Page 54 of Sam & Justin

“Like I said, I will always show up for you,” he whispered back, his lips moving against mine with every word. “As long as you let me, I will be there for you. You’re so strong for all of the kids you work with. You help them. Even this one, you’ll help him too, now that everything’s out in the open.”

I snorted. “Not if his mom has any say in it. She blames me.”

“Because it’s easier than blaming herself for missing the signs,” he said wisely. “She’ll come around. She’ll realize that there was nothing that you could do to prevent what happened, and she’ll realize that you’re the best person to help her son.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then someone else will help him, and you’ll help other kids who need you. You’ll be strong for them, and I’ll support you.”

From anyone else, I might have thought they were empty words. But Justin showed up today. Justin had dropped everything hehad going on in Gomillion to be there, to take care of me. I believed him.

I believed that he was going to be there when things went bad, because tonight he proved it.

20

Ten Weeks After the Reunion

I was worried about Sam.

It had been two weeks since I’d driven to King’s Bay and held him while he cried. Even though I’d been busy planning a town carnival, taking a more hands-on approach after a successful class reunion and Sam’s offhand comment about me running for office, I made sure that I checked in on him often. The morning before I left King’s Bay, he’d confessed that he’d been worried that I was tired of our relationship. I didn’t want him feeling that way again.

But that wasn’t what had me worried.

While his client had gotten out of the hospital a few days after the incident, he hadn’t been back to Sam’s office. A few other clients had dropped him as their therapist. Bad reviews hadshown up on his business page, claiming that he was negligent and missed signs. Claiming that he’d almost killed someone that he was supposed to be taking care of. While those reviews had gotten several replies from people who claimed that Sam was a good therapist, I knew they were eating him alive.

It was confirmed when I got a phone call from Axel.

I’d been putting the finishing touches on that weekend’s event, and my phone rang. Axel told me Sam had bags under his eyes, that he was quieter than he usually was, that he looked like his world was crashing down around him. It was easy for me to believe that it wasn’t his fault. It was even easy to tell him this, but clearly, it didn’t get through to him. Hearing what he was going through made me want to climb in my car and go to him, carnival or no carnival.

I wanted to be there for him, the way I promised him that I would be.

“If I suggested he come visit you this weekend,” Axel started, pulling me out of my thoughts and away from my worries. I hummed, just to let him know that I was listening. “Would you be available?”

The carnival was that weekend. I was going to be busy, just like I was during the reunion, but we’d made that work. We could make this work, too. If Axel was calling because he thought Sam needed to get out of town, then I couldn’t let him down.

“How about you let me invite him instead?” I suggested. “If you suggest it, he’ll just argue. I’ve been really busy with work the last few weeks.”

“He mentioned.” I didn’t know Axel well enough to read the emotion in his voice. Was he annoyed that I’d been busy, that I hadn’t been supportive enough of Sam over the past few weeks? I wasn’t sure what more I could have done to be there for him. Not when we lived so far away from each other. “You might be right about being the one to invite him. But you will?”

“Yeah,” I assured him. “I miss him.”

Axel seemed content by that, and after some small talk, we got off the phone. I waited until I knew Sam would be off work before I called and invited him. It took a lot less convincing than I thought it would to get him to come back to Gomillion. He must have been miserable with the way things were going in King’s Bay to want to come back here.

Or maybe he just missed me.

I liked that option better than the idea of him suffering.

All day Friday, I was giddy. It was like the day I was supposed to travel to King’s Bay for the first time, except multiplied by athousand. The night I’d spent with him while he cried changed things between us. It bonded us in a way I’d never felt with anyone before. The feelings I had for him had deepened that night, and they only grew deeper every day. Unfortunately, unlike that day, I had things I was supposed to be focusing on. I had a thousand last minute things to do for the carnival. I was running around Gomillion all day, and once again, my list was like the Hydra.

Every time I crossed something off, another three tasks popped up.

I wasn’t even able to be at my house when he arrived. I’d had to leave my spare key hidden for him. I was in the middle of making sure all the rides were delivered and set up properly when I got a text from Sam saying he was there. I promised him that I’d be home soon. I just didn’t know when soon would be.

Soon translated to several hours later. Justin had already ordered us something to eat, and when I got home, he was curled up on the couch with my cat and a book. He looked peaceful there, like he belonged. Coming home to him felt the same way.

God, I wanted that.

I wanted to come home to him. I wanted to know that he was waiting for me after a long day. I wanted to kiss him every night when I got home from work, but I didn’t know how it could work. His life was in King’s Bay, and my life was in Gomillion. Eventually, we’d have to figure it out. We’d have to discover how we could make this work in the long term. We couldn’t be long distance forever.