Page 56 of See You in Your Dreams

Cat’s answering grin stretches from ear to ear. “I know. And as soon as you do, Robbie and I will be able to schedule our date.”

With an annoyed huff, Alexis turns to Dylan and me, her expression pleading. “You guys will at least come, right?”

Dylan hesitates, pausing with his sandwich raised halfway to his mouth. “Um, you know I’d love to. But I don’t know if I’ll have time. I’ll have to see what my mom’s schedule looks like.”

I grunt noncommittally, tuning out the rest of the conversation as I retreat again into my head. My thoughts are even more of a churning jumble than before when I leave to head to my next class. No matter how hard I try, however, I can’t shake Robbie’s earlier comment.

After school, I cut across the parking lot to the sidewalk with Dylan. He hasn’t said a word about Greta since lunch, but I remember that look we’d shared. There’s no way he’s forgottenRobbie’s comment either, even if he’s too polite to bring it up again himself.

I’m watching him continue the latestFinal Fantasyon my PS5, Onyx curled up in my lap, when the pressure to say something finally becomes too much to ignore. “You want me to try to save her, don’t you?”

Dylan hesitates. He pauses the game and sets aside his controller. “Do you think you can?”

I open my mouth to deny it, then slowly shut it. “I have no idea. Even when I used my powers frequently as a kid, I never tried anything like this. Visiting someone’s dreams is one thing. How would I even go about waking someone up from a coma?”

“You wokemeup,” Dylan notes. “From that dream we shared.”

“I guess. But I don’t know how. I just…did. It felt natural.”

Dylan shrugs, a faint grin tugging on his lips. “Well, maybe this will, too.”

I’m quiet for a moment while I consider. My every instinct screams at me that this is wrong—that any attempt at using my power is a terrible idea doomed to end in disaster.

“What if I hurt her?” A shudder grips me, and I wrap my arms protectively about my chest, my voice small. “What if by trying to help her, I only make things worse?”

“Worse than being in a coma?” Dylan counters, raising an eyebrow.

I don’t reply, and he reaches out, grasping my hand in both of his. “I know you’re scared, Ash, but this isn’t some hypothetical. Our friend’s in trouble, and you might be able to help in a way no one else can. If you don’t at least try, you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering if you could have helped her.”

Once again, I picture Greta’s battered body from the hospital. The morbid vision shifts to her hounding me my first day at school, so determined to make me feel welcome despite myresolve to remain apart. In the weeks that followed, she’d never given up, no matter how poorly I treated her.

Just like Dylan.

I bow my head. “Fine,” I whisper, clinging to Dylan’s hand for dear life. “No promises, but…I’ll try.”

We wait for the weekend to put our insane plan into motion. Aunt Claudette agreed readily enough to let Dylan spend the night, even if the coy wink she’d given me made me want to shrivel up and die of embarrassment. Dylan and I might not have told her about us yet, but she clearly has her suspicions.

Dylan’s mom had agreed as well, though she’d had to swap her shifts at the diner around and enlist Tommy’s aid to ensure someone would be home to watch Patrick. Tommy was less than thrilled at the arrangement, but so what?

I’m nervous having Dylan so close to me while I dreamwalk, even if he should be entirely safe as long as he stays awake. Still, I can’t deny that I’m relieved to have him right there by my side.

“You sure you’re good?” I ask Dylan again, shifting anxiously atop my bed.

Dylan glances at the stack of cookies, chips, and sodas piled high on my desk. “I think I’ll be fine. Are you planning on being gone all night?”

“I don’t know. Even if this works, I have no idea how long it’ll take me to find Greta’s dreams or to wake her up once I do.” My stomach flips. “Christ, why didn’t I practice more? I’m completely unprepared for this.”

I’d considered attempting to dreamwalk during the week but had been too reluctant to use my powers more than I absolutely had to. Each day that passed, the tightness in my gut grew asI hoped Greta would wake up and render this entire exercise unnecessary. She hadn’t, so here I am.

“You said you at least read through that folder I gave you, right?”

My eyes skip over my desk, lingering on the drawer where I’d shoved Dylan’s compiled research on dreamwalking weeks ago. “Some. I…I skimmed it.”Not as thoroughly as you should have.Groaning, I flop back on my bed and cover my eyes with my hand. “I can’t believe I’m about to break my cardinal rule. This is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done.”

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Dylan says quietly.

Greta’s smiling face flashes before my mind’s eye, and I sigh. “Yes. I do. You were right, what you said before—Greta deserves we at least try.” I snort a humorless laugh, lowering my hand to stare at the ceiling. “Even if I’ll be operating pretty much entirely on instinct.”

“All you can do is your best.”