Chapter Thirty-Four

 

 

 

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

The streets were dark when I pulled up in the driveway to the house and the clock on my dash said it was almost two in the morning. I had been away for ten days and I couldn’t wait to crash in a real bed. Sleeping in the cots while we fought the fire hadn’t been exactly comfortable. I was just glad that we had been given access to shower before we flew home. I really needed a few hours of sleep, a second shower, and Megan. If it hadn’t been the middle of the night, I would have just settled for Megan. It killed me to drive to the house instead of the apartment but I really didn’t want to wake her up, especially because I wouldn’t be able to let her go to sleep.

My phone had been dead for the past four days but I’d managed to find a phone to call Megan with two days before, just to quickly let her know I was okay. She had sounded such a perfect mix of happy and sad when we’d spoken and I couldn’t wait to see her.

I unlocked the front door and immediately headed for the stairs to the basement. Dropping my backpack on the floor by my bed, I kicked off my shoes, tugged my shirt over my head, and let my pants drop to my ankles. I plugged my phone into the wall charger and sent Megan a quick text telling her I was home safely. I fell into bed and let out a happy moan before wrapping my arms around a pillow. It smelled faintly like cinnamon and my body tingled as I thought of Megan. Megan wrapped in my arms. Megan naked, wrapped in my arms. Megan, naked, and under me. I groaned and forced those thoughts out of my mind as I closed my eyes.

I woke up to the sound of squealing coming from the kitchen. A glance to the clock showed that I’d been asleep for almost six hours. I rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, ignoring my shirt as I walked up the stairs.

“Uncle Simon!” Hudson saw me first and ran over to give me a hug. Kendra was close behind and I crouched down so I could wrap an arm around each of them.

“I missed you little squirts.” I looked up to see Alex grinning at me.

“Welcome home. How was Arizona?”

I stood up once the kids let go of me to put on their coats and I fell into a chair at the kitchen table. “It was hot. Hard to believe someplace could be so warm this close to Christmas. How were things here?”

“Awesome,” Alex teased as he grabbed his duffel bag. “We didn’t even notice you were gone.” He nudged me with his shoulder as the kids grabbed their backpacks. “We’ll be home later. Get some rest.”

I waved to everyone as they walked out the back door to head to school and work. I immediately stood and raided the refrigerator, pulling out a container of leftover mashed potatoes and a platter of turkey. Thank goodness Stacey was a good cook.

I warmed it up on a plate before shoveling the food in my mouth, just happy that I was eating something that I couldn’t hold in the palm of my hand. I was cleaning up my plate when my phone chimed from the pocket of my sweats. I grinned when I saw Megan’s name and I unlocked the screen so I could read the text.

 

Megan:      Are you awake yet?

Me:      Hard to sleep with a herd of elephants upstairs.

Megan:      Want to know what I’m doing on my lunch break?

Me:      Is it too hopeful if I say me?

Megan:      I’ll be by around 12:15. ;)

 

That goddamned winky face. I loved when she used it in her text messages.

I settled on the couch in the living room and flipped through channels for a bit, dozing off during an episode of Game of Thrones. I jerked awake when my phone rang and picked it up, expecting to see Megan’s name. The word ‘Mom’ displayed instead and I answered it with a smile.

“Mother dearest.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. Alex told me you were home.”

I rubbed my eyes and sat up straight on the couch before using the remote to turn off the TV. “Yeah, I made it back late last night.”

“Good.” I could tell Mom was smiling as she spoke. “I get worried when you fight those wildfires. I want you and Megan to come to dinner this weekend so we can see you.”

“I’ll ask her. I doubt she’ll have a problem with it.” I smiled at how much my mom like Megan. “How’s Phil?”

My mother let out a long sigh before answering. “Tired. He’s working long hours, too. How you boys do it I will never know. Actually, we were there a few days ago when your brother had to work overnight and Stacey was stuck at the hospital. I think Phil left his pocketknife on Alex’s dresser.”

“Hold on,” I said as I stood from the couch. “Let me check.” I walked up the stairs to Alex’s room and pushed around some stuff on his dresser. I spotted the engraved knife on Alex’s nightstand and picked it up. “Got it.”

“Oh, good. Can you bring it with you when you come to dinner?”

I nodded as I moved to sit on the edge of Alex’s unmade bed. “Yeah, of course.” The sound of something falling to the floor caught my attention and I bent over to pick it up.

I didn’t hear what my mom was saying as my fingers grasped the silver ring. The same silver ring I’d given to Megan a two months before. The blue Masonic symbol stared up at me, weathered from the many years of use. I turned it slowly in my hand and read the worn inscription ‘Without you, there is no us.’ Blood rushed to my ears as it washed over me and I realized that the ring I’d given my girlfriend was in my brother’s bed.

Megan had been in Alex’s bed.

“I’ll call you later, Mom. I need to do something. Love you.” My voice was a whisper and I hung up the phone before she could protest.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the ring for several long moments, my heart pounding. I tried to come up with different reasons as to why the ring could be there but nothing made sense. I didn’t know how long it was before I heard a knock on the front door as it was pushed open gently. Megan’s footfalls sounded on the basement stairs so I stood up from the bed and walked down the hallway to the staircase. My feet moved on autopilot until I was in the kitchen.

“Simon?” Megan’s voice grew louder as she came back up the basement stairs and I caught sight of her as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. Her cheeks stretched into a smile and she rushed forward, throwing her arms around my neck.

“Hi, baby. I missed you,” she murmured, pushing her face into my throat. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

I kept my arms at my side, my hands curled into tight fists as I stood rigidly. She smelled fantastic, like cinnamon and lavender. She pulled back slightly after a moment, a confused look on her face as she stared up at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you sleep here while I was gone?” I asked quietly and Megan shook her head immediately.

“Your mom and Phil did one night, I think. I took the kids to get ice cream once but that’s it. Why?”

I brought my hand up and opened my fist that held the ring. Megan’s eyes looked down at it before looking back up at me. A small smile touched her lips.

“Your dad’s ring.”

“The ring I gave you.”

She nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“The ring I just found in my brother’s sheets.”

She didn’t respond for a moment and understanding suddenly dawned on her face. “Oh, Simon…”

I cut her off and took two steps back, out of her reach. “I can’t believe you would do this.”

“Si, you’ve got it all wrong.” Megan stretched a hand out to take mine and I brushed it off.

“Got it wrong? I’m gone, out fighting a fire on the side of a mountain, and my girlfriend somehow ends up in my brother’s bed. How long has it been going on?” I shook my head and let out a small laugh. “Did it ever stop?”

“Simon. I am not sleeping with Alex.” Her face look distressed as she stared at me.

Another laugh escaped my mouth and I brought one hand up to rub my forehead. Something inside of me told me to shut up but the words fell from my mouth anyway. “Why not? You slept with me while you were with him. Turnabout is fair play, I guess.”

“Jesus, below the belt much?” Megan looked hurt as she shook her head. “Si, let me talk before you keeping saying things that you’ll regret later.”

“Get out. I can’t even stand to look at you.”

Her face transformed to anger at my words and she took a step back. “You’re not even going to listen to me?”

“What’s there to say? I don’t care why. I don’t want to know if you’re sorry. Just go.” I gestured towards the door and Megan shook her head as she looked at me.

“You say you love me but you have absolutely no trust in me.” She turned around and took three steps before looking over her shoulder at me. “For the record, Kendra was worried about you while you were gone. To make her feel better, I let her wear your ring around her neck. I’m sure if you check Alex’s bed, you’ll find the chain somewhere. Welcome home, asshole.”

I froze as she spoke and I watched her retreating figure disappear from the kitchen. It wasn’t until the front door shut that I could move my limbs again. I turned to run up the stairs and into Alex’s bedroom. I pulled the pillows and blankets back, searching frantically. Under the flat sheet, I found a small ball chain, the clasp undone.

Megan wasn’t sleeping with Alex. And I’d fucked up.

My legs couldn’t move fast enough and I ran to the front door, pushing forward to front porch. My bare feet hit the cold pavement while I watched the SUV pull away from the house. My chest felt tight as I realized what an idiot I was. I fumbled with my phone as I hit Megan’s name, listening to it ring before her voice picked up over the voicemail. I ended the call before pressing her name again, letting out a curse when her voicemail picked up again.

I had to fix this.