Page 68 of Safety Net
"I don't hang out with losers," Sam agreed. "It's depressing and leads nowhere. You think I would have driven hours to confront a loser?"
Despite all nerves, sorrow, and embarrassment twisting in my stomach, I laughed.
"I can't stand you," I said.
Sam smiled. "Likewise."
"I do have a plan, a sort of plan.” I scratched at my brow. "My last-ditch effort to fix everything. Figure this all out by fall."
"We'llfigure this out by fall," Sam corrected. "Because you are stuck with us, whether you like it or not. And investment is our top priority."
My throat tightened at the firm, unrelenting look in his eyes.
Naomi nodded. "I've got tutoring covered."
"Same here," Henrik said. "Your paper writing skills are…wanting. I need editing practice anyway."
"As far as the ice goes," Finn said. "Do you remember I'm one of the top scorers in the league?"
"Vaguely," I teased, still trying to mask the overwhelming feeling of having my six covered four times over.
"I'll put you to work," Finn promised.
"You don't have to figure out where you fit, Lincoln," Sam said. "Because it's here. With us. No matter where we move or how we change, this right here is solid ground. Understood?"
There were no words for the eclipsing relief I felt at hearing those words. Letting them sink into my skin and become a part of the story I told myself. Accepting they're forever part of my story, regardless of how my jaded emotions attempted to convince me otherwise.
I'm no longer some kid in the attic counting days until I have someone to talk to. My body had been unknowingly stuck there for almost a decade. My reality revealed the door to something brighter had been opened a long time ago.
"I do," I told them. "I understand."
"In love, huh?" Naomi appeared at my side, offering me a paper cup filled with lemonade.
Finn's uncle, Aaron, had prepared us a whole spread of snacks and drinks to keep us fueled during the unloading process. We'd spent half an hour getting the pre-cut wood from the van into Aaron's studio. Now, Henrik, Naomi, and I were trying to catch our breath, lounging in the old lawn chairs set in front of the house. Sam and Finn were in Aaron's studio, asking a million and one questions about his work. Finn's interest in building had been growing over the past year. And Sam's interest in people was ever constant.
"You caught that?" I accepted the cup and patted the chair beside me.
Naomi smiled and relaxed beside me, sipping her own drink and holding a napkin filled with cheese and crackers. "Of course."
"It's the first time I said it out loud."
"How did it feel?" Naomi asked.
"Like it's been on the tip of my tongue for ages."
"Celeste means the world to me." Naomi picked at her food as she spoke. Her expression was a mix of a kind of solemn seriousness I didn't realize existed in her repertoire. "She physically has a family, but… they're not really there, and that leaves a hole, you know? I've spent years watching that hole grow, watching her become more isolated. Close off because nothing really fits. And people don't often give her a chance."
"I understand," I said.
"But she has me." Her voice softened. "For a while we just had each other."
"I wouldn't say that's just. You two fill up too much space to be "just" anything."
They'd created things in a world that wasn't always kind and hardly ever accepting. But they managed to be both those things and so much more.
"I'm rooting for you, Lincoln. I'm rooting for you two together. I love how you love her. I see it in everything you do for and with her."
"But," I prompted with a knowing smile. I didn't underestimate Naomi because she was nice and sweet. She was a woman who would ensure, no matter what, her friend would be safe.
