The Maureen Persona

Prologue 2

Raymond POV

I knew this day would come, and I dreaded it. From the moment I saw Megan back in fifth grade, I liked her, I liked her a lot, and I had done everything I could to make sure that none of the other guys would consider ever asking her out, so that when I did, she would say yes. The problem was I never got up the courage to ask her out for fear of rejection. I had written her a heartfelt letter back in sixth grade and given it to her next-door neighbor to give to her. Instead of waiting to give it to her after school, he had given it to her while we were all in the cafeteria. I had watched with bated breath when he handed it to her in the lunchline. She looked at him in disbelief and ripped the letter up, tossing it in the trashcan without reading it. Looking back, she probably thought it was a practical joke. I mean, why wouldn’t she think that I was Mr. Popular, the one that always had the girls following me and hanging on my every word, and she was the quiet one that sat at the back of the class and never spoke to anyone, unless it was the occasional few words to Gerald sitting in front of her or Lenore at lunch.

I held my breath as I watched Gerald as he spoke to her. With her mouth open she stared at him with a shocked expression and shaking her head. Gerald reluctantly repeated himself and nodded yes. Megan’s hands covered her face. Gerald placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, only to have her shake it away. A few seconds passed and Meagan looked around the parking lot and only stopped when her eyes found me. For a split second, I had hopes that she would reciprocate my feelings when she started walking toward me.

Without a word, she approached me, took my face in her hands. Wondering what was going on in her mind, I was taken aback as her hand slapped my face. Then, without warning, her knee met my groin with a force that brought me to my knees. Dropping to the ground, I was unprepared for the onslaught of her attack.

“I hope you rot in hell for what you did to me, Raymond Fairchild,” Megan hissed, as she kicked me in my side. “All these years I thought there was something wrong with me, and it was always you, you, you, you,” she said as she repeatedly kicked me in my side.

“I’m sorry,” I curled myself into a ball to protect myself. “I never meant for it to go that far.”

“How far did you expect it to go?” Megan yelled with tears in her eyes and kicked me again. “You have no idea what you did to me do you?” she screamed. “Do you know how close I came to ending it all when I had to sit at home during my own senior prom because nobody would take me to the couples only event of the year? Of course, you don’t care, all you care about is your own selfishness, and your own sick pleasure at tormenting me year after year. Today I wanted to accept my diploma with dignity and respect, but in your twisted mind you had to take that away from me too. I hate you Raymond Fairchild,” she yelled. “I will never forgive you for what you did to me. They say karma is a b***h well be prepared because you’ll get yours and when you do, I will relish watching you get what’s coming to you.”

“Come on Megan,” Gerald took her arm and guided her back to her car as her outburst drew the attention of the few remaining classmates still in the parking lot. “He’s not worth it.”

“No,” Megan paused. “It isn’t,” she turned and walked away. I looked at my cousin Clayton as he reached me and helped me to my feet. “

“I told you last year that you needed to tell her how you felt or stop tormenting her,” Clayton reminded me.

“I know,” I admitted with a sigh. “I just couldn’t do it; I don't know why,” I shook my head, utterly disgusted with myself.

“Well, it’s too late now,” Clayton snickered as he opened the driver-side door to Raymond's car. “I just hope you’re smart enough to steer clear of her. You did make her life hell.”

“I’ll make it up to her,” I smiled. “No girl can resist the Fairchild charm, besides, it’s not like she’s going anywhere. Girls like her never go far from home. She’ll be around. All I need to do is bide my time, and she’ll forget everything and come running to me, right where she belongs.”

“I wouldn't be too sure about that,” Clayton said as he watched Meagan get into her car and speed out of the student parking lot in a cloud of dust. “Time heals all wounds, but the scars never go away, and you've given her enough scars to last a lifetime.”