Page 36 of See You in Your Dreams

He jerks as if struck, his steps faltering. For the first time since that disastrous confession outside my house, he meets my gaze, his bright eyes wide. “Of course not!”

“Then, why?”

Indecision furrows his brow. For a moment, I think he’s going to turn around and keep walking. Instead, he releases a weary sigh. “Just leave me alone, Dylan. It’s better for both of us this way. Trust me.”

I blink, confusion gripping me. “What the hell are you talking about?” As if of their own accord, my feet shuffle toward him, narrowing the gap between us. “Is this more of that crap about you thinking you’re a bad person? Because you’re not.”

His knuckles whiten around his backpack straps from how tightly he’s gripping them. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”

“So? I want to learn.” I take another step closer. “Besides, it’s my life. I can be friends with whoever I want.”

“But Ican’t!” The words rip from Ash’s chest in a half-scream that brings me up short. He shudders, his face contorting with grief. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Not like Harvey. Not like my m—”

He cuts off abruptly, pressing his lips together despite his heavy breaths. His eyes grip me, shining like twin shards of broken glass. Then, something in him seems to settle. His face stills into a calm mask, and my stomach sinks, some part of me already anticipating what he’s about to say.

“I can’t be around you anymore. Sorry. Goodbye, Dylan.”

Numbness creeps over me as I watch him vanish down the sidewalk. I’d tried my best to become Ash Ellington’s friend. But in the end, I guess I’d failed.

As usual, Saturday night at the Krantz household is a clusterfuck. Mom’s got a late shift at the Red Rocket and Tommy’s firmly planted on the couch with a beer, watching a major league soccer match with Patrick while I prep dinner. I’ve gotten so good at tuning out the background noise that I almost don’t notice my phone ringing. Thank God I left it on vibrate.

I give the chili one more quick stir, check the timer on the rice to make sure it’s not about to burn, and take out my phone.

Maybe it’s Ash.

The thought forms a knot of anxious excitement in my gut. But when I check the screen, I see it’s Greta of all people calling me. I frown, swiping to accept the call.

“Hello?”

A wave of laughter and what sounds like muffled singing drowns out Greta’s response.

Pressing a hand over my other ear, I move to the far end of the kitchen from where Tommy has the television blaring. “What’s that? Sorry, Greta, I couldn’t make that out.”

“Hold…sec…going…” I hear rustling from Greta’s end. I sneak a glance at the chili, my impatience growing. Finally, the racket through the receiver dims to a more manageable background hum.

“There, is that better?” Greta asks.

“Yeah, I can actually hear you now.”

“Good.” She huffs out a breath. “Sorry, it’s pretty crazy here.”

That piques my curiosity. “Where are you?”

“Oh, I’m at Emily’s. Emily Frenford? Her parents are out of town so she’s hosting a house party.” Her voice gains a judgmental edge. “Normally, I wouldn’t come, but my good friend Leo insisted on going, and I wanted to keep an eye on him. He can get a bit wild if left unsupervised.”

“Okay…” I say slowly, muffling a slight pang at the reminder of all the usual teen experiences I’m missing out on. Not thata party’s really my thing, but still—in another life where Dad hadn’t left us high and dry, I might be hanging out with Cat, Robbie, and Alexis right now. “That’s, um, great, Greta. But what does that have to do with me?”

“Right.” There’s a long pause. I’m beginning to wonder if the call dropped or something when she finally continues. “Well, it turns out my friend Leo’s not the only one who needs some supervision tonight. Ash is here, and he’s not doing too great.”

My flash of instinctive concern is quickly smothered beneath a wave of hurt. My grip around the phone tightens. “Ash and I kinda had a falling out.”

“Aw, that’s too bad! You two looked like you were really getting along well at school. I don’t know what happened between you, but I bet he regrets it. Maybethat’swhy he downed half his weight in liquor. As soon as I realized how trashed he was, I cut him off, but I think the damage is already done.”

“Then, I guess it’s a good thing he has you there to watch out for him,” I say tightly.

Another pause. “He’s in pretty rough shape, Dylan. I don’t think he’s in any condition to get home, and he doesn’t seem willing to talk to anyone, me included.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not really talking right now either. What makes you thinkIcan help?”