"...everything has a past. Everything - a person, an object, a word, everything. If you don't know the past, you can't understand the present and plan properly for the future."

-Chaim Potok

Do you know that moment when something from your past comes screaming up behind you and knocks you flat on your unsuspecting ass? Well that's exactly what happens Monday morning when I come downstairs and Liam is sitting at the kitchen table, breakfast already consumed, and dressed suspiciously well.

"Morning squirt." He calls casually to me as I proceed to fetch my yogurt from the refrigerator.

I glare at the back of his head, uncertain what game he's playing but certain I'm going to find out before I leave for school. "I wish you would knock that off," I grumble plopping down in the seat directly across from him, "It's weird."

Liam laughs as he rises to his feet, dishes in hand. "True, can't be calling you that at school now can I."

I nearly choke on the bite I have just taken as his words slap me upside the head. "What?" I cough, half out of shock and half because I may actually be choking now. What did he mean at school? My mind is going about one-thousand miles a second as I rack my brain, trying to remember what his major was. My heart nearly stops when I remember.

"Oh that's right, you probably didn't know," Liam says rinsing off his plate and placing it into the dishwasher. "I got a job at Conrad Highschool. Mr. Oslo as you know is retiring and I was going to be taking over his mathematics classes, however, Friday evening he suffered a heart attack and he decided if he didn't retire now he may not get the chance."

I'm in absolute bewilderment by the explanation Liam spouts. If I thought his arrival for the weekend was stressful enough, him being my math teacher, well words are failing me for how that makes me feel. Standing abruptly I exit the kitchen not wanting anything more to do with the conversation.

Leaving the house as quickly as humanly possible I rush out to my car and high tail it out of there, running away from my problem and at the same time directly into it. Though my hangover may be gone my life seems like it's settling into a perpetual fog and neither one of my options looks better than the other.

"KP! Are you feeling any better?" Morgan calls from the front courtyard of school as soon as my feet touch down on the pavement.

Taking in a deep breath I mentally place a happy face over my own, pulling on my KP persona, and smile at Morgan. "Oh for sure." I lie because, in reality, I'm slowly becoming a hot mess inside.

As we walk through the hallway I hear whispers among the student body. It's already begun. I'm sure by now the whole school knows that my brother is coming back. It would explain the return of uneasy glances and lack of friendly behavior. But among the light murmur of gossip is something far worse than the news about Liam.

"Poor KP. Who would have thought Aaron would pull something like that." Katy Rewn whispers to a few other girls.

"I'll kick his ass if he shows his face today." A freshman boy mutters, punching his palm with a clenched fist.

If Aaron's name didn't surface I would have assumed everyone's talking about my brother, however, as I begin to concentrate on the whispers the more I feel uneasy. Something isn't right and I have a gut feeling my bestie knew exactly what's going on.

Making an abrupt turn I head into the girl's bathroom locking the door as soon as I pull Morgan in behind me. "Spill. What really happened at the party?" I ask, a lot more aggressive than I intended to be.

Morgan's eyes go wide, which is funny because it tells me she thought she could get away with hiding whatever this is. She just forgot about everyone else that was there and what they would say. "About that. All I know is it didn't look good." She drawls in a higher than normal tone.

I glare at Morgan because she's being stupid. Anyone who knows Aaron knows he's a good guy. Yeah, he's dated quite a few girls but not for the reasons someone like Dwain Goss does. That guy only dates for a notch in his belt. "I'm sure it's a misunderstanding."

Morgan shrugs. "Don't get mad at me, Prestley's friend is the one who knocked him out."

"What?!" I shriek, in utter shock and partial rage at the news.

I can't believe this. Who was this friend and why did he think he has any right to interfere with something that doesn't involve him. He probably saw it from an outsiders perspective who has no idea Aaron and I are actually really good friends. "I need to find Aaron."