6

Chad woke up with puffy eyes and a terrible headache.  Bentley, still curled beside him, looked more peaceful than Chad thought he had ever seen him; his eyebrows were relaxed instead of furrowed with worry and his neck seemed loose and limp.  Chad gently rested his hand on Bentley’s ribs to make sure he was breathing regularly�"or even at all�"and smiled at the soft rise and fall.  At least someone felt safe.  Last night Chad stayed up late cleaning.  It felt like the only thing he could do after he got the news.  He turned on his back; every bone and muscle sunk into the mattress, leaving him feeling as comfortable as Bentley looked.  He let his eyes relax even though it kind of hurt inside his head to close them, and he drifted off to sleep.

 

He looked everywhere for his suit�"his closet, under the bed, every drawer in his room, and even in the storage closet in the boxes he kept behind his old bike.  He settled on dress pants and a collared shirt.