"It is said, 'When you lose a parent, you lose your past. When you lose a child, you lose your future. When you lose a sibling, you lose both.'"

~☠️~🌹~☠️~

"Have fun at the dance, you two! Julie, message me when you're ready to be picked up. I'm going to pick your brother up after my errands." Emily yelled as she dropped her daughter and friend off in front of their house. After receiving a nod and watching the two make it through the front door, just before pulling out of the driveway, did she happen to glance over towards the box that was still sitting in the passenger side of her car, and notice the CD sitting at the very top of the box, showing the familiar cover printed on the casing that she immediately recognized. Releasing a shaky breath, Emily felt a pull towards it as she traced the logo delicately with her fingers. 'Sunset Curve' was all it said, displaying a graffiti-style design of a sun mid-set, a logo she had long forgotten. 

'How did this get in here?' Was all she could think as she didn't remember seeing the CD earlier at Bobby's place, and subconsiously, Emily was already opening it and inserting the disc into her car without a second thought. It wasn't until the drum beat started that she finally pulled out of the driveway and started her drive towards her errands, nodding her head to the beat as a single tear fell down her face. 

When the familiar voice started to fill her car, Emily had just reached a stop sign, and at first, she debated about stopping the music and throwing the CD back into the box, but as she heard the lyrics sung by her late brother, her hands stilled. 

"Clocks move forward

But we don't get older, no"

Hearing those lyrics, Emily felt herself flash back to her younger self, remembering when Luke made this song for the first time.

~☠️~🌹~☠️~

"Hey, Em, can you come in here for a second?" Luke's voice rang out across the hall, causing the twelve-year-old to drop her dolls as she quickly made her way over towards her older brother with a smile. When seeing the giddy girl enter his room, Luke nodded towards the empty spot right next to him with a smile, signaling to her that he wanted her to sit next to him, which she happily obliged. 

"What do you need, Lou?" She asked with a smile on her face, as she watched her brother move the many papers over to the side of him.

"I was working on some lyrics, and I wanted your thoughts." He said, glancing at his little sister, who just stared,  "Is that okay?"

Smiling at him, she giddily nodded, making herself comfortable on the bed as she waited to be serenaded. All Luke could do was chuckle as he waited for his super fan to be ready for him to start.

'Take off

Last stop

Countdown till we blast open the top

Face first

Full charge

Electric hammer to the heart'

Luke glanced over towards the little girl and could tell that she was into the music as her head bounced to the music, something he couldn't help but smile at as he continued with the lyrics; as he got closer to the main part, he wanted her opinion on.

'Clocks move forward

But we don't get older, no 

Kept on climbing 

Till our stars collided

And all the times we fell behind 

Were just the keys to paradise'

After reaching the end chords, Luke paused his playing, letting the notes ring out for a second before taking his guitar off his lap. "So what do you think?"

Sitting there, Emily took a second to think, causing the boy to bounce his leg nervously, and after a few seconds, she jumped into his arms with a giggle. "It sounds amazing, Lou!"

Luke just laughed at his sister as he hugged her back, squeezing her tightly, before tickling her. "Yeah? You think the guys are going to like the song when I finish?"

After a few rounds of laughter, Emily just shouted, "Yes! Now stop tickling me, I'm going to pee myself if you continue!"

"Fine, fine," He said, stopping his fingers as he pulled the girl further onto his lap. "But you really think so?" 

"Lou, this song is going to be amazing once you finish, and the boys are going to agree after you show it to them," Emily said confidently, as she kissed her older brothers cheeck. "But, what do you mean by the clocks moving forward and not getting older part?"

Taking a second to glance down at his sister, Luke just let out a sigh, "Now this is our little secret, okay? So you have to pinky promise not to tell anyone, not even mom and dad, okay?" 

"Not even mom and dad? Luke, is this a bad secret, like the time you broke the window because you were skateboarding in the house after they told you not to?" Emily hurriedly asked, as she started to get scared that her brother might be in trouble because of his lyrics,

"No! It's nothing like that!" He quickly said, shaking his head, "It's more of a pinky promise, like you not telling someone you're planning a surprise party for them, just longer, okay."

"Okay!" Emily agreed as she held her pinky out. "Then I pinky promise not to tell anybody!"

Nodding his head at his sister, Luke happily linked his pinky with hers. "So, the reason I made that lyric choice was specifically for everyone to remember that even when days continue to move forward, the guys' and my songs we make will forever stay with our listeners. For people like you, sis, when you listen to this song or others, even when we get older, our songs are here and will forever remain timeless."

Emily, after hearing her brother's reasoning, smiled shyly as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Lou."

After receiving the small affection from her, Luke just smiled before letting out a dramatic groan. "Oh, no! I think the tickle monster is back!" He shouted as he started to once again tickle his little sister, causing him to smile as her giggles rang through his room.

"Stop it, Lou!"

~☠️~🌹~☠️~

Emily felt herself jerk out of her memory as a car horn rang from behind her, causing her to glance at the mirror to see a frustrated driver who continued to push on their steering wheel before point to her window. Looking up did she realized that the light was green, and letting out a breath, she pushed her foot on the accelerator, driving forward continuing on her drive forward to her new destination. 

~☠️~🌹~☠️~

Meanwhile, in the Hollywood ghost club, the party was still buzzing with energy as the party continued after Caleb had finished his song for the evening, and as he was making his rounds around the room, he was intercepted by the leather-wearing ghost he had recently met. 

"Hey, Caleb, can I ask you a question?" 

Glancing at the boy, Caleb brought his show-worthy smile again. "Why yes, it was Reggionald, right?" 

"Actually, it's Reggie, but that's okay." The boy said as he tightened the jacket on his body a little more. 

"Reggie!" He laughed as he nodded towards some patrons who walked by the two, who waved at him. "Now, how can I help you, young man?" 

Letting out a breath and glancing around him, showing Caleb that the boy was nervous to ask, which piqued his interest more, as he grew more curious. "Willie had told my friend Alex that the reason for us staying here is due to unfinished business; is that true?"

"Yes, William would be correct, normally ghost like you and I would stay here due to something we never had the chance to finish while living." Caleb nodded as he stared at the boy. "Why?"

"It's nothing, sir, I was just curious if it was true," Reggie said as he started to show some discomfort, but before the boy could leave, Caleb was quick to put his hands on his shoulders. 

Moving the two of them towards a vacant table, and pushing the boy down into a chair and joining him, Caleb looked him in the eye. "Reggie, it's okay to ask me anything; after all, I'm here to support my fellow ghost in any way I can. So, why did you ask me about unfinished business?"

"Well, I guess I wanted to know if everyone has the same reasons for staying or if there could be more." The boy finally said, as he stared at the man, "Like the guys and me, for example, what if one of us had something else that might be the cause for us staying here?"

Thinking over what was said, Caleb nodded his head and let out a noise of agreement. "So, one of your band mates might have a different reason for staying here, and you're worried that if they find out, they might leave you?"

After Caleb said that, Reggie quickly shook his head at the suggestion and stared at the man. "No! I actually would be happy if Luke got to find out his sister was nearby!" He shouted, waving his hands around crazily. "Emily and Julie deserve to know their family is still around, more than anything."

"So, Luke has unfinished business with the lifer who can see you three and make you visible?" Caleb was quick to connect, "But whose this Emily? I don't believe you mentioned her earlier; is she another person who can see you three?"

Reggie feels uncomfortable with the questions as he remained quiet, ignoring the older ghost as he continued to look at him. 

Seeing the ghost hesitation, Caleb started to get irritated and briefly lost patience with the young boy. "Reggionald, I want to help you, boys, but I can't help you without information like this, so how is Julie and Emily a part of Luke's unfinished business?" 

Hearing the sharp tone, Reggie froze, his eyes growing bigger as he started to shake from the anger that was pointed towards him. "Sir, it's not my business to te-"

"Answer my question!" Caleb shouted as he gripped the boy's shoulder harshly, "I am not going to repeat myself! How do those two lifers correlate with Luke's unfinished business?" 

"Alex and I believe that Emily might be Luke's sister, whom he never got to make up with before dying," He said silently, "Making Julie our band member, his niece." 

Smiling with the new information, Caleb released his grip and brushed the dents off the boy's jacket as he released a laugh. "See, Reggie, was that so hard to say? But my only question is if Luke knows about this dilemma?"

"No, sir."

Hearing this information, Caleb smiled as he looked over towards the shaggy-haired boy who was talking with his fellow member and Willie, a smile gracing his face, not realizing the new information he now had over him. 

"Interesting," A laugh leaving his mouth, making Reggie shudder as he looked towards his friends with regret, "Interesting, indeed."

So, Caleb now knows about Emily and Luke's relationship!

I can't wait for you to see what happens with this new information in the future chapters, which should hopefully come soon.

I also hope you enjoyed the little flashback moment between Emily and Luke as well. I took some time to make sure it showed how close the two were before we get closer to Luke's birthday episode.

Because I am going to be honest, those chapters are going to be big for not only the two siblings, but for Julie and Emily as well. So, be ready for some tears, because you thought unsaid Emily was sad, just wait. 

So stay tuned for those chapters!

-Mech-x4fan