If Only She'd Loved Him

Friday 8:15 pm

"Tell us about Erik," Paul repeated to Jean, eyes probing her face. She felt as if she was being cross-examined, and for a second she looked away, then she lifted her chin, returning his gaze. No way she'd let him intimidate her.

"He was this guy Megan went out with during the summer. I don't know much about him," she explained. "I wasn't around, but I remember he was pre-med and needed help passing history for his Soc. requirement. Oh yeah, and he was big into photography. He was always taking pictures of her. They studied together a lot. Later on, he used to show up here at all hours of the night. I never liked him."

"Big surprise," Paul muttered under his breath.

Matt ignored him. "Why not?" he asked.

"He was, well, umm, kind of odd," she explained. "He didn't get along real well with other people, and he seemed overprotective of Megan."

"Overprotective how?" Matt asked.

"Oh I don't know, in little ways." Jean shook her head. "Like when we went to the mall one time, Erik had to know where Megan was at all times. She even tried to ditch him in the parking lot because she got so sick of it. Man, was he mad, started blowing up, hit his hand against the steering wheel and almost sprained it. You know Megan, she couldn't stand to see him so upset so she took him back. That was a real fun trip."

"When did they break up?" Paul asked.

His breath was hot on her neck as he leaned closer to Jean, and she shivered for a second. She started speaking a mile a minute, wanting Paul away from her, before she did something stupid, like lean closer.

"They broke up a few weeks into the beginning of term. I don't know why. I only know that Megan was shook when she got back. That was the night she talked about in one of those journal entries. He literally wouldn't let her out of his car. Miserable control freak. She was scared, but it ended up okay." Jean shrugged. "The next day I helped her take all the stuff he'd given her down to the thrift store.  She seemed fine at first, played a great Game that week, got two kills. But then she got real quiet, and just disappeared for a few days. She didn't come back till a week later. Boy, did her professors love her for that one. I think that's when her grades really started to slip," she added as an afterthought. "Anyway, when she got back, she found out Erik had transferred. We were both a lot happier. And then she met," Jean paused, making a slight face, "you, Paul, and that's all I know."

Paul gripped the arm of Jean's sofa till he was tight in her face. "C'mon, Jeanie, there has to be more to it than just a bad breakup."

"What is your problem?" Jean pushed down on the cushions, getting away from both his questions and the fresh smell of his skin. She stood up. "I know it sounds weird, but he was just a guy, and he's long gone out of Megan's life. I think we should concentrate on the present, where Megan is now, and not on some dumb loser who's long gone."

Taking the seat that Jean had just left, Paul frowned. He leaned further back and ran his fingers through his hair, ruining the part he'd combed in before. "I still don't like it," he complained. "Something doesn't add up here. She breaks up with this guy, and all of a sudden she feels likes she's being watched?"

"The Game will do that to you," Jean answered. "It makes you look around any corner twice."

"Gotta agree with Haverson, here," Matt inserted. "There's a hook under there somewhere. It's too big a coincidence to just open up and swallow."

Paul rubbed his hands together. "Let's look at the facts, one at a time. Megan has been missing since late Wednesday night. Scenario one: You got back from that idiotic game you two play, and someone was waiting for her, someone who you claim sounded like me. Get your ears checked lately, Jeanie?"

"I know what I heard," she snapped.

"Yeah, right whatever," Paul replied. "Then according to you, Megan just up and left with this guy. Based on this assumption, if Megan really was kidnapped that night, whoever took her didn't play the Game that night, no time to get back here before you two."

Jean did something she swore she'd never do; she started paying attention to Paul.

He continued, "however, Megan's not exactly Miss Reliable. You just said that after she broke up with this Erik guy, she disappeared for a while. And we both know she liked to just take off for the afternoon and catch a movie when she was feeling stressed out. So there's precedent for her up and leaving without telling you, not that I blame her," Paul added under his breath, too soft for Jean or Matt to catch. He paused dramatically. "Scenario two: Megan knew full well who was in the apartment and went with him voluntarily."

"He hit me," Jean pointed out, "Megan wouldn't plan that."

Paul shrugged. "Maybe she didn't. Maybe he just did what came naturally," he replied. Jean narrowed her eyes at him, her shoulders grew tense and hard.

Paul caught that look. He decided to appease Jean. Not because he cared what Jean thought, but because he was enjoying arguing with himself, and it wouldn't be half as much fun without witnesses. "For the sake of discussion," he replied, "let's go with scenario one and say that Megan didn't leave voluntarily. Then, the question becomes whom" Paul emphasized the word as he shot a snide look at Jean, "whom would do this?" Jean didn't correct him, though it tempted her to ask him if English was his third or fourth language.

Matt had listened quietly all the while, his grey eyes thoughtful, but now he turned to Jean.

"Wait a minute, you said Megan thought this guy was Haverson. It seems to me that whoever he was, he knew a lot about your roommate."

Jean nodded, "Yeah but."

"That takes time," Matt interrupted her.

Paul ignored him. "Are you sure you didn't recognize his voice? And don't give me that crap about it being me that night," he told Jean.

Jean hesitated. Now that she'd listened to Paul for a while, she wasn't as sure. Somehow everything Paul said always came out sounding cocky. He could be talking about the weather, and you'd think he'd predicted it in advance. Whoever had been here that night had sounded a lot like him, but had there been more of an edge, more of a threat to his voice? She just couldn't remember.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. Pausing, she tried to visualize the night before last. "I thought it was yours, but maybe kind of strained, deeper. Honestly, I assumed you and Megan were playing some twisted game, and I just wanted to go to bed."

Paul grinned.  Yeah that sounded like Megan, too bad they hadn't had sex yet, but they would.  His jeans got a little less comfortable.  No wonder he always chose boxers over briefs.  The boys like to breathe.

Matt jumped on Jean's words. "Strained? Deeper? Like this?" He lowered his voice.

"Uh, no, it was more muffled."

"Like he was trying to disguise it," Matt probed. "That means he was afraid you'd recognize him, and that means, Jean-Genie, you've met him!"