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Part Nine

Three boys carried luggage to the interior of the comfortable home, following the owner of the house into a separate guest bedroom for their stay before going on a quick tour of the place. It was hard to decipher from the outside of the home, but the house was two stories high and longer than it was wide. There was plenty of space to move around, even with a behemoth such as Skip roaming through the halls.

After it was decided they would all play a few more rounds of cards before it was time to start dinner, Leo, Eli, and Skip circled the coffee table set amongst the couches in the living room and dealt seven cards to each player. There was a noticeable aura of emptiness in the air, only being amplified by the lonely corner of the table that had yet to be filled. After a round of their game, Elijah was the first to speak up on the subject.

"So Sam can't come, huh?"

Everyone accompanying the room let out a loose sigh, relieved at the fact that it would no longer be an elephant in the room.

"He never responded to the group chat last night," Skip pointed out, only for Leo to set his cards down on the table, face up for everyone to see, declaring he was finished for the time being.

"He didn't respond to my texts, either. I sent him a bunch asking if he was okay, but he still hasn't gotten back to me."

"Why wouldn't he be okay?" Elijah pondered out loud. "You didn't go too far, did you?"

"Not at all," Leo was quick to defend himself. "It might just be he's upset because he wasn't able to come, but he's too sad to tell us, you know?"

"Bullshit," Skip said. "If he couldn't come, he should've told us. No use letting us get our hopes us."

"True."

"I don't know, it might go a little deeper than that. I don't think I would want to talk to the people online that I'm supposed to see at the moment. He might need some space or something."

"You're too soft, Leo. Let the kid be held responsible for his actions."

"I know," Leo relaxed his gaze on the floor and settled it on the phone laying beside him. "Maybe I should call him?"

Elijah gave a slight huff through his nose at that.
"It sounds like he's some girl that never sent the nudes you asked for."

"Eli," Skip Warned, then decided to take a different approach. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Not a clue," Elijah beamed his huge smile in Skip's direction. He still couldn't believe how...strong Skip looked in person. Even with the eyeliner.

Leo took the time in between the two boy's rebuttals to whip out his phone and send one more text Sam's way.

NucLEOnic: hey. I know this is the millionth text but plz get back to me when u can.

'I would if I could,' Thought Sam as he finally unraveled the blanket from his legs. He had been laying down on his nest all morning, waiting for the inevitable, before realizing he would have just a little longer to live out whatever actions he desired. An impromptu bucket list, if you will.

The first thing on his list?

Being able to see his friends, all in one room, smiles on their faces and genuine happiness all around. Sam knew that the moment he witnessed them together would bring pure joy to his own smile, and he couldn't help but gain a pep in his step at the thought.

Sam grabbed his hook and wire, tying a string around his waist to keep the fabric he was wearing upright in a fashion his father always taught him. He attached the hook to the string, letting the wire drag in the ground beside his tail as he took one last look at his room.