Not long afterwards, Drew arrived home. There was a look of concern about his face, which gradually evaporated when Megan bid him hello. As the family sat down to eat, tension joined the scent of oregano in the air. Nancy and Drew got on Carrie’s case about making good grades on her finals and pestered Stephen about neglecting to get a friend an appropriate birthday gift. That they left Megan more or less alone bothered her. She knew something was coming and she just wished they’d get it over with already.
The other shoe fell not long after dinner, when Drew and Nancy told Megan they would like to have a talk with her. Megan was inclined to tell them to wait, as she had to use the bathroom and did not want to crap in her diaper in their presence, if she had to at all. Yet the urgency in their voices made her put her bodily needs on hold. She did not recognize it at first, but she supposed she was in some sort of trouble. It was not her usual position: Jess had been the problem child when she lived here and Carrie and Stephen had done a good job of inheriting her mantle. Megan was always the good kid…or so she thought.
Drew began by declaring how upset he was to hear that she had been attacked. He explained that family was the most important thing in the world to him and Megan believed him. He repeated his suggestion that they go to the police and Megan again stalled him on it. After tap-dancing around it for several minutes, they got to the real issue.
“We had a deal,” Drew said. “And you broke it.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “How many times can I say I’m sorry?”
“This was important to you,” said Nancy. “Now it’s important to us too.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been acting strange lately,” Drew remarked. “You seem very moody, very upset.”
Megan shrugged.