I scramble out of the pool and watch as she rushes to the change rooms. I get dressed, irritated beyond description with this town and its stupidity.
We get out of the building and away from the scent of chlorine as fast as we can. I stop, breathing hard, before I grab her and lift her up. She wraps her legs around me.
“I am so proud of you,” I whisper in absolute adoration.
She smiles, it’s slow and cute. But she’s got wet hair, I note unhappily. I set her down, but Katsu, as if he read my mind, has a towel and wraps it around her hair, gently folding it over so it stays on its own.
“Where are we going for the next one?” I ask in resignation.
“It looks like it’s in a carpark of Ed’s Grocer,” Sebastian says tightly.
We walk down there and find that they’ve had shipping containers delivered. There are three lined up, and someone is leaning against the side of one in the shadows. I can’t tell who it is.
“I am afraid of being alone,” Katsu says, and I know it was hard for him to admit. “My parents worked a lot, and they hired a babysitter, and she used to sneak out and leave me alone. I never quite got used to the dark and being alone.”
We walk into the shipping container and find Floyd loitering around, looking bored. He holds out a blindfold that Katsu takes and puts on without hesitation. He stands there, regal and so beautiful it hurts.
“All of you, out.”
We walk out, and Floyd puts a hand to his mouth in a gesture for quiet. He looks around quickly, then makes a motion for us to go back in. I step back inside, focused only on my alpha, feeling the rush of adrenaline through the bond, his scent spiking.
He would never admit his fear. The container closes, and I move towards him, only seeing him. He’s always been my rock, my strength, the calm in my storm.
I can hear him breathing hard, rasping. I slam into him, wrapping my arms around him. Sebastian collides with us and rests his forehead on Katsu’s shoulder. Cordie joins us a heartbeat later. The four of us locked in a hug, supporting the alpha who supports all of us.
“Five more minutes,” Floyd says.
We stay like this until the doors open. I snatch off the blindfold and put it in my pocket. They aren’t having it back.
“That was not what you were meant to do, Floyd,” a woman snarls.
“Oh, sorry, Betty. Well, too late now, he faced his fear.” He winks at us and slouches against the container, waving as we walk away.
“Floyd just broke the rules for us,” Sebastian murmurs. “Floyd never breaks the rules.”
The next place we are directed to is a small memorial garden. We find Julia waiting for us, smiling happily. “Sebastian is afraid of spiders,” she announces. “Ever since he saw the huntsman crawling on Devon’s shoulder, he’s never been able to be calm around them.”
“You’ve been talking to my mother,” Sebastian accuses.
She grins. “I have. So, I hope you're ready for this, Seb.”
He gulps and glances at me. I reach out and take his hand.
Julia giggles and pulls out a spider made of pipe cleaners. “The kids wanted to help, and we all know what you did for them. Hold this for a minute, my darling boy, then you can go play.”
Sebastian holds the huge, green fluffy spider for five minutes, then kisses Julia’s cheek.
“Thank you,” he says with deep relief.
“Oh, anytime, sweetheart. You know you’ll always be my favourite.”
Cordie rolls her eyes. “One left. Thanks, Mum.”
“Good luck.”
It’s me. What am I afraid of? Myself, the world, people laughing at me, failing, losing, my dad. I have no idea what they are going to decide for me, but I’m scared.
We arrive at the spot on the beach when food suddenly rains down around us. I whirl around, but I can’t see anything, I can only hear people laughing.
