Page 30 of See You in Your Dreams

“I like to watch.”

He raises an eyebrow, his lips twitching.

A harsh blush colors my cheeks when I realize what I said. “I mean…that is…I like to watch Let’s Play videos and that kind of stuff.”

“Right.” He nods solemnly, his lips pressed together while his eyes dance with mirth.

God, strike me down now of embarrassment.

Thankfully, he doesn’t press any further. With his game of choice in hand—the latestFinal Fantasy—he starts around my bed toward the TV. As he does, he passes by my desk. His eyes flick down and he pauses, wrinkling his brow. “Wait, aren’t these sleeping pills?”

I see he’s pointing at the orange bottle I’d left sitting there. I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “Yeah. I have issues with insomnia. They help me get a good night’s rest.”

Not exactly a lie, even if it’s not the whole truth either.

“How often do you take them?”

“As often as I need to,” I say, my voice tight. “I have a prescription.”

He makes a placating gesture. “Of course. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” He starts to turn back to the TV, then hesitates and looks at me instead, his hazel eyes wide with concern. “Is it because of the move? I know you told me before that you’re used to being alone, but it’s okay if it’s taking some adjustment.”

“I’ve had trouble sleeping for years. It’s nothing new.” When that doesn’t placate him the way I’d intended, I add, “If anything, the move’s beengoodfor my mental health.”

He turns to focus on me more fully. “What do you mean?”

“Well…things weren’t exactly great with the Ellingtons. I’m pretty sure they only took me in out of loyalty to my dad and because they were worried how it would look if they left their thirteen-year-old grandson in foster care. We never really saw eye to eye, and I don’t think they quite knew what to do with me.”Not that I know what to do with myself most of the time.

“Is that why you’re here now?”

I jerk a nod. “I…got into some trouble at school.” I picture Harvey’s terrified face, his heaving back as he sobbed. “That was the last straw for them. The next day, they packed my bags and sent me down here to live with my aunt.” Dylan’s still watching me, his face full of more sympathy than I can bear, so I grumble, “Are you going to play that or not?”

He’s silent for a span of heartbeats. “Yep!” he finally says, his voice overly cheerful. “Let me boot it up.”

As Dylan loses himself in the game’s intricate story, I gradually relax, propping myself up on my bed against the wall to watch his progress. He perches at the foot of the bed, too far away to tempt me to touch him, but still near enough to leave an unfamiliar heat dancing across my skin.

I’d probably be better off kicking him out and never speaking to him again. But for better or worse, I’d made my choice and let him in. Now, all I can do is make sure neither of us regrets my weakness.

twelve

Dylan

“Oh, come on!” Iscoff, shooting Ash a disbelieving look as we move through the crowded hall toward the cafeteria. “No way would a velociraptor actually beat a tyrannosaurus rex one-on-one.”

Ash cocks an eyebrow, shuffling around a gaggle of lost-looking Freshmen. “I never said the fight would be one-on-one. I said it would befair. Velociraptors are too smart to attack a T-rex on their own. Obviously, they’d fight as a pack.”

I roll my eyes. “Obviously. But fine, for the sake of argument, let’s say it’s three versus one like in the movie. Even in this hypothetical scenario, the raptors would be way outmatched. Stealth doesn’t matter when your opponent has youthatoutclassed, and those claws of theirs might be terrifying to a human, but not against something so massive.”

We turn the corner, each of us slowing our steps to buy a few extra seconds before we reach the cafeteria at the end of thecorridor. A group of kids from our year glare at us for blocking the hall as they shove past.

I ignore them, but Ash glares right back. “Watch it assholes!”

He waits for them to continue on before returning his attention to me, his scowl vanishing. “Stealth might not matter, but brains definitely do, and the raptors have the T-rex handily beat in that department. A couple of them could easily keep the tyrannosaur distracted long enough for the rest of the pack to strike from the sides, catching it off-guard. With hit-and-run tactics, they could use their environment to their advantage and gradually wear it down, no matter how much bigger it is.”

“Hang on.” I jerk to a halt. “Exactly how many raptors are we talking here?”

Ash shrugs, the barest hint of a smile playing over his stubbled lips. “However many it takes to make it fair.”

I narrow my eyes. “That’s not—”