Roman sat at his desk, pouring over the last messages he’d received from the other boys. It’d only been a week since the resurrection but there was still no resolution to their problem. Roman offered half a dozen answers with varying degrees of crime involved but was always rejected. There just wasn't a feasible way to move half a dozen bodies out of private property. More irritating however was the rift that was weaving around them. Roman had become some sort of messenger for everyone. Sam refused to talk to Ellis as did Fletcher although Roman suspected it was for different reasons. Apathetic wasn’t the word Roman would have used to describe his feelings towards what Ellis did, although it was the narrative Sam assumed Roman was going by. He did care, it just didn’t matter now. Davis was alive and presumably a threat.

He could hear the news repeating another story of Davis’s miraculous return blare from the television downstairs. The sound of his name was starting to make Roman feel ill. Standing from his desk, he stretched and headed downstairs.

“Yup. Thank you. You can email my ex-wife about the details; she would know better than me.” His dad spoke into the phone, pacing back and forth across the kitchen.

“Who’s that?” Roman said as he opened the fridge pulling the milk carton. Just as he was about to tip it up to meet his lips, his dad placed his hand over and whispered,

“Get a glass.”

“Fine.” Roman waited for his dad’s hand to be lifted before taking a big swig. “Seriously, who’s on the phone? Anyone I care about?”

“Ah...Yes...Thank you... Yup...Talk soon.” His dad mumbled as he ended the call. He always was bad at goodbyes. “That’s the summer camp coordinator. We were talking about-”

“You aren’t actually making me go, right?”

“If it keeps your mom from calling and screaming at me, I’d send you to the moon.” He laughed at his own joke.

“Moon could be fun. At least I wouldn’t be treated like a child.”

“You are a child.”

Roman rolled his eyes. He’d learned over time that it was easier not to pretend he had a choice in anything his parents decided. His father started to prattle on about the expectation of the summer camp, important dates and other details that had no real meaning when Roman’s phone buzzed. Slyly, he pulled his phone out and saw an essay length message from Ellis.

“Just a sec.” Roman said, holding a finger up to his dad as he read the message.

It didn’t entirely make sense as if shifted from apologies and promises to justifications. Roman assumed he must have sent it to Sam and Fletcher as well. He scanned it over and over again trying to make it understandable but it came across as the ramblings of a lost boy. The last line was really what concerned Roman. I’ll do what has to be done...What does that even mean? Roman questioned silently as he started to walk out of the kitchen. He didn’t have to know what Ellis was doing to know it wasn’t good.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.” Roman responded as he searched for his keys.

“It's dark out.”

“Nice to see your vision is still intact.” Roman paused. “Have you seen my keys?”

“Evelyn took your car to go shopping with Declan.” His dad grabbed another set of keys. “I’ll give you a ride.”

“No thanks. I was planning on going to the gym but I’ll just go for a run instead.” He was half sure Ellis was at the school and even more sure that his dad would question as to why that was where he was going.

“In jeans?” His dad pointed down at his pants. “And skateboarding shoes?”

“I was going to get changed.” Roman retorted as if he wasn’t lying.

***

After a quick change into his gym clothes, Roman headed out of the house despite his father's grievances about running so late at night. The distance to Holloway Academy was a bit far for Roman’s normal run but it didn’t stop him from fully sprinting there. Once he was on school grounds, he slowed down and tried to call Ellis to no avail. Roman stopped to consider exactly what problem Ellis was going to solve. Either he was dealing with the Wildes House problem or he planned to murder Davis for a second time. Roman decided the former was more likely and made his way to the Wildes House.

When he got there, everything seemed peaceful, unnaturally so. The building was stunningly dark like it should have been but it surprised Roman. He’d expected to see Ellis tearing it down brick by brick but instead saw him sitting criss cross in front of it, waiting.

“What are you doing?” Roman asked as he took a seat beside Ellis. Something in his slacked shoulders and resigned sigh said that Ellis was defeated.

“Fixing it. You oughta go.” His eyes didn’t leave the windows.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”

“What? You want to hear me cry about how I’ve ruined my own life? Everyone hates me and I can’t really blame them for that considering what I did.”

“I don’t hate you.” Roman said, scooching closer. “In the same position, I might have done the same. Hell, I’d have probably done worse.”

“You’d have killed someone? Really you expect me to believe that?”

“I’m not a saint, Ellis. You know that.” he smiled softly. “What’s done is done. We can’t go back but we can move forward. Sam and Fletcher will come around. They always have.”

“I didn’t feel guilty about it. That’s why Davis wasn’t able to manipulate it to try and kill me. He drove Prue to the edge; he might as well have pushed her off himself.” He held his head in his hands. “He wasn’t just a bully; he was a fucking criminal. Harassment, assault, drugs, and probably more and Prue definitely wasn’t the only one who he ruined. To see him constantly held up on a pedestal killed me, my family, anyone who knew the truth. I did what I felt I had to, for her...but I think I went too far. I got revenge too late, kept it a secret and it cost me. It’s cost me my friends, my future, everything. I could go to jail, I’ll never have a career, my parents will disown me. No one is going to care why.” Ellis's voice broke. He sobbed and sobbed while his entire body shook.

Roman jumped to his feet and dusted himself off. Extending a hand down to Ellis, he offered to help him up but Ellis slapped it away.

“Come on, get up.” Comfort was not something Roman was good at providing. He could never get the words to come out right but he was certain that it wouldn’t matter now.

Defeated, Ellis accepted Roman’s hand who promptly hauled him to his feet and into a hug. Ellis practically melted into his arms, letting all of his weight rest on Roman’s chest. There wasn’t a perfect sentence that would fix Ellis and everything that’s happened but, at that moment, Roman didn’t think that was what he needed. Even though he couldn’t fix him, Roman could be there for him. Softly, Ellis lifted his head and started wiping his tears away.

“You should go.” Ellis sniffled and pulled away.

“I’m not leaving you when you’re like this.”

“No, seriously you need to go.”

In the shine of his eyes, Roman could see an orange glow. Slowly and with great hesitation, Roman turned to face Wildes House lit up with orange and red flames. The fire hadn’t overtaken the building but had reached the second floor. Flames licked at the window, ready to leap.

“You set the building on fire.” Roman said slowly before his voice grew louder and louder. “You set Wildes House on fire!”

“We needed to get rid of the stuff. Easiest way is to get rid of the entrance.” Ellis justified. “I already called the cops and the fire department.”

“I’m not just going to leave you here.”

“Be realistic, Roman. They see the two of us sitting here, who do you think is ending up in the back of a cop car. The honor student or with a rap sheet as long as his forearm.”

“Ellis-”

“Go!” Ellis pushed him away.

Roman stared at Ellis, his jaw hung open as he heard sirens crying out in the distance. He was torn between staying and going. He knew how hard it was to feel like the world was against him and how Ellis must have been hanging by a thread. On the other hand, Ellis was entirely right. No one in their right mind would have believed it wasn’t Roman’s fault. Frustrated, Roman let out a holler before bolting.

His legs burned as he rushed across the school property, dodging any bit of light the buildings gave off. There was a small gap in the gate that surrounded the school that Roman had used a few times to get on and off the property without being caught by the security cameras. He figured if there was ever a time to use it, it was now.

Once past the gate, he snuck along the ditch just far enough from the road to avoid headlights. The sirens were closing in. Without looking, Roman booked it across the road but just as he made it to the left lane, he was struck. Luckily, he wasn’t hurt aside from some road rash and a sore spot that most certainly turned into a bruise later that night. Staggering to his feet, he turned to face the driver when he felt the color drain from his face.

It was his mother.

She cracked the passenger door open and motioned for him to get in. Begrudgingly, Roman did as she instructed but the moment he was in the car, she locked the doors and pulled off to the side of the road. Trying to come up with a lie, Roman started to speak before noticing how dolled up his mom was. Her hair curled, make up done and wearing an evening gown.

“Where are you going?” Roman asked looking around the car for any more evidence.

“Could ask you the same thing.” His mom snapped. “I had a date before nearly running over my oldest.”

“Nah, you definitely hit me.” He replied holding up the large scrape on his arm. “I was just out for a run.”

“On the road leaving the school? Seems like an odd spot.” She started the car again and made a U turn back towards the school. Shit shit shit, Roman thought. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!”

“Innocent people don’t run in front of traffic while the cops are around. I think nothing is a gross simplification.”

As they drove further down the road, the fire grew. They could see it from the road. It roared, eating up the building. Roman was curious how Ellis got it to burn so well. When his mom noticed the flames, she started driving into the school lot.

“Did you start a fire?”

“No.” Roman tried to open the door. “Mom, let the emergency workers do their jobs.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Bullshit!” She hit her hand against the wheel.

Pulling back up the dorm, Roman could see the full force of the fire as the firefighters got ready to drench the building. There were so many people running around, he found it overwhelming. Ellis was standing next to a cop car but he wasn’t handcuffed. Roman knew if the roles were reversed, he would have cuffed and stuffed in the back of the cop car. His mom got out of the car then pulled Roman out and dragged him over to an officer.

“This is my son. I saw him running from this.” She pointed at the building.

The officer told her to watch him and stand near Ellis. On the other side of the car was Kathrine. She was casually dressed meaning she must have come straight from home. She spoke with the officer for a moment before noticing Roman’s mom trying to wave her down. With long strides she walked over and in a perfectly even and calm voice said,

“Someone has some explaining to do.”

***

Roman and Ellis had sat together outside of the head master's office probably a hundred times over but for the first time, Roman felt like he didn’t deserve it. Night time had an interesting effect on the hallway. What normally felt like a community environment suddenly became forbidden. Roman distracted himself with the motivational posters that the guidance counselors insisted on hanging everywhere. There was a kitten hanging off of a rope with the caption ‘hang in there’. A sinking feeling in Roman’s chest told him he was barely hanging on for longer than he could remember.

“I think you're cursed.” Ellis said under his breath.

“Yeah.” Roman sighed.

The large oak doors leading to Kathrine’s office opened just enough for an officer to slip out. The officer didn’t seem to be feeling anything as he sped walked down the hall. Before he was out of sight, Ellis called out to him,

“What’s going to happen?” Ellis was visibly nervous.

“Mrs. Holloway isn’t pressing charges.” The officer replied without stopping.

Not pressing charges was a funny way of saying she paid them off but it meant at least Roman wasn’t going to jail. Animosity started to brew in his chest. It was Ellis's fault they were there. If he’d have controlled his emotions for just a few minutes and let someone talk to him, Roman’s life would be about to crack into pieces again.

Kathrine popped her head out and motioned for the boys to join her in the office. Roman’s mom was sitting in one of the fashionable but uncomfortable chairs while his dad stood beside her, half leaning on the arm rest. It was bizarre to see them together but even more so in a school setting. Kathrine walked around to her large mahogany desk and arranged some files. A particularly thick file made its way to the top. Roman recognized it as his own record. Reluctantly, Roman took the other chair while Ellis stood beside his mother's desk.

“Tell me what happened.” She knitted her fingers together and tilted her hair to the side.

“I burned the building. Roman showed up after the fact and tried to stop me.” Ellis answered honestly and without hesitation.

Roman remained silent, feeling the glares of his parents burning into him. There was no point in defending himself. He wasn’t a person who people just believed. Whether he’d earned that or not was something Roman often debated.

“I don’t believe that. Do you have anything to say Roman?” Kathrine said predictably. He shrugged and didn’t say anything. His words could be twisted and thrown back at him. It was better to let everyone else decide what the truth was and deal with the consequences later. “Roman, Please. Just tell me what happened.”

“Whatever Ellis said happened is what happened.” He mumbled under his breath but Kathrine only tilted her head further in reply. “It doesn’t matter what I say. You will always believe him first.”

“It was my fault!” Ellis shrieked. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Ellis, step out in the hall with me for a moment.” Kathrine got up as she spoke.

The two left the room, leaving Roman at the mercy of his parents' rage. He kept his eyes on the thin vintage carpet as he heard the signature heavy sigh his father gave before a lecture. Crossing the room, his dad got in front of him. Roman noticed how tightly his father's jaw was clenched, veins popping out of his neck. The only thing preventing him from screaming was the fact Kathrine was just on the other side of the door.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” His dad started in an accusatory tone. “Please explain the list of shit Kathrine told us you’ve done in the last year and there better be a damn good reason.” His mom watched his dad carefully and pulled her jacket around her tightly.

“You’ll need to be more specific. I’ve done a lot of things.” Roman knew it wasn’t what he should have said but he could justify actions he took when he didn’t know what was on the list.

“Okay.” His dad slammed his hand on Katherine’s desk. “Please tell me why you thought it was a good idea to try and drown your friend, or trash his girlfriend's car.” Roman couldn’t figure out how he knew about Fletcher falling in the pond considering he’d never formally gotten in trouble for it. “Explain why you constantly cheat on your exams; explain why you broke into an abandoned dorm, explain the late-night dirt bike rides.”

“I-”

“Give me a reason for the underage drinking, the partying, the sneaking out, burning down buildings. Please enlighten me as to why you act like a criminal in training.” Roman assumed he was being rhetorical. “Answer me.” His dad slammed his hand down again.

“It sounded like fun.” Roman spat back. It was the only thing he could think of besides trying to convince his dad that magic was real and some crimes are very necessary.

“God!” His father yelled in frustration. “You make it hard to love you.”

It hurt.

Roman’s throat tightened, leaving him gasping for air and something to say in reply but he could get the words to stop replaying in his mind. His mom didn’t defend him. She hardly even reacted. It was always a thought playing in the back of his mind about how much his parents actually cared about him but he never realized it could have been worse than he assumed.

“You’ll have to go back to wilderness therapy.” His mom said with little emotion.

“You can’t do that.” Roman’s voice cracked. “I could have died.”

“Sure.” His dad replied sarcastically. “Maybe next time you’ll think about the consequences.”

Kathrine came back into the room although Ellis was gone. She smiled softly and returned to her seat while Roman’s parents watched her. As she sat down, she started to explain that Ellis's story remained consistent however that didn’t change Roman’s history. His mom changed her tone to sweeter and apologetic but disingenuous.

“Please Katherine, don’t expel him. I can’t have that follow h-”

“I’m not going to expel him. I want him medicated and on a treatment plan. This has gone on for far too long.” Kathrine opened the thick folder in front of her. “He needs help. Real help.”

“How we treat our son is our choice.” His mother said cautiously.

“He was diagnosed at seven and you’ve done nothing to treat him.”

At no point in Roman’s life has he recalled even seeing a professional physiatrist or even a therapist for that matter. Confused, his eyes darted between Kathrine and his mom. It took him a moment to realize his mouth was hanging open.

“Can we have this conversation without my son in the room?” His mom asked politely.

“You didn’t tell him?” Kathrine sounded genuinely shocked.

“Tell me what?” Roman cut into the conversation.

“You used to see the school psychologist regularly. You were formally diagnosed as...”

Roman couldn’t hear the rest of what she was saying over the ringing in his ears. His chest burned making his entire body unbearably hot. Nevermore in his life had felt that restless rage twisting through his veins. For years he thought something was wrong with him, that he was incapable of fixing himself, that he was born a bad person but it was his parents who’d been lying to him.

“You knew?” Roman stood so quickly he knocked down the chair behind him. “You knew this entire fucking time? And you let me drown, thinking I'm some broken kid who has no reason to be unhappy, to be so manic, to be like this?” The wind howled outside, branched beating against the building. His mom reached over, trying to touch his shoulder when Roman recoiled. “Don’t touch me.”

“Mr. Davenport, Ms. Duvall, I’d like to speak with Roman alone for a moment. I think this is a lot for him to take in right now.”

Warily, his parents stepped out into the hall. Roman picked the chair back up and sunk into it, burying his head in his hands. Kathrine came out from behind her desk and knelt down in front of him. She gently placed her hand on his knee but Roman couldn’t look her in the eye for fear of crying. If he spent one more second thinking about it, he would break.

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this.” She desperately tried to make eye contact but Roman didn’t lift his head.

“It doesn’t matter anyways, it’s not like they give a shit about me anyway.”

“I’m sure that’s not-”

“It is. Look at how they treat Declan for reference of how they treat things they care about.” He didn’t sound sad or hurt but rather accepting. This was his life and he couldn’t change it.

“We need to decide what is going to happen moving forward.” Kathrine stood back up.

“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what I think” Roman tried to sound like it wasn’t a big deal but the tears started to flow. Everyone who was supposed to look out for him had betrayed him in some way or another. “No one cares about me.”

“I care about you. I see you as one of my own kids.”

The words hit him deep in his chest. His lips trembled and he sniffled trying to stop the tears from coming but it was too late. His breath hitched as he started falling apart. Roman was all too aware of how it must have looked from the outside, childish and bratty.

“I can’t do it again.” He croaked and pulled his knees up to his chest. He didn’t know what he was saying but he couldn’t stop repeating that he couldn’t do it.

“What do you mean?” Katherine's voice was sweet and soothing.

“I’m going back to wilderness therapy. I can’t go back. I can’t!”

“I won’t let that happen.” Kathrine reached over her desk and pulled a peppermint out of her candy jar. She handed it to him and smiled. “Take it and take a deep breath. I’ll talk to your parents.”

She left the room leaving Roman alone to his thoughts. While he waited for her to come back his mind drifted to leaving Emmerson. He could hide out at Warren’s vacation home or even go to one of Sam’s cottages. Problems bubbled up in his plans as he tried to work out how he could escape without someone noticing. In the back of his mind, he knew that if he left with his parents, he’d never come home again.

After what felt like an eternity but more accurately was an hour, Roman started to get antsy. He didn’t know what was being said and he didn't want to but if he was to make some sort of escape, he needed to time it just right. His mom cracked the door open, and said,

“Let’s go.”

Roman stood up and followed his parents out of the building expecting to be yelled at the moment they were out of ear shot but there was no yelling nor explanation. They just ambled their way to his mom’s car. Before unlocking the door, she studied Roman. Both his parents looked surprisingly calm but his mom seemed more disappointed.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Roman braced for the reply.

“We decided that you won't be going back to wilderness therapy.” His mom answered and Roman felt instant relief. “You’ll be doing a summer semester at Saint Calvins in New York with me and you’ll be working one of the internships positions I have available.”

“No, that’s not- I thought you guys agreed that-”

“If it’s the only way to keep you out of trouble, I am more than willing to set that agreement aside.” His dad added. “You’re going to go to therapy too.”

This can’t be happening, Roman thought.