“Bathroom!” Farrow and Sloan both chirped as they ran toward the female stick figure pictured beside a closed door.
Back in the car, Creed held out his large hand. Meg dropped the tiny platinum band into his palm and, with her two hands, closed his fingers around it. Touching his skin made her heart leap inside her chest before crashing down at the pain she felt she’d created in him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t expect you to wait for me, but I would like to be your friend. It’s the best I can offer right now.” Inside, Meg was an emotional mess, but outwardly, she was holding it together. She could feel her heart pulling her toward the man whose hand was warm and calloused in hers, but as much as she wanted him, she was terrified of him, too. How could any one person have that much control over me? She thought. I don’t want to be controlled by anything or anyone ever.
Afraid he would start sobbing if he looked at her one second longer, he nodded once, pulled his hand away from her touch and slipped the white band into the front pocket of his jeans. He started to make his way to a side door when Meg’s voice stopped him.
“Creed? I can sense you’re a good man with a loyal heart. I don’t remember what they were, but I sense you made a lot of sacrifices for me—for others—and I just wanted to say, thank you.”
Creed nodded once, without looking at her and stepped out of the SUV to get some fresh air. He felt as if he were going to pass out from the emotional pain—the kind of pain he had no gift to turn off.
From the far corner of the humble brick building that housed the bathrooms, water fountains and a small cluster of credit card-accepting vending machines, Creed watched Alik help Meg out of the back of the SUV. He tried to look away but found himself mesmerized by her confident, barefoot strides.
Evan walked over to Creed with a bottle of soda and a bag of peanuts. “I’m sorry, Creed. Give her time. She has been through a lot. She’s not herself right now.”
“Maybe this is the new Meg.” His eyes watched her perfect profile as she leaned down to sip water from the fountain, one of her hands gracefully holding her long hair back from the water.
Evan sighed and patted the broken-hearted soldier on the back awkwardly. “You know, I could be wrong about how long it will take for her memory to return. Maybe her ability to tap into our emotions will help speed her memory’s return. It is possible that her psychic abilities will act as a bridge to that portion of her brain. We don’t really understand how her brain works to tap into the emotions of those around her and if she still has that ability, then maybe she’s closer to remembering than we thought.”
Creed was shaking his head slowly. “If she gave me even a glimmer of hope, I’d wait forever, but she’s made her wishes clear. I respect her too much not to give her the space she needs.”
“She knows how you feel about her. She feels everything. Let her learn to understand her feelings for you. I think she’s just afraid of the pull she feels for you. Imagine what it must be like to be her. We’re all strangers, to her yet she’s navigating as best she can based on what? Not her own memory, but on the memories and emotions she reads from us. There are bound to be some points of light she just can’t take for face-value. It’s in her nature to rebel; to walk her own path.” Evan watched as his sister stepped out of the restroom, her arms crossed, refusing the drink Farrow was holding out to her.
“As I said, Ev, this may be the new Meg and we’re all going to have to relearn her as much as she’s relearning herself.” Creed forced himself to look away from her and stared at the scuffed tips of his boot instead.
Evan stood beside his friend in silence, hoping that just being near him would help.
As he leaned against the cold brick to take a swig of soda himself, he thought about how changed they were, how deeply affected their lives were because of his sister. Something about that petite powerhouse made them all stronger in her vulnerability.
She was the cog that held the entire system together. If she changed, the whole system was a different machine and would produce a different outcome. That’s how it worked in engineering, he mused. What would become of them if Meg was truly determined to separate herself, and the ties that bound them together were forever severed?
We would fall, he surmised. A broken master cog would end the functionality of the system. It was basic engineering.
“You ready, guys?” Alik called.
“Yeah, we’re coming,” Evan answered for them, nudging Creed to move toward the car.
“It makes me nervous to stay in one place right now,” Alik looked around the rest stop anxiously.