It’s so nice to watch the three of them together, acting like a family is supposed to act. I was always convinced that I’d never get the chance to have this, that it wasn’t mine to have.

But who knows? Maybe it isn’t that far out of reach.

Melanie and Amanda go to bed, and while Melanie is skeptical of leaving us alone, Amanda insists, pushing her wife up the stairs as Wyatt and I are left on the couch. Wyatt turns on the TV, but I’m not paying attention to it. We don’t have to say a word to each other as we sit there; we just enjoy the company. At one point, they’re brave enough to grab a pillow and set their head in my lap. I let my fingers find their hair, playing with the soft strands.

I like this life. I like sitting here listening to the sound of their breathing while some awful reality show we picked on cable plays on a low volume. I like having nights with their family and watching Jeopardy! with them. I liked watching over Lana while Wyatt sat next to me, glancing up every now and then and smiling at me.

I don’t deserve it.

But it’s mine.

Eventually, we go to bed, and Wyatt lets me borrow more clothing to sleep in. We make up the air mattress because neither of us thinks it’d be the smartest idea if I was caught in their bed in the morning.

The mattress is almost level with the bed, though, and the only space to set it up is right beside it, so it’s close enough.

“Hey, Neil?”

Their voice comes through the darkness of the room.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad that you came here.”

I can’t quite see them, but I can make out their outline. I can so easily picture the smile on their face.

“I’m glad too.”

Saturday: April 23

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Wyatt asks at the breakfast table.

Okay, probably not the best way to start off a morning.

“I have a plan,” I tell them. “I need to do something, and I need you to do something for me.”

“Okay.” They eye me, obviously skeptical. “What?”

“Can you have your parents bring you back to Steerfield early? Tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s just something that I have to do.”

“And everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, I just have to keep it a surprise.”

They put their hand on my thigh under the table. “I’ll see you tonight, I guess.”

After packing what few things I bothered to drag out, I say goodbye to the Fowler household. Lana hands me the jar of poop slime, claiming that I can’t possibly leave it behind, and Amanda and Melanie tell me they look forward to me coming back. I thank them both for their hospitality, and Wyatt walks me to the Uber.