Devon Wahlberg, my own personal Lex Luthor. Sam's over protective and crazy ex-boyfriend. My memory raced to the last time I had seen him. I was dying in the pouring rain with darkness all around and the sound of Sam and Asia screaming. He was standing over me as I lay bleeding to death from the gun shot wounds in my chest. I could still hear the ringing in my ears from the gun as he pulled the trigger over and over again. I could still taste the rain in my mouth and his cold hazel eyes smiling down at me.

"What happened?" I asked, dazed.

"I was dragged into court over some circumstantial evidence. It was all bogus stuffacompletely ridiculous." He smiled like it was nothing but I felt so much guilt, it was choking me.

"Well, my savings dried up pretty quickly paying all the legal fees, and when I wasn't sure what I was going to doaAsia's money showed up. It was just there one day. Attached to the most expensive lawyer I'd ever seen," he laughed lightly. I was stunned.

"What?"

"I never asked for her helpaever. It just came. I had no control over it. If money became tight, she helped. As I became sick and needed another batch of outrageously expensive tests, they were paid for. Kind of like a guardian angel." He grinned.

"That doesn't make any sense! Why didn't she tell me you were sick? We spent every waking moment together! Why didn't she say anything? I could have come back and helped." I was furious.

"Max don't you understand? While she was watching over me, in her own crazy way, she was protecting you."

"Are you serious?" I snapped. How dare he make excuses for her.

"She wasn't just helping me heal, she was healing you too. She was probably sorting through some past wounds of her own," he winked. "I think you were healing each other."

"No!" I pouted.

"Yes." He stood next to me, unwavering. "Because of her I've had the best doctors and treatment money can buy. Because of her you have buried your past demons and healed. She healed you son."

"No." I was trying not to listen but it wasn't working.

"I think she's an angel. I think she was supposed to find you Max," he finished. I was floored by his comments. This was the same man who warned me to not let her in. To not be around her because she was wrong for me. Where was that uncle Frank?

"And where is she now? Will she be staying here with us too?" His eyes searched for any sign of her things. I tried to center my racing thoughts.

"Umanot exactly. We broke up. I mean, I broke up with her," I sighed.

"Oh. Why?" he asked, confused.

"It was just time for me to come home. She just wasn't ready to I guess." I felt my heart sink. I missed her so much at that moment. I wondered what she would think of my uncle's change of heart about her. I wondered what she was doing at this very second.

"Give it time. It'll all make sense," he encouraged. My face filled with doubt and pain.

"Things are different now. Madi is all I can think ofa" I trailed off.

"And?"

"And what?" I snapped.

"You know son," he pushed. I knew exactly what he was pushing for.

"Samantha," I said painfully.

"So you've seen her already?"

"Last night," I cringed. Frank looked me up and down carefully and smiled wildly.

"Well, that explains the tire tracks on your neck!" he laughed out loud. I quickly joined him. It hurt to laugh, but as I did it felt like home again.

"You know, Kai did exactly what you asked of him," Frank interrupted my laugh. I remembered as if it were yesterday when I asked him to watch over Sam for me. Keep her safe. Don't let anyone hurt her. Even me.

"I guess you're right Uncle."

"Stings doesn't it?" It did sting.

"Is she happy?" I asked quietly.

"You should ask her that yourself." He smiled again. "Kai's grown into a fine young mana" my face wrinkled up as he spoke.

"But he's not you."

"I know. He's better," I sulked. Frank shook his head at my pitiful attitude and decided maybe I needed a change of topic.

"I didn't have any contact with you or Asia, other than the lawyer, but I received a post card once," he said.

"A post card?" I asked, confused.

"Yup. It was blank and smelled like cherry blossoms," he leaned towards me.

"From where?"

"Fiji," he smiled bigger. Asia's little way of letting my uncle know that I was okay. More than okay. I was safe and happy. I felt warm inside as I remembered those days locked away together. I settled my emotions and told Frank everything. Every place I had seen. Every adventure Asia and I shared. We spent the rest of the day and night like that. He said nothing as I spoke about every magical detail.

After a few hours we both retired to our rooms. It felt like old times again. I could hear Frank coughing lightly from his room and that worried me, but I picked up my guitar and played whatever came to mind. I found myself staring out my bedroom window. Not a cloud in sight. How I missed the impromptu thundershowers that accompanied Asia and her moods. My hand slid over the tribal tattoo we had gotten together in Australia and my chest filled with a sigh.

"Thanks for watching over him," I whispered looking back towards my uncle's way. "But I'll take it from here Asia." My hand found the necklace that was around my neck. My half of the pendant I had bought and given her. Slowly I removed it and hung it along the side of the computer monitor on my desk. It was time to move on. As that dreary thought popped into my head something caught my eye. The faded yellow corner of the manila envelope Sam had given me before I left Maui.

I walked over to it and gently pulled it out and onto my bed. I remember being so scared of what might lie inside of it, but after the last few days, I didn't think I was scared of anything anymore.

"Come on Max, what could possibly be in therea" I tried psyching myself up. Nothing could hurt me more than what I was going through now. I should have known better.

As I began to tear open the sealed envelope Sam's words filled my mind. I could still see her that day. The tears on her face. The pain I was causing her.

"Promise me you will not open this until you are ready to forgive yourself," she cried.

"I forgive myself," I said out loud to the room. I slid the contents of the package onto my bed. There was a beautiful photo of Sam and I together. We looked like the happiest couple on Earth. Another picture of the beach where we spent the night together. The same photograph she had hung along her living room wall. The one with the little girl with pigtails in the shadow of the suns light.

"Miaa" I drifted off. It's weird how much that photo used to remind me of my little sister, but now all I could see was Madison's perfect smiling face. Shaking my head, I continued emptying the envelope. Sam's silver necklace with the theatre masks attached to it winked up at me from my bed. My fingers gently rolled the pendant back and forth from happy to sad. I loved this pendant. I loved it the first second I laid my eyes on it. It gently dangled from the rearview mirror of her car the first day of school. The day I first met her.

"Sam," I smiled.

And finally a small piece of folded paper slipped out onto the bed. I wasn't ready for what was written on it. In Sam's neat handwriting was an address, phone number, and a single name. My mother's name.

She had found my mom.

Heavy Crown - 13.

*Santeria: Sublime*

Monday morning - 7:55 a.m. - November 20th.

I hated mornings. Especially this one. In all the catching up last night, uncle Frank had forgotten to mention that I needed to run by my old high school first thing. Maui High, the place I first met my best friend Kai. We had an instant connection with music and how often we could play it together. From my first day at that school we were jamming together in the lunch courtyard for whomever would listen. Good times. I've been missing those days more and more lately. It was also the place I made some of my worst enemies.

Frank woke me bright and early with all the gory details. I was still half asleep so I wasn't exactly sure what I needed to do. Something about tying up some loose ends. Apparently they never sent my diploma after graduation. I'm sure it had something to do with me not being around to finish my senior year. Although, I had made up all my courses online while I was chasing Asia around the globe. Probably just some technical issue. Either way, I was an official graduate.

Anyways, here I was standing in my kitchen, waiting on the coffee maker to finish up its morning grind. And by coffee maker, I meant my uncle. He stood along the kitchen counter shaking his hips to the morning radio, stirring away at our two fresh cups of coffee he had just purchased from the market up the road.

"Lovely," I pouted from behind him. He whipped around with both cups in his hands and a giant smile.

"Ah! It lives!"

"Funny," I grumbled, wiping away the morning residue inside my left eye. He handed me both cups of coffee and winked softly. Both cups were ice cold.

"What the hella" I snapped. He laughed at my grumpiness and nodded down at my hands.

"Well, I'm not letting you live here rent free because of your good looks! Now fire those bad boys up!" He smacked my shoulder. Obviously the full nights rest had him feeling much better. I on the other hand, I wanted to crawl back into my bedaforever.

"You spent money on cold coffee?"

"Yup. You should have seen the look on the clerks face when I filled up the cups after she had told me the machine had broken first thing this morning. She thought I was crazy!" He laughed out loud. I let a little smile creep along my face as my hands filled with heat. His attitude was infectious.

"Here," I grinned. He snapped up the steaming hot coffee and downed a full gulp. I wasn't the biggest fan of coffee but I took a long sip. It tasted pretty good.

"Thanks son. Good luck at school today!" he teased. My eyes rolled over inside my head. He tossed me the truck keys just before I turned for the living room. I scooped up my headphones and guitar, and headed out the front door.

"Thanks for the java, big Kahuna!" I smiled.

Pulling up to the school parking lot felt surreal. I had only spent a little over a month here last year but it felt like my home away from home. The parking lot was only half full and slowly filling in with stray students. Most of them I didn't recognize but some I would never forget.

"The twins," I gasped as my eyes caught the two brothers dismounting their motorcycles. The Hansen twins, Eddie and Alex. They were still tall and skinny but their matching blonde haircuts were much longer. I hadn't seen them sinceawellasince I almost killed them. They were part of Devon's high school posse, the Four Horsemen. His stupid disciples. They all made it their business to make my existence at this schoolastressful. They all did an amazing job.

"Good times," I huffed and hopped out of Frank's truck. I made my way to the front office hoping neither one of them would see me. I would soon be disappointed.

The music from my earbuds serenaded my nerves as I made it across the school campus. It was still very clean with green trees and thick grass all over. Just before the faculty office I was stopped.

"Max? Max Valentine?" a little brunette girl asked.

"Mad Max? No way!" her blonde friend added. My reputation preceded me. My old nickname was still popular. I turned to find two girls I had shared my Music Appreciation class with. They looked giddy with excitement at my presence. I felt instantly uncomfortable.

"You remember me?" I played along. They giggled and began texting on their cell phones. This was a small school, my surprise appearance would be the gossip of the day within minutes.

"Of course we do!" the brunette said.

"We thought you were in jail!" the blonde said excitedly. I winced at the crazy rumor.

"Nope. Free as a bird." I smiled, uneasy.

"I heard you were dead!" the other one blurted out. She looked around wildly.

"No such luck," I ran my hand through my hair with a small step back.

"But the news said you were shota" the excited blonde girl started to say. I stepped forward, cutting her off.

"I was." I winked. She smiled and blushed.

"Are you by yourself?" the brunette asked. She looked even more excited now. They both finally noticed my guitar slung behind my shoulder.

"Is Kai here too? Are you two going to play in the courtyard at lunch like you used to? Are you guys getting the band back together?" one of them rambled on. She never even gave me a chance to answer her questions. Their cell phones started buzzing and they screamed with surprise.

"We're so glad to see you again Max!"

"Yes! We've gotta go!"

"Ummma" I breathed out. They turned and ran for their classes, happily talking into their phones about who they had just seen and talked to. By now a handful of other students had seen our little gathering and were staring at me wide eyed.

"Aloha Max!" the two girls called out as they ran off. I quickly looked around at the attention I was gaining and felt trapped.

"Just breathe big guy," I reminded myself. My nerves settled again and I made my way to the schools front office. Inside I found I was still quite popular.

"Mr. Valentine. I've been expecting you," the main receptionist greeted me with a smile.

"Aloha," I smiled uncomfortably.

"Aloha." She smiled back. I leaned up against the counter, resting my warm hands flat on the surface. They left my unique prints filled with steamy moisture.

"I assume your uncle filled you in on why you're here?"

"Kind ofa" I sounded unsure. She tilted her head and smiled nicely.

"No worriesaall I need from you is a signature." She slid a piece of paper to me with a black pen.

"What's this for?" I asked with a long trail of hot air escaping my mouth.

"Your diploma silly boy. Even though you finished your schooling online, we still need a signature to release the certificate. No big deal." Her breezy smile relaxed me. I signed the paper quickly and slid it back to her.

"That good enough?" I asked and began to leave.

"Almost." She handed me a small leather bound folder. Inside I found my diploma. I should had been a little happier about it but all I could seem to feel was sadness. I should have earned this the usual way. Finish my senior year, go to prom, and stand at some awkward podium in that silly robe. If not for myself, for my uncle. He deserved that credit. I let out a long sigh.