Page 28 of All In Good Time

Becca stopped breathing, giving Mark the opportunity to push it open and force her backward.

He didn’t seem to care that he barged his way into the home of a seventeen-year-old girl. He just smiled and shook his head, shutting the door behind him. “That’s no way to treat a guest. Didn’t your parents teach you that?”

He briefly took in the entryway and walked past her into the living room.

She’d been in the Stokes’ house a few times before, and both Mal and Derek had been in hers. But Mark? If it weren’t for Mark, she would have gone to Derek’s more. Now he was in her home. Her space, her surroundings. Everything felt tainted.

Her voice stuck in her throat, as trapped as she felt. She prayed that Marty wouldn’t come looking for her and that Derek stayed asleep.

Mark sat down on the couch, spreading his legs wide, arms flinging on the back of the cushions like he was the one living there. He stared at her, challenging. “Now how about that coffee?”

11

January 1985 | Before

Leave it to Mrs. Bernard to assign a partner project right when all the students are still recovering from a two-week break. On top of it, the teacher wasted no time increasing the disappointment byassigningpartners rather than letting them pick their own.

If Becca had had a choice, she would have chosen the valedictorian, Tracy Urion. Not only was she a reliable partner, she was a guaranteed A grade.

Instead, she was stuck with Elaine Renfield—a not so guaranteed A. And if what Becca assumed was correct, it would be hard to even get her to meet up.

“How about four o’clock?” Becca asked the brunette as she packed up her bag post bell ring. “I’ll come to your place, if that’s easier.”

Elaine sighed, annoyed she even had to do that project. “I can’t do four. I have someone coming over.”

“Okay. Five then?”

“If I say yes, will it make this end quicker?”

Becca nodded, and Elaine sighed again. “Fine, you can come to my house at five. But you better make sure it won’t take long.”

Becca was on the doorstep five minutes early. She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible too. It wasn’t like spending an evening with Elaine Renfield was her ideal activity either.

She raised a fist and knocked on the door.

After ten seconds and zero movement, she did it again.

Nothing.

Shit.

If Elaine wasn’t home, it was going to be a pain and a half trying to find another time that worked for her. If Becca couldn’t find a time at all, well, there went any chance of even a B grade.

She gave it one last knock for good measure, banging on the wood harder than she meant to.

She might have felt bad, but it did the trick.

Within a few seconds, she could hear the rhythmic thump of footsteps on the other side, followed by a pause, and then a click as the door unlocked and opened.

Elaine stood in the doorway with her eyebrows drawn together. “Oh, hi?”

Great. She forgot. “We’re supposed to work on the project together.”

Elaine’s lips formed an “O” shape. “Shit.” She peeked over her shoulder then turned back. “I forgot.”

“It’s fine, it won’t take long.”

Elaine sighed the same way she had in class and opened the door wider, stepping to the side to allow Becca access. “The living room is to the right. We can work in there. Just give me a second. I need to go freshen up.”

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