Credence

We slip behind the falls, water drenching our heads and laughing as he sucks in air, a little shocked.

Tiernan looks around, both of us taking in the new artwork on the walls. “You scared me so much the last time we were here,” she says.

I hold Griffin by the jacket, letting his arms and legs wade freely.

“You scare easily,” I joke.

“I don’t. You were intense.”

“Were?” I ask, feigning insult.

She knows I’m in

tense where it counts now.

We drift in deeper, spinning the baby around in the water.

“I should’ve brought you here then,” I tell her. “Or stayed with you in here that day.”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t have run?”

“Because I made your thighs quiver.”

She snorts. “You didn’t.”

“That wasn’t you moaning on top of the car that first night we met?”

“I told you to stop!”

“I’m sorry,” I say sweetly. “I couldn’t hear you over the sound of all your panting.”

“Shut up.”

I hold the kid with one hand and pull her in with the other. “Wanna try your luck again?”

Her eyebrows shoot up at my challenge.

“I can leave Griffin with Noah for a while again tonight.” I stare down into her eyes, her body pressing into mine, riling me up again. “And maybe meet you in here at ten? You can show me how good you are at hating everything I do.”

She bites her bottom lip, looking at my mouth, and I still see her that day—backing away from me and nervous, but God, I just wanted to stay here with her.

But she giggles and twists out of my hold, grabbing our son and moving back toward the falls to exit the tunnel.

“It’ll be really dark in here at ten,” she warns.

Really dark.

I move toward her, looking at her just like I did that day so long ago. “I’ll find you.”

“If you can…” she taunts.

And then she disappears with Griff through the falls, and I smile at all the nights ahead of us.

The End

Thank you for reading Credence, and thank you for your reviews! It’s appreciated so much.

A mystery still remains, though!