I step onto the bus, scanning for-

“Lukas!” I exclaim.

“Hey, Lukas is here!”

JJ pushes past me and sits in the window seat so that I can speak to Lukas.

“What happened?” I ask, sitting down and putting a hand on Lukas’s knee. Lukas shoves my hand away and scoots back, staring out the window.

“Lukas, talk to us,” JJ says. Lukas whips his head around to face us. The whites of his eyes are stained pink, and tear tracks are etched into his face.

“What happened?” I ask again. Lukas shakes his head.

“Is Theodora okay?”

“Teddy’s gone,” Lukas whispers, looking down at the ground. Tears pool in my eyes.

“Did she-”

“Yes, she did.”

Lukas meets my eyes for a split second before casting his gaze back to the floor.

“It’s my fault.”

“No, it isn’t-”

“If I had done something, she would still be here!” Lukas shouts, snapping his head up. “You can’t sit there and tell me that it’s not my fault, because it is. My little sister would still be alive-”

I move over to Lukas’s seat and wrap my arms around his chest, holding him against me. He breaks down completely, his entire body shaking with sobs.

“It isn’t your fault,” I murmur. “None of this was your fault.”

Lukas stays in my arms for I don’t know how long.

“Lukas, stay at my place,” JJ says. Lukas trembles and shakes his head, clutching the back of my shirt like a little kid.

“I can’t leave her again-”

“You’re not in the state of mind to be able to stay by yourself much longer.”

Lukas shakes his head, then changes his mind and nods once. He stands up and allows JJ to take his hand and lead him off of the bus, wiping at his tears.

“He’ll be okay,” Danny assures me. I nod and look out the window.

He’ll get better.

But he won’t ever be okay again.

Wednesday, 9 Days After

The entire bus fell silent as Lukas stepped off.

He didn't run.