Timely Rain

Start Reading

To make me lose interest in him, Derek had me deliver a box of Durex to his apartment on a night with a raging blizzard.

The box was wrapped in a brown paper drugstore bag, making me assume he was sick. I was in such a frantic rush to get to him that I slipped and took a hard fall on the icy road.

But when the door opened and I saw the warm, intimate glow of the apartment behind him, everything became painfully clear.

From that night on, I began to slip out of his life.

When he injured his knee during a major basketball game, his roommate tracked me down in the hallway.

"Derek took a really bad fall, Grace. Are you going to go see him?"

I shook my head.

Even when he got into a serious car accident a few weeks later, I didn't step foot in the hospital.

When the winter break arrived and he asked to drive home together, I manufactured excuses to stay behind.

"I still have exams to study for."

But then, he ran into me on the street while I was walking hand-in-hand with my boyfriend.

His eyes narrowed, a cold, sharp edge cutting through his voice.

"I thought you were in the middle of exams, Grace?"

"And since when are you dating? Why didn't I know about this?"

I used to be a permanent fixture at every single one of Derek's basketball games.

He was Columbia's star computer science major, notorious for being untouchable. Most of the university's sports clubs had to drag students in by their ID numbers to fill the rosters, but the basketball team never had that problem.

Whenever Derek was on the court, the bleachers were packed to the rafters.

He was the campuss "ice prince," completely aloof and detached. During his first two years, he hadn't dated a single person, leaving everyone to whisper about who would finally be the one to melt his frozen heart.

I was the only girl allowed within his inner circle.

After a game, he would casually toss his sweat-dampened team jacket over my head, ruffle my hair, and offer a lazy, murmured, "I'm heading to the showers."

The other girls would watch us with intense envy, and I quietly let myself drown in the sweet, dizzying warmth of that ambiguity.

I was naive enough to believe his refusal to date anyone else was because he was waiting for me.

Until that snowy night, when he chose a different way to reject me.

A way far more cruel than a simple, face-to-face "no." He wanted to humiliate me, to make me feel like a pathetic clown.

Since that night, I had stopped reaching out to him. I stopped attending his games, choosing to spend my Saturdays tucked away in the quiet corners of the library instead.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, my phone buzzed. It was Zach, Derek's roommate.

"Hey, Grace. Derek took a nasty spill on the court. Are you coming over to check on him?"

Hearing that he was hurt still sent a sharp, involuntary pang through my chest. But I had my pride, and I had my dignity.

"I'm not on campus today, Zach. I won't be able to make it."

Zach let out a quiet sigh of surprise. "No wonder you weren't in the stands today. He kept looking for you."

I offered a quiet murmur of agreement and hung up.

Leaving the library, I grabbed a lonely dinner at the dining hall and immediately returned to my books. Derek and I had entered a silent, unspoken truce; we hadn't exchanged a single message in over two weeks.

In truth, I had always been the one driving our connection. The moment I stopped reaching out, our world simply fell apart.

Besides, he had a girlfriend now. It was only right that we stopped speaking.

The night of the blizzard.

Derek had texted me, asking me to deliver a package to his apartment.

Earlier that morning, I had finally mustered the courage to slip a handwritten confession letter into his locker. He hadn't acknowledged it all day.

It wasn't until the snow began to pile up on the pavement that he finally sent a message, telling me he had left a bag with Zach for me to bring to his place.

By the time I ran to his building, my breath was coming in ragged gasps. Derek stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame.

"Thanks," he murmured, reaching for the bag.

My fingers were so stiff from the biting cold that my grip slipped. The paper bag tore, and its contents spilled across the welcome mat.

I looked down.

It wasn't cold medicine. It was a sleek, blue box of condoms.

I froze, the breath catching in my throat.

Derek crouched down, his expression entirely natural as he gathered the items. We locked eyes for a long, quiet second.

My gaze drifted past his shoulder, peering into the warm, dimly lit apartment behind him.

A girl's slender silhouette was visible in the soft glow of the hallway. She was wrapped in his sheets, her bare shoulders pale against the dark fabric. The air in the room felt thick with a lazy, post-coital warmth.

A heavy, suffocating pressure settled over my chest, and my entire world seemed to crumble into dust. The freezing wind howling outside was nothing compared to the absolute numbness spreading through my veins.

Then, the girl's soft, sleepy voice drifted out to the doorway.

"Derek? Are you coming back to bed?"

Derek looked back at me, a faint, polite smile playing on his lips.

"My girlfriend is waiting, Grace. I won't keep you. It's freezing out there, so be careful on your way back."

I didn't even have the strength to ask him when he had started seeing her, or why he hadn't told me.

The heavy door clicked shut in my face.

The moment the elevator doors closed on the first floor, I collapsed against the wall and began to sob.

The bag had been a standard brown paper drugstore bag, which was why I had desperately assumed he was sick. I had run so fast through the storm that I had taken a hard fall on the black ice, scraping my knee so badly it was still throbbing.

As I stumbled out into the freezing night, my phone rang. Derek's name flashed on the screen.

"Grace," his voice came through, cool and detached. "Wait in the lobby. I told Kevin to come pick you up."

I didn't dare speak, terrified that the tremble in my voice would betray my tears. I simply let out a quiet murmur of assent and hung up.

I had no intention of waiting.

At this hour, the subways were delayed, the buses had stopped running, and finding a cab in a blizzard was practically impossible. But I kept my head down, burying my face in my jacket as I began the long, freezing walk back to my dorm.

The profound, aching weight in my chest made me entirely numb to the cold.

If a pair of strong, steady hands hadn't caught my shoulders, I probably would have collapsed in the snow without even realizing it.

A tall, dark silhouette stepped into my path, shielding me from the biting wind.

The pale streetlamp illuminated his sharp, striking features and the snow dusted across his dark hair.

"Grace?"

My mind scrambled to place him. Kevin Pierce.

He was Derek's former roommate from freshman year. We had met briefly at a campus party, and though we hadn't spoken much, his quiet, intense presence had left a lasting impression on me. He was exceptionally handsome, though far more reserved and aloof than Derek.

"Kevin?" I whispered, my eyelashes heavy with frost.

He nodded, his dark eyes searching my face. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the lobby?"

Despite the freezing temperatures, a light sheen of sweat clung to his forehead. His chest was heaving slightly, his breath curling into white plumes in the dark. He didn't sound angry or demanding; he simply sounded relieved to have found me.

"Where were you planning to go?" he asked softly.

I realized with a jolt that the dorms had already locked for the night. There was no way back inside.

"I... I suppose I'll find a hotel," I murmured.

Kevins lips twitched with a faint, dry amusement. "The blizzard has shut down the transit lines. Every hotel in the area is booked solid or charging triple. Come to my place."

Seeing the hesitation in my eyes, he glanced down at his watch.

"It's past midnight, Grace. I have an early morning flight to catch to go visit my family for the weekend. Once I drop you off at my apartment, I'm heading straight to the airport. You'll have the place to yourself."

"It's much safer than wandering the streets in a storm."

I looked at his sincere, calm expression and nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Kevin."

A fleeting smile touched his lips, so brief I almost thought I had imagined it.

"You're freezing," he muttered, quickly unbuttoning his heavy wool coat and wrapping it around my shoulders. He unwound his thick scarf and wrapped it gently around my neck, his fingers brushing my chin.

When we reached his apartment, he set his suitcase by the door and looked down at my torn jeans.

"You fell?"

"How did you know?" I asked, startled.

Kevin retrieved a small medical kit from the bathroom and placed it in my hands. "Can you apply the ointment yourself?"

I nodded.

He grabbed his suitcase, offering a quiet nod before heading out into the storm. "Lock the door behind me, Grace. Text me when you're back in your dorm tomorrow."

I watched him leave, feeling a strange, quiet warmth bloom in my chest for the first time all night.

Though Derek had never formally replied to my letter, his actions had given me an unmistakable answer.

He didn't love me.

And so, I quietly stepped back, erecting a polite, impenetrable wall between us.

Late one evening, as I walked back from the library, a message from Zach popped up on my screen. It was a photo of Dereks knee, wrapped in a thick compression bandage.

Just finished icing it. He's doing fine.

I stared at the photo for a moment before typing a polite response.

Glad to hear. Hope he recovers quickly.

When I walked into my dorm room, my roommates immediately swarmed around my desk.

"Grace, did Derek actually get a girlfriend?"

I paused, placing my books on the shelf, and nodded. "Yes."

Sophia sighed. "I knew it. I ran into him downstairs earlier. He was dropping off Victoria Ashford, the law major."

Jade joined in, her eyes wide. "They look like something out of a magazine. It's almost unfair."

That night, the campus forums were practically overflowing with threads about them.

Heartbroken. Columbias golden boy is officially off the market.

Honestly, theyre perfect together. Both of them are gorgeous and wealthy. It's a visual masterpiece.

Thank goodness. I was getting tired of seeing that plain girl trailing behind him like a shadow. Derek was always out of her league anyway.

My chest tightened slightly as I scrolled through the comments. I closed the app, looking at my roommates.

"They really do make a lovely couple," I said quietly.

And it was the truth. Everyone on campus thought so.

Derek and I were childhood friends.

Our families lived next door to each other in Greenwich, Connecticut. For years, it was just him and his mother, and we had always assumed his father was out of the picture.

But when we were in middle school, a sleek, black luxury sedan parked at the end of our street, drawing the curious gazes of all our neighbors.

It turned out Dereks father was the CEO of Shaw Enterprises, one of the most powerful developers on the East Coast.

Dereks mother had refused to leave our quiet neighborhood, so his father simply bought the historic estate at the end of the lane and renovated it from top to bottom.

Derek had always excelled at everything, easily outshining me in academics. I had barely scraped by to get into Columbia, while he had been accepted with honors.

Growing up, my mothers voice was a constant refrain: Look at Derek, Grace. Why can't you be more like him?

To which I would always shoot back: Look at his father's company, Mom. Why can't you be more like him?

That usually kept her quiet.

Now that we were of college age, my mother frequently brought him up during our weekly phone calls, dropping heavy hints.

Dereks mother and I were just talking, Grace. It would be so lovely if you two ended up together.

Back then, those words would make my cheeks burn with a shy, hopeful heat.

But now, the mere mention of his name made me want to run in the opposite direction.

I was sitting in the dining hall with Sophia when Dereks tall, unmistakable figure appeared near the entrance. He stood out effortlessly in the crowd, his broad shoulders easily clearing the students around him.

Sophia nudged my arm, pointing toward the door. "Grace, your boy is here."

Hearing that old designation made my chest ache.

"Sophia, please don't say that. He has a girlfriend, and we aren't close anymore."

"Are you finished eating? Let's go."

As we stood up to leave, Derek and Zach began walking in our direction. Dereks eyes locked onto mine, but I quickly averted my gaze, guiding Sophia toward the exit without looking back.

It was the first time I had actively ignored him.

That evening, I received a text from him.

Have you been busy lately?

I stared at the notification, waiting until midnight to type out a brief, formal reply.

Yes, we have a lot of final projects this week.

A few days later, our department hosted a guest lecture. Attendance was mandatory, and the seats were assigned by student ID.

To my dismay, Derek was seated in the same row.

As he walked down the aisle toward me, I quickly spotted an empty seat a few rows down, nestled between two strangers. I slid into it before he could reach me, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

Dereks eyes darkened as he watched me sit down. Once the lecture started, my phone buzzed in my lap.

Why didn't you sit with me? There was an empty space.

I typed back a simple lie.

Oh, sorry. I didn't see you.

When the lecture ended, I slipped out through the side exit before the crowd could block the aisles.

Why did you run off? his next text arrived.

I manufactured another excuse.

My roommate forgot her student ID and needed me to bring it to her exam room.

My mother sent me a massive care package filled with her homemade beef jerky. She had specifically added a note, reminding me to share.

Derek loves the spicy ones, Grace. Make sure you hand-deliver the red jar to him.

I looked at the jar, feeling an old, stubborn lump in my throat. I dialed Derek's number, intending to ask him to meet me in the courtyard to get it over with.

But when the call connected, a girl's soft, elegant voice answered.

"Hello?"

My heart stuttered. Even though I had spent weeks telling myself I was over him, hearing his girlfriend answer his phone still felt like a physical blow.

I hung up without saying a word.

I quickly dialed Sophia instead. "Hey, Sophia. My mom sent a ton of beef jerky. Can you come down to the lobby and help me carry it up?"

Sophias voice squealed with delight. "Oh my god, yes! I'm on my way!"

We shared the snacks with the entire floor. An hour later, my phone rang again. It was Zach, his voice frantic.

"Grace! Thank goodness you picked up. Are you in your dorm?"

"Derek got into a bad car accident. He's at Columbia Presbyterian."

My fingers tightened around my phone, a cold spike of panic shooting through my chest. But then, I forced myself to breathe.

"I can't go, Zach. I have plans today."

"You should call Victoria."

Zach let out a strained, dry laugh. "Why on earth would I call her?"

I remembered my brief encounter with Victoria in the library courtyard a few days prior. She had stopped me, offering a polite, razor-sharp smile.

Grace, right? Derek's little childhood friend.

I'll be honest with you. I absolutely despise the concept of a 'childhood best friend' when it comes to men. I'm sure you understand. Nobody wants their boyfriend to have a surrogate sister hovering around.

I had offered a tight, forced smile and nodded in agreement.

"Zach," I said now, my voice steady. "It's not appropriate for me to go. Call his girlfriend."

I hung up.

The next morning, I was woken up by a call. I answered sleepily, my voice raspy.

"Hello?"

"Grace," Derek's voice came through, thick and exhausted. "I'm in the hospital."

Annoyed at having my sleep disrupted, I muttered, "Then call a doctor, Derek. I'm not a physician."

The silence on the other end of the line was deafening.

And in that quiet, I finally woke up, realizing exactly what I had just said.