And Greg tried hard not to think of his clipboard.
All he could do was to remain very still while Dustin hugged his mother and made plans he wasn't sure he could keep,
After a while Cathy pulled back. She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand and looked over Dustin's shoulder at Greg.
“Thank you,” she said.
Greg's stomach dropped. “Ididn't —” He stopped himself.I didn't do anythingwas a lie. He'd done something enormous. Butyou're welcomewas wrong too, because she was thanking him for the wrong thing.
“Dustin did the hard part,” he said.
His left eye twitched.
Dustin glanced at him. Greg looked at the floor.
“He helped,” Dustin told Cathy. “I couldn't have done it without him.”
Cathy studied Greg for a moment. Then her shoulders loosened. “We should all probably get some sleep.”
Sleep sounded really good just about now.
They bade Cathy good night and went back to Dustin's room, which looked exactly as they had left it earlier.
Dustin sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots. He moved slowly, like the night had finally caught up with him — the cemetery, the demon, the phone call, all of it settling into his body at once.
Greg set his clipboard on the desk. Still face-down. He undressed and got into bed beside Dustin, who pulled him against his chest, his arm across Greg's ribs, his nose against the back of Greg's neck.
“Stop thinking,” Dustin murmured. “Whatever it is. Stop.”
Dustin's breathing slowed and his arm got heavier and the room was dark and warm and quiet. Greg almost waited for Dustin's hands to move, for Dustin to demand something more.
He didn't, though. Dustin just held him and slept.
Greg closed his eyes.
When Greg woke up again, something was wrong.
The feeling originated from his clipboard.
Greg stared at it across the room.
Then, slowly, he slid out from under Dustin's arm and walked to the desk. He picked up the clipboard and turned it over.
The page that had been blank was no longer blank.
WELLS, Dustin
Status:Active — Collection Scheduled
Death Date:Wednesday, October 23
Collection Window:2:57 PM — 3:12 PM
Location:Garrett's Grocery, 414 Third St., Colorado
Priority:Overdue — Expedited
Greg read it twice.
