I sighed and rolled myself off of her, reaching for her hand to pull her up as well. I knew this time was coming and I had been able to distract her for a few moments at least. But she was right. It was time to tell her the story.

I looked over at the clock, seeing that it was approaching midnight. “Can we do this somewhere more comfortable?”

Cara nodded and led me to her bedroom, giving me an opportunity to shuck the used condom and tidy myself up in the bathroom before climbing into her bed, where Cara was already situated, still naked. As I slipped under the covers I immediately reached for her, pressing her body against mine with her head on my chest, comforted by the fact that we had both survived virtually unscathed. I really didn’t know where to start to help her understand, so I just started from the beginning.

“I was a senior in high school,” I began, drawing in a deep breath. “Baseball was my life. I’d been playing since I was old enough to walk and for the last year I’d been scouted and was getting a load of phone calls once people started to hear about my speed. Ninety-three-mile-per-hour fastballs and a nasty curveball in the mid eighties, combined with consistent strikes, get people’s attention. Colleges wanted me and the offers were starting to roll in.”

“So you did play baseball,” she murmured, her fingers stroking my chest.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I did. Played it is a bit of a understatement. I loved the game.” Baseball had been everything to me. “So I was preparing for our championship game when my dad told me we had to move immediately. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but he was adamant that I pack my shit up and I refused. I left the house thinking he was insane. But a United States Marshall came after me the next day.”

“The one you were talking to on the phone?”

“Yeah,” I replied, a hint of a grin on my lips. “I gave Parsons hell that day. We drove through two states overnight, pretty much nonstop. Parsons is a man of little words so it was the longest damn car ride of my life, especially when I had no clue what the hell was going on.”

“What happened then?” she asked. I trailed my fingers down her back idly, thinking of that afternoon when I arrived in the ass-end of nowhere, a town that didn’t even have a baseball program. I was devastated.

“Don’t you go blasting your old man,” Parsons said as we pulled into a long dirt driveway flanked by trees on either side. “If you had just done what he had said in the first place, this trip could have been a lot more pleasant.”

“I hate you,” I spat out as a wood-frame house came into view, looking more like a creepy house that belonged in a horror movie than my new home away from home.

“Hate me all you want,” Parsons chuckled as he stopped his car and threw it into park. “But I saved your ass.”

“Yeah? Saved me from what? I wasn’t in any danger, man.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

I rolled my eyes and climbed out of the backseat, finally glad to be out of the car. Besides the limited pit stops for bathroom breaks and food, Parsons hadn’t let me out and I was so damn happy to have it over with. Now all I had to do was figure out how to get back to my real home, the one where my entire life awaited.

The door opened and my dad stepped out, dressed in his Saturday clothes instead of the customary suit I saw him in during the week. His expression was drawn, the lines on his face more pronounced as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep. “You found him.”

“Right where you said he would be,” Parsons replied, slapping me on the back before walking past. “Excuse me while I go crash for a few hours.”

He brushed past my dad and walked inside, leaving the two of us in the yard. I wanted to kill him.

Around us the birds chirped merrily, the wind through the trees the only other sound around. It was depressing to not hear the steady hum of the cars as they passed or the wail of the train that would speed by close to our old house. This was Deadsville. “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

My dad walked down the rest of the stairs and came to stand before me. “I’m doing this to protect you son. I-I thought the men I was working for were upstanding businessmen, but they weren’t. They were beyond shady, Mark. I had no other choice than to go to the cops.”

I frowned then. My dad was an accountant by trade and over a year ago he had gotten some job with some high-profile and powerful men in town. “What the hell does that have to do with why I am here?”

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “You’re a smart boy. You know exactly what that means. Stop acting dumb. The FBI has been investigating. I am the only witness they have and in order to keep us from being killed, we have been pulled into witness protection. There wasn’t time to tell you, they were on to me. They threatened our family, Mark.”

Witness protection? That wasn’t real. That was something that only happened in movies. “You should’ve just told me! For how long?” I asked, clearing my throat.

He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. For as long as it takes. I am doing this for you and your mom. I did what was right. I won’t apologize for it.”

“What you did,” I interrupted, “was ruin my life!”

“Believe what you must,” he sighed, pointing to the house. “Go on. All of your stuff we could grab is upstairs. Get some sleep. We will talk about it later.”

I stormed inside the house, pissed off that everything I’d worked my whole life for was gone and all because of my dad’s job.

“I was so angry. I couldn’t see past my teen-age rage. Sometimes I still can’t. I tried to go back home the first few months,” I continued, shaking off the memory. “Parsons hauled my ass back each time and told me to quit being an asshole.”

“So how did you get here?” Cara asked.

I shifted my body, keeping her against me. After that night, I had no intention of letting her go. “Once I was twenty-one, they couldn’t keep me there anymore. I was able to opt out of the program but had to jump through some hoops. The marshals finally relented and let me go. I’m sure they know everything about me despite my attempt to be alone. Parsons gave me his card when I left, telling me to call him if I got into any trouble I couldn’t get my ass out of.” Never had I thought I would use it but I was glad I had it with me. It had saved my ass, literally.

“What happened with the trial?” Cara asked again, curiosity in her voice. “Did your dad testify?”

“Not yet,” I sighed, thinking of his visit the other night. “After we disappeared, there was a great deal of stalling with the guys who my dad ratted out. He just told me that the trial will happen in the next few weeks.”

“Was that why you weren’t at practice then?”

“One of them,” I answered. “I need the extra funds to get up there. To see my parents.” I wasn’t going to tell her about my mom just yet. “I planned to leave tomorrow. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you… I wanted to but I knew you’d be full of questions and I didn’t want to have to lie to you any more than I already had.”

She leaned up and looked at me, resting her chin on my shoulder. “You still have to go and see them. They will want to make sure that you are all right after everything that happened. I’m sure they are worried sick about you.”

I sighed, thinking that she was right. All of this time I had blamed my dad for ruining my life, but when I had risked life and limb to protect Cara, I finally knew what my dad was trying to do that night he’d made the decision for the family to be put into WITSEC. All he wanted to do was protect his family, which was no different than what I had tried to do with Cara. I understood now and I owed him a big apology. “Yeah, I’m going to have to make that trip.”

She drew circles on my chest, a pensive look on her face. “I’ll miss you, of course.”

I smiled, something tugging my heart as I realized what she was telling me. “You’ll miss me?”

She nodded, not meeting my gaze. “You’ve kind of grown on me.”

“Really?” I said and kissed the corners of her mouth, making her smile.

“Yeah… like a fungus—”

“Hey!” I said attempting to tickle her as revenge.

“Or mold. I’m not too sure yet,” she said laughing. After her fits of laughter died down she snuggled back into my arms. “I think it was partly your super secretive life you had going on.”

“And now that you know all about me?” I asked hesitantly. I was going to miss the hell out of her while I was gone and it was on the tip of my tongue to ask her to come with me. My mom would love her.

She gave a small smile, her eyes drifting up to meet mine. “I think I’ll keep you.”

I rolled over until she was under me, pushing her hair out of her face tenderly. “How the hell did I get lucky enough to find you?”

“Well you suck at speed-dating,” she grinned.

“Totally not true—”

“…And you are so gullible.”

I chuckled, giving her a swift kiss on her lips before nibbling on her lower lip. “You fucking love it.”

She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me close until our noses touched. “You know, I think I do.”

I growled and drew her into a long kiss. It was a while before either of us came up for air.