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By the time the Uber came and I gave the driver the address, a strange calmness had settled on my shoulders. My eyes kept closing on their own accord, and I kept imagining what it would be like to find Dominic in his bed, sleeping…just like last time. It wouldn’t be anything different. I’d go in there, and he’d open his eyes and talk to me. Kick me out—whatever. But he’d be awake.
And if he wasn’t…
“We’re here.”
I hadn’t even realized that the car had stopped, but when my eyes opened, I saw that we were right in front of Dominic’s house. I don’t even know how I got out of the car, but at least my backpack was still with me.
As soon as I went through the gate, Derek opened the door of the house, and all the kids who lived there with them were behind him in the foyer.
“Where is he?” I asked, and I surprised myself by sounding very calm.
“His room,” Derek said. He was so pale, you’d think he’d seen a ghost. “Can you help him? We’ve tried everything.”
“I think so. I have something that could work,” I said.
When he stepped aside, I tried to smile at the kids, who all had their eyes wide open and looked just as terrified as I secretly felt but didn’t want to admit to myself.
“Hey, guys,” I offered with a weak wave. “I’m just going to see Dominic real quick, and then we’ll both come downstairs together, okay?”
Derek closed the door behind me, and I went for the second doorway and to the stairs.
“Is Dominic dead?”
My feet were suddenly glued to the floor. I turned slowly to see Emilie hugging her doll to her chest with all her strength, tears pooled in her big eyes.
Oh, God…
“No, sweetheart. He’s just sleeping. He was so tired, and he needed to sleep a little longer than usual.” I smiled so big my cheeks hurt. “I’m going to wake him up, okay? We’ll be right down.”
I don’t know if she or any of them believed me, but I knew that if any of them said something else, I was going to crack. So, I turned around and practically ran up the stairs to the third floor, heart beating loudly in my chest now. The door opened with a weak screech, and I stepped in, slamming it shut behind me. I was definitely not trying to be silent this time.
But Dominic didn’t react.
I stopped by the door, dropping the backpack to the floor. He lay on his back this time, a white shirt and some black shorts on, the covers pooled by his feet. His head was turned my way, his eyes closed, his features relaxed. His chest rose up and down steadily, slowly, just like last time when he was sleeping.
Sleeping. Not dead. He was breathing, I could see it. And only when I did and felt the relief, did I realize that I hadn’t really believed Derek at all when he said Dominic was still breathing.
Letting out a shaky breath, I moved closer to the bed, slamming my feet on the floor on purpose. I sat on the edge of the bed and held up my hand in front of his nose, too, because what if my eyes were liars? They had been before.
Dominic’s warm breath blew against my fingers. Definitely breathing. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, but I pushed them away with sheer stubbornness. Why would I be crying?Nothingwas wrong. Dominic was alive. And he was going to wake up soon.
“Dominic?” I said, my voice shaking a little bit. He didn’t move. I pushed his arm, then dug my fingers in his smooth skin for good measure. The pillow was wet on the sides of his face, and his hair, too, probably from when Derek had tried to wake him by throwing cold water on his face. “You better wake up, wolf-ass. You better wake up right now.”
I grabbed my backpack and sat on his bed again, pulling out the vial from the pocket. I opened the wooden lid and brought it in front of Dominic’s nose. I didn’t breathe, didn’t move an inch as I watched his face when he inhaled, and the white powder slowly rose up his nostrils.
Dominic flinched. My heart all but broke out of my ribcage.
“Dominic,” I breathed, but he didn’t react. “Dominic, wake up.”
He kept on breathing, and the white powder kept moving up his nostrils in tiny amounts, but he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t even flinch again.
The door of the room opened, and Derek tiptoed inside, eyes wide and mouth open.
“Is it working?” he whispered.
“Not yet, but it will.” I sounded much more certain than I felt. My hand didn’t shake, though. I still held the powder to his nose, and I would until all of it was in his system.
“You sure? Because this has never happened before,” he whispered.
