Page 45 of Daydream

“Does Russ know?” she asks. I shrug. “You should go and tell him. I’m not being a narc, but, like, that doesn’t look recreational. Did you see the counter? There wassomuch.”

“Russ doesn’t need this. Ethan is an adult.”

“I should tell Aurora then,” she says, and my stomach sinks. “She’s being so nice to me, we’re friends now I guess, and this is so dangerous. What if he overdoses and we didn’t tell anyone? She can decide what Russ needs to know, but at least we said something.”

“No.” I don’t know how to deal with this. “We need to mind our business. It’s nothing to do with us. If Ethan goes out there looking like that Russ will probably work it out himself anyway.”

“But what if h—”

“Halle,no. I know them better than you do. You’re drunk and you’re not listening to me. Now isn’t the time.”

I watch her face sink and hate myself. “Okay. You’re right, they’re your friends, you know what’s best.”

It’s like watching a balloon deflate as all the confidence she’s gained in the past few weeks leaves her. “They’reourfriends,” I say, but it’s pointless. I’ve already upset her.

She shuffles awkwardly. “I think I’m going to find Cami and get an Uber home. I’m pretty tired and I dunno. I don’t think hanging out with the band and seeing everything that happens is my thing. I guess I’m really sheltered because I feel really weird and uncomfortable.”

“I don’t like it, either. I’ll come with you.”

Cami doesn’t want to leave when we find her hanging out in the bar next door with some of her friends. Neither of us says anything on the ride back to Halle’s place. I’m grateful for the quiet, and ourdriver doesn’t seem to want to be the one to start the conversation. The car pulls up in front of her house and she starts to get out. When I don’t move, the little line between her eyebrows appears. “Are you not staying over?”

“Not tonight. I want to go home and sleep.” If I can get my brain to shut off quickly, I’ll even sleep through everyone coming home later. “But I’ll walk you to your door.”

“No, I’m fine, stay here. Goodbye then,” she says with a weird edge to her voice. “Thanks for everything.”

She’s closed the door before I have a chance to respond to her strange goodbye, and that’s when the driver looks at me in his mirror. “Jeez. What did you do, man?”

I don’t bother answering him and make a mental note to rate him only four stars.

Fuck Ethan Callaghan.

INEED TO TELLRUSSwhat happened last night, but I don’t want to.

Halle was right. Russ needs to know, and if he finds out I knew and didn’t tell him I think he might be upset. But, like I said, I don’t want to have that conversation with him. I don’t trust myself not to deliver the news in a way that will make it worse, but I know Halle can’t help me.

Maybe that’s why I feel like not even the fire alarm could get me out of my room right now.

“Henry?” Russ calls my name as he knocks on my bedroom door. “Are you in there?”

Anastasia would say this is the universe intervening.

“Yeah, come in.”

Russ’s head pokes through my door, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “She’s not here,” Russ says into his phone. “Okay, give me a chance to ask him, Ror. You took Halle home last night, right?”

“Yes. Why?”

“He did, Ror. Stop panicking. She’s probably just hungover. No, no, I’ll tell him. It’ll be fine, sweetheart. Yes, he’ll call you. Okay, love you, too.” When he disconnects the call he comes into my room and sits at the end of my bed. “She’s freaking out because some people got roofied last night, and Halle didn’t show up to class this morning. One of them was Poppy, and Rory is really upset over it. She’s fine, nothing happened, thank God.”

Russ carries on talking as I go into autopilot to get dressed. He gives me a ride to Halle’s place, and it’s only when I knock on her front door and see her that I finally feel like I can exhale.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan. Stepping through the door, I immediately wrap my arms around her and rest my face against the crown of her head. “Henry, you’re freaking me out. Did someone die?”

Taking a step back I look her up and down, and aside from her red eyes, she looks un-Halle-like in a way I can’t pinpoint. “Are you okay? You look terrible.”

“I’m fine,” she whispers, bottom lip wobbling as she forces herself into a smile. “So, so fine.”

“Halle, why are you crying?”

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