Lillie must have read her mind because she lowered her bed until she was lying flat. “Now, get some rest and I’ll be here when you wake up to answer all those questions floating around in your head.”
****
The next morning, Megan shoveled down oatmeal that tasted much like she thought shredded paper would taste. She was famished and would have eaten just about anything right then. Lillie sat back, telling her about the shop and how great Brandy had been keeping it open for her. She also told her about being on the front page of the newspaper and how the town was in shock over what happened and they all wished her well.
Megan told her about Emily and how they needed to get in touch with her and see if they wanted to let her into their circle or not.
A nurse walked in with a bouquet of pink roses and set them next to the other flowers from people in town who were wishing her well. Megan’s heart skipped a beat. These were the first roses she’d received. Could they possibly be from Drew?
Lillie plucked the card from the flowers and read it. Her lips went straight and she handed the card over without looking at Megan. The roses were from Dorian. She said she would be there if she could and wished her a quick recovery.
“Don’t worry. He’ll come up,” Lillie said, reading her thoughts again or maybe it was the look of disappointment written all over her face that gave it away. “Oklahoma City is a long drive and he had all that stuff to take care of with Dwayne.”
“I know.” Megan waved her off, placing the card on the table with the rest of them. “Doesn’t matter anyway. Everything’s back to normal now so he has no reason to come see me.”
“That’s not true,” Lillie said, shaking her head. “He wouldn’t leave your side until I got here and he calls me constantly to see how you are.”
If he wanted to see her, why was he calling Lillie and not her? Megan vaguely remembered asking him not to leave her alone. He didn’t want to see her, because if he did he would have been there when she woke up. “Why would he be here when I accused him of being a thieving killer?”
Before Lillie could respond, Agents Graves and Johnson walked into the room and nodded to Lillie before facing Megan. “Ms. McAlister. How are you feeling?”
Megan wondered if telling them she felt like bashing their heads together until one of their brains actually worked would be a felony. Lillie looked at her and chuckled. “I’m going to run to the cafeteria.”
“Sneak me a candy bar and a soda,” she said as Lillie walked out. “Or a cheeseburger!”
“Ms. McAlister, we’re just wrapping up the case and wanted to get your statement of the events that took place with Dwayne Webber last week,” Agent Graves said, taking the liberty of sitting down while the mute one stood back against the wall. Did he think he had to hold up the walls in every room he entered?
Megan told them everything she could remember, of course leaving out how she knew the diamonds were stashed inside the suitcase. Once they put away their pens and notebooks, Agent Graves pulled an envelope out of his jacket and smiled.
“There was a reward for the recovery of the diamonds and we would like to thank you for getting them back to their rightful owner.” He handed her the envelope.
“Thanks.” She flipped the envelope over and over in her hands. The money didn’t matter when her life was everything she didn’t want it to be anymore. Money couldn’t buy her love.
They were about to leave when Megan stopped them. “Have you apologized to Detective Calloway for accusing him of being a cold-blooded killer?” Both men turned to her like she had transformed into a three-headed freak of nature. “Well? Have you?”
“We were just following the leads, Ma’am,” Agent Graves said, buttoning the front of his jacket. “If you think of anything else, give us a call.”
“You don’t realize what you did, do you? They should take your badges for telling me he was a killer,” Megan said, raising her voice. Her heart started beating faster and pain shot through her chest. She did her best to ignore it and stared them down.
Graves slipped on a pair of big, ugly mirrored sunglasses like he was the shit and said, “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but it’s not our job to worry about your love life.”
If she could have gotten out of the bed, she would have slapped him across his smug face. Instead, she was stuck there as they walked out of the room on their high horses.
Lillie walked in a few minutes later. “Sorry, couldn’t get you any junk food, but I did get you a delicious cup of ice to munch on.”
Taking the ice, Megan tossed a few pieces into her mouth as tears of frustration ran down her face. She got what she’d wanted and her life was back to normal, or mostly back to normal, and all she wanted was to spend one more night with Drew, but one more night would never be enough. “How much longer do I have to be here?”
“Just a few more days, sweetie,” Lillie said, pulling Megan’s head to her chest. “It’ll be okay.”
Megan took a deep breath, knowing it would never be okay again.
****
“Please, stay at my place with me?” Lillie begged for the thousandth time in the four hour drive home as they pulled into Megan’s driveway.
“Lillie, I really just want to be at my house. I promise I won’t do anything I’m not supposed to.” Lillie’s lips puckered and she tilted her head. “I mean it this time, really.”
Megan opened the car door and eased her way into a standing position. Lillie ran around the car to get to her before she moved. “See, you’re already doing it. Be careful.”
Megan had to laugh. Lillie had turned into a mother hen. She couldn’t get away with anything with her hanging around. Walking up the steps, a calmness fell over her. She was home. Finally. “Did you have the window fixed?”
“No,” Lillie said, digging through Megan’s purse and pulling out a key to unlock the door. Opening the door wide, she waited for Megan to walk through before following behind.
Her house was spotless. Megan looked down and could almost see her reflection in the hardwood floors and from what she could see, the place had been scrubbed down. It even smelled of lemons. Lillie tugged on her arm to get her moving. “Do you want to sit in the living room or lie down in the bed?”
Megan sidestepped her and drug her feet to the kitchen. “I think I’ve been lying down long enough.”
Making her way to the kitchen, she found a note on the fridge from Dorian saying to just pop it in the oven. Curious, Megan opened the fridge and found it packed full of casserole dishes. It warmed her heart to see Dorian had done that for her. Was that what it would have felt like to have a mom taking care of her?
Staring into the fridge, she hurt from knowing Dorian’s kindness wouldn’t last. It would be like the families she’d grown up with. The Calloways were kind-hearted people, but they had each other and didn’t need to take in a stray.
“Do you want me to make you tea?” Lillie asked from behind her. “Or if you don’t want tea, I could whip up some food.”
“No thanks.” Megan closed the fridge and turned to find Lillie watching her like she was watching a tear jerking movie. “You can stop babying me now.”
“I’m not,” she said, putting on a creepy, fake smile.
They walked into the living room and Megan heard a vehicle pulling into the drive. Her heart almost stopped, again, thinking it could possibly be Drew, but when the walls went down, it was an unfamiliar vehicle. Much to her surprise, Emily Elwood got out of the truck carrying a white box.
“Wow, you’re about to get zinged,” Megan said before opening the door. Lillie ran up behind her and peeked through the window.
“Is that her?” she asked, but Megan didn’t have time to answer.
“Hello, Emily, how are you doing?” Megan held the door open for her to walk through. Emily smiled weakly and walked in.
“I heard what happened and I know you like the cheesecake, so I thought you might like… wow.” Emily stopped mid-sentence when she faced
Lillie.
Lillie stood with her hands on her hips and grinning from ear to ear. She extended her hand. “Lillie Sharpe. Nice to finally meet you.”
Instead of taking the offered hand, Emily stuck a thumb toward Lillie and turned to Megan. “I take it this is the person you wanted me to meet?”
“Yes, this is her.” She took the box from Emily and pointed to the chair. “Have a seat.”
Cautiously, Emily walked to the leather chair and plopped herself down, scratching her eyebrow. Megan wondered if she was always this annoyed or if it was just with them.
Megan set down the cheesecake Lillie would try to stop her from eating and joined Lillie on the couch. Lillie was the first to speak. “Just so you know, anything we say to each other would never leave our circle.”
Emily nodded while she look at the two of them and lifted her chin. “Why don’t you go first?”
“Sure,” Lillie shrugged. “I have the ability of hearing people’s thoughts and I can pick up a car without breaking a sweat.”
“Ump,” was Emily’s only response.
When they both turned to Megan, she guessed it was her turn to brag. “First, I understand why you would be reluctant to speak with us. I only met Lillie a few weeks ago and before that, I never thought I would meet someone else like me. With that said, I can see through walls and can go invisible, though I haven’t quite gotten the invisibility thing under control yet.”
“Now, your turn,” Lillie said, smiling.
Emily cleared her throat and sat up. “I can run extremely fast and I can make things move without touching them.”
“Those are some really badass skills,” Lillie said, nodding her head in appreciation and turning to Megan. “You have to show us sometime.”
“Agreed.” Megan thought it was funny she was a tad bit jealous of being able to move things with her mind. Though, she had to admit to herself that the invisibility thing was pretty cool if she ever got the hang of it.
Emily’s intentions were apparently good since Lillie had to know everything she was thinking and hadn’t kicked her ass yet. “Can you imagine? I bet you can clean your house without having to get up from the couch.” Megan shook her head in awe.
Emily laughed. “Have either of you figured out what the deal is with us?”
They both shook their head and Megan looked her dead in the eyes. “No, but we do know that if our secret get out, life as we know it is over.”
“Well,” Lillie said, standing, “are we in this as a team?”
“What do you mean, team? Like The Fantastic Four with leotards and capes?” Emily asked, rolling her eyes. Megan laughed. Emily’s sarcasm made her fit right in with them.
“No.” Lillie put her hands on her hips and smiled. “More like Dynamic Divas, you know, like super heroes with high heels and highlights.”
Megan leaned back into the couch and laughed, causing her chest to contract uncomfortably. She placed a hand over her heart. “I see what you were doing with all that time while I was in the hospital.” Once the pain subsided, she sat up and turned to her new friend. “You in?”
Remaining quiet, Emily didn’t look at anything particular while she was in deep thought. It would be great if she said yes. They needed to stick together. They could support and talk to each other in a way they couldn’t with anyone else. That and it would be hard not to be friends when they lived in a small town and Megan would probably be in that bakery daily.
“What the hell,” Emily threw her hands up and looked at them, “but I’m seriously not doing any late night crime fighting or anything like that.”
Lillie held her hand up and high fived Emily. Megan smiled at her merry band of freaks. “Trust me, I’ve done enough crime fighting to last a lifetime.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Watch where you’re swinging that hammer!” Megan yelled to Lillie so she could hear her through the music blaring on her earphones. Lillie whipped around, pulling one side out of her ear and glared at her.
“I wouldn’t have to use a hammer if you didn’t insist we do this the old fashioned way.” Lillie pointed the hammer at her. “And if I see you pick up another board, I’m going to have to force you to go home.”
Megan dropped the two by four she was carrying and Lillie smirked before turning back to nail sheetrock. It had been just under two weeks since she’d nearly died and Lillie was still watching over her like a prison guard. Since Lillie decided to stay at her place while Megan recuperated, she couldn’t even sneak junk food every now and then. The woman heard everything, even in her sleep.
As annoying as it was, Megan had to admit it was nice to not be alone. She appreciated the fact that Lillie knew to keep her mind busy and not let her think too much about Drew. Every time she did, it felt like she was having another heart attack.
For the most part, her life was back to normal, but she wasn’t the same woman she used to be. That woman was still a part of her, but not the whole her. Having always wanted a normal life, she did little to get out and get one. Now, she was surrounded by friends and embraced who she was, powers and all. Megan was beginning to love her new life. Sure, she was still waiting for the night she could go to sleep without crying and wake up without Drew being the first thing she thought about. Lillie said that day would come, but she wasn’t so sure.
She loved him so much she couldn’t see that day ever coming.
At least she was able to keep herself occupied by renovating the upstairs apartment of Dazzled with the reward money. She still couldn’t believe the jewelry store’s insurance gave her one-hundred thousand dollars for finding the diamonds and helping in the arrest of the thief.
“Where do you want me to put the tile?” Emily asked, coming up the stairs, a box floating in front of her. She had been a great help with the apartment and when she wasn’t trying to keep her little brother out of trouble, she was at Megan’s house where they could all be themselves and not be afraid.
“In the bathroom.” Megan walked with her as she gently set it down.
Most amazing power ever.
Megan bent down and inspected the different shades of blue glass tile and watched as Emily rushed to Lillie and began whispering back and forth. She didn’t think much of it until they both glanced in her direction. Megan stood and put her hands on her hips.
“What?”
“Nothing,” they said in unison.
“No, what’s going on?” she asked again, not buying it. Walking to them, Megan looked from one to the other, waiting for the truth.
Lillie sighed and gripped her hand. The look of sorrow on Lillie’s face scared her. “Hmm, Drew’s downstairs.”
In that single, split second, Megan’s heart constricted and her soul ached. Her first instinct was to look through the floor and find him, but it would only cause more heartache in the end. Instead, she forced herself to breathe and plastered a smile on her face.
“Did you tell him we’re already closed for the day?” Megan turned away, picked up a paint brush, and started painting one of the walls. She threw up as many mental blocks as she could so Lillie wouldn’t hear the anguish going on inside of her.
“The thing is,” Emily said, her voice cracking, “that he asked to speak with you.”
The paint brush stopped mid-stroke. “Do you know what about?”
“No, but he said he needed your help with something important.”
On one of the nights the three of them had spent at Megan’s house, she had told Emily the story of what happened in the two weeks that changed her life. She couldn’t count the amount of times both Lillie and Emily offered to punish him for never showing up or at least calling. They were wonderful to try to help, but Drew had the right to want to stay away from her. She had accused him of being a cold-blooded murderer.
Setting the paint brush down, Megan ran a hand over her messy ponytail. There was no telling how horrible she looked, though it really didn’t matter and she shouldn’t care. “I guess I bette
r find out what he wants then.”
Walking away from their sympathetic eyes, she went down the steps like she was walking down death row. She could hear Lillie’s footsteps behind her and Emily telling her to wait up. She made it outside and to the back entrance of the store before stopping to take a deep breath.
Now or never, she thought as she walked through the door.
Immediately, Megan spotted him and it made her breath catch in her throat. Drew was leaned over the front counter talking on his cell phone and hadn’t noticed her yet. He was laughing to the other person on the line. She closed her eyes, wanting to bottle the sound. Forcing her body to move, she started walking toward him. Drew heard her and straightened, turning with a weak smile as he shoved the phone in his back pocket.
He was so damn beautiful it physically pained her. “You wanted to see me.”
“How are you feeling?” He stuck his hands into his jeans pockets as he eyed her up and down before finally settling on her eyes.
“I’m fine. Thanks.” She looked down at the floor. “Was that all you needed?”
He cleared his throat. “Actually, my sister’s birthday is this weekend and I was hoping you could help me pick something out for her.”
Her head shot up. Did he not remember what happened the last time she helped him picked something out for Laura? “Hmm, I’m actually closed,” she took a deep breath, “but sure, why not. Do you have anything in mind?”
Drew looked around her, and her gaze followed his. Lillie and Emily stood in a huddle against the wall. Pinching her lips, Megan titled her head to the side. Go away, she thought loud enough Lillie had to have heard. Lillie grabbed Emily’s arm and pulled her to the stock room.
“Sorry about them.”
Drew smiled, his dimples sinking in. She wanted to reach up and touch them more than she wanted to breathe. “No problem.”
She didn’t waste any time and walked around the shop, showing him different shirts, but he shot down everything she suggested. “So, you’re redoing the upstairs?”
Super Chick Page 27