#sosin

Galen frowned. “If she’s working late, why bother having a session today? She’ll be exhausted, won’t she?”

Beth gave him a long look, then rubbed her temples. “Why? Don’t tell me you had a head injury to go along with the knee.” When Galen couldn’t conjure a response to that, Beth heaved a sigh. “You know what? She told me about how you got in one of the sea turtle’s tanks.”

“Tortellini,” he said.

He could barely make out her expression with the way her sunglasses ate her face, but he could picture her rolling her eyes. “Tortellini. As I was saying… Leigh’s protective of the animals she takes care of. Like… mama-bear-who-will-claw-you-to- death protective. Frankly, I’m shocked she let you near the pavilion at all. But to let you share the same water as one of her babies? I’m flabbergasted.”

“Are you planning to get to your point, or should I pull up a chair?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, too.”

Heat rose to Galen’s cheeks. He scowled at Beth, part of him hoping she’d be intimidated, the same way people always were when he looked anything less than friendly. But she just stared right back at him, so much smaller yet just as stubborn. He braced himself for Beth to threaten him to stay far away from Leigh.

Instead, she lowered her sunglasses and looked more cross than murderous. “Don’t screw things up,” she said. “Against all odds, she seems… happy around you. You hurt her, you lead her on or break her heart, I will find a way to give you twenty-to-life. Got that?”

Startled, he laughed uncomfortably. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t… I mean, she and I aren’t…” He distractedly adjusted his beanie, wishing Beth and her knowing stare would just go away. He huffed. “We’re friends.”

Beth chuckled humorlessly. “Sure. Don’t make me repeat myself. Get in the truck.”

Desperate to avoid any further discussion on the matter, he did as he was told.

When they arrived at the sanctuary, Galen was almost unnerved to see that the pavilion had people wandering around. He shouldn’t have been shocked—Beth had finally explained that the sanctuary had been short on help lately and needed to extend their working hours so Leigh could add another tour.

Still, he was so used to the calm and quiet of the pavilion, he made it a point to hang back near the edge. It came as no shock to him that no one in there was his height. Rockrest wasn’t known to attract bigger visitors. 

Leigh was in the middle of a presentation in front of the bleachers. She paced on the platform that circled Bruce’s tank, talking animatedly. He couldn’t hear her from so far away, but he imagined she was bragging about how good she was at not being eaten alive by sharks. When she circled around the other side, she spotted him at the edge of the pavilion.

Galen stiffened, expecting her to look away and ignore him. He would understand; she was working. But even from a distance, she could see the way her eyes lit up as she waved at him. He gave a half-wave, his face growing hot again.

Dammit, Beth.

When her presentation was over, Leigh welcomed the guests to roam around and look at the inhabitants of the tanks for fifteen minutes before the sanctuary closed. The moment she was able, she waltzed over to Galen and smiled.

“You don’t have to back yourself into a corner just because there’s people around,” she said. 

He shrugged. “I didn’t pay admission.”

She shrugged more aggressively. “I don’t see security.”

Before he could quip back, a mother leading her kids around called out to Leigh. “Excuse me, miss? What kind of shark did you say was in that tank?”

Bubbling with as much energy as ever, Leigh ran off to join the family at Bruce’s tank. Meanwhile, Galen found himself feeling out of place again. Slowly, he allowed himself to walk around the outskirts at least. His goal was to get to the empty tank and wait for Leigh’s shift to be over. 

On his way there, he spotted three little kids pressing their hands to the glass of a nearby tank. They were asking questions to each other, debating on why one of its flippers looked different than the others. Just when the debate about robot arms and plastic fins was getting heated, Galen found himself clearing his throat.

“His name is Tortellini.”

The kids flinched in unison and turned to him in surprise. There were two boys and a girl—siblings, by the look of it. They visibly stepped closer together, staring up at Galen with a touch of wariness.

He turned away, not wanting to see the moment they would run away from him. But he stopped mid-step when the girl piped up.

“Why does Tortellini have a robot arm?” There was uncertainty in her voice, but also a small giggle when she said the turtle’s name.

“It, uh… it’s not a robot arm.” Galen paused and looked toward Leigh. She was still busy with the other family.

“I told you it wasn’t a robot arm,” one of the boys said, elbowing his sister’s arm. 

She shrugged him off and pointedly ignored him, still looking at Galen instead. “What is it, then?” she asked.

Hesitantly, Galen lowered himself to sit by the tank. At least that way it wouldn’t feel like he was talking down to them too much. “It’s called a prosthetic. His flipper was hurt in an accident, so the people here helped by making him a new one.”

He thought that would be the end of it, that the kids would simply nod at his answer and move on to the next tank. Instead, he was treated to a dozen more questions all at once. What did Tortellini eat? Did he ever share the tank with friends? How fast could he swim? Galen answered as best he could, managing to slow the kids down to one question at a time until they were satisfied.

From the corner of his eye, Galen spotted Leigh watching. She was beaming.

As the tour came to an end and everyone filtered out of the pavilion, he should have been happy to finally have Leigh to himself for the session. But as much as he hated to admit it, there was something fun about talking to those kids about sea turtles. He tried to ignore the feeling, only to wrestle with the bittersweetness that tomorrow’s session would be the last.

It was hard not to let it distract him while Leigh worked with him that afternoon, just as chipper as she ever was.

“Something’s off,” Gale announced the moment he got out of the truck at the sanctuary.

Leigh’s heart did a backflip as she shut the driver side door and faced him. “What makes you say that?”

“I thought about it the whole ride over. You hardly said a word when you picked me up.” He crossed his arms. “That makes me think you’re… up to something.”

She put a hand to her chest in feigned astonishment. “Well, I am shocked. Wounded. Just because I’m not talking your ear off means that I’m up to something?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Yep. You just strike me as the kind of person who’s not good at keeping secrets. So you decided that hardly talking would help. What is it? It’s our last session—how bad can it be?”

Leigh cocked her head, certain that she detected some faint somberness in his voice when he said that. Hope fluttered inside her, but she stifled it for now. “Okay, okay, you got me. I just didn’t want to tell you back at your place because I was afraid you wouldn’t come if you knew what we were doing today.”

She waved him over toward the pavilion. He hesitated before following, stopping dead in his tracks when he caught a glimpse of what was going on. A couple of other sanctuary workers were loading a large tank into the back of a truck. 

“We’re going to the beach this evening,” Leigh said brightly. “We’re releasing one of our rescues today, and well… I’ve never missed a release before. Plus, I think you’re ready to work with the resistance of the waves. It’ll be good practice! So even though we’ll be done with our sessions, you can keep going out there to work on your healing, and—”

“Leigh, which rescue is being released?”

She smiled sheepishly. “I think you know.”

“Bruce?”

“Ding-ding-ding.”

He sighed heavily, lowering himself to sit on the pavement while the truck was latched up. Leigh inched closer, looking up to get a read on his expression. “You thought I’d say no to that?” he said.

“Well, you said you’d never get into the shark tank. And I am technically asking you to get into a body of water that contains Bruce.”

“I mean, it’s a body of water that technically contains most sharks.” He pursed his lips, and for a moment, Leigh thought he was seriously considering walking home from there. But finally, he said, “Fine. Should I get back in the truck?”

Grinning, she leaned in and tugged on his shirt. “If it’s walking distance for me, it’s walking distance for you. Let’s go.”

Releases were always bittersweet, but saying goodbye to Bruce in particular left Leigh misty-eyed. She stood on the shore while the other sanctuary employees carefully transported the tank to deep enough water to free him. It wasn’t long before he vanished from sight entirely, no doubt enthralled to have the whole ocean to swim in again.

“We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to release him at all at first,” Leigh told Galen. “His injury was so bad, we thought he’d have to be a lifer.”

“Like Tortellini?”

“Exactly.” She sighed and gave up on trying to spot the shark in the choppy waves. The rest of the team was already packing up. “I feel like a mother watching her kid go off to college.”

Galen chuckled. “Is that how you’re going to feel with me?”

She bit her lip and looked up at him, wondering if she should ask him now. But she held off. If the conversation didn’t go as planned, she doubted Galen would want to stick around for an awkward session.

“Well, I can’t tell you that until we’re done,” she said brightly. She strode to the lapping shore and walked backward to face him. “Come on, don’t be scared—Bruce is long gone by now, swimming off to find some food.”

“I’m not scared,” Galen huffed, hurrying to follow her and catching up in no time.

Leigh backed up until her feet couldn’t touch the sand anymore. Maneuvering the waves was easy at first, but they were soon battering her when they reached water levels that went up to Galen’s chest. She tried to look like this was nothing for her, but Galen only had to observe her for a few seconds before he reached out to steady her.

His hands clasped around her waist and kept the waves from sweeping her further away. She swore she saw color rose to his cheeks, and he was quick to justify himself.

“Just don’t want you to be carried off and turn into Bruce’s dinner,” he said.

She snorted, latching her hands onto his forearms. “How does your knee feel with the waves?”

“Sore, but…” He hesitated, glancing up at the darkening sky. A heavier wave crashed into Leigh from the back, inadvertently drawing her closer to him. “It’s so much better than before. I dunno if I’ll be one-hundred percent ready for work on Monday, but even being able to walk is progress. And look… I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay you—”

“Don’t worry about it.” Her heart began beating faster. She tightened her fingers on his arms. He frowned down at her, clearly about to ask what the matter was, so she spat it out. “In fact, I’ve got another offer for you.”

He squinted at her. “What?”

“I talked to the owners at Sealife.” She swallowed hard. “And they agree that we’ve been too shorthanded lately. You said you were unhappy with your construction job, so I want you to come work with us.”

He stared hard at her, another wave pushing her closer until she had to practically look straight up at him. He said nothing, so she babbled on.

“I mean, you’d still have to do some heavy lifting, but you also seem so comfortable around the animals—except Bruce—but he’s gone, and even if we got another shark, you wouldn’t have to touch it.” She cut herself off and held eye contact with Galen, who still hadn’t said a word. “Well?” she prompted.

For another beat, he said nothing. Then he shook his head like he was coming out of a trance. “Sorry, I got distracted—I always thought your eyes were brown. I just noticed they’re green.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you okay?”

The grip around her waist faltered before tightening. Not to a level of discomfort—almost like he wanted to make sure that she was real. That what she had said was real.

“If I take the job,” he said slowly, “do I have to deal with Beth supervising all the time?”

“Occasionally. But mostly you’d just have to deal with me supervising. Since I’ll technically be your boss, having seniority and all.”

He scoffed. “Now, that I’m not sure I could handle.”

She shoved his arm. “Rude! I’m an excellent boss!” But she still held a kernel of doubt. “So… is that a yes? You don’t have to decide right now. I figured it’d be a good place to start while you try to figure out what your passion is, so—”

“Yes,” he said, shaking his head exasperatedly. “Yes, I’d love to come work with you.”

“For me.”

“Don’t push it.”

“Is that any way to talk to your boss?”

“Do you want me to launch you into the sea?”

More out of reflex than any sort of rational thought, she pushed the rest of the way forward and hugged him around the neck. For a second, she worried he might pull her away. But to her shock, his hands moved higher and allowed a brief embrace. 

Her heart was still pounding like mad. She hoped he couldn’t feel it with all the waves. But then again, she could feel his pounding like a drum, maybe just as fast.

That fear was soon put to rest as he made his way quietly past the first few tanks. She was in one of the shallower pools, but the water level still easily went over her head. And she was not with a sea turtle this time.

A gasp caught in Galen’s throat, and he hurried forward. “What the hell?” he snapped.

Leigh gave a small shriek at his outburst and twisted around to see him. “Galen? What—”

“What are you doing in there?” he demanded, bracing his hand at the edge of the pool. “There’s a shark swimming around you!”

With a hand pressed firmly over her chest, Leigh slumped her shoulders as she calmed down. “Thanks, I’m aware.” She swam closer to Galen cautiously, staring up at him like she was seeing a ghost. Still, her expression softened a little. “You can relax. Bruce is very gentle. One of his fins was hurt by a boat propeller, and he’s doing great with rehab. We can probably release him in around a week.”

“Bruce?” he said, unconvinced.

She grinned. “My niece named him. Don’t worry, he’s not a great white. He’s a leopard shark.”

“Oh, what a relief,” he said, shaking his head. Seeing as the shark was playfully nudging around her legs and not trying to take a chunk out of Leigh, Galen settled down and pushed a hand back through his hair. “So… You’d get in the water with a literal shark, but not with me, huh?”

“Sharks are a little more predictable.”

“I’m unpredictable?”

“Well, the fact that you’re here is throwing me for a loop.” Her smile became uncertain. “Forget something?”

“Yeah…” He glanced to the corner where he’d dropped his beanie. Sure enough, it was still there, and he’d walked right past it. He went over to retrieve it, and when he returned to the shark pool, Leigh was standing on the edge, drying herself off.

“You know…” There was a playful edge of accusation in her voice. “You’ve never taken that thing off while you’re here. Weird how it got left behind.”

“Yeah, weird. It probably fell when I was putting my shirt back on, I dunno,” he said quickly. He stared hard at the floor for a few moments, then sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. “And… I guess I wanted to say I’m sorry, or whatever.”

Her smile turned impish, and she didn’t let him off the hook. “Sorry, or whatever, for what?”

“For being a dick, I guess.”

“Hm.” She tapped her chin. She was really milking this, but the fact that she wanted to talk to him at all was shocking in and of itself. “All is forgiven, I guess. I know you’re frustrated. And… It can’t be easy accepting help from the person who did this to you. But if you wanna give this another go, I’m in.”

Galen blinked at her. “Wait, seriously?”

“Well, you’re right on time, aren’t you?” She climbed down the ladder and strolled around the tank to face him. “And you’re dressed for the occasion. I doubt you were planning to go for a dip at the beach.”

His face flushed. “Look, I didn’t wanna have to run all the way back home to chance on the off chance that you were still in.” He followed her to their usual pool, taking small steps to accommodate her size—though that wasn’t hard with his knee aching. “You sure you’re okay without your rabid guard dog watching?”

“Beth’s got enough on her place without babysitting you on the list,” she said lightly. “But if you yell at me again, I might ask her to bring her taser.”

“Fair enough.” He laughed uneasily, unsure if she was joking.

Within minutes, Galen found himself in the water again. He was still sore enough to wince when Leigh had him lift his knee up all the way, but he found it wasn’t nearly as excruciating as yesterday. Without Beth’s watchful eye judging his every move, he felt like he could carry himself with more confidence and listen to Leigh’s advice without getting irritated.

At least, not as much as usual.

He cursed. “Is it really supposed to hurt this much?”

“Only if you’re doing it right,” Leigh said, pacing back and forth on the platform like she still half-expected she would need to make a quick escape. “If you were doing it wrong, you wouldn’t have the capacity to whine about it this much.”

Huffing, he screwed up his face and stretched his knee again. He still griped, but he laid off on the snapping.

By the end of the session, Leigh looked quite comfortable letting her legs dangle over the edge of the platform while she leaned back on her hands. Her caution was gone, replaced with the same energetic encouragement from earlier in the week.

Although Galen couldn’t bring himself to admit it, he appreciated her patience. And he supposed he didn’t mind seeing the way her face lit up when he managed to push through each exercise.

Leigh fully intended to call or text Beth about the sessions being back on. But… She had to wonder if that was a good idea. With Galen and Beth bickering every chance they got, the last session of the week could end with snapping again.

Galen clearly took notice—raising his eyebrows at Beth’s empty spot when he arrived Friday afternoon, but he didn’t say anything about it

Although he was walking somewhat better, Leigh noticed a wince on his face each time he took a step. Guilt tugged at her heart as she took her position on the edge of the platform. She politely looked away as he took off his shirt—not that it would matter, considering he’d be shirtless right in front of her in a few moments.

“Sorry there’s no transportation around here for you,” she said, to distract herself. “It’d probably make the healing process much easier if you didn’t have to strain yourself just to get to therapy.”

“Can’t really do anything about that, can I?” Galen sounded cynical as ever, but some of the venom had dissipated from his voice since yesterday. That was promising.

After Galen climbed into the heated pool, Leigh took a seat on the edge of the platform. She was surprised to find him looking right at her. Often, they would lock eyes briefly before he looked away with a scowl. Today, he observed her expectantly. For some reason, his polite, undivided attention left her feeling flustered. He just wasn’t half-bad to look at when he looked less murderous.

“Laps?” he asked when she said nothing.

She cleared her throat. “Y-yeah. Five minutes to get things started. Go for it!”

Keep it together, girl, she told herself.

Much like yesterday, Galen put more care into his movements. It was nothing like the haphazard intensity he’d attempted the other day. Finally, he seemed interested in taking things seriously and not rushing into a miracle cure.

“Okay, great! Come over here,” Leigh said once the five minutes were up. “I think you’re ready for some new stretches. This thing is…” She trailed off and looked dubiously between him and the water.

Galen narrowed his eyes warily. “What?”

“They’re kinda hard for me to demonstrate and describe when I’m out of the water.” She looked around and tapped her chin uncertainly. “I could get in one of the other pools and show you?”

He glanced around. “I dunno how well I’d be able to make out what you’re doing.” The water shifted as he started to back up. “Can’t you do it here? See, I’ll stay on this side if you’re so scared of me.”

“It’s not that you’re scary!” She pulled her ponytail over her shoulder and fiddled with it. “It’s that the water’s too deep. I need a flat surface to stand on while I do it.”

Galen’s frown deepened. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head at the same moment that an idea came to her—but they couldn’t possibly have the same idea. Galen was the first to speak up. “What if I…” He raised his hands, cupping them together as a flat surface.

So they did have the same idea.

Inexplicably, Leigh’s face flushed. “I mean, that could work, but…”

“I thought I wasn’t scary,” Galen said accusingly, though she swore she saw the smallest smirk in his stony expression.

“I’m not scared,” she scoffed.

To prove it, she threw off her orange Sealife Sanctuary tank top to reveal her wetsuit. She slid into the water and didn’t hesitate to swim over to Galen, who looked truly shocked that she was going through with it. So shocked that he backed away and lowered her hands.

She laughed. “Oh, who’s the scary one now? What, do I look like a shark?”

“As long as you don’t bite,” he muttered, lifting his hands again.

She swam closer and braced her hands onto his fingers to pull herself on. He flinched slightly at the contact, making her wobble for balance.

“Hold still,” she said, though her heart was racing like crazy. Carefully, she shuffled forward and stood with one foot in each of his palms. It was the weirdest feeling, having his hands as living ground beneath her. She swore she was close enough to feel his body heat in the water. “Okay, now… Raise your hands a little, so that the water is at my chest level, like yours.”

Slowly, he obeyed. He was laser-focused on her and his hands, as though he might break her if he didn’t concentrate enough. It was a little sweet, she had to admit.

“Galen,” she giggled. “Lighten up. Even if I fall, there’s plenty of water to catch me.”

“I’m not worried,” he said quickly. “I just… would rather have only one of us in therapy.” He still stared at her, but it was with more curiosity than intensity now. “You know. You look really at home in the water. You get this same look on your face when you’re working with a sea turtle—or a shark.”

She smiled. “Are you asking me if I just see you as another sea creature to be rehabilitated? Because the answer is not at all. Sea creatures are better at following my lead. Now, hold still. Watch how I stretch my leg in the water. This is what you need to try when it’s your turn. And yes—it’ll hurt at first, but it’ll get easier.”

She was too invested in the demonstration to hear the click of high heels coming across the concrete.

“Are you kidding?” Beth all but shouted.

Galen flinched so hard that Leigh lost her balance. Instead of tipping back and treading water, she fell forward, right against his chest. Her first instinct was to apologize as she tried to squirm away, but she ended up taking a mouthful of water when she spoke.

What came out instead was an embarrassingly panicked cough as she flailed against Galen.

“Hey—” His voice felt so much louder this close.

His hands wrapped fully around her waist and pulled her away. She fully expected him to simply push her off of him, but he carried her across the water and lifted her onto the platform.

“Are you okay?” Galen demanded.

She sat at the edge, coughing and waving him off. “You know I can swim!” She didn’t like the tightness of her voice—like she was afraid or had been caught doing something wrong. She turned to Beth sheepishly. “I was gonna tell you over the weekend. We’re back on with the sessions. One more week to go.”

So that afternoon, she convinced Beth to join her in one of the Sealife Sanctuary transport trucks, and the two of them drove to Galen’s house.

The trip was much less unsettling on this go-around. Leigh didn’t hesitate to skip up to the door and knock on the beat to her favorite song.

Past the door, he heard Galen’s voice calling out as his footsteps approached: “I’ve got it, Aunt Christine, you don’t have to get up!”

The door swung open, and Leigh still hadn’t wiped the surprise off her face—she didn’t even realize that Galen lived with someone else. Before she could ask anything, Galen looked from her to the truck and scoffed.

“Oh my god,” he muttered. “You can’t be serious.”

She beamed up at him. “We use it for transporting wildlife between facilities or habitats. I took the equipment out the back, so you’ll have plenty of room. And it looks like you’re already dressed, so let’s get going!”

Galen took a deep breath and briefly rested his temple on the doorframe before calling out over his shoulder again. “I’ll be back later!”

He shut the door behind him and walked past Leigh to get a closer look at the vehicle. It was bright green, both sides of the cargo unit bearing the Sealife Sanctuary turtle logo. He glanced at Beth in the passenger seat, then raised his eyebrows at Leigh.

“If the carrier is for wildlife, why’s she sitting up front?”

Beth flipped him off and went back to scrolling through her phone.

“Besides,” he said, watching with a skeptical eye as Leigh climbed up behind the wheel, “I’m not sure how much I trust you with vehicles at this point.”

Her face flushed. “I am a perfectly decent driver! I didn’t push my truck down the hill.”

“You did almost hit me like two minutes before it happened, though.”

She dropped her forehead to the top of the steering wheel to avoid his you-know-I’m-right face.

“You’ll heal much faster if you’re not limping to the sanctuary all week,” she said, gesturing at the open storage unit enticingly.

He didn’t look all that thrilled about it, but she liked to think was trying really hard to hide how grateful he was to be driven in a colorful truck instead of walking on a hot afternoon with a hurt knee.

The truck trembled slightly as he carefully climbed in. Once he swung the door shut, Leigh pulled into the street and drove with more care than she ever had in her life.

The therapy session started off on a good note. Thankfully, Beth was hard at work organizing files online for a big upcoming case, which meant far less bickering to distract Galen from Leigh’s instructions.

They went through the motions with laps and stretches, and Leigh casually slipped into the water again, even if it wasn’t necessary for demonstration yet. Neither she nor Galen made any comment about it. He swore he felt the ghost sensation of when she’s fallen against his chest.

He promptly shoved away the feeling.

While he did a round of high-knee walking around the perimeter of the pool, she backstroked to the center of the water. She felt his gaze follow her, and when she locked eyes with him, he didn’t look away. That was, until she asked him a question that had been burning on her mind since they left his house.

“Hey, who’s that you live with?” she asked. “I didn’t know you still had family in the area.”

He didn’t answer at first, jaw set and eyes guarded behind his glasses. Then he sighed.

“I live with my aunt. Always have, ever since I moved here when I was a kid.” Another long pause. “With the savings I have, I could’ve probably kept myself afloat for a lot longer while I heal. But… it’s not just me. She makes some cash doing laundry around the neighborhood, but she’s been taking on too much ever since I got hurt. She’s gonna get hurt herself if she keeps this up.”

“Oh,” Leigh murmured, bobbing with the ripples of Galen’s movement. “I’m—”

“You already said sorry plenty of times,” he sighed.

She bit her lip. “Has it always been you and her? No other family to help you guys out?”

“I used to live with my dad.”

His clipped tone of voice was enough to make her stop asking questions.

“You’re good on laps,” she said, trying to inject some cheer into her voice. “You’re doing a lot more in less time, so gold star there. Let’s start on those knee stretches. Remember, try to get it above the water. If you can’t, work your way higher with each rep.” As Galen obediently pulled away from the walls to follow her directions, she cleared her throat. “And… I know what it’s like to be struggling with making ends meet, by the way.”

He shot her a hard look, and she kicked herself further back in the water, hands raised in peace.

“Just want you to know you’re not alone,” she said gently. “I wanted to go to med school, but it didn’t pan out. But… I guess I can’t be too broken up about that. I love what I do.”

Galen didn’t look all that comforted. “Wish I could say the same about what I do. Seems like I can only get heavy-lifting jobs around here. That’s all people seem to think I’m good for.”

Leigh pursed her lips, knowing she couldn’t simply suggest that he relocate himself and his aunt somewhere more inclusive. It couldn’t be that simple, or he would have done it by now. She didn’t think it was wise to pry with more assurance, either, so she put on a smile and said, “Well, guess we better focus if you wanna be able to get back to that heavy-lifting.”

Beth’s insistence on staying for the sessions was put to the test the night evening. Barely ten minutes into his laps around the pool, Galen saw her pacing from the corner of his eye. She was whisper-shouting into her phone, pausing to text, then grumbling back on her call. Her heels clicked almost as loudly as her voice.

With a huff, she finally came to a stop and stowed her phone.

“Everything okay?” Leigh asked. She was sitting on the platform of the pool and had been turning her head side to side to watch her friend’s frustrated path just as raptly.

“It’s fine, it’s perfectly fine,” Beth said, stepping down from the bleachers. “It’s great, actually. Sort of. The case I’ve been working on? We found some new witnesses, and we need to have an emergency meeting. Right now. In person.” She threw a look at Galen and crossed her arms as though he had orchestrated this development. “I… I have to go.” She looked at Leigh uncertainly. “Are you okay with that?”

“Of course!” Leigh said brightly. “You go do your thing, and we’ll be fine here.”

Beth started for the parking lot, turning for a second to walk backward, and pointed sharply at Galen. “Behave yourself!” Galen felt like he could breathe easier once she was out of sight.

“I think she secretly wants to be your best friend,” Leigh said matter-of-factly. “Now, where were we…”

As much as it pained Galen to admit it, Beth wasn’t the problem when it came to his exercises lately. Much like the week before, pushing himself to get better meant dealing with more soreness than he was prepared for. He tried to keep it to himself, but he couldn’t stop wincing and scowling each time he had to do a movement that pushed the boundaries of his comfort.

“Do you need a break?” Leigh asked kindly.

“This is frustrating,” he admitted, leaning against the side of the pool to take more pressure off his knee. Better to admit it now than snap at his breaking point, he supposed.

“Look at the positives,” Leigh said, unsurprisingly. She swam closer, each movement in the water graceful as ever. “You’ve been walking better. You have a ride here now. You’ll be back at one-hundred percent before you know it.”

“I just wanna get this over with already.”

Leigh’s expression hardened with sudden hurt. “Oh. Am I bad company?”

“I mean—it’s not you,” he said hurriedly. Maybe a little too hurriedly. She didn’t look convinced. “It’s just… I’ve gotta get back to work. You already know how it is.”

That seemed to quell her hurt feelings a bit, but she still admitted, “I dunno, Galen. I always felt like I did something wrong with you, even before all this happened.”

His eyes widened. “So… the thing with the cake?”

“Of course the thing with the cake!” She gave a startled laugh. “You didn’t think I forgot about that, did you? I was grounded for a month for taking the cake from the bakery! My mom made it as a special order for an important client. It was the biggest one we had.”

Remorse chewed him up inside. “I’m… sorry how I reacted,” he mumbled.

He could see it vividly in his mind. He’d shoved the cake to the ground when she presented it to him. It had been a particularly bad day, but he knew even then that he shouldn’t have taken it out on her. “I didn’t know how to react,” he said. “Assholes had pulled pranks on me before. I thought someone had put you up to it. Maybe put a firecracker inside or something.”

Silence hung heavily in the water between them.

“Well, that’s a relief,” she said with an uneasy laugh. “I thought I’d done something wrong. Like… you were deathly allergic to frosting or something.”

He cracked a smile and shook his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. And… same with this whole thing, too. I know you’re trying. I’m not a people person, okay? Especially when I’m hurt. That’s got nothing to do with you.”

She pursed her lips. Usually, her expression was so easy to read. He found himself drawing closer, leaning in to try and see what she was thinking. She blinked out of her daze and looked up in surprise at how close he was.

“How about we take it easy tonight?” she said finally. “I know you and I probably don’t have the most in common, but you know what makes me feel better when I’m down.” She swam to the platform and pulled herself up, beckoning to him.

Dripping, he followed her to one of the sea turtle tanks—the one with the prosthetic flipper. As she climbed into the pool, he could practically see the stress melting off of her. She beckoned him again.

“Come on. It’s time you’ve met Tortellini.”

He gave a soft wheeze of a laugh, taken by surprise. “You can’t be serious.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you dare make fun of his name. He's sensitive. Now, come on.”

Still chuckling, he did as he was told. The water was much shallower and colder, but Leigh didn’t seem to mind—not even when he came up closer to her, and she had to look up to see his face. The sea turtle was a different matter. It swam closer to Leigh, wary of the new presence in its territory.

“She’s shy around new people,” Leigh said. “Here, the water’s low enough where you can sit and stretch your knee. You’ll look less scary.”

He smirked. “I’m scary?”

“Occasionally.”

Sure enough, Tortellini was a little more friendly once Galen lowered himself. Of course, the turtle was following Leigh the whole time. She didn’t seem to mind coming close to him at all. She directed him on how to stretch and bend his knee, even reaching out to pat his leg and prompt him to bend it deeper.

Her touch was brief, but he swore it made his muscles ease all over. All the while, she chattered about how they’d found Tortellini hurt on the shore, and she pointed to other tanks, naming each of the creatures within.

It was by far the most peaceful session they’d had, and for once, he was sad for it to end.

“Don’t expect me to get in the shark’s pool, though,” he warned at the end.

“Bruce,” she corrected.

“Shark.”

“You’re gonna want to take off your glasses today—we don’t want them to get damaged,” Leigh announced after she drove Galen to the sanctuary on Wednesday.

“Why?” Although Leigh could tell he wasn’t arguing, he still had a way of sounding defensive at the simplest word. Considering he pulled off his glasses, he wasn’t going to put up much of a fight about it.

“I think you’re ready for some swimming. The kicking will give you a whole new kind of movement to help you recover.” She considered him for a moment. “Might wanna lose the beanie too.”

He did as he was told, placing his things in the corner of the pavilion before approaching her. He seemed to walk with more care than usual—and Leigh figured his eyesight was worse than she suspected. She felt a small rush of gratitude that she hadn’t broken them with her truck.

As he climbed up into their usual pool, she could see his facial scars much clearer from where she stood on the platform. An involuntary shiver ran through her. Not from fear this time, but from sympathy for him.

She managed to hold off on her curiosity for the first few minutes of their session. Even without his glasses, she figured he would notice her staring right at his face like a creep sooner or later.

“Galen?”

“Huh?” He slowed in his laps, looking at her like he expected there to be a new exercise.

“Sorry, keep going,” she said. “I just… You don’t have to answer this. I totally understand if you don’t want to, but… It looks like you got hurt pretty bad at some point, huh?”

He stopped moving altogether. “Is there a question in there?” he said flatly. For a second, she worried he might snap again, but instead, he gave a slow and heavy release of breath. “No, I get it,” he said. “It’s… I know it’s startling for a lot of people when they see it. Even the people who like me. Don’t feel bad.”

He started his lap again, continuing in relative silence while Leigh stayed out of his way. She thought he wasn’t going to speak any further on the matter, but to her shock, he went on.

“I’ve had them since I was a kid. I was… in a bad situation in my first home, you know? Haven’t seen my dad since.” He glanced at Leigh uncertainly. Whatever he saw in her expression must have encouraged him to continue. “I was sent out here to live with Aunt Christine, and that lady has a heart of gold, you know? She’s put up with my moods day in and day out for most of my life. I can never repay her, but I can sure try.”

“And that’s why you want to take care of her?” Leigh asked softly.

He nodded.

“Galen, I—”

“Don’t say it.”

She swam closer. “But—”

He reached out suddenly, hands wrapping around her forearms and making her words die in her throat. Her heart pounded, uncertain whether to be flustered or terrified. She settled for petrified silence, staring up at him pleadingly.

“Don’t,” he insisted. “I wanted to blame you at first too, but it was a freak accident, and you were trying to save a turtle. How could I be mad at you for that? And… all this you’ve done to help me? No one else would do that.” His grip on her arms eased, but she kept them there, halfway using him to stay afloat. He didn’t seem to mind. “Not gonna lie, I was suspicious of your guilty conscience at first, but it seems like this is just… you.” He shook his head, looking both annoyed and endeared. “Why are you so nice to me, Leigh?”

She shrugged, curling her fingers to grip the edge of his palms. “I don’t know how else to be.”

He nodded slowly. “Well… If anyone ever tries to take advantage of that, you just come tell me, okay?”

Finally, he pulled his hands back, and it took her a moment to find her balance in the water again. They worked in comfortable silence for the rest of the session. At least, it felt comfortable to her. All she could hear was his voice repeating over and over in her head: you just come tell me, okay?

And if that wasn’t enough, visitor season was in full swing and tours would be booked up for the day before lunchtime, which would give her almost no time to squeeze in animal rehab in the pavilion.

She blew a stop sign that she never paid any mind to this early in the morning and turned toward the nearest beach access.

If she could finish up with the turtle nests before the full sunrise, maybe she wouldn’t be so late after all. Still, the day ahead was jam-packed. And with tourists creating long lines at the local businesses, she’d have to help with late-night orders at the bakery when she got home—

“Watch it!”

Leigh slammed the brakes and jolted hard against the seatbelt. White knuckling the steering wheel, she peered through the windshield and looked up—and up, and up—until she saw the face of the person who had shouted. 

It was one of the bigger folk. He was easily over fifteen feet tall. She gave him only a quick glimpse before looking down at her lap, but she saw more than enough to recognize him. Black-frame glasses. Ash-brown hair peeked out from under a beanie. And a few facial scars framing a menacing scowl.

Galen Kader.

Of the five giants who had graduated in Leigh’s senior class, Galen was the only one who hadn’t moved away to the city. He still lived in the lackluster giant neighborhood on the other side of town, but she so rarely saw him, part of her had assumed he’d finally left.

And in case their past interaction hadn’t been bad enough, now she’d nearly put her truck through his legs.

“I-I’m so sorry!” She turned her truck the other way, the tires desperately kicking up traction before she jolted to another stop and glanced up and back at him. He hadn’t moved, his eyes narrowed down at her. She made a vague gesture at the passenger seat. “I-I have donuts if you…” She trailed off as he rolled his eyes and continued walking in the opposite direction. “... Okay, gotcha! Have a good one!”

Easing the truck back into motion less chaotically, she gave an involuntary shudder, unable to shake the image of Galen’s expression. Not the friendliest face to meet in the morning—especially one so big.

She decided to head to a different beach access—one where she wouldn’t risk literally running into Galen again. As she made her way up a hill, she considered her options. But she wasn’t able to dwell on her indecisiveness for more than a second before she caught sight of something coming up in the middle of the street. Something much smaller than a two-story high person.

A mud turtle was making its leisurely way across the road as if it didn’t know that cars existed.

“Oh, hell no. Buddy, you’re gonna get yourself squashed.” Leigh stopped the truck, feeling the weight of the vehicle tug backward down the hill. She put on the parking brake—something that took her a second to figure out since she needed it so rarely, living at sea level.

There were no other cars around, but she still hurried out and jogged to reach the turtle.

“Do you know how lucky you are?” she told it as she gently grabbed its shell with both hands. “Sea turtles are usually my thing, but I’m making an exception for you.”

Leigh carried the turtle in the direction it had been scuttling and set it down safely on the other side. Before she could wish it a safe journey, a resounding THUNK echoed through the sleepy streets, followed by a booming shout of pain.

She whirled.

Her pick-up was gone.

Her wide eyes snapped further down the street, and she found where it had gone. 

It had rolled backward down the hill. And it had crashed directly into Galen, who was laying on his side in the middle of the street, locked up in pain and cursing up a storm. 

She whispered a few choice words herself as she sprinted to him.

Leigh stared at her untouched food. “I can’t believe I did that,” she muttered for the millionth time. She buried her face in her hands and groaned, her face growing hot as if she was living it all over again.

“Legally, you didn’t do anything.” Beth reached across the table and swiped a handful of Leigh’s fries. “And as your lawyer, I suggest you stop moping around like you did something wrong—and especially refrain from making any implication that this unfortunate incident was somehow your doing.”

“What would’ve happened if the parking brake wasn’t faulty?” Leigh shoved the rest of her meal over to Beth. “What if it had been my fault? Would I be in jail?”

“Mm.” Beth frowned, swirling a couple of fries through ketchup. “Probably not. But things would’ve been much messier. At least this way, you don’t have to pay a cent.”

No matter how much Beth assured her that she was in no legal trouble, Leigh couldn’t stop being jittery with guilt. If it wasn’t for Beth’s research, she probably wouldn’t have found out about the recall on her truck. It wasn’t her fault that the parking brake was lousy. The pick-up was already being worked on at the nearest dealership in Hastbury. Until then, Beth offered to give her rides when she could.

It had all happened so fast. 

It was lucky that emergency services were able to contact a couple of local giants to help Galen walk after the accident. From then on, she hadn’t seen him in person. He’d managed to get to the single giant doctor in town, while Leigh sought Beth’s help. Now, two days later, they’d sorted things out over a video call with Galen. And Leigh felt as lousy as the parking brake.

Beth had done all the talking while Galen scowled and gave clipped responses through the camera. After everything, Beth insisted that Leigh could pay her by treating her to lunch—nothing more.

“Do you know how he’s gonna recover?” Leigh asked.

“I mean, that’s not our problem. But from what I could glean, he’ll just have to heal naturally.”

“Seriously?” Leigh’s eyes widened, and she sat back in her seat. “A knee sprain like that needs therapy to heal properly. He’s lucky the ligament wasn’t completely torn. Then… then he would’ve needed surgery!”

“Hey, deep breath.” Beth reached across the table and clasped Leigh’s hand. “Repeat after me: Not.”

Leigh sighed. “Not.”

“Our.”

“Our.”

“Problem.”

Pouting, Leigh snatched her hand free. “But I could’ve stopped it from happening if I hadn’t—”

“Ugh!” Beth threw her hands up. “Why do you care so much? I mean, you saw the dirty looks he gave you during the video conference, right? Doesn’t he remember what you did for him back in high school? You were grounded for like a week after that!”

“That was years ago! I dunno, maybe he didn’t look so thrilled with me because I hit him with my truck, Elizabeth!”

“Ah-agh!” Beth reached across and put a finger to Leigh’s lips. “We don’t say that.”

Leigh rolled her eyes and pushed Beth’s hand away. “Besides, he probably doesn’t even remember about the cake thing. It’s been, what, over ten years? We were barely sophomores.”

Evidently, Beth was done talking circles about the situation. She went back to focusing on her food and ordering another victory mimosa, even though this hadn’t been an actual court case. 

While she was distracted, Leigh drummed her fingers on the table. She thought about Galen. And the lack of medical care for him. And the Sealife Sanctuary. And the pavilion. Slowly, an idea formed, and it didn’t take long for Beth to catch on to her expression.

“Whatever you’re thinking,” Beth said, “I advise you to stop thinking it.”

Leigh pushed her chair back and stood. “You got Galen’s address, right?”

There was no way around it. Galen’s shitty insurance wouldn’t cover the cost of physical therapy in Hastbury.

He was lucky enough to get a couple of weeks off from work without the danger of being fired. They wouldn’t dare get rid of him. The construction company would never say no to someone who could lift five times more than their best workers combined. They just didn’t have to pay him while he was on leave.

He found himself wishing he had gotten injured on the job instead. Then maybe he could’ve gotten multiple visits with a physical therapist instead of having to settle for a single appointment with the local doctor who was like a hundred years old. 

And as he was so politely informed by Leigh Harvey’s lawyer, she wouldn’t have to cover the cost of anything—the doctor visit, emergency services, therapy, nothing. While he would love to blame her for being careless, the truck had been faulty—allegedly.

Couldn’t she have heard about the recall before she ruined my life? Galen thought bitterly.

She’d looked on the verge of tears during the whole video call. Her face hadn’t changed too drastically since high school. They had talked a few times back then, but he’d messed that up for good with the cake incident. He remembered her lawyer from school too, though she was a couple of years older. Beth had always been a loud-mouth; no wonder she’d chosen this career path.

While Galen was wallowing in his thoughts, a tiny knock came at the door.

He thought about ignoring it, but the knock came again insistently. Sighing heavily, she pushed himself off the couch and winced. He could still walk, but with an embarrassing limp. Each step sent a shockwave of pain through his knee, like he wanted to sit on the ground and never get up again. His bruises were nothing short of horrific, too.

“What?” he muttered, pulling the door open.

To his bewilderment, Leigh and Beth were standing on his front porch. Leigh was swirling her black ponytail between her fingers. Her dark eyes were trained on the ground. Beth was standing closer, blond hair in a perfect bun. She smiled up at him pleasantly, entirely unintimidated. 

“Elizabeth Murphy, attorney at law and best friend to this gorgeous and woefully misguided creature,” she announced.

“I know who you are, Beth,” he said flatly. “What do you want?”

Beth tilted her chin higher. “My client is generously offering a proposal. For a low price, she can assist you with aquatic therapy, five evenings a week for the next two weeks. Are you in?”

He had no answer because what she was saying made no sense. The confusion must have been palpable on his face because Leigh shuffled forward a few steps. They made eye contact for a brief moment before she looked past him.

“I studied physical therapy for a few courses. With a sprain like yours, I should be able to help you best in the water. We’ve got an empty pool at the pavilion at Sealife Sanctuary. You know, where we keep the sea turtles and stuff.”

Involuntarily, Galen curled his lip at the mention of turtles. All he could think of was Leigh apologizing profusely while he was sprawled on the street in agony. She kept repeating that she was trying to save a turtle—that’s why she’d left her truck like that.

“I don’t need help,” Galen said, though he knew that was a lie. He clenched his jaw. “Besides, it doesn’t look like you want to be anywhere near me. What makes you think you could handle helping me through therapy, trapped in a pool with me?”

“Oh, my client would not be getting in the water with you,” Beth said. “She’d just guide you through what to do.”

He scoffed. “Pretty sure I could get as much help from videos online.”

“But where would you get the water for it?” Beth pointed out. “I don’t think you’d do so hot with the waves pummeling you in the ocean.”

Galen let out a sharp huff and leaned on the doorframe, knowing that only put his pain on his display. But there was no hiding that it hurt to stand there. Chances were, he wouldn’t get better in two weeks without help. He couldn’t afford to take off any more time than that. 

If his insurance wouldn’t cover therapy, then he may as well get help from the one who caused this mess.

“Fine,” he sighed.

“Six PM, Monday,” Beth said, ushering Leigh off at once. “The pavilion behind Sealife Sanctuary. Don’t be late!”

But no Leigh. 

He wavered in the middle of the pavilion, anxious that she had backed out of their deal at the last minute. Or worse, it had been some sick joke the whole time.

“Galen! Over here!”

He swiveled to look at the far side of the pavilion, wincing at the pressure he accidentally put on his knee. Leigh sat at the edge of a pool’s platform, waving her hands over her head frantically as if he hadn’t already spotted her. She was wearing a powder-blue t-shirt with the Sealife Sanctuary turtle logo plastered on the front. Her hair was in its usual high ponytail.

As Galen approached, he noticed rows of bleachers attached to the wall behind Leigh—probably where tourists sat while employees talked about the animals in the pools. Beth was sitting on one of the benches, typing away at her laptop. She looked up from the screen and narrowed her eyes at Galen.

“You were almost late,” Beth said.

He rolled his eyes. “Sue me.”

“Maybe I will.”

“She actually might,” Leigh said lightly. “But that’s enough, you two.” She stood on the platform and turned to Galen. For a moment, she pressed her lips into a thin line like she was nervous. Then she rolled her shoulders back and smiled—the type of smile that probably convinced customers to get season passes to the aquarium. “So, we use saltwater in these pools. I’m glad you brought trunks, but the water could damage your shirt, so…”

Sighing, Galen pulled off his shirt. “What about my glasses and hat? Any danger there?”

“You’re not submerging all the way today, so you can keep those on.”

“Great.” He tossed his shirt at the base of the pool and gripped the edge without a further invitation to climb up. His knee protested, the pain sending a flare of annoyance through him. He glared at Leigh on the opposite side. “Lucky my glasses weren’t shattered in the accident, y’know. There’s no way I could’ve gotten them replaced on short notice.”

Leigh’s face flushed as she stammered for a second, but naturally, Beth was the one to respond. “Well, they didn’t shatter, so you can stop whining about it and get in the water.”

After lifting himself all the way in, Galen was surprised the water wasn’t freezing. If anything, it was warmer than he would have expected a little body of water to be. The surface was just below his chest, and even standing there a few moments relieved some pressure from his knee.

“Nice, right?” Leigh said, watching his reaction from across the water. “We’ll be able to keep it heated for our sessions. Warmer water will help with the healing. Now, come closer.”

While he waded over, she stood on the platform, bouncing up and down on her feet. He couldn’t tell if she was nervous or excited; either way, he wasn’t prepared for that level of energy from someone so small. As he came closer, he didn’t need glasses to see that her skin was sun-freckled. Maybe she was solar-powered. 

Whatever was making her so antsy, it couldn’t be blamed on Galen. True to Beth’s promise, it didn’t seem Leigh would be getting in the water with him.

“Okay, watch me.” Leigh turned sideways and started marching in place. “You’re going to start with a few minutes of walking the perimeter of the water. See how high I’m bringing my knees up? You’ve got to do that, especially with your bad knee. It’ll loosen it up before we get into the exercises. If it gets to be too much, slow down, but don’t stop.” She stopped demonstrating and popped back forward to face him with the energy of a cheerleader. “Got it?”

“Whatever,” he muttered, already moving away from her harshly. The sudden movement made the water lap at her feet. She scuttled back a few steps, but he only spared a glance at her reaction. She didn’t seem terrified, so he saw no reason to apologize. “Let’s get this over with.”

On the second day, Leigh didn’t lose any of her liveliness. Galen, however, was dealing with a considerable amount of soreness from pushing himself during the first session. There had been a lot of underwater stretching, a lot of knee lifting, and more encouragement from Leigh than he could take. 

He gritted his teeth during this day’s fifteen-minute warm-up laps around the tank. He couldn’t bring his knee up as high as yesterday, which made this whole thing seem counterintuitive. 

“Hey, Galen? You should take it easy,” Leigh said when he reached her section of the platform that encircled the tank. Her legs dangled over the edge. She didn’t seem to mind the little wave he brought with him, even when they went up to her knees. 

He stopped to narrow his eyes at him. She was wearing a pink Sealife Sanctuary shirt with a glittery sea turtle that looked like it came from the kids’ rack of the gift shop. She leaned back slightly but didn’t break eye contact, clearly intimidated despite being at chest=level with him.

“What gives?” He raised his eyebrows accusingly at her. “I thought this was supposed to help, but I woke up with more pain than ever this morning.”

“It takes time. You can’t expect it to heal overnight. That’s why we’re doing this for two weeks. If I could make it better within hours, don’t you think I would?”

He huffed and started to walk again.

“Hang on,” she said, sounding less sure of herself. “If it hurts so bad… Why don’t we move on to the stretches? Okay?”

It sounded like she was grasping at straws to appease him, but he reluctantly agreed. He positioned himself in front of her. She went back into fitness instructor mode, telling him to bring his knee up and stretch his bad leg out repeatedly. She was so enthusiastic that he wondered why she had stopped learning this stuff in the first place. But it was hard to be innocently curious when he had to clench his jaw every time he lifted his leg. 

One of the lifts hurt so much that it threw him off balance. Cursing, he shuffled forward to lean against the platform. Leigh jumped back, giving him room while he breathed deeply and winced.

Something light touched his elbow. Leigh was suddenly knelt beside him, touching him. “Why don’t we take a break?” she said encouragingly. “You could sit by one of the sea turtle tanks if you want and reset—”

“Why don’t we do something that actually helps?” He pulled away from her touch sharply, making her flinch.

“I’m trying—”

Beth interrupted this time, peering up from her work. “Don’t take it personally, Leigh. Clearly, he’s just unhappy in general. Jacked-up leg or not.”

Before Galen could attempt to splash half the tank water at Beth, Leigh spoke up firmly.

“You know, I always wondered,” she said, “How come you stuck around?”

She didn’t say it unkindly, but the bluntness still made Galen falter.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with you living here!” Leigh added. “It’s great that you stayed, but… all the, uh… bigger folk we went to school with graduated. Off to the city, right? I heard a few even went overseas. I’m just curious, what made you want to stay? Things don’t exactly seem easy out here for you.”

He knew what she was doing. Making him take a break so he could cool off. Still, he felt the need to answer.

“This is my home,” he said icily. “It’s been my home since I was ten. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Leigh stared hard at him. For a second, he could believe she was looking him in the eye, but he knew where everyone always looked—his scars. He could see her curiosity rising again, bubbling up to her mouth to ask how he got those marks. If she did, he’d simply climb out of the water and never come back.

But she didn’t ask.

“Stretches?” she prompted. “Lean against the platform for balance, okay?”

By the end of the session, they didn’t exchange another word of small talk. But that also had to do with the pain in his knee reaching excruciating levels.

Leigh assumed Galen would be in the swing of things by the third session. She couldn’t have been more wrong about that.

At the very least, she found herself less intimidated by his constant sour mood when he approached. That had a lot to do with her being on an elevated perch, though she wouldn’t admit it. Sometimes, she couldn’t shake the mental image of the glare he’d given her when she nearly ran into his legs the morning of the accident.

But even from the platform, it was impossible to ignore how much bigger he was than her, even when over half his body was blurred by seawater. She didn’t think he’d do anything to physically hurt her—even if he blamed her for physically hurting him. Plus, there was Beth watching from the corner of her eye at all times. 

We love a witness, Leigh thought weakly.

It was the winces and the pained faces Galen made when he flexed his knee that troubled her the most. She felt like she wasn’t making a lick of difference. For all she knew, she was making things worse.

“I know it hurts,” she said as they neared the end of the third session. He was leaning up against one side of the tank again, and he shot a glare her way. She forced herself to keep talking, even though a chill ran down her spine. “Maybe tomorrow we can try something new,” she said encouragingly. “All of this may just be too much at once.”

“Maybe we’ll try something new?” Galen echoed. He gave a short, mean laugh and shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

Her jaw dropped. “Of course, I—”

“No, you don’t. You clearly don’t. You just feel sorry for me, and this is your way of trying to get over your guilt and pat yourself on the back. Well, you can hang on tight to that guilt, ‘cause this is sure not doing me any good.”

She gaped at him. “Galen! That’s not—”

He stepped toward her suddenly, shifting the water harshly. She skittered back to the furthest point of the platform, but he still seemed to loom over her. She eyed the ladder that could be her escape, and he sneered. “See? You can’t even stand being near me! Why don’t you stop pretending you want anything to do with this? I can’t sue you or get any money from you, so why even bother—”

“Galen Kader!” Beth snapped her laptop shut, and her high heels clicked down the steps of the bleachers. She pointed warningly at him. “That’s enough. Cool it before we call things off.”

“I think we should,” Leigh croaked. 

Galen looked at her in surprise.

Beth heaved a sigh. “Leigh?”

Frustrated tears pushed at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “This… This wasn’t a good idea. It’s been a while since I studied physical therapy. I thought I’d brushed up on it enough, but I don’t think this is working.” She made herself meet Galen’s eyes. “I really am sorry about what happened. I’d go back and stop the truck myself if I could.” 

She stepped back to brace herself on the first rung of the ladder.

When Galen didn’t move, she added more firmly, “Just go. You don’t have to pay me for the sessions we did. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

Galen told himself repeatedly that he wasn’t feeling guilty as he dried off. But the fact that he had to tell himself that so many times was troubling. He couldn’t fool himself. All he could focus on was getting out of there as fast as possible, especially with the death glare Beth was sending his way. Even the shark in the nearby pool seemed to be glaring.

Not only that, but it seemed the energy had been entirely sapped from the pavilion the moment Leigh decided to give up on him.

As he cooled down, he knew he couldn’t blame her.

He gathered his things and started to leave, which finally made Beth ignore him. As he glanced back one more time, he was surprised that Leigh was still in the pavilion at all. In fact, she had stripped down to her work wetsuit and was in one of the other tanks.

Galen adjusted his glasses. Leigh was swimming around a sea turtle that had what appeared to be a fully prosthetic flipper. Though there was still a slight sadness to the way she carried herself, he could visibly see her beginning to relax.

She was talking to the turtle, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. Probably bad-mouthing him. Whatever the case, it simply amazed him that their argument hadn’t sent her seeking shelter inside the aquarium. She was still there, after hours, working with another broken creature.

But then again, she’d always been kind, hadn’t she?

His most vivid memory of her—one that he’d been ignoring since encountering her—came to mind.

It was sophomore year. He was walking by the school library, and she’d burst out the doors like a  hurricane. She used to wear her hair loose. It flew behind her like a glossy black flag. 

A paper fluttered out of her backpack as she sprinted to the sidewalk. She was so focused on leaving that she hadn’t noticed him or the fact that was losing an assignment.

He delicately picked up the paper, curious about what it could be. He’d squinted at the title and classroom number, and knew at once that she could ruin her grade by losing this. 

“Hey—uh…” He looked at the name at the top of the paper. “Leigh?”

“Yeah?” she barked behind her. She glanced back, and her steps slowed to a stop. She turned on her heel and drank him in, jolting back in alarm when she realized he was the one calling out to her. Her gaze traveled up, and up, until her little dark eyes found his. “Yeah?” she repeated, softer.

He held up the packet. “Lose something?”

She frowned in confusion, then her eyes widened. She flipped her backpack to the front and found it completely unzipped. 

“Oh my god!” With that, it was as if all fear left her. She’d bolted to him and took the offered research paper without a blink of uncertainty. “Thank you! Oh gosh. You have no idea—no idea…” She trailed off and grinned up at him. She peeked down at her watch and started to pull away. “I-I’m sorry, I’m in a rush! Lost track of time. But I’ll give you something tomorrow to thank you properly! Bye!”

And she’d sprinted off, fallen leaves kicking up in her wake.

Sure enough, she’d shown up to school the next day with a three-tier cake for him.

But he’d…

Huffing, Galen forced himself back to the present. 

He took one more look at Leigh in the water. If he hung around any longer, she’d see him watching. Without fully thinking things out, he swiped the beanie off his head and dropped it in the corner by one of the pavilion poles on his way out.