make her realize that. She stayed in Huntington Beach and I moved with my family. It was hard losing her, but I have more important things to focus on now.

"Hey Bri, do you mind putting the boys in their rooms? It's nearing bed time." Ivy checked her watch before continuing to put away groceries.

"Sure, hun." I smiled and walked over to Johnny and Jimmy who were now drinking whiskey out of the plastic toy tea set of Mattison's.

"How do we even take you two anywhere?" I chuckled, bending down to scoop Matthew into one arm and Kieran into the other. James always falls asleep after eating, but it always takes Matthew a little longer. I sat in the rocking chair in the corner of their room and rocked slowly to try to settle them down from the commotion that their uncles produced. I quietly hummed a tune and watched as their eyes began to grow heavy.

I looked up to see Ivy leaning against the door frame, smiling.

"You're thinking of Matt." She sighed, sitting on the floor next to the chair.

"How do you know?"

"You always have that face on when you do."

"Oh yeah? What face is that?"

"You look sad." Her voice trailed off as her eyes began to water. I stood up and placed the boys into their cribs before taking her into my arms. I let out a deep breath against her and closed my eyes. "I wish he could be here to tell you how great of a job you're doing with them. How great of a job you're doing as a friend in general. I know you can't hear it from him, but you can hear it from me, and I mean every bit of it.

"I know I can't hear his voice...God, I wish I could. I know he is always with us. I can feel him sometimes."

"I know what you mean." I kissed the top of her head and leaned over the crib to see the boys had fallen fast asleep.

"Come on, let's get you some dinner and then we can watch a movie on the couch. We deserve some quiet time." She put her arm around me and led me to the kitchen where Zacky finished cooking dinner for both sides.

It was really nice, always being able to confide in her. She understood anything I could throw her way, and she always had something to say that eased my pain. I could only hope I do the same for her.

We all sat down at the dining room table and passed around various bowls to serve ourselves dinner.

"This delicious steak is for you, brother. I don't know where you are, but I miss being able to watch you eat meat like a cheetah killing its prey." Zacky chuckled while looking up to the heavens.

I watched as Ivy smiled at her family. When she smiles, the world slows down almost to a complete stop, and every corner of the room shines with her light. I wish I could tell her what I thought of that beautiful smile and laugh. Falling in love with your dead best friend's wife? That has to be against every single fucking rule in the book...and I've been known to be a troublemaker.

Notes

I'm not quite sure where all of this inspiration is flowing from, but I decided to begin the sequel ahead of my schedule. Fuck being productive with anything else, am I right? I have a four day weekend approaching quickly and I plan to write as much as I possibly can before my carpal tunnel kicks in! Thank you to all who have already subscribed and recommended this story. You guys are the best! I don't remember what color I set the links to be, but if you click on "home" towards the beginning, that is what I imagine the Colorado house to look like. I have also placed everyone in the character section. Comment! Subscribe if you haven't yet! You are all amazing.

xxoo,
Leagh