"Seren?"

My head shot up, my eyes tearing away from the strawberries I was deciding whether or not to buy. I hadn't expected to hear his voice. I hadn't heard it for months, not since the day he drove me home, the before everything happened.

Suddenly, I felt panicked. I could feel the blood drain from my face, the muscles in my back tense. Cain reminded me of school, he reminded me of our friend group, he reminded me of the times before Zane where I couldn't see anything. He reminded me of Jax.

"Seren, hey," Cain told me. He had crossed the produce section of the grocery store to come and speak to me, and I really wished he hadn't.

It's not that I held anything against Cain. He was a good guy. He tried to see me, to know me. It wasn't his fault that I couldn't let him. Yet, I had been in this bubble of comfort lately. I was doing my classes independently from home, and I saw my friends every chance I got. Zane, Austin, Gavin, O and Cassidy didn't remind me of what happened, they didn't remind me of the past. They did the opposite, they reminded me to live in the present.

"Cain," I greeted him back, allowing my eyes to run over him for the first time. He looked the same. He was wearing his signature black, his clothes new and stylish. Though, he was looking at me with an expression I don't think I've ever seen Cain wear, one that reminded me of the way Zane used to look at me. Like he knew my secrets and he knew how bad off I was because of them.

"How are you?" Cain asked me, "I mean, that's probably not the best question. What I meant is... how are you doing? Well, no, I know you're probably not good. I guess I... are you okay?"

I tilted my head, watching as Cain stumbled over the words. I had been dreading ever seeing my old friends again. I knew they were once friends with both Jax and myself, and honestly, they were all better friends with Jax than they ever were with me. I expected their awkwardness, and even their reluctance, their hesitancy. Yet, as I was looking at Cain, I only saw his concern.

"I'm better." I told him honestly, "well, you know... I'm trying. Zane helps, he helps a lot."

"So, you two are still together? I haven't talked to him lately... how's he doing?" Cain asked, and for the first time that Cain has mentioned Zane and I being together, he didn't seem tensed or angry. He seemed happy for us.

"Yeah," I said, though I frowned as I said it. I hadn't known that Cain and Zane weren't friends anymore, and the thought made me sad.

"Good," Cain flashed me a smile, but it was short lived, and his eyes didn't twinkle the way they used to. "You know, I wanted to talk to you for a while... I didn't want to reach out though just in case you didn't want to hear from me. I'm really sorry about what happened. About what... you know, he did. He was a monster. I wish I could have done something, I wish I could have known. You didn't deserve to be treated like that, from him, or from the rest of us either."

Though my heart lurched at the mention of Jax, I only focused on the emotion radiating from Cain. He looked like he meant the words he said, and he looked like he felt pain at them too. I believed him.

"Thanks, Cain." I told him, offering him a soft smile.

Cain nodded at my words, and again, though he smiled back at me, his eyes still remained sad. "Well it was nice to see you. You know, can you tell Zane I said hey. I miss him. I miss both of you guys. The group... well, it fell apart after the news. For the better, I'm sure. We pretty much all went our separate ways."

Cain gave me a short three finger wave, before turning on his heel. He was three steps away when I opened my mouth again. Though I had been comfortable in my bubble, with people who I didn't know before it happened, my heart hurt for Cain. And my heart hurt for Zane too. Jax had taken so much, so many things from me, but he had taken things from Zane too. And it seems his actions had taken friendship away from Cain.

I didn't want Jax, even if it's only his memory now, to take anything more from us.

"Hey, Cain. We're having a movie night tomorrow, do you want to come?" I called, and I watched as he turned back around to face me.

Though this time, his smile reached his eyes.