Keep the Faith

She sadly sighed as she was watching her grandsons again, just like every other day.

All five of them.

She’d always considered them all as her grandchildren, even though only two of them actually were. Of course, those two meant more to her than the other three, they were special, more. They shared her blood.

She listened to their heartbeats, knowing exactly what the skip in it meant.
They missed her so terribly.

A sad smile played upon her lips, thinking five years back.

Oh, how much she had wanted to take her children, and especially her grandchildren, into her soft embrace, in an attempt to soothe their agonizing pain.

But she’d been nothing more than just a ghost.

Her heart had bled gallons of blood, as she was forced to watch her boys hurt from the sidelines. Never ever in her life had she wanted something more than for them to be happy.

And now she had caused them many tears.

Yet, she had realized that her exit had not only been the end of the world, but a warning for them, a way to force them to become stronger. Things would get harder soon. Very soon.

They conquered the next rough patches in the road fairly ‘easily’. Gerard’s problems with drugs and alcohol (fueled by his beloved Grandmother’s death) were soon gone, and drummer issues got fixed thanks to the heavenly Bob.
The Paramour had driven them near the edge of giving everything up, but they were too stubborn to give in.

Little did they know that these issues were only calm before the storm.

As soon as their epic record was released, that storm gradually had started breaking free.
It had been rather easy for her grandchildren to stand tall and fight.

A year later, it raged in all its force.

The storm called Lies.

Of course, her beloved grandchildren had always been forced to battle the storm, but only from the front. They had always seen it coming, expected it. It’s not hard to battle something when it comes flying in your face.

But this Storm was worse. It attacked them in the back, and they had never ever seen it coming.

Neither had she.

It came from the side where it hurt the most.

From the fans.

All of a sudden, they had decided to abandon the band in their journey. They had decided to make it as hard for the band as they could.

Lies. Everywhere.

She watched her grandchildren weaken, as it was becoming too much. They were now walking on the edge of losing sanity. If rescue didn’t come soon, they would be lost.

Anger filled her soul.

Never ever in their lives had her five boys done anything to provoke such hate. The sweethearts did not deserve it, yet they had to face it in its worst form.

Something happened that attracted her attention, right before the band had to go up the stage to perform. They didn’t really feel like it, because they knew that whatever they did, the faces in the crowd would not like it anymore.

She narrowed her eyes. Something was different this time. It seemed as if her eldest grandson would not undergo the booing just like that anymore.

There stood Gerard, his shoulder bent and his eyes fixed on the ground, his head hung down.

“Nan… I know you’re there,” he suddenly whispered, causing her ghost to jump. He knew?

She decided to descend and stand next to her beloved grandchild, placing her hand on his shoulder. He must have sensed it, as he smiled.

“I love you, Nan. I miss you… We all do,” he continued, the smile on his face saddening.

“I know, honey, I know,” she whispered back. She laid her other hand on his arm, in a distant embrace.

“They’re hurting us, but don’t worry, I’m not going to give up. I will stand up and resist. I will,” he said, his voice gaining volume, as his eyes shot up, looking straight at where his Nan stood, even though he could not see her. “I will. For you. I know you want us to. And I will not let you down.”

She smiled at his determination. He had not lost the fire in himself, it was still battling.

“Oh son,” she said. “You have never ever let me down. I am so proud of you. I am sure you’ll get through this. You have gotten through everything else before.”

Gerard nodded. “Yeah…”

“I love you, Gerard. I always knew you had something special. Don’t let them throw that away,” she finished, as she took a step closer to him, wrapping her arms around her grandson. He was taller than her, and she smiled as she reached up her hand to caress his soft hair. He bent down a bit, leaning into her embrace, a smile playing across his lips.

She thought about how funny it must have looked, Gerard leaning into nothing.

But they both knew better.

“I won’t, Nan,” he whispered into her ear, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek, before leaving her caring embrace. He turned around and started walking towards the stage, looking over his shoulder to where the essence of his Nan burned.

She smiled and waved, as her other grandson appeared by Gerard’s side. They nodded to each other in acknowledgement and hooked their arms together, love shining in their eyes.

“Rock the stage, boys,” Nan whispered, as her grandchildren walked onto the stage, their figure more proud than the previous nights.