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

When we got back to his house,his mom ordered pizza and we all sat to eat in front of the television,watching a movie on Netflix.She seemed to know something was up and tried getting us to talk,but neither of us was in the mood.Finally,I was too worn out by the last few days,and since I had already seen the movie,I decided to head up to bed.It didn’t seem like Jeff wanted to talk about anything anyway.


I showered,washing away the chlorine smell and general stink of the day.Even though I was tired,I thought I might have trouble sleeping and took a Melatonin,washing it down with water from the bathroom faucet.I didn’t take it too often,but when I was stressed,I usually had a hard time falling asleep.A small dose usually helped me fall into a really deep sleep,and I needed it that night.


Chapter 23