Drowning.
That’s always what he dreams of. Drowning in an icy lake, being numbed to physical pain, yet conscious of the fact that he can’t breathe… then he wakes up.

Ever since Derek could remember he had this dream. Every night. It was more than reoccurring – it haunted him. He felt like one day that would be his ending fate. Except he lived in the hottest part of Florida, no ice ever consumed the earth like in his dream. He had vowed long ago that he would never leave the south, the warmth, the safety. Why should he tempt his life with travel? At what expense? It really was life or death to Derek.

Or, at least that is what he vowed until he got a phone call that one brutally hot May day. His father, whom 23 year old Derek hadn’t seen or even heard from in 8 or more years, passed. His “step-mother” who he had never even met called to let him know the sudden and tragic news.

His father. His worthless, terrible father – gone.
Should he even grace that man’s funeral with his presence, after everything?