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“Why did you do it?” Felicia said, eyes searching his face. “Why did you try to kill me?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What are we doing out here?” Demetrius said when the truck stopped off to one side of the trail. Cody was still singing quietly, his voice joining with the gin Demetrius had had back at the Hollow Leg to make him feel loose and relaxed. It was as if his limbs were nothing more than paper that might tremble in the slightest breeze.
“I thought we might take another swim,” Cody said, then he resumed singing again. He smiled and tipped his head toward his door.
Demetrius returned Cody’s smile and put his hand on the door, but he remained in his seat, looking at him. Something was definitely different about Cody. Granted, they’d both experienced a heavy loss that day, so that was bound to have some effect on him. But it wasn’t just that, Demetrius thought. Even though he was still a little—okay, more than a little—drunk, he sensed something different.
“I’m really surprised I haven’t seen that shirt before,” Demetrius said.
Cody paused in his singing to look down at himself. “I told you, I picked it up at the gym I think. One of those free things.”
“Oh? I thought you said you’ve had it in a drawer.”
“Right, that’s where I put it after I picked it up at the gym.”
Demetrius nodded. “Oh, I see. And why have I never heard you sing like this before? We’ve known each other almost all our lives, and I don’t think I’ve heard you sing this much in all those years.”
Cody grinned and sang a little bit more, the words not really understandable, but Demetrius didn’t care because the song made him feel so good. He closed his eyes and rolled his head side to side along the seat back, his smile feeling like it might be stretching all the way around his head.
“I can’t reveal all my secrets at once,” Cody said. “That wouldn’t be any fun. Now come on, let’s go for a swim.”
“But aren’t you worried about something getting us? All those drownings,” Demetrius said, rolling his head to the side to look at him. A shimmer seemed to glow around Cody, making him think of old movies with aging actresses where the director put a scrim across the camera lens.
Cody’s grin broadened into a smile. “Not in the least. Now come on, quit stalling and let’s get in the water.”
Demetrius watched as Cody got out of the truck and hurried around the front to his side. Cody opened the door and extended a hand, singing quietly as he helped Demetrius step out onto the ground. Slipping an arm around his shoulders, Cody pulled him in close and started them off toward the water. Demetrius put an arm around Cody’s waist, pressed his cheek against Cody’s chest, and drew in a deep breath.
“You smell different,” Demetrius said.
“Do I? It must be that new soap you bought.”
“New soap?”
Cody sang a little bit louder, and the melody sailed through Demetrius, calming his mind and loosening his muscles even more. As he sagged against Cody, he felt him tighten his hold. He should feel safe, he knew that, but questions were tapping on the glass at the back of his mind, wanting to be let in so they could work through the problems he’d been noticing. What those problems were, Demetrius could not pinpoint at this time, but something felt off. It just all seemed so far away at the moment, and Demetrius hadn’t felt this relaxed in a very long time, if ever.
“Here we are,” Cody said as they reached the water’s edge. “It’s going to feel so good. You’re hot and tired, and the water is cool and refreshing. Here, let me help you step in.”
“With my clothes on?” Demetrius said.
Cody laughed, the sound high and bright, sparking small fireworks of joy inside Demetrius. But it was so different from Cody’s normal laugh, it also caused a quiet alarm to go off in the back of his mind where the questions were trying to get through.
“Why not? It’ll be even more fun to take them off when they’re wet.”
The singing started again, and Demetrius smiled and put his foot down in the water, giggling as it filled his shoe, instantly cooling his foot.
Demetrius drew in a breath. “It’s cold!”
Cody entered the water and waded out a couple of steps, arm stretched as he held Demetrius’s hand. He looked back and once more started singing. His voice was clear and strong, instantly calming Demetrius’s mind. His brain was always working so hard to find the next solution, smooth over the most recent interaction between friends, or help the next person in line. Maybe Cody was right, and all he needed was some downtime, some fun. A swim could be just the thing to clear his mind and allow him to think about everything that had happened and find some way to make it all work.
Another couple of steps into the water now, and Demetrius could feel the muck on the bottom of the pond oozing over his shoes and down inside. He saw little fish darting around his feet, as if surprised to see someone wearing their shoes in the water. Same, little fish, same.
“Not much farther,” Cody said, his sing-song voice inviting Demetrius to venture out even deeper. “Then you’ll feel nice and cool, and you’ll forget every last trouble that’s been on your mind.”
“Not a care in the world?” Demetrius said.
Cody smiled, and it looked so different and fierce from what Demetrius was used to, it made him shudder.
