Page 24 of Hush Darling

“What are the others’ names?”

“In the Never Lands, our names are whatever we choose. You can be whoever you want to be here.”

He wove about the woods as if dribbling an invisible soccer ball. Every few seconds, he’d leap over a tree root or ollie off a trunk, careless enough to defy gravity. His energy seemed endless.

“Well, what do you call them?”

“First, they call me Pan—short for Pangbourne. Then there’s Tate, Nibbs, Bayne, Cass, and the twins, Thayer and Tristan.”

“They all live with you?”

“God, no! Although they rarely leave.” He frowned. “I don’t actually know if they have homes. They’re always just…around. Like homeless nomads.”

“You don’t know if your friends have homes? Didn’t you ever ask or try to visit them?”

He shrugged. “I guess I never took interest.” He doubled his pace. “But they’ll go nuts when they see you!”

The louder the music pounded in the jungle, the stranger this journey seemed. Peter was prancing from tree to tree like a squirrel on cocaine while she grew increasingly concerned about the people she was about to meet in nothing more than her pajamas.

This sort of uncertainty is exactly what she deserved after such an impetuous decision to run off with a stranger. How had she ever believed herself safe with him?

Something slithered through the underbrush and hissed from the shadows. She stilled. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I don’t know. It sounded…slimy.”

“It was probably just a Never Snake.”

Her eyes widened. Did she even want to know what a Never Snake was?

“Or could be a Never Spider. They make a lot of noise when they're full grown.”

With that disturbing information, she rushed forward to walk next to him again. There was so much nature surrounding them the ground seemed to breathe, in and out, as if alive. “How much further?”

“We’re here.”

The pulse of beating drums thumped as laughter erupted from the other side of the trees. Water splashed, and male voices hooted like a fraternity.

She’d gladly trade her jungle surroundings for a frat house.

Peter cupped a hand by his mouth and crowed. The sound echoed back in what she presumed were the Lost Boys’ voices.

Leaves rustled, and a tiny female burst from the foliage. The woman had pixie blonde hair and perfectly toned flesh. She squealed and hurled herself at Peter’s chest, wrapping her legs about his hips.

“You’re back!” She wreathed her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

Eyes wide, Wendy cleared her throat.

The woman’s elven features narrowed on Wendy as she slid down Peter’s body to stand on the ground. She wore a bohemian-style sarong that showed off her hips. Her torso was bare, and her green crop-top barely covered her breasts.

Peter caught her arm. “Easy, Belle. She’s with me.”

The tiny woman took Wendy’s measure. Was this the sort of petite figure Peter was attracted to? Wendy generally liked her body, but this woman’s waistline was smaller than her thigh. As her gaze traveled upward, her insecurities doubled.

Belle curled her lip and jammed a fist into her side, returning her attention to Peter. “Who is she?”

“This is Wendy Bird—she’s still a fledgling.”