Read Online Sleepless by Cyn Balog - Free Book Online Page B

Grades are in, so teachers aren’t really teaching, students aren’t really learning, and most of the seniors are nowhere to be found. That means Bret is probably somewhere else.
    Thank God.
    I have no interest in seeing him; after all, I saw enough of him in my dream to last several lifetimes. And there was something else about that dream, something weird, that I can’t put my finger on….
    I slam my locker door shut. Dreams are just dreams. I am not thinking about this right now.
    Ebony smiles at me. “Are you going to Mike Nash’s graduation party this Wednesday?”
    She’s the first person who hasn’t run away as soon as the “How are you holding up?” question was posed, who hasn’t expected me to be in mourning for the remainder of my teenage years. “Um … well, I don’t know.”
    “You should. You shouldn’t just coop yourself up inside. It might lift your spirits.” She studies me. “You look really beat, so getting out might do you some good.”
    I check my reflection in her locker mirror. She’s right; I do. My cheeks look eggshell pale and my eyes are rimmed in red. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
    That’s an understatement. I think I slept better the weeks after Griffin’s death, which probably makes me evil and heartless, but it’s true. Last night, it took me forever to get to sleep. Something was just not right—different, as if I were on new, scratchy sheets. Then, after that dream, I decided I didn’t want to sleep. At all. Ever again. It wasn’t just that Bret had his tongue down my throat, though just thinking about that now makes me tremble. There was something else really uncomfortable about the dream, but I can’t remember what it was.
    “A bunch of us are going, if you want to come along …,” shesays, and I’m starting to think, Well, why the hell not? when I suddenly see him coming toward me in the busy hall. Oh, great.
    Bret waves at me immediately, as if he’s been searching for me. I feel my face getting hot. Ebony’s standing next to me, oblivious to my meltdown, saying something about the party, but I’m completely lost. Especially when Bret stops at my locker and we’re standing toes to toes.
    It was just a dream. Get a grip, I think.
    Still, I can’t meet his eyes. “Hey there,” I say as brightly as I can.
    He leans his shoulder against the row of lockers. “Wow. You look like crud.”
    The image of our bodies pressed together pops into my head and I snarl at him, “You look like crap.”
    “Great, that was the effect I was going for.”
    Bret’s grin turns wicked as his eyes fall on Ebony, like Who are you and what are you doing with my property? Despite the noise in the halls, an uncomfortable silence sets in.
    Ebony narrows her eyes at him, then gives me a smile. “I forgot. If you go anywhere, I guess it would be with your other hip tumor.” She motions in Bret’s direction, slams her locker, and saunters away.
    “No, wait—” I start, but Bret moves between us and laughs.
    “So, crud-face, what’s up?”
    “Um, nothing,” I say, suddenly wishing I were in bio. It says a lot when you’d rather be sitting in bio than talking with your friend. I watch Ebony head down the hall without looking back, and I hiss, “Do you think maybe … just maybe … I could have a conversation with someone other than you?”
    It comes out meaner than I expected, and I immediately feel guilty.
    “With who?” He tilts his head, then hitches a thumb in Ebony’s direction. “With her ? I don’t even know who she is.”
    “So? I do. She’s in my class. And we were talking about going to a graduation party on Wednesday.”
    His eyes narrow. “But you’re not graduating.”
    “So?”
    He puts an arm around my shoulder, and I nearly jump from the tingles it sends down my arms. “Okay, fine. If you want me to take you to a party, all you need to do is ask.”
    “I—I don’t …,” I stammer, fists clenched. I don’t want you, I think. Then I