fight... fight... fight...

Chapter 10

There came a knock that Sunday morning. It was loud enough to bring me to my feet. It was half past 9. I noticed the sound of hissing from the kitchen and it came along with the familiar smell of bacon and eggs. The knock became persistent.
“I’m coming!” I screamed. The knocking stopped. The huge wooden door stood in front of me as I twisted the doorknob open.
It came to my attention that Megan was at the front porch. She wasn’t with her child or Anthony. She was wearing a paint covered overhauls and her hair was freed. Her eyes were as determined as ever. Her hands were full. Both small fragile hands were holding a pie. The waft of fresh baked goodness carried by the wind made it obvious for it to be pumpkin. it was my favorite.
“hey… I heard you were heading back to town.” She said in a hillbilly-ish voice.
“so I baked you a pie. It’s pumpkin… your favorite.” She said, handing over the huge tasty treat.
“thank you” I said while sniffing the sweet aroma.
“would you like to come in for brunch?” I invited. She smiled but hesitated.
“it’s my last day here. I insist” I said. I opened the door wider and lead the way. She looked behind her with some hesitation as the wind blew past her.
“alright then.” She agreed. She shut the door behind her and followed me into the kitchen where Raymond was chopping a few spring onions.
“ray. Meg is here” I said without half a brain what that meant. Raymond raised his head to see if it was true. They both met each other’s eyes and avoided awkwardly. Meg sat near the counter while ray was minding his own business; cooking.
“I’m going to leave you two alone now. I need to get my stuff upstairs.” I said to break the silence. I left the room and went upstairs. I shot through the door and grabbed my bags and stuffed them with my clothes as fast as I could.
As soon as I was done, I sat down on the bed. It was time for me to leave this house again. I took a deep breath and tried to take in the nostalgic scent of pine and oak wood. I remembered a lot with the place.
I took in another deep breath, slowly almost tasting the days when my grandmother was still alive. I was almost 9 years old again. I could almost feel her warm, wrinkled arms around my lanky, misshapen, bruised body. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but the light against the cabinet.

I was going to leave again.

Step by step, I went down the stair case. I memorized every creak and squeak of the floor boards. The mahogany steps visibly showing the nails my grandfather hammered down before. I was closer to the end of the staircase with a bag in each hand.
“I’m packed” I said to Raymond while he was munching on some raw carrots.
“just set them on the counter.” He said while turning to the pans and tending to whatever he was making.
“here… I’ll take them” meg said. She bent over and grabbed one of them until Raymond rushed over to steal them from her.
They stared at each other, struggling over the bag. Shots of fire escaped from each other’s eye.
“never mind… I can manage” I said and took the bag away from both of them. I went to the truck and dropped my bag like a hot potato and ran back inside; afraid that those two might fight. Upon reaching the door of the kitchen, I heard them talk.
“talk to me Raymond” said meg. Her hillbilly voice liked to come out especially when she seemed desperate.
“go back to the counter” he requested, “please”
“I won’t… until we talk about this” she said, taking her ground.
“I don’t want to!” he screamed. I listened intently with my ear against the door. I felt the heat of the moment. I heard Raymond’s breath against the air.
“meg. I know that’s my child.” He whispered.
“is that why your so worried?” she asked. he kept silent for a while.
“I love Chelsea.” He started. I heard a glass falling and breaking.
“I’ll pick that up” meg said. Her voice croaked and seemed shaky.
“for how long?” she asked. I heard someone sweeping the glass on the floor. I heard the pieces of glass jingle against each other.
“I always did. Haven’t you noticed?” he said. The sweeping stopped and meg stormed out of the room and stumbled into me.
“I… I have to go” she stammered. Her eyes were red and teary.
“meg wait!” screamed Raymond and tore after her.
“what is happening?” I protested. I charged after the two who were making quite a scene.
“meg wait!” he yelled again. meg stopped dead on her tracks and turned around. Dust surrounded her feet as the dusty road around her crumbled.
“what?” she yelled back.
“would you two just stop it!” I screamed. They both seemed to not hear me.
“for how long Raymond?” she whimpered. He took a deep breath and answered, “ever since she and I met. January 27.”
“why didn’t you tell me?” she cried. She knelt down on both knees and cried hysterically.
“I thought you knew!” he yelled. She kept crying and while she curled up on the ground, I came to her rescue and patted her back.
“stand up!” he screamed. Raymond was angry again.
“you stop pretending we were together!” he screamed at her and pointed at her. but she didn’t stop crying. She only wept louder.
He came near and grabbed hold of her chin. “you stop this. I never loved you. Who would love a whore like you?” he said. I didn’t like what he said about meg. I never saw Raymond this mad before.
“now wait just a minute here” I stood up. He seemed shocked.
“you have no right to call her that.” He came near meg and nearly kicked her when I pushed him and he fell back against the mailbox.
“you stay out of this Chelsea!” he dictated. I didn’t like it at all.
“you stop this instant Raymond or so help me God I will murder you!” I warned him. He backed down and went to the porch and sat down. His eyes were still glaring red as his eyebrows were still crashing against each other. He was dripping beads of sweat.
“are you alright meg?” I asked while helping her up. She shook off the dirt on her overhauls and nodded.
“meg. Let me take you home.” I said.
“I’d like that” she replied and smiled. I turned to Raymond and said “stay there! You hear me?” to him like a dog. He seemed upset about it and went inside.

“what was that all about?” I asked. she shrugged and pretended to not know.
“meg… you have got to start telling me the truth” I begged. She held my hand tightly. She and I continued walking about half a mile.
“he loves you. How long did you know?” she asked. I didn’t know how to tell her about it.
“I always did. But I ignored it totally. I never thought of him as someone to love.” I lied. I didn’t forget about what happened between us when I ran away. And I didn’t forget that kiss. Those images popped into my mind.
“did anything happen between you and him?” she asked. her eyes peered into mine. She stopped walking and waited for my answer. Tears flowed against her pink cheeks. She seemed desperate. My answer was crucial. I had to either tell her yes and watch her break apart or no so I’d be the one getting hurt instead of her. and if I did tell her yes, she’d get hurt and hopefully move on.
“no” I lied. It was the worst feeling in the world. It was like a cold iron hook pulled my heart into my gut. She smiled happily as if it was something to celebrate. But I didn’t enjoy it. I gave back a fake smile and walked on.
“I know he’ll love me soon” she said. She sounded like a desperate woman. “it’s just a matter of time.”
“here’s your house. Is Anthony home?” I asked. she shook her head. She looked away from the door. The flowers were in bloom but like meg, they were only what was visible. Meg was exactly like her garden. She was awfully pretty. But time has made the best of her so soon. She was trodden on by people she allowed.
“where is he?” I asked again.
“he’s with his wife” she said. Her voice was back to its old, hillbilly self.
“my God…” I said. She didn’t look at me for a while.
“yeah… my God too.” She replied. Her arms crossed. Now I understood everything. But I just couldn’t alleviate the situation. It was no longer a part of my control.
“do you need me to stay?” I asked. she was holding her arms and said no.
“I think it’s best you went home” she said. She closed the white wooden gate in front of me. She turned around to face me, ”thank you Chelsea… for whatever you did”

She went back inside her house. Her walk became slow and uninspired. Megan lost her bubbly aura, the one I used to recognize.
I walked back home. It wasn’t really as far as I thought it would be. Her house was just around the lake. It could be seen from mine. While walking, I saw the old tire swing she and I used to play with. Her childish laughter floated around. Her whispers were still vivid. the same wind brushed my hair. But time has changed the both of us. She became someone I didn’t know any more.
The tree where the tire was tied to was huge and had pink leaves. I don’t know what the name of the tree was. It was bigger before. Now, the tree just seemed thrice my height. The sun blazed madly. It was as hot as an oven. But I loved how hot it was especially near the lake. The breeze liked to struggle with the heat from the sun. I could see Raymond from where I was standing. I could see him but only as a speck. His blue shirt was the only thing clear to me. My eyes blurred. I could not make up his face clearly.
I heard the birds chirping around me. Just as soon as I stopped looking at the birds that floated on top of me, I saw Raymond stand up and went straight to his car. It made a huge thump and he started the engine. It hummed a bit and turned off. He turned it on again and it finally kept running. As I drew closer and closer to his car, it became louder and louder.
“Chelsea!” he called, “get in the car! We need to go! ” he said trying to make me hurry. I jogged slowly to his car while he bent over to open the door from the inside.
“okay” I said with trying to exhale a deep breath.
“so what did you two talk about?” he asked. he stepped on the gas and the car humming became louder. But the car didn’t leave yet. His didn’t touch the hand break yet.
“nothing” I mouthed.
“so you’re not going to talk to me?” he asked. I didn’t bother answering. I slumped my back on the seat and put my arm on the arm rest. I stared at the house we were leaving behind.
“fine Chelsea. Be as stubborn as you always were” he said. I ticked with anger. But I just kept quiet. I didn’t want a fight anymore.
“fine chelsea” he said again. he pulled down the hand break and sped away from the house.
“you want to say goodbye to your friend?” he asked sarcastically and made a cruel laugh. It was as if he was picking on her. still maintaining my stand, I kept quiet.
“oh look. It’s Anthony. Do you want to talk to him instead of me?” he asked again. it was starting to bother me a lot. But I still kept quiet and kept my eye outside the window.
He turned left and came across a few signs. One was a warning for deer. They usually came by the lake near summer. The road was rocky and the car tilted a few times. But still, I could not swallow my pride. I didn’t ask him to drive slower or smoother. He kept on driving fast against the rocks and pot holes. I didn’t enjoy the way he talked like that about megan. Even if it was true, he had no right to call her a whore. She was after all, my ex-best friend. Even though things had changed, I still didn’t think ray did the smartest, most mature thing.
“I’m stopping.” He said. And so he did. But I still didn’t answer.
“I’m not moving until you talk to me” he went on. His hands were glued to the steering wheel. His eyes were fixed on the road. But the engine was off.
“now. Don’t tell me you’re taking her side” I don’t know whether he said that to make me angrier. But I still said nothing.
“I’m on nobody’s side ray” I said coolly. My voice was deep and serious. He looked at me.
“don’t tell me you’re mad at me because I called her a whore?” he started. I didn’t answer. I just cleared my throat. I didn’t look at him. I kept staring outside my window.
“isn’t that what it’s all about Chelsea? Me calling her a whore? Why? Isn’t she just like you? Both of you had sex with me. Is that why you’re so mad?” he said. He laughed loudly like a complete asshole. I slapped him.
“I am not a whore. You are just a loser! You know why I never dated you? This is exactly why! You like to spread around what isn’t supposed to be told! and every time a girl doesn’t like you, you think it was because she couldn’t handle you. Didn’t you ever think that maybe you had always been the problem?” I shouted. He kept silent. It was like I threw a dagger at him. He turned red and turned on the car. He then sped off into the high way.
“in case you’re hungry, I packed lunch so we don’t have to stop.” He said. His voice seemed embarrassed and angry. But he didn’t look at me for the rest of the journey. The only thing breaking the silence was his radio, going on and on about the government.