Inside Out

"... and then he sneezed right into the bowl."

Theo's voice melts into my ear like warm honey, soft and amused, dragging my half-lucid brain along with it. I laugh, though it comes out more like a rasp.

"Rainbow's chaotic," I murmur.

"Yeah, that little gremlin."

I blink up at the ceiling, where shadows stretch long across the cracked white paint. The blanket is pulled up to my chin, but I'm still cold. Or maybe too hot. I don't know anymore. My body feels confused—like my brain's stuffed with cotton and my skin is humming with static.

Then I remember.

The kiss.

That kiss.

Not the sweet, gentle one in my living room last night. No, not that one.

The one before. The one at his house. The one that tasted like a line we weren't supposed to cross but did anyway.

My stomach coils. A rush of heat flares up the back of my neck.

I curl tighter into myself. "Theo."