The Radiant Reira

18. Loss

He woke up in the hospital surrounded by his mother, Reira, and her parents. "What happened?" He asked his mom.

"Reign...he hurt you badly after the gesture you made."

Orion tried to sit up and immediately started apologizing to his mother. "I didn't know he would do this mom."

"Stop. You don't need to apologize, this isn't your fault. He's gone." She explained.

"What do you mean he's gone?"

"He was arrested and we don't have to see him anymore. So stop apologizing and just focus on getting better."

Reira couldn't help but tear up, seeing Orion in the state he was in. He had a black eye and a busted lip, but she still saw him. She still saw the guy she was in love with, just struggling for now.

"Reira." He looked at her.

Reira looked down, she felt awful about what had happened. "Hey," he gave a faint smile, "Keep your head up, I'm okay."

Diane and Reira's parents stood up and left, leaving the pair alone.

"I'm sorry... I just, I couldn't believe he'd do something like this to you." said Reira.

Orion placed his hand on his face, feeling his wounds, beginning to tear up. "Same here. But you don't have to worry." He smiled.

"Look, the doctor said you'd recover easily, but I know emotionally it isn't going to be the same way." She sighed, "But you have us."

"You mean you?" He asked.

"Your mom, me, my parents..." She tried to sound hopeful

He took a deep breath, in an attempt to prevent himself from crying. Orion felt as though that the situation shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did. His father's tone and demeanor screamed "aggression." Although he was hurt many times emotionally, he never expected either of his parents to lay their hands on him. It was another rocky path for him to walk through.

"We'll still go on our date on Friday." He smiled faintly.

"That's what you're thinking about?" Reira asked, confused.

"W-what's wrong with reminding you?" He asked.

"Orion, you were just physically assaulted by your dad and your mother is surely going through a tough time... and you're thinking about me?"

Orion sat up, squinting his eyebrows, "why are you talking to me like that? I was trying to be hopeful and stuff,"

"It's just weird." She looked down.

Reira had a mixture of the feelings of sympathy, anger, and confusion. Seeing Orion in this state and knowing why he was, made her uncomfortable. She couldn't understand why a father, or any parent, would attack their own child whether it was physical or emotional. Reira simply didn't know how to express that confusion causing her to come across as irritable.

"It's just hard to see you like this, that's all. I'm sorry if I'm being rude." She apologized.

"I know I should be thinking about my mom, a-and I am. I know this is extremely hard for her and I even know this stuff is hard for my dad, I just... I don't want you to get caught up in any of this." He explained.

He was sitting up in bed and she was still standing by his side looking down.

Reira's father walked in, "Reira, it's time to go hon."

She looked up and looked at Orion, "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." He responded.

Reira and her parents drove home, the car ride was silent. Her family were people who didn't believe in physical discipline, let alone physically assaulting a kid. Her Dad and Mom couldn't imagine any adult laying their hands on their daughter in any inappropriate way. They felt bad about seeing their daughter witness what it was like to have emotionally unavailable parents who resort to physical violence. They knew it was important to spark a discussion with their daughter.

Half an hour went by, Reira and her father were resting on the couch while her mother prepared them drinks. Her mother sat down, "Reira, how are you feeling?"

"Honestly, not great."

"And why is that?" Her father asked.

Reira shook her head, "Well, first the way you explained it to me, sounded like he was going to die."

Her mother sighed, "Sorry about that."

"It's just hard seeing a person that you care about go through that and I know I haven't told you guys this, but he doesn't even have a great relationship with his mom. I mean they're trying to make things work now, so that's good." She explained.

"Well Rei, Orion has the option to never see his father again, also emotional recovery is going to be hard, but he's going to be okay." Said her father.

"I just wish I could do something to take away his pain." She looked down.

"The best you can do is spend some time with him and support him by being a good friend." Her mother gave a hopeful smile, "You can't solve his problems Rei, but you can do what you have always done when someone you love goes through pain."

Reira looked at her, "What do I do?"

"You show compassion. Which you've always done, even for me, when I dealt with grieving over Davis." Her mother said.

"You know, people go through extremely rough times in life and handling it is never easy. But it always gets better. Pain is not permanent." Her father said.

"I know." She said, "He really is a strong person, he doesn't think it... but he is."

Her parents nodded.

"It just really confused me, you guys. Like I know there's abusive parents out there, but to see how it really affects people in real life, I mean it made me more grateful to have you guys as parents." Reira looked at them.

"Us not being abusive, isn't something to really appreciate. No parent should ever be abusive, being a decent person to your child is only the bare minimum." Her mother explained, "Families can be awful and can be a total mess sometimes. But we can always improve, just like how Mrs. Michaels is working to fix her relationship with Orion."

"Yeah." Her father said, "It takes wanting, wanting to do better is the very first step to fixing a tainted relationship. As long as there's good communication and proper action being taken, their relationship is surely going to improve."

"They'll figure it out." Said her mother, "That's how relationships work Rei, they're never perfect but it's the true love and constant effort that prolongs the relationship."

Reira looked up and let out a faint smile, she felt ten times more grateful for her parents as she gave them a hug.

Reira took a deep breath in and out, "I have hope for them," she said, "Just like you said, the best thing I can do is be there for him."

"I hope you know that overall, we are so proud of you. This move and everything hasn't been easy for you, but you've really pushed through." Said her father. "I really do believe that your mother and I raised a resilient and kind-hearted person."

"I wouldn't be this way if it weren't for you guys," said Reira.

Reira's parents were no stranger to showering their daughter with love. They knew with all their heart, she deserved it.