U about to kill me :0
Trigger warning.

The drawing is finally completed to Remington's liking and he admires it, sitting on his bed with a proud smile on his face. He's never been more proud of one of his drawings before. It's a photo of him and Andy on their wedding day, taken as they were saying vows. They're both smiling and teary and Remington can feel the atmoshphere of that day as he looks at the drawing. God, he loves it.

The familiar, innocent voice from the doorway makes him jump. "Kacey! Hi!" Remington greets enthusiasticaly, "how was school today? More boring maths?"

Kacey sits herself on the bed. "Yes, so much maths. I wanted to throw the table at the teacher. But guess what?" She sounds excited. It makes Remington's smile grow.

"What?"

The girl grins. "I got twelve out of fifteen for the music!"

Remington feels like a proud father. "That's so good! I told you that you could do it."

"Yeah, but only 'cause you helped."

"There's nothing wrong with getting help when you need it." He closes his sketchbook.

Kacey lies back on the bed, comfortable in his room. More comfortable than in her own room. She hates sharing with Leah, a fifteen year old who always makes the room so messy. Remington's room is always tidy and pleasent to be in. "My mum's coming later," she says, sighing.

The singer lies next to her. "It'll be okay," he responds, recalling how Andy always says that when he's worrying about something. It helps him, so maybe it'll help her.

"She's gonna give me this huge lecture on how I don't have depression even though they said I do, and then get mad because of the over dose, and then she'll leave. And I won't see her for another month. It's pointless." She picks up a cushion that's fallen on the floor and holds it to her. "Can I come here after? Talking to you makes me feel better."

"Oh Kace, I'm sorry, I'm going to a concert at six. I promise we can talk about it tomorrow, though." He feels like he's letting her down. Clearly she's panicking about seeing her mother and Remington knows exaclty what it's like to be scared of seeing someone. He wishes he could be here for her straight after.

"Okay."

Remington sighs. "I can give you a hug now, if you want. Everytime I'm hugging a pillow it's because I need a hug. You seem like me in that sense."

The girl perks up at the mention of a hug. "Yes please," she replies, "it's not like she'll ever hug me."

"Come here, sweetie, let's hug those bad thoughts away." Remington sits up and she crawls into his lap, sitting the same way he often sits with Andy. It feels strangely nice to be the one providing the comfort. "Look at it this way. Whatever happens with your mum, I'm here and I will give you all the hugs you could ever want, okay? Don't let her shitty parenting bring you down all the time."

Kacey curls into him, feeling more protected from the world than she ever has before. "It is shitty parenting. I knew it. She always told me that I'm just being an ungrateful, spoilt brat."

Remington scoffs. "I'll whack her over the head with a rolling pin if you like," he jokes, "and yes, it is shitty parenting. It's on the edge of being abusive, Kace, and I know how fucking awful that is."

"But she hasn't hit me, though."

"She doesn't have to. If she's making you scared of seeing her, and making you feel unloved, than it's awful parenting and she shouldn't be getting away with it." He rests his chin on the top of her head. "If she says something that makes you feel bad, can you tell me?"

"Why?"

"Because," Remington begins, "I care and I hate that she's making you feel like this."

She rubs her eyes. "Okay. I'll tell you."

"Good girl. Tell me what you learnt today, apart from that maths is, in fact, bullshit."

"Oh, we were doing poetry. I liked it. It made me think of you."

Remington smiles. "It did? Why's that?"

It's funny how talking to him can help so much. "Because your songs are like poems. Can you play me some more of them one day?"

"Of course I can."

"Can you teach me how to play the piano, too?"

At six o'clock, Remington and a few others are taken down into town for the concert. It's nice to be out of the hospital, though Remington can't help feeling bad for Kacey, who will be talking to her mother right now. They're allowed to buy drinks as long as it's not alcohol, and have to stay close to eachother, which Remington is grateful for. He hasn't been to a concert in a while and he knows he'd freak out if he was on his own in the crowd.

The venue is nearly completly full and Remington wonders how well known the band is. He doesn't care. He's just happy to be surrounded by music again.

But then they come on stage.

Remington can't believe what he's seeing. Not one, but both of his brothers are in this band, and as if it couldn't get worse, the first song they play is one he wrote a while ago. The one he made them promise not to share with anyone because he was so proud of it and was waiting for it to be released as a single in the next few months. He wrote it comeletly on his own.

And now a different band is playing it.

He watches Sebastian on the stage, and then Emerson, and sees the way they look so happy to be performing again. They said they didn't mind taking a break while he was here. They promised him it was okay.

They lied.

When Andy told him they were at the beach they must've really been rehearsing.

They lied.

The overwhelming feeling of betrayel leaves Remington short of breath and unable to say anything. He finds himself having a panic attack and the person next to him alerts one of the two doctors who came with them.

They're too far into the crowd to get out and Remington tries to calm himself down but the sound of his brother's guitar and the stranger's voice singing his words makes it so hard to breathe at all and he collapses into the doctor, people around them stepping back and pointing to gain the attention of security.

It happens to be Sebastian who sees first, tapping a securty guard by the stage and gesturing to the scene. The song is stopped and the audience is told to make a path through to Remington. The security guard gets both the unconscious singer and the doctor to the front of the crowd and over the barricade, and Sebastian sees who it is.

He looks back at Emerson and the two share a regretful, panicked expression.

Remington is sat in a chair back stage, the doctor staying with him and assuring the security that it was just a panic attack. The boy wakes, blinking his eyes open and remembering what just happened.

"Remington, what happened? I thought you were okay in crowds."

Shaking his head, Remington rubs his eyes. "I am. It's just-my brothers are in that band and I-they're in a band with me and the first song was-that was a song I wrote and they promised not to show anyone because we were gonna release it soon. They lied." He gulps "They lied to me."

"Do you want to go back to the hospital? I can walk you there."

Remington nods. "Please."

He walks without saying a word, blinking back tears the whole way back. The doctor makes sure he's safely inside before turning and going back to the venue. The boy sits on his bed with a pillow and sobs into it, feeling so utterly betrayed and so fucking stupid for thinking they actually gave a shit about him.

Kacey is walking down the hall after the visit from her mother, freezing when she walks past Remington's room and hears him crying, confused. She knocks.

Remington shouts for whoever it is to come in, knowing it'll most likely be a doctor coming to check on him. When he sees Kacey, and the state she's in, he gestures for her to come in, and the two sit on the bed for ten minutes, the girl held to his chest. She cries into him and Remington finds himself calming down now she's here and he feels needed again.

But God does he hate his brothers.