Page 33 of Never Landing

If they did . . . would they remember me?

Since Everett had come to Cider Landing all those years ago, I’d stuck out from the other kids. Now, I wasn’t even a kid. Most days, I wasn’t totally surewhatI was, but I didn’t want to hear how awful growing up was, how much I’d given up and how pathetic it was for me to want something other than to play forever.

Sure, playing was great, but—but Everett and I had fun, and sometimes that was playing a game but sometimes it was just being together or cooking a meal or thinking about the future.

Still, I wanted to do this. It was worthwhile, to make sure the kids knew I was around if they ever needed anything. Even if they acted like, well, kids, and even if they hurt my feelings, it’d be okay.

I had Everett, and everything would be okay.

I wandered over to him and looped my arms around his middle. He hugged me back. “You okay?”

I nodded without lifting my head. “Just thinking about how happy I am to have you.”

I propped my chin on his chest and held his eye. There was something there, sweeter than any cake or cookie, but I wasn’t going to push for more, and before I could ask what it meant, Everett caught sight of something behind me.

“I think someone’s here,” he whispered.

I turned and even in the dark, I could see a cloud of fluffy white lace.

I sighed. “Aurora.”

“Do you want to go talk to her?”

I nodded, but I—I didn’t have words right then. Everett let me go.

“Call if you need anything,” he said, but he didn’t follow me out there. Maybe this time, he wasn’t afraid that I’d go back to the woods.

My throat was tight when I went out into the side yard, where Aurora was already sitting on one of the old swings. She didn’t look up as I approached, but her shoulders stiffened.

When I was standing right in front of her, her feet digging into the dirt as she swayed back and forth, I could barely hear her whisper, “Are you mad at me?”

Shit—was I?

Aurora knew everything. She’d been out there the longest, knew everything about magic and the best games and—well, everything. She was somethingmorethan the rest of us, but deep down, she’d always been another lost kid too.

“Are you the one who took me from my family and—and put that other boy in my place?”

Without lifting her head, Aurora shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I must’ve been, but I don’t remember much about life before playing with you. After that, nothing else was important.”

I nodded, scuffing my feet through the dirt too. After a moment, I sat in the swing beside her.

“Well, either way, no. I’m not mad at you.”

Finally, her head popped up, and I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She was staring at me, eyes wide, blinking slow.

“You’re not?”

“Nope.” I dug my foot into the ground to push myself back. “I have thebestlife, Rora, and I always have. I got to play and have adventures. Now, I have Everett and there are movies and so many things to do and see, and I’m excited for all of it.” I twisted on the swing with a creak. “And I have you too, right? Best friends?”

Everett was first in my heart, maybe, but Aurora had been there the longest. Anyway, he was...something more than my best friend. At least, I hoped he would be.

“If you want to be,” Aurora whispered.

“Yup. I don’t want to give up anything. I want it all.” I stopped swinging, dragging my foot to slow down. “Do the other kids remember me?”

Aurora shrugged. “Maybe a little? It’s hard to think about people leaving, but when we smelled the honey cake, William asked if we could come and have some.”

“Of course, yeah. We made it for you guys. I’d love if you came. If you stay a little while, we’ll have cookies too, and I want everybody to meet Everett.”

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