Love Will Tell Us Where To Go

I ended up waking up eight o’clock and decided to not go back to sleep. If I want to have their breakfast done by the time they wake up, I need to get started pretty soon.

I changed my clothes before heading over to Chloe’s room to see if they were still asleep. They were, so I slowly shut the door and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Hmm, maybe it’s too early. I’m pretty sure she said her parents wake up at nine thirty. Maybe I won’t make too much noise.

I do the quieter things first like pouring them both a glass of orange juice. I found some mini muffins so I got a few of those. They have eggs, so I can make those soon. They also have bacon, so I’ll make that too.

There is pancake mix too, so I guess I’ll do that too. I hope her parents don’t mind me messing around in their kitchen. After all, they barely know me. Then again, they’re letting me stay at their house at the last minute when we didn’t even ask them beforehand…

Such nice people.

Before I started cooking the main stuff I checked on Megan and Chloe again. It’s pretty close to nine, so I think it’s okay to start now.

I had already made the bacon and was in the middle of making Megan’s eggs when her parents came downstairs. “Good morning.” her mom said. “Are you making breakfast for the girls?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m making some for myself too, but…oh, I’m sorry. I could have made some for you guys. I still can if you want. There’s plenty of - “

“Aw, that is very sweet of you.” she replied. “But no thank you. That’s very nice of you to offer though.”

I end up finishing at nine forty. Her mom gives me some breakfast trays. I walked up to their room and knocked lightly on the door. “Good morning, ladies.” A few seconds later Megan said, “Don’t come in yet!”

About a minute later, they both appeared at the door. “Aw, you made us breakfast!” Chloe exclaimed. “I told you he would.” Megan said with a smile. “How could you doubt me? I’m quite insulted.”

“Well I am very sorry. You fixed some for yourself too, right?”

“Yeah, it’s in the kitchen. So, you guys want to eat in the basement?”

“Yes!” Chloe replied. “Now, let me take my tray.” I backed away as she reached for it. “I’ve got it.”

“Are you sure? They look really heavy.”

“I swear he can carry like, a million things at one time.” Megan said as she passed me. “Come on, guys. Let’s go!”

Once we are downstairs, I let them sit first before handing them their treys. “Thank you, love.” Megan told me as I handed her hers. “No problem.” I told her before going back upstairs to get my food.

When I get back to the girls, they are in the middle of talking about what we’re doing today. “We should do that after we return the rental car.” Megan said as I sat down next to her.

“What?” I asked. “Chloe is going to follow us to the rental place so we have a ride to come back here. Then hopefully we can Skype with Niall!”

I wish I could talk to all of the guys. Preferably in person, but this will have to be good enough for now. “Sounds good to me.”

So that’s what we do. It doesn’t take us long to return the rental car, and before I know it, we’re Skyping with Niall. “I can’t believe you guys actually did it!” he exclaimed.

“Shhh…” Megan put her finger up to her mouth. “No talking about that, remember?”

“It’s actually fine.” Chloe tells her. “My parents told me they would be going somewhere right now. They aren’t even here. Even if they were, they would never hear us. I was in my room when that happened.”

“So…what happens next? I mean, do you guys know when you’re going to meet him?” Niall asked. I glance at Megan and she is already looking at me. “Umm…” I start. “at some point we’ll be contacting her dad. I’m not sure when. Hopefully soon.”

She is looking down now. I wish I knew what she was thinking or how she feels. I don’t know if I should ask her right now. Not that I have to, Chloe beats me to it. “Actually, I’ve wondered that too. Do you know how you’re going to do it? Like, will you call him first or just go to his house?”

She is quiet. Way too quiet. That means she’s upset. “Megan…” I said gently. “I don’t want to make you feel - “

“I’ll be back.” she stormed out of the room. At least that’s how it felt. I thought she was sad or nervous, but she seemed really mad.

“I’m stupid.” Niall said. “That was rude. I don’t know why I - I just asked because I thought she knew already. I didn’t mean to make her upset like that.”

“It’s okay, darling. I’m sure she knows you didn’t mean to be.” I glanced at Niall and smirked. I’m sorry, it’s just really funny seeing a girl call him “darling.” He rolled his eyes in reply and Chloe managed to notice.

“Why did you do that? she asked. She wasn’t mad, she just kind of smiled as she looked back and forth between us. “Nothing.” I answered for him. “I need to go talk to her.” I said as I got up.

“I’ll be back soon. Bye Chloe. Bye darling.” Chloe busted out laughing.

I walked around the house but didn’t see her anywhere. I almost panic, but I calm myself down.

She has to be somewhere. Then I realize she probably wanted fresh air. I go to the backyard where there is a medium sized patio with furniture. The yard isn’t very big, so it doesn’t take long for me to see that she’s not there.

“Okay, so…I’m trying to not freak out but…I can’t find Megan.” Chloe doesn’t hold back on the freaking out. “Oh my gosh, what? What do you mean? She has to be here. She couldn’t be anywhere else!”

I swallow the lump in my throat as I asked, “Chloe, where are your car keys?” Her eyes grew wide and with that, I had the answer I didn’t want.

“I always put my keys on the key rack by the front door.” We only looked at each other a second longer before literally running upstairs. I’m in front of her, so I’m the first one to see where all of the keys are. Not that I’m able to tell if Chloe’s keys are missing.

“Oh no.” she says. “No…no, I don’t underst - why would she leave? Where would she go?” And then it hit me. She didn’t have a plan. She didn’t know when she would meet her dad or how she would do it. She had been stressing out about it for the longest time. I think she was tired of it.

“She went to her dad’s.” I tell her even though I obviously don’t know for sure. “She was tired of worrying about it, so she decided to just do it.”

“Well, what should we do? We don’t have a car so we can’t - oh my gosh, I forgot about Niall. I’ll be right back.” she ran off and I just stood there, staring out of the window, hating myself for not having helped her more.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Megan, white chocolate mocha.” I got up from my seat to get my coffee. As soon as I sat back down in my seat in the corner by a window, all I could do was continue to stare into the distance.

“Just go to his house.” I keep telling myself. “What are you waiting for? You’ve waited your whole life! Why wait now?” These thoughts keep coming, and coming, but I can’t get myself to do it.

Maybe I shouldn’t have left them like that. Gah, I suck. They’re probably freaking out and I’m not even accomplishing anything. I know Harry and I never discussed if he would be there when I meet him, but I’ve always secretly hoped he wouldn’t mind if it was just me and my dad. I’m sure he’d understand.

It’s just in the moment I thought I would have enough nerve to go if I just got up and went. I’m tired of planning and over thinking, I thought if I just left, it would happen.

I sip my coffee (burning my mouth in the process) and then look at the paper I had set down on the table. It’s the letter from my dad. I still can’t believe I am looking at my dad’s handwriting. I could be looking at him right now, but no, I have to be afraid.

I stare at the phone number on the paper and contemplate calling. Is that weird? Do I want to hear him before seeing him? Then again, it’s pretty rude to show up at his house without any warning. Yes, I have to call.

What do I say?

I put my face in my hands and sigh. What if his wife answers? Surely he told her about me already. Why else would he give me their number and address? Wait, it could be his cell number.

I can not keep doing this.

I don’t really think about it, but I take out my phone and begin to dial the number. As I hold the phone to my ear I begin to panic. The more it rings, the more I want to hang up. Just as I begin to move the phone away from me to do just that, I hear a voice say, “Hello?”

It was a woman’s voice. That means it’s their home number. Maybe he’s not home right now. I want to hang up, but instead I said, “Umm…hi. Hello. Is this…are you Annabel?”

“That’s me.” she said cheerily. “What’s your name?” I pause. I’m so nervous I can feel my hands shaking. Especially the one holding the phone. “My name is Megan Dawson.” I finally replied. “And your husband is my father.”

“Oh my goodness…Megan? Oh, wow. Hello. I’m so happy you called. We were worried you didn’t get the letter. Not that you didn’t deserve to have time to process…I mean, I don’t know how much you knew, but - oh, I am so glad you called.”

“Me too.” I said less nervously. I’m still more nervous than I need to be, but I’m just relieved she seems nice. And they were worried? Ah, maybe this will go well. “Can I uh - I don’t know if he’s home, but…”

“He’ll be home any time you’re ready to talk to him. Actually, I’ll just give you his - ” I decided to interrupt and give her the news. “I’m not in London.” I blurted out awkwardly. “I’m in Minneapolis. I came here to meet him.”

That must have shocked her because it took her a few seconds too long to reply. “Your mom actually let you?” I was about to answer when she added, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t mean to sound mean. I just meant most parents wouldn’t, you know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” I kind of laughed. “Look…Annabel…I came all the way from London to meet him. This is more important to me than - I can’t lie to you.” I probably should.

“No, my mother does not know. I left her a note telling her I was leaving,” technically not a lie. “I just didn’t say to where.” and there is the whole truth.

“I trust you.” she said almost immediately. “I’ll call him and let him know to meet you somewhere. He knew where he wanted to meet you if it ever happened. I’ll give you the directions. It’s a park in Minneapolis.

She gave me the directions and told me she’d call me back once she knew when he would get there. I told her thanks and hung up. I then proceeded to try and not have a panic attack.

I waited twenty minutes for her call. She told me he would be there in thirty minutes. I thanked her again and she told me she couldn’t wait to meet me too.

Before leaving I texted Harry.

Me: I am so sorry for leaving like that, babe. I feel like a jerk. But at the same time, I had to do it. I called my dad and Annabel answered. She’s arranged for me to meet him in thirty minutes. I’m sorry love, but I have to do this alone. I’ll call you as soon as I can.

Right after I sent it, I sent another one.

Me: And sorry Chloe. You’ve been such a big part of my life for almost all of it. I can’t thank you enough for helping me meet my father. Tell Niall to not feel bad about what he said. I should actually thank him.

I get a text back really soon.

Harry: I love you so much, Megan. I am so happy that you are going to meet him. Don’t feel bad at all. Chloe and I understand. Be careful and enjoy this moment. You deserve to.

Me: I love you.

I drink some of my coffee before going to the restroom. It had only been ten minutes, but I had to leave. I couldn’t stand waiting any longer.

I got in my, I mean, Chloe’s car and took a deep breath. Actually, a few. I had to calm down before driving. Once I did, I felt better than I had in weeks.

This is it. My life is about to change forever.

Notes