The white door of the March house was a welcoming sight to Zach Roberts up until about a month prior. In front of that front door is where he kissed June for the first time, where he met up with his best friend Adam, and where he confessed his love to a girl who, at the time, loved him.

The door also held heartbreaks. This was where June had broken up with him, where adam had said goodbye at the beginning of what was shaping up to be the longest summer ever, where Zach had witnessed June kissing another guy, and finally...where Zach was standing now, his hand lifted above the door as he tried to work up the courage to knock. The heartbreaking thing about it was that June wasn't on the other side, she was gone.  He realized then that he had been so stupid about everything, he should have listened. He would rather have had her alive and hating him then dead and gone.

It took a few more moments before the boy finally knocked, the sound of his fist hitting the door making his nerves act up. He half expected June to answer, to smile at him, or to frown at him, or even to tell him that she didn't want to see him. But Zach reminded himself once again that she wasn't there.

The sound of footsteps coming from the other side made Zach internally panic, but he was too far to go back now. The handle moved, the door creaking open and revealing someone that Zach had never expected to see.

"Zach?"  Adam March stood in the doorway, a frown stitched into his face. Zach didn't know Adam was home, making him shake his head in absolute disbelief.

"I didn't expect to see you here."  Zach stated, a small smile still coming to his face. Adam had been Zachs friend for as long as he could remember, seeing him again was almost enough to brighten his day.

"You wanna come in?" Adam asked, his frown lifting slightly at the sight of his friend. Adam had become hyper aware of the sun, how bright it was, and how it had no right to be shining so excellently when his world had become so dim.

Zach nodded, waiting for Adam to move out of the doorway and let him in. He took a deep breath as he entered the house, his eyes instinctively going to the door at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing back here man?" Zach asked, pulling Adam into a bro hug when he closed the door.  Adam led Zach up the stairs, heading for his room so that they could talk. Zachs eyes lingered on June's door for a moment longer than they should have, making a pit grow in his stomach.

"Well my mom called me, told me what was happening with my sister. I made it on the first flight back."

"Oh. Well it's nice to see you. It feels like it's been ages man. Especially with everything that's happened." Zach said, feeling the pit deepen.

"Yeah yeah." Adam said, nodding his head. He got his thinking face on a moment later, his eyes lowering to the floor before going back up to Zach.

"How's your summer been?"

"Well up until now...pretty good. Well, I'd say a few weeks ago. Everything kind of went to shit a few weeks ago. How was China?"

"Good. Well up until a few days ago."

"Learn anything cool there?" Zach asked, scratching at his chin.

"I actually learned a lot, I learned plenty about the culture, the languages, the people. It's an amazing experience."

"Well I'm sorry you had to come home to a shit show." Zach chuckled, feeling the awkward lump gather in his throat. The way that him and Adam were conversing, it was like they were strangers. Adams eyes seemed to be burning a hole into Zachs head, and the subtle anger behind them was alarming to the younger boy.

"What exactly...did happen Zach?"

"What do you mean Dude?"

"Well I mean... no ones ever gave me a clear and concise answer. What happened?"  Adam asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"With what?"

"With my sister?" Adam asked, his tone insinuating that he didn't really want to say much about her.

"With me and your sister? Or with the law and June?"  Saying her name was like a kick to the stomach  for both of them, Adams face going slightly red as he saw the look on Zachs face.

"Okay...I have a question for you Zach." Adam said, wanting to get some answers from his friend.

"Okay?"

"Do you remember when you first started dating her, and you asked me if you could because you wanted to make sure I was okay with it? Do you remember what I told you?" Adam asked, and suddenly there was a thick tension in the room. Zach knew exactly what Adam was insinuating, and he immediately wondered why he had come over here anyways. Was he expecting to see June? Did he want to share a cup of coffee with her mom and dad and talk about how much she was missed? Did he want to clear the air because the truth was eating him alive?

"You told me to protect her. You said I could as long as I didn't let anything happen to her." Zach said, closing his eyes as he remembered the conversation as if it was yesterday.

"You did a shit job. A real shitty job at that." Zach wondered where the hostility had come from. He wondered why he had ever agreed to dating June, wondering if he would have just left her alone, if it would have hurt less.  "I heard that you aided her in her escape. An escape which...by the way was stupid as hell. My dads a fucking lawyer. Zach...June couldn't and wouldn't hurt a damn fly. How the hell does anyone believe that she shot the sheriff?"

"She didn't. And Routledge didn't either. "

"But that's the point. If she didn't and John B didn't, then who the hell did? There's so many things missing from this puzzle and I'm going fucking crazy trying to fit all the pieces into the right spot. And no one tells me anything. Not a thing." Adam was stood now, his arms flying around as he gestured. Zach stared down at the floor, he knew the answer. His mind had never strayed far from what June had told  him. It was Rafe. But the thing was that Zach couldn't tell Adam. Rafe was his friend. Adam and Rafe were closer than even Zach and Adam. And he had no proof.

"I don't know either. All I know is that the sheriff is dead, June's gone, and the murder is unsolved. Wow, this really is a shit show." Zach said, running a hand through his hair and sighing. He tried to ignore the ache in his chest from saying that June was gone but he really couldn't help but hurt at this point. She had been everything to him for 2 years, and in a month all of it was just taken away.

"Well what did happen with you and her? You clearly aren't together anymore." Adam revealed, his anger seeming to diminish from his body as he looked at a distraught Zach. He didn't want to talk about it. After his talks with JJ he had gotten more of an understanding of what had happened, but it seemed like the only thing he really got from that conversation was how unhappy June had been in their relationship, and also how much his words truly hurt her.

"We were doing fine and everything and then she kinda...I don't know. She checked out I guess. There was a party and she specifically asked me not to get into it with the pogues. She started to get really tired of the rivalry shit but you know how Rafe and Topper and Kelce are, they're all about it. I couldn't just drop it. So I-"

"Yeah I don't blame her. In the big picture that stupid ass rivalry doesn't matter. It's just prejudice against the lower class. It's fucked up dude." Adam said, making Zach nod. He didn't know what to say to that. I guess when he put it that way it was pretty stupid.

"Anyways, we went to the party and that one pogue, JJ Maybank, he was all over her. Of course I'm gonna defend my girl so I went over and tried to stop it. Topper and John B got into a fight and I tried to help but she took it as I was trying to start a fight with JJ. And she swore nothing was happening. So that night she broke up with me. And I tried to get her back, I tried. She ending up with Maybank by Midsummers, the two of them made out in front of everybody, your sister drunk off her ass. But I mean I tried to move on. But it was June and I tried to watch her, to keep her safe but it was kinda hard to do when she hated me. Which sucks by the way. Being hated by the person you love." Zach was hardly talking to Adam anymore, instead feeling like shit for not letting her be happy. In the long run he loved her, and he loved her enough to let her explore her wild side, let her go be with JJ, because he thought at the end of the day...she'd always come back home.

"JJ Maybank? W-well does he know what really happened?" Adam was already grabbing the helmet for his bike, his eyes no longer on Zach who was wallowing in his own self pity.

"Yeah probably." Zach said, staring down at the floor in anguish. When he looked back up Adam was gone, his door open as he ran outside. Zach was quick to follow after him, running down the stairs and stopping him before he pulled out of the driveway.

"Where you going man?!" Zach yelled, shaking his head as he looked at Adam.

"Maybank! I'm gonna figure out who killed my sister!" Adam said, pulling out of the driveway and zooming away down the street. Zach was stood in the driveway, his breath heaving as he looked at where Adams bike had been. Hers eyes were wide, he didn't know how this would go. He felt like he had done something wrong, but he just didn't know what.