Page 61 of Forget Me Not

“Not evenmysense of smell could track him through an entire city. That’s fairy luck.“ Ray voiced this while straightening, his gaze fixed on Cal, who approached Ray’s window with a swing in his step.

“Fairy luck doesn’t draw people, Ray?” Penn made it more of a question than a statement.

Ray ignored her. Cal stopped in front of him and leaned down to peer at Ray before smiling again. Ray handed him the paper bag he had been holding since the coffee shop. He didn’t even know why, only that no matter how much his stomach growled, he’d had to hold onto it.

Cal took it, peered inside at the ludicrously expensive—and tiny—mini frosted donut covered in pink and red sprinkles that for some reason Ray had felt that Cal would like, and squeaked quietly the way he’d done the night before.

“I thought you’d like sprinkles,” Ray said, only to wish he could take it back. There was no reason to think Cal would like sprinkles on a donut more than any other fairy.

Cal looked at Ray, glitter radiant against the graying sky. “I’ve been waiting.” As a complaint, it didn’t work. Cal was too breathless and excited.Hopeful. He glanced at Penn. “It still works! He found me!”

“Ray finds Cal,” Penn said in reply, “always and ever.”

Ray twisted around to stare at her, then turned to Cal again, but Cal left him and climbed into the backseat, keeping the bag with the donut in it clutched to his chest.

“That wasn’t fairy luck?” Ray asked again, practically panting as he inhaled the meringue and lemons, effervescent,joy/happy/reliefscent from Callalily, which filled up the car even with the windows down.

“Fairy luck would bemefindingyou,“ Cal chided him, buckled up but leaning forward to rest his hand on Ray’s arm. “Are you tired? How’s your head? Should I be quiet? Tell me everything. Or rest, if you’d rather.”

Ray glanced to Penn, who was getting back into traffic but must have understood his fears because she didn’t offer anything except, “You’ll probably need to feed him,” to Cal, who immediately reached for his phone to start ordering food.

Ray grunted at his suggestions and listened to Cal’s voice without really caring what was ordered, except to bark, “Order for yourself too,” when it didn’t seem Cal was going to. “You eat human food. Youneedhuman food. Get something.”

Cal sniffed haughtily but ordered some fried plantains. “I’ll probably finish your rice for you,” he admitted in the next moment, as though Ray had dragged it out of him.

Ray suddenly suspected that whatever he didn’t eat, sweet or savory, was picked at all through the night by an energetic, wide-awake, half-fairy. The idea was warming; Ray provided for Callalily even while sleeping. “Order more rice then,” Ray commanded in a rumble, then closed his eyes when Cal did so.

The order in, Cal finally crinkled the paper bag to take out his treat. “A donut with sprinkles,” he exhaled in a tone that was eerily close to the contentment in Ray’s chest at the idea of Cal eating his food.

Ray opened his eyes and turned around to look at him. Cal was eyeing the mini donut with wonder.

“You like sprinkles?” Ray asked gruffly, and didn’t understand or appreciate Cal’s tiny, giddy laugh.

But Cal went solemn when he broke the already small donut in half to hand a piece to Ray. “It’s a strange thing to find hope in a sprinkled donut.”

“So that’s a yes?” Ray pressed, accepting the piece and then wiping a bit of frosting from his lip after he ate it.

Cal leaned back, picking off each sprinkle and one by one putting them in his mouth, clearly reveling in Ray’s rapt attention.

“It’s always a yes, Ray.”

Chapter Eight

PENN DROPPED THEM off at their house with the attitude that it was that or turn a hose on them.

Ray stared hard at an unfamiliar car parked across the street until Cal grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house. Ray didn’t know every car in his neighborhood, he didn’t even know many of his neighbors’ names, but a human sat inside, reading a newspaper. Anewspaper.

Cal nodded seriously as though Ray had spoken, and asked Penn to take a picture of said car and perhaps the license plate, then dragged Ray into the house and let him lock the door and check all the rooms without a word. His expression said volumes, but he remained silent despite that.

Ray imagined Cal would have questions later, when he thought Ray was calmer. He at least didn’t accuse Ray of being paranoid, although Ray probably was. But failure to act, to be worried enough, had led to this. Ray had kept information from Penn, hidden that drive in a candy tin, but he hadn’t wanted to commit to more than that, and it had cost him.

Cal watched Ray check the locks and stare out the back window, then sighed, so Ray sat on the couch where he could still keep an eye on things but also rest. After a few minutes, he retrieved his phone. Some people had finally asked about him, via text or messages, including Lex. Lex asked if Cal was okay, which made him the first to care. Then he asked if Ray had seen anything before the attack happened, and Ray frowned and put the phone down to consider the unsettled feeling in his stomach.

Cal rifled through his desk and took a piece of cloth to wipe down the white board and leave it blank. He ate a handful of cereal, then disappeared into the kitchen. Without thinking, Ray got up to join him. Cal glanced at him, sighed again, but went about what must be part of his routine, setting up his laptop and phone at the table, with an array of sugary snacks next to him.

“Worried? Or is this a scent thing to help you? Either way, sit down, Ray. You look tired.” Cal chewed his bottom lip for a moment. “Can I get you anything?”

Ray shook his head, but pulled out a chair on the opposite side of their little table. They clearly did not host dinner parties here. He was oddly relieved to realize it.

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