With the scare with Jack that last Friday, I decided to go back to that support group the following Tuesday. I was reluctant because I wanted to spend as much time preparing for my audition as possible, but I felt like I knew my stuff pretty well. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?

As I walked into the room, there was the same circle of chairs, and all the same people there were before.

"Race, were glad to see you back." The lead woman smiled when she saw me walk in. I forced a smile and nodded, then went and sat down in a chair facing away from the door.

"Let's get started!" The woman clapped her hands, and everyone went to sit around in the chairs. As he did so, I heard the door open, then close again. I turned to see who it was, and was shocked when I did.

Davey nodded at me when he saw me, recognizing me from school, and sat down a few chairs away from me.

"For all of those new faces, my name is Markia." She started, and I tuned her out. I didn't need to listen to all the stories I had already heard the week before. I only started listening again when the circle got around to Davey.

"Uh, hi. My name is Davey... David." He started, clearly uncomfortable with speaking in front of people. "My... my dad was on the airplane that crashed in Iraq a few days ago. He... he made it out of the crash, but... he died later the next day in a military hospital." His eyes started to water a little, but he wiped them away with his hand.

"Oh... wow." Markia studdered. "That's... wow."

I shot a sympathetic look at Davey. I thought I had it bad that night, but I couldn't even imagine that. His father came back, which I was slightly jealous of, but I couldn't imagine the pain he was feeling.

I sat through the rest of the meeting, in a daze, and finally checked back in when it was over. As Davey was walking towards the door, I jumped up out of my seat and walked after him, reaching him just before he walked out the door.

"Hey, wait up." I said, grabbing his arm.

"What do you want, Race?" He asked, almost bitterly.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About your dad." I explained.

"Why? He's not dead." He asked, his voice hard.

"I know how it feels to loose parents. And I want to help you through this, if I can." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. Tears started running down his face.

"I just... don't know how to go on without him." Davey said, letting the tears fall this time. I pulled him into a hug.

"I know. I know. It will get easier, I promise." I comforted him.

"Wait." He said, pulling away. "You said 'parents'?"

"Uh... yeah. Both my parents died in a car accident when I was eleven." I explained.

"I'm so sorry, Race." He said, sympathy in his eyes.

"Hey, do you wanna go grab coffee or something?" I asked.

"Sure." He smiled sadly.

XXX

We walked down to the coffee house down the street from the library, and ordered coffee then sat down in a small table in the back corner.

"So... how did you find out? About your dad?" I asked, starting the conversation.

"My brother, sisters, mom, and I were out to dinner when they first called my mom about him... being in the hospital. We all got to talk to him since he was already out of his first surgery. His leg was ripped off by the plane." He explained, and tears were starting to run down his face again. He grabbed a napkin off the table and wiped them away. "The doctors closed the wound, but they didn't know at the time that he had an infection. It spread to the rest of his body, which ended up killing him. We got the call about that the next morning at breakfast."

"Oh wow." I said, taking in everything he just said.

"What about your parents?" He prompted, taking a sip of his coffee.

"My brother Crutchie, my other brother Jack, Jack's girlfriend and I were all in our living room when they called Jack about it. They both died instantly in the accident, but we still had to go to the hospital for paperwork and stuff." I explained, not shedding a tear. Since it was such a long time ago, I got comfortable talking about it a while ago.

"If... if you don't mind me asking... how are you not in a foster home if you were elven when they died?" Davey studdered.

"Jack was eighteen, so he took legal custody of us." I explained. "Now his girlfriend, Katherine, is taking care of us while he's gone."

"The same girlfriend as when your parents died?" He asked.

"Yeah." I laughed, taking a sip of my coffee before continuing. "Jack may seem like a player, but he's a hopeless romantic."

"That's funny." Davey said.

"Before Jack left, he hid an engagement ring for Katherine in my bedroom. He knew that was the only place she wouldn't go looking for stuff." I said. "I'm just excited to see how he proposes. I have a feeling he's gonna go all out."

"That's going to be so cute." Davey added, drinking more from his coffee.

After a pause, I said, "Look, I know how hard this can be. It's not easy getting over the loss of a parent, but I just want to know that I'm here for you if you ever need to just talk." I explained, writing my phone number down on a napkin and sliding it across the table to him. "I have a very loving and devoted boyfriend, so don't get any funny ideas, but don't hesitate to call or text anytime."

"Ok." He laughed. "I... I'm not gay." He studdered.

"Ok." I said. "I couldn't tell."

"It's cool." He said, shoving the napkin into his pocket. "Thanks."

"No problem." I smiled, finishing off my coffee.