Keenan's only focus was on the music in his ears. Well actually he didn't pay much attention to that either. The only thing going through his mind was how much his muscles hurt. They were screaming in pain as he lifted himself up once again above the bar. But he reveled in the pain as odd as that sounds. It distracted him from the dark thoughts that took place at the forefront of his mind when he let them.

Right now the entire football team was in the gym with Keenan, working on their own bodies to prepare them for their first game next weekend. But they were all invisible to Keenan. He couldn't hear them and he couldn't see them since his back was facing the room. He didn't want to. As the weeks passed since the accident he found out that he liked being alone rather a lot just as long as his mind didn't wander to a certain girl who held his heart.

A girl who didn't remember him at all. A girl who was better off without him.

Eventually Keenan dropped to the ground, giving up on the pull up bar. When he turned around he saw the entire room staring at him. The football players stared at him in shock and some in curiosity while Keenan was completely oblivious.

He took out his headphones as he saw Coach walking towards him from the back of the room. Someone close to him mumbled under their breath, "Damn! Teach me how to do that." Keenan recognized him as Roger, the full back.

Coach appeared in front of Keenan, an angry look upon his face. For a second Keenan was worried. He hasn't gotten in trouble with Coach before and he didn't want to start now.

"Get out."

"What," Keenan sputtered.

"I said get out. Go relax on the beach or something. You're pushing yourself too hard."

"I feel fine."

Coach raised an eye brow. "Really? That's why you're entire body is shaking right now and your face is red?"

"I told you-"

"No I told you," Coach bellowed, stepping closer to him, "to get the hell out and relax! I don't want you coming back for another two days. You need to get away from here for a while, take a breather."

"Please Coach," Keenan began to beg. "I need this." The pain he felt while he worked out was the best distraction he could get from Aurora. He didn't want to turn to other distractions because he knew better but if it had to come to it he would.

Coach's face softened as it usually did when he talked to Keenan. He laid a hand on Keenan's shoulder and began to lead him through the gym. "What you need is to let it out. I can see your hurting, on the inside and outside. Don't bottle it up son," he whispered so the other team members wouldn't hear him.

Keenan decided to keep his mouth shut. No way in hell was he going to follow the Coach's advice. He was afraid that if he let it all out then it would only get worse. What if he cried? He wouldn't be able to stop. What he decided to think about it? He could make him go insane? And what if he let the pain in? It would kill him.

It would be better if he ignored it all together and felt nothing.

...

The waves lapped up on Keenan's bare feet. The water was cold but as quickly as it came, it disappeared back into the sea. Coach was right, Keenan did need to cool off for a bit to give his body a break but then Keenan was stuck trying to find a distraction big enough.

He walked into town, drinking three full water bottles with his music on blast in his ears. He tried to focus hard on the lyrics going through his mind but it seemed that every song reminded him of Aurora. He was desperate to find another distraction, he was about to start running, when he spotted a tattoo shop across the street.

As another wave hit Keenan's legs he brushed his hand over the bandage on his left arm. It was a spontaneous decision but Keenan was glad he did it. When the artist asked him what he wanted he didn't have to think about it long before he answered with, "A forest."

The entire tattoo wrapped around his left forearm, from his wrist to his elbow. In the crook of his elbow was a compass but instead of having the letters N, E, S, and W he had the artist make it H, O, M, and E. He told the guy that it was because his home town was surrounded by forests which was true but the real reason he wanted a forest with a compass that spelled out HOME was because that's where he first gave Aurora his heart and home is where the heart is they always say.

She's is his home.

Sitting before the great Pacific Ocean Keenan wished dearly that he could go back to that forest, where everything was so much simpler. At the thought his ghost of a heart cracked in his chest.

Maybe the tattoo wasn't such a good idea. He needed a constant distraction, not a constant reminder.

He left the beach behind him to head back to campus. It was night now, the sun had gone to sleep two hours before. The tattoo in all took four hours to do and Keenan had to go back in a couple weeks to get it shaded.

It took him all of twenty minutes to get back to campus. Walking down the halls of his dormitory it was empty and quiet as was normal this late on a school night but as he passed by the community bathroom he heard a familiar noise. He saw enough school fights to know that sound was flesh being beaten and someone groaning in pain.

Keenan thought he should probably move on and let them deal with it themselves, until he heard the phrase, "Go home faggot. Nobody wants you here. People like you shouldn't even be alive."

Without thinking Keenan stormed into the bathroom. The first thing he saw were four guys, three of them were standing clothed with their backs to them and the other had a towel wrapped around his waist and was backed into a corner. He already had a black eye and busted lip while one of the guys had bloody knuckles. It took Keenan awhile for him to notice the victim as Conrad, the other prodigy.

"Can I help you guys?"

The three men turned around and Keenan nearly laughed when he saw the white bandage over the middle one's nose.

"You," Frank sneered.

"Do I have to break your nose again," he asked, crossing his arms. "I will if I have to. Leave the guy alone."

"He's gay," another shouted in outrage.

Keenan looked at him as if he were dumb. "So? Why the fuck should that matter?"

"I'm his roommate! Do you know how many times I've walked around naked around the dorm and he didn't bother to fucking tell me? He probably has videos of me sleeping or some shit."

"As if I would be attracted to your ugly ass," Conrad muttered, looking at him in disgust.

The guy charged at Conrad but quickly Keenan grabbed ahold of the asshole's shoulder and yanked him back into the wall behind him. Looking down at him Keenan said, "I didn't know being gay made you a sociopath. But I did know having a small dick makes you a judgmental asshole."

"I concur to that," piped up Conrad. Looking down at his roommate he said, "You really do have a small dick. I would know because I've seen a whole load of them in my lifetime." A sinister smile spread across his bloody mouth, loving that he could make him squirm with his words.

"Are you guys dating or some shit," Frank asked, looking between Keenan and Conrad.

"No I'm just not an asshole," Keenan muttered. "Crazy isn't it?"

"They're probably fucking," said the third guy who has stayed silent until then.

"Actually the only person I'm fucking at the moment is your Mom," Keenan replied. "She's fucking amazing great in bed. Do you think it's weird that she calls me Daddy? I mean I think so because you have to start referring to me that way too."

The guys face turned beet red in anger. He raised a fist, ready to throw it before Keenan interrupted him. "Think before you do that. You clearly have never thrown a punch before, seeing as how your thumb is misplaced. If you hit in the wrong place you'll break your thumb and you'll walk away in more pain then I would be in. Regardless I would beat your ass as payback."

The guy slowly lowered his hand and looked left and right to his friends for help. Frank sighed heavily. "Come on guys, let's not waste our time on them. We'll get them back later."

"Oh I'm terrified," Keenan cooed as they walked past him out the door. They simply glared at him, trying to reign in their temper before they disappeared.

"Thanks," Conrad stated, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Maybe you should get some ice on that."

Conrad shook his head. "I've been through much worse. They didn't do shit."

"When I came in here you didn't look like you were fighting back very much."

Conrad shrugged his shoulders. "I only know how to block people and push them away while I'm in heavy pads. I never learned how to actually fight someone, especially three guys at once that look like they've been living on McDoubles their entire life."

"One of those guys is your roommate?"

Conrad nodded his head with somber eyes. "Unfortunately."

"You grew up in the area didn't you? Can't you go back home for a while?"

"No," he whispered, looking down on the ground. "I can't go back there."

"You can move into my room if you want."

Conrad's eyes lifted up to meet Keenan's. "Really," he asked shocked. "Wouldn't your roommate be mad?"

"I don't have one. There's an empty bed you can use and I have a kitchen and a bathroom. They're up for grabs if you want it."

"Thanks man," he sighed, relief etched into his face. It looked like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "How much do you want for it? I don't have much but-"

"Don't worry about it." Keenan gestured for him to follow him out the door. Conrad grabbed his pile of clothes before walking out with him. "You're already paying for a room with that guy, you don't have to pay me anything. Besides I don't need the money."

"Are you some kind of saint or something," Conrad asked in disbelief. "No one has ever been this nice to me, especially when they find out I'm gay."

"Trust me I'm not a saint," Keenan murmured. "But I know someone like you. He's been ridiculed for something he can't change. Nobody deserves that." At that moment Keenan figured he should give his cousin a call the next morning and see how he was doing in New York.

"Well I don't know how to thank you enough. You helped me out a lot and you don't even know me."

"There is one thing you can do," he whispered, "stop saying thank you."

Conrad snapped his fingers and held up his thumb with a grin. "Got it. I can do that. I think."

...

Aurora was in for one hell of a day and she knew that when she woke up to her parents screaming. Never in her life has she heard them yell at each other so to wake up to hear doors slamming and angry insults was a shock to her.

She looked at the clock next to her and it read eleven thirty two meaning her brothers were at hockey practice. Thankfully they didn't have to hear this but Aurora did. She jumped out of bed, putting on a robe and slippers. For the first time in months she woke up knowing first hand that she wasn't fifteen anymore. Whether that was because her parents were fighting or not she took it as a good sign. It meant progress.

When she opened the door to her room the screaming increased tenfold. It was louder then she expected. A part of her wanted to go back into her room and hide under the covers but she was an adult now. She had to act like one. Taking a deep breath in she walked down the hall into the living room.

Her parents were fighting in the kitchen but they took no notice of her, although she could see and hear them clearly.

"Give me the ring back," shouted her Dad as loud as he could. He held his hand out to her Mom who held her left hand to her chest, as if to protect it.

"Not going to happen," she argued just as angrily.

"Ashley," he screamed, "give me the fucking ring! I'm not leaving without it!"

"You shouldn't leave at all! She needs you!"

"No! What she needs is for you to stop lying to her! She's a big girl Ashley! She can handle it!"

"Robert how can you say that," her mom yelled with tears pooling down her cheeks. "After what she's been through?"

"You're only making it worse Ashley! Now give me the damn ring. It doesn't belong on your finger anymore."

Aurora stepped back in fright, right into a hard chest. She nearly screamed as she turned around to face Max, her so called boyfriend. He had a soft expression upon his face and he looked incredibly guilty.

"Come on Aurora. Let's get out of here."

She wanted to say no. She wanted to stay with her parents and figure out what they were talking about because it was obliviously about her and her mom's wedding ring. But she couldn't. Looking into Max's eyes she saw the boy she used to know; her best friend. She nodded her head and let him take her hand and lead her out of her home that was crumbling apart.

"Are you okay," he asked softly, pulling her to his house. He sat down on the swing on his porch, scooting over so Aurora could sit down next to him. She remembered sitting on this swing enough times to feel like she was fifteen again just talking to her best friend.

"I think . . . I mean I'm more confused than anything. I've never heard them fight before." She turned to Max who obviously knew something she didn't. "Do they do that a lot now?"

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

"Max, I might have forgotten the past three years but I will never forget how you look when you lie to me. Remember, you're my best friend."

He sighed, his shoulders drooping. "Yeah I know. But Aurora I don't think I should be the one to tell you."

"You're my best friend and you're supposed to be my boyfriend." She inwardly winced as she spoke the words. "What kind of boyfriend keeps a secret from his girlfriend?"

Max sighed and hunched his shoulders. "Fine, but your Mom is going to kill me."

"Just tell me already or I'll kill you."

He quirked a smile at her. "There's the Aurora I know and love."

"Max," she growled.

Even from his front porch she could hear her parents still yelling in the house next to her. How have the cops not been called yet?

He looked at her sideways, a somber look upon his face. Whatever he was going to say wasn't going to be good, she knew that. She just didn't know how bad it would be.

"Your parents divorced last winter."

It was such simple words but yet they hit her like a truck. Her parents? Her parents who loved each other and were high school sweet hearts? That's impossible. It had to be. For hells sake they were living in the same house for the past three months.

"That's not true," she uttered.

Max reached out and laid a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry Aurora. I know how much they mean to you but . . . well they don't love each other anymore. When they told you in December you were heartbroken but you weren't surprised. No one was. They've been fighting like that," he said looking at her house, "for two years now."

"But they love each other now," she said, tears springing to her eyes. "I see it every day. They live in the same house, they sleep in the same bed!"

"That's what they want you to think," he said softly. "Your parents didn't want to tell you the truth because they thought it would be too much to handle. If you lived the life as you remembered it then your memories should come back on their own."

"They lied to me," she chocked. "You all lied to me."

Max's mouth dropped open in shock. "To help you! We were trying to help you!"

"Yeah," she laughed dryly, "because this is helping a whole awful lot right now."

"Babe please," he pleaded, trying to pull her to his side.

"Don't," she screamed, standing up and away from him. "Don't touch me! You can't do that!"

"Alright, alright," he said softly and slowly, "You're freaking out. I can see that. I'm going to go inside and get you some water and cookies so you can calm down. Just stay here."

Aurora glared at him in anger as he disappeared into his house. How dare he treat her like a child? How dare anyone treat her like one? She deserved to know the truth no matter how hurtful it was. Being around her family, around Max, was only making her feel worse when she was supposed to be getting better.

It was a split second decision but she didn't look back on it. She ran back to her house, avoiding her parents still yelling in the kitchen and ran into her room. In the corner was a bag that she brought with her from America. It had her passport, some cash, and a debit card that was apparently hers. She grabbed it quickly, stuffing as many clothes into it as she could muster. She didn't know where she was going and for how long but she knew she had to get out of there.

She heard the front door open and her parents stop yelling, meaning someone interrupted them. Max.

Aurora quickly went to lock her bedroom door then ran to open her window. As she was climbing out of it, bag on her back, there was a knock on her door.

"Aurora," Max said softly. "Can you come out? I didn't mean to upset you."

"Just give me ten minutes please," she called, as she landed on her feet on her Moms rose garden. "I need to collect myself. I'll be out, I swear."

"Okay," he said softly. She didn't waste another minute before she grabbed her brother's bike from the front lawn and peddled the hell away from there.

She needed to find herself again but she wanted to do it her own way.

Turning the bike down around the corner and towards the bus station she muttered under her breath as a mantra, "I'm going to find my own way."

New update schedule:
Sunday: where the wolves die
Monday: throne of demons
Tuesday: slapped with the truth
Wednesday: find your own way
Thursday: Slapped With the Truth
Friday: where the wolves die
Saturday: find your own way

**might change in the coming weeks**
I won't be updating tomorrow since I updated today FYI