Lost Boy

LOST BOY THE LOYAL BOYS BOOK THREE CHARLI MEADOWS CONTENTS Author’s Note Playlist 1. Fallon 2. Fallon 3. Ryder 4. Fallon 5. Ryder 6. Ryder 7. Fallon 8. Ryder 9. Fallon 10. Ryder 11. Fallon 12. Ryder 13. Fallon 14. Ryder 15. Ryder 16. Fallon 17. Ryder 18. Fallon 19. Ryder 20. Ryder 21. Fallon 22. Ryder 23. Fallon 24. Ryder 25. Fallon 26. Fallon 27. Ryder 28. Ryder 29. Fallon 30. Ryder 31. Ryder 32. Fallon 33. Ryder 34. Ryder 35. Fallon Epilogue Acknowledgments Also By Charli Meadows About the Author Copyright © 2023 by Charli Meadows All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for review. Editing by Novel Mechanic Proofreading by Britt at Chaotic Creatives Cover Design © Silver at Bitter Sage Designs Formatting by Charli Meadows SYNOPSIS I’m lost to the numbness. Can his love make me feel again? Fallon Being alone is nothing new. I’ve been abandoned by everyone. Now, I have absolutely no one. I might even prefer it that way. All I really need is a guitar and my thoughts. Just shy of my eighteenth birthday, I’m forced to move across the country to live with my uncle in California. He’s the head basketball coach at Acadia Lake Prep, the new private academy I’m attending. Ryder Cruz is his star player. He makes me question things about myself and what I want. Things I’ve never once considered. The oversized and enthusiastic jock is always around, insisting I smile and laugh with him. But it won’t work. It can’t. The painful memories and regret I carry are too strong. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel again. Ryder Basketball is great. So are my friends. Dad. My little sister Sofie. I’m team captain, and I’m taking us to State. It’s easy to forget that nothing is ever as it seems. I fight my demons with smiles and awkward jokes, but things are starting to pile up. Pranks between my guys and the rival public school, issues with my mother, and a secret I can’t tell anyone. A truth that holds me in its grasp. I can’t risk the team or my college acceptance—my future. Can’t risk my dream. I’m gay. And no one can know. It wasn’t as hard to keep this close to my chest until Fallon Rivers showed up with his big, sad eyes and bright blue hair. I’m not sure I can continue hiding who I am. I need this boy to smile. To talk to me. I need to spark some life back into his soul. He doesn’t realize my dad and his uncle are partners, but he’ll find out soon enough. Sleepovers happen almost every weekend. And now that he’s here and staying for good, I guess he’ll just have to get used to my presence. Because I’m determined to make him feel again and maybe even free myself along the way. Lost Boy is a 90,000-word friends-to-lovers gay romance. It is book three in The Loyal Boys Series, a collection of standalone, contemporary M/M romances. You can expect opposites attract, forced proximity, hurt/comfort, steamy first times, and a supportive found family. This novel is intended for 18+ readers and contains explicit scenes, mild violence, language, and bullying from outside sources. See Author’s Note for a full list of Content Warnings. AUTHOR’S NOTE Thank you so much for continuing The Loyal Boys with me. It really means a lot that you’re here for book three! Lost Boy is once again a standalone but has similar themes of love and loyalty to Cali Boy and Bad Boy. Fallon moves to a new town for his senior year, attends a private school, and meets the golden retriever jock Ryder Cruz, forever changing his life. There’s a little bit of violence and a lot of trauma, grief, and healing. I have included a list of content warnings if you want to know what to expect. These boys mean so much to me, and I can’t wait to share their story! Content warnings: Language, explicit sexual scenes (both MCs are eighteen), mild violence, underage drinking and drugs, bullying (outside of the MCs), homophobia, parental loss (off page in the past), parental neglect (off page), grief, anxiety, and depression. PLAYLIST Available on Spotify Seams by INTRN Blue by Kayla Rae Darkside by Vwillz No, I’m Not Ok by Yung Bleu High Enough by K.Flay Wicked Games by The Weeknd The Freshman by The Verve Pipe Shirt by SZA We Go Down Together by Dove Cameron, Khalid sAy sOMETHINg by Lil Yachty High For This by The Weeknd Peter Pan Was Right by Anson Seabra Lavender Haze by Taylor Swift Luv Me Again by PnB Rock Little Do You Know by Alex & Sierra Maroon by Taylor Swift Underneath It All by No Doubt, Lady Saw Midnight Rain by Taylor Swift all the kids are depressed by Jeremy Zucker Sad Beautiful Tragic (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor DEDICATION To those who may feel lost. . . There’s always someone who sees you. CHAPTER ONE FALLON The air vent rattles loudly while I sit in an uncomfortable plastic folding chair outside my new social worker’s office, staring blankly at the ceiling, waiting for whatever happens next. I wasn’t listening. I don’t even care. I can guarantee I’ve lived with worse. Mom never knew how to pick nice guys. Not since Dad died. Her drastic decline was startling enough for twelve-year-old me to feel partly responsible. I guess I wasn’t enough to make her happy. Not only did I lose my father—my hero—I lost Mom too. To drugs, alcohol, and her less-than-stellar taste in men.