Darling - K. Ancrum Page 0,78

his silhouette as he blocked the only way out of the alley. “I forget them afterward.” He clenched his hands into fists. “When you grow up, you become not yourself in so many ways. I couldn’t bear it if I passed one of them on the street completely grown and completely unlike himself. No interest in anything but work, incapable of having adventures, tired, like all the light has been sucked out of him. This is easier in many ways.”

That was an unexpected response. Wendy didn’t quite know what to say to that. She’d have to switch tactics. “You told us James left without saying goodbye,” she said. “If he’d already left, then what was the problem?”

Peter laughed mirthlessly and rubbed his eyes with both hands. Wendy took this second of relief from being pinned under Peter’s surveillance to quickly shoot a reassuring expression at Tinkerbelle.

Tinkerbelle’s shoulders dropped a fraction.

“James left a year early,” Peter said, letting his arms fall to his sides so hard in exasperation that they hit the sides of his thighs. “He robbed us of a full 391 days of being with him, 390 mornings of being together to make breakfast, 391 nights of listening to him read out loud. Everyone who leaves gets a chance to say goodbye—even the ones who don’t leave voluntarily. But James fled in the middle of the night and he … he broke Curly’s heart.”

Tinkerbelle sprang to action and took control of the direction that this was going. She rubbed the sides of Peter’s arms as his eyes got red again.

“What is it with you?” he said to Wendy, choked up. “You’ve made me cry three times tonight.”

“I’m sorry. I think you just needed to; it’s been a long time for you, hasn’t it?” Wendy asked softly. “I’m sorry for trivializing what you do. I didn’t understand why you did it, I didn’t know…”

Tinkerbelle allowed Peter to rest his head on her shoulder. She curled an arm around his back and held him tight as he sniffled into the side of her neck. She rocked him back and forth and made soft hushing noises. Peter let her move him gently until she had rocked him almost ninety degrees in a semicircle, until Peter’s wet, accusatory eyes were no longer facing Wendy.

Tinkerbelle hushed gently at him for a second more, then looked directly at Wendy over Peter’s head and nodded. Wendy nodded back and gave Tinkerbelle a quick thumbs up. Tinkerbelle nuzzled into the side of Peter’s head in faux reassurance and rolled her eyes.

“It’s different for Wendy,” Tinkerbelle explained, gentle like she was talking to a child. “You have to put yourself in her shoes, Peter. She’s waited so long to see you—you’re practically a celebrity to her. There was no way she could have had the right context for our lives and there’s no way she would have known how much this means to you. It’s not fair to stay angry at her if she didn’t do any of it on purpose. Right?”

Peter nodded into the curve of Tinkerbelle’s neck, but didn’t lift his head.

“I’m sure a smart, kind girl like Wendy would be willing to try, though?” Tinkerbelle asked. “You remember how happy Slightly was that she liked his soup and Curly was when she loved his bread?”

“I remember,” Peter said, his words muffled by Tinkerbelle’s skin.

“The boys like her so much. If anyone would understand, it’s Wendy, but you have to give her a chance to try.”

Peter sobbed into Tinkerbelle’s shoulder and said something hysterically that Wendy couldn’t make out.

Tinkerbelle hushed him again sweetly and held him tighter. “I know, Peter, I know. But sometimes people don’t mean to hurt people. Wendy already apologized to me, and I accepted her apology. It was a mistake. You make mistakes sometimes, too. How would you feel if someone didn’t accept your apology?”

Wendy watched with no small amount of horror and amazement as Tinkerbelle masterfully manipulated Peter in his regressive state.

“We could have a home together with her,” Tinkerbelle said tenderly, stroking the side of Peter’s cheek. “She came to you all on her own, just like Curly, and she wants to stay with you—she said so herself. You are so lucky, Peter. Don’t waste this opportunity; it’s like she was practically made for you.”

Tinkerbelle locked eyes with Wendy again and gave a small, helpless shrug. Wendy waved her hand in forgiveness. It was a creepy thing to say, but none of this conversation could possibly be taken seriously between