Greya's POV...

My brother is an amazing kid! Sometimes I don't give him enough credit, yet he always finds ways to remind me of how special he really is.

It's only been four days since Cohen and I told Chase and Fynn about Liam and Loxley. Since then, Chase has been coming up with all sorts of ideas for us to be with them.

As soon as we told Chase the whole story of what happened, I expected him to have a mental breakdown, or completely shut down all together, but that's not the kind of kid he is. He quietly listened as we explained every detail and allowed Fynn to ask multiple questions. When we finished talking, Chase remained eerily silent for a few minutes. We all waited for his reaction and none of us expected what we got. Chase suddenly jumped up off the couch and asked us when he could see Liam. He even used their new names when referring to them as if they were born with those names.

The three of us looked at each other like Chase had two heads. That kid's always proving he's the best of all of us.

After spending another hour drilling the importance of their new identities into his head, he says, "I want to see them, we've gone long enough without them, don't you think?"

We all look at each other again, shocked by how right he is.

"I promise I won't mess up. I miss them Grey! I won't mess up!" He insisted.

Fynn took a little longer to wrap his head around everything. He's happy for me that they weren't gone for good. Lord knows how many nights he held me in his arms while I mourned for them.

Friday was the first test. Fynn and Chase sat near Liam and Lox in the same row again. Playing my usual game was harder for me that night as I was too busy worrying about an impending encounter.

For some reason, Lox and Liam left my game early, but we found them standing near my car waiting for us after.

That was the moment of truth. I introduced them to Chase who along with Liam, were both overly excited to meet each other. I thought one of them would blow it. Loxley seemed perplexed by the situation and possibly amused at the same time. Who's to blame him.

When Chase decided to ask him questions about having super powers and pointing out his speech impairment, I almost picked him up and threw him into the car.

Chase handled it well like he promised he would and then he invited Lox and Liam over for a BBQ on Sunday. At that point I sent him to the car.

Afterwards, he gave me a mouthful on our car ride home, reminding me that he isn't stupid and he knows what he's doing. Then he proceeded to tell me that Liam is his friend and he's going to hang out with him no matter what.

Teenagers! He had a point though. And I trust that he'll keep their secret safe.

That night I heard Chase repeating Liam and Loxleys names out loud. His way of engraving them into his head so he doesn't forget. Smart kid.

Today's already Sunday and now Ari and Declan are sitting in our living room while it's their turn to learn the truth.

"Holy shit! I can't believe this! How are they alive? What the hell!" She's walking around the living room like she's on a mission.

"How could your parents keep that a secret from you?" She asks Cohen.

"And you Grey! They were there when you lost your whole family basically, they watched you lose your boyfriend too!"

"Calm down babe! They did it to protect them, it was a sacrifice we all had to make whether we knew it or not," Declan grabs her hand and pulls her onto his lap. Those two have been a couple since senior year of high school and are still going strong.

"I know, I know. Sucks though, the whole thing sucks. Now he's disabled? How bad is it?" Ari asks.

"Pretty bad. He has good days and bad days," I tell her.

"Okay, so how much time do I have to prepare for this?" She stands up again.

"They'll be here in an hour," Chase blurts out. The kid's been counting down the seconds.

"I need some air. I'll be outside practicing their new names."

"Hey, I did that too Ari! I'll go out with you and we can practice together." Chase follows her outside.

"This is some crazy shit. He's alive though, that's what counts," Declan adds and we all agree.

An hour later there's a knock at the door. Chase is the first to answer.

"Liam and Lox are hear!" He yells to the rest of us.

Chase makes me nervous all over again when I see him leap into Liam's arms. Liam laughs and gives him a bear hug before putting him back down.

"He's a hugger," I say, trying to ease the confusion on Loxley's face.

"Come on in," I lead them into the living room.

I notice Lox is using a forearm crutch to help him walk instead of his cane. I'll have to ask Liam about that later.

I introduce them to Ari and Declan and realize that Lox hasn't really been formerly introduced to Cohen. Cohen's been awfully quiet. They were best friends, brothers really and Lox doesn't remember any of it.

"I'm Cohen," he introduces himself .

"I hope this is ok. We're like family, all of us and we try to get together every Sunday, sort of our tradition."

Loxley nods and Liam says, " I like traditions!"

"Me too," Chase adds. This kid's killing me with his enthusiasm. So far so good though.

Loxley's not feeling comfortable enough to use his voice with everyone here. Maybe after a few hours of hanging out and eating food, he'll feel more confident. He's here and that's what matters.

"Want to juggle a soccer ball in the yard with me Liam?" Oh Chase. Kid has no patience.

Everyone follows Chase out back to our small yard. I hang back to walk out with Loxley.

His left arm hangs loosely by his side today and he seems to walk better with his crutch.

He notices me staring at him and says, "M..more st..stable w..w..with the the cr...crutch," he answers my thoughts.

"I'm glad you're here, Lox."

"Y..you are?"

"Yeah, I am. And Chase seems to like Liam," I giggle thinking of how those too used to get along so well for being years apart in age.

"Kids t..t..tend t..t..to like h..him." He's struggling more with his words. He's probably anxious with all these new people here.

I hear him sigh before leaning his crutch against his leg so he can use his right hand to type on his phone.

"I'm sorry. It's quicker if I use my phone. Does everyone know I had a stroke?" His app speaks for him. His leg is shaking a little and I realize he probably needs his crutch to support him but also wants to use his phone at the same time.

He sighs again and then places his phone carefully into his left hand and I watch his fingers slowly wrap around the phone. Now I know what his left hand is able to do.

"They know you had an accident. I don't want to tell them anything you're not comfortable with them knowing. "

He smiles at me and places his right arm back into his crutch.

"I have a table and chairs we can sit at outside, that way you can use your app." I've made him anxious having all of them here. If he only knew how much everyone here has missed him.

"I'll f...f...follow y...you." He nods towards the back door.

"S...s...sorry," he looks down, ashamed of his voice.

"You never have to feel sorry with me, Lox. I like hearing you, when you let me."

There are those dimples I love so much.

He follows me out back and takes a seat in one of the chairs and places his crutch onto the ground next to him. The five of us at the table watching Chase and Liam juggle a ball around. They're laughing and joking around like old times.

Ari is the first to strike up a conversation and my instincts want to reach under the table and hold Lox's hand.

"So Loxley, that's a cool name." Declan nudges her.

"What classes are you taking this semester?" She asks him.

Can I touch him? A small tap on his leg maybe to show him he has my support? No.. I can't do that, we're not ready for that yet.

He begins typing on his phone. Luckily I told everyone about his speech app so no one looks at him funny or asks him any questions about it.

"I'm taking a psychology and organic chem class with Greya and human bio for now," his app reads out loud.

"Cool. Are you in pre-med too like Grey?" As much as I'd like to strangle Ari for putting him on the spot, what else is she really supposed to talk with him about without bringing up our pasts.

"Thinking about it," his app reads.

"We might actually have human bio together. I think you were absent last class," Cohen tells him. "I'm studying to be a sports trainer."

Loxley only smiles this time.

Meanwhile I'm imagining holding his hand while our fingers intertwine. Jesus, what am I doing?

We all carry on the conversation. Declan talks about the food options at USC and suddenly we're all starving.

"Lox, want to help me with the grilling?" Cohen unexpectedly asks him, causing us all to halt our conversations. Oh God!

Loxley surprisingly leans down to pick up his crutch and then follows Cohen to the grill. Cohen must have a plan or something, otherwise he wouldn't have asked for Lox's help.

Declan gets up to join Chase and Liam on the grass while Ari and I fetch the burgers from the kitchen.

"This is going well," Ari says to me.

"I hope so."

"The speech app is neat. It has a sexy male voice," she smirks.

"I feel bad that I didn't warn him we'd all be here. He's probably uncomfortable."

"Grey, if you want him back in your life, in our lives, we're just going to have to dive right in."

"Hmm, I hope you're right."

"I am. And I'm not going to watch you suffer another day without him. This is all just going to take some time to get used to is all."

"Declan's fairly quiet, how's he handling all this?" I ask her.

"Considering you only gave us an hours notice, I'll have to get back to you on that. His friend has risen from the dead, so I think it'll take some time."

"I know. I'm sorry about that. We didn't know how else to tell you guys and Chase invited them over today. Everything happened so fast."

"So he doesn't remember you at all huh?"

"No."

"He will Grey. Maybe not everything, but he'll remember that he loves you. Give it time."

There's that word again. Time. Loxley's recovery will take time, my broken heart will mend in time, it'll take time for all of us to be friends again, time for him to love me again.

We grab the burgers, buns, and condiments and bring it out to the guys. Cohen brought a stool over to the grill and Loxley's sitting on it with a spatula in his shaky hand waiting to begin cooking the burgers.

This is something guys like to do, be in charge of the grill. And what better way to make Loxley feel welcomed and included. Cohen's showing him his disabilities don't matter when it comes to friendship.

The rest of the afternoon went without a hitch. Loxley was surprisingly social, using his speech app. Him and Cohen seemed to hit it off, I also caught them laughing together about something a few times. Made me happy.

Chase was attached to Liam's hip all afternoon and Liam didn't mind one bit.

Everyone left about ten minutes ago, Liam and Lox thankfully hanging around a little longer. I haven't had much opportunity to talk with Lox today, although I'm glad he was occupied talking with everyone else.

Chase drags Liam and Fynn to his room to look at his comic book collection while Lox and I are now alone together in the living room.

He doesn't want to sit, so I'm assuming he's tired and wants to leave soon.

"Y...your f...friends are are n...nice," he shyly uses his voice. I love how he trusts me enough to speak with me this way.

"They are. They're great friends. We're always there for each other. And you and Liam fit right in."

"I...I d...do?" He looks towards his crutch and moves it slightly, demonstrating how unsure he is.

"Perfectly!" I say.

"Cohen is a great guy. You can count on him for anything and looks like you guys have a class together too." I remind him he has another familiar face in his other class.

"Th...thanks f...for t...today. It w...was f...fun."

"Anytime, Lox. You and Liam are welcome here anytime."

He's swaying slightly against his crutch. I know he's tired after today. I'm guessing he hasn't had this much socializing in a long time.

"I'll grab Liam for you. You must be tired." He shyly smiles at me.

Moments later, we're all saying our goodbyes. Chase already inquiring when their next visit will be.

My front steps don't have a railing so Lox holds onto Liam's arm while they walk down.

Note to self... Have a railing installed or remember to offer him assistance if ever we're alone next time.

"Hey Lox? Want to grab lunch with me after our class tomorrow?" Dive right in! That's what Ari says I should do. Forget about wasting any more time.

"I'd l...like th...that."

Good. I'm going to bed happy for the first time in three years.