Page 85 of All In Good Time
She didn’t stop towing him toward the front door, taking advantage of his stunned confusion. He tried, with little effort, to escape her hold.
He could have done it easily if he wanted, but when they emerged into the fresh air, she still had a strong grip on him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” His words were slurred, but clear.
“Do you even need to ask?”
He frowned, but it was really more of a pout. “I had it covered.”
“Clearly,” she said, scoffing.
He dug his heels into the ground and forced her to stop too. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
It would have stung more if she weren’t so upset with him. “Sorry, but that choice is automatically void when you aren’t sober enough to drive yourself home.”
She reached into his jacket pockets, searching for his keys. He protested lamely with a few cuss words, but in the end, gave in as she wrapped her fingers around his car keys. She dragged him to his Monte Carlo, opened the passenger side door, and shoved him carefully into the car, taking care to make sure his head didn’t hit the roof.
God, what was she doing? He didn’t want her here. He’d avoid her even more the next time she saw him at school.
She shook her head and walked to the driver’s side.
As long as she went into this knowing that nothing would change, she wouldn’t be as heartbroken in the morning when he was gone.
The engine roared, and loud music blared over the speaker, making Derek wince. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and turned it down.
He wasn’t trying to get out, which was good, but she locked his door to ensure he wouldn’t change his mind halfway to her house, before pulling away from the stalled party.
Most of the trick-or-treaters were done for the night, and the rest of Ruby’s neighborhood had shut down their lights to bring an end to Halloween. It was better that way. She could drive faster to her place, without worrying if am eight-year-old Hulk Hogan would jump in front of the Monte Carlo.
She couldn’t tell if Derek’s eyes were open, but his forehead rested on the cool of the window—a small cloud of fog forming on the glass every time he exhaled.
Silently, she hoped he was asleep as she turned onto a familiar dark road. She would take another route if she could, just to avoid the path that had been the scene of their first meeting. Everything she wanted to avoid tonight was clinging to her like a sweet nightmare.
It was a long road, unfortunately, and her hands gripped tighter on the wheel as they reached the midway point, where, exactly a year ago, Derek Stokes had sat on the side of the street.
“Pull over.”
Becca startled at his voice. He was in the same position as before, but he wasn’t asleep like she’d hoped he would be.
“No.”
“I’m going to puke.”
Becca slammed on the brakes and pulled to the side—only feet from where this very car was parked a year ago. If he made a mess in the car, it would give him another reason to be mad at her.
He clumsily unlocked the door and stepped out, before stumbling away from the road and to the same tree she’d seen him at then. She watched out the window, waiting for him to get sick, but he never did. He just crouched down to sit and leaned back against it, tilting his head to look up at the sky.
A potent rush of déjà vu splashed over Becca, and suddenly she was one year younger. Standing on the side of the road in a bunny costume and looking at a beat-up boy sitting alone against a tree.
Once again, they were two strangers meeting on the side of the road, but everything had changed.
Becca swallowed and shut off the engine. The area went dark without the headlights on. The car door opening permeated the still, chilly air, and she crossed in front of the car and stepped down to the tree and Derek. He didn’t rustle at her approach or jump when she sat down next to him and leaned on the adjacent side of the trunk.
She sighed into the air. Her breath formed in front of her and floated up into nothing. She didn’t want to fight anymore. She just wanted to surrender and deal with the heartbreak now—let herself heal with time.
They sat in silence for minutes, both staring at the sky.
Derek was the first to move, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out the leather wallet. She glanced over to watch his fingers dig through the pouches and pull out the familiar, faded piece of paper.
