Gabriel returns home in a good mood, almost skipping over the doorstep. It is a small feeling of accomplishment. Even if it wasn't something spectacular, at least for today, he thinks he will go to sleep content.

But he had forgotten about something.

"My God--Gabriel, what happened to you?" His mother stumbles out of the room to meet him. "Your face, lips--" she rushes up to Gabriel, carefully examining his face.

Gabriel gently pushes his mother's hands away. "Mom, I'm fine," he says. He winces when his mother's fingers brush across the bruise on his face, which will stay purple for the next week.

Mrs. Morin is not relieved. "Tell me what's been happening at school," her tone and expression are full of concern, her lips thin into a line. "Is someone bullying you?"

"No one is," he says. Don't worry about it. It was just a misunderstanding. Everything is alright, or even better than before, he wants to say.

Then heavy footsteps sound as his father crosses the living room to the kitchen and sees his son black and blue. "Gabriel--"

"I'm fine, dad," Gabriel cuts in, eager to reassure his father.

"First, Jonan, now this..whatever this is?" His tone was beginning to rise.

"Matthew--" Gabriel's mother warns him.

"What Matthew? He can't let himself be pushed around like that!"

The world seems to wane, distort in front of his eyes. He knows exactly what will happen next. His mother will warn and shout. His father will shout back. Then for the rest of the night, no one will talk. The dinner table will be silent, a kind of barrier pushing them apart and apart. The clocks will tick, the dishes will clang, the TV will cackle, but they will pretend no one exists, and it will all be his fault.

"Fine, whatever!" and Gabriel's mother storms off.

"What do you mean--"

"Dad! I'm fine," Gabriel's line is a plea. "I-I just accidentally fell down the stairs..." It is a lie, and both of them know it.

Mr. Morin doesn't continue, but his posture changes, his hands balled into fists by his side, his eyebrows knitted, infuriated. He reminds Gabriel of dark thunder clouds--the kind that seems to spontaneously appear, looming over blue skies, the kind that makes it hard to remember what a normal sky looks like. Or perhaps you can, but it no longer seems real. You can't tell when it will start pouring, but you know it will soon.

After a moment of silence, he leaves.

Gabriel is left alone in the hallway.