Lost in the Never Woods(32)

Yes, she did see it. It was hard to not laugh at his smooshed face, but she did see it. The eyes, the chipped tooth, and the auburn hair. It was all there, whether she would openly admit it or not.

“He’s a bit old,” Rachel went on, as if this were a count against him. “But it’s still him. You can see it right there in his eyes!” she said, pointing. “And his mouth.” She poked his bottom lip. “And see, that’s the scar he got from fighting Captain Crash McCreevy!” She pointed to a V-shaped scar on his upper arm. The mention of Captain Crash McCreevy reminded Wendy of the Peter Pan story she’d told at least a dozen times. It was about a crazy old pirate captain who wanted to steal all the tiger cubs to make a blanket, until Peter challenged him to a harrowing duel. In the story, Captain Crash McCreevy fought Peter Pan with the nose of a swordfish that left a V-shaped cut in Peter’s arm.

The evidence sent Rachel into another bout of wiggly excitement. “It’s Peter Pan!”

“She makes valid points,” Peter confirmed, nodding his head.

“But, Peter, why are you so old?” Rachel asked, the smile on her face dimming with concern.

“Well, that’s something I’ve been trying to talk to Wendy about, but she seems to be having trouble believing me,” he told her.

Rachel gave Wendy an accusatory look.

Wendy scowled. The last thing she needed was Rachel telling everyone she’d met Peter Pan. But, apparently, Peter was already two steps ahead of her.

“Can you do me a favor, Rachel?” Peter asked as he leaned closer to her. Rachel nodded vigorously. “You can’t tell any adults I’m here, or I might get in trouble, okay? It needs to be a secret between the three of us—oh, and Alex here,” he added, nodding to Alex, who was still staring unblinkingly at the paper shark.

Rachel nodded solemnly. “I won’t. I promise. Will you come back and visit us again soon?”

“Yes—”

“No!” Wendy cut in, finally pulling Rachel away from Peter. “We need to talk now, Rachel. Go play with Alex.”

Peter stood up and mussed the top of Rachel’s already frizzy hair.

“Bye, Peter!” Rachel said, throwing her arms around him and giving him a hug before sliding into the seat next to Alex.

Wendy glared at Peter. “Let’s go,” she growled.

As she led Peter to the door, she overheard Alex tell Rachel, “He made it float!”

“Well, yeah, he’s Peter Pan!” Rachel replied.

Wendy walked as fast as she could down the hallway, dragging Peter along behind her, her hand clasped around his wrist. She kept looking around, paranoid that someone would spot them and Wendy would somehow get in trouble. She pulled him down the stairway and crossed the lobby to a glass door that opened up into an empty courtyard.

When she spun to face him, he had a very amused look on his face. Both of his eyebrows were raised and the right side of his lips twitched as he suppressed a grin.

It did nothing to improve her mood.

“How the hell did you even get in here without anyone stopping you?” she asked. There was a front desk on every floor of the hospital and every visitor was required to check in and wear a visitor’s pass, even if he was in scrubs. “How come no one noticed you?” He didn’t exactly blend in. There was something about Peter that was decidedly … otherworldly, for lack of a better term. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but it was a sort of aura he gave off.

Aura? Wendy pinched the bridge of her nose. What was she even thinking?

“Because I didn’t want them to notice me,” Peter said, as if this were a very obvious answer to a very dumb question. “I can get past adults easy—they don’t pay much attention to begin with, anyway. But I can get by anyone without them seeing me, you know that,” Peter added with a laugh.

“No I don’t. I don’t even know you!” Wendy shot back, her eyes darting back to the door. She said it, but she could hear her own doubt in her words.

Peter groaned and threw his head back. “Are we really still playing this game?” he asked. He stepped closer, his brow furrowed. “It’s me, Peter—you know me, Wendy! I’m real, Neverland is real. You just forgot about me—that’s what happens when you grow up!”

His tone surprised her—it was nearly pleading.

“You’ve got to remember something,” he pressed, catching hold of her elbow.

“I can’t remember!” Wendy shot back, wrenching her arm free. She was sick of people saying that to her over and over again. “I can’t remember anything!”

Peter’s shoulders slumped.

Though, that wasn’t entirely true, was it?

“I mean…” Wendy swallowed hard. “I had a dream last night. Maybe—maybe a memory.” Lord help her, was she really admitting this?

Peter perked up. “You did?”

Wendy nodded. “About you.” She felt breathless. “And me. And Neverland.”

A smile broke across Peter’s face, bright and immediate and all-consuming. It hit her in the chest. “Then you do remember!”

But Wendy wasn’t so ready to accept it. “If you’re really Peter Pan, you should be able to fly, and you’re supposed to be a child,” she added. “The whole point of Peter Pan’s existence is that he never grows up, right?” Wendy couldn’t believe that she was actually arguing the logistics.