Quiet and imaginative, Derek O'Reilly spends a lot of time watching a movie in his head. His fiancé Nathan wonders why Derek hasn't taken any interest in their wedding planning, and Aunt Fran -- his spiritual guru -- would like to know when her guilt-tripping nephew became a kept boy. When she drops Derek's childhood journal on his lap, he's forced to remember the name he's been trying to forget since he was twelve years old. Nicolai Lund. Nick was Derek's neighbor ... and first love. Weeks before Derek's engagement party, a chance meeting with Nick catapults Derek into the past. But Nick isn't that seventeen-year-old rebel anymore. He's a man hardened by invisible scars. A man struggling with grief. As Derek reads through his childhood diary, he realizes what Nick was to him, still is today, and yet might be ... NOTE: This edition has been expanded and substantially edited.

Split

Scott got to his feet. “Page me at this number if you need to reach your auntie.” He handed me a paper.


I tucked into my pocket and went to the sink to fill a glass of water. I ran the water for a few seconds, but the pipes were cold, on account of it being winter and all, so I fiddled with the faucet until I got the right temperature. I took a sip. It was satisfactory. When I came up Mom and Dad’s bedroom, I heard Aunt Frannie whispering to Nick in the hall. “Keep an eye on, Red. His asthma pump is on the kitchen counter. Don’t let him stay up too late.”


Great. Nick Lund was going to be babysitting me?


Aunt Frannie walked up to me and kissed my forehead. “Be a good boy.”


“Don’t worry, Ms. Saint-Jacques.” Nick was smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll make sure he brushes histeeth and everything.”


Scott squinted suspiciously and pulled Aunt Frannie out the door. “Come on, or we’ll miss the previews.” They shut the door behind them.


Chapter 55