SKIPPING TIME

Chapter 24.5

                 

                 

Cacee chewed her nails, listening to the low hum of the shower. Sometimes, after showering, Jess came out of the back room. Of course, just as often, he went back in there. So she needed to chill. Just relax. Besides, who cared if he came out? It wasn't like he ever tried to talk to her. She blinked a few times and then startled as Ray put his hand on her shoulder. "Sweetheart? You okay? You've been on the couch all day."

Cacee hurriedly wiped her eyes, pushed off the couch blanket she was once again wrapped in, and sat up. She gave Ray a wan smile. "I'm fine. Just honing my accubation skills."

Ray's eyes twinkled. "And accubation is?"

She wrinkled her nose and admitted, "The act of reclining on a couch."

Ray laughed.  To her surprise, he never gloated about Jess breaking up with her. Instead, he showed unfailing support—talking to her for hours in a clear effort to make her feel better, telling her fascinating stories about his days of time-traveling with The Station and refusing, like her, to even mention Jess's name. Admittedly, this was probably easier for Ray than remembering to call Jess by name had been, but his lack of any, "I told you so's," was nice.

He seemed to understand why she no longer asked many questions and he never showed any offense at how she wandered around as if in a daze. The only thing he ever bugged her about was her loss of interest in food.

As if reading her thoughts, Ray held out a plate containing a peanut butter and honey sandwich. He smiled. "I remember you bringing these on picnics with your mom. I thought you might--" He looked at her hopefully.

Cacee's stomach turned as she considered the draconian task of eating.  She looked at Ray's eager face and this time tried, "Actually, I've come down with a horrendous case of amasesis."

Ray raised his eyebrows. "Have you now? Care to define this horrendous illness of yours or should I grab a dictionary and see for myself?"

She sighed. "It's an inability to chew."

Ray chuckled. "Nice try." He held the plate out towards her again.

Cacee took it reluctantly and forced down a bite of the sandwich.

Ray grinned like this was some miraculous deed and, for the millionth time, her anger towards Jess swelled.

It was a relief to be angry. The only relief, besides sleep, that she ever got. Why the hell did Jess start this whole thing? Why did he ever lead her on to begin with? And why was she pathetic enough to let him affect her so strongly? She determinedly took another bite and almost choked on it as, from the bathroom, the shower turned off.

She grabbed her glass of water to wash down the brick of sawdust now in her throat. Ray grimaced as she put down the plate with only one bite taken out of the sandwich, but she made no move to pick it back up. Instead, she shrank back against the couch as if she were trying to disappear. Shane trotted by, with Digits trailing at his heels. She watched them with blind eyes, all her senses trained on the sounds in the warehouse.

Ray sat down beside her but, seeming to understand she was preoccupied, didn't say anything. Cacee tried her best to look composed as the familiar battle of anticipation and dread started up inside of her. And then... the soft scrape of the bathroom door opening onto the main room.

Ray began talking about the time he traveled to ancient Egypt, picking up the story from the middle, as if they'd been having a conversation all along. She nodded her head animatedly and made her lips lift in a grossly-false smile. But she couldn't stop her eyes from flickering to Jess as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Cacee's body flushed with warmth as she stared. She'd never seen Jess in anything but old T-shirts and faded jeans, but now he wore a crisp black button-down shirt and dark denim pants. The short sleeves of his shirt highlighted the tanned muscles of his arms. He'd left the top button undone and her eyes lingered on the hollow of his throat and the way his wet hair curled over his collar. Even his jeans hung on his hips in a way that made him look crazy hot. God. Was he trying to kill her?

Ray cleared his throat and Cacee quickly raised her eyes to Jess's face. As always, it didn't tell her anything. His expression remained calm and bland, as if he had nothing important on his mind.

She startled a little at the sound of water splashing to the floor but, when she turned, the sight of the washing machine overflowing in a flurry of suds bought no surprise. Although she didn't consciously realize it, she'd already learned to associate Jess's appearance in the room with things breaking or malfunctioning. Ray jumped up and rushed into the kitchen, cursing as he splashed through water and soap.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jess smirk. Her temper heated. Every time something new broke, which happened at least a few times a day, Ray became more bewildered and apologetic, while Jess became more smug.

And it wasn't only Jess's superior little smirk that bugged her. It was... what? Ray cursed again as he wrestled with the shut-off valve that controlled the water. She saw the muscles in his arm bulging, but it didn't work. The water just kept coming. She jumped to her feet to get some towels. But the momentary intuition that there was something important happening here, something she kept missing, abruptly grew stronger.