33
Alana
I hearthe waves crashing on the shore before I even open my eyes. This meeting spot feels so real I can even smell the salt in the air. I open my eyes to the ink-black ocean in front of me, and I’m standing right on the beach where Ian and I had our first date when I yelled at him, then stormed off and left him here.
I smile at the memory.
I stand here for a moment, enjoying the breeze and serenity, finding the most peace I’ve had in days. After a few deep breaths, I decide to do what I came here for.
“Veronica! Megan! Get out here!” I yell down the shore.
Veronica appears out of the night first, and I can’t help but watch her as she comes to me. It’s weird as fuck that someone with my face can still look so different. It’s me, but not really. Then I notice the belly’s missing. I look down, and so’s mine. When I glance back up, there’s Megan, sulking out of the darkness, and she sits down in the sand a few feet away from me, pulls her knees to her chest, and rests her forehead on her legs.
The sight of her feeling sorry for herself pisses me the fuck off. Why isn’t she more furious?
“Are you still hoping Kam’s the father?” I ask, fixing my eyes on her, hoping she looks up at me, but she doesn’t.
“Alana,” Veronica says in that warning voice I’ve grown so accustomed to. “What’s being like that going to solve?”
“Hopefully, it’ll solve my curiosity about whether or not she still wants him,” I answer her. “That can’t happen again, Megan. You cannot go back to him.”
Veronica lowers herself down beside Megan and puts her arms around Megan’s hunched shoulders, but she glares up at me. “There are much nicer ways to phrase things, Alana.”
“Yeah, I know, and I’mtryingto put this as harshly as possible, so she doesn’t talk herself into going back to that piece of shit,” I explain.
Veronica pins me with a mean stare before she goes back to comforting Megan.
“She is right, you know,” Veronica says sympathetically. “He kidnapped you, Megan. You can’t excuse that. And going back to him will only give him a chance to do something worse next time.”
Finally, she looks up from her knees, and tears stream down her face. She really loved that d-bag, and seeing her like this makes me feel bad for her, but at the same time, it annoys me. I want her to be angry about it.
“He only went that far because of me,” she states, her voice weak and shaking. My eyes almost pop out of my head when those words leave her mouth. I look at Veronica, who somehow managed to keep a straight face. “He was only looking out for me. Or at least trying to.”
“Megan- what the fuck is wrong with you!” I growl through clenched teeth, wanting to go over to her and shake her by her shoulders so damn bad. “Looking outfor someone doesn’t entail keeping you trapped in a house in a secluded location, cutting your phone off so you can’t call for help, and my personal favorite part about how helooked outfor you, telling everyone on the villa property you were crazy so you couldn’t get any help. Oh yeah, Kam wasreallylooking out for you.”
“What Alana’s trying to say-” Veronica cuts her furious gaze off me and directs a gentle one back to Megan, who’s wiping tears from her face. “-is that people who are trying to help someone and look after their well being don’t trap them in a house away from their doctors and support system. Kam was supposed to be your number one shoulder to lean on, but he didn’t take the time to even listen to you when you were trying to get him to let you go home. Can you see how that kind of behavior isn’t safe for a child to be around?”
“I know Kameron overreacted?” she says, pushing out a breath.
“Overreacted? Are you fucking kidding me?” I laugh in disbelief.
“It’s been stressful for more than just us. Kameron eventually broke under pressure.”
I try to calm down, but I feel like I’m about to explode. I knew she was going to pull this shit.
“We’ve all made bad choices dealing with our issues. Not just Kam but Ian and Blue.” She says, more defiant than I’ve ever seen her.
“You cannot compare anything Ian or Blue did with this sick shit Kameron did.” I spit at her.
“Oh really, trying to assault someone how Ian did or lying through his teeth every second of the day is perfectly fine, which was Blue’s tactic!” she counters back, and I want to smack her. She’s picked a fine fucking time to grow a backbone.
I glance over at Veronica, and her eyes hint at slightly distressed.
“Megan, you’re right everyone has made mistakes,” Veronica gently tells her. “But Kam’s choices make it seem that maybe being with us isn't good forhim.”
Megan goes quiet, and I know I should shut up, but I can’t.
“What happens when he starts controlling every little aspect of your life?” My fists are clenched at my side. I’m so mad at her for even thinking about him like that still. “Of your kids' life? Huh, Megan? He’s not dangerous now, but he has a lot of tendencies that can turn dangerous. Do you want me to get started on the obsessive part of Kam’sloveMegan, and tell you how dangerous it can get?”