Page 70 of See You in Your Dreams

Tommy stares at me for a long span of seconds. Then, his lips twist into a snarl as he follows me to his feet. “Bullshit!”

I blink, taken aback. “What do you mean? I’m doing exactly what you wanted!” A hint of bitterness creeps into my voice. “Now you won’t be the only one stuck here in a dead-end job.”

His fist comes out of nowhere, catching me completely by surprise. I reel, clutching at my throbbing face. “What thefuck, Tommy?”

He gives me a cold, inscrutable look. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

I stare after him as his footsteps vanish into the living room. An instant later, the TV cranks up even louder. For him, the game must be deafening.

“A-are you okay?” Patrick asks. He appears torn, unsure what to do.

“I’m fine.” I gesture at his half-eaten plate. “Go ahead and enjoy the food. At least, one of us should.”

“What about you?”

I glance again toward the living room, then around at the platters of food and dishes strewn about the kitchen. The thought of staying here and dealing with any of this the way I usually would suddenly seems overwhelming.

“Will you be okay here with Tommy until Mom gets home?” I ask, moving to the front door and grabbing my coat off the hook. “I think I need some air.”

“Y-yeah, sure.”

Guilt at leaving chases after me as I flee out the door and down the sidewalk. The responsible part of me screams to return and clean up the mess I’d left.

Everything will be fine,I assure myself. Tommy can look after Patrick, and Mom should be home to deal with the leftovers in a couple hours. There’s nothing to worry about.

The crisp Fall air helps clear my muddled head. The cold also soothes some of the ache growing in my face. I hadn’t really had a clear destination in mind when I left, but I’m not surprised when I find myself standing outside the front walk to Ash’s house. I make it past the gnomes and all the way to the tinkling front porch before I pause, hesitating.

I’ve never barged over here like this before. What if Ash doesn’t want to see me? What if he and his aunt are in the middle of a family dinner? They could have company over. Hell, they might not even be here.

In the end, however, my desperate need to see Ash overpowers any doubts. Ash’s aunt answers on the second knock. Before I can even conjure an explanation, she takes one look at my black eye and ushers me inside, guiding me down the hall to the kitchen.

My heart leaps when I spy Ash sitting at the table there, listlessly picking at a carton of Chinese takeout. His eyes widen when he spies me. “Dylan!”

“Hi.” I glance between him and his aunt, shuffling my feet awkwardly. “Sorry, I know this is a bad time. But if you have a minute, I was hoping we could talk?”

“Sure, I…” His emerald gaze focuses on my face, and his breath catches. He’s on his feet in an instant, rushing toward me. “What the hell happened?”

He wraps me in his arms, and I sag against him, relief flooding me at his touch. My own arms snake around his back, pulling him close. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Ignoring me, he grabs my head by the chin and twists it about, examining my eye. His expression darkens. “Who did this to you? Was it Tommy? I swear to God, I’ll—”

“Ash, I said it’s fine.” I yank my head out of his grip and step back, gripping his hands firmly in mine. “We had a minor disagreement, that’s all.” He opens his mouth again to retort, and I add, “I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

I can tell he’s unhappy about it, but I’m grateful when he lets it go.

Gradually, I become aware of what this must look like to Ash’s aunt—the two of us standing here, holding each other. She’s hinted more than once that she suspects we’re more than just friends, but this is the first time we’ve actually been intimate in front of her.

“Umm…” I awkwardly pull away from Ash, trying to gage if she’s upset.

But all I see is her usual grin…along with a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Well now, glad to see you boys are getting on so well.” She gestures to the array of opened takeout containers on the table. “It’s nothing fancy, but you’re welcome to join us for dinner if you like, Dylan.”

“That’s okay,” I reply, shaking my head. “I ate at home.” Ash sneaks a glance at me as I shiver, recalling that horrible meal.

“Well in that case, you’re also welcome to stay the night.” She makes a show of checking her watch. “In fact, I was thinking of visiting a friend tonight anyway. Maybe I’ll go do that now, getout of you boys’ hair. We’ll probably have a bottle of wine or two, so I won’t be back until morning.”

Ash grumbles something that might have been a goodbye as his aunt gathers up her things and leaves with a shouted farewell that I return.

As soon as she’s gone, I turn to Ash, raising an eyebrow. “Was she implying what I think she was?”