Chapter Sixteen
Megan
“Hi, honey,” Marta said as she breezed into her cubicle next to mine.
“Hi, Marta,” I greeted.
“Guess what I have for you,” Marta said, holding up a bunch of thin pamphlets that looked like brochures.
“What are those?” I asked.
“These are pamphlets for the courses offered here,” she replied, handing them over.
As my interest piqued, I looked through them, realizing that there were a few options that I was genuinely interested in. There were a couple of courses that ran for three months, but the more intensive and obviously the more useful courses ran for a minimum of six months. The longest course ran for twelve months.
“What do you think?”
“I’m definitely interested,” I said. “And, the prices are really reasonable.”
“I told you,” Marta nodded. “Being an employee here comes with its perks.”
I put the pamphlets in my bag. “I’ll go over them when I get home,” I told her. “Thanks so much.”
“Of course, hon,” she nodded. “Happy to help.”
“I really am interested in a few courses… I just need to save up enough money to take them,” I said. “And, I want to find a place of my own soon, too.”
“Living with your brother is not going so well, huh?” Marta asked.
“It’s okay, I suppose.” I shrugged. “It’s just a small apartment, there’s only one room and I don’t have any privacy. Plus my brother is kind of…”
“An asshole?”
I laughed. “I was going to say weird…my brother is a little weird,” I clarified. “And to be honest, I don’t much care for his friends.”
“Aren’t you dating one of his friends?” she asked pointedly.
I smiled. “Phil is different,” I said. “And, I think he’s the only one. Sometimes I wonder how on earth he became friends with my brother in the first place.”
“How are things going with lover boy?” she asked curiously.
“Really well,” I said. “Phil’s one of the good ones. He’s been really busy this week, so I haven’t seen him at all since last Sunday. He’s off tonight, but he’s promised to spend some time with Brent.”
“You could tag along?” she suggested.
“Brent would throw a hissy fit,” I said. “He’s been going on about this boys’ night out the whole week. I don’t want to impose. Although, I’m sure Phil wouldn’t mind… Brent’s the one who’d have a problem with it.”
“What does your brother do again?” Marta asked.
I paused. I really should have known that, but I was so involved in my own life right now that I barely paid attention to Brent’s. Plus, anytime he had his friends over I’d either retreat to his room if they were out in the living room or I’d just go for a walk in the park to avoid them altogether.
“Well…he was working at this company, but he quit a short while ago,” I said. “He claims to have started a business.”
“What’s the business?” Marta asked.
I remembered asking Brent the exact same thing, but he’d been vague and evasive about answering me. “Um, buying and selling,” I replied, repeating the same thing he’d told me. “I don’t know much about it… He’s been very tight-lipped about it. I suspect he just got fired, and he’s covering it up by saying he left by choice to start this ‘business’ of his.”
“Sounds dodgy.”
I sighed. “You should see my brother…he looks dodgy, too.”
Marta laughed. “So the priority is moving out then?”
“Definitely.” I nodded. “Which is going to take a whole lot more money than I’ve got saved at the moment. Plus, I need to be able to make the rent each month. I don’t need anything fancy obviously…a tiny space with a bed of my own will suffice. And once I’m living on my own, then I can start saving up for the courses.”
“What about moving in with your boyfriend?” Marta suggested.
“Oh God, it’s way too early for that,” I said quickly, even though my heart started fluttering at the thought.
“You could suggest it?”
“I don’t want to spook him,” I said. “And, it wouldn’t matter cost wise anyway, because I’d still insist on paying half the rent.”
“Fair enough.” She nodded. “Good on you. I’d like to meet this guy one day.”
I smiled. “I’m sure you will. He’s busy, though, so it’s hard to peg him down.”
“Firefighting is hard work.” Marta nodded. “It’s very impressive, what he does.”
“I know,” I replied. “I’m impressed by him every day.”
The rest of the day passed by pretty uneventfully. I finished my work a little early and headed home. Phil had sent me a text telling me that he and Brent were meeting somewhere in town for their boys’ night out, so I knew he wouldn’t be around the apartment when I got there. Knowing I didn’t need to rush home, I stopped by the supermarket and bought a few ingredients for a meal I had planned to prepare.
I got home, put away all the groceries, and then I sat in front of the television with my pamphlets in hand. The idea of attending classes again was exhilarating to me and I realized that I missed being in school. I also realized that being with Phil was motivating me to do better in my life, just like he had. It was so inspirational how he had turned his life around without any support or help from anyone.
He had basically made a choice, set himself a goal and worked towards it until he had achieved it. I thought about Phil’s brother Paul and the path that he had chosen to take, and I realized that it required a strong character to do what Phil had done.
I promised myself that I would go back to school one day. Until then, I would focus on the courses that my company was offering and make use of their discounted price.
I watched a little television, all the while thinking about Phil and missing him. After a while, I got bored and impatient, so I started to clean. It was more like a nervous habit at this point, but it helped me calm down a bit.
I paused in front of Brent’s door, wondering if his explanation about his porno stash had been real or just a funny excuse to stop me asking questions. I still felt it was really strange to have your closet door locked. I also happened to believe that Brent was not the kind of guy who’d care about his sister stumbling across his secret porn stash.
I decided not to think too hard about it. Once the apartment was clean, I decided to get to work on dinner. I figured it would give me something to do until the boys got home. I decided to make roast beef with potatoes, baby carrots, and a rich sauce to go with it. For the next hour and a half, I worked over the stove, reliving my happiest moments with Phil so far and glancing at the clock every few minutes. I was actually envious of my brother, getting to spend the night with Phil.
I wondered if this was what love felt like, was it the all-consuming need to be with the other person all the time? I finished cooking the dinner and when it became clear that the boys were not going to turn up anytime soon, I curled up on the couch, put on the television, and lost myself in Titanic. I was staring at Leonardo De Caprio, thinking that Phil looked a lot like him but with shorter hair and lighter eyes when I drifted off to sleep.
The sound of keys on the door was what woke me up. Then there was a light crash and I heard voices not far away.
“Fuck!” Brent cursed loudly.
“Be careful,” I heard Phil say. “And quiet! Megan’s asleep.”
“I stubbed my toe,” Brent complained. “It’s hurts like a bitch.”
“Man up and shut it,” Phil insisted.
I started cracking up there and Phil and Brent both looked towards me.
“See?” Brent said impatiently. “She’s already awake.”
Phil walked over to me and knelt down beside me. “Hi,” he said, fixing his hazel-eyed gaze on me.
“Hi.”
“Sorry we got so late…”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
“Geez…you are so whipped, man,” Brent said. “You don’t have to apologize to her for being late.”
“Why? Because men don’t apologize for anything?” I asked, looking towards my brother.
“Um, yeah, that’s about right.”
I shook my head at him and turned to Phil. “Did you have fun?”
“Sure,” Phil said out loud for Brent’s benefit, but he gave me a look that clearly stated he was glad boys’ night was over.
“Is there anything to eat?” Brent asked loudly. “I’m fucking starving.”
“I made roast beef,” I said. “But I put in the fridge because I didn’t know when you guys would get in. I can warm it up for you.”
“Do that,” Brent said. “I’ll be in the bathroom.”
“Charming,” I said, making a face as I stood up.
“Isn’t he?” Phil nodded.
The door slammed, and Phil and I were alone. He gave me a special smile and then leaned in to kiss me softly. “I wanted to get back like two hours ago,” he said, lowering his voice slightly. “But Brent was adamant we stay out past midnight. I still don’t think he was happy with our outing though.”
“Why not?” I asked.
Phil sighed and rolled his eyes. “Because he’s a complete child, and I said no to going to a strip club.”
“He wanted to go to a strip club?” I asked.
“Yep, he even had a bunch of one-dollar bills in his wallet.”
I snorted with laughter and buried my head in Phil’s chest. “Seriously?”
“Oh yeah… He was ready to go. He had the club picked out and everything, but I put my foot down,” Phil said.
“And he actually listened?”
“He didn’t have much of a choice,” Phil said. “Either way, I was coerced into making him a promise.”
“Which was?”
“If he ever decides to get married, he’s having his bachelor party in a strip club and my attendance is mandatory.”
“I see.” I nodded. “Well, you got off easy.”
He laughed. “I had to promise him something to get back here to you.”
“Is that why you did it?” I teased.
He pulled me towards him and kissed me hard on the lips. I felt my heart flutter wildly as the kiss deepened. We heard a flush a moment later and that pulled us apart.
“Is there any way we can slip away, and Brent won’t notice?” Phil asked.
“I doubt it,” I said.
I moved to the kitchen as Brent walked out of the bathroom. I heated up the food and set it down on the table as Phil helped me. Brent just sat himself down and watched us work.
“You could help,” I suggested to him.
“You have your little lapdog, don’t you?” Brent said.
I frowned at him. “He’s a gentleman.”
“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?” Brent replied.
I noticed Phil’s jaw flex, and I could sense the underlying tension between them. I was surprised I hadn’t noticed that before. I wondered if it was a direct result of my relationship with Phil, or if there was something more going on. The three of us sat down to an extremely late dinner. While the boys ate heartily, I watched them. There was definitely some tension sitting between them and it seemed to be emanating from my brother.
I tried to figure out what it was exactly. He was not the Brent that I had grown up with, but I had assumed that his independent life away from our parents had changed him, and that was all. Now I was starting to suspect that there was more going on with him than met the eye.