Greya's POV...

I've always had difficulty finding the silver lining. How could anyone blame me?

Lox has been out back with the Collins for the past hour. They could be discussing a number of things. I'd like to believe they're talking about financials or something simple, but our lives are blanketed in shadows and nothing is ever simple.

Yet, I try my best to find any ray of sunshine in each day, otherwise it's not really living. That's why I had Mr. Collins do me a favor and pick up something from my storage unit from my old home town before they drove here today. It's currently covered up in the bed of their truck and I hope it will shine a little light for all of us tonight.

"Should we bring it in while he's occupied?" Cohen asks.

"Yes, that would be great. I'll clear the space against that wall," I point to one of the walls in the living room.

"What are they getting?" Chase gets to his feet, ready to help.

"It's a surprise," Fynn ruffles Chases hair while him, Liam and Cohen go out to retrieve said surprise.

Thankfully it's light enough for the three of them to carry it in here and place it against the wall just as Loxley and Mr. and Mrs. Collins walk back in from the patio.

The three of them stop at the threshold of the living room while the rest of us are anxiously watching Lox's reaction.

"What is it?" Chase is the most anxious.

Liam whispers into his ear and then Chase anything but whispers. "The same one Greya got for Becker? I mean Lox, well Becker really.... what do you think Lox?"

"Real smooth little man," Fynn nudges Chases shoulder.

"I know m...my memory isn't good b...but I know that p...piano wasn't th...there earlier," Lox smiles.

"We heard you've been playing and you're rather exceptional," Fynn says to him.

Lox looks to me and I playfully shrug.

"Yes you have no excuse now, show us your hidden talent," Cohen tells him.

He's never played for his friends before. I don't know why and without his memories, he probably doesn't know why either. His gift is something he can be proud to share... with the people who are close with him anyway. In time, hopefully he'll gain the confidence to show the world.

Lox limps over to the piano and drops his crutch to the floor before sitting onto the bench. He slowly runs his fingers across the keys, feeling the smoothness of them. I notice he does this every time he's about to play the piano on campus..

He then rubs his left arm and holds his fisted hand in his other and looks up at me.

Everyone else has taken a seat on the sofas at this point waiting for the extraordinary that's about to unfold, but Lox sits there, hesitant because he needs help with his arm and hand.

"Um, I c...can play s...something simple with one h...hand. I usually use a d...device on c...campus that helps th...this arm w...work." He's still holding his bad hand and looking at everyone with a bit of sadness in his eyes until I slide onto the bench next to him.

"Y...you got this f...for me?"

I nod and begin massaging his arm and hand and working his fingers so they open and close. Everyone is silently and patiently watching. They know his physical limitations and don't mind waiting while I help him.

"How does it feel now?"

He's able to straighten his elbow enough for his fingers to reach the keys. "Weak, b...but I can move my f...fingers now."

"I'll support your arm just like the first day in the music room. Whatever you play will be amazing like always," I playfully nudge his shoulder.

He leans in and whispers in my ear, "Should I sing?"

That would be the icing on the cake. Liam's the only one besides me that knows he can sing, so what a surprise for everyone else.

"I love when you do and they will too."

I guide his left hand over the piano and he closes his eyes and begins playing. No singing yet, only the sweet sound of the piano. This goes on for a good five minutes until Cohen blurts out, "Holy Shit! Why haven't we heard you play before?"

Lox opens his eyes and smiles. He looks at me again and I wink at him, letting him know to show them his wonderful voice too.

His left hand and fingers are slow but I've heard him play before with mostly his right hand and the fact that he can do that always astounds me.

"Well, I won't back down
No I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of Hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down
Hey baby
There ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
Well, I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down"

How he can make his voice sound like Tom Petty is beyond me. He did though, and it was incredible.

"Oh my God," squeaked from Mrs. Collins along with a few tears.

"What the fuck! I mean ... sorry Chase. You can sing like an actual rock star," Cohen says.

"That's your super power Lox!" Chase happily says and I put my arm around Lox's waist and squeeze him into my side.

"He's right, this is your super power."

Lox turns around and everyone's staring at him with a mix of awe and confusion. Lox holds my hand in his and we both smile at them.

"What the actual f....How?" Cohen's the first to ask.

"The p...part of my b...brain that controls m...my regular speech is d...damaged, but music and s...singing come from another p...part of the brain th...that isn't d...damaged is what the d...doctor explained to m...me."

"So if you sing all the time when you want to say something, you won't stutter!"

Lox laughs at Chase's idea. "Pretty m...much, although that w...would be silly."

"Yeah, like living in a musical but only you because I can't sing," we all laugh at what Chase says. This kid is the king of finding silver linings.

The guys get up from their seats and come over to us. They're curious about everything and Chase wants his turn at the piano.

I lean over and tell him I love him and kiss his cheek before getting up and helping Mrs. Collins clean the dishes in the kitchen.

I can hear them all asking Lox about his adaptive device that holds his arm while he plays and questions about how many songs he can play and sing.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Collins and I are at the kitchen sink, me washing while she dries the dishes.

I want to know what they talked about for so long outside yet I don't know how to ask and frankly it's not my business unless Lox wants it to be, so I'm torn.

"I'm glad you two found each other again. He's always loved you and that part stayed with him even after losing his memories," Mrs. Collins confesses.

I remain quiet as she goes on. "I wish we could've done more for those boys, I wish we could've prevented that night. Maybe we could've and that thought eats away at me every time I look at him now. Everything was always so complicated with his family and those boys suffered because of it. But you Greya make him happy. You make things better for him and he does the same for you. Things are still complicated but I know you won't give up on each other and we're here to help you along the way."

"Thank you. I know you did what you could for them and you still do. I just don't want to lose him again and these letter from his mom and not knowing what his father is up to is killing me. I don't want him to leave I can't live through that again."

"Oh hunny, he's not leaving this time," she wraps me into her arms and hugs me. "He's got some crazy ideas and plans about how to handle all this, but he's not leaving."

I pull back. "What kind of crazy plans? That makes me more nervous. Last night he said he'd do anything to keep me and Chase safe, what does he mean by that?"

"Mr. Collins and I talked him out of some of his ideas I think. It's best that you and everyone try and get him to openly talk about what he's thinking. His first thoughts are always you and his friends of course, but so far, besides the letters from his mom, we don't have any other evidence pointing to his father knowing who or where he is. If you all are in this together, he'll be less stressed about it. We know what the effects of stress does to his body," she shakes her head and wipes away a tear from her eye.

"Enough about that, it was such a great idea to have us bring the piano. He's special, that guy and I think being able to play and the fact he can sing without his stutter, makes him happy," she says while getting back to drying the dishes.

"I was thinking he could give Chase some lessons and since we're all here on Sundays, he might become more comfortable playing in front of people."

"Great idea, Greya! See, you were meant for each other. You will make it through anything together, I truly believe that."

"Thanks Mrs. Collins."

"Come on, I've got another surprise for everyone," she grabs my hand and leads me back to the living room.

Chase is sitting at the piano while Lox is trying to teach him some basic notes. This is good for both of them.

"Hey everyone!" We all give Mrs. Collins our attention. I walk over to Lox and he slips his hand into mine while we listen to her.

"This has already been a great afternoon and evening and I though Mr. Collins and I can add a little more excitement to it. With next week being Thanksgiving break, we've rented a house in Palm Springs and would like for you all to join us for the week."

Chase is the first to voice his excitement of course.

"Can we Grey? We've never been there before?"

"Um sure bud," I look to Lox who's looking at Liam. Everyone's nodding at each other.

"Sounds great mom!" Cohen agrees for the rest of us.

"Make sure to invite Ari and Declan too and Fynn, you can invite your boyfriend if he doesn't have plans already," she adds.

"Thanks Mrs. C, I'm heading over to his place now and I'll ask him," Fynn says.

"We're going to head out too," Mr. Collins announces before we all hug each other goodbye.

Cohen leaves with his parents. Fynn leaves soon after. Lox stands from the piano bench and limps over to the couch and begins rubbing his thigh.

Liam watches him for a minute and then asks, " How about I take Chase over to our place tonight and you two can have this place to yourselves?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes he's sure, Greya. I'll get my things Liam." What a little wise guy.

Not two minutes pass before he's giving me a hug and leaving with Liam.

I have to admit, it is nice to have some alone time.

"You okay?" I sit myself onto the sofa with Lox.

"Yeah, I n...need to take th...this brace off, having p...painful spasms when my ankle is l...locked in the brace."

"Here, swing your legs over onto my lap." These are the constant shadows that surround us, the poor guy can't catch a break but at least I can help relieve some of the pain.

He winces while he lifts his legs up onto my lap. "I'm s...sorry Grey," he hisses.

"You've done great all day even after what your body went through the other night, don't be sorry for feeling sore and tired now."

I remove his leg brace and rub my fingers into his twitching calf muscle. I can't believe he lives through this discomfort every day. He's so strong and never gives up.

"It was a g...great day and n...now this."

"Getting a massage from your girlfriend isn't so bad," I smirk.

"You're r...right. Could b...be worse, could be Liam with h...his hands on me," he smirks back.

I try to flex his ankle and he winced again. "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you."

"Keep doing w...what you're d..doing, please. My j...joints are stiff from b...being in the s...same position all day. I need to t...try and walk more w...without the brace but I really n...need two crutches for that."

"Or I can help you. Mid day when we don't have classes you can take a break from your brace and we can walk around the indoor track or walk in the pool?"

"That's sweet of y...you, Love, but you're already c...coming over every m...morning to do m...my stretches with me."

"I should be doing them with you every night too," I continue massaging his lower leg and foot. "Plus, it gives me an excuse to spend more time with you and that's what matters to me."

"Maybe a consistent therapy routine would be good. You'll be in less pain at night and less rigid during the day," I shrug.

"I h...hope you know how m...much I love you."

"I do."

"Mrs. Collins t...told me my g...grandfather still deposits money into a t...trust for me. She s...set up a medical expense account w...with the interest it makes so I c...can try out that new m...mechanical arm brace. It was too expensive I thought u...until I found out I have the f...funds to pay for it. The b...brace will attract more attention than I want b...but it automatically opens and closes my f...fist and extends and bends my elbow w...while I have it on i'd I use i...it an hour or t...two a day."

"Sound like that would really benefit your arm movement and make it easier to play the piano."

"Yeah, th...that's the h...hope." He averts his eyes from me and looks down towards his leg I currently have in my hands.

"But?"

"It m...means I'll be w...walking around with a l...leg brace an arm b...brace and my crutch or c...cane."

He's embarrassed. He shouldn't be but that's easier for me to say, I'm not living in his shoes and there's so much he deals with daily.

"If it's worn two hours a day, how about after I help you with morning stretches you can put it on and by the time we eat breakfast and drive to class, it's already been an hour and you can take it off. Then mid day we can go to the pool or walk around without your leg brace. And when you're home or at my place in the evening, attach the arm brace for another hour and we can finish with a massage?"

"That's a lot f...for me to ask of y...you."

"You're not asking, I'm offering. And I'm offering because I love you and I promised you're not in this alone. Who knows, maybe a few months of this routine and you'll notice more strength in your arm and leg and then we can come up with a different routine that works!"

"Come here. L...lay with m...me," he holds his arm out and pushes his body against the back of the sofa.

I gladly lay into the crook of his arm, his leg draped over mine while we spoon on the couch. "I love you," he says as clear as day, making me melt in his arm.

I reach behind and pull his bad arm over me and rest his hand on my stomach while I play with his fingers.

"Thank y...you for the piano. Did y...you really get that f...for me before I was sh...shot?"

"I did. I was going to surprise you with it. I had just told you I'd accept my offer to play for UCLA and you had just told me about your plan to pursue music. My grandmothers friend had it in her house and was moving to a nursing home and offered it to me. I thought the piano would be perfect for you to use at my house, a safe place."

"Thank you for s...seeing the l...light in all my d...darkness. You n...never gave up on m...me."

"And I never will."

He kisses my neck and nestles his face into me. " I'll never g...give up trying to b...be the best for y...you Greya. You're m...my ray of light."