I Hate You Ch. 11 - Shirim

"Megan, if it's okay with you, can we continue from where we left off last? We talked about your parents?"

"Yeah, we can do that."

"Only if you are comfortable."

"No, I haven't talked about it all."

"Oh."

"Well, to start, despite my efforts to be mean to Craig and push away, he still supported me, along with Keisha. Not to toot my own horn, but I was starting to become popular among the people in Key City and, hell, even the state. In high school, I won recreational and Middle school championships for the state of Georgia for my age bracket. I was eager to see how I would stack up in High school. It was the first day of practice, but I needed to get my gym bag at home, so I would be running late since I had to return home to get it. My father was at work then and got promoted, so he spent more hours in the shop.

"How did your mother feel about the promotion."

"Honestly, the more my father succeeded, the more it felt like a father away from him, and I can say the same for me as well."

"Did your parents attend any of your games?"

"My father was there as much as he could be. He would even take Keisha and Craig with him. We would all get Hell Burger afterward. I love those moments. Whether I won or lost, he would always say he was proud of me."

"What happened when you got home from school?"

"Right, I uh..sorry," Megan says, wiping her tears. "I..uh, I say my mother's car parked outside, so I opened the door. I knew she was home. I opened the door and said very lowly, Mom. I heard. I heard a noise from the kitchen; it was something I had heard before but couldn't place. I strolled into the house because I thought something was wrong. The front door was unlocked; we never did that..." Megan lets out a deep sigh.

"As I got to the end of the living, I could see her on her knees in an awkward position. Of course, now, it's not so uncomfortable. It's just, I thought, was she cleaning something? But as I got closer, I could see her head going back and forth. She gave oral sex to our neighbor, who had just recently graduated from high school.

"Oh."

"Yeah, I yelled at her mom. What the hell are you doing.?" The boy turned and looked over at me, grabbed a hand full of my mom's hand, and forced his penis down her throat. He came, and My mom was fighting off his grip. Her face was a mess, her mascara running down her cheeks, and her chest had spit and semen on it.

"Megan! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at practice?" After all That, she said to me, grabbing a kitchen towel to wipe her face. I could barely talk.

"I left...my bag. What are you?"

"Well, what are you waiting on? Get it. Go." She says, pointing towards my room like I did something wrong.

"What did you do?" Doctor Amelia.

"I walked to my room and got my bag. I looked back as I left the house, and she told me.

"Don't tell your father you saw this, honey. Now go on head to practice. You want to be a big basketball star, don't you?" She says while waking me up to force me out the door essentially. I stared at my car, trying to process everything, closing my eyes and breathing. Then, I went to my car and drove back to school. While driving, I let it all out, what I was feeling."

"What exactly are you feeling?"

"Betrayed, confused, I just, my dad, what. Why?" After practice, I came home, and when I walked into the kitchen as slowly as possible, my mother was kissing my father on the lips, him none the wiser than what had occurred earlier.

"Why didn't I say anything?"

"It could be anything, Megan. Perhaps you were protecting your father, maybe your mother."

"I was selfish; he was the best father I could have asked for. He walked up to me once he noticed I was home. He kisses my cheeks and takes me in with a deep hug. He asked me how I was doing, my eyes shifted to behind him, my mother staring at me with a look that sent chills down my spine."

"Where you afraid of your mother?"

"I don't know. I mean, physically, I felt like I could physically fight my mother at this point in my life, but I loved her; I wanted her approval. I wanted to be something she was proud of.

"The same affection your father showed you."

"Right."

"Did you finally have enough and tell your father?"

"No, I. No. I couldn't even eat dinner; I just went to the bathroom and cried in the shower. I finished up and looked at myself in the mirror. No sound came out of my mouth, but I mouthed the words. You're a coward. And...I hate you.

"Oh, Megan, your mother put you in an unenviable position. She manipulated you, your love for her. How long wasn't til your father found out about the affair?"

"It was a couple of months later, the basketball season; I finished a game against our number one rival; they usually dominated Key City High."

"But they never played against the Great Megan Winston." Doctor Amelia says, smiling at her patient.

"Heh, yeah. I had a great game, and we picked up the win. Usually, my dad took time off work to see me play. After the game, we had Hell Burger with Keisha and Craig. I can remember a conversation we had before my life took a turn. God, I'm so selfish. All I'm thinking about is myself: me, me. I wasn't the one whose love of his life cheated on him in their own home. For months, possibly longer."

"Megan, it's okay. This session is your therapy. You are right to exclaim how you are feeling and what you are going through; I know you love your father, and it is great that you recognize the spot he was in during this moment in time. Please continue with it; if you are comfortable, we can table this for another time if you like?"

"No, I want to get this off my chest. So, our last conversation. Like he always does, my father was gassing me up, telling me that I killed it out there in the game."

"You killed it out there last night, Honeybun. He said to me as he put the keys into the front door, but then he stopped and looked at me. "I have to nitpick on things, though; while we were at Hell Burger, you laid it on real thick with Craig. What was that all about."

"What...He was just annoying me, that's all." He raised an eyebrow at me; that boy has got to be your biggest fan, you know that. I mean, I know he may not be your cup of tea as they say..do they still say that? Whatever. I am trying to say that Craig Turner has got to be the sweetest boy I have ever met. You know, I think he may have a crush on you. I can't blame him, though you're a Stone-Cold Stunner in 99. Over as the moon."

"I don't know what that means, but on another note. I say, too, changing the subject."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you change the subject." Doctor Amelia asks, bringing us back into the present for a brief moment.

"Well, simply because I just know he was right about everything like usual," Megan says, moving uncomfortably in the chair while answering the question.

"Ahh, okay, what did you change the subject to?" Doctor Amelia says, writing down something in her notebook.

"I wanted to know where my mother was and why she didn't attend the game." He said she had to work late. At least that's what she texted him."

"Your mother had a job?"

"Yes, she got a job as an event organizer for..our neighbor's father."

"The same neighbor that she was."

"Yes."

"Oh."

"He was very optimistic that she got home early to plan a surprise for me because she knew I would dominate the competition. If only she cared half as much as he did. That would probably be true, but the reality was about to bite me in the ass and crush his heart. He similarly rounds the corner as me earlier, saying her name in a loud but loving manner.

"Hey, Monica." With his voice echoing into the kitchen, some movement could be heard multiple feet. He slowed down just like I did. I froze because I knew what it was already. He quickly collected himself; it was a matter of minutes, and he speedily walked into the kitchen. There, he saw his wife and the neighbor boy who always would try to cut our grass.

"Ted, you two are back already?" My mother said as if everything was normal. The neighbor boy rose to speak as well.

"Hey, uh, Mister Winston." The calm cocky demeanor he had a couple of months ago with me was gone and replaced with fear as he extended his hands out to my father. My father's usual, docile demeanor melted away; his fist balled up in rage.

"Do you think I'm Stupid!" He yells at them both. My mother was unfazed by his outburst.

"I think you are overreacting." She says, looking over at me. "Megan, tell your father he is overreacting." I couldn't speak. My heart was racing, and my eyes darted back and forth between my parents. Then down at the floor, at the damming evidence by their feet. Their eyes soon did the same. It was my mother's lace panties on the floor, crumpled up in a ball. His calm demeanor faded...

"Ted?" She said, but it was ignored as my father grabbed the neighbor boy by the throat.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" he said in a bit of rage. As he slammed him against the wall, our family picture fell on the ground, shattering into pieces.

The boy screamed. "That he didn't know." a blatant lie that my father retorted with...

"Don't fucking lie to me, you've been our neighbor for how long now. He pulled back his fist, ready to explode everything over this moment. I wanted to run and grab his hand and stop him, but I was frozen, ice cold. All I could do was stand there and cry silent tears.

"Stop Ted, you're hurting him, and put your fist down. He is just a young."

"Shut the hell up, Monica." He barks, releasing the boy and pointing his finger in her face. "You need to leave this house."

"I'm not going anywhere she said defiantly. "And if anyone needs to leave, it's you, you scaring Megan and causing a scene." He looks over at me and decides. "You're right; I can't stay here tonight, not after what you did in our home. Megan, honey, please pack a bag; we're gonna go to Sally's house."

"You're not taking my daughter near that slut; she isn't going anywhere with you."

"We are leaving Monica."

"Megan knew..." She says, stopping him in his tracks as he walks towards me. The boy ran past us out the front door. My mother continued. "She knew all this time. You think today was the first time." He looked back at her and then returned his look to me.

"Megan...tell me she is lying, honey." He says to me in a desperate plea. I open my mouth, but again, no words come out; the tears intensify.

"Okay, I love you, Megan," he speaks. It was the last words I heard from my father as he walked out the door. He didn't talk to me until I left for college. He just left and didn't grab a bag or anything. I fell to my knees and let out the biggest wail of emotions I had ever expressed. In all this, my mother just started cleaning up the kitchen glass from the skirmish. She looks over at me and speaks.

"Megan, clean yourself up and get to bed, honey." Anger filled me, but I just ran into my room. I wanted to lash out at her, hypocrite, cheater, bitch. I tried to look her in the face and say I hate you. But I didn't do any of those things; I just locked myself in my room like a little girl. I slowly dropped behind my door and saw a present box on my bed. It was from my father, the new Kobe's.

---------------

Present day, Megan's ---Craig's Room.

Okay, I didn't get much sleep last night after the whole Terra thing. I feel fucking awful, but my many attempts this morning to call her fell on def..dial tones. I try not to think much about it as I walk into the living room and see Keisha watching a movie on Netflix.

"Good morning, bro. I see there was a misunderstanding last night."

"Terra?"

"No, Kim Kardashian."

"Okay, really funny."

"You hurt that girl's feelings."

"It wasn't planned. I didn't know we were dating."

"Yeah, that part threw me too, but hey, it's in the eye of the beholder."

"No," I say to her, shaking my head. "The fuck you talking about? I'm legitimately shocked. I mean, I do feel sorry for her feelings and all that but damn."

"Heh, yeah. Oh my god, Megan is killing me right now."

"What?"

"She texted me about her date last night."

"DATE!"

"Yeah, you know, when two people."

"Nig.., I know what a date is, she... {Compose yourself} She went out on a date?"

"Yeah, some guy her mom set her up with."

"Oh, really. How did it go."

"She is roasting his ass pretty bad." {Ohhhh}

"Oh, okay. She was going to tell me about it later."

"She coming over?"

"You better get ready. Are you going to be late for work?"

"Wait, she is coming back to the apartment."

"Only to talk and drop some stuff off for me."

"Oh, aite."

"Ahhh, you miss Megan, don't you?"

"Tsk, no fuck outta here." I say to her as I go into the bathroom, take a quick shower, and get dressed, making my way towards the door before Keisha says.

"Wait, I forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what?" I say to her, turning my head as my hand makes it to the front door knob.

"So, don't be mad, but we had some stockers call out sick with the vid."

"Covid, do we still care about that?"

"Don't do that. Uncle Randy died from COVID-19, remember."

"Aint nobody, alright, alright. So, I'm guessing I'm a stocker today."

"Sorry in advance."

"Advance..alright, whatever. It'll make the shift go by quicker. See ya later, Keis."

"Drive safe, Craig."

"Yup."

After a short drive due to practically no traffic, thank god I made it to work. Being a stocker was pretty good. As I said earlier, it made the shift go by quickly because I was constantly working, especially when the truck came in; it was my first day back after the banana box incident. In my locker at work, in the back, there was a wanted poster with a Chiquita banana in the center, dead or alive. I couldn't be mad at it; it was hilarious. I wondered who had put it there.

"Craig, is that you?" said a familiar voice behind me.

"Naomi," I said as she ran into me, hugging me.

"It is good to see you again. How is your head." She said, releasing her hug.

"It's fine, I'm fine. Thanking you for asking."

"So, are you working up front with me today?"

"No, I'm working as a stocker today. In her infinite wisdom, Keisha decided to conquer any perceived fears of pallets. I must conquer them for today... And two of our coworkers got COVID."

"Oh, the big C."

"Is it the big C? Now I thought the other thing was the big C."

"Oh no, Craig, that is a bad word."

"Is it? I'm sorry, I'm really behind on the time."

"Well, it's nothing new, and I don't think anyone should call a women's vagina the big C."

"Whoa! No! I was talking about Cancer."

"Ohhh, that Big C. Well, this isn't very pleasant. I'm going to go now. You have fun with stocking shelves."

"Yeah, sure thing, see ya. {Cunt was she talking about Cunt. How moist of her.}

Thirty minutes later, the truck came, and after getting looked at by my coworkers, I helped unload the grocery truck and started to set it up to stock. I was in the groove, knocking out pallet after pallet. I keep this up. I will revert to how things were for me the last time I worked every day—the super gopher.

Hours pass in my shift. As I get to the can good section, Naomi walks over to me.

"Craig, how is the stocking going?"

"Pretty good so far." She squats down next to me, rubbing her shoulder next to mine. I could smell her perfume, gardenia, I believe it was, and she was wearing make-up, something I hadn't seen from her. I never ..."

"Craig, will you show me how to do it."

"oh Yeah, shit, I can show you. Here grabs a case of Chef Boyardee." She gets up and grabs a case from the cart.

"Here, let me open that for ya," I say to her, taking my box cutter to plastic, squatting down to the area of the canned goods. "So, the first thing you are supposed to do is check and see which cans are due to expire the soonest. If you see some that are expired, take them off the shelf. Usually, stockers are supposed to check on slow days, but you never know." I say to her. She looks at me intensively, then takes the information and applies it. She pulled three cans way past their expiration date off the shelf and assimilated the new cans on the shelves in the correct order.

"Like that." She says, getting up. This feeling I had must be what it felt like for people manufacturers in Ford when my machines replaced them. She didn't even break a sweat,

"Who that was quick here? Let me grab you some more."

"Oh, okay, this is fun. It's like a puzzle."

"Yeah, a puzzle." {This is so wrong, but} I thought about the right and wrong of the situation, but I couldn't help but watch her work. She crushed almost half the cart in less than 15 minutes. The intercom turned on just as I was about to hand her another case.

"Naomi, Can you please come back... to the front." Skylar bumbled on the intercom.

"Dang, looks, I have to go back up front." She says, getting back off the floor.

"Dang indeed, hey, thanks for the help," I tell her.

"Yeah, it was fun." She says, smiling.

"Yeah, it was. The bosses will be impressed when they see how you did this."

"Wait," Naomi says, stopping in her tracks.

"Yeah, I will win employee of the month after this."

"You tricked me, I ...Kuroi uragiri"

"Yeah, I don't know what that means, but it sounds sexy," I say to her, shrugging my shoulders. She flicks me off and mutters words.

{Okay, that was mean, But I can't stop smiling.} After repairing the status quo, I finished my shift and met Keisha at the front counter.

"What did you do?"

"Well, hello, Craig. How was your day? That is how you greet people who work for you, Miss Turner."

"Craig, Cut the shit. Naomi was all happy yesterday, and now she is back in demon mode."

"Oh, that, yeah, that was weird."

"She got all... you are so dense, you know that."

"I'm not a cake, but uh, sidebar," I say to her, and she sighs.

"Sidebar granted."

"So, I had her stock shelves for me."

"Why?"

"Because she asked and her me out. She is wasting her talents up front.

"Craig, we work every day. We are not a football team."

"Right, look, I'm telling you she was like a machine and efficient."

"Ohhhh, you know I love the E work."

"I know, you do."

"But damn, she is my best cashier."

"What about Miss Marie."

"Hey, I love Miss Marie, but she can be a little inconsistent, unconcise..sometimes."

"Hmm, never noticed."

"I bet you didn't notice because you got an old lady fetish."

"Don't kink shame me."

"I'll stop, but you must do something for me."

"Didn't I already do that?"

"Something else, can you go to our former home and pick up some clothes for me."

"Waaa, I mean not to be an ass or anything, but why didn't you go early."

"Ahh, Meg and I got talking, and then we had lunch and looked at where gonna go in Athens."

"Oh Meg, cool, okay. Sure, it's been a while since I went home anyway.

"Yes, you're my favorite brother. Do you know that?"

"I'm your only brother, you know what? I'm gonna go."

"See ya again. I'll text you what I need in a minute." I wave at her as I drive home to our parents' house. After encountering some traffic, I make it to my destination. I look over to the basketball court, then the Winston home. Megan's car is parked outside. I thought about saying hi, but I decided against it. If she doesn't want to talk to me, then fuck her, thinking to myself as I use my house key to open the door.

"Craig. You're here." My mom says, getting off the couch to hug me. "How is your head? It's bruised, and who is this Cheryl lady?"

"I got a little bruise, and Cheryl is my manager in produce."

"Keisha said she's a cougar. Don't bring no old white lady to my house for dinner."

"Mom!"

"I'm serious. The only white girl I like is Megan. She was just over here, too."