She stood up and began to pace. She thought about what had happened to her, about a man she had thought was a friend who had tried to rape her. The horrible nights that had followed, how Peter had been there for her. His calming words, reassuring voice. Then, in a heated moment, he had unraveled her confidence like a run in a stocking.

“I don’t believe you said those things,” Rina choked out. “You spent almost an entire year convincing me that…that…that incident was not my fault, that it could have happened to anyone, that I did nothing to encourage you-know-who, nothing to lead him on…that the guy was a mental case. Now, you say I have a knack for attracting weirdos.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Well, I didn’t mean that.”

“Then what did you mean?”

Decker thought a moment. His head had begun to throb. “I meant you’d attract any man, weird or not, because you’re so beautiful, and you shouldn’t be talking to someone you don’t know.”

Rina paused, then asked, “Was Abel who he said he was?”

“Yes, but you didn’t know that.”

“Except I knew he knew you. He showed me pictures of the two of you together. You can’t fake that.”

“What kind of pictures?”

“Army photos. He let me keep this one.” She fished it out of her pocket and handed it to him. “I told him I’d make a copy and give the original back to him.”

Decker stared at the picture for a long time, his face as still as stone. Little Petie Decker, a dumb-ass grin plastered on his face, smiling as if he were about to go to a birthday party. Ready for action, ready for the Big Times. God, what a jerk he’d been. And to think he had enlisted, his dad had been so proud of him…. And Abel, looking just as stupid and a hell of a lot healthier. Decker wondered why he’d keep such a morbid reminder of a time gone forever.

Abruptly, he tossed the photo onto the bed.

“For all I care, you can burn it. I don’t like living in the past.”

He sat down and buried his face in his hands. A full-blown headache had seeped into his temples. Rina sat beside him, pocketed the picture, then slipped her arm around his shoulder.

“Now, we’re both upset.”

Decker was silent.

“Bad memories?” Rina whispered.

“Not as bad as Abel’s,” Decker said.

“Is he weird?”