Chapter Four

Megan and Sébastien donned their winter jackets and met each other just before dawn. They joined hands and walked around campus as the sun slowly peeked over the horizon.

"When I was thirteen, my mother died. She was the breadwinner in the house and after that we had no income. I'd been playing the Junior Circuit in France by then and managed to get a small sponsor- L'étoiles Aujourd'hui. Still, I couldn't support my dad and I, so we pulled some strings to get to Canada. I'd been living in a motel for two weeks before that first day at Cascadia." Sébastien stared down the floor, relieved at having spilled his secret at last.

"I remember that! Adena and I thought you were sooo um- nice…look…nice looking," Megan stammered.

"So tell me about yourself," he said, lying down in the snow.

Falling onto her back next to him Megan took a deep breath and began to explain. "I uh, I started playing against Adena. Our parents were good friends so they decided to get one coach or agent for both of us and split the costs. Of course they were always busy with work so we pretty much lived around each other. Our coach loved her. She had 'finesse'. He'd yell after every match, but only after Adena left. Eventually we got to a point where he'd grab my racket and just slam it into me." Megan's voice shook. "That's how he taught me how to swing. I guess it worked- after seeing this thing hurtling at me in just that way I'd perfect it the next day."

"So what's with you and your pre-match ritual? You hold that racket so tight wild dogs couldn't yank it away." It sounded harsh, but Séb said it in the sweetest voice that Megan felt no embarrassment talking to him at all.

"That's the point. If he can't get it, he can't hurt me with it."

"Who was he?"

"Jack. Or sir. Adena and our parents called him Jack. I called him sir."

Sébastien propped himself up on one arm and gazed intently into Megan's face. "He's not still around, right?"

Megs turned away- for the first time, she felt awkward. "No…he's still out there. I saw him last year at the K-10. He was there, in the stands. Watching."

"Did he talk to you?" Séb asked, incensed. "He tried. I saw him coming and I ran. I ran from him!" A teardrop ran down her face as she recalled him coming at her once again.

Sébastien didn't say a word, nor try to stop her tears. Instead he rolled over and took her in his arms, and Megan closed her eyes to the world for a moment. When she opened them and felt someone's arms around her she screamed and scuttled away. Breathing heavily, she dared to look up again and saw Sébastien looking at her with a bewildered expression.

"Quoi…?" He whispered a few incomprehensible words and looked away for a moment to let her compose herself. Brushing the snow out of his hair and walked slowly over to her. "Something wrong?"

"Uh…n-no." She hugged her knees and leaned forward. "I got…freaked out."

"It can't just be that. Megs…" he urged gently.

"I can't. Not now." Glancing up at him she got up and turned her back. "I'm sorry Sébastien." Hesitating for a moment, she ran off into the woods.

I shouldn't have left him like that. What if he thinks I don't like him? What was I thinking, just running away? Ugh, go faster Megan FASTER! It's not like he touched you anyways…not like Jack did. Oh God…falling to her knees Megan wept bitterly into the snow and beat the ground with her bruised fists. You idiot! Get back up or he'll be on your back…He's not even my coach anymore! But he'll know…Megan rose again and dug her heels down, running like she was sprinting the last 100 meters of whatever race she was in. Two hours later she ran into her dorm and scrambled into the shower, melting the snow with the hot water that mixed with her tears. I need to forget…somehow.

Tucked into one of the couches at The Open, Séb was staring at Adena and Tanis with desperation in his eyes.

"Look Séb, she hasn't come back since you left with her! Just calm down, alright?" Tanis said with a trace of frustration.

"You've only asked us four times." Adena laughed and twirled her hair, turning and smiling at Tyler, sitting on the other couch.

"Well I saw you four times, and I didn't know if she came back so I had to ask you each time just in case she came back in between then and I didn't know and what if she got hurt in the forest or something happened or she met someone and then she never came back in all this time because I did something and she ran away and never got back because she was trying to run from everything including me and all that stuff from before that I shouldn't have just said and-" Séb finally shut up and buried his face in his hands.

"Breathe." Adena patted his back awkwardly as she and Tanis shared a look. Leaving him to his thoughts, they made a hasty departure and ran from The Open, glad to be rid of Séb.

A few minutes after they'd left, Megan walked in tentatively. "Sébastien?"

"Megan!" he stood and reached out a hand. "You came back."

"Can we umm….talk? Somewhere else?"

"Yea." Following her, Séb noticed she was carrying both their jackets. "Where are we going?"

"Arnie's."