Chapter Five
A/N: Dedicated to Marielaine…who inspired me to write for the first time in months and who has listened to everything and helped me to understand what I couldn't.
"Hey Mr. Dubé," said Megs as they walked into the diner.
"Salut Megan! I've got your table right here." Leading them away from the bowling alley and the main area, he seated them in the booth as far from the crowd as possible. Winking at Megs and his son, he handed them menu's and left.
"I still can't believe you snuck off campus."
"I uh…I got us a pass. Told Hartley I really needed a little time off and he wrote one out in a second." Feigning an interested air, she scanned over the sheet. "I think I'll get a Classic Burger…the whole Adena fiasco got me craving it. What're you getting?"
Not bothering to take a look, Séb said, "I think I'll get the same. Um…I'll place the order myself. Don't want to take my dad away…" Shedding his jacket, he grabbed their menu's and ducked into the kitchen. While he was gone, Megan took a few breaths. He deserves to know, I've made my decision. Now I just need to carry it out.
"Hey," Séb said, sitting back down. Taking his hand, Megan stared at him.
"I never finished my story…"
"Are you sure you want to?" he asked carefully. "I'm sorry if-"
"No, it wasn't you…I just need to finish, k?"
He nodded.
"He hurt me, pretty bad…more than physically." Immediately Sébastien shifted, and he clutched her hands closer to him. "I mean, getting whacked with a racket makes you pretty weak, right?" She laughed hollowly. "So he thought to himself, 'what a great opportunity.' He used me. For whatever he wanted. And every time I was frozen… I followed his orders blindly. I sure made up for it now."
Sébastien's dad came with their meal- smiling cautiously. "Two classic burgers. Séb…Megan's a nice girl, you should take care of her," he said, noticing the worried looks on both their faces.
In a fit of cliché, Séb replied, "Don't worry, I could never do anything to hurt her."
Patting them both on the back, Mr. Dubé left them to themselves. Ignoring her meal, Megan continued on her story. "He never went…all the way. He could have, easily. After a point I would have done anything if I thought it would make him stop hating and hurting me…but it was a false hope."
"What did he do to you Megan?" asked Sébastien, cold anger building in his voice. Who was this Jack, who dared to touch Megs?
She blinked. While she ran, she'd imagined this conversation going exactly as it had until that moment. She never thought that he'd ask exactly what happened, but Megan knew she had to tell him, for herself. "A-a lot of things. At first he just…just…" she pulled her hands away from his and intertwined her fingers, eyes cast down as she stared at them. "He touched me. Then- things changed." Megan's eyes closed, and she forced herself to focus on Sébastien and not on the words coming from her mouth. There was no other way she could tell him this while remembering Jacks' hands….Jacks' eager face, Jacks' fist and…other parts of Jack. Her eyes squeezed shut and Sébastien resisted the urge to hold her, knowing this was far from what she needed at the moment. His heart yearned to heal her, to take her burden onto his shoulders and help her forget. For now, he listened as she remembered.
"He made me do things I never would have done outside of those circumstances. And I've tried to run from him in my dreams and months, years after I escaped him I'm still trying to run and it doesn't work because he's always following me…and even after all the running I still end up on my knees, pleading with him, 'Sir…don't make me do this…please,' and then I can still feel it! His sweaty fingers all over my body and his grip on my wrists and his disdainful foot in my bare stomach as he walks…away…like nothing is wrong! And he comes back in the morning, smiling at Adena and I and saving it all for after practise when she's gone and I can't do anything, nothing, to stop him. And I wish I could stop seeing him wherever I go, telling me to run faster, get skinnier, work harder, to get on my knees and- and…" her voice shuddered to a halt. "I'll always be there, submitting to him. Sébastien it wasn't you, I just thought…maybe he'd come back for real." No tears fell from her eyes, but she shook uncontrollably, clutching her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I'm sorry…"
Séb got out of his booth and slipped in next to her. He took her hands and gently loosened her fingers from each other, and though they curled into fists of their own accord he eased them open again, letting her hands rest open on his palm. His forehead was creased with worry, and gathering her up into his arms he held her tightly, finally letting the tears fall for both of them. He cried for Megan and all she'd been through, and for his father and his sacrifices and for his mother who suffered right until the end. Megan's fingers convulsed as her arms awkwardly circled him, digging into his shirt. His hands lay smooth on her back, pushing her closer to him as they clung to each other, not like lovers but like two people who trusted each other. They may not understand exactly how the other was feeling, but they tried their best. And yes, they loved each other.
From the other side of the room, Henri Dubé watched his son take this girl that he'd already loved like a daughter and felt so proud of him. He'd felt so blessed watching Sébastien play on his days off, but knowing that his son had grown up to be the man he was he felt more joy than he had in the two years since his wife had passed. Henri wiped his hands on a towel and tugged a tiny picture out of his apron- Sébastien, Henri, and Marie all smiling at the photographer, after Séb and Henri had conspired to throw Marie one last big party. On the back Mr. Dubé's wife had scrawled, "Mon chére…regarde Sébastien et connais, je suis avec vous tous les temps. J'adore toi, Henri." Smiling, Henri noticed that tonight, two couples were united at last. Marie, je suis avec toi. Outside the window, a new star glittered from its' place in the sky. Four more souls were at rest tonight.