HE LOST HIS SON — AND ONE OF HIS OLDEST FRIENDS MADE SURE HE WOULDN’T FACE THE GRIEF ALONE

For Rande Gerber, the days following his son’s death have brought an unimaginable kind of grief.

But they have also revealed the depth of a friendship that has lasted for decades.

George Clooney and his wife, Amal, are reportedly among the close friends staying near Cindy Crawford and Rande as the couple mourns the death of their 27-year-old son, Presley Gerber. A source told PEOPLE that the Clooneys and several other friends have been “taking shifts” staying with the family so they are not alone.

The gesture is especially significant because George and Rande are not simply longtime acquaintances.

Their friendship stretches back years and eventually became a business partnership. The two men, along with Mike Meldman, co-founded Casamigos, the tequila company that later became a billion-dollar deal.

But behind the business headlines was a much more personal connection.

A source close to Cindy Crawford described George as “family,” while PEOPLE reported that he has remained close to both Presley and his sister, Kaia Gerber.

Now that friendship has taken on a very different meaning.

Presley died on Sept. 20 at age 27 at a rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records. Santa Monica police are investigating the death as a suspected overdose, while the official cause of death has not yet been released.

For Cindy and Rande, the loss came after years of trying to support their son through serious personal struggles.

PEOPLE reported that the couple had sought different forms of treatment for Presley over the years, including therapy and rehabilitation. Presley had also spoken publicly about his mental-health and substance-use struggles, including through social-media posts intended to help others facing similar difficulties.

That history makes the family’s grief even more complicated.

There is no public statement suggesting that anyone could have changed what happened.

There is only the reality that Presley is gone — and that his parents now have to learn how to live with that absence.

According to PEOPLE, George and Amal traveled to Los Angeles after learning of Presley’s death and have been helping with arrangements and whatever the family needs.

Sometimes support does not come in the form of a speech.

It looks like sitting in the same room.

Answering the phone.

Helping with arrangements.

Being there when another difficult day begins.

And, according to the sources cited by PEOPLE, making sure Cindy and Rande are surrounded by people who care about them.

Presley’s death has also brought renewed attention to the openness with which he discussed his struggles. Sources told PEOPLE that his family was proud that he had tried to use his experiences to help others.

Now the people closest to the Gerber family are doing something much simpler.

They are staying.

For a grieving parent, there may be no perfect words.

There may be no way to make the pain smaller.

But there can be someone beside you when the silence becomes overwhelming.

And for Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford, that appears to be what their longtime friends are trying to provide in these first devastating days — not answers, not promises, but presence.