Page 53 of The Lonely Hearts Guide

“My baby!” Elliot growled, kicking again. “Mine. Not his. Not yours. This is my life, Alexander is my future, and you are a memory I wish to forget.” He kicked more furiously that time, screaming, “Let—me—go!”

Mother dug her nails into Elliot’s thigh. “If I fall, I’m dragging you with me.”

Elliot pushed past the pain in his palm and clung to the ladder as Mother tried in vain to dislodge him. When she realized her efforts were fruitless, Elliot watched as her attention shifted. No longer was she looking at him, her sights were set on Alexander. Elliot’s heart sank.

Reaching high above her head, Mother managed to grab Alexander’s ankle, making direct contact with his skin. Her sharp nails pierced through and blood drizzled down her fingers, across her hand, and ran down her arm. Alexander cried out in pain, one hand slipping from the ladder out of reflex, as if he was trying to swat away a pest. When Alexander let go, the three of them slipped, but he grabbed the ladder with one hand as the other dangled over the ocean.

“I’m going to fall. Elliot, I can’t hold on,” Alexander grunted. “Grab the ladder. If I fall, I don’t want to take you with me.”

Elliot’s heart cracked right down the middle. No. He couldn’t lose Alexander. Not again. Alexander Davenport was the kindest, most amazing man he’d ever met, and Elliot was undeniably, unequivocally, irrefutably in love with him.

“But the baby. Our baby, Alexander.” Elliot sniffled. “We’re going to raise her on Sugarplum Island.” As Elliot’s jaw trembled, he tried to maintain his composure. “We’re supposed to be a happy family. Miss Twylah said so.”

“Baby, please. If I fall, you’ll fall, too.”

Elliot swallowed and nodded, tightening the hold he had on Alexander’s waist. “I know.” Elliot pressed his face against Alexander’s stomach and shook with fear. “I’m with you. Right until the end.”

As panic flooded Elliot’s veins, he felt something jabbing at his chest. Little pinpricks that didn’t quite hurt, but were still terribly uncomfortable. Elliot looked down in time to see Professor Plum crawl out of his pocket. His heart raced, because he had no way to catch the fieldmouse, should he fall. But Professor Plum’s nails continued to prick his skin through the fabric of Elliot’s clothing as he journeyed downward toward Mother.

The mouse stared at Mother, then looked up at Elliot and almost seemed to smile before opening his mouth and chomping down on Mother’s finger. Mother cried out, instinctively pulling her arm away, loosening the hold she had on Elliot.

Elliot saw it. The moment Emily Broussard realized what was about to happen. The initial rush of fear, quickly replaced by a look that almost resembled annoyance.

“Not again,” she groaned, then she fell, screeching “Clarence!” during the descent. The problem was, they’d flown far enough from the ship that finding her in the middle of the night would more than likely be impossible. Elliot kept his eyes locked on Mother’s until darkness engulfed her.

The next thing Elliot knew, he was in motion. Looking up, he watched as Alexander pulled them up the ladder. Little pinpricks plucked through Elliot’s clothing again as Professor Plum crawled the length of Elliot’s body, to rest on his shoulder. Elliot grabbed the fieldmouse and tucked him into his shirt pocket before working with Alexander to get them into the helicopter. Once they were on board, the pilot looked over his shoulder and scowled at them, telling them to buckle their gee-dee seatbelts, and that he wasn’t about to get struck by gee-dee lightning trying to rescue their gee-dee behinds. He had a terribly filthy mouth, and Elliot didn’t care for it in the slightest.

Once they were strapped in, Professor Plum peaked out of Elliot’s pocket and stared up at him. The little mouse nuzzled its face right over Elliot’s heart.

“He loves you,” Alexander said over the roars and whirls of the helicopter’s propellers. “Are you okay?” Elliot nodded, because he thought he was. He’d already seen Mother plummet to her death once, so the impact was less this time. He cuddled closer to Alexander and breathed in his scent.

“Alexander,” he whimpered, the stress of everything finally taking its toll.

“I’m here. I’m right here. We’re going home, baby.”

Home.

Elliot was hurting. His heart was hurting, and Alexander couldn’t do a damn thing to stop the pain. He held Elliot the entire helicopter ride back to land, then in the car his mother sent to collect them. Refusing to let go until their feet touched down on the ferryboat meant to take them to Sugarplum Island, and even then, he held Elliot’s hand.

It was almost morning by the time the small island came into view. In the half-light, surrounded by thick morning fog, Alexander spotted a crowd of Sugarplumians standing on the dock, holding signs in the air.

Welcome Home, Elliot, one sign said.

Sorry I chased you with a rake that time, said another.

In the center of the dock stood Twylah Bishop, beaming ear to ear and waving grandly. Alexander glanced over at Elliot, noticing how every trace of fear or worry had vanished, replaced by a look of confusion.

Alexander squeezed his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just don’t understand why the entire village showed up to greet us.”

Alexander leaned down and kissed Elliot gently on the lips. “Mom probably told them all about you. This is a really tight-knit community. They’re weary of tourists, and there are so few residents, they’ve formed a found family of sorts.” He cupped Elliot’s cheek. “After you left last time, Mom went around and scolded everyone who was nasty to you when you were here. She said they were apologizing to her for days.”

Elliot’s brows furrowed. “Why would she do that? She barely knew me. We only met once.”

Alexander shook his head, lightly tapping Elliot’s temple. “I think the memory of your visits must have been held in the holes the cake frosting filled up. You came here once a week for over a year. When we used to talk about you—before we found each other on the boat—I would ask about you.” Alexander blushed. “Quite often. I’m afraid I may have been a bit obsessed.”

Elliot’s eyes flashedpink-pink-pink. “Yeah?”

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