Page 19 of Buoy
“Absolutely. I want to take you everywhere, show you the whole town. It’s not much, but—” Rhys cocked his head.
“What?” Soren wanted to know why he stopped.
“Nothing. Just watching your eyes again.” Rhys threaded his fingers behind his head and leaned against the shed. “Today would be a good day to read a book. I could relax into a story right about now.”
Soren’s heart dropped. “If you’d rather go—”
“No. No. I’m just saying I should have brought one to share with you.”
“Oh.” Soren gave it a thought. “But you could get one, if you wanted. I don’t think anyone’s ever read to me.”
“Really? Not even your parents?”
“Nope. The only stories I know are ones I overhear.”
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Rhys pushed to his feet and ran home.
Soren relaxed into the side of the shed. He hadn’t had much energy to begin with, so what little he had drained into the dock the longer he waited for Rhys to return. He had to push away the memory of Kane and Vex’s words. About driving people mad with desire. About what they hoped his friendship with Rhys accomplished. About his slip up and Rhys knowing he’s not human. His thoughts whirled and twirled. Eyes heavier and heavier as he watched puffy clouds sail by.
He must have fallen asleep because he woke to his head in Rhys’ lap and a gentle hand rubbing his back.
“Didn’t want to wake you,” Rhys whispered. “You looked so peaceful.”
“I’m sorry.” Soren pushed to sit. A wave of unease washed over him. How had he slept so soundly? That was dangerous.
“You don’t have to move. And I could read to you like this. If you wanted.”
Soren had never had anyone want him so close. “If you’re sure?”
Rhys nodded. So Soren laid right back down.
“I brought an adventure book. But also a collection of short stories. Since I didn’t know how long we’d be together. The short stories might be better.”
Soren looked at the sky. They still had a few hours before he had to leave. “I have until dark.”
“I might be able to get through the adventure book. Wanna try it?”
“Sure. Are there pictures?”
“No, you have to use your imagination. But I don’t think you’ll have any problem with that.” He picked up a book from a stack beside him Soren hadn’t noticed before and cracked it open. “You can sleep if you need to. It won’t hurt my feelings or anything.”
Soren held his breath when Rhys dropped his hand and smoothed a piece of hair out of his face. Soren was so tired. He needed to swim properly in his mer form. It’d been too many days again and Vex knew it.
“I think you’ll like this one since the mer king and the fire drake are your favorite constellations. This is their story.”
“They have a story?” He hadn’t realized.
“Yeah. They were the best of friends.”
Soren couldn’t help the smile, and he settled in for the story.
RHYS (AGE 15)
How does one tell the one he loves, he loves them?
That’s what Rhys wanted to know. He couldn’t concentrate at the academy. He’d tried… well, experimenting. With Kira. Kissing. And touching. And his mind always went back to Soren. Rhys liked Kira well enough, but she wasn’t who his heart ached for. She knew it and helped figure out what was going on in his head. He loved Soren. But he didn’t want to scare him away, either.
The boy had fallen asleep in his lap not even a chapter in and Rhys kept reading, just in case he woke back up. Neither one were really boys anymore. And Soren wasn’t human, either. Rhys had suspected as much, but he wasn’t sure what Soren was. It didn’t exactly bother him. It was a mystery he’d like to solve, sometime. Eventually. And he had a lifetime to build the trust for Soren to tell him. If he ever wanted to.
