Page 34 of Psync
Good luck with your family!
See you tomorrow
Eli winced at the sudden pain in his mouth and tasted blood. Dammit, he’d chewed his lip to pieces again.
It was only one night alone. It shouldn’t be a big deal, especially since he’d need to become an actual adult who could sleep alone without nightmares at some point in his life.
And it was somewhat shitty of him to worry more about himself than Jace, who seemed to have an actual crisis to deal with.
Eli mentally pulled up his big boy pants and went back to his book.
Ten minutes later, theTale of Genjitook a short flight across the room when Eli realized he’d been staring at the same page since he’d gotten Jace’s text.
He crawled into his bed, made a little cocoon, curled up with his phone, and pulled up his bedtime playlist. Rather than songs, it was filled with background recordings from home. He turned it on and closed his eyes, listening to the low murmur of his mom and Juniper as they made food in the kitchen.
He was almost asleep when the face of Chad number one flashed in his mind. Eli bolted upright, blankets clutched around him, his breath coming harsh and fast.
Fuck.
He’d really been hoping the oddness of Haruka and the fun afternoon with his friends would let him sail right past the unpleasantness of the Chads.
No such luck.
He scrolled through TikTok until his eyes were heavy, but when he tried to sleep, another, older, face popped into his mind. Not the Chads.
Someone much worse.
He got up and turned on every light in the room, then climbed into Jace’s bed—apologizing silently to his roommate. He’d make sure and change the sheets for him before he came back.
Once he’d made a new cocoon, he dove back into his phone again, but instead of social media, he found himself scrolling through his contacts. It was way too late to text anyone now but looking at the names made him feel less alone.
He clicked on the contact labeled HotJerk and read through the short correspondence he’d exchanged with Haruka over the past week. The guy was laconic to say the least, but something about the words soothed Eli. His eyelids began to feel heavy, and he allowed himself to drift asleep.
Rough cloth covered his face, blocking out his surroundings. He’d been here before. Or was he still there now? Had he never left?
Eli tried to rip the bag off of his head, but his broken arm slowed him down, forcing him to struggle one-armed until he fell off the cot he’d been left on. He hit the floor, and a small avalanche of stacked cans rattled as they scattered across the floor.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hall, and Eli froze. He’d woken him up!
He wiggled and twisted trying to shove his small body under the cot, but his arm was screaming, and the fall had left him disoriented. He couldn’t figure out which way to go.
The door slammed against the wall.
“The hell are you doing in here?” The hungover voice of his captor slurred loudly.
Eli didn’t answer. Instead, he curled into a small ball and waited for what would come next.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Eli gasped and flailed trying to get his bearings. For a moment he wasn’t sure where he was, or how old he was. His heart was beating so loudly his ringtone didn’t even register at first.
It was still dark outside, but the brightly lit room gave Eli a fighting chance to find his phone in the tangled mess he’d made of Jace’s bed.
It took so long to find it, he was certain the caller would give up, but when it went to voicemail, it began to ring again almost immediately. His lock screen read HotJerk.
Why would Haruka be calling him so early?
“Hello?”
