When You Come Back to Me (Lost Boys, #2)

by Emma Scott

“Tell me something, River Whitmore…” Light flared as he lit his zippo. His eyes bored into mine, seeing through me as if I were made of cellophane. “Aside from me…who else knows you’re gay?”

“As far as I can tell, it just means the nonstop thoughts in my head are more cunning and can torment me in multiple languages.”

“The problem is that the guy in question is not my type, to put it mildly. An All-American good boy. Warm, gooey, everyone loves him. He’s the human equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich.”

Our song. Nothing was ours. There was no us. But Miller sang that if you never try, you’ll never know, and the words pierced me like arrows.

He pulled me out of the lake and breathed life into me…

“To put it in automotive terms you might appreciate, writing is driving the car and reading is refilling the tank.”

“River Whitmore,” he murmured to the ceiling. “There was nothing fucking casual about that.”

“É fácil amar você, meu doce menino. Mas você tem que se deixar ser amado.”

gentle whisper, like a lullaby. It’s easy to love you, my sweet boy. But you have to let it in.

“I love you, Holden. That’s real. It’s the most fucking real thing I’ll ever know.”

“I never told him,” I said in a broken whisper. “He told me he loved me, and I never said it back. Not where he could hear it.” “Go to wherever he is, and you just say it.” “Because it’s that easy.” “No, it’s scary as shit,” Silas said. “But damn, Holden. Think of what could be waiting for you on the other side.”

Finally, Holden raised his head, hair tousled, eyes shining. “I’m about to say something extremely emotional and honest. Don’t hold it against me.” “You can say anything to me.” He swallowed hard. “Thank you for loving me when I didn’t.”

“Thank you for giving me back to myself,” I said, tears in my own eyes. “And I’m sorry.” “For what?” “When you left, I thought the loneliness would kill me. But I realized today at the Shack that I’d made you lonely, too. I made you lonely while we were still together, when my stupid fears and self-doubt kept us in hiding. I’m so sorry for that, Holden. You deserve to be loved out loud.”