The Split by Penny Tyler Page A

attention, and I suddenly can’t remember the last time a man truly listened to me like this.
                  “It wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t cheating on me, as well.”  I continue, my hands literally starting to shake as I recall the way that I was treated by my ex.  “I mean, the fucking nerve of that guy.”
                  Derek reaches across the table and puts his hand over mine, which instantly calms me like a beautiful wave of medicine for my soul.  The shaking stops and I immediately return to reality.
                  “It’s okay.”  Derek tells me.  “You don’t need to get into it like that.  I understand.”
                  “No.”  I tell him.  “It’s good to get it out.”
                  Derek nods, but keeps his warm strong hands over mine.
                  “One day when Chet was out seeing one of his regular hook ups, I left the house and went to the store.  I ran into an old friend from high school who I hadn’t seen in years.  He was always such a nice guy back then.”  I stop for a moment and stare off out the diner window.  “I was so sad and lonely, so I brought him home and we started to fool around.  It’s the first time that I had felt desirable in months; the first time I felt like a woman, even.”
                  Derek closes his eyes, as if he already knows what’s about to come next.
                  “The next thing I know.”  I continue.  “Chet is coming through the door and he’s pissed off; I mean really fucking pissed off.”
                  I start shaking again, and this time Derek’s hand can’t do anything to calm me.  I keep going though, willing myself to push through the trauma and come out safely on the other side.
                  “I remember screaming.”  I say, a single tear rolling down my cheek.  “And then I remember Chet walking over to the closet and pulling out a gun.  He shot my friend four times, first in the head and then three more times as he lie there on the floor.  The guy was already dead but he just kept shooting.”
                  “Oh my god.”  The words fall out of Derek’s mouth and land on the table before him.  He’s in utter shock, his heart aching for me as he sits across the table and listens so intently; so carefully.
                  “That’s when Chet turned the gun towards me.”  I say.  “I remember looking him in the eye and thinking, what happened to this man that I loved?  The guy who would do anything for me?  How did he become this entirely new person?”  I laugh to myself.  “But I guess there are two sides to every coin.”
                  We sit in silence for a moment, the air electrified by the emotion that buzzes between us.
                  “So what happened?”  Derek finally asks.
                  I snap out of it suddenly, as if the thought had never ever even occurred to me.  “Oh.”  I start.  “The gun jammed.”
                  “The gun jammed?”  Derek repeats back to me in utter shock.
                  “Lady luck, I guess.”  I tell him.  “I haven’t had sex since that day.  Even the thought of it makes me sick.”
                  Derek is dumbfounded, but his expression alone makes me feel warm and safe.  Obviously, I’ve made mistakes before when it comes to men, but this guy is different.
                  Suddenly, though, Derek’s expression starts to change, he’s looking down at my arm and wearing a face that goes from concern to downright confusion.
                  I immediately glance down to see what he’s looking at.  My emotional explosion must have caused a slight corruption in the nanobot code, because my body is stretching and morphing again, just like back in the lab.  This