Rob has been looking for Sonny everywhere.

Resorted to scouring every corner of the venue and yelling his name like an increasingly panicked mother searching for a lost child when Sonny doesn’t pick up his phone after the seventh try and none of the crew has seen him in the last hour. Rob is this close to alerting the authorities and sending out a search party when he finds him.

A small mound of black, unmistakable against the hideously red couch—the only piece of furniture in a room no bigger than a closet.

Rob enters the confined space with purpose, prepared to reprimand him for wandering off without telling anyone and ignoring his calls, but hesitates as he gets closer. Sees Sonny curled up in a fetal position clutching his backpack like a lifeline. Sees his slightly parted lips, his overlarge glasses skewed by the press of the pillow, and the light rise and fall of his chest with every shallow exhale. He can’t do it.

Not when he looks so peaceful. Not when this is the first time Sonny has really slept in about 48 hours.

His entire world consists of hotels, tour buses, and airports. He doesn’t own a bed. Doesn’t even own a place to put a bed. Like a vagrant he wanders from city to city, carrying only what he needs to survive in a small suitcase and backpack. A few items of clothing and a laptop. The essentials.

He knows Sonny loves this job more than life itself. Knows that Sonny would trade all his money and all his worldly possessions to continue making music. Because that’s basically what he’s done already. It’s one of the many things Rob admires about him.

But sometimes, like right now, it breaks his heart.

Everyone needs a bed. Everyone needs a home. Sonny gives and gives and gives until he has nothing left for himself. Doesn’t sleep until he ends up collapsing from exhaustion. And there’s nothing Rob can do about it. Wouldn’t do anything, even if he could. Because, in the end, it’s not his decision to make.

So he shrugs off his jacket, drapes it carefully over his best friend, and shuts off the light on his way out.