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“Good. Started to rain and look who I ran into.” Elijah nudges me with his elbow. “She offered me a ride home. Caught her outside the movie theater.”
Dad raises his eyebrows at me. I know what he’s thinking, and he can shove it.
“Good thing Taylor was there or else you might’ve turned into a puddle.”
Yeah, good thingIwas there.
“I should go change,” Elijah mutters, and then leaves the kitchen in his still wet socks.
“How was your night as a single lady?” Dad asks, pouring me a glass of wine.
I take an unsteady sip. Nobody can know the truth. “Pretty uneventful. Just went to a late movie and ran into Elijah right as I walked out. It’s like I can’t get rid of him.” I let out a nervous chuckle and take another sip. I can’t tell if I’m still buzzed from my vodka ginger ale or from the Derek attack. I keep my mouth firmly closed, afraid I’ll say something out loud.
“No scratches?” he asks, raising his eyebrow.
God, do I have a scratch on my face somewhere? I feel my face and around my body for any blood or shards of glass I may have missed.
“On the truck, Taylor.”
“Oh,” I sigh in relief. “No. Of course not.” I dig in my bag and throw him the keys. “Thank you.”
He takes his last sip of wine, and then heads off to bed.
Elijah doesn’t come back downstairs, so I go up and decide I could go for a nice warm swim now that the rain’s slowed. My body is freezing down to the bone.
I put on my less sexy swimsuit, the one piece, and wrap myself around in a fluffy towel.
I pass by Elijah’s closed door, wishing he’d talk to me more, so we can plan what to tell others about tonight.
As I step into the warm welcoming water, I picture Derek’s body still lying in a bloody mess in the empty storefront. I feel my breath coming quick from the anxiety and sink myself into the water, wading out to the deep end. The rain has turned into a fine mist, coating my exposed face.
Derek could be lying there still, the rain coating his face, too, pooling beneath him, diluting his blood. The crimson would dye his perfect blonde hair and pale face, maybe even coloring his light eyes. What if he never wakes up? What if someone hasn’t found him yet? Would I be an accessory to murder?
I hear splashing water behind me and see Elijah walking into the pool. The frigid mist coats his half-naked body as he descends. I never thought I’d be relieved to see him. Where he is normally loose and casual, his muscles tense and his tattoos stretch across his skin like shadows swallowing him whole. To another man, he would be intimidating. To Derek, he is deadly.
It takes me a second to notice small red marks covering his chest and the bandage on his shoulder. Is that from tonight?
I swim towards him. He meets me in the middle, taking his time, creating slow ripples in the water. He groans as he moves; his jaw clenched.
“Taylor,” he says darkly. His deep voice continues to surprise me.
“Elijah.”
He wades around me, tossing his head back into the steamy water. I grab his hand before he can swim away.
“Elijah,” I repeat. “What do we do?”
His face is now shadowed in the darkness of the night. I can only make out his large silhouette bobbing in the water in front of me. Even in the shadow, I can tell he’s frowning. I’m tempted to scream at him, but don’t want to wake the parents.
“You—he could be dead.”
Elijah swims up to me when I’m done speaking, and abruptly grabs me by my arms, holding me steady in front of him. I can smell a mix of rain and sweat dripping off his steaming skin.
“Should I have left you there?” His grip around my arms tightens, and I nearly yelp from the pressure.
“No… that’s not what I mean. It’s—we should have called the cops. We should have done something, right? I could say that it was all me.”
He barks out a laugh, and I scowl. “Like anyone would believe you could throw a man through a window.”
