“You didn’t knock back,” she noted, stopping beside my bed. “You always knock back.”

“Didn’t hear it.”

Lie. She knew it. I knew it. She didn’t call me out on it, though. Instead, she crawled onto my bed without waiting for an invitation, crossing her legs beneath her as if she belonged there.

“Bad one?” she asked softly.

I hesitated, then nodded.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

She didn’t push. She never did.

Instead, she leaned back on her hands, tilting her head at me. “First day wasn’t that bad, though, right?”

“Define bad.”

Her lips twitched. “You met Jamal the Great. That alone should’ve made your day.”

I gave a half-shrug. “Haven’t decided if he’s an idiot or a genius.”

She grinned. “Why not both?”

I smiled, but it faded fast. I ran a hand down my face, still feeling the weight of the nightmare pressing on my chest. It wasn’t as bad now that she was here, but it lingered. It always did.

Beverly shifted closer. “Hey.” She hesitated before pressing her fingers lightly against my wrist. Not grabbing. Just making contact. Just there. “You’re here,” she murmured. “You’re okay.”

The warmth of her touch burned, but in a way that made me want to lean into it instead of away.

Something about it disrupted the lingering effects of the dream, forcing my brain to recalibrate. It was like warmth seeping through ice, slowly cracking it apart, melting it, and making it possible to feel something again.

A reminder that the nightmare wasn’t real, but she was.

“You know,” she said after a moment, her voice dropping into something softer, teasing, “if you wanted me in your bed, you could’ve just said so.” Nudging me with her shoulder, she added, “I’d have understood.”

My head snapped toward her, and she had the nerve to smirk. “That’s what we’re doing? Jokes?” I deadpanned.

“What, too soon?”

I gave her a flat look.

She bit her lip, as if she was trying to hold back a laugh, then nudged me lightly with her knee. “You should get some sleep.”

“I was sleeping,” I said dryly.

“Yeah, and look how well that went.” Without waiting for a response, she tugged at my blanket, pulling it over both of us as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Try again.”

I gave her a puzzled look. “You’re gonna stay here?”

“Mh-hmm,” she hummed, nuzzling into the sheets like it was her bed and not mine.

I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to groan.

Logically, I should’ve told her to go back to her room.