Page 130 of All In Good Time

“Are you happy, Becks? Even with all this stuff? I don’t know the whole story with Stokes, or what happened lately, but I’ll accept it all without question if you’re happy and okay.”

Becca looked at him, her best friend since they were kids.

She’d put him through a lot, and he’d gone along with everything she said. He gave her the advice she needed to hear and did things for her that no one else would. He never pushed, he never forced, he always let her come to him on her own terms. He deserved only the truth from her.

She smiled and walked up to him. Her arms wrapped around him, encasing him in a hug.

“I’m happy,” she said, the words muffled by his shirt. “I was so scared for so long and everything I was afraid of is gone now. I’m happy. And Derek makes me happy. So unbelievably happy.”

She couldn’t see his face, but she could feel him smile as he returned her hug. “Then I’m happy you’re happy.”

Becca pulled away, and they let go of each other. She didn’t realize she could feel so at ease. Without another word, she made her way out of the room with Marty close behind, and the air in the house became an easy oasis.

Just as she was about to walk down the stairs, Becca paused as another thought popped into her head. Something she wanted to share with Marty. She turned to him, and he raised a brow in question.

“By the way, it’s true,” she said.

“What is?”

She bit her lip. “I did attack Mark Stokes. He was hurting Derek, so I hit him with a lamp.”

Marty’s eyes widened in amazement, and he laughed, taken aback by the confession. The rumors in this town were often exaggerated beyond belief, but they’d been right about that.

Marty reached forward and ruffled her hair with his hand. “I always knew my best friend was a badass,” he said, raising his chin in pride. “Stokes is one lucky son of a bitch.”

48

December 1985

She didn’t attend school the rest of the week, and two weeks of holiday break followed.

Marty and Nicole did as they said they would, and neither of them never left her alone for more than a few hours. One or the other of them—or both—fluttered over her worse than her mother did. Always prodding her head like she was a newborn baby, forcing her to drink lots of water, all the while making her comfortable and happy to have them around.

Never once did she feel suffocated. She was just grateful to have them in her life. Their distractions were vital during the period of silence.

Every day passed with a little less news than the last—no word from either Derek or Mal.

She called the person she’d talked to when she first reported everything to CPS, but the response she got was that, for the protection of the children, they couldn’t share their information.

Becca wasn’t worried about them. She’d been assured time and time again of their safety. But she longed to see Derek’s face. Her heart ached more, the longer it went without seeing him. The last time she saw him, he barely looked like himself.

The best piece of news she received that next week was that Mark was officially being charged with an array of misdemeanors and a few felonies. He faced at least twenty years behind bars.

They asked her if she wanted to testify—she said yes.

Now all she had to do was wait for them to call her in, and she would go. She wasn’t afraid of him anymore. He’d been reduced to a man in chains and a jumpsuit, and he could hate her guts for the rest of her life, for all she cared. She would do the same.

Christmas passed.

New Year’s approached.

And she still waited.

She finally convinced her mother to return to work, and on her first day back, Becca sat on the couch and let an old television show drone on as she dozed off. Marty and Nicole finally deemed her well enough to be left alone for the day, while they made up missed shifts at the theater.

Sleep had nearly overtaken her when there was a knock on the door. Her head popped up, and she blinked to clear her foggy, tired mind.

Sluggishly, she rose and walked to the door, slapping her face to wake her up for an interaction. It wouldn’t be the first time one of her friends had shown up unannounced with another movie to watch or a box of Chinese takeout.

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