“Megan, I can’t see you anymore.” His voice was low and held a tinge of fear in it. That worried her so she rose and started toward him.
“What do you mean?” she asked, hoping it was just something in his eye and not what she thought was happening. Feeling ridiculous, she asked, “Is something in your eye?”
“No! I can’t see you!” he yelled and moved to the bathroom, slamming the door shut, almost smashing her arm in the process.
With her eyebrows pulled together, she yelled back, “Try running water in your eyes.”
Megan watched the closed door but didn’t drop the walls to see inside. She was kind of thankful for the privacy after what she just experienced with him. It was beyond amazing, but that was also the problem. Never in her life had she felt that way.
“I can see, Megan, just not you!” he yelled again.
Okay, she thought as she stood frozen while her worst nightmare was playing out before her. What an asshole. “Just like a man. Get what you want then you decide you don’t want to see me. You know what, I don’t want to see you anymore, either. You’re an asshole!”
He opened the door and scooted along the wall to the light switch. “Megan?” he asked, his eyes wide.
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she went to the bathroom and slammed the door. Let the idiot leave for all she cared. Eventually he would, she knew that, but literally seconds after sex? Come on, that was just cruel. Oh god, what if I was horrible in bed? I would never be able to face him again. “I can’t believe, after years without sex, I have sex with you! The town player. I knew better! I knew this would end up bad.”
Moving to the mirror, Megan jumped back, almost tripping over the toilet. All she could see reflected was the wall behind her. She was completely invisible. Gripping the sink with shaking hands, she got right up to the mirror for closer inspection. Nothing. She looked down at her hands but couldn’t see them. Squeezing her eyes shut, she screamed, “Lillie!”
Footsteps ran through the house and Megan could hear Lillie talking to Drew on the other side of the door. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t freaking know. She was there, then… then she was gone.” He sounded as freaked out as she felt.
There was a knock on the door and Megan reluctantly opened it. Lillie looked back and forth into the bathroom, clearly not seeing her and shut the door behind her. She walked past Megan and stood facing the closed shower curtain. “Megan, what’s wrong?”
“I’m over here,” Megan said, feeling a tear roll down her invisible face. Lillie jumped and spun around, her eyes darting left and right.
“Megan?” she whispered.
“I’m freaking invisible, Lillie,” she wailed. God, what if she was stuck like that forever? “Why is this happening now?”
Lillie had the nerve to smile. “Maybe it was mind-blowing sex?”
“This is not funny. What am I supposed to do? And Drew? How am I going to explain this to him? He’s probably calling the police right now so they can drag me away.” Megan plopped down on the closed toilet seat and laid her invisible head in her invisible hands. They both remained silent for a moment. Hopefully, Lillie had a plan, because as of right then, life as she knew it was over. She was going to have to sell her house and shop and move far away.
That was unless she stayed invisible, then she would become the ghost of Hope.
“You’re not going anywhere. Come on. We’ll talk to him and try to explain it.” Lillie held out her hand. “Grab onto my hand so I know where you are. I know you don’t want to hear this, but invisibility is a badass power.”
“I’m not feeling so badass right now.” Megan stood and grabbed her hand. Lillie opened the door and Drew stood by the bedroom doorway, ready to bolt at any second.
“Drew, go sit on the couch. We need to explain some things to you,” Lillie said. They followed him to the couch with him looking over his shoulder the entire way.
Megan released Lillie’s hand and sat on her leather chair while Lillie moved to the couch and plopped down to a clearly bewildered Drew as he sat in only a pair of loose sweatpants and had his arms crossed against his bare chest. He looked hot as hell, even with his eyes as wide as saucers.
He turned to Lillie and asked, “What the hell is going on here?”
Megan stayed silent. What could she say when she didn’t know what the hell was going on herself? Right then, Lillie was the more stable one (crazy thought), so Megan would let her handle the situation until she got a hold on herself. “Drew, what I’m about to tell you, you have to take to the grave. I’m serious.”
“Tell me what?” Drew’s eyes darted around the room, no doubt looking for Megan. “Where’s Megan?”
“I’m right here,” Megan announced.
Whipping his head around, he looked in all directions, but she was still invisible. “What the hell is going on?”
“Drew,” Lillie said calmly and grabbed his hand. “You need to calm down. You’re not helping her.” She paused until he faced her, then went on in a syrupy sweet tone. “Now, if I find out you’ve told anyone what I’m about to tell you, I’ll find you and kick your ass. Do you understand?”
Chapter Fourteen
Yanking his hand from Lillie’s, Drew yelled, “Just tell me what the hell is going on!”
“Okay. You see, Megan and I were born with special abilities.” Lillie waited for her announcement to sink in.
“Special… abilities?” he asked slowly, like he was speaking to a lunatic.
“Yes, now I’m going to ask you to not talk until I’m done.” Drew’s mouth closed in a thin line and when Lillie was positive he was done, she continued. “Like I said, we were born with abilities. We don’t know how or why, but we were. Megan didn’t know she could go invisible until now. She must have done something… extreme… to make that possible.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him, making her point.
With eyebrows pulled tightly together, Drew slowly nodded his head. “So, where is she?”
“Right here,” Megan said shyly. “In the chair.”
Turning to the chair, he stared right about where her crotch was, but all he could see was a cushion. “You said abilities, as in plural?”
“Yes. I’ve been able to see through walls for as far back as I can remember.” Megan uselessly waved an invisible hand in the air. “This invisible thing is a first for me.”
It was hard for her to grasp that just ten minutes earlier, she was in physical bliss. She had experienced the most amazing thing she had ever been a part of and now she was dealing with this.
Running a hand through his hair, Drew shook his head and said, “This is crazy.”
“I tried to tell you there were things about me you didn’t know. I guess there were things about me I didn’t even know. You can’t tell anyone or our lives will be over,” Megan pleaded for his secrecy.
“Can you keep this between us?” Lillie asked, staring at Drew, no doubt reading his mind.
“No, I’m not going to say anything. Hell, no one would believe me if I did.” He sat in silent contemplation for a moment then turned to Megan. “You’re back!”
Looking down at herself, Megan not only saw that she was back, she was buck-ass naked. Covering herself as best as she could with her hands, she jumped up and ran to the bedroom. Grabbing the clothes Drew ripped from her earlier, she dressed and went back to the living room with Drew and Lillie both watching her every move. The difference was Lillie was holding back a laugh and Drew looked to be caught in a mix of anger and shock.
“This is really happening isn’t it?” he asked.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Megan refused to look him straight in the eyes. How could she when he just gave her the only orgasm in her life that wasn’t self-induced and she went invisible while he was still inside of her? It was strange even for her—she lived in the world of strange—so she couldn’t imagine what was going on in his brain.
“You said both of you have these… powers,
right?” Drew asked, looking back and forth between the two women.
Lillie sat back and suddenly became intrigued by the state of her nails. If they were smart, they would have left Lillie’s abilities out of it completely, but then again, why lie now when he already knew the majority of the truth? It wasn’t Megan’s truth to tell, though, so she waited to see if Lillie would speak up.
Finally, Lillie tossed her hand in her lap and skewered him with her eyes. “Yeah, and?”
“And?” Drew threw his hands up. “If I have to stay here, I want to know exactly who I’m staying with.”
There it was, the answer that had been looming in her head; he would have high-tailed it out of there if it wasn’t for his duty to his sister. At least now she wouldn’t have to worry about the flirting. She had a feeling their flirting was a non-existent thought to him.
It was for the best. Really, it was, but why did it have to hurt so bad?
“I’m gifted with exceptionally good hearing, including thoughts, and I’m really strong. Like really, really strong,” Lillie said, almost like a warning. This statement pulled Megan from her depressing thoughts and back to the situation at hand.
Rising from the couch, Drew crossed his large arms over his chest and stared down at them. “Let me get this straight.” He tilted his head toward Lillie. “You can hear what I’m thinking and you’re stronger than me?” Lillie rolled her eyes but nodded. He turned his gaze to Megan and she squirmed in her seat. “And you go invisible and can see through walls?”
Megan nodded and he made a growling sound in the back of his throat, sending a chill over her. She had just heard that growl in her ear when he was on top of her.
“What am I thinking right now?” he asked, then stared at Lillie expectantly.
“It’s a mix of fried chicken, Megan’s boobs, and you thinking we’re crazy.”
He put a palm to his forehead as if he wanted to stop the thoughts from coming out. Megan was oddly comforted that he was thinking about her boobs and a little weirded out that he was thinking about fried chicken. That man’s mind must be a wonderland, she thought.
“Okay. Megan, I’m going to go into the bedroom and you tell me what I’m doing.” Before she could tell him he was being an asshat, Drew stomped to the bedroom like a man on a mission and shut the door. “I’m ready.”
“This is ridiculous,” she told Lillie who nodded in agreement. Standing, Megan turned around and looked through the walls of the bedroom and nearly burst out laughing. Drew Calloway was alternating between karate moves and trying to moon walk. “Okay, you can come out now.”
Breathing a little heavier than when he went in, he asked, “So?”
“Is this really necessary? I mean, you witnessed me go invisible.” It had been almost an hour since he had found her invisible and she was tuckered out. Drew stood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for her to give an answer. “Alright, you were doing bad impressions of Karate Kid and Michael Jackson.”
“This is unbelievable.” He walked to the kitchen, shaking his head.
Turning to face Lillie, Megan pointed to the direction in which Drew left. “Is he going to keep his mouth shut?”
“I think so. He doesn’t think anyone would believe him even if he did say something.” Lillie yawned, then stood. “I’m wiped. I’m going to bed. If you need me, yell.”
Lillie gave her a sympathetic hug and went upstairs. Pity was the last thing Megan wanted, but she felt it in that hug. She didn’t want any of this to be happening, but that’s the way her life always went. She knew from all the past experiences in her life that she would be fine and live through it, but still. For once in her life, she wanted something normal and real, but no, not for Megan McAlister. Normal just wasn’t part of her destiny.
Dragging her feet to the bedroom, Megan stared at the crumpled blankets and sheets scattered across the bed. Wiping a tear from her cheek, she quickly changed the sheets and took a shower. By the time she got out, Drew’s snores were the only sounds coming from the house. She poked her head out of the door and found him curled up on the couch with a throw blanket barely covering his body.
Asshole.
She crawled into bed and pulled the covers tight around her shoulders and unsuccessfully tried not to cry.
****
The sounds of two people arguing woke her the next morning. Those two people were none other than Lillie and Drew. Instead of pulling the covers over her head and going back to sleep like she wanted, Megan pulled down the blankets and dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen where they were. When they saw her, they both went silent which could only mean one thing; they were arguing about her. Great, she thought. She did not want to go through this again today.
Megan walked around them and straight to the cabinet, pulling out her favorite oversized mug. She poured herself a cup of the coffee Drew must have made because Lillie considered coffee to be toxic to the body. Regardless of who made it, Megan needed it like she needed oxygen, so she took her first sip as she walked past her two statue-still houseguests and back to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She was keeping the coffee pot when he left, whether he liked it or not.
Taking her time getting ready, Megan didn’t hear a peep from the other room. When she was finally ready to start the day, she went to the living room to a waiting Drew.
“You ready?” he asked without so much as a glance her way.
“Yep,” she answered, pretending to look for something in her purse so she didn’t have to see him treat her like the freak she was. “I’m going to drive my car in. You can follow me if you want.”
“Sure.” Drew didn’t argue, which felt like a punch to the gut. Did he even care if something happened to her anymore? Probably not. He probably thought she needed to be locked up and away from the public.
Ignoring the pain crushing her chest, Megan hurried to the car. She was still tender from the night before but did her best to ignore that, too. Instead of thinking about her physical and mental pains, she hit the gas and sped all the way to the shop. Once there, Drew pulled up next to her at the back of the shop.
“I’ll be here about nine forty-five to follow you to the rental house.”
Nodding, Megan turned and walked to the back door of the shop and let herself inside. She didn’t want to talk to Drew. As a matter of fact, she didn’t care if she ever talked to him again for the rest of her life.
It was a lie, but if she told it to herself enough, eventually she would know it as truth.
Shortly after turning on the lights, Brandy came in the front door and walked straight to her. “What’s wrong?”
Megan gave her a weak smile. “Nothing. Just thinking.”
“Uh huh. Okay, leave me in the dark yet again.” Brandy picked up the price gun and started marking the summer items for clearance.
Hurting Brandy’s feelings sucked; she had always been a great friend. Thinking about the week and everything that had happened in such a short amount of time was head spinning. It was already Wednesday and there were only two days left until the ransom had to be paid. Then, if all went well, Laura would be home.
For now, though, Megan had to get on with her life—get on with forgetting Drew. “Do you want to go out Friday night?”
Brandy whipped her head around, holding the price gun in the air. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, absolutely. I think it would be fun.” Megan hoped it would, at least. All she knew, was for the first time in her life she wanted to get drunk as a skunk and have fun doing it.
“Yeah, sounds great,” Brandy sputtered with a wide smile. Her defensive attitude was gone in an instant. Her head tilted slightly to the side and her mouth lost some of her smile. “Wait, is that Lillie chick going, too?”
Megan set the clothes in her hand down and looked at her friend. The last thing she wanted was to pick between two friends when she only had two friends. “What do you have against her?”
“Nothing,” Brandy shrug
ged, “just wondering.” She went back to pricing and asked, “So, is she?”
“I don’t know. She might.” A bright idea came to mind out of nowhere. “Do you still have that bartender guy’s phone number?”
“Oh my god! Megan McAlister, what has gotten into you?” Brandy asked, hopping up and down with glee.
“I just thought I might give him a call.” Sure, she was feeling a little brazen and a lot angry, so why not? It wasn’t like she was involved with anyone, and it seemed her fear of talking to men was gone for good.
“What about Drew? From what I hear around town, you two have been making out on the street.” Brandy crooked a dramatic eyebrow and gave Megan a sly grin.
“Small town gossip,” Megan said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “Nothing is going on between us. Nothing at all.” She sashayed behind the counter and held up the cordless phone with irritation coursing through her veins. “Give me his number.”
Brandy pulled out her cell phone and recited the number as Megan punched it in. Taking a deep breath, she prayed he didn’t answer and that she would get sent to voicemail.
“Yup,” he answered, his voice gruff. Shit, she woke him up. Megan didn’t think with a bartending job he probably slept most of the day.
“Hello, this is Megan McAlister. I, uh, I met you this past Friday at Roosters.”
“Yeah, were you the redhead with Brandy?” he asked through a yawn.
“Yep, that’s me.” Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and clenched her free hand into a fist. “I was just wondering if you would like to maybe go out this Friday?”
“I’m working Friday night,” he said, causing Megan’s shoulders to droop. “Would Thursday night work?”
“That’ll work,” Megan said, opening her eyes and doing her bit of a happy dance in place.
“Great.” He sounded excited which in turn put more self-confidence in her spine and she stood at her full height. “What time do you want me to pick you up?”
“Is seven-thirty okay?” She put a hand on her hip and rocked back and forth on her feet.
Super Chick Page 14