Free Unveiling The Sky by Jeannine Allison

background.”
    Relenting, I nodded and followed him to the car. The drive was quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Derek pulled into a spot in front of our apartment and killed the engine, but neither of us made a move to get out.
    “Thanks,” he said quietly. When I looked over, he had a death grip on the steering wheel and was looking straight ahead.
    “For what?” I asked in disgust as I turned to look out my window. “I’m the reason she was trapped underneath that asshole.”
    He let out an exhausted breath, and I saw his grip loosen out of the corner of my eye. “I saw what happened. I was just too slow in getting over to you guys. He deserved what he got.”
    “He did. But she got hurt in the process, and that’s on me.”
    “No, it’s not. It was an accident.”
    “An accident I caused,” I said forcefully.
    Derek was quiet for several minutes, and when he finally opened his door, I thought he would remain that way, but he didn’t. “Consequence is not the same thing as fault,” he said right before he lifted himself out and shut the door.
    I replayed every part of those five minutes for the rest of night. I wasn’t a violent or angry person by nature. Yeah, that guy was an asshole, but there were a lot of assholes in the world, and I didn’t go around punching every one of them.
    I closed my eyes against the darkness and let myself actively think about the one thing I’d been trying to block out since I got back. My mother. Had it really only been days since I moved back home? Only days since the first anniversary of her death?
    Despite trying to keep her far from my mind, it was useless. The fight tonight proved as much. It seemed even if my mind could forget, my body couldn’t. My mind had been blissfully ignorant tonight, but my body still remembered the helplessness, the sorrow, and the anger. I didn’t wonder why I punched that guy at the slightest provocation; I wondered why I hadn’t been walking around punching people for days.

    I think I was still in shock as Sherry bombarded me with questions and Naomi apologized repeatedly for taking so long. The guy responsible for this whole mess glared at me as his friends finally got him up and mumbled halfhearted apologies. They quickly dragged him out the door Gabe and Derek left through five minutes ago. Within minutes, the bar returned to normal, but I definitely did not.
    “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Naomi wrapped her arm around my shoulder and led me toward the door.
    “I can’t believe he punched him,” Sherry said as soon as we got in the cab.
    “Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine. Just… can we please, please talk about something else?” I begged. My mind was pleasantly numb after being lost in a dozen conflicting emotions for the past ten minutes, and I wanted to enjoy the peace.
    “Like what?” Naomi asked.
    “Kevin asked me on a date.” Sherry shrugged casually before staring out the window.
    “He did?” Naomi reached across me to slap Sherry’s arm, but in the process, she clipped my injured side, causing me to groan.
    “Sorry, sorry.” Naomi winced and lifted her hands by her head.
    “Yeah,” Sherry answered like nothing had happened.
    “What’d you say? What’d you say?” Naomi asked in a flurry of excitement.
    Sherry raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “What do you think I said? What do I always say?”
    “No,” we responded in unison. I smiled, and it was only a little bit harder than usual, as Naomi chuckled. But when her eyes focused on me, the grin that had taken form quickly fell, and she looked troubled. She mouthed, You okay? The clouds in her eyes lifted a little when I gave her a small smile.
    “It’d be stupid.”
    “What would?” I asked Sherry.
    “Going out on a date and pretending I’m long-term girlfriend material.”
    “The only reason you’re not long-term girlfriend material is because you’ve never tried and you’ve never wanted to be. I’m in the same boat. It