Dyson slammed the front door and stomped up the stairs to his room.

"Dyson is that you?" His mom called out cheerfully. Dyson wanted to torch that annoying voice. How could she be happy while he was more upset than he'd ever been? He felt worse than he did that night even, well almost. Nothing would ever be worse than that night.

"Dyson, sweetie. Dinner's almost ready." His mom said, not giving up.

"I'm not hungry," Dyson called.

"Dyson, I may be the sick one but you need to eat too." She walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "What's going on, honey?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired." He didn't look at her before running up the rest of the stairs and slamming his door.

"You have half an hour!" His mom called out and he groaned. She didn't deserve his anger; none of this was on her. Caleb didn't deserve it either, but Dyson didn't know what to do about that.

He paced his room for a couple of minutes to calm down and then gave up and punched the punching bag he had in his room. He kept punching until his knuckles bled and then finally felt the anger leave his body.

He left his room and put on a smile. "Sorry, Mom." He kissed her bald head and took the pot of spaghetti noodles from her hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him and touched his bleeding knuckle.

"Do you want to talk about your last appointment?" He countered her question.

"I'll just get the rubbing alcohol and a couple of band-aids." She ruffled his now green hair and gave him a sad smile. "One of these days you're going to have to tell me what's going on."

"And one of these days I will." Dyson drained the water from the pot and put the spaghetti into a bowl. "Are we having guests?"

"Melody and Bethany are coming over. They should be here any minute." She said from the hallway where they kept the first aid kit along with the basket of pills she had to take for her treatment. The irony wasn't lost on him that she was the one who was sick while he was the one who wished that he could leave the world.

She was the sweetest person he had ever known and yet her own body was trying to kill her and the only explanation the doctors had was that life is fucked up. But didn't Dyson already know that; if life were anything else he wouldn't have been left on a church doorstep in nothing but a felt blanket in the middle of December. The therapist he had to see when they first found out that Lucy was sick told him that her finding him had to be proof that life wasn't all bad. Dyson called bullshit on that.

"Honey, I'm home!" Bethany sang as she danced into the kitchen, sliding on the tile in her socks.

"Hello, darling." Dyson bowed to his friend then nodded at her mom. "Melody."

"Look at your hands." Melody took his hands in hers. "You need to stop doing this to yourself."

"I just got lost in the workout." He shrugged, uncomfortable from the look that Melody was giving him. Being an artist, she seemed to see into his very soul with a simple glance let alone a deep stare. He worried that she could see how loosely he was clinging to life.

"Melody, how are you?" Lucy walked out with her hands outstretched and a beanie covering her head. One thing the doctors never tell you when you lose your hair is that not only will you not have hair, but your head is going to look like a boulder. His mom was self-conscious about the bumps and freckles so she often covered it with a scarf or hat. She had a wig but it gave her a rash from the scratching and heat.

"Lucy, you are simply glowing." Melody hugged her gently and kissed her cheek.

"It's all that radiation they've been dumping into me. I swear I practically glow in the dark." She giggled.

"Bethany, why don't you and Dyson set the table while we finish up in here?" Melody said it more like a demand than a question.

"Think they're going to talk about me or you?" Dyson asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He grabbed a stack of plates as Bethany got forks and knives.

"You; it's always you." Bethany smiled.

"Now scoot so we can." Lucy pushed her son to the doorway. "Bethany, make sure he cleans his knuckles off too."

"Okay, Mrs. O'Keefe."

"You're such a suck-up." Dyson pushed into Bethany with the side of his hip.

"At least I'm not a screw-up." Bethany teased then gave Dyson a serious look. "Now, are we going to talk about what happened today? Ruth called me. She heard you two fighting."

"What did you tell her?" Dyson tried to sound nonchalant as he set the four plates out and Bethany set out the forks.

"That I'd talk to you." Bethany frowned. "She has no idea what's going on and I have half a mind to tell her what little I actually know. Caleb shut everyone out, not just you. Not that you're doing any better. Both of you; what you're doing isn't healthy."

Dyson turned on her with his anger flaring again. "How about the next time something like this happens I'll try you're way? But until then I'm going to just try to survive." He tried to open the rubbing alcohol but couldn't.

"Let me." Bethany took the bottle and a cotton ball. She gently pushed it against the drying blood on Dyson's knuckles. "We need to talk about this. It's starting to get out of control. Can't you see that?"

"I said no," Dyson said harshly.

"I said no." Caleb sobbed against Dyson's shoulder. "I didn't want to drink it."

"I know. It's okay. It was just one drink, Caleb." Dyson patted his back not caring about the blood that was staining his sparkly gold shirt. "It'll help with the pain."

"I don't want to lose it." Caleb sniffed.

"You shouldn't have to deal with it. You don't deserve it." Dyson whispered and had to bite his lip to keep from kissing Caleb's hair. Before tonight he could have, but now he couldn't and it was killing him.

"Don't I?" Caleb choked and tried to stop crying. He was far too weak.

"No." Dyson pushed Caleb off him so that he could look into his eyes. "You are a wonderful human being who deserves only good things in life."

A tear slid down Caleb's cheek as he looked into his best friend's eyes. "Then why do bad things keep happening?"

"Because life's fucked up," Dyson said because that was all he could say. Caleb sank against him again and cried until he had no more tears left. Dyson somehow managed to hold his overwhelming urge to cry back because he knew that he needed to be strong for Caleb.

"What do you think life would be like if we could fight?" Caleb asked softly.

Dyson smiled. He thought the question was a sign that Caleb was going to be okay.

He was wrong.

"Dyson?" Bethany waved her hand in front of his face. "Earth to Dyson?"

"What? Sorry I was busy ignoring you." He smirked as his anger melted away with the memory.

"Ass." Bethany whipped him with a dishtowel. "I was telling you about what happened with Adrian."

"Let me guess, you finally admitted that you're in love with him?" Dyson winked at her.

"Yeah, and I became the Queen of England," Bethany snorted.

"Your majesty." Dyson gave her a deep bow.

"Stop it! He's such an idiot. I mean what kind of girl actually likes getting constantly hit on?" Bethany asked.

"Um, all of them?" Dyson laughed. "You're the idiot, darling. He's hot and besides his poor choice in music, he's perfect for you."

"What's wrong with his choice in music?" Bethany asked defensively.

"And that, my dear, is my point being made." Dyson touched her cheek. "So, when he calls you tonight and asks you out you're going to say yes."

"About that," Bethany simply beamed at him.

"Seriously? That was fast." Dyson teased and winked. "When's the date?" Dyson asked.

"It already happened." Bethany blushed. "A couple of them have already happened actually."

"What?" Dyson shouted in surprise.

"I've been meaning to tell you. We haven't told anyone. We wanted to see if it was real. I mean, he is Adrian. I kind of assumed we'd go on a terrible date and then it would be over."

"How could you not tell me?" Dyson's mind was reeling. Bethany was like a sister to him. They told each other everything, well not everything, but she definitely didn't hold much back.

"You've been distracted lately." She shrugged.

"I'm sorry." Dyson frowned. He had already let down Caleb and now he was letting Bethany down too. How many people was he going to hurt before he was left completely alone?

"Don't worry about it." Bethany hugged him tightly. "You're here when it matters, as in you're going with me to his vacation home for the mid-winter break."

"No." Dyson shook his head knowing that Caleb went every year with the Mason's.

"Caleb just canceled on him." Bethany smiled. "Now you have no reason to say no. "

"What about Adrian being a douche?" Dyson smirked.

"He's actually a really great guy." Bethany blushed.

"You just think he's hot."

"That doesn't hurt."

"You have fun with that while I stay here. My mom needs me." Dyson finished saying just as their moms walked into the dining room.

"What exactly do I need?" Dyson's mom asked as she set the Chicken Parmesan on the table.

"He's trying to get out of the trip." Bethany gave him a smug smile before turning to their moms.

"You little-" Dyson hissed at his friend.

"Dyson, you're going and that's final. Melody is going to be here so I'm not alone. You need a break. I need a break." His mom patted his hand.