Page 66 of We Are Just Us

Rory glanced at him, shaking his head. “No. Got distracted.”

“By my suffering.”

“By your theatrics.” Rory reached over and squeezed Kieran’s knee, brief but grounding. “But there’s always next time.”

“Next time I’m wearing jellyfish repellent.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Then I’m inventing it.”

Kieran settled back into his seat, watching the darkening coastline blur past. He’d been watching for one kind of moment, the perfect sunset, the rare flash, and instead got carried to safety by someone who gave a shit.

TWENTY

The drive back was quiet. Rory pulled into the driveway and helped Kieran into his house. The sky had gone fully dark.

Kieran hobbled inside. His foot throbbed in a way that suggested the jellyfish had taken it personally. He looked down at it, swollen, decorated with angry welts that seemed to be multiplying by the second.

“It looks worse,” he said.

“It looks the same.” Rory was already moving toward Kieran’s kitchen. “You’re just noticing it more now that the adrenaline’s wearing off. Do you have any vinegar?”

Kieran pointed to the cabinets near the microwave.

“You have three open Dr. Peppers on your counter,” Rory said.

“I lose track of which one’s flat.”

“So you just open a new one?”

“It’s a system. Don’t ask.”

“It’s chaos.” Rory shook his head. He found the bottle and grabbed a clean cloth, pouring a generous amount onto the fabric before pressing it gently against Kieran’s foot.

“Okay,” Rory said, crouching in front of him. “This might sting.”

“More than the jellyfish?”

“Probably not.”

Kieran hissed. “That’s not helping.”

“It’s neutralizing the venom.”

“I smell like a salad.”

Rory smiled but didn’t stop, dabbing at each welt with the kind of focus Kieran found both comforting and mildly embarrassing.

“There.” Rory sat back on his heels. “Now we wait for the swelling to go down.”

“How long?”

“Could be an hour. Could be a few.”

Kieran groaned. “Great.”

Rory stood, rinsing his hands in the sink. “You’re also covered in sand, by the way.”