A/N: So, as I promised, I updated as soon as I could this time :) And since it's the first anniversary for this story, I'd like to thank everyone who's still sticking with me and for everyone who supported me all along! This story wouldn't be going this long if it weren't for you, guys, so, thank you :)

-The usual thanks for the ladies who're reading and enjoying this story so far. Nancy, thanks for reviewing and being awesome like always, baby *Hugs*. Special thanks to Ebrahiem for starting reading and being so nice to me more than I deserve, hope you'll keep enjoying the upcoming chapters, dude :)

- I highly recommend for you to read this chapter while listening to the sound of rain, you'll be surprised with the effect ;) Try ' '. P.S: prepare a towel for this chapter.. fair warning :D

- Asya, you rock, babe!

Merry Christmas, Now Enjoy :)

Previously that night…

The way Amanda and Kevin looked as they kissed, and how they were looking at each other and the heating passion that surrounded them, which Matt could feel it from where he was standing. Seeing how comfortable Amanda was in someone else's arms, he couldn't take, he just couldn't.

Swallowing hard, feeling a lump in his throat, Matt started the car and drove off, not to a specific destination; he just wanted to get away from there. He wanted to be as far as possible, as if the far he could get the easier to forget what he just saw and felt. As if the distance was going to make any difference.

…

Steel to my trembling lips,

How did the night ever get like this?

One shot and the whiskey goes down…

Down… down

Bottom of the bottle hits

Waking up my mind as I throw a fit

The breakin' is takin' me down…

Down… down

It was past midnight, the sky was almost dark, only a crack of moonlight made it through to break the cloudy darkness above. The cool air was refreshing, but tingling at some points giving Matt shivers every now and then. He stopped his car one more time in the middle of nowhere, as he tried to control his temper and the rush of blood that was caused by the huge amount of alcohol he had that night, so much pressure he was trying to ease, but it wasn't helping with his fried nerves.

Matt straightened up in the driver seat, dropping his head heavily backward against the seat. Sighing deeply, he decided to get out of his truck, which seemed to close in around him at that moment. Once outside, Matt took several deep breaths, inhaling the wet air that smelled like rain.

A soft drop of water slid along his face making him look above. A drop after drop started to fall and hit the ground in a steady rhythm around Matt, other drops brushing his cheeks softly, leaving wet traces behind. A sad smile tugged at the corner of Matt's lips, his lids slid closed, and his face finally relaxed into a sad smile.

Molly had always loved the rain...

It took him a few seconds to notice that he spoke the words out loud. He chuckled at the memories of his younger sister Molly, and it came out in a sob. She always dragged him out of the house whenever it started to rain, despite their parents' warnings of catching a cold. It used to be their favorite season. Winter, when they threw each other with snowballs, ran under the rain, arms and mouths wide open, trying to catch some of the snow or rain. Memories they made, together.

Matt's mind snapped back to reality, eyes flattering open, face skywards with his arms spread wide open, as well as his mouth. His expression cracked into a devastating sob as his breath hitched a little and a burn flared inside his chest. Every bad and good memory mixed up together, all of that crossed Matt's mind in fast flashes. He brought his hands in sight and stared at them. He still could see the blood all over them from that night like it was only yesterday, he could feel the dead weight of his sixteen years old, dying sister between his arms.

The rain got heavier, but Matt didn't react, not even a glimpse. Either he didn't notice or simply didn't care. He wasn't beside his truck under the rain anymore; his mind was in another place, where he was surrounded by loud gasps and muffled sympathetic words coming from the groups of people that gathered around the accident scene, and the medical staff which one of them was trying to tear his dead sister apart from his protective grip, mumbling with questions like 'are you hurt anywhere else, son?', 'your head is bleeding, can you let me take a look at that?', 'kid, can you hear me?'.

Matt was aware of the paramedics when they were loading his mother into the back of the ambulance, yelling words he couldn't understand to each other, medical terms his mind couldn't break their code. But she was alive, that's all he knew. Still, his relief didn't last long when Molly's fingers loosened slowly around his wrist. Matt's head snapped quickly to her, eyes widening when a thin line of blood started to drip from her mouth before rain washed it clean off her face almost immediately. Molly was trying to make out a few words and Matt squeezed her hand in his; leaning down to hear what she was trying to say.

"I love… rain." She said with the last breath in her body, going limp in her brother's arm. Matt stared with parted lips as the light left Molly's barely open eyes. He called her name, again and again, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard, begging her to wake up, telling her that she needed to wake up because he couldn't lose her. She couldn't leave him.

After a few long minutes, truth hit him full force. His sister was dead. She wasn't around anymore; he wouldn't see her smile, or hear her voice, never again. He gathered her against his chest, digging his chin hard into her shoulder, trying to cause her pain in a last desperate attempt to wake her up. He rocked back and forth on his knees, his dead sister in his arms. Voices around him started to sound like humming, as if he was under water. Finally, his body started to give in to its own injuries and his vision blurred wildly. The last words he heard before the darkness consumed him in its welcoming open arms were 'let go, son!'

Matt blinked his blurred vision clear, rain and tears were no longer recognizable from each other as they mixed up together, streaming down his face in his total haze. He looked hesitantly around him, taking in his surroundings. There was no ambulance nearby anymore, there were no more people around, no pity looks to make him feel worse, like every look made a big hold in his soul , there were no paramedics any more. There was no one.

He unwrapped his arms from around himself, having no idea how they got there, pulling his hands back in sight, and held his breath for the fear of finding them coated with blood. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, but thank God there was no blood. Matt let out a hysterical laugh, which sounded more like a cry of anguish at the realization and dropped his head cupping it into his hands as relief washed over him.

He crouched on his knees, feeling every ounce of energy literally seeping from his body to the muddy ground beneath him. The young man couldn't hold the low sob that formed down his throat as he braced his now shivering body on both hands, palms flat on the ground and broke into a devastating crying fit.

I've been standing here my whole life,

Everything I've seen twice, now it's time I realize

It's spinnin' back around now, on this road I'm crawling

Save me 'cause I'm falling,

Now I can't seem to breathe right

'Cause I keep runnin'…

Runnin… runnin'

"Amanda!"

Both of them heard Judith calling her daughter from the porch, as she couldn't find her in or out the house.

"Oh crap!" Amanda cursed remembering that she left her mother waiting for many answers.

"Crap!" Kevin cursed as well, knowing that Amanda's mother knew nothing about him, plus showing up on their doorsteps asking for Amanda, who came home crying, made things even more complicated, Kevin thought.

"I gotta get inside now," Amanda said fast pointing at the house.

"Look, if you want me to get in with you," Kevin offered before Amanda cut him off.

"No, it's okay. Don't worry," She told him smiling in appreciation.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine," She assured him smiling.

"Okay, say hi to your mom for me. I'll call to check on you when I'm home." He told her smiling as she nodded.

"See you later, Amanda." Kevin said turning around making his way out of the garden. "Get some rest."

"I will, you too," Amanda smiled back waving for Kevin.

Once he was out of sight, Amanda took a deep breath and headed to the porch, preparing herself for a long tense speech, hearing her mother calling for her one more time.

"Coming, mom!"

…

"God!" Amanda sighed dramatically, crossing the room then turned around facing her mother once again. "Mom, you've been interrogating me for about…" She glanced at the clock on the wall then back to her mother. "For a freaking hour now! I'm tired, mom." The last few words came out in a whisper as Amanda ran her hands through her messy hair and held tight at the end of its length.

Noticing the sudden quietness in the room, she blinked looking back at her mother –who winced at the way Amanda was pulling onto her hair– hoping she had finally decided to lay some mercy on her and send her to bed, or let her sleep on the couch. It didn't really matter where she was going to spend the rest of the night, as long as she would be finally able to close her eyes. Hell, the cold floor looked heavenly comfortable at the moment.

But all her hopes flew out of the window once her mother broke the silence, "Well, excuse my curiosity, young lady. You're telling me that you're actually seeing someone who happened to be your brother's friend, and I know by chance when he shows up on our doorsteps, at midnight, asking to see you." Judith pointed out sarcastically. "And oh, not to mention that I was the last one to know, what do you expect me to do?"

"Mom, I told you, and I'm telling you again. The whole thing was just a pure accident." Amanda said, spelling each word carefully. "I didn't plan for this to happen! You know how Tom always reacts when I or Suzan even come close to his friends; you know I wouldn't do that if I had the choice. And I tried, mom. I tried to push him away, why do you think he was here an hour ago?" She added fast stopping whatever Judith was going to say.

Judith opened her mouth as to say something but then she closed it again. Knowing she would get better answers without even asking questions if she waited a bit longer and let her daughter spill the beans on her own.

On the other hand, Amanda was mentally and physically exhausted. She didn't have the strength to argue any longer, and she just wanted to push that heavy weight off of her chest and get it over with that long stressful night.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, her tone making it clear that this was the last time she was going to go through that topic, at least for that night.

"I know that it's gonna be hard to convince Tom, that if he even agreed to hear me out, but it's not in my hands anymore. I… Kevin made me feel safe, for the first time in a very long time, made me feel happy again, made me feel that I'm wanted, needed." Her breath hitched for a second before she composed her emotions quickly. "He just told me that he needs and wants me in his life, mom. And I need him. I just… I just need him." Amanda finished and looked down, unable to meet her mother's gaze after revealing her feelings, trying desperately to make her mother understand.

It wasn't that Judith was against the idea of her daughter seeing somebody, or had a problem with Kevin being her boyfriend –it would be a problem later when it came to Tom, but first things first– Amanda knew. But she needed her mother to understand how much this meant to her, needed her support and full approval, because there was no way she could do this without her mother right on her side.

Nodding, Judith sighed and smiled warmly at her daughter who mirrored her smile right away. She moved towards Amanda and rested her hands on her shoulders.

"I get it, sweetheart. And I know you know that your happiness is all that matters to me." Judith said softly, then cupped her daughter's face and brushed her cheeks with her thumbs. "And don't worry about Tom; we'll deal with him when it's time." She added, winking playfully making Amanda chuckle softly.

Amanda gave her mother a quick but a warm hug, wished her a goodnight before she turned and climbed the stairs to her room. Judith watched as her daughter stopped in her track and turned back to look at her one last time.

"I love you, mom." Amanda whispered, smiling softly at her mother.

"I love you too, baby girl."

It was dawn when Matt was finally inside the safety of his car once again. He had no idea how long he had spent out there under the pouring rain, sobbing for the loss of his life; his mother and sister. At first, it looked as if he had forgotten how to do the simple act of pulling his legs under him. His mind kept arguing with them to move but they wouldn't listen and seemed to have a mind of their own. His body refused to do anything but lay there on the muddy ground and give in to the painless darkness.

An electric shiver ran through Matt's whole body, reminding him of how much his body was aching everywhere. His head was throbbing with an unbearable headache and his teeth chattered. He was cold, freezing, and he had to get into the car and head somewhere warm.

Matt finally managed to stand up, summoning everything in him to stay upright, refusing so hard to give his legs the pleasure of not having to bear his weight and forced his knees not to buckle. It was fight of wills, and self control, which Matt wasn't sure he would win, fighting with his grieve and sorrow.

He made it to the car somehow before he put the heater on full blast and sank into his seat, letting it get soaked with the water that was dripping from every inch of his dirty, muddy suit. He twisted the keys, bringing the engine back to life with a loud grunt, and headed unconsciously to the only place he knew would welcome him right now.

…

BANG!

"What the…?!" Natalie's head snapped up at the bang of something hitting the front door. She arose quickly and moved fast towards the door. Shoulders tensed, she twisted the door handle slowly and carefully pulled the door open. Something heavy was leaning against the door, and once it was wide enough, Natalie's gasp was welcomed by Matt's water soaked form as his knees buckled and started to fall right in front of her.

She barely managed to catch him by the shoulder, before Matt's weight dragged her down and she sank to the ground with him in her arms.

…

'Round and around I'd go,

Addicted to the numb, living in the cold,

The higher, the lower the down, down, down…

Sick of being tired and sick of waiting

For another kind of fix…

The damage is damning me down,

Down…down

"Matt!" Natalie called again, shaking Matt, who lay in her arms on the floor of the house entrance, trying to wake him up.

"C'mon, Matt!" She shook him hard for one more time. "Wake the hell up!"

Losing hope to raise the miserable young man from his slumber, Natalie let out a frustrated huff, looking skywards and sent a silent plea to God for this terrible night, which seemed to get harder and harder by the second, to freaking end.

She gave her unconscious friend a long worried look, taking in his messed up state. Noting that his skin was ice cold and his body was shivering; she slipped from under his heavy weight and laid him gently, flat on the floor. Natalie stood up and made it to the front door to close it to ward off the rain that was, somehow, getting even heavier. Natalie's attention went to the parked car, seeing the opened door as Matt left it in order to walk to her house. She sighed heavily and looked down again at her friend who laid in her arms, lots of thoughts went through Natalie's mind at the moment, when a huge set of emotions consumed her, fear and anger were the strongest of all. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel bad for Matt looking like that, or mad at him for reaching that point, showing up like that on her door steps, fainting.

Shaking her head, she went outside the house and walked to the truck. She cursed herself for not changing in something heavier before dozing off on the couch a few hours ago, trying to protect herself from the rain with her short dress and hands as much as possible. She slammed the open door shut, muttering under her breath and returned back to the house. The fact that Matt didn't even have the strength to shut the door behind him worried Natalie even more.

She knew she wouldn't be able to carry or even drag him to the nearest couch. Natalie was tough, but Matt was taller than her and his body was heavy and muscular, plus his water soaked clothes which was added up even some extra weight. So, moving him anywhere was out of debate.

Natalie was doing well so far locking up her concern into a box and throwing the key away. She couldn't afford freaking out now, and she didn't know what was going on with her friend.

Calling 911 was the first thing Natalie thought of, but taking a deep breath, rethinking of the idea, she thought it'd better if she checked Matt first. After all, she had a first aid course last summer with Amanda. She thought she could handle the situation, smelling the booze on her friend; she didn't want any troubles with the police.

Was he hurt? Something happened to him? Did he do anything to himself?

"Alright," She took a deep breath, and calmed herself down, taking a mental note to ask all these questions later. She crouched beside Matt's still form and tried to know if he was hurt anywhere. Satisfied there was no visible sign of any physical traumas, Natalie tried to strip her friend off his suit jacket. Matt's body shivered slightly when Natalie managed to get him out of his jacket, but otherwise, he remained unconscious.

Running up the stairs, Natalie grabbed a blanket and as many towels as she could carry. With a heavy sigh, she entered her brother's abandoned room and managed to find two t-shirts, a heavy sweater, sweatpants, and an unmatched pair of socks.

She ran quickly downstairs, leaving a track of cloths behind. She cursed a few times, dumped the remaining cloths on the couch then moved fast, back to stairs and picked up the rest of the cloths. She was starting to panic and had to calm herself down, more important things to do.

Sitting back on the floor beside the still out cold Matt, Natalie worked to dry him and the floor around him as much as possible, and then she raised his head gently and slipped a pillow from the couch under his head. She started to take off the rest of his cloths when Matt finally stirred.

"Matt?" Natalie's hands covered his cheeks instantly, running over his face gently. "Matt? Can you hear me?"

Matt eyes fluttered for a second then slid closed again, leaning to Natalie's touch.

"No!" One of Natalie's hands slid down to grab a fist of Matt's shirt and she shook him again. "Dude, come on. Wake up!"

He finally started to come to sense, rolling his head from side to side slowly before he whispered,

"Molly."

Song: Runnin' by Adam Lambert.

Ta ta da .. Please don't hate me :D I really hope you liked it, this chapter is special to me and I knew that you would be intersected to know more details about the accident that got Matt's mother and sister dead. So, I'm gonna remind you again, this is the anniversary of the story, so please be kind and leave a review :) You don't need to have an account .. just let me hear your thought!

Aya