Come to Me Quietly(41)

Another stab of guilt. I’d always been vulnerable. I’d just never been honest enough to allow her to see it. “I guess I’ve been holding out for the right guy, Megan. We all find them at different times and in different ways.”



Only I found mine when I was fourteen. A flutter swam through my being, Jared’s youthful smile forever etched in my mind. Really, I’d known him my entire life. I found him in almost every memory I had.

Confusion creased Megan’s brow. “How will we ever know when it’s right?”



Pursing my lips, I took a chance at what I knew as my own truth. “I think we’ll just know.”



She groaned and dropped her forehead to the table. “But this feels so right… and so completely wrong.”



Quiet laughter spilled from my mouth. “You have it bad, Megan.”



She grinned up at me from her resting place on the table. “Pathetic, aren’t I?”



“Nah.” I shook my head. “It isn’t worth it if it doesn’t hurt a little.”



She rose, nodding as if those were the most important words I’d ever said.

Or perhaps the most foolish.

“So, what about you? Have you been hanging out with Gabe?”



Pausing, I searched for what to say before I finally answered. “No. I’ve been busy at work and at home.”



Speculation lifted her brow, and I knew the questions were coming. “Busy at home, huh? Does this have anything to do with this mysterious visitor who showed up a couple of weeks ago? One I’ve never even heard of before? Hmm?” She drew this out in a suggestive prod. She struggled for a look of offense. I thought she might be too innocently beautiful for it ever to work.

“He’s just an old friend, Megan,” I said with the least amount of defensiveness I could inject in it. No need to raise more suspicion than I already had.

“And not important enough that you ever thought to mention him to me?”



No. It was completely the opposite. He’d been so important it seemed impossible to utter his name.

“It’s not that, Megan,” I admitted. “We were all really good friends when we were younger… We grew up together. Even though Christopher was his best friend, he was my best friend. You know?”



I searched her face, wondering if she could understand. Her expression told me maybe she did. Sadness clouded my tone. “In one day, he lost it all, Megan.”



“What happened?”



“There was this accident… ” I shook my head. “He could never see past what happened and he started making some really bad choices. We all watched him fall apart and we couldn’t do anything about it. He ended up getting arrested and sent away.” I lifted one shoulder in resignation. “That was the last time I saw him.”



“So he’s the one,” she mused.

“What are you talking about?”



“Just because you keep secrets, Aly, doesn’t mean I don’t know you have them.”



I couldn’t say anything. My throat was suddenly dry.

“You care about him a lot, yeah?”



“Yeah,” I admitted. “I have no idea how long he’s staying, so I’ve been spending as much time with him as I can.” I didn’t mention that I would be devastated when he left.