No one was moving now. I had their undivided attention.
I blew out a breath, then admitted, “I should’ve died, too, but…” I lifted my chin almost as if offering it to be punched. “…I was saved by, what I believed to be, a… mermaid.”
Silence held us now. The gazebo hanging lights shown in the night like wings against my sinners’ backs. Every face showed how hard they were all trying to piece together what I just told them.
I shrugged. “To this day, I see sparkles in any water I come into contact with.” I gestured to the sky. “Rain.” I gazed at Sarah’s wet face. “Tears.” I peered at my peers. “Every time you take a sip of water.”
As if I were a living god, Sarah plopped to the ground, staring up at me.
I took a knee in front of her. “Do you think I’m nuts?”
Blinking, she shook her head.
A meaningful smile crossed my lips. “That makes one of us.” I sat down on the grass. “I’ve doubted my sanity ever since. I’ve doubted how much I miss her.” Sebastian sat, entranced. “How much I long for her. Like the saltwater she swims in is part of my bones.” Gage and Ethan sat down, completely consumed. I looked to Finn. “I’ve doubted… how much I have loved her.” He inhaled as if I had finally made sense to him, then he sat down too.
With all the adoration I felt for my Misfits, I explained, “So, if magic like that can exist in this world, believe we have a chance to find each other again.” I opened my other hand and removed the tissue, exposing the razor. “I swear it.” And cut my palm.
It felt like time stood still as Sarah reached out for the blade, sliced her hand, then held it to mine. “In heart and blood.”
I jolted. “That’s what Noma and I used to say to each other.” It felt right. Full circle. A moment I would cherish like the woman who raised me.
She squeezed my hand tighter, then released it to search her foster brothers’ faces.
Seb took the blade, no hesitation, and sliced his hand. Then held it up for mine.
I met him in the middle, palm to palm, promising, “And our Baby Blue.”
Tears filled his determined eyes, and he delivered a nod, then released me.
Ethan took the blade next, repeating the process.
As our hands clung and hung between us, he said, “My brother.”
Man, it was hard not to cry. “My brother.”
Gage, when he cut himself, there was a silent promise I could feel between us. I don’t think he understood it at the time, but one day we would both get it. As our hands stayed together, he said, “I want to watch over you.”
Not knowing how much this would make sense in our future, I accepted. “I would appreciate that.”
When Finn sliced his hand, he stared at the cut in amazement, then told me, “I won’t ever cut again.”
So. Fucking. Proud.
I snatched his bloody hand to mine. “What a great choice.”
Something shifted in us all that night. A bond that would withstand the test of time. Withstand broken promises and hearts. And withstand every challenge on our paths.
Too soon, the night was over, and we were having our last meal together, a breakfast that rivaled any Harmony had ever cooked for us. She cooked more bacon than I’d seen since my arrival. I knew her guilt was eating her alive. I was too pissed to care, though. This day felt like a Life Date. And it, again, was bringing death. Maybe not in the sense of having another funeral to attend, but in the sense of leaving so many behind. Once again, I was facing an unknown future. Although the Misfits and I had shared a night we were so blessed to have, it didn’t mean reality wasn’t cruel. Deep down, I feared there was a strong chance I wouldn’t see any of them ever again.
And we all knew it.
Even my packed bags by the door were doubting what was coming next. I’d thrown everything I owned into them before I stomped downstairs, only caring about the one article of clothing I’d long since outgrown: the sweatshirt that still, even after all this time, faintly smelled like the woman I would always love and miss. Noma…
Again, many forks pushed food around their plates, but I did the opposite. I inhaled food while jabbing hearts. “Bette’ fill my bell’.” Crunch-crunch. “Don’ know whe’ I’ll be fed agai’.” Crunch-crunch. Since my worried stomach wasn’t in agreement, my gulps were audible as I forced each swallow. Then I scooped more onto my plate. “Hope my new owners will offer me a garage or something to sleep in—” I froze in thought. “Huh, how about that? I’m a goddamned pound pup being returned to a shelter.”
“Language.”
My seething eyes shifted to Harmony. She had tears but her chin was still lifted as she stared back at me. I’d even pissed off the sweetest woman who walked the earth.
