2.

Two hours later, flushed and tired but still full of energy, Avery damn near danced her way home. Contrary to what her mother believed, Danielle – the woman who had owned and taught at their small dance school since the beginning of time, in Avery's view – believed that Avery was a fantastic dancer. So good in fact she wanted her to perform a solo at their next recital, music and choreography to be chosen by Avery. It wasn't performing a Las Vegas show or anything but it was something that she had wanted since she had attended her first bitty-ballerina class way back in first grade.

She practically floated through dinner with her dad. He was as excited as she was. Avery tried to rein it in, she had until August after all. But she couldn't help herself. She was too proud to just keep it low-key.

"Your mother would like us to join her at Janelle's in the morning." Ted Morgan shared his daughter's dark blue eyes and lopsided smile. They also shared a dimple on the left cheek. His hair was a sandy blond, just starting to turn gray. Avery thought he resembled Robert Redford, right down to the ruddy skin. A couple of her friends agreed.

She couldn't help but make a face as she cleared dishes. "And here I thought I was going to get to avoid that."

"You might yet." Ted winked and loaded the dishwasher. "I was thinking I might head down tonight. And pretend I never intercepted the answering machine. I know you'd rather spend the weekend plotting your big moment."

Avery grinned. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. I expect the house to still be standing when we get back Sunday, of course. No wild parties. No boys."

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "This is the equivalent of the town haunted house. Kids cross the road so they don't walk on our sidewalk out of fear."

"And we'd like to keep it that way." Ted laughed. "I trust you. Your mother does too, even if she doesn't know how to just come out and say it. I'll leave you some money for pizza or a burger for tomorrow, and you can fend for yourself and practice dancing around the house."

"I have money." The upside of no social life meant that Avery had banked her tutoring money. Besides buying the odd piece of clothing on occasion, her debts were completely covered by her parents. Even her college fund was taken care of in the event that she was denied a scholarship. Avery wasn't worried about that. She was a straight-A student with an unblemished record, good extracurriculars, and was an ace at writing essays. She fully expected to hear something within the next week or so. She was younger than the average freshman, yes, but she was smarter than most of the graduating seniors that year.

"Listen kiddo, enjoy the free ride while it lasts." Ted laughed and gave her a one-armed hug. "I'm going to go pack. Unless you want to go?"

"Ugh. No thanks." Avery didn't need the pressure. Suzanne was a perfectionist. Janette was worse. And to top it off, Janette was a dancer. Retired now but had been trained in classical ballet.

So she would have a quiet weekend. Or a boring one. Once her father had left, Avery settled in to watch a movie, munching on popcorn. Feeling lonely. She could have called Ellie, her best friend, but Ellie was most likely out with David, her boyfriend. It was Friday night after all. It was nearing 11 when Avery decided to call it a night. The stress of testing, and the fun of dancing, and now she was tired.

She had just settled in when her phone rang. That figured. Avery grumbled and got up, fully expecting her mother to be checking in. She didn't usually but there was always a first time.

"Hello?" She said, stifling a yawn when she picked up the phone.

There was a moment of quiet. "Hey."

Oh lord. The butterflies had appeared. It was Mark. She knew it in just that one word. He had a distinctively deep voice.

"Hey." She said it back because it seemed he was waiting for her to say something.

He took a long pause. Long enough that she started to worry he might have hung up. "Did I wake you up?" There was something in his voice. Something not quite right. Avery frowned.

"Nope. I was heading to bed but not sleeping. What's up?"

"Can we meet?"

Now it was Avery's turn to take a long pause. Meet? As in...meet somewhere? "Uh..."

"You don't...I'm not..." He was stumbling over his words. Avery wondered if he'd been drinking. "It's my birthday."

"Oh?" That meant he'd turned nineteen. She should have known. Should have gotten him a gift or something. And maybe he had been drinking. He looked older than he was. "Happy birthday?" She made it a question.

"Can I come pick you up?" There was an emotional hitch in his voice, once that Avery couldn't place. Her heart broke for him. Whatever was going on, it was eating him up inside.

"Sure. Give me a minute to get dressed."

"All right." She heard the soft click as he hung up and stood staring at the phone in her hand. If he had been drinking she really shouldn't get in the car with him, but then again he sounded like he really needed someone to talk to. She could keep him in the driveway and see if he wanted to spill it.

She went to her room and rummaged in her closet, pulling out a dark blue sundress. She had planned to wear it the next day, so figured she'd just go ahead and tug it on. She slipped into a pair of sandals, grabbed her copy of the house key and small purse, and stepped out onto the front porch. Mark was already there, his dark car idling in the driveway. It was dark out but was still warm with the heat of the day. Avery went to the driver's side door and leaned down, peering in at him.

"Are you all right?" She asked, taking in the set of his jaw. He was definitely fighting something.

"No. Not really." He still sounded off. Upset but trying to hold onto it. Avery couldn't smell alcohol either, so he hadn't been drinking.

"So where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere. Everywhere." He finally looked at her, straight into her eyes. "Are you going to get in?"

"I suppose." But still she hesitated. And Mark figured out why.

"I'm not drunk. That shit's for Rob." The way he spit the word out cause Avery to take a step back.

"You don't sound like yourself." She said with a shrug at the look on his face.

"I'm sorry. Look..." He sighed and popped open the driver's side door, moving to stand up. "Let's go take a ride." He walked around to the passenger side and held the door open for Avery to slip inside. She buckled up while he made his way back to his seat.

She had worried for nothing. He drove with single-minded purpose, like he did everything else. Mark had great focus. It meant she could study him in the glow of the dashboard lights, taking in the set of his jaw and the shape of his lips, the slight frown on his forehead. His dark hair was starting to look a bit shaggy, like he was overdue for a haircut. Avery of course thought it looked good on him.

"So what happened? What's wrong?" Once they had left town behind them and were driving over winding country roads, Avery found her voice.

Mark would only shake his head. For almost an hour, he drove, seemingly in circles, the radio playing so low it was only a mutter. Apparently he didn't want to talk, and he didn't want to be alone. Avery was at a loss.

He finally turned at a gravel drive, one that Avery recalled led to a picnic area and small lake. Not a fishing lake – that one was on the other end of town, much bigger and stocked every other month with catfish, bass, and crappie. The big lake was also the hangout for high school kids in the summer. The one was considered strictly for kids, the water not deep even in the middle, the width easily swimmable. Most people called it the pond.

Just past midnight, it was completely deserted. Mark shut the car off and dropped them into darkness. And then he just sat there, shoulders rolled forward as if he were protecting himself from a blow. He rested his forehead against the steering wheel and heaved a deep sigh.

Avery reached out a shaky hand and laid it against the back of his neck. She unfastened her seat belt and slid across the bench seat, looking at him with concern. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"I don't need help." He said softly, and took another deep breath. "She's gone."

"Who?" Avery toyed with his hair, letting it slip between her fingers as she rubbed the back of his neck.

"My mother."

Her fingers paused. "What do you mean...gone?"

Mark raised his head and looked at her, meeting her eyes. Her vision had adjusted a bit, there was enough moonlight so she could see he was still fighting against his emotion. "Dead. She's dead."

"Oh. Oh my god. Mark..." Avery leaned over, unsure, hesitant, but wanting to hug him. "I'm so sorry. What...what happened?" He had surprised her by not only returning the hug, but wrapping his arms around her so tightly she had lost her breath mid-sentence.

"He killed her. That son of a bitch killed her."