𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙇𝙔 𝘽𝙊𝘿𝙔 | 𝙅. 𝙃𝘼𝙇𝙀

23| Another Graceless Night

Orion had spent the rest of the afternoon at the Clearwater household. He was constantly checking his phone, texting Bella to make sure she was okay. She didn't respond back.

Worry was starting to form throughout his body. A tap on his shoulder takes him out of his thoughts. "You alright?"

It was Nico. "I should be asking you that." Orion retorts, chuckling once the boy jokingly pushed his shoulder. He didn't want to add to Nico's stress and tell him that he's worried about Bella.

It's silent for a while and he takes that moment to look around the room he's currently in. The walls were a navy blue, though he could barely see them with all the posters of bands that Orion had no clue were covering them.

Nico led him to his room after everything went down. Rye offered to stay the night, but the Clearwater boy said it wasn't necessary, and he didn't push it after that.

"I don't know what to do." Nico suddenly confesses, letting his head fall against the wooden bed frame. His hands formed into a tight fist.

Orion stays silent for a moment, thinking of what to say. He had dealt with this sort of thing before; he remembers how it felt to have someone you cared for taken from you.

He sighs, scooting closer to Nico. "Do what your heart tells you to do." The black-haired boy shifts his gaze to him, staring at him with such an expression as to say, 'What do you mean?'

"If you want to cry, then cry your life away; if you want to be angry, be fucking angry." At his words, Nic's eyes widen slightly. He let his head fall back once more on the frame, his eyes never leaving Rye's. "Look, all I am saying is to let yourself feel whatever emotion overcomes you. Do that for as long as you need to. Just don't let the grief overtake you. Don't let it swallow you whole."

If there is one thing that Orion knew, it's that grief is awful. And if you weren't careful, it would consume you; it had consumed him once, and it took years to break free from it.

The two boys didn't say anything after he spoke. Silence filled the room. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, but it was heavy.

"Thank you," Nico whispers sluggishly, his eyes barely open.

Orion smiles at him, replicating his whispers. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" He checks for confirmation one last time.

"Im sure." The boy mumbles. Within seconds, his eyes shut, and he's out like a light. Orion doesn't leave immediately. He observes the boy for a moment. He feels sorry for him-sorry that he had to experience the loss of a parent.

"I'll talk to you soon." He whispers softly, gently getting up from the bed to put his shoes back on. He realized they were still a bit soaked from the water he had been in a couple hours ago.

He was able to use his powers to emit enough heat from his body to dry off most of his clothes, but he guesses it wasn't that effective on his shoes.

He tries to pay no mind to the uncomfortable feeling of the damp soles as he walks toward the door, opening it lightly and closing it with the same gentleness.

He's out in the hallway of his room. He checks his phone one more time, hoping to see a response from the swan girl, but is met with no notifications.