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Part Twenty-Four

"..."

"Read the room, Eli," Skip flicked Elijah's forehead before settling back down into a hunch on Leo's desk chair.

"I mean, his dad is sort of a D.I.L.F too."

The three human boys sat around in Leo's room, circled together and trying to avoid the massive elephant. They all sat in a quiet tension for a minute before Elijah decided to break through, and even then, the cloud of questions that lingered through the air was immeasurable.

"Do you think he might've been lying?" Leo finally spoke up, suddenly very interested in the loose thread on his comforter.

"About what? His parents?"

"I don't wanna be the one to say it, but yeah."

"Nah," Skip thought about it. "You saw how torn up he was about it. Nobody is that good of an actor."

"Then how is this possible?"

"Sam never did say what happened with the bodies..." Elijah announced, his thinking face put on display.

"True. He also never told us what happened after, except for him being alone this whole time."

"Wow, Leo," Eli said, swinging his legs to fit in Leo's lap. "You built a pillow fort with him and then you doubt him? What a horrible friend..."

"I never made the fort," He pointed out. "I just invaded. I'm not doubting him, either, I'm just confused."

"We all are."

   "So, next time we see him, we need to speak up."

"All in agreement to have a meeting with Sam as soon as possible?"

All three humans agreed at the same time.

An hour passed, and the three boys still found themselves lounged around the bedroom, feet kicked up and eyes burned into their phones for a sliver of distraction.

The thought of going back didn't sit right with them yet, so they relied on stupid games and online chat rooms to pass the time. It worked, for a good five minutes, and then their heads swam right back to the overwhelming urge to check on the tiny people in the dining room.

"Ten minutes," Skip announced to the group, slamming his phone back on the desk. "Then we go back."

"What do we say when get there?"

"Play it by ear, I guess," Elijah responded with a shrug. He was good at pretending to be nonchalant when, in reality, he was just as confused about where to go next.

"Okay, ten minutes," Leo started the countdown from the clock on his dresser, but watching time go by was like watching a snail try and cross the earth. Painful, annoying, and useless when it came right down to it. "Since when has ten minutes taken an hour?"

"Since the world decided Sam's parents could survive a deadly poison," Skip shrugged, getting glares from around the room. "What? I'm being honest."

"How did it go down with you, anyways? We never got your side of the story." Leo leaned back and allowed his head to hit the wall behind him.

"I was gonna leave, but Sam's mom interrupted me. Apparently she heard him over the phone and knew it was him. Don't ask how she recognized his voice after four years, I already tried and she just didn't respond. And then I met his Dad and the little guy, and they agreed to come back with me," Skip explained to the humans, watching their eyes narrow in as the story went on.