Page 37 of Forgotten

Kyrone frowned as he mentally compared that seagull to the one tattooed on Jared’s back. There were definite similarities in the poses of the birds. “You’re reading a book about seagulls?” he asked.

Jag glanced at the book. “Yes…?”

“What’s it about?”

“Seagulls?”

Kyrone rolled his eyes. “What’s the story?”

“It’s about a gull who wants to be more than the rest of his flock. He tries to break free of their narrow-minded mentality by learning how to fly better than any of them.”

“Does he manage it?”

“Sort of. The other gulls laugh and ridicule him, but that only makes him more determined to better himself. He ends up breaking through to a higher plane of existence—heaven, I guess—and discovers other like-minded gulls. After that, he goes from being the pupil to the teacher of the next generation.”

Kyrone whistled. “That sounds heavy.”

Jag chuckled. “It’s a fable. The actual story isn’t heavy at all, but I guess the lessons you can learn from it are.”

Kyrone nodded at the book. “It looks well read.”

“I’ve had it a long time. A friend gave it to me,” Jag added. “It was… umm…” He cleared his throat. “A reminder to be true to myself rather than one of the flock, even if that means not conforming to what people expected of me.”

“That’s a really nice sentiment,” Kyrone murmured, filing it away in his mind. “Did it work?”

Jag nodded. “Yes. Reading it helped me through some tough times.”

“Sorry.”

Jag raised his eyebrows.

“That things haven’t always been great for you.”

Jag shrugged. “It’s in the past.” He turned his attention back to the book.

Kyrone left him to read in peace as he mulled over his friend’s words. As much as he wanted to know what Jag had been through, he knew the guy had to tell him in his own time, even if that time never came. He wasn’t going to push. It would be Jag’s decision if he confided in him someday.

12Jared

Jared was used to losing a day or two to his crippling headaches. What he wasn’t used to was waking up from one to the feel of a man spooning against his back, with an arm draped over his waist. Not just any man. Kyrone. He smiled and snuggled back against him. From the sound of his breathing, Kyrone was asleep. Jared didn’t question why he was only wearing his boxer shorts. He knew Kyrone would have undressed him to make him more comfortable.

Light seeped through the closed curtains, illuminating the room without making it unbearably bright. There was still a dull thud behind Jared’s eyes, but at least he could think straight and didn’t feel like he was going to collapse or throw up. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table beside him. It was after three in the afternoon. What he didn’t know was whether it was Wednesday, Thursday, or even Friday. He hoped it wasn’t Friday, although from the way his stomach ached and growled and how dry his mouth was, it could have been.

“Hi,” Kyrone said sleepily, tightening his grip on Jared’s waist.

“What day is it?” Jared asked.

“Thursday.”

Almost two days gone. “I need to call Faye.” He tried to sit up, but Kyrone gently restrained him.

“Already done.”

Jared’s eyebrows tugged together as he turned onto his back so he could gaze at Kyrone’s peaceful face. Although he was talking to him, his eyes were still closed, and he looked completely relaxed.

“Thank you,” Jared whispered, in awe of the man.

“For what?”