Supercharged Love(16)

“Sure.” I shrug, but my heartbeat picks up a fraction when I realize that a certain Ms. Storm might be there.

“You did well.” He tilts his head to look at me shrewdly.

“Thanks.” Then we lapse into silence, as we stand not looking at anything in particular. I get the feeling Causey is working up to ask me something so I wait.

“Has Sugar asked about me?” he asks, and eventually, he glances over and meets my eye.

“Yeah, she has,” I admit. I’m not betraying my sister, I tell myself, I’m helping her.

“If I asked her out, what would she say?” He shifts his weight and this is just as awkward for him as it is for me. I don’t want to get involved in my sister's love life. Well, not too involved. I shrug.

“I dunno, Causey. She doesn’t give much away.” I pause and see his face fall. “For what it’s worth, I think you should try.” He holds my gaze a minute longer. An unspoken message passes between us, and I guess I’m giving him my blessing or my permission to go ahead, for what it’s worth.

The screen door opens and Meghan steps out, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the two of us as if she can tell we’ve been talking about her.

“Dinner’s ready,” she shouts and Causey jerks around to look at her before starting to move in the direction of the house. Before he can get too far, I reach out and stop him.

“Don’t take no for an answer,” I urge him and watch as Meghan gives us both a suspicious look before she turns to go back into the house. I may have only just met Causey, but he’s different from the other losers she’s dated. He could be good for her. He thinks about what I’ve said and nods his understanding.

Causey’s dad joins us at the table and dinner is a normal affair, with a lot of chatter about people I don’t know but I am content to listen. Although Meghan and I eat together, it is only ever the two of us – perhaps the radio or TV on for background noise – but it seems quite lonely compared to this. Peggy asks many questions about where we’ve visited and how we liked it, but she never pries into anything more personal or asks about our parents. If she realizes that we don’t stay in one place too long, she doesn’t mention it or ask why we moved the last time.

“What about you, Max? What do you normally do for work?”

“I’m a mechanic.”

“Ah. You’ll love this town. Racing daft, there’s not much else to do for fun.” Causey’s dad, who’s been silent for the whole meal, pipes up, and I force a blank smile on my face. I am almost too scared to look in Meghan’s direction, but when I do, her face is a smooth mask that doesn’t give anything away. I know her too well, though, and I see the flash of anger before she looks away. She’s keeping a lid on it because there are other people present. This is the calm before the storm and my heart sinks.

“You should get Causey to take you up to the quarter mile. That’s where they all race,” his dad continues, oblivious to the rage silently building inside Meghan as he shovels food into his mouth. Somehow, I manage to swallow thickly and nod, averting my gaze from Meghan. She is eerily quiet. When I look over, Causey notices too and gives me a worried look with a slight dip of his eyebrows.

Peggy talks about other stuff and I end up answering her questions because Meghan remains quiet. Her silence is starting to freak me out, and I find myself dragging the dinner out as long as I can, not wanting to be alone with her on the ride home. She’s just waiting until it is the two of us, and then she’ll let me have it with both barrels.

Once dinner is finished and the dishes cleared away, we have no more reasons to stall. Meghan gathers her purse and stands.

“Thanks for dinner, Peggy, it was great. We had better get home, though. Early start tomorrow.” She smiles and nods at me, telling me it’s time to go. With reluctance, I drag myself up to standing and thank Causey’s mom. Pulling my keys out my pocket, we walk to the front door. Causey remains standing at the door as I open the car door for Meghan and she climbs in without saying a word. I climb behind the wheel and mentally start to count down from ten. But when I turn the key, nothing happens. I try again, but it’s dead. Meghan opens her mouth, but I cut her off before she can utter a word.

“Car’s dead. It won’t start,” I inform her bluntly, keeping the relief out my voice. Meghan huffs loudly from the passenger seat and crosses her arms over her chest.

Causey bounds off the step and appears at my window. “Problem?”

“Yeah, it won’t start.” I pull my key out because there’s no point in trying it again.