Page 87 of All In Good Time

She couldn’t take him home. Not like this. Not with Mark there. “I can’t.”

“Take me home. He won’t touch me. He’s noticed all the eyes you have circling, and he doesn’t dare. Just take me home.” He didn’t wait for a response before he walked to the car and climbed in, leaving her alone at the tree, with her heart skipping and breath racing.

* * *

Words failed her as she drove in the direction of Derek’s house. He leaned against the window like he had when they left Ruby’s house, his slow breaths fogging the window. The moment on the side of the road barely existed anymore, a mere pause in the inevitable path they were bound to take. And there was nothing she could do.

“I’ll probably forget all this tomorrow,” Derek said, and Becca’s hands lost their grip on the wheel for a millisecond. “You should too.”

She didn’t reply. There was nothing she could think to say. So she turned the final corner onto Derek’s street and pulled to a stop. It wasn’t her car, so she turned it off and put the keys where Derek could reach them—afraid her fingers would touch his if she handed them to him directly.

She walked home that night and wiped at every tear that fell from her eyes before it could drop further than her cheek. Forget? No. That was impossible.

It had been impossible before, and it was even more impossible now.

33

November 1985 | After

The harder she tried to forget, the more it stuck to her mind like glue. Two weeks passed, and the memory sat as raw as the moment it happened.

He seemed okay, though—must have forgotten, like he said he would. He acted normal in the halls and continued on like the world just kept on spinning, while, for her, it was stuck on that night.

Becca had always felt an empty spot in her life—something missing. When Derek had appeared, that spot slowly filled somewhere along the way, and she hadn’t even noticed.

But now he was gone, and the spot had grown into a blaring, blackened hole.

With it came the confusion. Blinding, unrecognizable confusion.

It left her restless.

She hadn’t realized that that hole was flammable. Halloween night and Derek’s kiss had set fire to it, and it burned harder than a normal absence would.

She found the best way to tame the flame was in the water.

Her time in the school pool tripled, and she spent every free moment swimming laps or floating in the middle of the room alone, with her ears covered and eyes closed. Sometimes she had to keep her eyes open, just to get the tingling feeling off her lips.

She’d spent a summer learning how to swim. Floating was the easy part, but all she wanted to do now was sink to the bottom until her head went dizzy from the pressure and her lungs burned.

She didn’t hear the pool door open, or the echo it made as it slammed shut. She could have easily remained oblivious to the additional presence in the room if water hadn’t splashed onto her face.

She shot upward, treading as she spat out the few drops that had landed in her mouth.

Marty crouched at the side of the pool, laughing at her glare.

“How did you know I was here?” Becca asked.

“When are you not here?” he said, slipping his sneakers and socks off.

Becca paddled slowly to the edge of the pool and held onto the cement as he sat down and lowered his feet into the water.

“It’s impossible to see you nowadays. You haven’t been to work all week.”

Becca sighed and leaned her head back into the water so her hair floated around her face. That was on purpose. “I’m busy.”

“Uh, huh.” He wasn’t convinced. “So busy that you’ve been in a pool all alone for hours, multiple times a week. Soundsreallybusy.”

Becca frowned at him but didn’t respond.

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