( chapter twenty-eight ) 

"It's been six months since I had seen them." I sighed, laying flowers over Dee's grave. "But anyways, enough of my sob story...Happy Birthday Dee." I smiled sadly, before taking a seat in front of his headstone.

"I'll come see you later to bring a couple other special things...I heard Mam and Da talking earlier. They'll be here in a couple minutes, so I'll give them privacy. I love you." I sighed, scraping the fallen autumn leaves off over the grave before I stood up and walked away, seeing Mam and Da in the distance.

I was glad they were coming today. I knew Dee would appreciate it.

"Keelan!"

"...Hi Daphne." I sighed with a small, forced smile as I looked up at one of Dee's old friends. "How have you been dear? All is well, I hope?"

"Of course." I nodded, "How have you been? How is Benji?" I asked, knowing she wasn't going to leave anytime soon. It wasn't that I disliked or hated her—it was more of the fact that she would overcoddle me, and never ceased talking about Dee.

I also knew I wasn't the only one hurt and devastated over his passing, so I went along with it.

"We've been fine—although very sad at times." She admitted, walking beside me as we ambled passed the blasted pub. "Understandable," I nodded, "Ben and I were ecstatic when we heard you've come back to Ireland! How was the states?"

"It was okay," I smiled, masking a wince. I didn't like to be reminded of Charleston. Although my last day there was terrible—I really loved the area. I hoped to one day visit again (without running into any of them).

"Did you meet anyone...a boy perhaps?" Daphne wigged her brows, a smirk crawling across her face as she pulled me to sit on one of the benches near the local florists. "Not anybody worth remembering," I grumbled, glaring down at my hands.

Was I going through the four stages of heartbreak?

I guess...in a way I was.

Denial—That was what I was going through the first month of being back home.

Depression—Dealt with that for four months.

Anger—this, this was the stage I was on, it felt better than being depressed about everything.

Then, finally, the stage I was going towards...Acceptance.

To be able to be truly happy, I would need to move on. Forget about them.

"Keelan?...Uh, Keelan? You there?" Daphne questioned concerned, leaning towards my face. "I'm fine, Daph. Uh, I just remembered that I have a couple chores to do at home. Will you be okay by yourself?" I asked, quickly climbing off the bench and onto my feet in the span of two seconds.

"Wait! Before you leave, Benji and I were wondering if you'll be able to meet us for dinner at the house? Please!" She begged, cocoa brown eyes glinting pleadingly.

"Uh—Okay." I relented, shoulders dropping in defeat. No one had ever been able to deny Daphne Jones when she pulled out the 'puppy dog eyes'.

"Wonderful! Oh, come by around seven. I have a couple of friends for you to meet!" She smirked, "They've been wanting to meet you for a while now."

"Fine. I'll see you later Daph." I nodded tightly, before shoving my hands in the depths of my hoodie before ambling off.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Now Keelan, you mind your manners when you're at the Jones'." Mam sternly put. "They were Daniel's old friends, and I won't have you disrespecting them, you hear?"

"Yes Mam," I sighed, eternally rolling my eyes, as much as I tried to avoid them—I didn't want to disrespect them. I just couldn't handle the constant reminder of my brother every single time I was near them.

"Give this to Daphne," Mam smiled, handing me a casserole dish, "It's Shepard's Pie—Benji's favorite."

"Okay, I'll see you later Mam."

"I love you, my sweet girl." Mam smiled, holding me close before allowing me out the door.

After the door closed with a soft click, and with the warm dish in my arms, I headed in the direction of the Jones Residence. Which, thankfully, was only ten minutes away.

Dee and I spend countless hours a day at the Jones'. Benji had lost his parents two years ago, so whenever Mam and Da left on another business trip—we stayed with him.

When I finally climbed the step to the house that was just familiar as my own, the door opened.

...and out came a man I didn't know.

"Hello," He greeted in a deep voice, eyeing the dish in my hand. "You're Keelan?" He asked, opening the door wider as I scurried in past him. "I am." I nodded, allowing a small smile to grace my lips.

"I'm Alec McWalter, nice to meet you." It was then I noticed he was American.

"Pleasure." I nodded, shaking his hand as we studied one another. Alec had short black hair, that was swept away from his face effortlessly and a large symbol tattooed on the side of his neck. I gently pulled my hand out of his when I got the feeling he wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.

I looked away from his prying icy eyes as I felt a shiver of unease race down my spine as he continued to gaze into my eyes. "Where is Benji and Daphne?" I asked, taking the time to look around the room, seeing no one.

"They're in the kitchen." He answered.

"Thanks." I nodded, before walking quickly away towards the kitchen, where the others were. "Keelan! I was wondering when you'd stop by! I'm guessing you met Alec?" Benji asked, taking the offered dish out of my hand before hugging me tightly.

"Yeah." I nodded, "It's good to see you, Benny." I laughed as his face wrinkled in amusement at the nickname, I had always called him. "This is Karon." Daphne smiled, gesturing towards a slightly older man with dark hair and stubble across the lower part of his face. He had a small smile on his lips as he stared at my form intently.

"Karon and his boyfriend Alec are our tenants." Benji added helpfully as Alec stepped inside the kitchen with a playful grin.

"Seems like we're neighbors for the time being, Sweetheart." He winked, before taking a seat beside his boyfriend. 

A/N: I'M BACK BITCHES!!!!!! Miss me? 

So.....I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm so excited that I finally introduced Benji, Daphne, Karon, and Alec! I have so many plans for them already! 

What would you like to see happen next? I look forward to hearing your thoughts!