"Hunter! Get your ass back onto the field now!" Coach exclaimed loudly, and I flashed him a glare as I shoved my bottle of water into my duffle bag and sauntered towards them. "You're our QB, Hunter. That comes with responsibilities and focus!"

"So I can't have a drink of water for five minutes without having your head up my ass, coach? Jesus Christ, if I knew I wasn't allowed to take a sip of water when I'm tired I wouldn't have joined this team," I snarled.

"We have a big game, Hunter. I want everyone to be on their toes, at all times, no relaxing, no breaks! We have to win this game if we want to be in the finals!" I ignored him and sauntered towards the team that were huddled around someone.

When I got to them, I pushed my way through the crowd and scowled down at Kaden lying on the grassy field in a fetal position. "The hell is his problem?" I inquired and Chris snapped his head towards me and guffawed.

"He couldn't handle his liquor last night, now the little bitch is whining and moaning, awe boo hoo." He cooed and I flashed him a glare, "why don't you shut your damn trap before I shut it for you, Lahey?" I spat and he immediately rose his hands in surrender and backed away slowly.

"Coach! I'm taking Kaden home and no there's nothing you can do about it!" I shouted as I grabbed him under his arms and hoisted him up. He draped a hand over my shoulders and wobbled on his feet unsteadily.

"Hunter, the hell man!? We have a game next week, didn't I just tell you I want no slacking off!?"

"Exactly coach, this gives us ample time to practice and we've been going at it for three hours. Don't you think we're exhausted? We're not fucking animals, my friend here is sick and I'm tired so I'm leaving, good day!" Before he could reply I began to saunter away, ignoring the swears that escaped his lips as I made my way towards the bleachers, grabbed both Kaden's and I bags and hightailed towards the parking lot.

Kaden slipped into the passenger seat of the car and groaned in pain as he doubled over, his head laying on the dashboard. I sighed deeply and slammed the door shut behind him and rounded the car towards the driver's side. I hopped in and shoved my key into the ignition as I reminded Kaden to buckle on his seat belt.

He obliged and fumbled with the seatbelt as I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. "Do you wanna spend the night at my house or go home?" I asked and he flickered his eyes towards me and scowled, "will Langton be there?" He inquired.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly, ignoring the way my knuckles turned ashy white as I raced down the streets. "That's what I thought," he chuckled humorlessly and I sighed once again as I turned my head towards him quickly.

"Okay then do you want me to spend the night with you since your mom's away? I don't trust leaving you all alone." He nodded his head vigorously and winced in pain once again.

"Why'd you come practice if you're sick?"

I slowed down at the red light and tilted my head towards him to already find him staring at me, a frown playing on his lips. "I didn't want to disappoint you, I know how much winning the finals means to you and this practice was especially important."

"Dude you're already a disappointment, there's no more room left for that." I chuckled and he rolled his eyes as he draped a hand onto his chest and pouted, "you wound me, baby." He said and I shook my head in disbelief as I turned back towards the road and drove off.

"Kaden, this game means nothing to me compared to your health, okay? I wouldn't have been upset if you just told me you're sick, you know me." I reassured him, although I knew a part of me might have really overreacted if he told me he was blowing off the game.

So in a sense, I understood why he still came.

"I know, Mason."

"I'm gonna go home and grab some clothes and we'll go to your place, aight?" He nodded his head slowly and leaned back in the seat, his eyes flickering shut.

I slammed the door shut and strutted up the footpath before turning back to see if Kaden was okay. He waved and I smiled before pivoting on my heels and climbing onto the porch. I grabbed the handle of the door and frowned deeply when the door creaked open.

My mom left the door open? No, that doesn't seem like something she'd do.

As I stepped through the doors, an ear-piercing scream sent me flying towards the stairs, my heart slamming in my chest rapidly as my mother's pleas enveloped my ears. I dashed down the hallway and kicked down the door to her room, tumbling inside to see Langton towering over my mother sprawled out on the floor.

"You fucking bastard!" I growled as I propelled across the room and tackled him to the floor, throwing my fist first at his face and watching as his head slammed against the tiles, his hands scrambling with mine as I sent jab after jab down onto his face.

"Get off me you little shit!" He screamed as sent his fist flying into my stomach. He used the moment I halted in pain to shove me off of him and climb over me as I curled on the floor, my hand covering my face and my stomach as he sent punch after punch into me.

I tried fighting back but he was just too strong. The man weighed over 110kg the least, compared to me I was nothing. He suddenly wrapped his arms around my neck and squeezed down onto it. But before he could get any further he was ripped off of me and I watched in amazement as Kaden sent a jab into his face, knocking him down onto the floor.

I crawled towards my mother and gasped at the sight of her pants below her ankles, bruises lined up every inch of her body and she cowered away as her eyes flickered towards me.

Before I could say a word the sound of Kaden gagging sent me out of my trance and I snapped my head towards them to see Langton straddling Kaden, his hands enclosed around his neck. I see someone likes chocking.

I quickly scrambled off the floor and surveyed the room for a weapon of any sort until my eyes landed on the knife perched upon the dresser. I dashed across the room and grabbed it, and without thinking I slid towards the two, rose the knife above his head and sent it flying into the back of his neck.

Langton gargled on his own blood and went limp onto the floor, his wide eyes peering up at me. "Why did you do that!" My mother screamed, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned towards her and narrowed my eyes.

"He just tried to kill my best friend and almost raped you. Who the hell knows what else he would have done if I didn't get home!? All because you wanted a drug-dealing boyfriend Mom! YOU DID THIS!"

"I'm c-calling the cops. Y-you killed him, Mason, y-you k-killed him."

"Go ahead and call the cops mom. I hope you're gonna be able to explain all the drugs you have lying around the house to them. And god I will be happy to comply and tell them your hiding places." I spat and she peered up at me, tears flowing down her cheeks rapidly.

"You wouldn't!"

"I DARE YOU TO TRY ME!"

Kaden tugged me backwards, "leave her, Mason. She's traumatized, she almost got raped and watched her boyfriend try to kill her son and then get killed by her son." He exclaimed and I shook my head vigorously as anger surged through my body.

I jutted out a finger towards her and snarled, "you should go to hell with him since you can't keep your hands off dirty scum bags like him. You can die with him, mom. I'll be delighted to help you because it won't make a difference whether you're here or not! I lost you when dad left and I've come to accept the fact that I'll never get you back so you wanna die!? Let me help you!"

"MASON!"

I snapped my head towards Kaden who peered into my eyes, silently pleading for me to stop. He grabbed my fist enclosed around the knife and peeled my fingers off of it before letting it fall onto the floor.

Did I just threaten to kill my own mother?

Meh...

"Call the police mom, tell them everything that happened and don't spare any details. You lie to them and I'll tell them where you keep your drugs."

That afternoon she did call the cops. She told them everything that happened and the judge ruled that Kaden and I acted out of self-defence. Yes, we used deadly forces but it was a kill or be killed situation.

After my father got word of what happened all the way in the US, he enrolled me in a juvenile delinquency program that is supposed to rehabilitate troubled teens. We spent months in the program until our last test where they were to see how we would live and function in a new environment, thus us moving to the US.

Moving was dramatic but it was part of the program, it was kind of like boarding school, but not really. Parents consented for it to happen so it did and Kaden tagged along even though he didn't have too.

He didn't want to leave my side.

And I will forever be grateful for what he did for me.

"Have you ever spoken to your mom after that?" She asked and I shook my head slowly, a sigh escaping my lips as I peered up at the sky. "After that, they threatened to put me in the system because my mother was unfit to care for me, but when my dad got word of everything he sent me to live with his friend and then enrolled me in the program, and then when we moved to DC he made sure I came to live with your family."

"Why couldn't you just go live with him?" She asked and I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly as I tilted my head towards her, "I don't know and I don't care. If he didn't send me here I would have never met you."

She smiled softly and flickered her eyes away from me. Silence enveloped us and I propped myself up onto my hands as I stared at her side profile.

"You know our lives are so messed up, I don't know when last I've ever had a normal day like a normal teen. All my life I've been surrounded by drugs, violence and death. The last bit of stability I ever had was when my parents were still together. I was happy then. . .I don't know what I am now."

"I was normal until Kaleb came into my life. I allowed him to bring out the darkest parts within me, a part of me I didn't know existed until him and when my sister died that part of me died too and I swore to never let it take control of me again. Kaleb killed someone before my eyes and I had to watch her family and friends weep over her dead body wondering who could do something like that.

I had to go to bed every night knowing that I could have prevented someone's death, Mason. I stayed with Kaleb knowing what he did and watched as he acted as if it never happened. I'll never be normal Mason, not after watching Faye die before me and definitely not after watching my sister die in my arms.

We'll never be normal, never. Our lives are screwed up and I've come to accept that. And I'm okay with instability because within it I found you and yes you may bring out the worse in me but you also bring out the best version of myself. So if we're gonna be abnormal, we can be abnormal together."

She slipped her hand into mine and lowered her head down onto my shoulder. We sat silently, staring up at the blue-tinted white sky, enjoying the silence that enveloped us.