Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 53-Jai

Jai

I wake with a jolt hearing a sound like a lawnmower starting up. I set my head back down on the pillow and sigh. I realize I'm at Megan's house and I smile. I'm so stoked to be here with her—to meet her family and get the opportunity to spend more time with her.
I can see a family picture on the wall that I didn't notice last night. She must've been in primary school when it was taken. She was so cute when she was little. I guess she's always been beautiful. I see a little boy a couple years younger than her. That must be Mikey. The other one is much older than her.  He's the only one with light brown hair like her dad.  He has blue eyes, too, but kind of resembles a young Keanu Reeves in the face.  Meg's probably six or seven there. The older brother looks like a teenager. He might be around my age now actually... I see her mum and think that Megan looks exactly like her. She's pretty for an older lady and I realize that Megan will probably look just like her in twenty years. A thought occurs to me that I've never considered being with anyone that long... but I could maybe see myself with her... if she'll have me, that is. She still introduces me as just a friend. I'm hoping that'll change.
I climb out of bed, straightening up the sheets before I grab some duds and go to the bathroom. I'm relieved that it's empty. I'm probably sharing with the brother... and Megan. I step in and notice that it's been used recently. I grab a towel from the closet and take a quick shower. It's actually a pretty decent bathroom. I thought this was an older house from the exterior but it's been completely redone on the inside. I couldn't see much, though, since it was dark last night... and snowing. I'm defo not used to the weather. It was fairly cold last night and I used that extra blanket she gave me. I finish up and step into the bedroom. I notice my baggage and I think about emptying the contents into the closet and drawers, but then remember I'm not staying here past today. That's probably for the best... I don't want to force myself in. I just wanted the closeness of the nearby hotel and wasn't sure which area to get another room since the maps were saying the other hotels were a thirty minute commute from here. I'm glad she offered. I was expecting her to tell me where else I could go. I'm going to need to rent a vehicle, too. I unplug my phone from the charger and look for a rental agency. That's odd. Every place seems to be a half hour commute. Maybe I'll ask her since she knew about the hotel. This place seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Maybe they don't have a webpage or something. I step out of the bedroom and see her brother's door is still shut. When it was opened last night, I did see some things laying around on the floor in there. I walk by Megan's room and her door is open. I step in to see her closet door isn't closed either. She has several things hung up in there with a shoe rack on the floor on one side. She only has a few pairs surprisingly. I see the cleats I gave her in there beside a more worn pair, a couple pairs of dress shoes, and a few joggers. A pair of what I'm assuming is snow boots are in there, too, and something else that looks similar. I turn around and I notice a desk with a bookcase beside it. She's got several books almost filling the case. I step over to see the entire Divergent box set in there. She has the Hunger Games, too. There are a few others. I notice an array of Bibles and other religious books. Beyond that are homesteading books. I guess she really wants a small home farm. She's got just as many of those as each of the other varieties.
I see a figurine of Harley Quinn—the old animated version in black and red—on a shelf above her desk. There's a matching old Poison Ivy, too. Now that I step closer, I see several smaller figurines. There's a Batman and Joker. I didn't realize she was such a fan. I observe a few journals on her desk and writing implements. Some look like art tools—light and dark pencils, chalk, charcoal... I see paints and other art supplies I'm not familiar with. I notice a few black bags on the floor and I wonder if those hold her photography equipment. I observe a guitar case off to the side with a stand beside and something in a black zippered bag that I'm thinking might be a xylophone since she said she played it. There's a stand similar to what someone would use for a keyboard and I'm thinking that might be it. I see a smaller case and I'm wondering if that's her violin.  I decide that I've poked around enough in her bedroom and head down the stairs. I can smell bacon and coffee and I realize that I am hungry. I still can't believe I'm here with her. I step out of the staircase to the living room. I didn't get much of a chance to look around last night. It appears to have separate seating areas. One has a lounge, a two seat sofa, and a chair with a flatscreen on the wall. The other has a fireplace on the far wall that appears to be a real wood burner. I can see the pile of wood and utensils beside it. There's a piano against one wall along with a pair of chairs and a two seater. I see several family pictures around the piano—some older from possibly a hundred years ago to some more recent ones of the family. I see one that must be her college graduation.  There's another that I'm assuming is her older brother with his family. This whole atmosphere is... kind of nice. I turn around and see a large cross on the wall. I notice more art around the house but many of it has words with sayings. Most of them have what I'm thinking is Bible verses under them. They really do seem to be very religious.
I step through a doorway when I hear talking. It sounds like Megan and her mum.  Her mum is seated at an eat in island in the kitchen.  Megan looks to be washing dishes.  The whole kitchen is white—the cabinets, the subway tiles, the bench, the walls.  The floor is a light grey wood.  The handles, pendant light fixtures, and faucet are black.  The appliances are all stainless and there are silver metal bar stools pulled up to the island.  It looks like Hannah is finishing her brekky. 
"G'day," I say walking in. 
"Good morning," Hannah greets me with a smile. 
Megan turns around at the sink, drying her hands.  "Good morning.  Are you hungry?" she asks. 
"I could eat," I tell her grinning. 
Hannah takes her dishes to the sink, then a dishwasher.  "I'm going to go get cleaned up.  I'll see you in a bit," she says to Meg before stepping out of the kitchen. 
"Would you like some eggs?" she offers. 
"Sure," I nod since she's offering. 
"Fried, scrambled?" she asks getting a package out of the refrigerator. 
"However you make them," I shrug. 
"I had an omelette earlier," she tells me.  I give her a look saying that's what I want.  She sighs.  "Okay, but mine aren't as good as my mom's."
"I'm sure it would be better than mine," I grin.  She actually smiles at me.  She looked a little upset when I came in but she appears happy now. 
I see her open the egg carton and I approach her looking at the eggs.  "Is that a green egg?" I ask confused.  There are white and all shades of brown, too. 
"Easter eggers.  These are from my brother's chickens.  I honestly can't believe they're still laying," she tells me.  "Chickens usually stop laying in winter."
"Oh?" I say surprised.  "You really like chooks."
She smiles and nods. 
I watch as she cracks them and scrambles them in a bowl.  "What do you want in them?" she asks setting a pan on the stove and turning the heat on. 
"Whatever you had," I shrug. 
"Alright," she nods.  She goes back to the fridge and gets out some cut vegetables, some cheese, and diced ham, I think.  She puts everything in the pan.  "What do you want to drink?  I've got coffee, milk, orange juice, I could make tea...?"
"I'll try a cup of your coffee," I say.  She pours me a cup and sets it at the counter.  She gets out cream and sugar. 
"You're welcome to help yourself to the muffins over there.  I made pumpkin oat and chocolate chip.  Mikey won't eat anything remotely healthy," she explains. 
"Still going through his junk food phase," I nod sipping the coffee.  It's really good.  She sets some crockery and flatware down in front of me.  There's a dish of bacon and one of fruit.  I see a bowl with bananas, apples, oranges, and pears in it. 
I look over to Megan as she folds the omelette.  She sighs.  "Well... it's better than mine," she tells me.  She puts it on my plate. 
"It looks perfect to me," I tell her.  "Thank you."
I look up to meet her eyes and she's touched.  "You're welcome," she says softly. 
She sits down beside me.  "Is this a typical Saturday at your family's house?" I ask grabbing a few pieces of bacon and taking a bite of the omelette. It's really good. 
She grins.  "In the winter, yeah.  In summer, we might have breakfast on the patio."
"What would you like to do today?" I ask. 
"I was thinking cross country skiing," she offers. 
"I've never been," I admit. 
"We've got gear," she says.  "And you're pretty fit.  I think you'll do fine."  It sounds like she's teasing me.  "I started a load of laundry.  It should be time to change the load soon if you want to do some."
"I didn't even think of that," I nod.  "Thanks."
"Were you warm enough last night?" she asks.  "We can get you something warmer today if you need it," she offers. 
"I think I'm alright," I say. 
I grab one of her muffins. It must be the pumpkin since it's orange. I take a bite and I'm surprised. "I thought you said you weren't a good cook," I tease.
"It's my mom's recipe," she shrugs.
"That doesn't mean that you can't make a good meal," I tell her.
She smiles bashfully at me. I finish my meal and thank her for it. It's probably the best home cooked meal I've had besides Jamaica in as long as I can remember. She takes my plate from me. I sip my coffee and can't help but grab one of the choccy ones. I take a bite and I'm shocked that this wasn't from a bakery.
"You and your mum could go into business together," I tell her as I see her starting another omelette.
She laughs, "You know, she did go to a culinary school before."
"Really? So she's not a chef?" I question.
"She chose to raise a family instead," she tells me.
I realize she's telling me that she wants to be like her mum. That's pretty sweet. Hannah is a nice and friendly lady with some serious skills.
"What does your dad do? I never asked before," I say.
"He owns an IT company," she replies. "It's fairly small. Arthur is going to take over when he finally decides to retire."
"Oh," I respond surprised. "That's interesting."
"Yeah. It just wasn't for me. I'm not very interested in that type of thing, although I am decent at digital art," she says. "Mikey is going to school for computer science. He's going to be an engineer. He'll work with his brother."
It's kind of nice how they're staying together.
I hear a door open and I see her father walk out—Nick is what she said last night. 
"Good morning," he says to me. 
"G'day," I reply. 
"Good morning, Daddy," Megan says.  "I made you breakfast.  And look, you got my first perfect omelette."
"Thank you, sweetheart.  But everything you make is perfect," he says kissing the top of her head and taking the plate.  She frowns at his words.  "You've been a busy bee this morning."
She nods and looks to be making another omelette.  "What do you think Mikey would like in his?" she asks. 
"No vegetables.  Probably just meat and cheese," he says. 
"Does he ever eat anything good for him?" she asks her father. 
"He takes his vitamins.  That's the best we can do," he says.  "They're gummies though. You'd think he's still five."
I chuckle at that. I see Nick crack a smile.
"Mom said you're going shopping today. What are you getting?" Megan asks.
"Groceries and whatever else she wants. We'll probably stop at the craft store, too. She said yarn is on sale and she has an idea for a blanket. She wants the big yarn," he explains.
"I've seen those. She'll have to teach me when she figures it out," Megan comments pouring him a cup of coffee.
"Thank you, sweetheart," he smiles and takes a sip of it black.
"What kind of groceries are you getting?  The fridge and freezer are pretty full," Megan says opening them both up.
"Milk and she wants to shop the sales. You know her. We could always use more," he shrugs.
She nods. I see her flip the omelette and plate it. She starts packing up the breakfast and cleaning up. I see her get out a notepad and a bottle of vitamins. She writes a note and sets them on the island together. "I assume Mikey is sleeping in," she says.
"Probably. He didn't get home until late," her dad replies.
I hear a soft chime. "That's the washer. I'll grab my hamper and we can start your laundry," Megan says to me.
"Alright. Thanks," I reply.
She steps away and it's the first time I've been alone with her dad. I am a little nervous.
"So... what line of work are you in, Jai?" Nick asks me.
"Filmmaking," I tell him.
"Huh. That's interesting," he says sipping his coffee. "So where do you work out of?"
"Los Angels mostly," I reply.
"I've been there a couple times for seminars. Usually they're in Las Vegas, though," he responds. "It's definitely hotter climate there than here."
"Yeah, pretty mild weather. I'm not accustomed to the snow," I admit.
"I'm from the south originally but it doesn't take too long to get acclimated," he tells me.
"What part of the south?" I inquire.
"Arkansas," he tells me. "We brought my father back up here a couple years ago. He's not used to it yet, though. He's always cold, even in the summer."
I nod. Elderly tend to have trouble staying warm from what I hear. "How hot does it get here?" I inquire.
"70s to 90s are typical in the summer," he says.
Megan comes back. "What'd I miss?" she inquires smiling.
"Jai was telling me about his work and where he's from," her dad responds.
"Oh," she says surprised. "Do you want to get your laundry?" she asks me.
"Sure," I nod.
"Excuse us, Daddy," she says.
He nods still sipping his coffee. We step aside and I follow her upstairs. I notice another door that I didn't see earlier as we walk through the hall. She sets the hamper down in my room.
"I'm going to go poking around my mom's craft room," she tells me.
"Alright," I laugh. I fill the hamper in with my laundry and carry it down the hall. I see her in the room I had just noticed. It has a large table with measurements on it and a sewing machine on a small table with a chair. I see organized shelving with bins and drawers. Megan is flipping through a magazine. I see a bookcase with reference materials.
"I think my mom is going to make something like this," she says showing me some sort of weaved blanket.
"That's pretty impressive," I reply. It's hard to believe all that her mum is capable of.
"Yeah," she nods. "I'll take you downstairs."
She leads me down two flights of stairs to their basement. I see another seated area for entertainment. On the other side of the room they have a small home gym. She takes me through a door to a laundry room. I notice the dryer is already going. I put my load into their machine and she hands me some detergent. I'm reminded of last week and I realize, I could get used to being with her. Even the mundane routine is enjoyable. It's nice to have some company, not just for the party life. We start up the washer and I follow her upstairs. Her parents are putting coats on.
"We're leaving, honey. We'll see you later," her mum says hugging her. "Goodbye, Jai."
"Bye," I wave.
Her dad nods to me and they're off out their backdoor.
Megan turns around and sighs. "So... let's get the ski equipment," she shrugs.