Eighteen year-old Aaron Pickard is dealing with a lot: he’s falling for his straight best friend, his mother has ended up in the hospital after a violent assault by his father, and he’s trying to decide when to come out. Tack on the stress of an upcoming prom and graduation, a part-time job, and the possibility he could lose his best friend, and he’s an emotional wreck.<br><br>Aaron’s best friend Jeff Leaton provides a soft place for him to fall when his life is thrown into chaos, literally holding him each night as they fall asleep. As Jeff helps Aaron navigate through the mess that has become his new normal, Aaron’s feelings for Jeff intensify.<br><br>Aaron’s pretty sure it’s all going to end badly, but he’s holding on to hope.

Holding On

A nurse who entered to check on her vitals said they’d given her powerful drugs to sedate her.“Sleep is one of the best things to help heal a body.”


Soon,Jeff joined us.“My mom’s good with the plan,so we should discuss getting what we need from your house.”


“You guys should take off,Aaron,”Grandpa said.“She’ll most likely sleep until tomorrow.No reason for all of us to stay here.”


Jeff looked at me,waiting for me to decide.I agreed that sitting there just made me more depressed.“What about Pamela?”


“I was thinking of taking her with me to pick up some clothes and necessities from my house and coming back to the hotel to swim,”Grandma explained.“We’ve decided to stay at the hotel for the next week or so while your mom’s in the hospital.”


“I get to stay with you guys,right?”Pamela asked,looking up from the book she’d been reading.


“That’s right,sweetheart!Do you want to go with me to pick up some things we need?”


Chapter 17