I sat across from them and sighed. “I don’t know what happened… It was just everything. He told me about his mom, about that voice mail he left, and then the heart attack she had afterward…the rocket… And then he was upset about something I did…”
“What did you do?” Cleo asked gently.
It was a little awkward, but I just told them the truth. “Derek and I share documents between our computers because I edit his books. He didn’t realize he’d shared a private document with me, a story he wrote about me, and I read it…and never told him. When he figured it out, he was really upset. Said I violated his privacy. I did, but I didn’t mean any harm by it. And then I hadn’t told him about Lizzie until after he told me how he felt about me, and he thought that was a betrayal too.”
Deacon dropped his gaze. “Nothing that can’t be forgiven.”
“Well, he feels differently,” I whispered.
“And then he just…ended it?” Cleo asked.
“No. It seemed like he could get past that. I asked if he wanted to end things, and he said no. Then we went to Ryan’s rehearsal dinner, and everything seemed fine. But I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, he’d punched one guy until he was unconscious, and some girl was there, and then he just stormed out…and dumped me in the stairwell. That’s the gist of it.”
Deacon closed his eyes and sighed. “Jesus.”
Cleo reacted the same way, pressing her lips tightly together like she pictured the scene I’d just described.
“I asked him about it in the stairwell, but he wouldn’t answer me. Just said he didn’t want to be in a relationship anymore. I’m standing there sobbing, and he’s just devoid of all emotion.”
Cleo shook her head.
“I gave him some space for about ten days, assuming he would come to his senses after this…thing…passed. But he acted like I didn’t exist at work, didn’t talk to me, as if I were the one who’d done something, and when I finally confronted him, he acted like he couldn’t care less about me…and just wanted me to stop talking.” The last few weeks had been the hardest in my entire life. I was so heartbroken—more than heartbroken, but there wasn’t a word to describe it. “He’s a different person. It’s like the first day I met him, when he was rude, indifferent, cold…empty. He’s smart enough to build a time machine, so I feel like he succeeded and now I’m living in the past.”
Deacon was quiet for a long time, staring at the surface of the table, his mug of hot cocoa cold because he didn’t really touch it. He moved his elbows to the surface and started to slouch, as if the weight of the situation were on his shoulders, when his son’s romance wasn’t his problem. “I think that’s exactly what happened, minus the time machine.”
“The stress triggered him, and he went back to who he became ten years ago,” Cleo said. “All that progress…lost. Everything you did for him…gone.” She dropped her gaze, heartbroken. “This is just terrible.”
“What happened ten years ago?” They wouldn’t tell me last time I asked because it was Derek’s business and not theirs, but I felt like he’d given up his privacy when he’d decided to be cruel.
Deacon looked at his wife.
She looked at him, gave a nod, and then turned back to me. “Derek was engaged.”
My eyes narrowed because I didn’t expect that. I couldn’t picture him being that committed to anyone…except me. “Oh…”
“He asked his high school sweetheart to marry him after college,” Deacon said. “They’ve known each other since grade school. We have hundreds of pictures of her in photo albums. Derek had a good group of friends that stayed close all through school and even when they went to different colleges. Kevin was his best friend. He used to tag along to everything with us. He was a part of our family. Loved him like a son.” Deacon shook his head. “But at Derek’s rehearsal dinner, Kevin and Tabitha were talking privately in the stairwell inside the building…and Derek overheard them.”
“Oh no…” I knew where this was going.
“Tabitha wanted to come clean about their hookups to Derek, but Kevin said they shouldn’t because it would only cause harm. They weren’t sleeping together anymore, it was over, so it wouldn’t help anything.” Cleo gave a long sigh. “Derek heard all of that and went back to the party and took a seat, processing all of it.”
“I knew something was wrong,” Deacon said. “I could see it on his face.”
“Tabitha and Kevin returned,” Cleo continued. “We had dinner, and then when it came time to make toasts…Derek lost it. He told everyone what had happened, and when Kevin stood up to talk to Derek, he knocked him out. He stormed out afterward…and that was it.”