Page 43 of Anchored to the Storm

Oh shit. He’s going to hate that new gift. “At ease?”

His body became his again. “If you ever⁠—”

“I know. I know. But please fill me in.”

“The club that chased you and Lennox down wasn’t who set the bomb. Whoever set it was after Saleeni’s sea peeps… Oh shit. You’re bleeding.” He pried the ax out of my hand as he led me to the kitchen sink. Washing it, he said, “Last thing we need is something getting in the wound and causing an infect⁠—”

We both froze.

The connection immediately made sense. How I was more gifted than my dad, who had a direct lineage. When I was a little boy, injured, sinking in the water that I thought was beautiful, it was actually full of Saleeni’s family’s blood.

Styx stared at my damaged finger. “The bomb. Their blood—” His eyes rose and were full of terror, “—mixed with yours.”

I wasn’t just part of River—her DNA—but a mixture of how many? Until Saleeni learned to speak clearly, I wouldn’t know. Either way, it appeared I was some sort of hybrid.

West Four

Finn

He is life. . . for us. . .

After Sebastian’s Little Mermaid movie—which had Sarah in a sobbing fit about ‘how beautiful’ the mermaid and prince were together—I went upstairs to the bathroom, annoyed. What the fuck is wrong with two princes?

No, I didn’t have a tail or fin, but I was sure, if Johnny was gay, I could’ve made him just as happy as the stupid cartoon.

“Hey, can I have a minute?” Dale was already following me up the stairs.

Was I in the mood? No.

Did I know the man was worried? Yes.

I stopped at the top and leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms. “What’s up?”

He did the same against the opposite wall. Except he didn’t cross his arms. He linked his hands in front of him. “How are you?”

This question didn’t surprise me. He always worried so much about me after learning I physically harmed myself when I couldn’t deal with my conflicting and confusing feelings. Or the aftermath of trauma.

He was the one who insisted I go to counseling because some cruelties had ways of digging deep and forming barbs that were hard to yank free. I would always appreciate his intervention. At the time, I had been angry, but maturity and time had shown me that Dale acted with a pure heart and with the best intentions. He just never knew that the foster kid he lost to suicide had also been my first consensual lover. “You’ve been with us the longest.”

That meant I knew how much he had aged due to all we had put him through. “Yeah.”

He didn’t have to say why this conversation was happening. He was afraid Johnny leaving would make me spiral or that I would start to cut again. But he really didn’t need to worry. It wasn’t tempting me. Not after my promise to Johnny.

But I was also struggling with Dale because he just took away the one person I connected with the most since my arrival here. Johnny and I weren’t lovers, but he touched me deeper than sex. He helped me see the light when I was still lost in some of the darkest moments in my life. Not even the counselor opened me like Johnny.

But Dale didn’t know that. Nor did I know what he had to say next.

“And to me, you’ll always be my son.”

The breath in my lungs suddenly felt tight.

“You’re right here.” Dale tapped his chest over his heart. “So, when I say I have to take care of the young ones in this house, but I can’t if I’m worried about you, it’s one-hundred percent true.”

Fuck. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to feel. All I knew was there was a surge of energy rising from my feet to my… heart.

He pushed off the wall and approached me. His hand lifted and gripped my shoulder. “I know you’ve had some challenging, uh, pressure about your personal preferences and romantic choices.”

Now my mind was thrown into memories. Like the pain when I snuck into the bathroom stall in school, lifting my shirt to see my bruised ribs after telling a guy on the football team he was cute. Then the warm but firm pressure of Johnny’s lips. The soft moan that filled my head during the kiss… The loneliness every time I think of being with the same sex— “You could say that,” I nearly choked.