Peter kept a close eye on Rion as they walked to the hotel. He did not look okay.

He was paler than before and unsteady on his feet. Peter wondered how badly Rion was hurt when Sarina assaulted him. He wasn’t limping, but he looked like he was in pain as he walked, his expression pinched.

“Your hair’s a bit… Here,” Celeste said, reached over to adjust Rion’s ruffled hair as they came up to the hotel.

“Oh. Thanks,” Rion said. “I probably look like hell.”

“No, you’re… You’re not so bad,” Celeste tried to reassure him.

“Are you feeling okay?” Peter couldn’t help but ask. “Do we need to take you to the hospital?”

“Hospital? No, no. I’m fine,” Rion said.

“Sarina did attack you,” Jesse said. “You’re sure you’re fine? I felt how much force she was using when we pulled her off you…”

“Pretty sure nothing’s broken. I’ll live,” Rion said.

That wasn’t a comforting answer. It sounded like Rion wanted to shrug off their concern.

Peter had seen Noa hide injuries before. With Noa, Peter would call him out on it. That would be harder to do with Rion. They weren’t family.

“Just because you’ll live doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get checked at the hospital,” Peter told him. “Tell me honestly, where are you hurting and how bad is it?”

“It’s fine. I’m just a little sore where she hit me,” Rion said. “I think I’m bruised. If I sit down, I’ll be okay.”

“All right. We’ll sit and have drinks,” Peter said, urging them into the hotel. “But Rion, if you’re still hurting by the time we leave, I’m walking you over to the hospital and we’re getting you checked out. Okay?”

“Fine,” Rion agreed.

They headed inside. Peter kept his focus on Rion, watching the way he sat when they picked out a table. He moved gingerly, unable to relax. Peter was sure he was downplaying the seriousness of his injuries. It was going to be impossible to ignore.

It made Peter even angrier with Sarina. She didn’t just attack Rion, she tried to hurt him and succeeded. And Rion was obviously used to limping off and hiding what he was going through without any kind of support.

“You said that Eric kicked you before, right?” Peter asked. “When you were telling us what happened with your black eye?”

“Yeah,” Rion said.

“You’re sure nothing’s broken?” Peter continued. “Did you go to the hospital before?”

“Peter, please… I just want to relax for a second,” Rion said. “Just lemme get a milkshake or something.”

“He’s right to be worried,” Celeste said. “We didn’t know things were this bad.”

“I didn’t want to believe it,” Danny said, scrubbing his face. “I never would have thought Sarina would do something like this. It’s messed up.”

“I know,” Jesse agreed. “I didn’t expect Sarina to lose it like that. I think Peter’s got the right idea here, Rion. You’re sure you feel okay?”

“Fine,” Rion said again, frustration creeping into his voice. “Seriously. I just need a minute. I’m not hurt that bad. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. It’s embarrassing. Stop.”

The waitress came by and took their order before anyone could argue. The atmosphere was awkward as they all ordered coffee, save for Celeste and Rion who ordered strawberry milkshakes.

Peter would have commented on Rion’s choice if there weren’t more important things to worry about. When they were kids, Rion always ordered chocolate milkshakes. Strawberry was Noa’s favourite. He could remember their arguments as kids over which was better…

With the conversation derailed, they paused to digest everything that happened. The waitress came back with their drinks and when she left, Celeste was the first one to speak up.

“I was surprised that you broke off your friendship with Sarina, Danny,” Celeste said. “I mean…not that I blame you…but you were really good friends when we were kids. I guess it says a lot about her behaviour…”

“Yeah… I feel kind of bad. It really sucks,” Danny said. “But I couldn’t just stand there and watch her attack Rion like that and then try and justify it… If that’s how she’s going to be, then we aren’t friends.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Rion said, scrubbing at his face for a moment before plunking his hands down on the table. “I don’t want to ruin your friendship with Sarina.”

“Oh no, no! Don’t worry about that,” Danny said. “Sarina was the one who broke things off in my opinion. Rion, I would have cut things off with her if she treated anyone like that. Like, imagine if she tried to hit Noa.”

“No,” Rion bit out. At the same time, Peter snapped, “She isn’t coming anywhere near Noa.”

Rion’s reaction made Peter turn to look at him.  Rion met his gaze briefly before turning away.

“Sarina probably wouldn’t be happy to hear that,” Celeste said. “I think she still really likes Noa, even if she hardly ever sees him. I don’t think she’d hit him…”

“Who can say?” Peter said, still watching Rion. “I don’t care what she thinks or how she feels. Sarina decided this is the kind of person she wants to be. And after what happened with Noa as a kid? With his dad who murdered his mom and tried to kill him too? No. No way. I’m not letting anyone abusive anywhere near Noa. Sarina can forget about ever seeing him again.”

The others winced at the mention of Noa’s father. Rion even cringed, balling his hands into fists on the tabletop.

“Yeah… Yeah, I agree with you there,” Danny said.

“What she did was really wrong and…you’re right. She shouldn’t see Noa,” Celeste began, “but maybe Sarina could change? I know that sounds… It’s unlikely. But she didn’t used to be this way.”

“I’d like to believe she can change, and I get what you’re saying, Celeste,” Danny said. “Sarina… She’s like a total stranger. We have to be realistic. It sucks but she’s already made her choices.”

He looked down, flicking at the edge of a napkin. Danny seemed really broken up about it. Peter understood his feelings but he didn’t sympathize with him.

Sarina had been acting out for years. They were finally paying attention and seeing how ugly reality was.

“And it’s not our job to fix her,” Jesse added.

“I might talk to her, though,” Celeste said, fidgeting self-consciously. “I feel kind of bad for her… What she did was awful, but I just feel like… I feel like that’s not really her. I don’t know. Is that weird?”

“No, I get what you mean. She didn’t used to be like this,” Danny said. “And hey, if you can talk sense into her, I think that’s great. I just wouldn’t keep my hopes up. She’s really…really changed.”

“I know,” Celeste said. “But I want to try.”

“Can we talk about something that isn’t Sarina?” Rion asked. “Please?”

Peter exchanged looks with the others. It was going to be tough to change the subject considering what they just witnessed. But none of them could blame Rion for wanting to talk about something else. He was hovering over his milkshake, and he didn’t look any better. In fact, he looked nauseous.

“Yeah. Sure. We can talk about something else,” Jesse said. “Uh…”

“Do you want to come over and visit Noa sometime?” Peter asked.

Rion looked up at him, startled. It probably had to do with the fact that Peter had been adamant that Sarina couldn’t come over and now Rion was the one getting an invitation.

“Is that okay?” Rion asked.

“Noa was really happy to see you,” Peter told him. “My parents wanted to invite you over anyway. You make Noa act like his old self. We all think it would be good for you to hang out with him.”

“As long as it’s okay, I’d like to visit,” Rion said. “But does that mean the rumours are true? Is Noa… I know I saw him a few days ago, but… How has he been?”

“Things have been hard,” Peter said. “He’s been struggling with everything. Mom and Dad are homeschooling him now, but he’s already been held back a grade… He hardly talks. He plays games, listens to music, and draws… He prefers to stay in his room. He was a different person when you came over and visited.”

Rion was frowning but he nodded.

“That makes sense…” he said and then closed his eyes for a brief second before looking down at his milkshake. “I’d like to see him again.”

“Why did you stop hanging out with Noa? It’s been bugging me, to be honest,” Danny spoke up. “The two of you were best friends. Like, closer than Sarina and I were. What changed?”

“Amber died,” Rion said.

It was a very blunt, hard answer. It made Jesse visibly uncomfortable, and Celeste glanced away, sipping at her milkshake for a distraction.

A younger Peter would have been upset hearing that, but not the man he was today. He remembered Amber and he loved her. She was his sister. But six years was a long time and a lot had happened since then.

Noa had needed him. His parents had needed him. They had come together as a family to support each other.

He still missed his older sister, but not the same way that he used to. Amber was dead and he had accepted that. It took time and it still hurt to think about her sometimes, but her death had become familiar.

“I understand,” Peter said. “A lot of things changed after Amber died.”

Rion blinked at him rapidly. After collecting himself, he nodded.

“Everything changed,” he agreed.

“Noa… It was really hard for him,” Peter said. “I think it was too much. I was mad that you stopped coming around, to be honest.”

“Isn’t that a bit blunt, Peter?” Jesse said with an awkward smile.

“It’s the truth,” Peter said. “I felt like you abandoned Noa, Rion.”

“I didn’t,” Rion said but then stopped himself.

It looked like the words slipped out, almost like he hadn’t meant to admit it, which was strange. He seemed to have a brief internal debate before taking a breath and continuing.

“I didn’t abandon him. I… He told me he didn’t want me around. I thought… I left it up to him.”

“Noa said that?” Peter asked.

“Yeah,” Rion said. “It was before the…you know…the funeral. We didn’t have a fight exactly ,but we… We had a disagreement. He told me to go away. So I did.”

Peter had no idea that happened. He felt instant guilt for being angry at Rion in the first place. If Noa asked Rion to stay away, it wasn’t fair of Peter to get upset at Rion for doing what he was told.

But how was he supposed to know that happened? Noa didn’t say anything about it and Rion just stopped coming over.

“Noa seemed happy to see you again though,” Celeste said. “I think it’s okay for you to visit now.”

“Yeah, seems that way,” Rion said. “I’m happy that he’s finally… I guess it would be wrong to say that he’s ‘doing better’…”

“He is doing better,” Peter said. “Mom found him an amazing psychiatrist and she’s local too; she just moved to town earlier last year. Noa’s starting to open up again, just a little. I think it’s perfect timing for you to come over. He really was happy to see you.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Rion said. “Thanks.”

“Would this be a bad time to ask about the friendship bracelet?” Jesse spoke up.

Peter gave him a deadpanned look. They were just smoothing things out and Jesse really had to go there? After Sarina flipped out over the stupid bracelets? Really?

“I don’t have anything to say about it,” Rion said, looking down. He stirred his milkshake with his straw and took a long sip.

“You still have your bracelet, right?” Danny said.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“So, that must mean you still care about it, right?” Danny continued. “I mean, you wouldn’t keep it if it didn’t matter to you, right?”

Rion sighed. “There’s nothing to talk about, okay? I cut up my bracelet. I wrecked it. End of story.”

“I just wanted to ask…why?” Jesse said. “Danny’s right. It’s your bracelet and you can do what you want with it. I just… I want to understand.”

“What’s to understand?” Rion said.

“I think that Jesse means… We just want to know why you wrecked it,” Celeste said. “Were you upset? I can understand that… I mean, we were all struggling.”

“I don’t know. It was a long time ago,” Rion said. “It happened and it’s done now. It’s been done for years. I don’t think it really matters why I wrecked it because there’s no fixing it.”

Jesse and Celeste didn’t seem happy with that answer, but Peter thought Rion was trying to avoid the subject. He wasn’t making any excuses, but he was dismissing the bracelet and shutting the conversation down. Just like how he was trying to dismiss his injuries.

The abrupt dismissal gave Peter a weird feeling. Something wasn’t right. But he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Okay,” Danny said. “I think we can all kind of agree with that. Let’s not dwell on it.”

“Right,” Jesse said, but he still looked unsatisfied. “I guess it’s true that we can’t fix it…”

“Noa lost his bracelet,” Peter said. “He stopped wearing it…quite a long time ago, actually. I asked him about it, but he just shrugged and didn’t give me an answer.”

Rion’s head whipped up and he stared at Peter with surprising intensity. His focus was sharpened, alert. The others were surprised too, turning to him.

“He lost it?” Celeste said.

“How?” Jesse said. “He hardly goes anywhere. Did you check at his psychiatrist’s office or…?”

Peter shook his head. “It’s been missing for a while. I can’t even remember when I noticed. But my point is that you’re not alone, Rion. Noa is missing his bracelet. I know it’s not the same, but…”

“Noa must have misplaced it,” Rion said. He looked weirdly intense. “I’ll help him look for it when I come over. He probably just stuck it somewhere for safekeeping and forgot where he put it.”

“I don’t know. We’ve searched his room before,” Peter said. “We didn’t see it anywhere.”

“I’ll still help him look for it,” Rion said. “It can’t hurt, right?”

“It’ll probably turn up,” Danny said. “Rion’s right. Noa probably hid it somewhere for safekeeping.”

“Yeah. Maybe,” Peter said.

Rion’s reaction didn’t make sense. He didn’t care what happened to his bracelet, but he cared about Noa’s? Why?

Peter decided to not think on it too hard for now. Rion wasn’t in great shape and Sarina had attacked him. He might not be thinking straight.

They finished off their drinks and left the hotel, heading out together. Outside, it had started to rain. It wasn’t in full swing, but the sky was dark with storm clouds and it was spitting.

“Good timing,” Jesse said. “I heard it’s supposed to storm all night. We should head home.”

“I’d better hurry,” Celeste said. “Looks like it’s only getting worse.”

Peter thought of Noa. After Amber died, he started to hate storms. They weren’t really sure why since it hadn’t been storming when Amber died. It had been warm and dry, which was why the fire had spread so fast.

Still, with it storming like this, Peter should hurry home. This would be one of those rare times when Noa wanted someone else around.

“You have a bit of a walk, right Celeste?” Danny said. “Do you want a ride? We could go to my place and borrow my parents’ car…”

“No, I’ll be okay. But I should really hurry,” she said, flashing him a smile. “But before I go…you’re really feeling okay, Rion?”

Rion nodded. “I feel much better. Really.”

He didn’t look better, but he wasn’t wobbling on his feet anymore. He could stand on his own and he was moving a little smoother. Peter was still worried but considering the weather, it might be fine to put off a hospital visit. Maybe.

“Okay. Take it easy,” Celeste said. “Um… Things weren’t great with Sarina, but I hope that we can work everything out. We should get together again when we’re all free.”

“Yeah,” Jesse agreed. “I’d like that.”

“We’ll make plans later then,” Danny said. “See you, Celeste.”

“Bye,” she said with a little wave.

Celeste hurried off and then Jesse gave a wave of his own.

“I’ll see you guys around too. I promised I’d stop by the store for Mom on the way home so I gotta run,” Jesse said. “Peter, say hi to Noa for me.”

“Sure,” Peter said. “See you, Jesse.”

Then it was just Danny, Peter, and Rion.

Peter was ready to leave. He was distracted, wanting to get home to Noa. Things seemed to be somewhat resolved and with the weather taking a turn, it made sense to head home. But as he turned to Danny and Rion, there was a rumble from the dark sky overhead. And he saw Rion’s expression.

Peter had only seen that look of fear, that look of panic, on Noa’s face.

And then Peter remembered that Rion hated storms. The realization was sharp, sudden, and he felt so stupid for having forgotten.

Rion was afraid of storms for as long as Peter knew him, long before they had ever bothered Noa. As a kid, Rion would always run inside at the first sign of a dark cloud. He used to be terrified of rainy weather and it had never been a normal childhood fear.

Rion didn’t talk about it, but there had always been rumours. That was the small-town way. It was impossible to know the full truth, but Peter knew enough.

Rion’s mother had died in a terrible storm. Rion was really young at the time, and he’d been with her when it happened.

Her car had swerved off the road and into the ditch. There was some embellishment depending on who told the story, debate about whether it was the car crashing into a power pole that brought the powerline down or if the storm had knocked it down. Either way, there was a downed powerline outside the car. Rion’s mother made the mistake of getting out of the vehicle and was electrocuted.

It was horrible to imagine. Peter shuddered at every powerline PSA since he’d heard the story. And now, Peter couldn’t believe he’d forgotten. He couldn’t believe it didn’t occur to him until now that Rion was terrified of storms, and they were standing outsidein one.

“Rion,” Peter said. “Are you okay?”

Danny gave him a questioning glance but then he saw the look on Rion’s face too and did a double take.

“Fine,” Rion said, looking away. His eyes were too wide, his shoulders tensed right up to his ears. He was trying to hide in his oversized jacket. “I need to go home.”

“I’ll walk you there,” Peter said. There was no way he was leaving him alone like this. “Let’s go. We should hurry.”

“I can walk him home,” Danny said, looking bewildered as Rion turned and started to walk down the sidewalk stiffly, Peter quickly following. “I was going to anyway. We’re neighbours.”

Peter shot Danny a glare over his shoulder, even though he regretted it immediately. Danny was startled by the look, not having quite caught on. Peter gave his head a shake.

“Sorry–” Peter started to say but it finally clicked for Danny.

“Oh!” Danny said. “Storms… I totally forgot! Shit! Let’s go.”

They’d barely gotten a few more steps when there was a flash of lightning overhead. Rion flinched badly this time. The rain was starting to come down harder and they were getting soaked. They’d barely taken a dozen steps when there was a sharp crack of thunder to follow up.

Rion went down into a crouch, covering his ears with his hands. He had his eyes scrunched closed and he began panting like a distressed animal. He crumpled so suddenly that it was a shock to Peter, who stopped and stood there for a moment too long.

And then he realized that Rion had seen the dark sky before he’d even come to talk to Sarina. He’d wanted to go home but they’d dragged him off to the hotel for drinks. Had he been sitting there, thinking about the oncoming storm this whole time?

“Rion!” Danny called out, crouching down next to him. “Are you okay?”

Rion didn’t answer him, sucking in sharp breaths, his teeth chattering. He was grimacing in pain and fear, shivering, looking tiny and fragile.

“Rion, can you hear us?” Peter added. He crouched down too, ignoring how his knee was instantly cold and soaked the moment it touched the pavement. “We need to get you home right now, okay?”

“…can’t…I can’t…” Rion huffed out.

He sounded like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. Not good. Peter had experienced variations of this with Noa. He didn’t have any of the new techniques from Doctor Maes memorized yet, but Rion wasn’t Noa so maybe…

“I want you to try and breathe deep and slow. Can you do that for me?” Peter asked.

Rion made a gesture, but it was so small and shaky that it was impossible to tell if it was a yes or a no. There was another rumble of thunder overhead and Rion made a desperate inhuman sound at the back of his throat.

“I need you to try,” Peter urged him. “Come on. Deep breath in, deep breath out.”

“We’re only a few blocks from home,” Danny said. “We can do it. We’re so close.”

Rion tried. Peter could see him making the effort. Rion’s breath hitched and then came in sharp again.

“…It’s…I can’t…” he gasped out.

Peter gave it some thought. They weren’t getting anywhere like this and they couldn’t just sit on the sidewalk in the middle of a storm. He looked at Rion, giving him an analytical once over. He was small, easily smaller than Peter…

“How about I carry you?” Peter offered, wondering if he could manage it. “It’s not too far…”

Rion shook his head.

“It’s a good idea,” Danny was quick to say. “I can carry you if you don’t want it to be Peter.”

“No one’s around so no one will know. If anyone does see, we’ll say that you were hurt. It’s not a lie. Sarina attacked you,” Peter said. He was familiar with the embarrassment that came from panic attacks and breakdowns and knew Rion might need reassurances. “Please, Rion. Let us help.”

Rion was curling in on himself further. It was going to be impossible to lift him if he was all balled up. And if he couldn’t calm down, what were they supposed to do?

“Maybe…I could get my parents’ car…?” Danny said.

“No! No cars…” Rion forced out.

“We can’t stay like this,” Peter said. “You need to make up your mind, Rion. I know that it’s really hard. It’s really, really hard. You have every reason to be upset, but we need to get you somewhere safe. You want that too, right?”

Rion nodded jerkily.

“Okay. Then let one of us carry you,” Peter said. “Unless you can walk. Or run. We can run.”

“Okay…okay…” Rion said faintly. “Just…ngh…”

He tried to uncurl himself. He was shaking so badly and his breathing was growing ragged. He tried to stand but his legs were shaking as bad as the rest of him. Peter moved to offer his back, figuring that piggyback would be the easiest way to go about this. Danny gave them both a hand.

Rion ended up reluctantly clambering onto Peter’s back, clutching at him uncomfortably tight. Peter managed to stand upright. He shifted Rion, holding onto his legs to make sure he was supporting him. Rion wasn’t as heavy as Peter thought he would be, but he was still heavy enough that Peter knew he wasn’t going to make it anywhere far like this.

“Got him?” Danny asked.

“Yeah,” Peter said, starting to move. He wanted to get Rion home as fast as he could. “Rion, are you good?”

He didn’t get an answer. All he could hear was Rion’s sharp breathing in his ear.

Peter had only done this once or twice with Noa and he never needed to take him far. It was risky because Peter knew that if Rion freaked out, they could both get hurt. Not that it would be Rion’s fault. He was obviously terrified.

It was a rough walk down the street. The rain was coming down in a torrent now, and lightning lit the sky, thunder following loudly after. Every time, Rion flinched, his entire body shuddering as he clutched Peter like he was his only lifeline. Peter was sure Rion was crying but he deliberately ignored it, focused on trying to get to Rion’s house.

By the time they reached the front door, Peter was exhausted and out of breath. He crouched down for Rion to get off. Danny tried the door but it was locked.

“House keys,” Peter said. “Where are they?”

Rion stumbled off him and tripped over his own feet to scramble for the house. He hit the wall with a thump and leaned into it, shaking hands going for his pockets. He pulled his keys out and they jangled loudly from how badly his hands were shaking.

“Let me,” Danny said, taking the keys from Rion.

Danny got the door open and Rion stumbled inside. Peter and Danny followed him. Peter needed to catch his breath.

Rion slumped to the ground right in the entrance, curling into the fetal position. Now that he was out of the rain, he seemed to have given up entirely. He had his eyes clamped shut again, hands covering his ears, trying to block out any sound.

“We can’t leave him like this,” Peter said, turning to Danny who pulled the door shut behind them.

“What…what do we do?” Danny asked, obviously lost. “Should we call someone? Like, his dad or…? I don’t know…”

“First…first let’s…uh…” Peter said, trying to think for a second. “Wet clothes. Rion should change, but if he… I don’t think he can right now, so… Towels and blankets. We need to keep him warm.”

“Right,” Danny said. “I know where the towels are.”

“Then I’ll look for a blanket,” Peter said. “After that we’ll try calling his dad.”

“Okay,” Danny said and didn’t hesitate to hurry off. “Be right back!”