Welcome to the Family

I walked off of the stage and handed my guitar off to my tech. I didn't feel like dealing with anything. It was Zack's birthday, and that was the only reason I was sticking around and drinking. Hell, I needed a drink the way I was feeling. Mike was done with us. He had just played his last show with us and we were in a fucking rut. I was angry. Why the hell couldn't Jimmy still be with us? If he hadn't been taken from us, then life would be so much better. I missed him. I pulled at the necklace that held a piece of his drumkit and rubbed it between two fingers. "God damn it, dude, I miss you," I whispered. I felt a hand clap on my shoulder and looked up to see Shads standing next to me. "You alright, brother? You just kinda took off..." he said. I nodded. "I'm just thinking," I replied. "About Jimmy?" he asked. I nodded once again. "I miss him so much, dude," I said. I wiped at my eyes before the tears that were starting to form had time to fill them. Matt nodded. "He's been weighing heavy on my mind, too. It's hard to believe time's gone by so fast. He'd be proud of us, though, you know?" Matt said. I nodded once more and shrugged away. It wasn't that I didn't want to hear what Matt had told me, it wasn't that I didn't care. It was just one of those nights when nothing that anyone said was going to help me feel better. "I'm going up to the room to shower and change. Tell Zack I'll be there in a bit," I said, walking away. I never made it to the party. Zack wasn't mad. He understood, he said. The news of Mike leaving us surfaced and the fans were in an uproar and the questions started flying at us. Who would replace Mike? Would someone replace Mike? Were we done completely? I found myself asking the same questions the fans were asking. What were we going to do?