”FML!” was written at the end of the last message Damien had sent to one of his friends in Baltimore before he shut down his laptop and retreating to the living room where his dad was. The two of them had spent the better part of the previous evening at the hospital because of major scare going on with his grandmother. No worries, though, she had come out of it ok, but the two of them were both extremely exhausted. The only difference was Damien couldn’t manage to make himself sleep. There were dark circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep he managed to get. Whereas, his father was on the couch with head thrown back, mouth open, snoring rather loudly. ”Dad,” Damien said as he sat down. His father didn’t move an inch. ”Dad!” This time he poked him. Still, nothing. ”Dad, wake up!” He grabbed his father’s arm and shook it this time. He made the noise all people who were disturbed in the middle of their sleep made, that irritated groan. At least he was awake now. All Damien really wanted to say was that he was going out for a while.

But Damien couldn’t open his mouth before his dad spoke, though. ”Damien, you look horrible.” He was suddenly very alert, wasn’t he? Damien rubbed his eye and laughed in an almost sarcastic manner. ”Gee, thanks Dad, but that doesn’t say many nice things about you when everyone says I look just like you.” This was Damien being a bit of a smartass. Clearly, his father was not talking how pretty or ugly he was. ”Haha. I think you need to go back to your room and get some sleep.” Damien sighed. He was not about to take his father up on that offer. It was a nice thought, but he wasn’t physically capable of sleeping, so he determined. ”I would love to, but I can’t sleep. I’ve tried for days,” he started. Before his dad could talk again Damien finished his statement. ”Your sleeping pills can wait at least until tonight. I think I’m going to go out and just hang out at the cliffs by myself.”

Aaron was all too aware of the goings on with his son. He knew about Rhiannon and Damien’s screaming match a few weeks ago. He knew how horrible his son felt about Ashleigh and how, though he called himself her best friend, he never really took the time to show her some days. Damien was in a bad place. It was one of those situations Aaron found hard to deal with. He couldn’t be the psychologist he was technically qualified to be. He had to be the father that Damien needed. Those were two very different people, and this one person had to be both of them, all on his own because Damien didn’t have a mother. Aaron had no one to help him raise his son. It was quite clear it was hard for him to separate the two figures. That was why he didn’t argue with Damien. ”Ok, don’t stay out late.” Damien nodded and stood up. ”Catch up on your sleep,” was the last thing he said before exiting the house.

Damien walked to the one place he always retreated to when he was younger. Actually, all his friends came there to think. It was usually where they found each other and just spent time together. It was where he had found Rhiannon a few nights ago. Obviously he was finding Ashleigh there now. His stomach sunk. This was not going to be easy and he wasn’t sure how he would deal with it, but he wouldn’t know if he didn’t at least try, right? ”Hey, Ashleigh,” he said walking towards her, ”Mind if I join you?”

Damien had been through hell in the last few weeks. That was a sure thing. If things could always be worse, he hated to think of those feelings and what they could really feel like. He didn’t like feeling this way, nor did he like the effect it had on him. He sure as hell wouldn’t like it if it were worse. He would kill himself if it were worse because he was on the edge of that now. He only knew better because his family needed him. Yes, if it wasn’t for them he was pretty sure he would be dead somewhere, and he wouldn’t care. The world had done a fantastic job of finding ways to piss him off. Did he honestly deserve this?

The horrible thing was that seeing Ashleigh did nothing to make him feel any better. He was still pissed as hell about something. Damien just didn’t have the energy to show those emotions. He was too tired. So, he gratefully sat down beside his friend thankful she hadn’t completely blown him off like the rest of La Push and Forks had seemed to do. She looked not better than he did, though. She had the same dark circles under her eyes and seemed just as disconnected from the world as he knew he felt about his life. And from the words that came from her mouth, he could tell she was having it rough, too. It was funny how he still felt sympathetic to her.

”It’s possible. We’d have to compare stories,” Damien smiled weakly. He was more than willing to do that. His best friend and lifelong crush had pushed him so far away he felt like he was leaving La Push all over again. His dad had it rough. His grandfather was stressed. His grandmother didn’t even seem like she was there. And his other best friend, he could swear wanted nothing to do with him. Yet, there Damien sat talking to Ashleigh. ”We had a scare last night,” he ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated manor, ”She’s ok, now, but no better than she has been since we came back. She’s not worse than that, but certainly not better.” He sighed heavily. ”What about you? What are your dark circles for?”