Sorry guys! this should have been up monday! I didn't expect It'd take this long. It turned out to be a pretty large chapter and I wanted to do the end justice so it took a little longer than I planned. I hope you enjoy!

Keegan's POV

Several weeks passed and summer rolled in. It took a few days but the Martins got used to Theo and I being a couple. Nothings really changed between us. It felt wonderful knowing that him and I could be together without anyone being upset... besides my father anyway.

During the many days Shaylene stayed over, her and Shaine became really good friends, despite them having such different personalities. The yelling and profound language echoing from her room as they played video games put a smile on my face. Shaine didn't have many people she was close with after the incident so it made me happy her and Shaylene got along. Shaylene eventually had to leave though. She had her own life away from her old home. Shaine continued to come over and hang out though. The Martins were more than welcoming to her, so it made her feel at home, even more than her own. That's what she told me anyway. She said she knows that her parents only want what's best for her but the way they go about doing things is very unconventional.

The past couple of weeks we started hanging out with Kevin as well. It was sort of Theo's idea. One night while we were laying in bed I was expressing my gratitude for everyone's help, but I didn't know how to repay Kevin. That made Theo wonder why we hadn't hung out with him more often.

The following morning Theo had Thomas search up Kevin's address since he's good with things like that. Not too long later he was handing Theo a slit of paper. It was a huge help since we didn't really know where to start. After Shaine and I got off work we all hopped in Theo's car and headed for the address. Since it was summer our work schedules changed, allowing us more time in the day, but of course work got a lot more hectic too.

We reached a small cozy looking neighborhood, trying to spot the right address. I looked up to a small sized house fenced off with stone walls and a gate. I looked at the address plate nailed to the stone wall and it matched.

"Hey that's it!" I pointed in the direction.

"You're right." Theo said, noticing the address plate. He pulled into the curb and shut off the car engine. Charlie being the energetic human that he is raced out the car before everyone else.

All of us stood at the gate while Theo walked up the little stone path leading to the porch stairs of the house. He softly tapped on the door and waited for a response. Shaine took a seat on the stone fence and conversed with us while we waited.

Mid conversation the door popped open revealing the black head of hair that belong to Kevin. He had his head back as he pulled open the door. He seemed to be talking with someone.

His eyes widened when he saw all our faces hanging out outside his house. "I wasn't expecting company." He said, surprised.

"We though we'd drop by and ask if you wanted to hang out." Theo said. Just when I thought it wasn't possible his surprise seemed to grow, only it faded as quickly as it appeared. He stepped out of his house and shut the door behind him, bitting his nails.

"Guys, I'd love to hang out with you, it's just... if my parents found out they'd have my head." He explained, disappointed.

"They don't have to know." Theo smirked.

"I'm still grounded for pulling that stunt at school." Kevin dolefully expressed. "The consequences would be dire." I couldn't help but to feel guilty.

"Sorry, this is my fault." I apologized, lowering my head.

"Don't apologize, I did what I did of my own free will. It was the right thing to do." He assured.

Everyone seemed to go quiet, as if they were thinking.

"You know what? Screw it!" Kevin said suddenly. "I don't want to be caged here like an animal. I'm an adult for crying out loud." He continued, heated.

"That's the spirit!" Theo said before wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He stumbled under Theo's weight as we made our way to the car.

The rest of the evening was a blast. We went out to one of the local restaurants for a meal, though it ended up being more of a buffet. The peach yogurt was especially delicious, so much so that I took some to go.

We sat in the park after a heated arcade session. Theo trained Charlie at football while Kevin, Shaine and I rested on one of the benches. We discussed various things from games, books, to overbearing parents.

"Asians, am I right?" Shaine said nonchalantly in reply to Kevin mentioning how insane and oppressive his parents can be.

I almost choked on the peach yogurt I was eating. "That sounds like something Shaylene would've said." I pointed out. Shaine just smiled.

"Any word on when she's coming back?" She asked.

"Dunno." I shrugged, going back to the delicious treat.

"Shaylene?" Kevin said, noticeably confused.

"Yeah, Theo and Charlie's older sister." Shaine answered. "She's pretty cool." She shrugged.

"She has no filter. She does as she pleases whenever she pleases." I explained, remembering all the crazy things she managed to do over the short period of time she was here.

"That's what I like about her. She reminds me of my old friends, just less fake." Shaine chuckled.

We finished up at the park and took Kevin home. He said if he got home any later than seven his parents would surely notice. It didn't matter in the end though cause they eventually found out. Somehow we all started hanging out at Kevin's house. His parents took a liking to us when we helped with his chores, Shaine and I that is. The only reason she agreed to help was cause I offered to pay her some of my cash from work. Some friend she is. I didn't need it anyway though, I'm only there for experience after all. Theo and Charlie just sat in the corner talking with Mr. Shokai as they watched us clean. Mrs. Shokai was a very demanding and forward woman but she was cool, Kevin didn't think so though.

We spent the whole summer hanging out together. Me, Theo, Shaine, Kevin and Charlie whenever he wasn't with his friends. Fall rolled around and the leaves began to change color. The summer breeze faded into a chilling yet gentle fall breeze. The colors of the trees painted the neighborhood. People had already begun setting their up their Halloween and Christmas decorations. The Martins were guilty of this, I didn't mind though, I was just happy to finally be celebrating a holiday again. It's been years since my family and I last celebrated anything. Having the warm late year meals and seeing all of the decorations around prompted a rush of nostalgia.

 I've been through hell and never thought I would recover, but here I am today, surrounded by people who love and accept me, in a warm cozy home, separated from the chilling weather of the world. While I still long to recover some of the pieces from my past I'm more than content with the one I'm living now.  

Just when I though my crazy year had finally settled down something unexpected happened.  

One afternoon Theo, Charlie and I were hanging out in Shaylene's room playing video games. We were keeping ourselves occupied until Darby finished the large turkey one of her friends brought over. The smell traveled throughout the house capturing and caressing all of our noses.

"Keegan!" I heard Darby's voice call from downstairs. I set my controller down and dropped out of the game we were currently playing to see what Darby needed.

"Yeah?" I responded as I raced down the stairs.

"Someone's at the door, can you get it for me?" She asked, looking quite busy in the kitchen.

"Sure." I replied. It was an odd request coming from her since she never usually asks anything of me but I didn't pay much attention to it. I grabbed the handle before pulling open the door and stepping outside in just my light blue penguin pajama's and my over-sized gray sweatpants.

Upon first glance I couldn't make out who it was since they were stood in the middle of Darby's flower garden. When they heard the door close behind me they did finally turn around, revealing their face. I was left in shock.

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"Mom?" My voice cracked as tears began building in my eyes. I knew I was a softy but I never imagined I'd have this reaction.

https://youtu.be/EeW2r3n1Vok

Her look was pained and emotional. After a silent moment our tears collected enough to begin streaming down our faces. She opened her arms as my body began a sprint towards her. Last time I wrapped my arms around her like this she was so much bigger than me, now I'm a littler taller than her. It's been almost three years since I last saw her, and somehow feels much longer. We stayed in that embrace for a long minute, neither of us wanted to let go. I guess she missed me as much as I missed her, or maybe even more.

"I'm so sorry." She repeated over and over. "I'm so sorry for leaving you alone with that terrible man."

"It's okay mom." I barely managed to voice.

"Did he hurt you?" She ask with a worried look crossing her face as she pulled away.

"It... it doesn't matter now, I'm okay." I told her, offering a weak smile.

"Oh my poor boy." She broke into tears as she wrapped me in another hug.

After our rather emotional reunion I invited her inside to meet the Martins. Theo and Charlie came down to find out where I'd gone, so the timing was perfect.

"Who's this?" Theo asked with a curious look when he saw me leading my mother inside.

"Guys, this is Keanna, my mother." I introduced happily. Theo's eyes widened in surprise.

"You found your mother?" Charlie asked, shocked.

"It's more like she found me." I replied with a giggle.

"Mom, this is my friend Charlie." I pointed towards him.

"Hi." He greeted, wearing a cheeky smile.

"And this-" I looked over to Theo. "Is my boyfriend, Theo." I looked back to see her expression and she broke into tears once again, holding her mouth.

"I've missed so much of your life." She sniffed "I'm a failure as a mother."

"Don't say that." I gave her a look of pity and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"It's true though, I should have never left you alone with that man." She wept.

"I don't blame you for that... while there were times when I was upset that you left me behind I knew it was for the best. Everything turned out okay in the end after all." I assured her.

"You've matured so much." She smiled behind her tears.

"That remains to be seen." I giggled.

I introduced Darby to my mom when she came out to the living room. They'd actually already met over the phone the night prior, that's how she found me. That's why Darby wanted me to be the one to answer the door. My mom spent weeks looking around the old town where we used to reside. She didn't find any information until she started asking in neighboring towns.

We sat in the kitchen and caught up, filling in the past couple of years. She told me she had a run in with my father when she returned to our old "home". It appears that he hasn't been doing much but watching TV in the dark. The house stunk of rotten food and mold when she entered. Dad was still as unstable as ever and didn't know how to handle the reappearance of his wife. Their conversation started out civil but when I was mentioned he started losing control. He refused to speak of me and began tossing things. She left before he could cause her any harm. She then proceeded to call the police. There were already multiple calls pending against him but it turned out this one was enough to send it over. He was found guilty of fraud, theft, abuse, property damage, amongst many other charges, and those didn't even include what he'd done to my mother and I.

Mom stayed over for dinner and got to meet Thomas. She continuously expressed her gratitude to them for taking me in.

"I can't thank you enough Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Whatever you need I'll be more than happy to provide." Mom thanked them on her way out.

"In that case how about another friend?" Darby laughed before hugging her. A large smile grew on mom's face. She giggled as she got emotional.

"Where do you live? I want to come and visit you sometime." I asked her, bouncing in place like a little kid.

"I live a few states over. Now that I have enough money saved up I would like to move out of mom's house and get a place somewhere closer to here so I can see my little boy everyday." She smiled brightly.

After mom had gone Theo looked to me with a frown.

"Now that your mother is back does this mean you won't be living with us anymore?" He asked, looking like a sad puppy.

"Don't worry, I'll stay here as long as I'm welcomed." I assured him, standing on my tiptoes and placing a kiss on his lips. He moved closer as I began to move away, lengthening the kiss.

"Jeez, get a room you guys." Charlie scowled in a joking manner. Theo rolled his eyes while Darby and I just laughed.

----

The week after mom went ahead with her plans and moved into the neighborhood. She'd come over all of the time and hang out with Darby. Mom became really good friends with her and Thomas. Theo got tired of the constant parties they'd throw with their friends, he called it rowdy and annoying old people's parties. He told me they used to do it all of the time before I lived here.

Every day has been a blast. We all spent Christmas together like a family, my mom included. I got back into reading when I received many books for Christmas. Having the majority of my old ones destroyed kind of took me out of the mood. Theo and mom picked out some great ones though. I'd spend a lot of time reading while in bed next to Theo.

We all returned to school after summer break and it's been fun. Our school group got much larger with the addition of Charlie, Kevin, Shaine and their friends along with the people already there being me, Brandon, Ashton, Kevin number two as I like to call him and Nora.

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As the new year rolled around the time for Kevin, Theo and their friends to graduate grew closer. When the time finally came I felt really sad. It was only Charlie, Shaine and I. It made me even sadder knowing that Theo would be going off to college. He didn't see the point to it but his parents pressured him into getting his education for the future, that's one thing they're big on.

With Theo and Kevin out of the picture this give rise to an old problem. Alayne returned, this time she was even more secretive with her schemes than before. She didn't let anything track back to her. We all knew exactly who was behind the curtains though. While her antics weren't as extreme as before we didn't know how to put an end to it. She would've done much worse but she was afraid of getting caught.

Theo eventually had to move away for college. The house felt lonely without him. He came to visit every weekend though so it was too bad. I tried to spend as much time with him as I could, but I would always feel a tinge of sadness without him near.

It continued like this throughout the year and it was eventually my time turn to go off to college. Theo and I both enrolled in different colleges due to limitations, but we both made it our highest priority to stay in touch. Theo and I would video chat almost every night and we would meet up whenever possible. 

College was very different and strange to me. I was out of my element. Thankfully there were some friendly faces around. Terra, Chloe and Erik were attending the same college as me. They were the people I met in the park that one saturday a couple years back. We hadn't seen much of each other since we went to different schools. They'd invite me to their dorms and we'd talk for hours. It turns out that Erik's brother Austyn played against our school's football team several times! I hadn't ever noticed though. If it weren't for Theo and them I would've never gotten used to life here.

The year Theo graduated he bought a house near the college I was attending, that way we could spend more time together. I actually ended up moving in with him which was a plus for both of us. It was a joy finally spending every day with the man I loved so dearly. All of the emptiness and sadness I felt swirling in my stomach disappeared. His morning kisses covered me in warmth, his breakfasts were delicious and his massages were top notch. The house he bought was really pretty. It was about as large as the cabin we stayed in all those years ago, except the exterior was much nicer. We even ended up getting a cute little puppy! I named him Theodore. Theo just shook his head at my silliness.

After I finished up college we set up a reunion with some of our old friends in our old town. I couldn't contain my excitement while Theo drove us there. We stopped at Theo's old house where Darby and Thomas were living. Charlie was already off in college but he was supposed to be coming today. Theo and I got out of the car and walked up to the door. My eyes widen as the door swung open revealing a mature Charlie. Even though Theo and I came home last Christmas we were both surprised to see how much his appearance changed.

Darby and Thomas were happy to see us. Talking and eating lunch together made it feel like no time had passed at all, like it was just another morning at the Martins. My mom and the Martins were still great friends as well. The moment mom heard I'd arrived she drove over. She made it just in time for lunch. Today was a sunday so most people had work off which allowed for our visit.

Theo, Charlie and I drove off to the location where we were meeting. Sandra's diner. We didn't know if she was still in business but we decided to give it a go anyway. Surely enough she was. Shaine was first to arrive, we arrived second, and Kevin arrived last. His parents were still giving him trouble, even despite him being a full grown adult. We all found that hilarious.

"Holy mother, if I'd known ya'll would'a been comin' I would'a made ya somethin' extra special!" Sandra said in shock.

"It's fine, anything will do!" I giggled.

"No no." She dismissed. "It may take a moment but I'll have somethin' fresh out'a the oven, anything of your choice!"

Charlie instantly raised a hand asking for donuts with Kevin following behind soon after. Shaine got a burger and Theo and I settled for her famous apple pie. We had a lot of fun there, talking and joking around. We stayed much longer than we'd planned but that wasn't a bad thing at all. Charlie didn't want to leave, he said he still had several things left to try. He was still hungry even after almost dining on half the menu. It surprised us all how much he could eat despite having such a slim body, it almost reminded me of Theo back then.

After Sandra's we went out on the town, hopping from location to location. We played games in the arcade like old times, we got our pictures taken, watched a movie, and to top it off we went for a long drive. The distant lights of the passing buildings, the symmetrical streetlights illuminating the highway, and the wall lights stationed throughout the tunnels, it was all so pretty! We drove aimlessly for at least an hour. It was the most fun we'd had in years!

To Theo and I's surprise we ended up some place familiar. It was the park we snuck out to during our school trip. Theo parked on the side of the road and got out of the car with me following right behind. The others probably though we were insane running off into the dark like we did. I waved them over and told them to follow us. The jungle gym that we climbed last time we were here was gone, or replaced rather. Luckily the new one was much bigger and still had the little flat deck on top. Theo and I raced to the top. This time I was strong enough to be able to climb all the way. I didn't need Theo's help like last time. While I did manage to make it to the top Theo still beat me! He was sat with a smug look plastered across his face. I was too out of breath to have a response. I fell over on my back, facing the starry sky as I caught my breath. Soon enough Charlie, Shaine and Kevin made their way to the top, joining Theo and I.

"How are you people not out of breath?" I asked between huffs. I was truly puzzled.

"It's surprising how someone as energetic and all over the place as you manages to get winded so easily." Theo teased.

"Some things never change." Shaine laughed. I pouted at them.

We all laid on our backs watching the beautiful night sky and just goofed around for the rest of the time we spent together. It brought us back to our high school days.

It still surprised me how my life went from what it was to how it is now. It's been a total whirlwind. Sneaking onto that school trip was the best choice I've ever made. It drastically changed my life. I met Theo and Kevin who now have become a big part of my life. Everything else that followed was worth it too. Charlie, Shaine, Sandra, Darby, Thomas and even being reunited with my mother. There were several low points, where I had my hope broken into several small pieces, but Theo pulled me from the endless darkness I was lost in, and has filled my life with the brightest of days. He is my hope, my life, and one day I'll vow to stay by his side for all days to come.

Later (at home)

"Y'know, I think I'm going to start calling you teddy." Theo mumbled to Keegan half awake.

"Teddy?" Keegan responded embarrassed.

"Yeah... you're like a little stuffed teddy bear." Theo said, tightening his hold around Keegan's small frame.

"In that case I'll call you penguin, or no..." Keegan started, going into thought for a moment. "How about daddy penguin?!" He added, jokingly.

"D-daddy penguin?" Theo questioned, his eyes widening in shock. Keegan broke out into laugher revealing the joke.

"Or I could just call you Dorey." Keegan teased, peaking up at Theo.

"You did not." Theo shook his head in disapproval with a devious smile crossing his face. Keegan's laughter returned full force as Theo's hands landed on his sides. He squirmed under Theo's touch, trying to break free, though he wasn't able to escape as he was already snuggled up against Theo. He hid his face in Theo's chest trying to muffle his loud laughter. After his punishment he just laid exhaustedly against Theo and drifted off to sleep, Theo following behind not long after.

---END

Well this has certainly been a long journey! I hadn't originally planed on making the book this long so it may have gotten a little watered down, but I really hope you guys still enjoyed it! Thank you all so much for continuing to support this book as long as you have. I never imagined reaching a million reads when I first started out here, it's crazy! 

Also, just a heads up, for my next book I want to at least write half way through it before I publish/post any of it, so it may be awhile before you see anything.