Chapter 5: One Month
1355 Words
-Nathan-
Of course, Naomi had to enter at this moment. I had no idea what Megan was thinking right now. She indicated that I had proven myself, but for some reason, she didn’t want to come home with me. Why not? What more could I do for her? I just wanted her back with me. I needed her home with me. What the hell could I say to convince her?
“You need to hide,” she insisted.
“What?”
“No, uh, out the window!”
“You want me to break a leg?” I asked her, as she suddenly pushed me toward the balcony.
We were on the first floor, and she wanted me to jump over the railing. Did she think I had a lot of experience with parkour?
“If Naomi sees you, I’m not sure what she will do to you!” Megan whispered urgently.
“Hey, Meg!”
“Please!” Megan implored.
“I will leave,” I stated.
She sighed, relieved.
“But only if you come back home.”
“What?” she exclaimed. “Are you blackmailing me?
I smiled smugly. Whatever would bring her home, I would accept. So, if I had to use leverage, so be it.
“You’re the one who doesn’t want Naomi to know I’m here, and something tells me that it isn’t actually about me,” I said. “I think you’re a little afraid of what Naomi thinks.”
“Meg, where are you?”
“Just a minute!” Megan yelled back.
The door to her bedroom was luckily closed, but it was clear Naomi was heading this way. I crossed my arms. Megan seemed to be the one who had something to lose here, so I just took on a relaxed stance and watched her panic.
“You are unbelievable!” she sneered quietly.
“I love you too, baby,” I whispered as I leaned closer to her.
She appeared on the brink of frustration, ready to tear her hair out. It was almost comical to witness.
“Megan?”
“Just a minute, Nomi!” Megan called out anxiously, glancing nervously at the door.
Then, she turned to me, seeming finally ready to concede. “A weekend! I will come home for a weekend.”
I shook my head.
“No, you will come home,” I insisted.
“Nathan, come on! I need time!”
“Why?” I inquired.
“Because, let’s face it. I don’t know who I am outside this marriage or in this marriage. Naomi has made me realize some things,” she explained.
I was starting to grasp the essence of her hesitation. Megan wasn’t solely doubting our marriage. She was questioning herself. I could comprehend her need to discover her identity. A marriage shouldn’t overshadow one's personality, as it had for Chloe and Megan's mom, and countless other women I knew. Nevertheless, I wasn’t inclined to let her dissolve our marriage due to her identity crisis.
“A month,” I proposed.
“What?”
“You come home for a month, and let’s see if we can’t work this out,” I suggested.
“I can’t deceive my sister for a month!” she protested.
“Is she your captor?” I countered.
“Megan, you in there?”
Suddenly, there was a knock on the bedroom door, and Megan had to make a swift decision if she wanted to keep my presence concealed from her sister.
“Damn you!” she exclaimed.
“You want to come back too. Let me demonstrate that we can work it all out,” I proposed.
“I told you, you don’t need to prove anything,” she murmured.
“You have lost some faith in yourself and therefore in this marriage. Let me change that.”
“Some things we need to do ourselves!” she insisted.
I nodded. I could only concur, but I wasn’t about to resolve everything for her. I would show her she could work through her issues while we worked on our marriage.
“A month,” I suggested, holding up a finger.
She glanced at my finger before meeting my gaze again.
“Will you jump out the window if I say yes?” she quipped.
“No, but I will hide under the bed,” I replied.
She cast a fearful glance over her shoulder.
“Megan!”
“Just a moment. I’m getting dressed!” she called out.
“Well?” I whispered.
“Fine! A month!”
I smiled triumphantly before Megan started nudging me toward her bed.
“Just hide!”
And I did. I lowered myself to the floor and maneuvered under the bed. Megan nearly kicked me under there, treating me like a dirty secret she didn’t want her sister to discover. It struck me as ironic that Naomi, who loved to preach about how their parents controlled them, also wielded so much influence over her sister. Didn’t she see how wrong this was?
“Megan?”
“Enter!” Megan quickly replied, positioning herself in front of the bed, her feet visible to me.
“What are you doing? I called you a million times,” Naomi complained.
Sh*t, it had been ages since I'd seen Naomi. Probably over a year. I couldn’t even quite see her from here, but her voice brought back memories of the many times she and I engaged in heated arguments.
“Sorry, I was... uh, I just had a shower.”
“Your hair is dry,” she observed.
“Well, I didn’t wash my hair,” Megan countered.
What? I mouthed. Megan really was the worst liar in the world. Couldn’t she come up with anything better?
“You showered, but you didn’t wash your hair?” her sister probed, her skepticism evident.
“Yup,” Megan affirmed.
“What are you hiding?” Naomi teased, but I knew if she found me, she wouldn’t find it so amusing.
“Nothing!” Megan hastily interjected, just as her sister began to search the room. “Nomi!”
“Come on! I know you’re hiding something. You can’t fool me!” she chuckled.
My heart started to race as I watched the two pairs of feet dart around the room, drawing dangerously close to me. F*ck, Naomi might actually try to kick my ass if she found me hiding under her sister’s bed. This felt very high school-like, but instead of a father rummaging through his daughter’s room, it was just Megan’s sister. To be honest, I was more afraid of Naomi than their father.
“Naomi! Seriously! I’m not hiding anything!” Megan protested.
“But you are! I know it, so just spill it,” she persisted.
Suddenly, Naomi moved toward the bed, and I feared she was going to look underneath. This was the only place she hadn’t searched yet, but just as she knelt down, Megan called out to her, “You’re right. I am hiding something.”
"Finally!” Naomi exclaimed, standing up again.
“I signed the papers,” she confessed.
“You did?”
Those f*cking papers, I couldn’t help but think. I tore them in half... F*ck, those papers were still in the living room! I hoped Megan remembered that too, because she had to retrieve them before Naomi caught sight of them.
“Let me see!”
“No, I... I’m not sending them just yet,” she explained. “I need a little time, but I wanted you to know.”
“I’m so proud of you, Meg,” Naomi said, pulling her sister into a hug. “You’ll see this was the right choice.”
Right choice, my ass! Megan belonged with me, and not even her sister would change that.
“Now, come on, let’s get something to eat,” she suggested, tugging Megan along.
I let out a deep breath, finally feeling like I could breathe, as I heard the door close. Now I just needed to find my way out of here.
- Writer
