Bryn opened his eyes in the gloom and knew Jared was there. Ellis was next to Bryn, one arm flung over Bryn’s waist and his chin near Bryn’s shoulder. Gentle breath blew on Bryn’s neck. The ice pack on his knee had long gone warm. Using only his eyes, he glanced at the floor. He stared at one of the pill bottles Ellis had knocked around in haste earlier. It had rolled near the corner, and leaning in that corner, shadowed so that Bryn could only see eyes and teeth and vague outline, Jared chuckled.
Bryn shut his eyes. How long had it been since his last round of pills? Then another thought, more horrifying and sobering: what if the medicine was a fool’s game? It dulled the edges of reality, but Jared was always there. The meds kept Jared out of Bryn’s dreams, but that didn’t stop Jared fro
