The floor crumbled under Sky's feet when Cody walked out. For a short moment, she just stood there, in the middle of the room, confetti in her hair, an arrow in her heart, fighting the sickening feeling that was crushing her chest so that she could barely breathe.

The confused silence that fell into the room lasted for a couple of heartbeats before Tom broke it.

"That— went even worse than I imagined. What now?"

Sky didn't reply, she didn't even turn to look at Tom, or anyone else, as she went after Cody. The realization of how massively she had fucked up, was turning her stomach, and there was only one thing in her mind, obliterating everything else.

I have to fix this!

She was running - as fast as she could in her stupid, stupid heels, shoving the back door open with force—

Cody was standing on the porch, his back turned to the door, the wind in his hair, his shoulders trembling as he cried.

Without a moment's hesitation, Sky threw her arms around his waist and pulled him near. Even in her heels, she was shorter than him and her face pressed against the soft fabric of his sweater, between his shoulder blades. Feeling her arms around his body, Cody gasped or sobbed, but didn't try to push her away.

"I'm sorry—" Sky breathed, squeezing him hard. "I'm so, so sorry. My sweet, dear Cody, my love, I'm so sorry—"

He began to cry even harder, his whole body tense and trembling as he tried to fight the violent sobs that broke through.

"I fucked up. I'm sorry. I— I didn't realize— I'll just tell everyone to leave," The words didn't come easily, but Sky forced them out, each and every one, swallowing her tears that burned like acid at the back of her throat. She couldn't start crying now, She couldn't. This wasn't about her, or her stupid feelings.

"I'll tell them you've got a headache, that I have the stomach flu, I don't care, I'll make up something. I'll make them go home, and let's be just the two of us, okay? Just the two of us. Pizza and a movie, okay? Just like you wanted to— I'll tell them all to go home—"

Cody didn't reply, but his hands found hers as he wrapped his arms around his body. His fingers gripped hard on her hands and Sky had to swallow to keep her tears down. The sobs that tore through Cody's chest were painful, deep, raw, his tears splashed on Sky's bare forearms. She felt his hurt in her gut, turning everything inside of her upside down.

"Just don't go," She pressed her cheek against his shoulder blade, hugging him harder. "Don't leave. Please don't leave me— I'm so sorry. I messed up, but I didn't mean to. I'll— I'll just ask everyone to go. And I'll take down the decorations, the balloons, whatever you want. I'll throw away the cake—"

"N– no," that was barely a word, more like a whimper.

"No? What do you want, sweetie?"

"Cake—" he was shaking his head. His breathing came in sharp sobs, almost like hiccups, his voice was strangled. "The— cake."

"You want cake?"

Sky kept hugging him tight, tight, her cheek pressed against his back. His body was lean and thin, his hard muscles tense and trembling in her arms. His shoulders rose and fell with sharp, painful gasps as he tried to get his emotions under control.

"Yeah—" the word was wet with tears. "I— I really wa— want cake."

Sky felt her heart breaking. She couldn't stop the tears that fell from her eyes and soaked the back of Cody's shirt. Please, no gifts, no cakes, no parties. He had said to her last weekend. I have never had a birthday party and it doesn't seem like a good idea to start now.

She should have listened. She should have known there was a wound behind those words, that her stupid party would rip it open and make him bleed. But now—

"Okay, baby—" she breathed softly, her lips brushing the fabric of his sweater. "You'll have all the cake in the world. It's blueberry and white chocolate, you're going to love it. And everything's gonna be okay, I promise. It's gonna be fine. We can have cake while we watch a movie. Anything you want, my love, anything."

He kept crying silently, his chest heaving, his fast heartbeat ticking in his chest so that Sky felt it through the layers of skin and bone and clothes. The night was a cold one, colder than was normal for California, the breeze that came from the ocean was chilly. It made Sky shiver in her lace dress. Her feet ached in her high heels - it had been such a long time since she'd worn heels - but she didn't dare to let go, didn't dare to even move. If she let go, he would walk away, and then—

I can't lose him. I can't. I can't lose him too.

After an eternity, Cody let out a long, tense breath and brought his hands to wipe his face. His sobs were beginning to ease, but he was still shivering in her arms, like a leaf in the wind, like a wounded bird in her hands.

"Everyone— they saw— me cry."

"It doesn't matter. Everyone's seen me cry a million times, it's not a big deal."

Cody made a sound that was half a sob, half a whine.

"Not— not the same thing." A short silence. He fought to keep his breathing even. "They— They've never seen— me cry before."

"I know. I'm sorry. But it's gonna be okay. No one's gonna care. I'll just tell them you were sick, or something. A migraine? The noise and the lights hurt your eyes or whatever. It's gonna be okay. No one's even going to remember it tomorrow."

That was a lie of course, and they both knew it. The way Cody had burst into tears in front of everybody and ran away had been shocking, and of course, people would remember, they would care. But not in the way Cody feared. Sky was 100% certain that no one would laugh or gossip or send pictures to social media. She had only invited their closest friends, there were barely 15 people at this party and not one of them was an asshole.

Another short silence followed. Cody was breathing through his sobs, shakily but little by little gaining control. He leaned on her, leaned into her hug, and Sky held him, held him tight as if she could thus stop him from falling in pieces.

"You can wait here—" Sky said silently. "I'll just tell everyone they should go, and—"

Cody drew in a sharp breath. "No. No, I—"

He released himself from her arms, but just enough to turn around and face her, staying close to her body as if he needed her touch not to fall apart. In the golden light of the setting sun, his eyes were huge, they were filled with tears. Sky brought a hand to cup his wet cheek, her thumb brushed his trembling lips.

"What is it?" She asked, meeting his eyes. "What do you need, baby?"

"I— I can do this. I– want to do this."

"Do what?"

"The party. The cake. All of it." His voice broke and he let out a long, shaky breath. "I can do it. Just— just give me a moment."

His words were an arrow through her breaking heart.

He should have left her, he should have yelled at her, he should have broken up with her for causing him pain, for ruining his birthday, for being the worst girlfriend in the whole fucking world, but no. The taste of shame and guilt was thick and sour on her lips. Anything would have been easier to take than this - this undeserved kindness.

"You don't have to, not for me. I know I fucked up."

"I want to. I— I can't just— I have to do this."

He let out a sigh that was also a sob and rested his brow on hers as if he was exhausted, strengthless. His breathing that tasted like salt fanned her face, the familiar scent of his aftershave mixed with the scent of tears, of cotton, of boy. He smelled like sadness, like there was an ocean inside of him, an ocean of sad things, and Sky had only seen the waves that hit the shore.

"What happened?" Sky asked silently. "Why— why did this hurt you so bad?"

He swallowed hard, hugged her tighter, and buried his face against her neck as if breathing in the scent of her skin could ground him.

"Carol."

"Your aunt Carol?" Sky threaded her fingers through the silky strands of his hair, cradling him in her arms, holding him safe. "What did she do?"

Cody didn't answer, just shook his head, rubbing his face against her neck, smearing the tears into her skin. His breathing had calmed down and the sobs had stopped, but he was still clinging to her as if she was the only thing keeping his face above the surface of the dark waters that threatened to drown him. Sky had no idea how much time passed, she had no idea what was going on inside the house, if everyone had left, if they had drunk all the Champagne, if they could see them through the windows— but none of it mattered.

Her heart was so heavy and so full it felt like it would shatter. Every beat was painful. She remembered what Cody had told her about Carol and JD during their talks when she had been in rehab. He had told about the time JD had beaten him up with the baseball bat, but other than that, Sky knew nothing. She had no idea what Cody's life had been like, when living with them. He had never told her. And now she had managed to hurt him horribly, triggering some trauma she hadn't even realized existed.

"I'm so sorry, baby—" She murmured, hugging him tight. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"I know," his voice was tired, broken. "It's okay. I'm sorry I'm such a mess—"

"Hey, I'm way more fucked up than you. Maybe we are a match made in Heaven."

He brought his face up, his teary, red-rimmed eyes that looked almost green in his pale face—

And his lips were on hers.

The kiss was desperate and raw. He buried his fingers in her hair and kissed her hard, and she let him, let his tongue enter her mouth. The taste of his tears went into her blood,and her heartbeat quickened.

When Cody broke the kiss, his chest was heaving with fast, shallow breaths. His cheeks were the color of dark, red wine, all the way to his ears.

"You want to have that cake now?" Sky asked, running her fingers down his cheek, following the sharp line of his jaw.

"Okay," Cody breathed. "Okay, yeah, let's do it."

"I'm right here. If it's too much, all you need to do is say so, okay?"

He gave a sharp nod, wiped his cheeks with his sleeve and took a deep breath, let it out slowly. Without further hesitation, Sky took his hand with a firm grip and led him in through the back doors.

No one had left.

The awkward tension in the air was so stiff you could have cut it with a knife, but everyone was still there, sitting on couches or the floor, looking at their phones or talking silently. Miserable-looking Tom still had the Champagne bottle in his hands (it seemed like he'd been drinking since he also had a glass), Yasmine lay on the couch her head on Demetri's lap, looking like she was bored to death, Sam and Moon were arranging the balloons and the decorations, probably trying to keep themselves busy while waiting. When Sky stepped in, pulling Cody after her, all of them turned to look.

Sky felt how Cody turned tense by her side before he pulled his hand away from hers and let out a strained laugh.

"Wow, sorry about that, guys," he ran a trembling hand through his hair. "You caught me at a bad moment, that's all. But— Let's get the party started. What do I have to do to get a drink here?"

A heartbeat of silence followed his words, enough for Sky's stomach to drop to her feet. If someone said as much as a word to make Cody feel bad, she would punch them in the face—

"A drink, you say?" That was Tom, who quickly jumped up from the armchair, poured Champagne into a glass, and walked to Cody. "There you go, brother. Happy birthday. And sorry about the—"

"It's all good, no worries," Cody replied, sounding almost like nothing bad had happened. As if he hadn't been crying his eyes out in the backyard just minutes ago. His hand wasn't even shaking when he took a sip of his drink. "And thanks to everyone, this is great— now, drink up, will you? I don't want to be the only one with Champagne in my glass."

There's nothing like an invitation to drink, to make everyone at ease. People cheered and reached for their glasses, someone restarted the music, and just like that the room filled with talk and laughter, Tom pushed a glass into Sky's hands and she drank. The taste and the bubbles of Champagne went into her blood instantly, easing the tight band around her lungs. Sky was immensely grateful for Moon, who was the first one to come to them with open arms, a big, bright smile on her face, and nothing but kind words on her lips. She hugged Cody as if he was her best friend, and soon, others followed.

"The cake— I'll go and get some plates and forks—" Sky said, when Cody's friends from the Drama Club surrounded them, laughing and smiling, bringing gifts. They had been very helpful, in organizing the party, but Sky still felt ill at ease around them, even if Jess wasn't even here.

She made her way to the kitchen, grateful for a moment of solitude, and took her time gathering the pile of plates and silver forks she had laid on the counter in advance. The music and the laughter echoed from the living room - she heard Cody's voice amongst the others, now without any tremor, asking for more Champagne.

Her chest was still heavy, and she took a moment to lean her back on the wall, hugging the plates against her chest. Cody was laughing now, he sounded happy—

That was all she had ever wanted for him. Happiness. A wonderful birthday without a care in the world. Maybe this day could still turn out fine? Maybe she could still make his dreams come true?

With that thought in her mind she straightened and walked out of the kitchen, to the hall—

The front door opened just as she was passing it, startling her so that she almost dropped the plates.

"Jesus—!" She gasped, turning to look.

"Sorry I'm late," said the tall, thin boy with shocking pink hair, as he stepped inside and a grin lit up his sharp face. "I thought I got lost, but there you are! Girl, I missed you!"

It was Luke.

Sky's heart sank. She didn't need to look at him twice, to see that he was high.