Page 23 of Unsaid Things

Chapter Eleven

Abby trudged out of the terminal to see Megan bouncing and waving. Abby couldn’t help smiling at her friend, happy to see her after a long, stressful day of travel.

Megan squeezed her in a suffocating hug as soon as Abby got clear of the crowd. “I’ve missed you!”

Abby laughed. “You saw me last week!”

Megan just shrugged, releasing Abby from the hug and hooking their arms together. They walked to the baggage claim to wait for Abby’s suitcase. Abby looked around. “No Chris?”

Megan shook her head, her dark curls swinging around her shoulders. “Not tonight. I told him he had to stay home. He grumbled and whined, but I thought you might need some girl time in case you wanted to talk about your brother or Lance or whatever. I know you enough to know you wouldn’t say anything about any of that if he came.” She shrugged one shoulder. “So it’s just you and me, baby.”

Abby laughed, and Megan grinned, winking at her, her dark eyes twinkling. “Thanks, Megs. I appreciate the thought. I like Chris, but, yeah. It’s nice to be able to talk about whatever without worrying about him.” Abby’s gaze sharpened on Megan as a thought occurred to her. “How much do you tell him?” She waved a hand around. “About me and all my crap?”

Megan sighed, the twinkle in her eyes dying away. “You know me better than that, Abs.” She shook her head. “I don’t tell him much of anything. I mean, he knows your mom has issues, but you told him more about that than I ever have, and that was because you decided he needed to know. I told him about your brother leaving after we graduated and him not contacting you for the last year, because he needed to understand what was going on. But I don’t tell him things that you’ve told me in confidence.” Now Megan narrowed her eyes. “Why? Do you tell Lance about my shit?”

Abby laughed, shaking her head. “No. I don’t need to. You tell everyone everything anyway.”

“Not quite everything, but yeah, I know what you mean. Anyway, tell me about meeting Lance’s family? How did it go?”

“Good. Mostly.” She told Megan about Lance’s dad trying to put her in a different room the first night.

“What? That’s crazy! Does he think you sleep in different rooms in your one-bedroom apartment?” Megan laughed and shook her head.

Abby shrugged. “I don’t know. Lance was pissed, though, and told his dad that I’d be staying in his room or we’d go to a hotel. So that was a fun way to start the visit.”

“Oh, man. How was his mom?”

“She’s great. Welcoming, and she hugs everyone all the time. It was weird, but in a nice way. You know how my mom is, so I’m not used to that. The only other mom I’ve had much experience with is yours, and …”

“Yeah. Not much of a hugger either.”

Abby nodded, falling silent. “Oh! There’s my suitcase.” She grabbed her luggage off the conveyor belt, and they headed out toward Megan’s car. They stopped for some food on the way back to Abby’s apartment and ate at the coffee table, catching up on the last few days.

“Alright, Abs. Chris has been texting me for the last hour begging me to come home. I better go. You want me to go with you to your mom’s tomorrow?”

Abby stood up with Megan, hugging her again before she left. “No. I’ll be fine. I don’t want to ruin your Christmas.”

Megan pulled back, her eyes serious. “It’s not a big deal, Abby. I can come with you if you need the moral support.”

“No, no. It’s fine. It’ll be better if it’s just me. I don’t know why Aaron’s back or what he wants. If there are other people around, who knows how things’ll go.”

Megan stared at her, her eyes examining Abby’s face. “Okay. But if you change your mind, just let me know. Or if things are crazy and you need backup, we’ll get there as fast as we can. Don’t hesitate to call.”

Abby walked Megan to the door. Megan stopped, facing Abby again. “You know, I’m surprised Lance let you come back by yourself.”

Abby bristled. “Let me? He’s not my boss.”

Pursing her lips, Megan shook her head. “I know. That’s not what I meant. But he and Chris are a lot alike, and I can’t imagine Chris letting me fly home by myself to deal with my crazy family, no matter what I said about it.”

“Lance wasn’t happy about it, but he respects my need to deal with this on my own.”

Megan eyed her. “If you say so. Good luck tomorrow. And seriously, call me if you need me. For anything.”

“I will. Thanks, Megan. You’re the best.”

She flashed a cheeky grin. “I know. That’s why you love me.”

Abby laughed. “It is.”

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