Devotion

It’s been almost been a whole month since the passing of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. The wound of the sudden lost was still fresh for the fans but mostly for the family and friends of Jimmy. For some the pain was slowly going away though it still pained them knowing that each time they woke up their best friend was gone and that would make the pain resurface for them. For Brian Haner Jr, he was still hurting from sudden loss of one of his closest and dearest friends that he spent almost his entire life with; from the moment they met in middle school to when they first got signed to the moment their third album became a golden record up until they were working on their new album. But it was selfish of him to think of himself, he knew he wasn’t the only suffering, he knew of another that was equally sharing his pain.

Grace Annabelle Perry was the girl that Jimmy saved back in high school. Brian didn’t learn about her until their senior year. He began to notice that Jimmy would disappear for a long period of time; Brian thought it was just Jimmy being Jimmy but he began to notice the change in his blue eyes. It wasn’t until half way through their senior that Brian made the decision to find out what Jimmy was hiding; so one day after school he followed Jimmy to an abandoned warehouse.

That day he met Grace was very odd day to him but he had no regrets to becoming one of best friends. Grace ran away from her home because she was physiologically being abused by her parents and that left a deep scar on her. For the first months of their friendship, Grace was very cautious around him but Brian began to see that Grace was slowly opening up to him and that made him feel lucky to have a friend like Grace. What surprised was that Grace has been looking out for Jimmy long before Jimmy befriended her; she would leave him food or drag his ass off the street whenever he came from a party. As their friendship progressed, Matt and the others began to wonder why Jimmy and Brian would disappear for hours but Jimmy didn’t want to reveal that he had a female friend. He claimed that Grace was his first female friend that didn’t grow up with him with the exception of Val and Michelle.

The years were blurred together from the moment Avenged got signed by Warner Brothers and to the moment their third album received the Golden Record. Despite the fortune and publicity, both Jimmy and Brian kept in contact with Grace either by phone or letter; they updated her on what went on tours and such, they never left anything out when it came to her. But the thing was that Grace chose to stay homeless, so it was hard from time to time for Jimmy or Brian to get a hold her but no matter, they would always find her in the abandoned warehouse waiting for them. Everything seemed to be going good for them, they all achieved their childhoods; becoming a popular band that is world renowned and proving to people that Avenged Sevenfold has made their mark on the world. But on December 28, 2009, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan passed away.

Brian had only seen Grace a couple of times since passing of Jimmy and from what Brian could see, she was suffering. He tried to get a hold of her but she would withdraw and just disappear, worrying the hell out of Brian. He lost one friend already and he wasn’t going to lose another; so with determination set on his mind, he drove around Huntington Beach looking for Grace. It wasn’t until that he was dead tired and frustrated that he was slapped in the face with realization; the old warehouse. Speeding toward the old abandoned place, Brian was doused with adrenaline making him more alert and pumping with joy.

Parking his car, he jumped out not bothering to lock his car and jogged toward to the entrance that Jimmy and he use to go through; though it was tight fight seeing that Brian was taller and he put on more muscle mass on his body but he was able to get through. Walking through the hall, Brian felt nostalgic feeling run over his senses; these walls carry the memories his and Jimmy’s childhood. He could faintly see light coming from the hall ahead of him and faint noise that he realized that was music when he got closer. The mere sight just broke his heart; sitting in the left corner, surrounded by blankets and pillows sat Grace with her toward Brian. Her head was slightly bent forward, her legs crossed with something in her lap from what Brian could. The music was his band, and it was their second album; ‘I Won’t See You Tonight, Part 1’ was playing at a low volume.

“He’s not coming back is he?” Sniffles could be heard for a few seconds before the music drowned it out.

“No…he’s not but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t here with us in spirit. These couple weeks have fucking brutal but I have the guys and you that help me make through each day.” Brian’s voice quivered at the end but he still kept a strong hold on his emotions.

“I keep expecting him to just come running through that archway and yelling at the top of lungs about catching stallion duck but each time he doesn’t and I keep feeling my heart break each day; knowing that I won’t see Jimmy again and have another wacky adventure with him.” More tears fell from her eyes, sobs shaking her whole body as she held the book close to her chest.

Brian was immediately by her side, his arms wrapped around her pulling her into his body, while he tried to calm her cries. Brian wasn’t going to hide his tears, what Grace had said just caused a flood of emotions to go rampart through his body. Holding Grace close to his body, trying to calm her down and get his emotions together but it was hard because the emptiness that settle in his very being was just consuming his every thoughts. After a few minutes of their emotions being let out, Grace settled herself on Brian’s lap, her head leaning against his neck while her hands held a tight grip on his shirt. Brian was finally able to see what Grace was holding so close to her and it was a scrap book, pictures of all three of them in their younger days, when they were teens just trying to make through each day back when things weren’t so complicated.

“I want you come live with me, I don’t want you to be alone because I know how close Jimmy was to you and I don’t want you living in place like this anymore.” Brian said after a few minutes of silence.

Grace didn’t anything for a bit, she was contemplating her answer but deep down she already knew her answer. She nodded her head in agree which brought happiness to Brian, he was worried that she would decline and continue to live on the streets but he gets to take her home and help heal her just as she can help him. He knew that the guys would question him about her but he is going to take her in and give a home that she never really had in her life.

Grace didn’t have much to pack, all her things fitted in one bag though it was hard for her to leave the place she called home for over a decade. But with Brian by her side, she was getting a more permanent home to share with Brian, a place that could be a her safe haven. Although she leaving a place that held memories dear to her, a place that she would never forget, she was starting on the road of healing.

No matter how much she wants to see Jimmy again, she wasn’t ready and both she and Brian knew that. She still had a life to start and Brian was going to be the man that will show her. His Devotion to her was unbreakable. Brian will show that they will get through this devastating moment in their lives, they’ll come to love the life that Jimmy lived and cherish the moments they had with him. Jimmy would have wanted them to live on until they accomplish what they wanted and they were going to do with them by each other’s side.