“I can explain,” she said with a sigh, then she looked at me with mournful eyes. “I’m sorry, Ash, I just can’t do this anymore. Please don’t hate me.” Then she turned to Layton. “Ash has been having some . . . well . . . pretty serious psychological problems. It could be concussion-related.”

Jaws do drop. Not exactly like in cartoons, but they do, because at that moment mine did.

“What kind of problems?” Layton asked.

Katie did not hesitate. “He thinks he’s traveling to other universes. He thinks stop signs were red, and that, until last week, our school was integrated. And he thinks there are interdimensional people on skateboards following him around.”

I could feel my entire spirit implode from this betrayal. And all I could dredge up to say was “I told you, they’re not really skateboards . . .”

Katie forced Layton to look at her instead of me. Or maybe so that she didn’t have to look at me. “I’ve been talking to the school counselor about it. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to get Ash to go in and talk to her on his own.” Then finally she turned back to me. “I’m so sorry, Ash. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to help you.”

Layton seemed to flush with relief. Like a dark cloud had parted and drenched him in sunlight. “So that’s why you’ve been talking to the counselor?”

“Of course,” she said. “Why else would I be talking to her?”

Layton relaxed even further, then he put his arm around her in that possessive way he had.

“Dude,” he said, invoking bro-talk. “If Katie thinks you need help, then you probably need help—but skip the school counselor—she can’t prescribe the meds you probably need.”

I didn’t know how to respond to this. I felt like a balloon popping in slow motion, shredding and shrinking and losing my insides all at once. And Layton knew it. He seemed to swell even as I withered.

“It’s all good,” he said, with a jovial smile. Then he leaned closer. “But if I ever catch you talking to Katie again, I don’t care who your father is, I’ll beat the shit out of you.”

Normally I would not have stood for a threat like that. Normally I would have given as good as I got. But to push back, you have to have leverage. You have to be grounded and centered and poised to strike. I had none of those things in that moment. So I just stood there saying nothing as he swept Katie away.