Linx woke up to the lovely sounds of someone's screams. Right next to his ear, that was slowly starting to ring from the intensity of noise. But even though the screams did successfully wake him up, he felt his exhaustion loom over him.

So he curled into his blanket and hoped the person would get the message. But just as Linx was about to fall asleep, his shoulders were grabbed roughly and violently shaken from side to side.

His eyes still closed, he tried to push the person away, even though he was falling asleep while doing so.

But he shot wide awake as the person shook him so much, he fell off the bed and banged against the floor, his bruises cushioning his fall. He didn't hear his string of curses, only felt the searing pain of the bruises. He fought down all the tears that threatened to spill, it providing a small distraction.

Soon, someone was touching him. He immediately shrunk away from their touch, the pain reminding him what just happened a few moments ago when he let someone touch him. The person, seeming to have some brain cells, got the memo and instead wrapped his blanket around him. Linx silently sighed, glad to finally have some barrier between him and everything else.

A few minutes later, the adrenaline stopped and exhaustion took over, lulling him to sleep.

_______

Linx spaced in and out of sleep, too tired to deal with any of the boys. Sure, there wasn't any real reason to avoid them, he isn't angry that they woke him up early or dropped him, but he knew they'll make a bigger deal then what it really is.

So after getting enough sleep, he pretended to sleep. He knew he wasn't in his bedroom, the sound of the TV playing SpongeBob proving that, so he was in the living room. And as his senses slowly came back online, he felt two pairs of hands on him.

One was gently combing his hair with their fingers, it sending slight shivers down his spine. While the other peacefully massaged his feet, it relaxing his sore muscles.

He stayed in that position for a couple minutes, allowing himself to be selfish. Linx forgot the last time he allowed himself to be this close, this relaxed to any of the boys. To not worry if he's a bother or how much emotion he should show. And it's not that he hates any of the them, he just... just–

His stomach growled, alerting the two. Linx hoped they'll let it go and let him sleep, but as his stomach complained again, the two slowly began to shake him awake, careful to only touch his shoulders.

Not knowing how he normally wakes up, Linx decided by swatting away their hands and burying himself deeper in the blanket he was covered with, was a natural way of waking up. The boys seemed to buy the facade and lightly laughed at his behavior.

Its not everyday they get to see this side of Linx.

So the two began to lightly bounce Linx up and down on their knees, since he was already laying on them. He groaned at their movement, but got up nonetheless. The quicker he has breakfast, the quicker he'll be out of their hairs.

A pair of hands were by his side to help him get up, making sure not to touch any of his bruises. The other pair removed all the ice packs that was scattered on his blanket. Linx was still too tired to open his eyes and look at who was helping him, so he let his eyes sleep while putting his hearing to work.

As he got up, the blanket tightly wrapped around his body, he tried to shake off the hands. The person who was helping him even had the courage to slide his hands from his shoulders to his waist, it getting dangerously close to his butt.

It's probably Finn.

Linx swears that boy has enough sex energy to power a monster truck. And as Linx didn't have the patience to deal with his sneaky moves, he elbowed his arms. Finn got the message and let go.

So Linx blindly walked forward, not really thinking through on how he'll get to the kitchen without his eyes. But by the time his brain catches up to this plan, his face already hit the wall next to the kitchen entrance.

He silently cursed in his mind, trying his best to keep his composure. But as he felt another pair of hands touch him, he could feel the anger bubbling inside him. He pushed it down though and reminded himself, he was Linx. He's just the guy that's in the background of their polyamory relationship.

He can punch something after breakfast. Hopefully he can last that long and not accidently punch someone during breakfast.

He slowly opened his eyes, the harsh lights making him scowl. With one hand holding onto the blanket, he lightly hit the hands away and walked into the kitchen, wanting to be out the house and in the gym within an hour.

As usual, he pretended he didn't see Remi and Austin groping and kissing each other and beeilend to the cold plate of waffles and sunnyside egg. The two stopped, Remi happy to see Linx up and Austin stared at Linx.

Linx knew those looks, neither a good sign for him. Remi was probably going to pretend like the bruises weren't there, trying to make Linx comfortable and hopefully make him talk about the bruises without pushing for answers.

Austin on the other hand will probably try to talk to him in a secluded corner, which won't happen, and guilt trip him to talk about the bruises.

Linx didn't have time for either interrogations, so once he finished his food and placed the plate down, he zoomed out of the kitchen and back to his room, making sure to lock it.

As he went to the bathroom, he didn't care for the shower to get warm he just needed to be out the house as soon as possible. Once he was done, he drank down two more painkillers, applied some cream to his bruises, grabbed his bag for the gym, and practically flew through the window.

Linx didn't see the pairs of eyes that followed him through the yard and to the end of the road, he just simply ran.

But did it feel good. His anger simmered down, his agitation gone, everything was just right. So much so, that he wasn't sure if he wanted to go to the gym anymore. But he has another match this Thursday, he needs more training.

He arrived at Rooster, it being both his gym and tournament place. He went around the cement building and opened the backdoor.

The next three hours was him just hitting, stretching, and thinking of better ways to beat his opponents. His anger quietly hung around him, Roftkal shining through him, Linx being forgotten.

This was Roftkal's zone. To be destructive and angry. Linx is the quiet him, the one that doesn't want to be seen or heard.

Yet, this is Roftkal's zone.

By the time he finished and stepped back out in the alley, the sun was casting lovely shades of magenta and auburn onto the pale clouds. He admired the pretty colors from the alley, nobody on the sidewalks noticing the man hidden within the shadows in the alley. A ghost smile appeared on his face, loving how hidden he was, even during daytime. How nobody will ever notice him.

He decided to kill some time by exploring the neighborhood some more, though it was more like revisit since he's been jogging down these streets for years. Eventually, when the sun started to set and the warm colors faded to cool blues, he decided to go back home.

Surprisingly, one faint light was still on by the time he got home. It was the kitchen light, and two shadows flickered by the curtains. As he moved closer, he realized the two figures were having sex. If the steady thrusting didn't clue him in, the muffled moans he heard through the window sure did.

His confusion cleared, he went to his bedroom window and hopped through the four foot high opening, sticking the landing as usual. Luckily he couldn't hear any moans, but he knew from past experiences, once he goes into the bathroom, the moans would be heard and applified by the echo.

And as expected, he was correct. Finn's moans were echoed in his bathroom, the high pitched provocative comments clueing Linx in. The grunts of the other person was heard occasionally, though if past experiences served Linx right, only Trev would be willing to have a quick fuck in the middle of the night.

He drowned the noise out by taking a shower instead of a bath, as he didn't feel like listening to their little lover show.

As he washed himself, a common thought surfaced through his mind. The one thing he never understood, was why the boys took him with them when they bought this house. They obviously loved each other, he could've just continue to live with his adopted parents.

The couple were two married women who wanted to give kids the love they never received. Their names were Liv and Roxy, though everybody just calls them Mom and Ma.

Linx was grateful to the two, that they let him escape his house and the foster system, and welcomed him with open arms.

He was the last one they adopted, the other three, Kade, Orion, and Remi, already adopted. And it was nice. To not worry if looking the wrong way would anger someone or if he spoke the wrong words, at the wrong time, he would be beaten.

Sure, his mother tried her best to protect him from his father. But hate and love are only seperated by a thin line, she slowly viewed him as a nuisance, instead of the joy of her life.

And Linx admits, he did think it was his fault that his family was broken. Just because he was gay.

When he finally figured out his orientation, he told his mother, the only person he trusted. He told her when his father wasn't home, he was out in the city, doing whatever.

His mother accepted him. Even cried for him, saying he'll never become like his father and give birth to a mistake. Never beat a women, for he'll only look at men. That night, his mother bought him his favorite chocolate swirl cake. Though the frosting was too sweet and cake too small, it was the best moment he's had with her.

A few weeks past by, his father coming in and out of the house with a new scent of perfume clinging into his clothes each time and mothers voice grieving to him about the love they once had. But one day the yelling was particularly loud and he heard as his mother rattled him out from frustration that he was gay.

Life was never quite the same after that day. She tried to her best to be forgiven, but the black and blue spots littered on his body never allowed him to trust her or forgive her back.

Sadly, her patience soon grew thin by the passage of time and she too started to abuse him. There were moments where he saw glimpses of his loving mother: her closing the door in the middle of the night so his father can't sneak up on him, money that appeared out of nowhere in his pant pockets after being washed, and a sandwich stashed in his backpack for lunch. But they were just glimpses. Temporary. While the small acts of kindness did keep him afloat for a while, once he hit 8th grade, he couldn't take the abuse any longer.

By the time one of his teachers noticed the lack of presence of his parents and the bruises on his body, his will to live was the verge of collapsing. Even his malnourished body agreed.

But one day, the police and child services came to his house. That day was the second last time he saw his parents. The last time he saw them was in court, where the judge released all of their rights as parents and put his father in jail for five years for child abuse and drug trafficking. His mother was sent to a behavioral hospital to fix her depression. He was thirteen at the time.

Somehow, nobody detected the emptiness that was lurking in his heart and was sent to foster care. By some miracle he was only in there for five months, the Yolda family adopting him. Or as he calls them, Ma and Mom.

The other three, Kane, Remi, and Orion, were already adopted by the time he arrived. He didn't really remember those days, the lack of emotion made all his days seem the same. But from what he's heard from the three, he was quiet. So much so, he got the temporary nickname of Ghost.

Though Ma stopped them from calling him that, saying that it was rude and so on. He smiled at that, as he got out of the shower, the moans now at quiet whimpers, and dried himself.

At some point of his quiet phase, he began to fight others. At first it was small street fights with small amounts of money being bet on the winner. He lost quite a few in the beginning, all his lunch money gone. But he got better, watched tutorials, worked out more, and soon all the lunch money that he lost was doubled in profit.

Eventually, he discovered greco-roman wrestling, the style he plays at Rooster. Funny enough, he discovered the style by picking a fight with Rose, which she completely annihilated him with her proper technique versus his mediocre street fighting skills.

He soon pestered her, learning where she worked when he followed her after his defeat. She let him spectate the gym, but they both knew she was letting him join, and he quickly became the best rookie in Rooster.

At home he was still quiet, but he began to go to Rooster to practice. Mom and the boys found it strange of how late he was coming home, but he managed to convince Ma he was going to an after school activity, and just like magic, everyone settled from that fact. Because if Ma was okay with it, then everyone else was too.

Eventually the boys started to date. The few times when he went straight home after school, he would easedrop onto the boys conversation and hear about their relationships.

They never got into specific details about the partner they were with currently. But at the beginning, Kade was with Finn, Remi with Austin, and Orion with Trevor.

It was fine for a while. Everybody met everybody, even Linx because he was forced to meet them. But then tension arose between the six of them.

They all started to cheated on one another. That was a difficult time for him, as everyday he would come home for dinner, one of the boys would drag him away and either complain to him, ask for advice, or just sit in his quiet room and relax. The last option was mostly what they did, always saying they felt more calm in his room since it was in the attic and furthest away from any of the boys rooms.

But they all made it in the end. After cheating on one another multiple times, going between each other's exs and such, they realized they all liked each other. It was a weird time, as the boys would still come into his room, but not to calm themselves, but to think.

There were times when one of them would stay so long in his room, he would fall asleep. It rarely occurred, as he never liked sleeping with someone else in the room, but he couldn't help himself. He was tired from training and school.

Then he graduated high school, and the rest of the boys already were in university or had a job. Linx didn't go to a university, but to a small local college since he didn't know what he wanted to do. By now he was already a senior in Rooster, having a match every week or so.

And before the boys moved to the current house, he began to change. From calm and empty he went to angry. Just angry. Linx began to lose more matches, his focus getting lost in frustration. Only Rose noticed the change, since only Rose got to see both of his sides. At home he was still quiet, but anger still lurked underneath, the only way it could be realsed was by being physical.

Luckily, Rose didn't, and still doesn't, know any of his adopted family. There were multiple occasions of her trying to fish for info about his family so she could report to them about his behavior, but always failed. She still can't, and for that he's grateful for his parents teaching him how to be quiet even when you wann scream your lungs out.

Yes, but the boys don't deserve to know any of his problems. They already keep him afloat, and that's all he needs. That's all he needs to survive.

Now he's at the present, losing his shit on the ring, becoming angry at himself, still being the quiet Linx the boys knew, and always feeling restless.

He just wanted to punch himself to get his mind back in the game, to be the empty Linx that was calm.

But just as his anger came, it fled. Like someone in his brain just switched it from on to off. He yawned, and put on a random shirt. He stumbled over to his bed and, like every other night, curled himself into his blankets.

And hopefully, he won't wake up to screams in the morning.

_______

: You can read!

: I'm bilingual (Fluent in English, speak Romanian, understand Russian, learning German and ASL)!

: Next update is in two days because... because why not??

: You're awesome!