Page 39 of See You in Your Dreams

Making sure he’s hydrated seems like the least I can do before leaving. Besides, maybe by the time I return, he’ll have already passed out and I’ll be off the hook.

I stop to pet a dozing Onyx when shemewsplaintively at me from the couch, then make my way into the kitchen. When I return upstairs with a glass of water in hand, I find my plan hasn’t panned out. Instead of falling asleep, Ash is fumbling with some sort of container. My gaze settles on the familiar orange cylinder, and I rush over, my eyes widening.

“Oh God, Ash! What did you take?”

“Nothing yet,” he mumbles, slumping back into bed. “Need them to sleep.”

He holds the bottle out to me, and I grab it, checking the cap and rattling the contents. I’m relieved to find it still sealed and full of pills.

“Not tonight,” I admonish, stashing the bottle in the back of a desk drawer. “You should know as well as I do that you’re not supposed to mix sleeping pills with alcohol.” I snort when I turn back and see his huddled form. “Besides, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble falling asleep.”

“Please, Dylan. Don’t go,” he mumbles at my retreating back as I once more step toward the hallway. “Don’t leave me all alone. Not again.”

The whimper that follows his plea melts the last of my resolve, especially when I’m worried he might go hunting for those sleeping pills the instant I leave. “All right, Ash. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

Praying Tommy doesn’t murder me for not bringing his truck back before morning, I scrounge an extra blanket and pillow from Ash’s bed and lie down on the floor beside him.

Soon enough, Ash’s breathing steadies out above me before devolving into drunken snores. It’s a long while after that until my own racing thoughts settle. Eventually, however, I find myself drifting off to join Ash in sleep.

fifteen

Dylan

“Okay class, today we’regoing to review the four major types of chemical bonds.”

Mr. Simon’s dry-erase marker squeaks as he writes the notes onto the whiteboard. I focus raptly on him, pencil poised over my notebook to copy down anything new that might be on the test. I’ve got to keep my grades up if I want to get accepted into a good pre-vet program. Besides, Mr. Simon lets us eat here during lunch. I don’t want to disappoint him.

Ash leans in from where he’s seated at the table beside me. “Pay attention to this next part,” he murmurs. “It’s important.” Then, he winks.

I furrow my brow, but before I can ask him what he means, Mr. Simon resumes speaking. “So, can anyone tell me which type of chemical bond is the strongest?”

My hand shoots up.

Mr. Simon smiles, gesturing at me. “Go ahead, Dylan.”

I stand and dutifully recite, “Ionic bonds.”

“Very good.” He circles ‘ionic bond’ on the board. “Ionic bonds are formed when one atom shares electrons with another, creating ions with opposite charges that are indelibly drawn together. Can anyone give me an example? Yes, Greta.”

Greta stands from her seat in the front row. I frown, studying the back of her head. She’s not supposed to be in my AP Chem class…is she?

Beside me, I hear Ash say softly, “Wait for it…”

Greta clears her throat. Then to my surprise, she looks back at me with a small smirk. “Ash and Dylan are theperfectexample of an ionic bond, Mr. Simon.”

“Oh?” Mr. Simon replies with a twinkle in his eye. “And why is that?”

“Because.” Her grin widens as she regards me. “Opposites always attract.”

My mouth hangs open as I stare from her to Mr. Simon.What the hell is going on?

Chair legs scrape against the tiled floors as the rest of the class rises in unison, Ash included. He nudges me with his shoulder. “Here it comes.”

Then, to my utter horror, the entire class breaks into song. And not in the giggly, uncoordinated way people do when they’re drunk or singing along to a favorite tune. No, we’re talking a full-on coordinatedroutineas if it had been plucked straight out of some corny sitcom.

I barely register the words as I stand there, stupefied. Something about how you can’t fight the bonds of love. I’m too distracted by the synchronized dancing as students hop onto and off of tables, twirling around me in what I’m pretty sure is supposed to be symbolic of electrons circling an atom.

A hand slides into mine, and I glance over to see Ash grinning at me.Just roll with it, he mouths before breaking into his ownverse. “I thought I was alone but now I see, the ion I’ve been searching for is right beside me.”