Samuel pov

“Since everyone has already shared their stories,” I said lightly, my voice deep and casual, “it’s only fair that I share mine too, isn’t it?”

A thoughtful hum slipped from my lips as I tilted my head slightly. I didn’t wait for an answer.

I never did.

There was no need for her voice. Not yet. Not when everything I wanted was already unfolding exactly the way it should.

“There was a boy,” I began softly, almost conversationally, “and that boy was me. Samuel.”

My footsteps echoed slowly against the ground as I walked. Each step dragged something deeper out of me, widened the grin on my lips,...