Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 73-Jai

Jai

I walk Megan upstairs and we both brush our teeth together. She brushes her hair and I can't help but admire how long and beautiful it is. I walk her to her door to say goodnight and I hug her. I can't help myself from kissing her head a couple times and then her cheek, too. I nuzzle her face with mine and I hear a sigh escape her lips.
"Goodnight, love," I whisper when we break apart.
"Goodnight," she says releasing my hand.
She closes her bedroom door and I sigh. I head back to mine and I see some extra blankets left out for me. I spread them over the coverlet and climb into bed. I hear the wind whistling throughout the night but I'm surrounded by pleasant dreams.
I wake in the morning, refreshed and excited to be here again. I think over my dreams and have to keep telling myself they're not a reality... yet. I really hope so, though.
As I get up, I recall an expression Megan kept making yesterday. I know she was thinking about him—the bogan. She makes this face whenever she does—it's one of hurt and disappointment. I know she's not ready. I'm getting a little antsy but she was with him for four years. That's a pretty long time, a very serious commitment since they were weeks away from their wedding. I feel like giving her space and time is best, like I'm letting her see her other options—her better ones. I smile at that and hope for the best.
I hear a gentle tap on the door. I open it to see Megan standing there. She smiles at me and runs her fingers through my hair. I can't help myself from hugging her.
"You had bed head," she laughs.
I hum a reply and bury my face in her neck. I've missed her.
"We're on snow duty since my dad is already working in his office. He made the decision to have everyone work from home today since the snow emergency won't be reevaluated until this afternoon. Mikey will run the snow blower and we'll help shovel," she says. I nuzzle my face with hers and she sighs hugging me tighter. "My mom made us breakfast. I figure we could eat and handle the snow, then shower after since we'll probably need it."
"You both are good cooks," I mumble unable to release her.
"Thanks," I hear a laugh bubble out of her chest. "She made a frittata and I think lox and bagels."
"Alright. Give me a minute," I say.
"I'll meet you downstairs," she tells me. I kiss her cheek before she leaves.
I step to the bathroom for a moment and definitely fix my hair. I shudder and the ghost of her hands running through it. I stride down the stairs to see Mikey at the island with Megan. Her mom is making a plate up.
"He's been up most of the night," Hannah is telling Megan and Mikey. "Some sort of emergency. He's been working with the engineers trying to fix it remotely since they can't go in. Once they get it handled, he'll probably sleep most of the day."
"Morning, Jai," Mikey greets me. He's eating some sort of chokky cereal.
"Hey," I reply sitting between him and his sister. "No eggs for you?"
"Nah," he shakes his head.
"You want one of those muffins I made yesterday?" Megan offers.
"They were really good," I comment.
Mikey purses his lips and nods. She gets one out of the freezer and warms it in the microwave before setting it in front of him.
"Thanks," he says eating half of it in one bite. "These are good," he mumbles with his mouth half full.
"I'm so glad you like them," Megan beams trying not to laugh. I hear her whisper to her mum that they have bananas and nuts in them. She smiles in response.
Hannah gives Megan a plate with that egg concoction and half an open faced bagel sandwich. I actually think it looks really interesting. I've never really cared for bagels since the ones in Australia that I've had are more like bread with a hole and nothing special.
"How do you want your bagel?" Hannah asks me. "I can make it like Megan's or just cream cheese, jam..."
"I'll have it like Megan's," I decide.
"That's the best way in my opinion," she smiles. "Do you want a whole bagel?" she asks.
I'm pretty hungry so I tell her yes.
Megan takes a bite and smiles at me. It looks like the salmon in there is uncooked and I ask her about it.
"It's smoked but yeah, it's kind of like a flavorful sushi," she nods.
Hannah places the plate in front of me and I take a bite. I laugh in surprise. It's so crispy and chewy. I've never had one so good. And the toppings... there are slivers of red onion, capers, fresh dill, and that smoked salmon is incredible. I've never really had anything like this for brekky before.
"So," Megan nudges me. "Do you like it?"
"I do," I nod. "Bagels aren't really big in 'Straya. When you can find them, they're not very good."
"My mom made those," she says motioning to my plate.
"Is there anything you can't do well?" I ask her mum.
She laughs in surprise and thanks me.
"I thawed them," she confirms.
"But you made them from scratch," Megan points out.
"I did," she concedes.
I try the egg concoction. It's shaped like a slice of pie or pizza. It has tomatoes and spinach in there. I'm not sure what else but it's fantastic. Mikey takes off first. I can hear the sound of a lawnmower starting and that must be him.
"Doesn't he have school today?" I ask.
"Canceled," Megan says sipping a cup of coffee. I continue to observe her as she drinks from the mug.
"Do you want one?" she asks.
"Did you make it?" I question.
"No, my mom did," she smiles.
"Nah, I'm good with this," I say motioning to the jug of orange juice on the table. I pour myself a glass. I can't help but be happy to be here with her, snowed in and going nowhere. This is actually pretty nice. I think about how it'd be to wake up like this every day... and I think I'd really like that. She meets my eyes and smiles.
"Do you want to suit up and go out?" she asks.
"Sure," I agree although I'm wondering about this since I've never done it. "What about a workout today?" I ask remembering that we had plans.
"You don't have to worry about that," she laughs putting on her snow pants. "This will be our workout. We'll have to swim tomorrow or something."
"Alright," I agree skeptically.
We gear up and head out. I can't help but be in awe of the temperature difference the past few days but the biggest shock is the amount of snow. It's like we're in the mountains or something with the heaps on the ground. I notice icicles hanging from some buildings but mostly the snowfall is blowing me away. I see her brother has already cleared the start of a path for us. She leads me to the garage and hands me a shovel. She shows me what to do telling me to only get what I think I can lift at a time and not overdo it. I see how much there actually is to clear and take her advice, bending at the knees and not hurting my back. We get started and I scoop up a shovel full and toss it aside like she's doing. It takes a while but we find the ground eventually. It's still covered in a layer of ice, though. The snow is actually giving me better traction... plus the boots. We shovel up a row and then another, making our way down the driveway. I'd have to say that this definitely feels like a serious workout. Mikey is clearing off quicker than us but we're making a decent dent in it.
I have no idea how long we're out here but I take a moment to catch my breath and watch Megan making some sort of wall on one side of the driveway with the snow.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"The snow will drift with the wind. I'm building a barrier so we won't have to do this again," she explains.
"Clever," I tell her.
"I've done this before," she shrugs dismissively. I grin in that she really doesn't know how to take a compliment. I guess she's just... selfless.
I decide to dig my phone out of my pocket and get a shot of her. Then one including her brother. She notices me not shoveling and asks what I'm doing.
"Can we take a picture?" I request.
"Sure if you like red faces in your pictures," she laughs. I pass her the camera and she pockets her gloves. I hug her and she actually gets a shot with the two of us, all of the snow, and the driveway in the background. I kiss her cheek in thanks and realize she's freezing.
"Do you need to go in and warm up?" I ask.
"Nah, I'm fine. This temperature isn't too dangerous to be out in. I'll go in when we finish and warm up," she says. "Do you need to go in and take a break?"
"No worries, I'm good," I tell her.
She smiles at me and hands me back my phone. She slides her gloves on once more and gets back to work. I join her. We make it to my 4WD and dig it out, then clean the heaps of snow off the top and bonnet with a long brush and scrapper from her dad's 4WD. I see a thick layer of ice around the outside and wonder how I'm getting inside.
"I've got it," Megan says. "If you do it, you'll probably dent your rental."
I step back and watch as she kind of slaps and gently pounds around the seal of the door. It's actually cracking. She hits it gently repeatedly until the ice is completely chipped away on the outside. She gingerly opens the door, shuts it, then hits it again and it breaks free.
"I'd start it up if I were you so we won't have to scrape the whole thing. Put the heater on high and point the vents towards the windows. Put the rear defrost on, too," she says. I get in and hope I've got it all right. I look around and feel like I'm in some sort of ice cavern.
I go back and join Megan. It takes probably hours but we have the driveway cleared. Mikey did the footpath and the one to the front and back entranceway along with each veranda. We go back and clear off my vehicle. I watch as she uses a small scraper and we clean off the windscreen together. I see why everyone got the day off. Not only is cleaning off this mess difficult and time consuming, the road wasn't very clear. It'll take the crews forever to get er done.
When I think we're about to quit, I see Mikey go across the road and help an older fellow do his driveway. Megan joins and helps. I follow them over and make use of myself. The older bloke seems stoked for the assistance and I'm actually glad I helped.
We wave to him and he thanks us all again afterwards. I follow Megan and Mikey joins my side with his contraption but it's off and quiet.
"Thanks man," he says patting me on the back. "I would've been out here for another couple hours without your help."
"No worries," I tell him in reply.
"My friends are playing laser tag tomorrow night. You still wanna come?" he questions.
"I'm not too old am I?" I tease.
He snorts. "Nah man. It'll be fun. It's like the gun range but with video games," he tells me.
"Alright. But you're really not bringing your sister?" I question.
"She'd be the only girl," he shrugs. "Most of my friends are really awkward around girls. Plus, I don't want to see them hitting on her and failing miserably."
"I got it," I nod. I don't want to see them hitting on her either.
We put the snow gear away and step inside. My face is completely frozen. Megan has her snow duds set aside in their mud room and I hear her in the kitchen with her mum. "Just leave your wet things in the hallway over there and come in here. I made hot cocoa," Hannah calls out to us.
Mikey strips his off quickly like a kid with the pants inside out, flings off his boots and coat as he bolts to the kitchen. I take mine off a bit more gracefully and drape them out of the way before I join them.
I sit down between the two siblings again and Hannah places an epic looking hot chokky in front of me. I take a sip and it's so good.
"What's in this?" I whisper to Megan.
"Cocoa powder, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and she made the giant marshmallows," she tells me.
"Not a mix?" I question surprised.
"Family recipe," Hannah says.
"Yeah, our family only. My mom made this one up," Megan corrects taking a careful sip.
"You can make it, too," Hannah adds. "So does Yvette."
I look to Megan in question. "Arthur's wife makes it for the kids."
I nod and wish my mum made me this as a kid. We mostly had Milo growing up. I sip my molten chokky and warm up perfectly content to sit here for a while.