MEGAN

Chapter 1

Megan

Autumn, 1988

"Look! Look what I found, Rachel!" Megan exclaimed loudly and stuck her hand out for the older girl to see while she used the other one to motion for her to hurry up.

Rachel smiled from her place down on the ground near the river bend where they usually came to spend their free time and stood up, coming closer to see what Megan wanted to show her.

"It's so pretty, right?" Megan said while she inspected the small, pinkish-grey pebble, its sides smooth and shiny in the harsh summer sun.

Rachel nodded her head and quickly pocketed it, sending her her usual wink that always made Megan giddy and made her stomach do something funny.

She then returned to her spot by the river while Megan continued to search for more pebbles, although her eyes kept going back to Rachel.

The older girl was leaning against the tree root, her eyes closed and her chin up, basking in the sunshine after days of constant rain, and Megan thought she looked just like that pinkish-grey rock that was now hidden inside her pocket, pretty and unique.

Rachel's skin was dark, much darker than hers, the color of chocolate that Megan was allowed to eat only when she was especially good and finished with all of her chores and assigned Prophecy readings on time, which was not as often as her mother would have liked.

Her eyes were the color of the sky, and her hair was dark, curly, and shorter than Megan's, which was great. She wished that her mother would allow her to cut her own the same way instead of the long braid that came to her butt she was forced to wear, but every time she would mention it, her mother would refuse to even think about it.

"You are a girl!" she would say, "Only boys have short hair, Megan!"

Which Megan thought was stupid since Rachel had short hair and she was anything but a boy, not that Megan had ever told her mother that because the woman would have whooped her in a second.

Rachel was also older than her, almost a grown-up, but she didn't act as the other adults did. She didn't find Megan boring or annoying and always took her to their secret spot by the river so they could pick up the most beautiful rocks to add to Megan's collection.

Megan was not sure why no one could know about the spot, but she had promised Rachel that she would keep her secret, which had made Rachel smile in a way that only seemed reserved for the people she really liked, so Megan made a promise to herself that she would never tell a soul if it would make Rachel keep smiling that way at her.

Soon, the weather started to change, the sun hiding behind big, grey clouds, and Rachel stated that it was time for them to go back home.

Megan nodded sadly, not looking forward to going back just yet, but she knew that they would both end up in trouble if they got caught up in the rain, so she stood up and cleaned the dirt from her knees before joining Rachel on their way back home.

"We'll come back tomorrow, I promise," Rachel said and took her hand in hers, making the funny feeling in Megan's stomach return as she smiled at the older girl, feeling much better than just a moment before.

∞

Present

Megan opened her eyes and blinked a few times, the oppressive darkness of the room only broken up by the moonlight drifting through the window, a drastic change from the eternal sunshine in the dream that was already drifting away.

She sighed and sat up, letting her feet fall to the cold floor in an attempt to ground herself as she clutched her head with her hands as if that would prevent her from forgetting.

"Bad dream?" came a question from the bed, spoken in a soft purr, before cold, thin hands wrapped around her midsection and a warm mouth trailed soft kisses down her back.

That was the million-dollar question, wasn't it?

The one Megan could never find an answer to, even after all these years and thousands of dollars wasted on therapy.

The dreams came every night for as long as Megan could remember, most of them leaving her a shaking and shivering mess for a reason she couldn't fathom, but the ones like tonight were the worst.

Because even though Megan could not remember what exactly she had dreamed about, she still remembered the feeling of being loved and cherished, so to wake up to a dark room, in a bed alone or with one in a long line of nameless women and men, was devastating.

"I'll call you an Uber." she eventually said, because as much as she didn't want to be alone again, the feel of her mouth on her that had excited her just a few hours before was now plain wrong, and Megan needed it to stop. She needed everything to just stop so she could relax and remember. She needed to remember.

"Oh. Okay." the girl said and left the bed, starting to collect her clothes before putting them on in jerky movements that screamed just how much she disagreed with Megan's statement. Not that she would tell her so; she knew better than that, but her actions spoke louder than any words. Megan knew that she should feel guilty, and she did, but still, she remained silent and joined her in dressing.

The girl had probably thought that this was going to last more than one night; after all, that was what they all thought.

Megan knew that she was considered a catch in the club, even though she never stayed with one person for more than a month, but it didn't matter; they still came, and she still used them.

It was wrong; they were all wrong, and as much as Megan had tried to make it work, tried to feel something other than that hollow feeling that filled her as soon as the high of orgasm dissipated, it never worked.

∞

"You look like shit," Nate said as soon as Megan entered the office, making her roll her eyes at her best friend.

"I know," she said before pushing down Nate's legs that were currently perched up on her desk, making him pout, and then walked to her chair on the other side of the table.

"What do you want? Nura is not working today."

Nate snorted at that and stuck his tongue out.

And they call me the childish one, she thought.

"I know that. She is out with Aria and her brother, and apparently, I am not allowed to go with them. Something about girl's night out, which is complete bullshit if you ask me since Mehmet is a man."

"So, you were bored and decided to pester me," Megan said, and the asshole just smirked, not even trying to come up with an excuse.

"Yup."

"Oh, and Ash came in a few minutes ago with a letter for you. I put it on your desk."

At the words, Megan's face blanched, and she had to consciously try to prevent her hands from shaking as she reached for the already familiar pink envelope lying inconspicuously at the right corner of her desk.

She didn't even bother to open it, already aware of the mindless spiel that would greet her; instead, she stuck it in her leather jacket pocket and decided not to think about it just yet.

"Who's it from?" Nate asked while eyeing her up, one of his bushy brows raised slightly.

"None of your business."

"Okay, Ms. 'I am too important.' Since you're obviously in PMS, and I don't have even the slightest desire to deal with that, I am going to go and do literally anything else."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he said just before he reached the door, coming back to Megan's desk.

"Here is the number of that guy I told you about. He is an old friend from the army and does private security nowadays, so give him a call if you still need it."

Megan took the card, her eyes falling on the jacket where the dreaded letter was hidden for just a second before turning to the piece of plastic to see what was written on it.

Krüger Private Security

Niklas Krüger, The Owner