Gabe's POV
Opening Megara's text from last night, I reread it leaning against the hood of my car. [Busy. Getting stuff ready for a garage sale tomorrow.] That was it. No "Hi, Gabe" or "How are you?" Just a curt response that didn't leave room for much else. The message had carried none of the warmth I'd grown used to from her, and it didn't sit right.
She did not respond to my reply, asking if she needed any help. I had no idea what I could help with because honestly, I have no experience in that department but nevertheless, I cared enough to learn for her. I mean I am not some dummy, I do have an idea about it.
This intense, almost magnetic attraction- even spiritual- I can't be reading this wrong, can I? Especially not after the connection we'd been building, even if neither of us fully understood it yet. I deserve more, after all, I had paid for her stay at the hotel- that was a high bill to foot for someone who's just gotten a 'busy' text. And certainly not the way she'd been a gasping pile of mess in my arms yesterday either. No. This means she was acting tough- putting up a front.
Denying what she knows we felt. So, this had to be bigger- this thing she is blocking from me. And I know how pestering this could be to her because we barely know each other but I know she feels this- soul phenomenon. I see it in her eyes. I sense it in her. I smell it- feel it. This shared energy. This click.
Sighing, I start the engine replaying the last conversation we had. Her voice had quivered and not with fear from him but something else.
I do not know what I'm planning to say, but I can't sit idle anymore. When I pull up onto the side of the road, the scene before me is a whirlwind of activity, at her place. The lawn is cluttered with folding tables, old furniture, and a mishmash of knickknacks, each item tagged with small, handwritten prices. People are milling about, haggling, chatting, and occasionally laughing as I sit and stare.
Wasn't expecting this.
Megara is standing near the garage, wearing an oversized sweater and jeans, her dark wavy hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and phone in hand. She's smiling at a neighbor who is holding a lamp when I exit my vehicle, making my way to them. Well, it had to be a neighbor. Who else comes to these things?
"Thank you so much for the bicycle the other day," the woman says, her face beaming. "My daughter has been wanting a bike for school, and now you have a garage sale. I think I should pay you for it now."
Megara's smile wavers for a fraction of a second before she nods. "No- no need, Miss Crissy, I'm glad she likes it."
When she notices me, her expression shifts, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face before she schools it into something more neutral. It cuts me more deeply than I want to admit.
"Gabe," she says, her tone clipped. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to check on you," I reply, undeterred by her cool reception. "Good day ma'am," I say to the lady who smiles up at me and releases Meg's hand, saying she will look around some more.
"You didn't exactly sound thrilled in your text last night." I stand nervously in front of her, and her parents, who are busy arranging items on one of the tables, notice me and wave me over.
"Gabe?" Mr. Lee says, smiling warmly. "Good to see you again. Come, meet the family!"
Before Megara can protest, I am whisked away into a sea of introductions.
The Lees family members are as vibrant and diverse as their surroundings. There's Tony, an older cousin who jokes about everything, Fox, who seems glued to his phone, and Trinity, Priya, and Amit, siblings who finish each other's sentences like a well-rehearsed act. Then there's Molly- not a woman, but a flamboyant man who twisted and shouted everything he said in a sort of near musical manner of speaking.
Gator is a giant Newfoundland dog that seems determined to sit on everyone's feet.
"I don't have a big family," I admit to Mr. Lee at one point. "Just my parents and an uncle who never married. Though he claims to have a son somewhere…"
"That explains a lot," Tony says with a laugh. "You're probably wondering how we manage all this chaos." I did. Do, because the noise of 'family' was just too much to bear. But polite is my middle name so I smile, but my attention drifts to Megara, who is busy answering questions from neighbors and relatives alike. She's smiling, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
Why do I know this, but her family cannot tell?
Inside the house, the men gather in the living room, beers in hand, to watch a sports match- Yakyu- on TV, and Ken, her father invites me to join them, though my thoughts remain elsewhere, I find a place next to Liv's boyfriend, Matt. I listen absently as Matt makes a bold prediction about the game's outcome, and the group erupts into a spirited debate with Ken and him doing high fives in the air over everyone's heads.
Yakyu is baseball.
The bond between them is strong. I wonder if Ken and I will be that close someday. Grabbing a cup, I chuckle along, my eyes on the wide screen but keep glancing toward the window, where I can see Megara interacting with the crowd outside.
Obviously, I cannot hear what is being said but I can read body language.
Matt playfully elbows me, and I grin when he points to our future father-in-law doing a swirl dance when the pitcher throws the ball and the batter misses. I had been invited in my younger years to my friends' houses to hang out, just like today- watching a sporting event together, backyard parties, pool parties, and clubs when we got older, but they never took much to me.
It's not the people so much or the crowd but if only they would stay quiet.
Too much noise, too much talking... too much wanting me to partake and then I am mentally drained. Most people are too highly energized for me and seek the attention of strangers on social media for me to be comfortable with. The selfies, oh my Lord. The foodies...
Today, however, under different circumstances, I could tell, that I would have loved to spend time with these folks of Megara. They seemed like a genuine unit, and I could tell I would like them because of the way I was comfortable with both Olivia and Kenji. Well, Ken, as he says everyone calls him and so should I, back at my house.
Outside, Megara is juggling the chaos of the garage sale. A neighbor approaches with a set of old plates, asking for a discount, or perhaps a dish is missing from the set, are my guesses. Megara laughs lightly and agrees to something, handing the plates over with her brightest smile.
But I can see the cracks in her facade. She's too quick to look away when someone thanks her, her voice too strained when she responds.
When her mom approaches her next and exchanges some words with her, Megara freezes. I noticed because I had taken a walk just then to the window, staring at her from the inside.
"No!" she says sharply, startling everyone nearby- the single-mouthed word is the easiest to read- and I am heading out to them but not too sudden where it would alert the men.
Her mom frowns. "Meg, it's fine. We just need a few things. I'll be back in fifteen minutes."
"I said no!" Megara's voice wavers and her hands tremble as she clutches the edge of the near-empty table.
The chatter around them quiets, and everyone turns to stare. Everyone is only three adults and one kid of around seven. "Meg," I mutter, placing a hand on her arm. "What's wrong?"
Her eyes dart to me, wide and frantic, before she quickly looks away. "Nothing. I just- I don't want Mom to go."
Her mother, Olivia, hesitates, clearly taken aback. "Megara, I'm just going to the store. Why are you so worked up?"
Megara opens her mouth to reply but closes it again, her lips pressing into a thin line.
"I'll go," I offer, keeping my voice calm and steady. "Tell me what you need, and I'll grab it."
Mrs. Lee- Olivia, looks between us, concern etched on her face, but she eventually nods. "Fine. Tags, markers, and maybe some more boxes. Thank you, Gabe."
As he heads toward his car, Gabe glances back at Megara. She's still standing there, her shoulders tense and her expression stricken.
Whatever is going on with her, it's more than stress. And I think I have another clue- well it's more like another piece to Megara's puzzle. She thinks her mother and sisters will be hurt in some way. I think hard as I head to the store- no, I recall the 'dream' she had.
Save. She'd said she had to save them. She'd gasped out her sister's name. Avrielle. Not Liz. Avrielle and Mom.
Just her mother and twin. My head swirls... Mrs. Lee had said Meg acted strangely lately as if the weight of the world was- I think Meg is having post-traumatic stress. Mr. Lee brushed it off as 'college stress' but I think it's PTSD.