With a mug of hot chocolate in one hand, Peter knocked on the laundry room door.

“Noa? Rion? Can I come in?” he asked.

There was a pause and then Noa called out, “Okay.”

Peter opened the door slowly, peeking in. He wasn’t sure how he expected to find the pair of them, but when he saw Noa and Rion both sitting on the floor, Rion all wrapped up in a blanket, it was a relief. He raised the mug for them to see.

“Hot chocolate’s ready,” he said. “Are you two going to come back and join us? We were going to put on a movie. Maybe something fun… Pirates of the Caribbean?”

“Okay,” Noa said again.

They both got up. Seeing Rion all bundled up made things click for Peter. Noa must have been trying to comfort Rion. That’s why he’d rushed off with him for privacy.

It had bothered Peter how abruptly the two of them had gone somewhere by themselves. The fact that Noa had shut everyone out after they both just had panic attacks, and for them to immediately hide away from everyone else made him concerned.

But now it made a lot more sense and, honestly, Peter was relieved. He wasn’t sure that Noa would have been able to prioritize someone else less than a month ago.  It was good to see him trying to take care of Rion, even if he had his own way of going about it.

Peter passed Rion his hot chocolate. Rion had to reach a hand out of the blanket to take it.

“Thanks,” Rion said.

“Blankets are a good idea,” Peter said. “Here…”

He grabbed another one and bundled up Noa. His cousin was happy to pull it close, his face barely sticking out. He looked so cozy that Peter couldn’t help but smile.

“There,” Peter said. “I’ll just grab another couple blankets in case anyone else wants one. Did you guys want anything else to eat or drink? The others have started on the snack trays.”

“We can join them,” Rion said. “Um… Thanks, Peter.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said.

They left the laundry room together, Peter following behind Noa and Rion. He wanted to keep an eye on them. Even if Noa was trying to comfort Rion, he was still worried about how they were doing after the day they’d just had.

Then again, earlier… Rion said something about Noa hearing things. Peter was going to have to mention that to his parents and Dr. Maes.

The others were waiting for them in the living room. Travis had left, saying that he wanted to drop Rion’s bike off, but everyone else was still there. Peter told them to try and be cool about things. After everything that happened, they all needed to unwind and have a relaxing evening.

“Hey!” Danny greeted them, practically jumping off the couch. “You’re back. How’s it going?”

“Better,” Rion said, shuffling along.

“What’s with the blankets?” Jesse said.

Peter stepped forward, putting some folded blankets on the corner of the couch. “I thought it would be a good idea for us to get cozy while we hang out. We can just put on a movie and relax.”

“I’m up for that,” Celeste said.

“Yeah, we can do popcorn and stuff,” Danny said. “It’ll be great. And, oh, hey! We were actually just talking about Jesse’s birthday too. It’s on Tuesday.”

“Right,” Peter said, blinking. He’d almost forgotten. “I don’t have a present yet…”

Jesse was quick to hold up his hands, waving dismissively. “It’s fine. I won’t be in town anyway. I’m going out with my parents on Tuesday. They want to take me out to see Shaun of the Dead, so…”

“…I didn’t take you for a zombie, comedy movie kind of guy,” Peter said, blinking. “Huh.”

Jesse let out a small laugh. “I think my dad wants to see it more than I do, but… My point is, I won’t be in town, so don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll give you your present anyway,” Celeste said. “I’ll stop by Monday, maybe.”

“Oh…oh, you don’t have to,” Jesse said. “It’s fine.”

“You think we aren’t gonna do something to celebrate, Jesse?” Danny said with a grin. “I bet even Rion’s got something planned.”

Rion blinked at them owlishly. “Uh… Yeah, actually, I… I kind of got a little something… It’s small though…”

“I have something too,” Noa spoke up.

“Oh, geez, guys,” Jesse said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You really don’t have to…”

The rest of the evening was mostly salvaged. The others stayed and they all did their best to keep things normal and lighthearted. Peter was distracted, keeping an eye on Noa and Rion. He felt paranoid, worrying about them. At least hanging out and watching a movie with blankets, popcorn, and hot drinks seemed to put everyone in a better mood.

Eventually, the others had to go. They left one by one, Danny lingering the longest. He pulled Peter aside before he left.

“You know, if anything happens, just call me or whatever,” he said. “I just want to make sure everything’s okay…”

“We’ll be fine,” Peter said. “Mom’s coming home at eleven and dad’s here. I’m keeping an eye on them so it shouldn’t be a problem. But thanks, Danny.”

“I’m really worried…” Danny added, lowering his voice. “I just… I want to make sure they’re okay, you know? There’s so much shit going on…”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” Peter said. “Thanks for everything. Really. I appreciate it.”

Danny left. Then it was just Peter, his dad, Noa, and Rion.

“So,” Peter said. “Do you need a ride home, Rion? Or are you spending the night?”

Rion hesitated, conflicted.

“I… Yeah, okay,” he finally said. “I guess I’ll stay. If it’s not a problem.”

“It’s fine,” Peter’s dad spoke up. “You’re more than welcome.”

“Why don’t we camp out on the living room floor tonight?” Peter added.

Rion looked relieved and Peter thought he might know why. He’d seen the way Rion edged around Amber’s door. It was very reminiscent of Noa. Peter wasn’t sure if Noa told Rion more about it or if he had his own set of bad memories to deal with. After going to the lake and dealing with panic attacks… It seemed like a good idea to have everyone stay downstairs.

“Okay,” Rion said. “Will we just use sleeping bags or…?”

“Sure,” Peter said. “All three of us can stay down here, like when we were kids.”

“I can grab the sleeping bags,” his dad added. “Elaine will be home in a bit, so you might as well stay up until she gets here. Did you want snacks or anything before bed?”

“No,” Noa said.

“I’m good,” Rion added. “I just need something to wear.”

“You look like you’re about Noa’s size,” Peter said, studying them critically. Actually, Noa might be a little bigger than Rion, but they were both pretty small and thin for their age. “Noa, is it okay if I grab something of yours for Rion?”

“Yeah, of course,” Noa said, turning to Rion. “It’s exactly like when we were kids.”

Rion offered him a wavering smile. “Yeah, I guess…”

“Okay,” Peter said. “I’ll be right back.”

He went up and grabbed pajamas and pillows. When he came back down, his dad already had the sleeping bags out and his mom had just walked through the door.

“Hey,” she said, stepping out of her shoes. “How are you?”

“I’ll tell you about it in a bit,” Peter said as he walked past her into the living room. “Rion’s staying over for the night.”

“Oh! Oh, good!” she said.

Peter went to Noa and Rion, handing them their things.

“Thanks,” Rion said.

“You can change down here in the bathroom…or the laundry room,” Peter added, remembering that the downstairs bathroom had the bathtub. Noa avoided it so it was better to give more than one option. “Actually, do you think you guys will be good for a minute? I just want to talk to Mom and Dad.”

“What about?” his dad asked.

“Just some stuff,” Peter said. “I want to talk before Mom calls it a night. It’ll just take a second.”

“Okay,” his dad said.

Noa gave him a side-eyed look. Peter was pretty sure that Noa knew he would talk about the panic attacks with his parents. But that was fine. Noa didn’t have to like it.

He was long overdue for a talk with his parents. He’d been putting it off, focusing on college and the situation with Noa and Rion, and… They needed to at least have an idea of what was currently happening.

His mom came into the room, pulling bobby pins out of her bun to let her hair down. She smelled faintly of that antiseptic, hospital smell. She had a casual position as an office admin in the emergency department and picked up shifts that were the opposite of his dad so that someone was always around to watch Noa.

“What’s this about a talk?” his mom said.

“I want to talk to you and Dad for a minute while Noa and Rion get ready for bed,” Peter said. “Let’s just… Actually, I should probably go up and change for bed anyway, so…”

“Sure,” his mom said. “Okay.”

They headed upstairs. Peter was a little hesitant to leave Noa and Rion alone downstairs. But they’d gone to the laundry room together to comfort each other earlier. It was probably fine, as long as they weren’t on their own for too long.

They went up to his parents’ room. It was weird for Peter to be going there to talk. He was grown up and going to college, so he felt like he was invading his parents’ private space. They didn’t come into his room, not without knocking. They respected each other’s privacy.

“So…” Peter began. “A lot has been going on lately. And I was planning on talking to you sooner, but I’ve been busy.”

“Did something happen?” his mom asked.

“A lot of things,” Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’d like to go in detail, but some of it will have to wait. I don’t want to leave Noa and Rion alone for too long.”

“Probably for the best,” his dad said. “What is it? You said Noa had another panic attack and…Rion too? Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Noa did? And Rion?” Mom added, the concern slipping into her voice immediately. “They seemed okay… Did the new exercises from Dr. Maes work?”

“Yes, actually,” Peter said.

Of course, it hadn’t been perfect. It still took Noa time to calm down and the same could be said of Rion. But Noa did noticeably better this time so Peter considered it a good thing.

“There’s some other things I need to talk about, though,” Peter said. “First of all… Sarina’s been bullying Rion. That’s a whole story on its own and I can’t get into it right now. But it’s really, really bad. She’s been ganging up on him with her friends and they’ve been beating on him. That’s why I told you that we can’t invite Sarina to anything. Noa knows and…he’s not happy.”

“Sarina has been bullying Rion?” Dad repeated.

“That definitely needs more of an explanation, Peter,” his mom added. “I know Sarina was jealous of Rion as a kid, but… Bullying? Beating him? She didn’t seem like that kind of person. That’s…that’s really, really serious.”

“I know,” Peter said. He was relieved that they felt the way he did. “I’ve seen the proof myself. I really can’t get into it right now because it’s a long story that has to do with the friendship bracelets Amber made. It’s been going on for years…”

He stopped and shook his head before continuing, “Look, a lot has happened. I know I told you about the whole bike thing, but… We went to pick it up and, yes, Noa had a panic attack at the lake. Then Rion had one too, right after we got back. And on top of that, when Noa did have his panic attack, Rion said that Noa was hearing things. I don’t know what, but… That’s something that hasn’t come up before.”

“It sounds almost more in line with a flashback. Something like PTSD…” his mom said, frowning.

Sometimes, Peter’s mom seemed to know as much about this kind of thing as Noa’s doctors did, though she never assumed and always let the professionals take the lead. His mom did a lot of reading on the subject. She always had. Part of the bookshelf in the living room was dedicated to self-help books and information on how to deal with relationships and trauma. She’d been reading that kind of thing even before Noa moved in.

Peter had taken an interest in those books after Amber died. He found them useful. They helped him work through his feelings about Amber’s death and they helped him understand Noa better.

“That sounds like something we should bring up with Dr. Maes,” his dad said.

“Definitely,” his mom agreed. “She needs to know. Dr. Maes has mentioned to me that Noa might be dealing with PTSD, considering what he’s been through. And since he’s been so closed off… Flashbacks can feel like you’re reliving trauma all over again. He might be experiencing… I mean…”

She took a breath and was silent for a moment, centering herself. But she didn’t need to say it. They all knew what Noa had been through.

“And Rion had a panic attack too?” his dad said.

“Right after we got back,” Peter replied. “He collapsed right outside. It wasn’t like Noa, where he just freezes and shuts down. Rion went right down on the gravel and curled up into a ball. I got him to work through some breathing exercises and those seemed to work for him… I actually had a talk with him about seeing someone a few days ago. I was going to talk to his dad, but he’s really hard to get a hold of and I’d rather Rion made the decision himself.”

“That’s good,” his mom said. “I’d say that’s the right move. Rion… I haven’t seen him in so long, but… He must be feeling the same as Noa. I never really thought…”

“They both went through the same thing,” his dad said. “Peter, don’t worry about contacting his dad. I’ll do it.”

“You will?” Peter said. “I didn’t want to be pushy, and Rion… I don’t know what he wants.”

“But his dad should know what he’s going through. And it’ll be easier for me to talk to him. We used to hang out. I haven’t heard from Hart in quite a while. Honestly, I’ve been worried.”

“I can see what you mean – this is a lot,” his mom added. “We need to have a more serious talk about this tomorrow; a full discussion.”

He could tell by the look on his mom’s face that this was going to happen no matter what. They were all going to have to sit down and he would need to go into detail. He felt a little bad for bringing it up like this, but he couldn’t keep putting it off.

Noa wasn’t okay and Rion wasn’t okay. And it was too much for Peter to deal with on his own or even with Jesse, Celeste, and Danny. He felt emotionally drained from today alone.

“Yeah. Okay,” Peter said. “I didn’t want to drop it on you like this, but… I don’t want to leave Noa and Rion alone for too long. I just wanted you to know the basics, and… I’ll drop Rion off tomorrow and make sure that he’s doing okay before I go. Then we can talk.”

“Okay,” his mom said and sighed, rubbing her temple. “Noa’s gotten so much better. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe we can finally work everything out. It seemed like he had a good talk with Dr. Maes last Monday, and… If Rion is helping Noa make some progress…”

“We should make sure he’s doing okay too,” his dad said. “Especially if Rion is going through the same thing as Noa.”

They decided to put the conversation on hold there, though Peter had a feeling that his parents were going to be up for a bit, talking things through. Still, he felt better with them knowing. It took some of the pressure off.

When Peter headed back downstairs, Rion and Noa were already comfortably in their sleeping bags, ready for bed. Peter pulled his own over, getting it unzipped and ready before he turned off the lights. He climbed into his sleeping bag in the dark.

“So, I’ll drive you home tomorrow after breakfast, Rion,” he said, lying down. “If that’s okay.”

“Yeah,” Rion said. “That’s cool. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Peter said. “Are you both good? Do you need anything else?”

“I’m fine,” Rion said.

“Same,” Noa said.

“Okay.”

Peter lay there, eyes open, slowly adjusting to the dark. He could hear his parents moving around upstairs, probably getting ready for bed.

It was weird. He hadn’t slept down here in ages, not since they were all kids. In fact, the last time they did this, he was pretty sure Amber and Danny were here with them and they’d stayed up half the night, whispering things to each other and staying up way later than they should have.

“Hey,” Rion said after a long moment. “Good night.”

“Good night, Rion,” Noa replied.

“Good night,” Peter said.