*Owens POV*

Some things in life you'll never forget, no matter how hard you try.

I remember the day as if it was yesterday.

It's become a core memory of mine, replaying in my head a lot.

It comes back to haunt me, making me want to crawl in my bed and hide under the covers, never to come out.

Or I wish I could fall into a deep sleep, and when I crack my eyes open it turned out to just be a bad dream.

Except every time I wake up life solidifies the fact that it wasn't a dream.

Every time I walk past his room a shudder runs through my body.

Who knows, maybe it's his spirit haunting me or some shit.

I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

He always liked scaring the shit out of me. It brought him joy.

My parents don't even bring up his name. I think it hurts them too much to do so.

It's been several years, I get it.  He was their son.

He was my brother, of course it hurts to think about him.

They say time heals.

I guess that statement may be, possibly, somewhat, true.  The pain of losing someone you love will always be there.  Except perhaps over time instead of crying at the thought of them, you smile from the memories you have with them.  I'm not there yet, though.

People deal with grief differently.  Because losing someone, especially someone that you love, isn't easy.

It's currently 6pm.  I'm sitting on the roof outside of my bedroom window, holding a book that I don't even plan to read today.

I'm not even sure why I brought this out here with me.  He gave it to me as a present many years ago.  It's an old Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.

I miss him.

I miss my first ever best friend.

His laugh was contagious.  As was his smile.

He liked to annoy the shit out of me.

Except the memory of how I last saw him has poisoned my view of him. Instead of focusing on who he was and our memories together, the first thing that flashes in my brain when I think of him is the way I found him.

I think I'll forever be scarred from that. No sibling should be the one to find their sibling in such a state, or anybody else for that matter.

Looking up from the slides on my feet I admire the sky. The sun is setting, creating a pink and orange hue.

Danny used to love sunsets.

He would drag me onto the roof I'm sitting on right now, and make me watch it with him. I hated it. I just wanted him to leave me alone and let me read and sleep in peace. Except no, he loved making me leave my room. Now that I'm older I appreciate that he did that.

Except now I'm sitting here alone. Or maybe not. Who knows, maybe his spirit is sitting right next to me, watching the sky change colors with me.

I'd like to think he is.

Suddenly my phone dings.

A text from my mom saying, "Le dîner est prêt." (Translation: The dinner is ready.)

I don't bother to respond back. Instead I just stand up and go back through the window and into my room. It's a little messier than I prefer, clothes and books scattered along the floor.

When I walk downstairs my mom is sitting alone at the small round kitchen table. Flora is laid out across the couch, taking a nap. She loves sleeping.

"Hi ma." I walk over to her and kiss the side of her head before taking a seat next to her.

"Salut mon fils." She greets me as she continues picking at her food. (Translation: Hi my son.)

Today we are eating plain pasta, with a piece of bread. Simple, but good.

The sound of the front door opening catches my attention.

My tired looking father saunters through the door, taking off his coat.

Ever since Danny's been gone my dad has been overworking himself. He uses it as a distraction.  Plus since mom can't work because of her back problems and arthritis and shit, he likes to take extra shifts so that we can have a little money left over.

Getting up from the table I walk over to him and give him a hug.

Usually I don't like to hug people since I don't like people touching me, but I barely see dad anymore, so whenever I do I make sure to greet him with one.

"Salut papa." I greet him as I tighten my grip. He hugs me back and then lets go, heading over to the table to give my mom a kiss and begin eating. (Translation: Hi dad.)

"How was work?" I ask him as I sit back at the table.

"Tiring, but eh, I get through it." He picks at his food with the fork. Heavy under eye bags rest on his face.  I wonder if he sleeps at all.

His once dark brown hair has greyed, and stress wrinkles are permanent lines on different parts of his face.

"Dad...I could get a job, you know, I could help out." I offer. I'm pretty sure my dad's job pays him good, but maybe I could take some stress off of him if I can start paying for my own things.

He looks at me as if I just said the dumbest thing ever. "No. I can handle paying for things around the house. You're a teenager, don't worry about money if you don't have to. You're gonna spend the rest of your life worrying about it when you're an adult.  Don't worry about that right now." His French accent comes out as he speaks.

"If you say so..." I timidly shove another piece of pasta in my mouth and chew thoughtfully.

We talk over dinner about how school is going for me, Flora and the funny things she does, and any random topic I could think of bringing up.

I learned the hard way that I should probably take advantage of my time with the people I love before it's too late. Even if it means having a pointless conversation about a random thought that popped into my head.

"So...who is that girl you brought over to the house a while ago? Are you guys dating and keeping it a secret from your mother?" Mom eyes me suspiciously.

I almost choke on the piece of pasta in my mouth, but I manage to swallow it.

My dad quickly lifts his gaze off his plate and transfers it to me. A look of shock and excitement on his face. "You finally have a girlfriend? About damn time. I remember when Danny first got-" He cuts off his own sentence, his expression faltering. My mom's eyes drop to her plate, she pushes the food around with her fork.

He clears his throat. "I'm happy for you son." There is now a sad tinge to his tone.

I tap on the table cloth beneath my fingers. "No...we aren't dating. She is just my friend." I respond quietly while staring at my plate.

Ever since that moment in Levina's pantry with Luna last week, it's been slightly awkward between us. When we are around each other there is a difference in the air, and I have a harder time holding eye contact with her.

Mom hums in disapproval. "Such a shame. She is pretty. You guys should date and give me adorable little grand babies." Her face softens at the thought.

I shake my head. "Ma? What the hell? No." A feeling of embarrassment clouds my senses. I don't want my mom talking about me and Luna giving her grand babies.  If I talk about that then I'm going to be thinking about Luna and I having sex and then I'll get a boner.  I don't want to get a boner while eating dinner with my parents.

She blows out an annoyed breath and rolls her eyes. "Fine, but you should definetly consider it. She is gorgeous and seems sweet. You are seventeen and have never had a girlfriend. She could be good for you. She seems positive."

"Mom...can we please drop this topic.  And yes I have had a girlfriend before." She rolls her eyes.

"The girl you dated for a week in the beginning of high school doesn't count." She deadpans at me.

I purse my lips.

When I go to stab another piece of pasta to eat it, I notice that my plate is now empty. Oh.  Well that's disappointing.

"Well...goodnight. I'm tired, I think I'm gonna read a little and then go to sleep." After placing my plate in the sink I walk over and hug my mom, dropping a kiss on her head. Then I take a step towards my dad and lean down to hug him as he drops his fork to hug me back. I inhale his scent, he smells like the outside.

Well, he does work outside all day, so that isn't a shocker.

"Goodnight." They say it back quietly as well.

Although they both give me small pathetic smiles, I still could never miss the hint of sorrow swimming in their eyes.

When Danny died, I think he took a piece of them with him too. As well as me.

~

The sound of my phone ringing wakes me up out of my sleep. I groan as I lift my head off the pillow and look at the screen.

It's 3am.

Who the fuck is calling me this late?

Letting my eyes focus I finally see the caller ID.

"Moon girl" It reads.

Luna.

Why is this woman calling me this early?

I sit up on my bed as I rub my eyes with one of my hands.

I hold the phone up to my ear as I click the answer button.  "Hey French boy! I'm bored." Her soft voice fills my ears.

"How the fuck is that my problem?" My voice is groggy since I just woke up.

"Because you're my friend." I don't have to see her face to know that she is smiling right now.

"Why don't you bother Levina?"

"I tried except she didn't answer. Plus I like talking to you too." She always has a hint of cheeriness to her voice.

"Okay...well now I'm wide awake.  So what do you want to talk about?" I sigh as I fall back down onto my pillow.  The warmness of my covers comforting me.

"I don't know." She chirps.

Are you fucking kidding me.

"So you woke me up because you wanted to talk to me, but you don't even know what you want to talk about?"

"Yep!" God, does this girl ever fucking sleep.

"Omg, are you excited for the New York trip this week?" She sounds thrilled, whispering loudly.

"Eh, I guess." If I'm being honest, I don't really want to go.  Except I don't want to know that Levina and Luna are having fun without me.

"Oh come on! Sound more energetic then that." She whines.

"I'm not a very energetic person..." My voice fades.

A few seconds of silence pass.

"Owen."

"Luna." Why can't she just go to sleep?

"How was your day?" She says timidly to me through the phone.

There is a spread of warmth in my chest. I don't get asked that often.

"Um...you know, it was fine I guess." My hand under the covers fiddles with the hem of the top of my boxers out of boredom. The fabric is soft.

"Why do you always say fine? Why not 'good' or 'bad' or something like that?" Her voice holds curiosity.

"I don't know." I just want to go back to sleep.

"You always say that too. I think you do know, you just don't want to tell me." She concludes.

"Whatever you want to believe, Luna." She is silent for another few seconds.

"Owen."

"Yes Luna?" I sigh, slightly agitated.  Why can't she call me another time, instead of in the middle of the night?

"Do you know that I use to make my dolls have sex when I was younger?" I stifle a laugh at her statement.

"No. I didn't know that. Uh-...thanks for sharing." She chuckles on the other end of the call. "Why do you always talk about sex?" She manages to bring it up in a lot of conversations.

"If I'm being completely honest, I don't know. It sounds fun and I read about it a lot." She says nonchalantly.

I can't help the small smile that tugs at my lips.

"Have any other stories to tell me of things young Luna did?" I'm quite intrigued now.

"I'm so glad you asked, I have so many!"

For the next half hour she goes on and on. She tells me about how she almost drowned her little sister by accident, how she threw a shoe at her brother's head when she was thirteen, how she would shave her dolls heads and think that she was supporting cancer patients, and much much more.

"Tell me some of your childhood stories. I want to know more about you." My chest warms once again.

Hm, I've never had someone tell me that they want to know more about me.

"Well, I remember one summer my parents dragged me and my br-" I clear my throat awkwardly.  "'me...to France and I got sent to the police station for trespassing. I was fourteen I think." She gasps.

Danny also got in trouble too, but I don't feel like talking about him right now because then Luna is going to ask questions.

I feel okay right now, and if I start talking about him that feel good mood will instantly fade away.

"You went to jail?!" She sounds bewildered.

"No. I went to the police station, not jail. My parents did have to pick me up though and I got grounded." I hadn't even realized I had been trespassing on someone's property.  I thought it was an abandoned house.  Guess I was wrong.

"I'm interested, tell me more!" She isn't sleepy at all.

For the next thirty minutes I discuss some of my good childhood memories.  Or at least the ones I can remember.

Luna yawns on the other end.

"You tired yet?" I ask lowly.

"Yeah. Thanks for the chat, Owen. Buenas noches." She whispers back.

"Goodnight, Luna." With that she hangs up.

I manage to fall asleep with a half smile on my face as I think about how Luna told me she once cooked a barbie doll for the fun of it.

And about the time she went through a bit of an arsonist phase where she'd light shit on fire.  She "accidentally" knocked a candle over and set a toy on fire.

She wasn't allowed near fire after that.