Waiting was the hardest thing for Peter, given everything that happened.

When he arrived home with Celeste, the house had been surrounded by first responders. He rushed in, frantically asking around to find out what happened. He’d run into his mom, who was equally lost and floundering.

That’s when they’d finally been allowed inside. They saw Noa and Rion. And the broken glass. And the blood.

Peter wished he hadn’t left Danny alone. He wished he had waited to pick up Celeste.

He’d left Danny with Noa and Rion and they’d…

It had been near impossible to get an explanation. There was so much confusion and so many people trying to sort through events. Peter ended up waiting outside with Celeste and Jesse, who arrived not long after. When Danny finished talking to the police and everyone else, he ran over and told them what happened in a rush.

Crazy. The whole thing was crazy. And there was nothing Peter could do about it. There was nothing any of them could do.

He went to the hospital with his parents. They were stuck waiting for hours.

Their family was given small updates on Noa, but they weren’t allowed to see him. Peter’s parents asked him if he wanted to go home and get some rest but he refused. It was the weekend. He could care less about sleep.

They were shown to a quiet room. It was small but cozy, with some couches and a table. They were allowed to sit more comfortably while they waited, away from the hallways and the crowded waiting rooms. But it didn’t feel that much better.

When Dr. Maes stepped inside to talk with them, Peter was ready to leap out of his seat.

“Hi, there. Good morning,” she said.

“How’s Noa?” were the first words out of Peter’s mouth.

They’d been told Noa was doing well, considering the circumstances. He was cut up from the glass and needed stitches. Fortunately, he was expected to recover quickly.

But Peter was far more worried about Noa’s mental state. And Dr. Maes was the person most likely to have concrete answers.

“I spoke with him and gave him an assessment,” she said. “All things considered, he’s doing well.”

Peter struggled to believe it. Doing well? After fighting with his best friend in a pile of broken glass? The psychiatrist was comfortable saying that?

“You’re sure?” Peter’s mother asked. “After everything that happened, it sounded like he was… Like he might hurt himself…”

“After speaking with Noa, it’s my opinion that he wasn’t attempting suicide,” Dr. Maes said. “However, he is showing signs of self-harm and his language is very self-deprecating. We’d like to keep him here at the hospital for a while and monitor him. I want to have a few sessions with him and reassess him again before we send him home.”

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but his dad beat him to it.

“Will we be able to visit him?” he asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Maes said. “Right now, I promised him some rest and privacy. He wants to be left alone and I don’t think he’s had any sleep. We should give him until later today, maybe closer to supper time, before we start sending in visitors. But you can see him. Since you’re his family and guardians, you’re welcome any time. Friends will only be able to visit one at a time during visiting hours.”

Peter felt drained at the idea of going home after all this waiting. It felt so pointless to be told that they should go home without even seeing Noa.

“What about Rion?” Peter asked. “No one’s told us anything about him. He’s… Is he okay?”

“I haven’t seen him personally,” Dr. Maes said, “but from my understanding, he just woke up and he’s with his father. He’s a little worse for wear so you probably won’t be able to see him until later this afternoon either.”

So they shouldn’t visit Noa and there was no chance of seeing Rion.

“Then there isn’t much we can do,” Peter’s mom said, dejected.

“I think the best thing you could do for Noa and Rion would be to rest,” Dr. Maes said. “I know that sleep may not be an option, but even if you just have a cup of coffee and sit down for a while, I think it will make your visit with Noa a little smoother.”

“That…actually makes sense,” Peter said, even though he didn’t like it. He didn’t want to go and try to relax. He wanted to see his cousin. Or Rion. “You really think Noa’s okay? He’s… A lot has been happening lately.”

“How should I put this…” Dr. Maes said, considering her next words. “I feel like Noa has been bottling things up for a very long time. I don’t want to describe him as a pot boiling over, but… There’s more information I’d like about this incident. I heard there was a witness. Daniel Fox?”

“Yeah,” Peter said at the same time as his mom said, “Yes.”

“I’d like to speak with him, If I can,” she said. “Noa has a lot going on emotionally. I’d like to know what exactly triggered this reaction. Did any of you notice anything before Noa and Rion fought?”

“I wasn’t there,” Peter’s dad said. “Elaine? Peter?”

“Everything seemed normal to me,” his mom said. “We did look at some old pictures. We all got a little emotional… I mean, they were pictures from… We looked at some pictures that were taken the day that Amber…passed away.”

“That sounds like it could be emotionally charged,” Dr. Maes said.

“It was,” Peter said. “Rion and Noa were there when Amber died. They were the ones that took the pictures. They were tense after we went through them.”

Peter’s mother nodded. “Yes, that’s true. But we were all a little… I mean, it’s hard to think about that day. It was… I don’t even want to talk about it.”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed. “But Noa and Rion did have a reaction to the pictures. Now that I think about it, they were kind of… Before I left, Danny and I stepped into the kitchen to get drinks and talk for a second. I was worried that the pictures might trigger a panic attack. That was when Celeste called and I offered to pick her up. But when we came back into the living room, it looked like Noa and Rion were whispering to each other. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but…”

“Did they seem upset?” Dr. Maes asked. “Were they behaving differently than normal?”

“I’m not sure,” Peter said. “I don’t really know how to describe it. Something felt off, but because we’d just looked at those pictures… They didn’t seem angry or like they were going to fight. Noa was kind of prickly, but he gets like that sometimes.”

“He can be really hard to read,” his father spoke up. “Even if Noa frowns, you can’t tell if he’s confused, angry, or frustrated. It’s really hard to tell with him. He’s not expressive.”

“And he doesn’t usually blow up either,” his mom added. “I’ve never seen Noa get so violent before. Smashing glasses… That doesn’t sound like him at all. He can be destructive, but it’s usually more specific and not…not so wild. Like, he’ll rip up his drawings or break his things, but… He doesn’t throw things around or hit anything.”

Peter agreed. He’d had the past several hours to think about what happened with Noa and Rion. There’d barely been a sign that things were about to go so wrong. Sure, they’d been acting weird, but…

Peter thought one of them might have another panic attack, but nothing worse than that. That’s what happened at the lake. And then Noa had gone to comfort Rion after. They were close. They had always been close. They were best friends. They never argued or yelled or fought.

This outburst came out of nowhere.

“He does seem to be acting out,” Dr. Maes said. “But I feel like Noa’s being more honest and talkative. He had a lot to say to me when we spoke earlier. Actually, because of that, I’d like to warn you that he might talk to you about some distressing things.”

“Like hurting himself?” Peter’s dad asked.

“Yes. Like hurting himself,” Dr. Maes said. “I understand if it’s uncomfortable, but I don’t want you to discourage that kind of talk. Noa was being honest about his feelings with me and I’d like to think he’d be the same way with you, his family. It’s better for him to tell us how he really feels. It will only hurt him if he tries to hide it and bottles up his feelings again.”

“That…makes sense,” Peter’s mom said. “So… We should be prepared for him to say upsetting things. Okay.”

“And you said he’s showing signs of hurting himself,” Peter’s dad added. “Has he started… Is he doing it again, or…?”

“I’m not sure,” Dr. Maes said. “He dug his nails into his arms while I talked to him. When I asked him to stop, he did. Which is another good sign. I should add that if he does anything to actually hurt himself while you’re there, I want you to call a nurse or security.”

“I’ve seen him do that before. Digging his nails into himself, I mean,” Peter spoke up. “It hasn’t happened in a while, but… I’ve seen him pull his hair and grab himself too hard too. If I ask him to stop then he does. I didn’t… I know it’s something he shouldn’t do, but… It hardly ever happens so I didn’t think about telling anyone…”

But should he have said something? He was around Noa a lot. He saw him get frustrated and hurt. Peter knew Noa. Saying something might have helped. Maybe–

“Peter, it’s all right. Your mother already made me aware,” Dr. Maes said. “It’s in his file as well.”

Somehow, that didn’t make him feel better.

“It’s still really concerning,” his mom said. “If he started hurting himself again…”

“That’s one of the reasons I want to keep a close eye on him for a while,” Dr. Maes said. “If you notice anything else, please let me know. I want to address it as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” Peter’s dad said.

“Good,” Dr. Maes said. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“So, we should just go home then?” Peter said. “Noa doesn’t want visitors and we can’t see Rion…”

“We should tell the others what’s going on,” his mom said. “I mean, if they’re awake. It’s pretty early.”

Peter knew Danny would be awake. There was no way he would have gone to bed after everything that happened. Maybe it would be a good idea to go home and call him or something… It was pretty early in the morning, but…

“Let’s head home. We can come back this afternoon,” Peter’s dad said.

“Okay,” Peter said.

“If anything happens, you’ll be informed right away,” Dr. Maes said. “If you can rest, I’d highly recommend it.”