In the End

I woke in the middle of the road, my Impala was flipped on it's side and flames came from the car, my body was several feet away in a ditch and then my instincts started to kick in. I had to look for Blayde. Blayde was in the car with me and we were heading to the lake house while Andy was in the studio recording his Andy Black record today before this all happened. I stood up and began to search the scene for Blayde.

"Hello?" I said. "Can anyone hear me?"

No one responded, just dead silence as I watched the paramedics work on me. I then walked to them and tried to get their attention, but I couldn't. As if there's a veil separating me from the rest of the world.

"Lacey." I then turned and I saw Mitch standing in front of me and I then realized where I am. I'm either dead or out of my body.

"Mitch. Where's…"

"Relax. Blayde's fine." Mitch told me. "They're taking you and her to a hospital to get checked out. From what the doctors are saying, you have cracked ribs and a broken leg."

"Am I dead, Mitch?" I asked. "Am I?"

"No- You're not dead. You're just close to having a near death experience." Mitch said. "Come on."

"What about Andy?" I said.

"Andy probably is getting a phone call right now," Mitch replied. "He'll be at the hospital when we get there."

I sat next to my best friend and I started crying and Mitch put his hand on my shoulder. The ambulance arrived at the hospital about a half hour later. The doors opened and Mitch and I jumped out of the ambulance and Blayde following behind. I was wheeled into the ICU with a mask on my face to help me breathe.

(Andy's POV)

I sat outside of the studio, I'm in the process of a song for my first ever Andy Black album that will be out next year. I cross out lines that don't sound very good when my phone starts to go off. I take out my ear phones as Lacey's ringtone plays and unplug them. Maybe's she's calling to let me know that she's taking Blayde to the lake house today.

"Hey, Faith." I say before the line went silent for a few moments. Weird. "Hello?"

"Is this Andrew Biersack?" A voice, not the voice that belonged to the girl I love, came through.

"It is." I say. "Who is this?"

"This is White Memorial Medical Center," The voice belonged to a nurse. I thought. Oh, no. This isn't good. "Mr. Biersack, your wife, Lacey Blackburn, was involved in a serious car accident."

Lacey. My heart starts pounding wildly and I almost lose my breath and almost drop my phone in disbelief. No. No. That means Blaze's thugs got to her. Dammit. It takes me a moment before I gather myself up to speak again.

"Thank you for telling me," I say. "I'll be there shortly."

I then end the call and I pick up my stuff and walk through the door to the studio, I speak with John before I leave and I take off for the hospital. I never should've left her alone. This is all my fault.

Hold on, baby. I'm coming. I thought.

(Lacey's POV)

"Where is she?!" I heard a deep voice, a voice I knew all too well- Andy. The nurses were trying to calm Andy down. Andy stood, his eyes red with tears and he sounded hysterical. He wore a Cincinatti Bengals jersey, his leather jacket and his skinny jeans.

"Mitch." I said and he nodded, using the energy in the room to throw something at the nurses to get their attention and they had no other choice but to let Andy through. Andy ran to the room that they rolled me into and when he saw me laying in there, almost lifeless and only breathing a slight bit, he started crying. He sat near the bed I was laying in and he took my hand in his. He brought my hand to his lips and he kissed it.

"This is all my fault." Andy sobbed. "I never should've left you alone. Because if I hadn't, you wouldn't be clinging to life right now. I'm sorry, Faith. I let you down."

I wanted to just wrap my arms around him and kiss him and tell him that I'm okay, but I couldn't. He couldn't see me, all he saw was the being in the bed.

"I'm a horrible husband." Andy sniffled. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

That broke my heart- hearing Andy say that he was a bad husband. He wasn't a bad husband. He loved and took care of me and protected me from Blaze and he's my best friend and my rock. I watched as Andy tried to will me awake.

I looked around for Mitch and I saw he was gone. I was confused until I seen him appear next to Andy and put his hand on his shoulder. Andy looked up.

"Mitch," Andy said. "Where's Lacey?"

"She's fine. She's with me." Mitch said. Andy took a deep breath in relief.

"Can-Can you bring her back?" Andy asked.

"I can. But it's going to take some time, at least a few days. Lacey's body needs to start to heal before her spirit can go back inside." Mitch told him. "She's got some bad injuries, Andy. Once those heal, I can."

Andy got the message and with one last kiss to my forehead, he left the room and he went to go back on the record. As time went slowly by, I got visits from Bam, Rob, Travis and Kat. Kat kept leaving vases filled with bouquets of gothic flowers that she planted in her garden. It's a sweet touch to the room. I listened to their words as they spoke to me. They wanted me to keep fighting. I just sat there with Mitch and just listened to their voices.

"Is this what it was like when I came to see you before you died?" I ask. Mitch nodded, a frown on his face.

"Exactly like that." Mitch says, his voice was deep with sadness. Tears filled up my eyes and I started to blink them away.

"I don't want that to happen to me," I choke on a sob.

"It won't." Mitch put his hand on my shoulder. "It's not your time anyways. Plus, Andy would be crushed."

I blew out a soft sigh.

"I know he would," I murmur.

"You got nothing to be upset about," Mitch's hand rubbed my shoulder. "You'll be back. They just don't know it yet."

I nodded and I just leaned against Mitch and he hugged me.

"They just want you to fight, Lace." Mitch murmurs. "And that's what you're gonna do."

I have no other choice but to fight. Because I can't just leave the life I have right now behind, I have such a great group of friends and I have a great husband and a beautiful daughter who love me and support me. I can't leave now. And I know how much pain that would cause Andy. I can't leave him behind. I then let go of Mitch and we walk around the hospital. Mitch and I went to the roof and we sat on the balcony.

"It's gonna be okay." Mitch nudges my shoulder with his and I just sigh. I hope so.

A couple of days later, Andy came to check on me and I sigh as I listened to him say how much he misses me. And seeing the glint of tears in his eyes broke my heart because I couldn't reach out to him and tell him that I'm okay. That's what sucks about being out of my body. I can't touch Andy. And hearing that he can't live without me broke me. I started crying. I slid against the wall and sobbed. I buried my face in my knees.

"Chin up, baby girl." I then look up and I see my father. I gasped and got up on my feet. My father, Alex (Or Alexander) stood in front of me. He wore a plain gray shirt and a pair of jeans and his tennis shoes, the same outfit that he wore the night that he and my mother died in the car crash. Jayde and I were the only ones who survived that crash, the car was sideswiped. My dad and my mom threw themselves over us to protect us and then they were ejected from the car. We left with only cuts and bruises.

"Dad!" I hugged him. "How-How'd you find me?"

"Your friend Mitch told me to come find you." He said. "Mom and Jayde are here too."

He then stepped aside and my mother, wearing the red sundress that she wore that day and her black boots, her blonde hair in a bun, walked up and hugged me as well. Jayde then squeaked and she ran up and hugged me. Jayde wore a leather jacket, a white tank top, and a pair of grey skinny jeans.

"It's so good to see you, sweetie." My mother, Isabella, says with a huge smile.

"It's good to see you too," I say. "Even though I wish it were better circumstances."

So we sit around and talk for a while and I just listen as my family tell me how proud they are of me and how far I've become since leaving skateboarding and pursuing music. It made me so happy that they were watching over me and still supporting me from the other side.

"So, tell us about that boy that you've been with," Mom asks, smiling. I facepalm because I know she liked to prod into my relationships as a kid and a teenager.

"Mom." I mutter and Jayde giggles and I roll my eyes and resist the urge to flip her off.

"You knew that we were going to bring him up," Mom says. "Just tell us about him. What's he like?"

"Fine," I say, crossing my arms in annoyance. "His name is Andy. He's a really sweet boy. Very romantic. And he loves me, cares about me and he supports everything I do. He's been there with me through a lot. He's my anchor."

"He sounds really wonderful," Jayde says, smiling.

"He is wonderful," I say. "What do you guys think of him? Do you approve of him?"

"I've never seen such a boy protect you as much as Andy does," Dad begins, clearing his throat. "Lacey, I told you that if you were to fall in love with any boy, he had to be protective of you. And there isn't a boy that's more willing to lay his life on the line for my little girl more than Andy would. You have something special in Andy. You really do."

"I couldn't agree with your father more," Mom says. "You have a very special boy, sweetheart. Don't lose him."

"And we do approve of him." Dad tells me, smiling.

"Thank you so much." I hug them tightly. "That means so much to me that you approve of the man I love."

"You don't deserve anyone better than Andy," Mom smiles. "He makes you happy and that makes us happy."

I smile because it was just so exciting to hear that they're okay with me being with Andy and our relationship. I'm glad they like him. I thought.

After another few days, I was walking through the hospital early one morning when I heard soft singing, I listen, and automatically know the voice from where it's coming from. Andy. I thought, following the sound til I was in my room again. Andy sat in the chair, softly singing to me to get me to wake up. I then elbowed Mitch and then he got up from resting against the wall.

"Is it time that I go back yet?" I ask. Mitch, dazed from his slumber, looked at me and then took a breath.

"Yes, Lacey." Mitch tells me. "It's time."

I almost jump out of my skin because I'm so happy and relieved. My body's healed up now, so I can go back to Andy and my friends and Blayde.

"You ready?" Mitch asks and I nod and hugged him.

"Thank you, for everything." I say. Mitch returns the hug and smiles at me.

"You're welcome." Mitch says. "I'll see you soon, Lacey."

With that, I feel a deep force push me back into reality and into my body once more. I still had oxygen to help me breathe while I was in that state. It takes a few moments before my eyes open, my leg and ribs were still sore from the accident, though. I then look around at the room, the flowers from Kat's garden in vases, the gifts that my friends left and I then look over at the chair next to me, Andy was sitting with his long legs crossed and looking out at the window. His hand was in my hospital bed. I could feel his fingers stroking my hand and with every ounce of strength that I had, I squeezed his hand. Immediately, Andy jumps and then he looks over at me and a huge sigh of relief comes from him. His free hand cups my face.

"You're awake," Andy says, moving my hair back from my face. "I can't believe you're awake."

"Well, believe it." I say. Andy just leans his forehead on mine and closing his eyes. I run my fingers through his long black hair. I breathe him in as he breathes me in too. I missed this, being close to the one I love. Being apart from him was hard because I couldn't touch him and tell him that I'm okay and that I'll be fine and it terrified me.

"This is the second time I almost lost you," Andy murmurs, as a tear falls down his face. "Please stop scaring me like this. I can't bear for you to leave me."

"Moonlight," I whisper, wiping away his tears from his face. He takes my hand in both of his and he kisses my hand.

"It's all my fault this happened," He sniffles. "I shouldn't have left you alone, Lacey. I should've protected you. I'm sorry."

I move my hand through his long black hair and let my fingers curl around the strands of his hair. I still had to make sure that this is real and that I was touching him and not like before.

"Light," I say, my voice raspy from the tube that had shoved down my throat to help me breathe. "Don't beat yourself up over this. Blaze's henchmen caused this. They did this. And don't be sorry."

He sniffles again and he then just kisses me softly for a few moments before leaving to let the nurses know that I had woken up from my slumber. After giving me more pain meds for my leg and my ribs, I then settle into bed once more. I then turn to Andy. He kisses my hand again and even though he's upset with himself, he's just happy that I'm awake.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Faith," Andy murmurs. "I missed you while you were away."

"I missed you too, Moonlight," I say, letting my hand cup his face. He nuzzles into my hand and rests his face against my hand. My thumb strokes his jawline. "Any word about the thugs?"

"Sadly, no." Andy told me. "The last I heard that they had escaped before the cops arrived on scene. So they're still out there. Somewhere. And I'm gonna kill those motherfuckers for doing this to you."

"Light.."

"Baby, they almost killed you," Andy says, his voice becoming more serious as he started to pace the room, back and forth. I could sense the frustration now. "I'm not going to let those fuckers do it again."

As he walks back towards my bed to sit down again, I take my hand in his. He huffs gently and I just let my hand slowly move up his arm, stroking his tattoos gently.

"Andy," I keep my hand moving in circles on his skin and I feel his body release the tension once more at my touch. "I have some news. I saw my parents. I also saw Jayde."

Andy's expression changed from a look of anger to shock. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little bit.

"You did?" He asks. "What did they say to you, honey?"

A smile comes across my face as I stroke his hair once more with my fingertips, and I see the ice blue in his eyes, once flames of anger, settle down once more.

"They told me that they approve of you," I tell him. "They're okay with me being with you."

The look on Andy's face was genuine love and he seemed touched by hearing that my parents were accepting of our relationship.

"That makes me so happy to hear that," Andy whispers, kissing my lips tenderly. I then watch as he looks up at the ceiling. "Thank you, Mr and Mrs. Blackburn and Jayde. I promise you, your daughter and sister is in good hands."

My hand reaches towards the back of Andy's neck and I bring him in for another kiss. He smiles and kisses me deeper for a few moments before pulling away and kissing my forehead.

"I love you," I murmur. "More than anything."

"I love you too, Lacey." Andy kisses my nose before leaving the room once more to get Blayde. He then walked back in a moment later with Blayde in his arms and he handed Blayde to me and I just hugged her because I'm just so glad that she's okay. She only had a few cuts and bruises from the accident.

After another couple of days of observation, I'm allowed to go home. I'm thrilled to be leaving the hospital, because I hate the hospital more than anything else in the world. I'm wheeled out in a chair, wearing a comfortable Doctor Who shirt, and a Sons of Anarchy hoodie and shorts, with a cast on my leg and Andy had to carry me bridal style to the car. I just giggle and rest my head on his shoulder as he puts me inside the car.

As Andy drove us all home on the back streets, I smile because not only am I grateful to be leaving but also grateful that I have a new lease on life. Being out of my body made me realize that my family and that my friends and music mean so much more to me now. I have a new purpose in my life. I can't take this world for granted. We finally get home and as soon as Andy has parked the car, Blayde has already run inside the house. Andy chuckles and he then opens up my side door and he carefully lifts me up again. I wrap my arm around his neck as he carries me once more, inside our house. Andy sets me down on the couch before taking his leather jacket off and putting his keys down on the kitchen table and laying with me. I couldn't help but notice the warmth in his eyes.

"What?" I say, after a few moments of silence. Andy moves his hand through my hair, moving a strand behind my ear.

"I'm just really glad you're here," Andy murmurs. "The house has been rather lonely and quiet without you, my Faith. As have I."

I then turn to kiss him on the cheek. His arms wrap around me, brings me into his chest, my home and place of safety and love and comfort.

"I'm sorry that I've left you so lonely," I say. "I promise not to leave you again."

"Sounds like a plan, my love." Andy kisses me softly, deeply and passionately. "What shall we do since you're home, hmm?"

"Anything sounds great," I murmur. "As long as I'm with you."

Andy pecks my lips and then he lifts me up once more, making me squeal softly as he carries me upstairs to our room. He sets me on our bed and we get under the covers and I move into him. I just rest my head on him again and he kisses my hair.

"How about movies?" Andy murmurs. I nod and he gets up and he heads downstairs to make us some popcorn and stuff. I smile because it's just so sweet of him to do this for me. And a wonderful welcome home present. A warm bed, movies, popcorn, snacks and my Light. I turn on the Netflix and I scroll through, looking for a good movie to watch. I then settle on a good horror movie- The Blair Witch Project. I then lay back against the pillows and wait for Andy. The smell of popcorn catches my attention as Andy walks into our room, he has a big bowl of popcorn, and he brought me my snacks too. Such a sweetheart. I thought. He sets the stuff down and he crawls into bed with me. I then lay my head on him once more, then it came to me that Andy should be working on his Andy Black album.

"What about your album?" I ask. Andy looks down at me and smiles.

"Don't worry about that, baby." Andy whispers, his hand on my back. "All I care about right now, is you. Only you, Faith. Nothing else."

I then hit play and as the movie started, I smiled at the affection that Andy would give to me during the movie, kisses, him touching me- it all warmed up my heart.

"Thank you," I whisper. Andy kisses my forehead and brings me closer to him.

"You're welcome." Andy says. "I'm glad you're home, baby. It's starting to feel like home again."

I grin and bite my lip as Andy pecks my lips a couple of times. I then just lay my head back on his chest and I close my eyes. He tightens his arms around me and kisses my temple as I begin to fall asleep.

I couldn't even find a way to sleep because when I closed my eyes, the flashbacks to the car accident kept coming to me, the way the car got sideswiped in the middle of the road, the sounds of my head hitting the windshield, causing me to black out. I then woke up a few hours later, gasping like I was holding onto my breath for a long time, my lungs ached and a cold sweat had started. Andy had gone to put the popcorn bowl away and I just sat up, wrapping my arms around my legs.

Andy walked back into our room, he's shirtless and wearing a pair of flannels and he saw me awake and he closed the door, he walked over to my side of the bed and knelt down.

"Baby?" Andy murmurs, moving my hair from my face and cups my cheek in his hand. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"I can't go back to sleep," I sniffle softly. "I keep having these flashbacks of the accident. It's scaring the hell out of me."

Andy's face softens with compassion as he crawls into bed with me and he takes me into his arms.

"It's okay, Faith." Andy whispers. "Everything's okay. Shh. You're fine. You're safe."

I continue to cry for a little while before I just calm down and settle into Andy's arms again. I just breathe in his scent, the cigarettes and cologne radiating off of his skin, allowing that to just comfort me and reassure me that everything is okay. Andy strokes my hair with his fingers and then kisses my head. Immediately, I just relax in Andy's embrace. Andy's hand moves down my back, in gentle and soft circles. I look up at him and he kisses my forehead.

"Everything's okay now," Andy whispers. "I'm here and we'll get through it. We always do."

"I love you, Moonlight." I murmur and he kisses me, gently and sweetly.

"I love you too, Faith." Our hands intertwine with one another's and I fell myself beginning to fall asleep again, Andy starts softly singing to me and holds me closer to him.

I may have lived through an experience that almost took me away from the man that I love, but it made me a better person and a stronger person because I can never take life or love for granted.