A brutal betrayal, p.5
A Brutal Betrayal, page 5
“Well, no, I guess I don’t. The funny part was that Tracy let it slip that she thought I was stuck up. I assured her it wasn’t that. I told her that I just didn’t want to trouble her. It was the partial truth.”
“Yeah, I guess it was.”
“It’s not like I could tell her about my life, and why I don’t get close to people.”
“I guess it wouldn’t be right to with the first conversation. But do you see yourself becoming friends with her?”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” Her tone indicated she was surprised with that conclusion.
“Good, that’s good. And do you think she’d look at you any differently if she were to know what happened to you?”
“It’s not about that. I, me, not other people, just me, am having a hard time getting close to people. So, no, I don’t think she’ll look at me differently. Well, maybe she’ll pity me and get awkward, but that’s because of the situation, not me. I know the difference.”
“Good, just checking.” Declan smirked. “So, tell me, what do you do?”
“I’m a graphic design artist. I work for a small company, but we have some pretty big clients and some long-standing loyal ones too, so we are doing just fine.”
“Graphic design, huh? So you’re pretty creative.”
“Yep, I guess I am. You have to be in this business. I like it. I like seeing my designs being displayed for the public. I like knowing something I made is touching so many people even if I can’t.”
“Is that why you chose this career?”
“No, not really. I always kind of wanted to do it. I liked drawing when I was younger, but I knew that wasn’t very viable as a job, so I looked at other potential careers and this was it. But the number of people who see my designs is a bonus. I get all tingly when I see someone appreciate a logo I came up with or a marketing piece I put together. It’s nice.”
“I get it,” Declan responded. “Seeing the results of your hard work making a difference is very rewarding.”
“Is that why you do this?”
“Among other reasons,” Declan answered. He could tell she was about to ask him about his other reasons and that wasn’t something he was going to get into with her, or anyone else for that matter. Chuck and his family knew every reason he became a therapist, but they were family, or practically family, in Chuck’s case. Megan wasn’t. So he continued before she had a chance. “What are you doing Saturday around two pm?”
“Um, nothing, really,” Megan responded.
“Good, then be here at two pm.”
“Huh?” Declan almost laughed at the dumbfounded look on Megan’s face.
“We’re going to keep going on this path you’ve found yourself on. I’ve got a surprise.”
“What are we doing?”
“Just dress comfortably, but warmly. Other than that, I’m not spilling anything else.”
“Is this normal?” Megan asked.
“You mean do I do this with anyone else?” She nodded. “Nope, but there is a first time for everything.”
“Okay,” she said hesitantly.
“Okay!” he exclaimed. He was excited. He was very excited. Now he just hoped this was going to work.
Chapter 9
Declan had to remind himself that Megan was a patient, and he was doing this for her when he saw Megan stroll into his office. She was wearing tight fitting jeans and a figure hugging beige sweater. He had only seen her in business attire. Not that she didn’t look every bit the sexy secretary in those clothes, but there was something so sweet about her casual look. She looked like the girl next door, naturally beautiful without even trying. She was carrying two cups of some hot beverage.
“It’s pretty cold out, and I’m not sure what we are doing, so I thought a warm drink was in order. I took a chance and got you hot chocolate just in case you don’t like coffee because, well, everyone likes hot chocolate.” She smiled hesitantly as she handed him the drink.
“Thank you, Megan. That was really thoughtful,” he responded, touched by her gesture. “And you are on the right track actually. We’re heading outside.”
“I was afraid of that,” she muttered.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it’s freezing!” she said in a dramatic fashion.
“Nope, it’s freezing in Alaska or the Antarctic; it’s just a little cold here.” He laughed.
She smiled and then turned to face him. “So what are we doing? And why?”
“What we are doing is a surprise, but you don’t mind me driving us, do you?” She shook her head. “Okay, the why is because I want you to get out more, and you are obviously comfortable with me, so consider this practice. Maybe a little thinking outside the box, if you will.”
“This is new for you too?” Megan asked, a little surprised.
“Yep,” Declan declared, slightly popping the ‘p’. “Let’s see how well things go.”
They walked out, and Declan led Megan to his car. He walked over to the passenger door and held it open for her. She seemed surprised but slid in with gratitude. His mother taught him to open doors for all women, and he had been doing it for as long as he could remember, even during some of his rough years. It was just ingrained in him.
They were silent for a few minutes, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was peaceful. Something about being with Megan put Declan at ease and when he glanced at her, she looked pretty content herself. He was secretly pleased that he had that affect on her.
“How was the rest of your week?” he asked casually, like they were friends.
“My week?”
“Yeah, how was work? How was your Friday night?”
“Oh. Well, let’s see. Work was okay. I finished a design I was working on and presented it yesterday. I had a pretty busy week, so I just came home yesterday, had a glass of wine, read a little, and went to bed.”
“What do you usually do on Friday nights?” Declan asked, genuinely curious.
“I, uh, I guess that’s what I do every Friday night.”
“You don’t go out?”
“Not really.”
“What about friends?”
“I have a few, but no one I hang out with regularly. I have my family too, but they are family. I don’t mind having some space from them.”
“I know what you mean.” Declan snorted. “But why no friends?”
“It’s hard for me to get close to people.”
“So, not just guys?”
“No, I guess not.”
“You never told me that.”
“I didn’t?” she asked, her brow furrowing like she was confused.
“No, but that doesn’t matter. We’ll fix that. And it starts with me. We’re friends.”
“Just like that?” She laughed. “I don’t think me coming to you with my problems automatically constitutes us as friends, Declan.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Hey, check us out now. We’re hanging out on a Saturday afternoon. We aren’t talking shop. Sounds like friends to me.” Heck, why can’t they be friends? It’s not like Declan’s friends didn’t ask for advice anyway. This was just providing more in-depth advice, if he had to classify it.
“This is pity, not hanging out.”
“Don’t Megan. Don’t say that. I’m already having fun, and we’re just talking. Fun doesn’t equate to pity. And we’re about to have a lot more fun.”
“So, friends, huh?”
“Yeah, Meg,” he said for the first time. Meg. He liked the way it sounded on his tongue. Short, sweet. He said it once again in his head and smiled. “We’re friends. Call me Dec from now on, everyone else does.”
“Dec,” she tried it out also with a smile. “I don’t know. I kind of like Declan, sounds more sophisticated.”
“Oh, well then definitely call me Dec. I’m about as sophisticated as an alley cat.”
She laughed before turning serious. “When I was growing up, I used to have plenty of friends. Guys, girls, it didn’t matter, I got along with lots of people.” She paused and when he looked over at her, she was turned away, glancing out the window. “I never thought I’d be one of those people who didn’t have a friend to turn to when I needed a shoulder to cry on, or someone to watch romantic comedies with, or just a friend I could rely on, period. I know it’s not exactly the same thing, but you being here, trying to help me above and beyond your job…that…it means so much to me.”
“Meg-” he tried to cut her off, but she wouldn’t let him.
“No, the first person who wants to be my friend in a long time is my therapist, and a guy at that.” She laughed, clearly trying to lighten the mood, but her voice had a bitter edge.
“Hey, what’s wrong with me being a guy?” Declan scoffed.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Megan tried to backtrack. “It’s just that usually guys and girls don’t have all that much in common, I mean unless you’re dating or are part of a larger circle of friends.”
“Au contraire, my friend,” he stressed while taking on a cheerful tone, “I have plenty of female friends, and I’m not dating anyone. I mean, sure, I’m closer to some of my guy friends, but what does that say about me?”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t have girl friends, it’s just that…wait, what?” He saw her face him from the corner of his eye. “You’re not dating anyone?” she asked, her thoughts clearly changing direction. Part of him really liked that question – the part that he had been pushing down, the part that hoped she had asked in a cliché fashion, like, “I hope your girlfriend doesn’t mind,” where she was fishing to see if he was single. The other part of him was worried that she had felt comfortable with him because she assumed he was taken and therefore “safer.”
“Nope, why? You’re not implying that it affects your therapy, are you?”
“Yes…I mean no…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just that you’re so understanding and compassionate; I assumed that came from experience in a relationship. And then tack on the rest of your attributes, and I figured you just couldn’t be single.”
“I, uh…thanks.” Declan had been slightly taken aback by her words. Attributes? What attributes? He wanted to know more, needed to know more, but the thoughts in his head were far from the ones he should be having about his patient. He stayed silent, but it was no longer comfortable as when they had first gotten into the car. He was about to speak, to say something, anything that would break the silence, but Megan beat him to it.
“So, where are we-” Megan cut herself off as she saw where Declan had gone. “Ice skating?” she squealed like a child, and it made Declan smile, completely forgetting the awkward moment from moments before.
“Yeah. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you’ll have to lean on me, which means you’ll have to put your trust in someone else. And maybe you’ll have fun doing it.”
“I haven’t ice skated since I was a little girl. I don’t know if I even remember what to do.”
“Well, then, like I said, you’ll lean on me, friend.” They were back to their carefree bantering.
“All right, friend.” She laughed. “But if I fall, I’m taking you down with me.”
“I’ll cushion your fall.” He smiled. And although he meant it simply in the physical sense as a response to her smart-aleck comment, something deep inside him stirred, like he meant it in more than just a friendly way. He couldn’t even understand why. He didn’t really know Megan all that well, and she was damaged. The last thing she needed from him was for him to have feelings for her that went beyond friendly. He pushed those thoughts deep down as he guided her toward the skate rentals.
A few minutes later, they were getting on the ice, clumsily, but they were getting there.
“I thought you said I could lean on you,” Megan said as she laughed at the fact that Declan almost fell just stepping on the ice.
“I may have been trying to boast my abilities a bit so you wouldn’t run off on me.”
“Boast? Meaning?”
“Meaning I haven’t ice skated before.”
“Never?” Megan asked incredulously.
“I don’t really know any guys that have done this unless they got suckered into it by a girlfriend or something. So, yeah, never ice skated. I probably should have thought this through a little better, but it looked like a piece of cake.”
Megan threw her head back and laughed. It wasn’t like her other reserved happy laughs that he had the pleasure of experiencing. This was full on joy, and he had done that for her. His heart soared at the thought that he was indeed helping her. “Well, then I guess we’ll lean on each other,” Megan said after taking a few calming breaths.
“I like that,” Declan mused. He knew she hadn’t meant more than physically leaning on each other, even though his heart beat rapidly at her breathy words and the distant hope that she meant more. But even so, he liked the idea of touching her, of holding her hand. He even reached out to grab her hand without thinking, but he pulled back at the last minute. It was one thing to shake her hand or try to comfort her in his office, but this was different, more familiar.
He looked over at Megan, a bright smile still plastered on her face, but her eyes were full of indecision as she looked over at him. It was almost like she was having a war of words internally. She looked down at his arm as she stumbled slightly over her next step. Declan had to fight himself to keep from reaching out to her and instead just lifted his elbow in offer. He saw her tentatively reach out her hand before finally grabbing ahold of his arm. He heard the loud exhale of breath leave her as she relaxed, and he couldn’t help the warm feelings that stirred inside him at her simple touch.
After a few minutes of getting their legs to cooperate, they started skating normally, but Megan kept her hand on Declan’s arm for a little longer. He truly liked it; he liked her touching him, freely.
“Okay, so, as friends, tell me about yourself,” Megan asked.
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything, everything? I don’t know. How’s your family? How were you when you were a little boy? What do you do on Friday nights?” she teased.
“Hmm, okay. Well, my family is awesome. My mom was a stay-at-home mom and took care of me and my brother. I was her baby, so she let me do pretty much anything I wanted. Dad is a lawyer and pretty rough around the edges, but he cares about me and even calls every week to check on me. Don’t really know too many dads that do that.”
“Brother?” she asked.
“Yeah, Lucas,” he said softly, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he continued answering her previous slew of questions. “I was actually a really good little boy. I did everything my parents asked, except I refused to play piano. My mom thought it would be good for my discipline, and she tried to put me in lessons. It took exactly two times of me sulking while the teacher banged away on the keys before she gave up. I guess I did get into trouble for normal kid stuff like breaking a dish or tracking in mud. I can’t really remember anything crazy that stands out, not when I was a kid, at least. When I was in high school, though, whew. I was out of control, but I won’t get into that.”
“Oh, no you don’t. Now I’m curious.”
“I rebelled, got with the wrong crowd, did some things I shouldn’t have.” He gave her a true answer. It didn’t mean he didn’t downplay it as much as humanly possible. He made it seem like he was just a normal teenager acting out against his parents when he knew it was more than that, so much more. But he wasn’t sharing that with her. Oh no, he wasn’t going to share that ever, period.
“And your last question. What do I do on Friday nights…hmm? It depends, I guess. Sometimes, I see my parents. But, more often than not, I’m pretty beat from the work week and I tend to stay in. I do go out occasionally, though, if there is something to do.”
“So pretty much like me,” Megan mused.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“That’s good.”
“Why is that good?” Declan asked, completely confused.
“Because if you stay in on a Friday night, it makes it okay that I do too.”
“Meg, I hate to break it to you, but most people with day jobs and busy weeks are pretty boring when Friday rolls around. That’s not just you and me.” He chuckled.
“But Friday nights are always packed any place you try to go. We’re clearly in the minority.”
“You know what, you’re right,” he stated
“Wait, what?” she asked.
“We’re going out next Friday!” he exclaimed.
“No, Dec, that’s not what I was trying to imply. I just meant that-”
He cut her off. “I know what you meant. It’s back to this normal stuff you keep thinking about, that if there was someone who didn’t fear intimacy out there, and they didn’t go out then at least that is something normal about you. That’s the wrong thinking, Meg, but you were right. Friday nights are meant for going out, so that’s what we’re going to do. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”
“Did you really just say that?” Megan laughed.
“If I say yes, will you agree to hang out with me next Friday?” he teased.
She pretended to think for a minute before finally nodding while giggling. “Yeah,” she said quietly before saying it louder again. “Yeah, I need to do this,” she said almost to herself more than Declan.
“Perfect.” Declan smiled.
They spent about another twenty minutes skating and chatting about nothing in particular. The ride back was in comfortable silence, and when they got back to his office, he walked her to her car.
“Thanks for coming today,” Declan told Megan as she climbed into her car.
“No, Declan, thank you for this. I had an amazing time, and you were right. This was fun. I’m glad you thought of it. Maybe next time, pick an activity where we don’t almost end up on our butts on ice.” She laughed.
“All right, I’ll come up with something good next time.” He smiled deep down at the thought that there would be a next time—the following Friday, in fact. He liked that thought. He really did.
