Page 54 of Don't Let Me Go
Not trusting myself to speak, I shake my head.
“Okay. Cool,” Audrey says. “Well, feel better, dude.”
“And text us if you need anything,” Tala adds. “We can always bring soup.”
There’s a round of hugs. Then Duy, Tala, and Audrey head back inside.
“Right, let’s get you home,” Riley says, placing a supportive hand on my shoulder. It takes all my strength not to pull away. Still, something in my face must betray how uncomfortable I am. Riley looks confused, then slowly retracts his hand.
“Do you think there’s something going around?” Riley asks as we drive down I-4. Even though it’s almost ninety degrees outside, we’ve got thewindows down because Riley thought the fresh air might help me feel better.
It doesn’t.
If anything, my head is more of a mess now than it was when I came to. Because as hard as I try to block them out, the words from my dream keep playing on a loop in my head.
We belong together. We belong together. We belong together.
“What do you mean, going around?” I ask, keeping my voice even and my eyes fixed on the road ahead.
“I mean, maybe there’s a fainting bug? I know that sounds crazy, but how else do you explain the fact that we both passed out in public for literally no reason. Unless it’s the heat?”
“Yeah. Could be the heat,” I answer without much conviction. I’m less interested in figuring out why I fainted than I am in forgetting that it ever happened.
Thankfully, Riley seems to get that I’m not in a mood to talk. He falls into a silence, and for one blessed minute, I’m convinced the conversation is over. But I’m wrong.
“You didn’t happen to have any dreams when you passed out?”
I feel the color drain from my face.
“What?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise.
“Did you have any dreams?” he repeats. “I’m asking because when I fainted, that’s when I had that bizarre nightmare about Pompeii.”
“I thought you had that dream the night after we went skating?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Riley’s cheeks redden. “It was actually a two-part dream. The first part happened when I fainted at the carnival. The second happened after we went to Rink-O-Rama.”
“Oh.” So Riley’s had two dreams about me?
“Anyway, I was just wondering if you had any,” he presses. “Dreams, I mean.”
“No,” I lie, shutting my eyes the way I’d like to shut out this entire day.
I don’t know why I had the dream that I had, but I do know I’m not telling anyone about it, least of all Riley. It might give him?.?.?.?ideas. Not that I think he’d ever try anything. He knows I’m not?.?.?.?There’s just no point in discussing it.
I mean, I likegirls. I’ve always liked girls. It’s never even occurred to me to look at another guy.
Clearly my subconscious got its wires crossed. I mean, I know people keep mistaking us for a couple. I know Riley and I have been spending a lot of time together, and we’ve grown really close really fast. It makes sense that some part of my brain might have gotten a little “confused.” But the truth is, there’s nothing to be confused about.
Riley is myfriend. Period. Sure, I like spending time with him. But that doesn’t mean I want to date him or—do anything else with him.
We’re just friends.
“Are you okay?” Riley asks. The worry in his voice catches me off guard. I can feel his anxious eyes studying me. It’s like he’s trying to peer inside me. Like he knows there’s something to see.
“I’m fine,” I mutter, refusing to take my eyes off the traffic in front of us.
“You’re just kind of quiet. And you’re grinding your teeth. Are you sure you—”
