Healing Together

Chapter 2: Alone

Saturday morning.

“Can Joyce sleep over tonight?” I asked my aunt Denise.

She looked at me and smiled, “Of course she can, Joyce is always welcomed here. There’s no point in you even asking anymore.”

I laughed, “Okay, Auntie.”

I picked up my phone and texted Joyce to let her know.

“Oh, Meg, I won’t be here this weekend. I’m leaving in about 2 hours and I won’t be back until Monday morning. I left some money for food by the cookie jar.” my Aunt informed me.

“Okay... may I ask where you’re going?” I questioned her.

She playfully rolled her eyes, “No you may not, I am grown.”

I laughed and responded with “whatever you say” and headed upstairs to my bedroom.

I lay on my bed and stared out my window. I began thinking. I thought about him... Sen. I didn’t understand why I was so fascinated with him, but I was. I wanted to know more about him. Like when he said he followed me to get to school, that means he‘d live near me, right? I even thought about what Joyce said about him “liking” me. I doubted it but it was still nice to think about.

“Get a hold of yourself, Megan” I said to myself before rolling out of my bed and changing out of my pajamas.

I decided to put on a jean skirt and a plain blouse. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere today but it’s just a habit of mine. I then took my hair down from a bun and let my curls fall down. Looking in the mirror, I was actually happy with how I looked today.

“Hmm.. maybe I should go out today”, I thought.

But I knew I’d end up staying in with Joyce when she comes; it’s all we ever did. Sometimes we watched movies and other times we just talked and laughed all day and night. Either way, I always ended up enjoying it.

My phone started to vibrate. I walked over to my bed and picked it up to see who it was. It was Joyce.

“Hello?”

“Hey Meg, I won’t be able to come over until later. I’m watching Eli and Taj.”, Joyce explained.

“Okay, no problem. My aunt is leaving soon so stay on the phone with me! I’m bored!”, I responded.

“Eli, put it down!!” she screamed. “Sorry girl, they are so bad. Why do I have to be the oldest?”

I laughed, “they’re adorable”

“To you!”, she said in frustration.

We ended up staying on the phone for about an hour, talking about everything under the sun. Guys she dated, guys I never dated, college, senior year, siblings, and more. We had an interesting conversation while her two little brothers were being louder than ever in the background. During our conversation, I started to hear talking come from the kitchen.

“Nice to meet you Reina, I’m Denise. . .” I heard.

Who is Reina?

“Hold on Joyce” I whispered before placing my phone on my bed.

I lightly walked out of my room and kneeled near the side of the stairs, peeking my head out a little.

Oh my god.

While peeking downstairs, I saw the back of Sen. I knew it was him because he doesn’t look like anyone I’ve seen before, making him easily recognizable. This time, his hair was pushed back into a loose ponytail and he was wearing a white tank top... which probably explained why my eyes were so focused on his muscles. He wasn’t too muscular like the body builder type, but I could tell that he works out.

Before I could get caught, I quickly ran back to my room and picked up the phone.

“Joyce” I said, “guess who’s in my kitchen?”

“Who?”, she asked with curiosity.

“Sen!”

“What?! Why??”, she asked

“I have no ide-“

Before I could finish, my aunt called for me. “Megan! Come meet these lovely people who just moved in near us!”

I sighed, ”I’ll call you back Joyce, my aunt just called me down there”

“Ooooh, good luck with that”, she said sarcastically. “Tell me all of the details when you’re done!”

I rolled my eyes and hung up the phone, “I’m coming Auntie!”

I started to feel nervous again. I knew it wouldn’t be that bad but it still bothered me.

I started walking down the stairs where I saw who I assumed to be his mother, facing me. She was so pretty, I see where he gets his looks from. She immediately smiled at me and said “You are so pretty!” Right after she said that, Sen turned around and stared at me from top to bottom until I made it into the kitchen.

I smiled, “thank you so much, so are you!”

She laughed, “Thank you, sweetie.” she began shaking my hand, “My name is Reina and this is my son Sen.”

“We met already, ma” he said with a charming smirk on his face.

I looked down at my feet and nervously responded with a “Yeah, we did...” I looked back up and smiled at her, “But it’s nice to meet you, Ms. Reina”

He looked at me and smiled while I was trying not to embarrass myself.

“Ohh”, his mom said smiling, “I assume you two met in school.”

“Yes” Sen and I respond at the same time.

I saw my aunt looking at me from the corner of my eye, “that’s good, you two are friends already!” she said.

“I agree.” his mom responded.

I tried looking anywhere else so that I couldn’t make eye contact with Sen. I felt his eyes on me the entire time while my aunt and his mom continued talking. I then pulled out a stool at the kitchen counter and sat down. Still, feeling him stare at me, I asked...

“Do you want to sit down?”.

He looked at me with his bronze eyes, pulled out the stool across from me and sat down.

I looked up at him and saw him examining me. He was actually examining everything about me. His eyes shifted from my eyes to my hair, made their way down to my shoulders and then back up to my eyes, then down to my lips and so on.

“You look beautiful”, he said.

I blushed, “thank you”

“You’re a quiet person, huh?” he asked.

“I am not, what made you think that?”

He chuckled, “You’re not fooling anyone, I can tell you are. Unless you’re just shy around me.”

I looked at him and watched him form a mischievous smirk.

Ugh, he knows what he’s doing.

“I’m not. Why would I be shy around you?” I asked while tracing my finger back and forth on the counter.

“I don’t know”, he said before pulling my hand closer to him and placing it in his, “you tell me.”

Trying to catch my breath, I slowly pulled my hand away. “I-I’m not shy around you” I said while letting out a nervous laugh.

I wasn’t convincing at all, he could clearly see that I was nervous. I couldn’t help it. He knew how to make me weak. I hated it, I really did... but I also loved it. I loved how he stared at me. I loved how he knew exactly what to do in order to make me blush.

He really is something else...

His mother then broke the awkwardness, “Okay, I have to get going. It was a pleasure meeting you two. Sen, say your goodbyes!”

“I’ll see you around, Megan” he said while pushing in his stool. Nice meeting you, miss.” he said to my aunt.

I got up and began walking them to the door, “Bye Sen and nice meeting you Ms. Reina.”

They walked out the front door, I locked it behind them and then looked at my aunt, “Auntie, warn me next time, please!”

“How was I supposed to know you had a crush on him?” she asked after grabbing her keys, “I have to go now sweetie, call me if you need me.”

“Auntie, I do not have cru-“

Before I could finish, she grabbed my face, kissed me on the cheek,and then walked out the front door with her purse and her suitcase.

“Bye!!” I called out after she left.

I lay on the couch, relieved. That took a lot out of me. Seeing him unexpectedly and then having a small conversation with him actually drained me, which is absolutely ridiculous. I’ve never experienced that before.

I pulled out my phone, called Joyce and told her everything. I needed to let everything out.

“Girl he is so fine, I’d be nervous too!”, she said.

I sighed, “I know, it’s so annoying though”.

We continued to talk and to be honest, we talked about him for about an hour straight. I know, that’s creepy... but there was just so much to talk about.

...2 pm

“Hello? Hellooooooo??!!?!?” Joyce said for the hundredth time before hanging up.

I ended up falling asleep on the coach, I didn’t get much sleep last night.

...3 pm

I woke up a little confused and picked up my phone to see the time. I sat up, stretched, and leaned over to take a small mint from on top of the living room table. I walked over to the fridge to see what I could eat.

I’m starving.

I picked up some grapes, closed the fridge and headed back to the couch. “This’ll do” I said before sitting down.

If my aunt were here, she’d yell at me and tell me to eat real food, but she wasn’t. I have a small appetite, I knew I’d be fine.

I picked up the remote, turned on the tv, and began searching for something to watch.

“No” *skips to the next channel*

“Eww, no” *skips to the next channel*

“N-“ I stopped after hearing a knocking sound come from the window.

I jumped up and moved away from the couch and slowly backed into the kitchen. I closed my eyes “it’s just the wind” I said before hearing it a second time.

clack, clack, clack

I picked up a knife, slid my back down the lower kitchen cabinets and hid behind the counter. I was breathing heavily and started to tear up. I don’t really know how to handle situations like this well. A part of me knows nothing is wrong but my past still affects me and I panic more than the average person would.

“Calm down, Meg” I whispered to myself. “It’s just the wi-“

“It’s me, Sen!” he yelled, loud enough for me to hear but low enough so no one else could hear.

I stood up, placed the knife down and walked over to the living room window.

I peeked through the blinds to see his face, “let me in”, he said.

I took a deep breath in relief. I signaled him to the front door and began walking over to it. I unlocked it, cracked it open a little, and let him inside.

He started whispering “I didn’t see a car in the driveway, I assumed you were here alone but I wasn’t too sure.”

“Yes” I said while over walking to the couch as he followed me, “I am alone.”

He stopped whispering, “Okay, good”. He smiled, “I wanted to get you alone.”

I sat down and looked up at him, “why?”

“I thought it’d be the best way to get to know you more”, he said after sitting down next to me.

I blushed.

“I really would like to get to know you, Megan” he began, “You’re just-“

He leaned in closer to me and stared deep into my eyes. “Were you crying?” he asked.

“No, I-“ I said while wiping my eyes, “I wasn’t crying” I put my head down.

He inched closer to me and lifted my chin up as gently as he could. “What happened? Was it me? Did I scare you?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.

He looked as if he genuinely cared about me. I didn’t understand why, I mean, he just met me. It was weird but It was the cutest thing ever. Even his concerned face was attractive.

“No, I’m okay. I’m fine, Sen. I’m fine” I said in a low voice.

He looked at me and let out a small smile, “you’re a terrible liar, you know that?”

I arched my eyebrows and squinted my eyes, trying to look mad “I am not”, I said defensively.

“That’s your angry face? It’s adorable.”, he laughed.

I rolled my eyes, trying to stay mad but I ended up laughing myself.

After we were both done laughing, he just stared at me. He was doing it again... examining me. I turned around and faced him. His eyes started to wander down to my body and then back up to my face. I tilted my head a little, “What is it?”, I asked.

“you”, he said vaguely.

“What about about me?”.

He placed his hand on my thigh, “everything”.

My heart started to race but I didn’t want him to know that. I looked at him and pushed his hand off, not rudely but in a playful manner. “You’re so vague, Sen.” I laughed. “Explain to me what you mean by everything, I need details.”

He raised his eyebrows, “Lil miss shy girl has some sass to her huh?”

“Just tell me.”, I responded.

“You’re beautiful, Megan. Your eyes, your hair, your freckles...” he explained, “your tiny figure, your legs” he placed his hand on the side of my neck and began rubbing his thumb against my skin. “Your soft skin”, he continued with a smile.

I felt completely uneasy. His touch made me feel something I’ve never felt before.

I was extremely attracted to him.

“your lips” he said while leaning in closer to me. He looked into my eyes, then down to my lips, and then my eyes again while still inching closer. He slightly started to pull me in. With his hand gently placed on my neck, he pressed his lips against mine.

I instantly felt like I was in heaven. His lips were extremely soft and warm. I was loving every second of the kiss but at the same time, I was afraid. It was my first kiss and I didn’t want him to know that. I didn’t push him off of me though, I continued to kiss him back.

He began moving his hands and slowly sliding them down my body, next thing I know, he lies me down. My heart began racing with more speed as I could feel his body against mine. Still kissing me, he noticed that I was enjoying every second of it but for some reason, he stopped. He then took my hand and sat me back up on the couch.

“I’m sorry Megan, I don’t wanna make you do anything that you don’t want to. That wasn’t my intention at all.” he explained.

I blushed, “n-no, you didn’t make me do anything.”

He smiled, “you’re adorable.”

I laughed, “stop calling me that!”

“You wanna show me to your room?” he asked. “I do wanna get to know you more and I feel like that’ll help”, he explained.

“Okay, follow me.”, I said nervously.

I led him upstairs and opened my bedroom door, “here it is!”, I said while walking in.

As I sat on my bed, I watched him look around. He was so cute when he was focused on something. He walked over to my shelf and saw all of the notebooks and journals I had. “What are these?”, he asked.

“Oh, umm.. I write”, I answered.

He walked over to my bed and sat next to me, “write what?”

I got excited that he was asking about my writing. I’m pretty sure he noticed that once he saw a huge smile form across my face. “Well, anything I feel like writing at the moment. Some are poems, others are short stories. I’ve even written a few novels and some are just free writing.”, I answered.

“That’s amazing that you have a thing for writing” he said, “maybe one day you could read something to me”.

I smiled and looked at him, “maybe.”

I started to feel hot so I put my hair up in a bun while his eyes were glued on me the whole time. He looked at the baby hairs that fell down the back of my neck and began to play with them. “You’re a beautiful person with beautiful interests”, he said.

I laughed, “What?”

He laughed too, “That was weird of me to say, huh?”

“Kinda”, I responded.

“I find it beautiful that you love to write, just like I find you beautiful” he explained.

I turned my body around and sat criss cross applesauce, facing him, “thank you, Sen”, I said.

“No problem, baby” he said with his strong southern accent.

“Sen?”

He looked at me, “Yes?”

“Where are you from?”

“Lafayette, Louisiana”, he answered.

“I love your accent”

He smiled, “thank you”.

“You’re welcome... Is there a reason why your mother decided to move out of state, during your senior year?”, I asked.

He sighed, “Yeah, work.”, he said while lying down and looking up at the ceiling.

I decided to lie down next to him and look up at the ceiling as well. “I’m sorry if I brought up a subject you didn’t want to talk about.”

“It’s okay baby, you did nothing wrong.”

I smiled.

Lying side by side, we started talking. He definitely knows how to hold a conversation, which I loved. We talked for a while and I started to feel more and more comfortable around him. I ended up learning so much about him...

His full name is Sen Brown. He is 6’2”. He played basketball at his old school. He’s the only child. His birthday is exactly a month before mine, mine being January 31st and his December 31st. He even told me how he had to leave his whole family in Louisiana to come here; I could see how it made him feel.

I really enjoyed the time we spent together, we talked for an hour straight and the conversation only got more interesting as time went on.

“Maybe he does like me”, I thought to myself... After thinking about everything that happened between us today, there’s definitely a chance.

...4:30 pm

My phone began to ring.

“Hello?”

“My parents are back home, I’m walking over there right now.”, Joyce said.

“Okay, I’ll unlock the door for you, I’ll be in the living room.”, I responded.

“Cool”, she said before hanging up.

I jumped up out of bed and looked at Sen who was still lying down, “I had a great time Sen but you have to leave now.”, I tried saying it as nice as possible.

He sat up on the bed and began putting his shoes on.

“Hurry, hurry, Joyce lives right around the corner!” I said while panicking.

Sen smiled, “You keeping me a secret?”

I grabbed his hand, ran out of my room, and down the stairs with him, “No, I’m not keeping you a secret” I said while unlocking the front door, “I just don’t want her getting the wrong idea before I could even tell her what happened, myself!”.

“So what I’m hearing is... you’re gonna tell her all about the time we spent and how much you loved it?”, he responded with a smile on his face.

I peeked my head outside to see if the coast was clear, “Just go” I said while pushing him outside.

He kissed my cheek, “goodbye to you too” he said with sarcasm.

I blushed and waved goodbye, “now run!”

He laughed, “Whatever you say, baby”. He began jogging down to his house as I closed the front door.

I walked over to the couch and sat down, “phew, that was close.”

Sen’s POV

I lay in my bed, “Damn, I want her so bad.”, I whispered.

There’s just something about this girl that makes me want her. She’s very beautiful but that’s not why I want her this badly. This may sound corny but, I just feel something between us; I felt it instantly. I may not come off as shy but when I was just with her, I was a little nervous, I just knew how to hide it well. Everyone knows that no girl has ever made me nervous. But something most people don’t know is that I never actually had a girlfriend. I never looked at a girl and thought “I want to date her”, until now.

“Where the hell did you go?” My mom asked after walking into my room.

“I just walked around ma, I was trying to get familiar with my new city.”

She looked at me from the side of her eye before walking out of my room, “Oh, okay.”

I rolled over and closed my eyes. I wasn’t trying to sleep but I just needed to figure out how I could make Megan mine. I knew she was feeling me but that didn’t necessarily mean that she’d date me.

Interrupting my thought process, I started getting a call. I reached into my pocket and answered.

“Hello”

“You and your mom thought you got away, huh?”

I looked at the phone to see the number but all it said was “No Caller ID”, “listen man, leave my mother alone” I said angrily.

“If you don’t want anything to happen to your mother, listen to these steps. . .”

I knew exactly who this was... he’s the reason why me and my mom moved out of state, not because of “work”. I knew what he was capable of doing so I carefully listened to what he told me to do.

I f*****g hate my life. s**t was never easy for my moms and me, it never will be. I guess I could kiss my life goodbye because ain’t s**t worth living for anymore... f**k.