Danny left Dr. Maes’ office and headed down the hall, trying to remember which way he came. He managed to find the elevator and took it down.

Part of him wanted to stay and visit Noa or Rion but he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to go alone. He didn’t know what to do or say and now that he was left to his own thoughts, he couldn’t help but go over the conversation he’d had with Dr. Maes.

He’d told the story of the fight several times but he’d just repeated the events over and over, as he remembered them. When Dr. Maes asked him questions, he was forced to think about it. And now that he’d thought about it, it made even less sense.

Why did Rion ask to see pictures of Amber when they’d already been looking at pictures of her? How had Danny not noticed…? But no, he knew why. He’d been half curious to see the pictures himself. He’d never looked at the ones they’d taken that day…

They were so normal. Nothing was weird about them. The closest thing to weird were the blurry pictures but those were just an accident, right? Pictures got messed up all the time. Danny had seen it happen plenty of times.

But something upset Noa and Rion. It had to be the pictures. Were they reminded of that day or…was there something else he was missing?

The elevator reached the main floor. As the doors opened, he found himself facing Peter, Jesse, and Celeste.

“Danny?” Jesse said in surprise.

“Oh, uh… Hi,” Danny said, equally taken aback.

“We tried to call you to see if you wanted to visit Rion but your parents said you weren’t home,” Peter said, stepping into the elevator, the others following. “Did you come to visit on your own?”

“No, no!” Danny said quickly. “I was just… Dr. Maes had some questions about what happened. She called the other day, so I stopped by. I, uh… I was going to go home because I wasn’t sure about visiting on my own.”

“Did you want to come with us?” Celeste said. “I mean, you’re already here.”

Danny found himself nodding. The elevator doors had already closed, and Jesse had pressed the button. Danny realized that Peter had Rion’s backpack in hand, the one he’d brought to the Murphys’. He must be returning it to him.

“I might as well come with you,” Danny said. “As long as I’m not making things awkward.”

“No, we were hoping you’d come anyway,” Jesse said. “Here. One second.”

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a couple cards and a pen. They were get-well cards for Rion and Noa. The others had already signed them.

“Oh! Oh, perfect,” Danny said.

He accepted them and the elevator came to a stop. They stepped off and Danny pulled off his gloves, shoving them into his jacket pocket so that he could sign the cards.

“Thanks,” Danny said, handing them back.

“We were going to hang onto them until you could sign. I’m glad we brought them,” Jesse said. “We, uh…probably won’t visit Noa today, though.”

“We can only go in one at a time and he doesn’t want visitors either,” Celeste added.

“He wasn’t happy when my parents and I visited the other day,” Peter said. “I’m going to stay late and my parents are going to come and visit Noa again tonight. I’ll keep everyone updated on how it goes.”

“Great,” Danny said as they started to walk down the hall, headed for Rion’s room. Peter led the way. “So, Rion’s okay with visitors then?”

“Yes, but he looks pretty bad,” Peter said. “He’s all bandaged up. I don’t know if he’s still medicated, but he was loopy when I saw him the other day.”

“He shouldn’t be stuck here for too long, right?” Jesse said. “I mean, I know he was hurt and he had stitches…”

“I have no idea,” Peter said. “Dr. Maes wants to keep Noa for a little longer. Rion might need a bit of time before he can leave. They don’t want him walking yet because his feet…”

“He walked across broken glass,” Danny said, cringing at the memory.

“Yeah,” Peter said.

They reached the right room and knocked on the partially opened door before heading in. Rion was alone when they arrived, propped up in bed.

Peter’s warning was fair. Rion did look rough, all bandaged and tired. But Danny’s last memory of Rion was of him bleeding out on the floor. He looked much better, all cleaned up with his injuries wrapped and covered. It put Danny’s mind a little at ease.

“Oh, hey!” Rion said. “Hi.”

“Hey, Rion,” Peter said. “We thought we’d come for a visit. Is your dad here?”

“He was for a bit,” Rion said. “He went home to have something to eat… Is that my bag?”

Peter raised up the backpack briefly before setting it next to Rion’s bed. “Yes. I figured I’d get that back to you.”

“Great. Thanks,” Rion said.

“We also brought you this,” Jesse said, bringing him his card.

Rion accepted it, looking it over. He smiled as he read it and looked up again.

“You didn’t have to do that. Thanks, guys.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jesse said.

“Did they tell you when you might be able to go home?” Celeste asked.

“Not really,” Rion said, setting the card on the nightstand. He moved slowly, carefully. “Maybe within a day or two? But maybe not. They want to make sure I’m healing okay, I think. No one’s given me a date or anything. But, um… I’m okay.”

“You really scared us,” Jesse said. “You and Noa.”

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Celeste added.

“Yeah. I’m mostly worried about Noa,” Rion admitted, gaze darting between them. “Have any of you seen him?”

“Just me,” Peter said. “We’re not sure he wants to see anyone yet.”

“We have a get-well card for him though,” Jesse said. “Peter’s going to take it to him.”

“Oh! Can I sign too?” Rion asked.

“Yeah. That’s a great idea. Here,” Jesse said, pulling out the other card and offering it to him.

Rion took it and the pen that was offered shortly after. He fumbled with it, wincing.

“Okay. This might not look the best,” Rion said.

“Oh, that’s right. Your hands…” Celeste said.

“Do you want one of us to sign for you?” Peter offered.

“No, no. It’s fine. It just might be a bit wobbly.”

Rion's bandaged fingers were trembling when handed the card back to Jesse. Considering that he’d fought over a piece of glass with Noa, Danny wasn’t all that surprised. He hoped it didn’t hurt too much to sign a card…

“We’ll make sure he gets it,” Jesse said.

“I’ll give it to him tonight,” Peter added.

“Thanks, guys,” Rion said. “I really appreciate that. Can you… Can you let me know how Noa’s doing? Once you see him, I mean. I’m really worried…”

“Of course,” Peter said. “I’ll try to update you tomorrow.”

Danny was beginning to feel awkward. He wanted to add to the conversation, but he felt tongue tied. He didn’t know what to say and his mind kept going back to what happened the other night. He wanted to talk about that, about the pictures, but it felt wrong to bring it up when everyone was trying to have a moment.

“So, how’s the hospital food?” Jesse asked. “Terrible?”

“It’s okay,” Rion said.

“We could probably bring you something,” Celeste added. “I’m sure you can eat more than the food they have here.”

“It’s fine,” Rion said. “Dad already offered. I really don’t mind it.”

They were talking about normal things. It was regular conversation. They probably didn’t need Danny’s input.

He hung back, mostly just listening. He started tuning out the conversation because it felt bland and obligatory. He didn’t mean to, but he felt disconnected, in the wrong mindset…

“Danny?”

“Sorry?” he said, looking up.

It was Rion who’d spoken up. He was looking at him, guilt written all over his face.

“I, uh… I wanted to apologize,” Rion said. “For what happened Friday night. I, um… I’m really sorry about…well…everything.”

“Oh, that’s… It’s not your fault,” Danny said.

“But things got out of hand, and… I should have backed off or something,” Rion said. “Maybe I should’ve… I don’t know.”

He didn’t know what Rion could have done. Even Danny hadn’t been able to walk away. And if Noa had actually tried to stab himself with a piece of glass, Danny was pretty sure he would have jumped in there himself.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Danny said.

But Rion looked away, expression bitter. How come?

“I don’t think there’s anything anyone could have done,” Peter said. “There were a lot of emotions running high. It was an accident.”

“I guess…” Rion said, but it sounded like he didn’t agree.

And then the words spilled out of Danny’s mouth.

“Why did you ask to see those pictures?”

Danny regretted asking. Not because it put him on spot or the way the others look at him, but because of how the question made Rion’s shoulders instantly tense up.

“I just…wanted to see pictures of Amber,” Rion said.

“Okay, but…that’s why I’m confused. Because we had a whole shoebox full of pictures, so…” Danny began and waved a hand. “Why’d it have to be those pictures? From the day Amber died?”

And he felt even worse for asking now because he could see the confusion on Jesse and Celeste as they began to piece things together. And the sudden look of understanding on Peter’s face…

“That’s true,” Peter said. “We had a bunch of pictures of Amber. There was only maybe one of Amber from that day in that envelope…”

“I…” Rion began, the sound squeaking out of him. “I don’t know. I wanted to see them.”

“Okay,” Danny said, quick to accept the answer. “Okay. I mean, I get it. I wanted to see them too. I didn’t… I never saw those ones before, so…”

“I don’t think I’ve seen them either,” Jesse spoke up.

“I’m not sure I want to,” Celeste said. “It’s all really, really sad…”

“Rion, didn’t you argue with Noa because of the pictures?” Peter spoke up and then turned to Danny. “Isn’t that what you said?”

“I mean, I think so?” Danny said. “I kind of wanted to ask you about that too, Rion… Noa said something about you forgetting about the pictures? But you didn’t forget about them… You were apologizing to Noa so you knew what he was talking about, right?”

“I… I don’t know,” Rion said. His voice was strained, distressed. “It’s kind of a blur…”

“If that was what started the fight, can you try to remember?” Peter asked. “It might help Noa.”

“I don’t think it will,” Rion said.

“Why don’t you think about it and come back to it later?” Danny suggested. He wanted answers but he didn’t want Rion to be upset.

“I can… Yeah, maybe,” Rion said.

“I understand how you feel,” Jesse said. “What happened to Amber… It was so terrible.”

“That’s right,” Celeste added. “I’m sure it was so hard for you to remember what happened. Looking at those pictures would make any one of us emotional…”

“I guess,” Rion said. But he was looking down, picking at his sheets.

“I know that Noa feels a lot of guilt,” Peter said. “He blames himself for what happened. I really hope you’re not doing the same thing. Everyone knows that you did everything you could. You were kids. We all know that Noa went so far as to burn his hand on the doorknob, trying to save Amber, and–”

“What?”

Rion’s tone changed. The softer, distant way he was speaking suddenly became focused and sharp.

Peter blinked. “What…? What do you–?”

“What did you just say?” Rion asked.

“That Noa burned his hand on the door to save Amber?” Peter said.

Rion shook his head. “He didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Jesse said. “He didn’t what?”

“He didn’t burn his hand on the door,” Rion said. “He put it against the wall.”

“The wall?” Celeste asked.

Peter leaned forward, frowning. “The wall outside the cabin?”

“No,” Rion said, shaking his head. “Inside. We were inside the cabin.”

The room was silent.

Inside? Danny assumed they were outside. He thought…

When his parents told him about it, the story had been simple. There was a fire at the Murphy cabin and Amber died.

He’d cried. He’d been so upset. He’d hated it.

After that, he wasn’t sure how the details filtered in. It was probably through conversation around town, leading up to the funeral. Noa, Rion, and Amber went to the cabin. Noa and Rion went for a walk. When they came back, the cabin was on fire. They tried to get in. Noa burned his hand on the door. Then they ran to get help but it was too late.

Come to think of it, Danny hadn’t heard the story from Rion. Or Noa. He’d only heard what everyone else said and assumed it was true.

And judging from how the others looked, it was the same for them too.

Inside the cabin. Noa and Rion had been inside the cabin. And the cabin had been on fire.

“Rion…” Peter said, his voice calm and careful. “Do you mind telling us what happened? The day Amber died.”

Danny thought he’d say no for sure. Rion looked down, eyes too wide. He clutched at the sheets, hands fisted tight. That had to hurt because the cuts…

“Don’t you already know?” Rion said.

“We’ve heard stories,” Jesse spoke up. He looked overly tense, eyes locked on Rion.

“My parents told me some things…” Celeste said.

“Noa never told the rest of us what happened,” Peter said. “My parents… They don’t like to talk about it. You don’t have to go into detail, but… What happened? Maybe if you tell us, it can help us understand why Noa got so upset?”

Rion was silent for a long time. Danny held his breath for too long and had to inhale deeply before Rion finally spoke.

“We…we went for a walk,” Rion said, voice low. He spoke haltingly, pausing frequently. But whenever the words flowed, they were quick and short. “Then…we came back to the cabin. We went inside. Amber…Amber was… She was in the bathroom. Then the fire… It… The cabin started burning. I freaked out. Noa grabbed me and I…I think I knocked into him. That’s when he put his hand against the wall. I had to pull on him to get him to run. We got outside, and… I didn’t know what to do.  We were both really, really scared, and… We went to John’s cabin and got help.”

There was another pause, another beat, but not for long.

“Amber was in the bathroom?” Jesse said. “Why didn’t… Was the door locked? Was she trapped?”

Rion didn’t look up at him, eyes lowered, focused on his hands that still gripped the sheets like a lifeline.

“She was in the bathroom,” he repeated.

“But… Didn’t you try to help her?” Jesse said. “You would have tried to get her out, right?”

“We… I did everything I could,” Rion said, lowering his head further, his shoulders a tense line. “It was… It was an accident. It… It never should have…”

“You were there. You got out,” Jesse said. “But what about Amber? I know you wouldn’t have just left her behind. I know you wouldn’t…”

“Jesse,” Peter said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Jesse, he said he did everything he could.”

“But…” Jesse said, “but…what does that mean? She was in the bathroom. So why couldn’t she get out?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Rion said. He finally let go to the sheets but only so he could cover his head with shaking hands. His voice was cracking. “I don’t want to… I don’t want… I can’t… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

Danny hadn’t heard Rion’s voice break like that since they were kids at Amber’s funeral. He remembered Rion holding him so tight and crying and apologizing into his shoulder.

It was making him tear up. He wanted to get out of here.

“It’s…it’s okay,” Celeste tried to say.

Rion didn’t answer her. He just curled in on himself more, shivering. Was it another breakdown?

“Hey,” Peter said to Jesse. “Why don’t you, Celeste, and Danny head down and get some coffees. We need a breather.”

“What about you?” Danny asked.

“I want to stay with Rion for a bit longer,” he said.

“We can stay too,” Celeste said.

“I just want to talk to him. It’s fine,” Peter said. “I’ll probably be down soon. Let’s take a break.”

Jesse didn’t look like he wanted to leave. He was obviously conflicted. He took a breath and then let it out in a rush.

“Okay,” he said. “Maybe that’s a good idea. I need… I need some air.”

“Okay,” Celeste added, glancing between all of them.

Danny hesitated. He felt conflicted too. He wanted to go even though he felt bad leaving Rion there like that. But... Rion seemed to almost be ignoring them at this point. He wasn’t even trying to look their way. Maybe he was having another panic attack or something…

Peter was good at dealing with this kind of stuff. Danny knew he could count on him.

“See you, Rion,” Danny said and then turned to Peter. “If you need to stay with Rion a little longer…until he feels better or his dad shows up…that’s cool. No rush.”

“Yeah,” Peter said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”