"Mattie, why can't you just deal with the fact that I'm dating someone else?"

"I'm fine with it, Mells; you don't have to be so melodramatic. Honestly, your reaction is on the border between hypocritical and cynical. You were the exact same way when I was dating BB."

"This is different! BB got arrested, you two never really broke up, and then you asked me out and I knew you were cheating on him!"

"Mells... You know that BB's- Beyond's-"

"He's what?"

"He-He's dead..."

"Mattie, I-"

"Don't, Mihael. Just don't." I murmured, my voice wavering and tears threatening behind my eyelashes.

I turned on my heel, snatched my duffel bag off of the counter, grabbed my Nintendo DS, and slammed the door behind me. I felt the weight of my long-packed clothing in my duffel bag and sighed. Mello had been an awesome roommate- but that's all he wanted to be. I kept my duffel packed in case he decided that my hopeless romanticism was too much and kicked me out. I never thought I would be the one storming from the house. Rain was pelting my car and I could barely see. A blue Mustang convertible appeared in front of me and all of the sudden I was swerving to avoid hitting the teenager driving the 'stang. A telephone pole collided with the driver's side of my car. One of the bars from the pole was stuck in my stomach, and my head was bleeding. The teen pulled over, got out of the car, and ran up to the window, phone in hand. She dialed a number and began to frantically explain the situation to what I could only assume was a nine-one-one emergency operator. A few minutes later, an ambulance was pulling over to my car. I was dizzy, and the EMTs were trying to break through what was left of the windshield of my Luigi green jeep. A nearby tree branch fell and I felt the impact puncture my lung. The EMTs had leapt out of the way and rolled the branch away. My vision went black.

I woke up what felt like hours after the accident. I had wires coming out of my arms and there were bandages around my head and abdomen. There were dried and cracking flowers on the bedside table. I looked around, trying to clear my double vision, when a doctor wearing all white walked in.

"Ah, Mr. Jeevas, you're awake."

"How long have I been out?" I asked my voice hoarse and crackling from disuse.

"About three weeks. Your roommate, Mihael, has been very worried about you."

"I have a roommate?"

"Yes, your roommate. Mr. Jeevas, what is your first name?"

I was silent. I tried to remember, but my head ached and I closed my eyes to the pain.

"Don't remember, huh?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Your name is Mail Jeevas. According to your roommate, Mihael Keehl, you go by Matt. You are eighteen years old. You grew up in Whammy's Orphanage for Gifted Children. You lost a lot of weight, about eighty pounds, so when you go home you have to be incredibly careful not to roughhouse too much." The doctor said, his eyes never leaving his clipboard.

I could tell that if this was a test, I'd already be failing. But I didn't care. The pain in my stomach was becoming unbearable, and I bit my lip. Someone came crashing into my room. That someone had blond hair, blue eyes, sweatpants, and a leather jacket. His cobalt eyes were wide and I could see tears threatening them. Instinctively, and almost instantly, I wanted to hug this stranger and never let him go. He gingerly walked over and sat down in the abandoned chair next to my bedside. He took my hand in his and listened to everything the doctor told him. By the end of it, he was crying and I was so tired I barely knew what was going on. The blond buried his face in his hands.

"Excuse me, I really don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

"I'm Mello, your roommate."

"But my roommate's name is-"

"My real name's Mihael. Call me Mello."

I drifted off to sleep again.

"Ne, Matt! Let's play together today, okay?"

"Yeah, mommy! Let's play games!"

I hid in a cabinet and heard Mommy counting to ten. Her voice was soft. She threw open the cabinet doors, pulled me out, and tickled me until I couldn't breathe. I laughed and she smiled. A man burst into the house, gun in hand. He pointed his handgun at Mommy and his shotgun at Daddy. Mom shielded me with her body as he emptied rounds into her. I was covered in her blood. I crawled back into the cabinet, Mommy's locket clutched in my tiny hand, and closed the door. I heard more shots and heard Daddy scream. The scary man that killed my mommy dropped the guns on the floor and ran out the door. I heard the neighbors run into the house. I heard Daddy moaning on the floor somewhere.

"Mail! Mail, where are you, dear? Mail! Mai- Oh my Lord!"

"Mommy, help! Mommy, wake up!" I cried, shaking Mommy's shoulder.

"Mail, your mother's-"

"Mommy! Mommy, you have to wake up! I need you!" I screamed, my voice wet with tears.

"Mail, dear, your mommy can't wake up. Mail, sweetie, your mommy's dead."

"No! No, mommy, no! Mommy, please…" I sobbed, "MOMMY WHY!" I screamed.

I woke up to dried tears on my face and Mello sleeping on the floor. There was a necklace on my lap. I recognized it, but I couldn't remember from where.It's Mommy's… Remember dammit! Mommy's dead, and Dad's dead now too… Everyone left me alone… But Dad being gone isn't too bad, I guess… I flinched, covering my eyes. I buried my face in the pillow and went back to sleep.

"Matt... I know you can't hear me, but- but you have to wake up soon… Please? I know I haven't been the best roommate, but I was jealous, and Near's just getting worse and worse. He's been coming in here to taunt me. L's using my sister as a human shield. You're in a coma. Just… wake up soon, okay?"

I heard footsteps and then the creak of a chair on the floor. Someone sat down and held my hand. I heard someone crying.

The scene shifted. I could tell this was a different memory. I could hear Mello's voice more clearly. At some point, I was aware of being carried into a car and driven somewhere.

"Hey Matt. Near- Near left me, and I need a friend right now. My sister isn't very helpful, she's awkward with emotions as best. They say that people in comas are semi-aware of what's going on around them, so I thought- I thought I'd come to talk to you, even if you won't talk back." Mello's voice faltered, "They keep saying you won't wake up, but I know you will. I just get this feeling that you're not gone. At least you're finally catching up on sleep, right? You've been in a coma for two weeks and six days… Not that I'm counting or anything! You're mostly all healed up, so maybe that'll help you wake up."

"Mister Keehl, visiting hours are over. You've been here all day."

"Oh, they are? Yeah… I guess I have."

The scene kept shifting in a blur. It finally rested on a younger version of Mello sitting on his bed, facing the doorway, arms crossed.

"I don't want a roommate."

"M, you have to deal with it. He needs a room, and you have one to yourself."

"I don't care. New kid or not, he's not staying here."

I adjusted my goggles. This Mello person just huffed and fixed his hair.

"Mihael Keehl, this boy has been assigned to your room by L. Do not argue with me."

Mello rolled his eyes but nodded his head. I sat on the bed at the opposite side of the room, my stuffed bear and video games clutched in my tiny hands.

Mello shook me awake. My throat hurt and I had tears in my eyes. I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them. Mello picked me up and carried me to what I could only assume was his room. When we got to the room, though, I was shocked to see that it was covered in video game posters and smelled like cigarettes. Mello put me on top of the bed and sat next to me, draping his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and listened to his heart beat steadily. It was…comforting after my nightmares. I guess you couldn't call them nightmares- they were memories. I heard Myde screaming into a cell phone and then crying loudly, before hearing her grab something out of the hall closet and slam the front door. Her car revved its engine as it roared to life. Mello cringed at the sound of the doors but other than that he didn't really react. He hit my forehead with the back of his hand.

"Have a nightmare, Matt?"

"Kinda… More like a couple blasts from the past."

Mello raised an eyebrow. I recounted exactly what I dreamed, not wanting to screw up my own memory. Mello just sat in silence. His phone buzzed to indicate a text. No developments. Mello sent a quick reply and threw the phone onto the bed. He covered his face with his hands and sighed. I snuggled up next to him and put my head on his chest. I felt him laugh and we both drifted off to sleep.

"What the hell are you waiting for?"

I looked around me. I stared around until I realized the voice was in my head.

"I'm in your head. Looking around won't help you."

"Who are you?"

"I'm you."

"You can't be me. I'm me."

"Well, we're both you."

"Now there's something that doesn't make sense."

"I can always explain everything later. But right now, you need to talk to Mello. You need to establish something."

When I woke up, I was on the couch and Mello had made coffee. I eased myself off of the couch and opened the front door. Mello was standing there, leaning against the wall, his face red with anger and his eyes almost the size of a fifty-cent coin. I snatched his phone, holding up a hand so that Mells wouldn't fly at me for it.

"Mello's busy right now, you're going to have to call back later."

"Mr. Jeevas! I'm so-" I snapped the phone shut.

Mello was fuming.

"Matthew, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

I winced, unwanted memories flying to the surface of my father saying those same words. Mello's eyes immediately filled with regret and I closed mine. I handed Mello his phone and slammed the door behind me. I tore through the house and into my room. Slamming my door shut and locking it, I sank onto my bed and cradled me head. Unwanted memories pushed their way to the surface and my head ached. Mello was knocking softly on the door. I put my hands over my ears and cried quietly. Mello seemed to hear me and started trying to talk to me through the door. I ignored him, quickly becoming lost in the sea of memories.

I hit the wall, bruises forming on my arms and welts in my sides between my ribs. I felt my arm crack. I had no body fat to protect me from harm, I barely ate because if I ate too much my dad would beat me more. Blood trickled out of my mouth and I stuffed my shirt onto my face too keep it from falling onto the carpet. My dad was drunk, screaming about something or other. I could barely hear him, my ears were ringing from the impact of my head hitting the wall.

"Useless, just like your mother-"

I coughed and blood flew onto the exposed part of my stomach. I held my head in my hands. Dad picked up a metal bar he kept to ward off robbers and hit my broken arm with it. I howled in pain and cradled my arm-

"Matt, Matt, are you all right?"

Mello's concerned voice had broken me out of my memory. I heard him pick the lock and froze. My eyes were wide open- I had thought Mello was my dad coming to beat me for something. I put a hand up to my lip. My fingers came away dotted with blood. Mello took me into his arms and handed me a tissue.

"Mattie, what happened? This isn't my fault, is it? Mattie, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that-"

"My dad. I remembered my dad."

Mello froze. He recovered quickly and pulled me closer, not caring that I was covered in cold sweat, tears, and blood from my lip. More memories came up to the surface of the haze that usually kept them back. My grip on Mello's shirt tightened without me realizing I had grabbed onto his shirt in the first place. Mello's hands found mine and gently detached them.

"Go to sleep. Lord knows you need it. Don't worry. I'll be right here when you wake up this time. I promise."

"I promise I'll always stay here. You don't have to worry, Matt. I'll be here from six in the morning to six in the evening, every single day until you wake up. I promise you that."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around Mello's waist. He carefully eased himself backwards so that he didn't completely crush my 's fingers traced the outline of my ribs, which tickled. I laughed and curled in on myself.

"You know, for someone trying to get me to sleep, you're not helping."

Mello chuckled and pulled a stray blanket over the two of us. Immediately the air around me started to smell like the same smoky aroma that seemed to be embedded into every fiber of my being. I fell asleep again.

"You're a useless brat! I would think that your mother and I raised you better! And after all I did to make sure you would get into a respectable elementary school in a good neighborhood," Dad brought his fist down hard on my stomach, "I would think you would have the smarts to get good grades!" He threw me across the room and into the kitchen, where my back hit the oven with a sickeningly loud thud.

By the time my father was done beating me, I had a swollen lip, two bruised ribs, at least one rib broken, and my leg hurt so much when I walked I limped to school the next day. I walked into the nurse's office and collapsed onto the floor. My ribs hurt so much I could barely breathe, and when I tried to get back up again my leg gave out under me. The nurse called an ambulance. My dad sat with me. For the first time since my mom died, he was sober enough to remember that I was his son and that he was the reason I was in that state. His face was covered in tears. I wasn't reassured, though, since I knew that once the drunk version of this loving father saw that hospital bill, I would be getting the full force of his anger.

That beating never came. The school, knowing our financial situation, offered to pay for the hospital bill. My father gratefully allowed them to pay for it.