Frank walked into his house. He could hear his grandma cooking dinner in the kitchen. Probably some Chinese dish that he had hundreds of times and a little sick of. But that's what happens when you're raised by your grandmother, she cooks what she knows.

"Grandma, I'm home." He called, trying to head up the stairs before she could see his face. In the car he tried his best to make himself look more presentable. His eyes weren't as red anymore, but his cheeks were still stained.

"Fai! That isn't the way to greet your grandmother!" She called.

"My stomach isn't feeling good. I'll be down in a bit." He lied as he ran up the stairs.

Frank headed into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. The only person he recognized looking back at him was the Frank after he found out his mother died. A broken Frank. But this time, it wasn't just his pain, there was Hazel to think about.

Hazel, the girl who helped him in more ways that he could think of. If it wasn't for her, he would be...well he wasn't sure, but it wouldn't be where he is now and maybe in a worse situation.

Before dating Hazel, the death of his mom was too great for him. She was his only parent, his deadbeat dad wasn't around, never heard from except for a check on his birthday which he put towards his college fund. If his father wasn't going be around, might as well use his money to help pay for his education.

The death of his mother caused his grandma to move the two of them to California from Canada. She could tell that he was miserable living in a house that only reminded him of mother. They were still in the process of becoming citizens, but at least he wasn't haunted by the emptiness of his own home. It was the only compassion he saw from his grandma, but he could tell that she wasn't doing well either.

Moving only helped so much. Getting use to life in California was another struggle altogether. He had to get use to the American schooling system, the new neighborhood, and make new friends. It just felt too much for him. He needed to get his mind off of everything that was happening. That only happened when he did archery, something he did back when his mother was still alive.

He would set up targets in his backyard and use the old bow and arrow set he clearly outgrew years ago. His grandma got a new set for him, a real nice one, for his birthday. He was grateful and thanked her but it was only a temporary happiness. After a few months in California, his grandma seemed to adjust well, but he didn't.

His grandma would tell him, "Cheer up Fai. Zhang men don't mope around all day." Loving words, coming from her, but it did nothing for him.

It wasn't until the power went out one day while he was doing school work in his room. He was just a robot at this point; wake up, get ready for school, go to school, come home, homework, dinner, bed, repeat. The only change in his routine today was to light candles so he could finish his math homework. The only candles he could find were those old ones, basically just the candle with a little base to catch the wax. He didn't realize that his hand got close to the candle until wax dripped on his hand. After pulling away his hand, he carefully pulled off the wax. The moment of pain went away and all that was left was a small mark.

As he picked the little bits, he could just think that he was just a burden to his grandma. She was almost eighty five and she was taking care of a teenager. She should be retired and do whatever old Chinese women do. Play mahjong with other old women? Probably anything that wasn't taking care of teenage boy. Then he thought about his mom, which just made him want to cry like he did months ago.

It wasn't until two hours later he realized he purposely let the hot wax drip on him so he couldn't think about all of that. He would focus on the pain until he forgot what he was thinking about. He knew he couldn't do anything to his arms, chest, or legs, his grandma would notice almost instantly. So, he would burn and drip wax on his thighs. His shorts stopped by his knees and his grandma was too modest to look anywhere from his hips to his knees.

This didn't stop until he started dating Hazel. It took months for him to stop, four months into their relationship he was trying to convince himself to stop. Being around her so often helped him. It didn't give him a chance to hurt himself if she was near by. She slowly and unknowingly help him wean off hurting himself. By the time they hit their one year anniversary, he had stopped completely. There were still slight marks on his thighs but he didn't think Hazel would notice.

"Fai!" His grandma called, snapping him out of the daze he was in. "Dinner is ready! Make sure you wash your hands after you're done with your business."

"Yes grandma!" He called back.

He flushed the toilet for effect and turned on the sink to run the cold water. Splashing the cold water on his face brought the reality of the situation back to him. He was going to be a dad at seventeen, well, eighteen by the time the baby was born. He was going to college in the fall, at least that was the plan. His and Hazel's future wasn't set either, they were young and who knows how possibility of long distance was going to affect them.

"Fai!" His grandma called again, and this time there was anger in her voice. "Your dinner is getting cold!"

"Coming!" He looked back at his face. It could be a lot worse, but he knew his grandma would take one look at him and know something was wrong.

Taking a deep breath, he left the bathroom and went downstairs to face his grandma. He tried to ignore her as he sat at the table, filling up his plate even though he wasn't hungry. He thought filling up his plate, making everything seem normal wouldn't make his grandma suspicious.

"How was school, Fai?" She asked.

"Alright. Nothing new, just boring old school stuff." He replied, forcing food into his mouth.

"So why were you crying?" She asked. "Is it that Hazel girl? Did she make you cry?"

"Grandma!" Frank looked at her, trying to control the emotions that were bubbling up inside of him again. "She wouldn't do that to me."

"Then what happened?" She looked at him, trying to read her grandson.

"We watched a sappy romance movie and one of the scenes got to me. I'm fine." He put more food in his mouth so he couldn't answer her questions.