MEGAN

Chapter 19

Megan

A week passed after Nik left, the days somehow dragging while at the same time rushing by, each one more horrible than the last.

Megan spent them locked in what used to be Nik's room, curled up on his bed, staring at the wall. She barely ate and rarely slept, Nik's absence like a horrible weight on her chest that she could not get rid of.

She cried for hours that first night, and then, once the tears had dried up and she had no more, she just switched off, tuning out the rest of the world, clutching the pillow that still smelled of him and burying her nose in it, until it too stopped. The scent disappeared, just like the man had, and Megan was left completely alone.

Her phone rang, making her glance in its direction as she debated if she should answer it. She knew that it was her brother since the man had been trying to reach her for the past two days, although Megan had so far ignored him.

But she knew that William would eventually tire of just calling and that he would come to her home to find out what was happening.

So, Megan sat up, feeling a bit woozy after so many days spent in the horizontal position and the lack of any food in her system, before she reached for her phone and brought it to her ear.

"Hello," she whispered, wincing at how sore her throat felt after going unused for so long.

"Where the hell have you been!? Why haven't you been answering your phone? Do you know how worried I was!? I thought that someone had killed you!" William growled as soon as she answered, making Megan move the phone away from her ear to not go deaf.

"I'm fine, William. No one has killed me, for fuck's sake, I was just feeling a bit under the weather, that's all."

"Well, you could have at least told me that! Or did your arms fall off, preventing you from picking up the phone?"

Megan snorted, the first semblance of a smile since Nik left appearing on her face as she listened to her brother's lecture. Sometimes, William was such a drama queen, and it never failed to make her laugh.

"I'm sorry, alright? I should have called," she mumbled as she stood up, clutching the wall as the room spun for a moment, realizing that she really should get something to eat despite her lack of appetite.

"Fine. So, are you feeling better? Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you. I'm okay."

"Okay. Is Nik there? Nate's been trying to reach him since yesterday, but he, too, isn't answering his phone."

At the sound of his name, Megan stopped in her tracks, the memory of the last time she saw Nik flashing through her mind. He had been packing his things, rushing through the room, refusing to look at Megan as he did so while she stood by the window and watched him. When he was done, he stopped at the doorway, his bags clutched in his hands as he looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes full of sorrow as he whispered "goodbye," and then he was gone, out of the room and her life.

"No, he isn't. He quit." Megan said, unable to say more, her throat closing up from all the emotions coursing through her, and she knew, she just knew, that if she tried to say more, she would cry. It seemed now that she still had some tears left, after all.

William stayed quiet for a long time, following Megan's proclamation, the sound of his breathing the only thing telling her that her brother was still there.

"Are you alright?" he asked in the end, making Megan close her eyes as she bit her lip.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she scoffed, acting as if William's question was stupid, while inside, she died just a bit more.