Page 112 of Goldilocks

“Yeah.”

“It’ll never hurt any of us again.”

Sam shut his eyes. It had almost been the end of them all.

There was a splash. Sam opened his eyes as Roan’s face rose from the depths. Roan met Sam’s eyes briefly, then immediately moved his attention to Sam’s ankle. Feeling it out, rubbing the muscle and bone, seeking out any pain. “Swollen,” Roan said. He then studied Sam’s knee. Hip. His palms, which were still scraped, his neck, which still ached in tenderness. As Roan’s exploration moved higher, Sam saw his torn gills, looking no better than before.

“Did Adonis not heal you?”

Roan grunted. “Useless.”

“Let him. It’ll help with the pain at least,” Sam insisted. Connor’s yacht was anchored in the bay, and he knew that they were both out there somewhere.

Roan’s answer was another grunt.

Sam sighed. Roan continued to fuss over every bruise and scrape, rubbing and soothing, all the while, that top lip began to quiver in anger.

Sam ran his fingers through Roan’s hair. He didn’t want to think about the fact Roan had almost died. But he would remember, always, that Roan had come to help. That he’d been willing to fight that ghoul, far inland, and at a sore disadvantage, for Sam. And that led him to think about Fionn too. And Ivan. And Laurence and Jasper.

And Eric.

Sam drifted sideways until his head rested against Eric’s shoulder. “I never got to ask, how did it go with Dad?”

Eric’s shoulder relaxed beneath Sam’s head. He leaned over too, resting his chin on Sam’s head. “He doesn’t remember me,” Eric said. “Doesn’t know that he has two kids and not one.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. And just so you know, I was nice to him.” A tense note crept into his voice as he finished the sentence.

Roan grunted. “I am nice as well,” he said.

Sam fought a grin. “I know.”

“Are you saying that to him or me?” Eric asked.

Sam let the grin win. “Both of you.”

Eric wrapped his arm around Sam, rubbing his back. “Thanks for coming to save me, Sam. I know that’s supposed to be my job, and I’ve been letting you down a long time now—”

“Eric,” Sam objected.

“I have. I ran away. I left you. But I just want to say that I’m back now. I love you, and I’m going to make sure nothing like that ever hurts you or Dad again. I’ll make up for it or do my best trying to.” Eric squeezed Sam into a hug. “And I promise to stop giving you a hard time about not remembering me.”

Sam returned Eric’s hug. He thought it was silly for Eric to feel like he’d let Sam down when he’d been driven away by a literal monster, but he caught himself before dismissing Eric’s words again. When Sam considered how he felt about leaving his dad alone in the house, he understood where Eric was coming from.

“We’ll make new memories,” Sam promised instead. “Like Roan said to me in the hospital, we can begin again from the start. And I like you as a person, Eric. I know that hasn’t really been clear, but I do.” Eric’s collar muffled Sam’s words, softened his voice.

Eric ducked his head, hiding in Sam’s hair. “I don’t want to cry in front of your mer-boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend’s very nice,” Sam said. “He’ll never mention it.”

Roan rested his chin on Sam’s thigh. He hummed his agreement.

Sam let himself relax into Eric’s arms. Exhaustion clung to every nerve ending in his body, but he fought the instinct to shut his eyes. It was so late that the creeping approach of daylight lit the horizon line. Sam used to get up at this time to squeeze in an hour on the boat before school.

Footsteps swished on sand and without pulling back from Eric, Sam peeked behind to see Ivan approaching down the pier. His arm was still in a sling, and he had a picnic basket hooked on his elbow. The closer he got, the more Sam saw of the dark circles under his eyes, the greyish cast to his skin. His bloodied eye. All of them were exhausted.

“Food for everyone,” Ivan said.