“I’m going to head out and grab some things from the store,” Mrs. Murphy said, pulling on her coat. “I forgot to pick up snacks for tonight. They were on the grocery list the other day, but… Did you need anything else?”

“It should be fine,” Peter said. “I think we’re good.”

“Okay. I should only be about fifteen minutes,” she said. “I’m just going to walk down and come back.”

“See you, Mrs. Murphy,” Danny said with a smile and a wave.

They’d already put away the pictures. Noa and Rion had gotten all weird about them, so it seemed like the right thing to do.

Actually, Danny was more than a little worried. Rion went white as a sheet and Noa… Noa was just sitting there, eyes down, not saying anything. Danny was pretty sure he wasn’t even blinking. Was that okay? Was that healthy?

Danny hadn’t meant for them to get upset. If he’d known that pictures from the day Amber died were in there, he wouldn’t have started going through everything. He felt like it was his fault, even though there was no way for him to have known…

He wanted to help Noa and Rion, not hurt them.

When Mrs. Murphy left, it was just the four of them.

“Are you really okay?” Peter asked Noa and Rion.

“Yeah,” Rion said faintly but he didn’t look up at Peter. He had his arms crossed, hands fisted in the material of his sleeves. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just… Yeah. We should… We should do something. Put on a movie or play a game or… Anything.”

“I don’t know,” Danny said. “Maybe we should chat for a bit? Wouldn’t want to get started too soon. The others are still on their way.”

“Oh, yeah… I guess… Yeah, sorry,” Rion said.

Peter sat down next to him. “Are you sure you’re fine? You’re really distracted. You don’t look okay.”

“I just didn’t… I thought I could handle those pictures, but it was a bit much,” Rion said, pausing to raise a hand and scrub at his face. “I’m okay. I just… I need to breathe.”

“Do you want water? Tea?” Peter asked. “Hot chocolate?”

“Maybe water,” Rion said.

“How about you, Noa,” Danny added. “Are you okay?”

Noa didn’t look up. He didn’t move. He didn’t do anything.

“Noa?” Peter said, trying again.

Finally, Noa blinked and looked up at him.

“Earl grey. Hot,” he said.

Peter relaxed a little, smiling faintly, reassured. “Okay. Got it.”

“Let me help,” Danny said. “I could go for a drink too.”

Peter hesitated. Danny was sure he knew why. Even he wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable leaving Noa and Rion alone in the living room together. But the others would be here soon. Mrs. Murphy would come back. It wouldn’t be for long.

And Danny wanted to talk.

“Okay,” Peter finally said.

They stepped into the kitchen and Peter kept one eye on the doorway to the living room. There were glasses laid out on the countertop for them to use this evening and Danny grabbed two. He poured Rion’s water from the water dispenser, filling his own cup with water too.

“They are not okay,” he whispered to Peter.

“I know that,” Peter whispered back. “I had no idea those stupid pictures were in there. We’ll just have to distract them or something…”

“Games,” Danny said. “Rion suggested it. They’re interactive.”

“Actually…maybe. When you put it like that, it sounds like a great idea.”

“Games are always a great idea.”

Peter turned the kettle on, grabbing a cup and tea bag for Noa. But that was as far as he got before the phone ran. He stepped over and picked it up.

“Hello? Murphy residence,” Peter said, like a professional. “…Celeste? You… Oh. Okay.”

He was silent for a moment. Danny hovered nearby, sipping at his water. He couldn’t quite make out what Celeste was saying, but she sounded apologetic.

“No, don’t walk. I can pick you up,” Peter said. “Mom walked down to the store. I can drive out, grab you, and bring you back here. It’s supposed to snow tonight so it’ll be cold…”

He paused again. “Yes. I’ll see you in a bit. Bye.”

“You’re going to go pick up Celeste?” Danny asked as Peter hung up the phone.

“She’s having car troubles,” Peter said. “It won’t start. She was going to walk here from the farm, but I offered to drive her. It’s a long walk just to hang out and I don’t want her going back alone in the dark. Never know when a pack of coyotes might show up.”

“Do you think that’s okay with…?” Danny began and then jerked a thumb in the direction of the living room.

“It’s fine if you stay here,” Peter said. “Mom is probably already on her way back, and Jesse will be here any second. Just…”

He glanced back and lowered his voice to a whisper again.

“Noa and Rion should be okay. I think we’ve seen the worst of their breakdowns. If something happens, get Rion to breathe and ask Noa about his senses.”

“Senses?” Danny repeated, confused and more than a little anxious.

“Ask him what he sees and hears and feels,” Peter said. “Get him to name the things around him. That helped out at the lake.”

“I’m not sure…” Danny said. “Couldn’t we wait until someone else comes back? I mean…”

It wasn’t that Danny didn’t think he could help. He was just overwhelmed at the idea that Noa or Rion might have a panic attack and he’d have to deal with it alone. Peter was the expert when it came to this kind of thing. Danny didn’t know anything about anything.

“Someone will be here in less than ten minutes,” Peter said, sure of himself. “The sooner I go and get Celeste, the sooner I can get back. I know you can handle it, Danny. You’re a great guy and Noa and Rion are both close to you. I doubt anything will even happen.”

“I…well…okay,” Danny agreed reluctantly. He couldn’t even be flattered by the ‘great guy’ comment, too worried about what might happen. “I don’t want you to drive recklessly, but please come back soon.”

“Okay,” Peter said.

The water had boiled so Peter poured it into Noa’s mug. Danny grabbed his and Rion’s water and they brought the drinks out.

When they came into the living room, they found Noa and Rion with their heads bowed, close together. They were whispering something to each other, but they both quickly straightened when Danny and Peter came back into the room. Noa’s expression was blank, cold, and Rion’s cheeks were flushed an embarrassed red.

Uh… What was that about?

“Drinks,” Peter said, either not noticing or not caring about the interaction. He set Noa’s tea down on the coffee table in front of him, the tea bag still in the cup. “I’m going to head out really quick and pick up Celeste. She’s having car troubles.”

“Oh,” Rion said, blinking at him owlishly. “But you’ll be back soon?”

“Before you know it,” Peter said. “Danny’s staying. If you have any trouble, just try to hold on for a bit. I’ll be back soon. Mom and Jesse are probably on their way right now.”

“I… Okay,” Rion said, accepting his water from Danny. “Oh, thanks.”

“No problem,” Danny said.

He tried to smile but it felt too stiff on his face. He didn’t like this. He had a bad feeling, a gut instinct like something was wrong. He didn’t know what it was, but…

Danny had felt this way for a while. Something was off, askew. It started when he moved back, when he first ran into Rion. Something wasn’t right and he had no idea what it was.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” Peter said.

He headed out and then it was just the three of them. Noa and Rion didn’t say anything. They weren’t even looking at each other. They seemed…tense?

“So, um… How about some games?” Danny asked. “We could do Mario Kart or something.”

Noa didn’t move or speak.

“…Not really in the mood,” Rion said, turning his water around in his hands before setting it on the coffee table next to Noa’s tea. “Sorry.”

“That’s… Cool. Fine. Yeah,” Danny said. “Want to put on TV or something? You guys got satellite, right Noa? There might be something on…I don’t know…YTV?”

Noa gave a small shrug. Rion looked at him and then glanced down, heaving a breath.

“Maybe… I don’t know,” he said. “Sorry, Danny. I was stupid and asked to see those pictures, and… I shouldn’t have.”

Danny raised his hands, ready to insist that it was fine. “No, no–”

“That’s right. You shouldn’t have.”

Noa cut him off. His voice was low and… Oh. Oh, he was mad.

Danny could only really tell because of Noa’s tone when he spoke. He was still turned away, still not moving, his expression as blank as before. But now that Danny was actually focused on him, he could see how tense Noa was.

“Noa, I’m sorry,” Rion said. “I didn’t know…”

“The camera was around your neck,” Noa said. “How could you not know.”

Rion raised his hands up, struggling with his words. “I didn’t remember. I didn’t… It’s not like I took those pictures! I wasn’t trying to! It… The camera… It was pressed up against my chest and it…”

“And you magically forgot that it took those pictures?” Noa snapped.

“Whoa. Whoa, whoa,” Danny said, holding up his hands. “Let’s… Come on. Let’s not fight. Okay?”

Honestly, he was shocked. He’d never heard Noa and Rion use this tone with each other, especially not Noa. And he had no idea what they were talking about either. The pictures? The ones from earlier? Like… The blurry ones? Why were they arguing about it?

“Danny’s right,” Rion said. “We shouldn’t fight.”

“We’re going to,” Noa said. “It keeps happening. Again and again and again. And it’s my fault and you won’t let me take the blame for anything.”

“Because nothing is your fault!” Rion said. “You never did anything wrong!”

“Stop saying that! You know it’s not true!” Noa said.

“Guys… Come on… Please,” Danny said weakly, holding up his hands.

He’d been expecting a breakdown at worst, not whatever this was. Why were they yelling? Danny was totally lost.

“Stay out of it!” Noa snapped at him and Danny was rendered speechless. Noa had never, ever spoken to him like that before. “You don’t know anything!”

“Don’t talk to him like that!” Rion said. “If you want to be angry then be angry at me, not Danny.”

“I’m not angry at Danny!” Noa snapped back. “And I’m only angry because…because… Fuck!”

Danny could only stand there, staring wide-eyed. Swearing? Noa was…swearing? Noa?

“We can’t do this right now,” Rion said, getting to his feet. “Everyone is coming here. They’ll be here any second. Do you really want everyone to see us like…like this?”

“Why not?” Noa said, springing to his feet, hands balled up. “It’s the truth. This is reality. I’m this awful, horrible, terrible, evil person and it’s about time that everyone realized it and started hating me!”

“That’s not true at all!” Rion said. “Noa–”

“I should be dead!” Noa cut him off, not letting him speak. “I should have been drowned in a bathtub years and years ago! My parents were right–!”

“No! No, never!” Rion said. “Don’t say that! Don’t–! Please!”

He tried to reach out but Noa smacked his hand away as hard as he could.

“Don’t touch me!”

They both stood there for a long moment, breathing hard. Danny was frozen, watching. He had no idea what to do, trying to catch up with everything that was going on, his mind racing. This was… What was even happening?

And then Noa moved. He stormed past Rion, into the kitchen. Rion darted after him.

“Noa!” Rion called out.

Danny somehow managed to get his feet working. He hurried to follow them, stopping in the kitchen doorway. Rion had blocked off the way to the hall that led to the laundry room and the downstairs bathroom. Noa glowered at him, slinking over to the counter, leaning against it, his whole posture defensive.

“Guys?” Danny said, his voice sounding small to his own ears. “What’s…? You’re freaking me out. Can’t we…can’t we just chill out until the others get here?”

“I would, Danny, but I have to make sure that Noa doesn’t hurt himself,” Rion said.

“Hurt myself?” Noa said. “That’s why you’re blocking the way to the bathroom? As if I can’t hurt myself anywhere?”

Rion opened his mouth and closed it again, breathing hard through his nose. Noa gripped the countertop. He was shaking, but Danny was pretty sure it was from anger.

“Seriously…please stop,” Danny said. “This… Let’s… Please.”

“Danny’s right,” Rion said. “Danny’s right, Noa. We both know it. Let’s just calm down…”

“No,” Noa said. “No, I can’t. I want space. I want you to leave me alone. And I can’t go up to my room because Amber’s is… Her door is right there. I see it every day. It makes me crazy, and I can’t… Just go away. Leave me alone.”

“Please…” Rion said. “I’m worried about you.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop protecting me? Stop protecting me!”

“I can’t, Noa!”

“Just leave me alone!”

Noa flung out an arm, sweeping his hand across the countertop, and–

Glasses were sent flying across the kitchen. They came crashing to the ground, hitting the floor. One survived the fall but three shattered completely, sending shards of glass skittering all over.

Danny jumped. Instinctively, he wanted to rush forward but he took off his shoes when he came into the house. He only had socks on. Rion froze, wide eyed, hands held out, not moving either.

And Noa crumpled. He put his hands over his head and sunk down on his knees in the glass. He was trembling, shivering, breathing too hard. And a second too late, Danny realized he was crying.

“Noa…” Danny said.

“Go away…” Noa said in a small voice. “Go away, go away, go away, go away…”

“I can go away,” Rion said slowly. His hands dropped and his shoulders sunk down. “I can… I did it once. I can do it again. I can go away forever. If that…if that will make you stop… If that’s what you really want…”

“That’s not what I want,” Noa said, folding himself down even smaller. “I want Amber back…”

Danny’s vision swam. He had to take a breath, remind himself what was happening and where they were. He tried to speak but his throat was too dry. The words stuck.

“I want Amber back too,” Rion said. He looked ready to cry himself, his eyes wet. “Every day, I regret what happened. Every day, Noa. And I know you feel the same. That’s… I hate it. You hate it. I'm… I’m just tired.”

Noa was silent for a long moment. He reached up to wipe away some tears with his sleeve.

“I wish I’d never been born,” he finally said.

“Please…” Rion said. “Please don’t say that.”

“I hate this,” Noa said. “Everything’s my fault, and… My mother… My father…. If I had drowned when I was little, Amber would’ve lived.  I never would have come here. I never should have… It’s me. I’m the problem. I’ve always been the problem.”

“No, you’re not. Noa, if I hadn’t come to the cabin that day, Amber would have lived. It was me, not you,” Rion said and now he really was crying, tears streaking his face. “She loved you. She loved you, and that’s why…”

“You don’t get it, Rion,” Noa said. “No one gets it. I ruin everything. I kill everything. I’m just like my father.”

“That’s not true,” Rion said. “It’s not. Noa…”

“I just want everything to stop,” Noa said, pressing his hands down harder on his head. “I just want everyone and everything to go away and it never does and I hate it.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

“You don’t… Noa, no!”

Noa reached out and grabbed a large chunk of one of the broken glasses from the floor. Danny tensed, breath catching, totally unprepared for any of this. Rion was holding out his hands again, his expression wild.

“Put that down,” Rion said. “Noa. Put it down. Now.”

“No,” Noa said.

Rion sucked in a breath and started walking, crunching over broken glass in his socks. He hissed out in pain but kept going, grimacing, legs shaking.

“Rion! Wait!” Danny said, finding his voice. “Wait, wait, wait, wait! Stop!”

Noa looked up at Rion, his whole body tensing up, his grip on the glass tightening. He was bleeding, the glass digging into his palm, blood dripping down his wrist.

“If you won’t stop, I’ll make you stop,” Rion said to Noa.

“You’re the one who…” Noa began, pushing himself up to stand, unsteady on his legs, gasping when he stepped on glass. “You–! No!”

“I can’t let you hurt yourself… I can’t…” Rion said. “I can’t let you.”

“Just stop!” Noa hissed through clenched teeth.

“Hold on!” Danny said but it was too late. He was useless. He was helpless. “Wait!”

Rion lunged, trying to grab at Noa’s hand to get at the glass. Noa whipped it away, jerking it dangerously past his own face. But Rion didn’t give up, reaching desperately, throwing himself forward.

Rion slipped and they crashed down on the floor together. Shards of glass crunched and scattered beneath them.

“Noa?! Rion?!” Danny shrieked.

He wanted to dive in and pull them apart but there was so much glass, and…

Rion managed to grab hold of Noa’s wrist, pulling the glass shard towards himself. Noa wrestled him for it on the floor, pushing Rion down. They were a desperate tangle of limbs, rolling through glass.

Danny didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to turn away for a second. But something in his head screamed at him that standing there was useless. There was nothing he could do, except–

Danny bolted for the phone in the living room. Gritting his teeth, hating turning his back on the other two, he picked up the handset. With shaking fingers, he dialed 911 before glancing back.

Rion and Noa were still grappling with each other on the kitchen floor. There were splashes of red mixed in with the broken glass.

“Nine-one-one, where is your emergency?”