The Night Everything Lost Sense

4. Grief

"Briar?"

A silent knock feebly landed on a white wooden door. Soon after, it creaked open, revealing a dark room. Briar's best friend, Seth, took a step inside. His face scrunched into a grimace as he breathed in foul air. Or rather, as he tried to breathe in a room that lacked air.

The window shutters were closed, not allowing any sunlight to slip past them. The room looked and reeked like a prison. It was spacious and almost empty - clean almost to the point of looking unlived in. The only thing indicated that it was being used was a bed which was trashed by a messy pile of blankets and pillows. The pile moved, getting a few pillows to fall of the bed and fall soundlessly onto the carpet covered floor.

Terry, Kai and Casey followed inside. Their footsteps were quiet and slow. They moved as if they are walking on glass. Seth led their way through the dark room. He carefully reached out his hand and gently touched the heap that rested on the bed. "Briar? Are you awake?"

"Hm?" a silent hum escaped from the mass of blankets.

Seth pressed his lips together and gently began removing the blankets one by one until he found his best friend. Briar was barely able to open his eyes. His eyelids felt like they weight a ton and his lashes stuck together. He tried to wake himself up by rubbing his puffy eyes, but he seemed too exhausted to succeed.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked worriedly.

Briar stopped rubbing his eyes and tried to see his friends. Before he got the chance to look at them, Casey approached him and put his hand on his forehead. Briar froze for a moment as he watched his serious expression. Warmth filled his body soon afterwards as he and Casey locked eyes.

"You have a fever," Casey whispered. His fingers slipped through Briar's hair. "I'll fetch you water and some medicine, okay?"

Briar was begging to blush madly. Embarrassment washed over him and he bit the inside of his lip, not knowing what to say to Casey. He knew he looked like a mess. He knew he looked miserable. All he could hope for was that Casey doesn't see him properly through the blackness of his room. He watched Casey leave, breaking his eyes away from the door only after Seth sat down beside him.

"Are there... any news?" Terry asked. "About Soyoung?"

Everybody worriedly looked at Briar. His lower lip trembled and he slowly shook his head, confirming everybody's suspicion. Seth carefully reached for Briar's hands. He held them comfortingly, gently caressing his thumb. The group fell silent. Everybody's eyes were on Briar. They watched him attentively, trying to catch any reaction. But his eyes were red and dead. His face lifeless. He looked like a porcelain doll.

Casey returned with a glass of water and medicine. He gave the disheveled boy a concerned graze and approached him sheepishly. He watched Briar's and Seth's hands unlink as he reached the glass of water out to him. Hearing a silent thanks from Briar, Casey weakly smiled and ruffled his hair. "Drink up."

Briar obediently took the medicine and washed it down with water, forcing himself to finish the entire glass so that his friends don't worry about him. Everybody silently watched him with a frown on their face.

"Bri..." Seth slowly said. "You know you can talk to us, right?"

The boy gave him a saddened gaze. Seth's eyebrows knitted together. Hearing his best friend sniffle, Seth felt his heart crack. He gently wrapped his arms around him. One second later, Briar was enveloped by his friends' arms. He was squished into a warm group hug. He felt safe in their embrace. The feeling began lulling him and he let his eyelids drop.

"Are you tired?" Kai asked.

He could only nod.

"Do you want us to let you sleep?"

Briar gulped and shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

Briar opened his mouth, silently exhaling air before whispering with a hoarse voice. "Please don't leave."

"Of course..." Seth whispered back and hugged him tighter. "We won't."

"Yeah. Don't worry Bee," Casey quietly added. His warm breath sent a shiver down Briar's spine, making his stomach fill with butterflies in return. "We got you."

Those words were enough to make him weak. He felt his eyes fill with water and he quickly tried to wipe them before his friends noticed. Though, as soon as they broke their group hug, they saw him fight tears.

Seth took his hands again. His grip was tighter than before. He and Briar locked eyes.

"Stay strong. Please."

"Seth..."

"I know it's hard," he continued. "I miss her too. I miss her a lot."

Briar could now barely see him. A coat of water made his view fuzzy.

"They will find her," Seth reassured him. "Okay? They will find her and she will be alive and well. And when she comes back, we will all hang out again."

Tears dropped from Briar's glimmering eyes.

"Let's not lose hope, okay?"

A shiver left Briar's mouth. Followed by more tears that rolled down his cheeks.

"Okay?"

He nodded, swallowing a lump that clogged his throat.

"I know it hurts," Seth said with a creaky voice. "I know. But you can't do this to yourself. Soyoung wouldn't want that..."

Briar shivered at the mention of her name. More pearly drops glided down his face.

"Let's have hope, okay? Let's not think the worst. Let's not torture ourselves with those thoughts. Soyoung is strong. You know that. She will be okay. Let's believe and hope that she will be okay."

Seth's comforting words made him ache even more. He shut his eyes, breathing heavily as he tried to control himself. A calming image of waves eased his anxiety. He let out a shaky deep sigh.

Casey wiped his tears away, getting him to open his eyes. The elder's lips pursed into a pout. "You are making yourself sick by thinking so much. Please Bee, give yourself a break."

"Yeah," Terry chimed in. They crouched down next to his bed. "Try to occupy your mind with something else for a bit. Before you get more sick."

"We brough you cookies," Kai added. "And I brought some DVD's. Movies that you like."

"Mhm," Casey hummed as he gently patted Briar's head. "Let's think about something else for a bit."

Briar couldn't argue. Even if he wanted to be alone, he couldn't say no to his friends, especially not Casey. He let them open his window and tidy up his bed. They opened the cookie box and settled comfortably on his bed. Kai played one movie on Briar's PC and others leaned back, grabbed a cookie and enjoyed the movie intro. Kai joined them, squishing in between Seth and Terry.

"Pass the darn cookies," Terry grumbled, reaching their hand over to Briar and Casey who sat close to each other and hogged the cookie box.

Casey took out a few and placed them on Briar's lap before giving Terry the box. Terry's eyes lit up and they thanked Casey a couple of times before happily eating the sugary cookies. More smiles appeared when the movie's first hilarious scene came around. Briar was the only one not smiling.

Time flew, his friends tried their best to cheer him up. They cracked stupid jokes, tried to make Briar as comfortable as possible, gave him more water and more food...

Briar was crushed under their caring eyes. He felt undeserving of their attention and sweetness. 

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