CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
MEL
Mel opened her eyes, slowly, the entire room a blur. It was dark. The bed was empty beside her. Slowly
she rolled over, wincing in pain as her thighs rubbed together. She looked over at the clock. It read three-thirty. She glanced at the drapes over the window to see the sliver of light through a crack in the middle.
It was three-thirty in the afternoon. Not in the morning. She groaned and lay back down.
She supposed she ought to feel rested, seeing as she slept all night and all day long, but she didn't. In fact,
she felt extremely exhausted. She lay there, staring up at the ceiling, her brain involuntarily rehashing last night's events. She hoped it wasn't real, that it was just a nightmare, but judging by how real her bruises felt and how tender her cheek still was, she was sadly mistaken.
Mel didn't really know what to do at that point. Did she stay in bed? Did she get out of bed? Did she go
downstairs? What should she do? What should she say? She started by sitting up, wrapping the covers tightly around her. She turned on the lamp by her bed and was pleasantly surprised by the three vases of
flowers that surrounded her bedside. The biggest and most beautiful bouquet were the red roses from Taylor. She smiled in sadness. He had done so much for her already. She felt horrible--it didn't seem fair. She needed to do something for him. And as soon as her head was more clear she would brainstorm.
Checking the cards on the other two, she found a mixed bouquet from Gerard. That was very sweet of him. They barely knew each other but no doubt she received them merely because she was Drew's best friend. Mel smiled at the thought. This one might actually be a keeper for Drew.
The last bouquet was a bouquet of yellow roses from...Jason? Wow, Drew sure had a big mouth. No doubt she'd wasted no time calling him. God, he must have been so pissed. Mel hadn't wanted him to know, especially since Taylor had the entire thing handled, but now she figured she had no choice but to call him. Not now, of course, but when she was ready. Right now she still had to work on getting out of the bed.
Mel missed having the coffee pot ready for her at the second floor bar right outside of her bedroom when she woke up in the mornings. She would have to clue Tay in on one of her many routine habits. Speaking of, where was he? She was slightly surprised to find herself in bed alone.
She trudged slowly down the stairs, disgusted with herself for sleeping so late as the afternoon daylight flooded her house from the large windows she so dearly loved. She stopped at the bottom and looked around. It was different. It no longer looked like her living room anymore. She felt like she'd just stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
And where in the hell had that horrifically tacky arm chair come from??
Then Taylor's last words in the Jeep last night dawned on her and, honestly, she hadn't actually taken him too
seriously. But perhaps she should have. Because here it was--boxes of stuff, some of it unpacked, some of it not. It was move-in day.
This wasn't how Mel had envisioned move-in day. Move-in day was supposed to be more like a celebration, celebrating their finally coming together as one. It was supposed to be a happy, romantic day. But instead, it stemmed from a terrifying incident resulting in emotional anxiety and paranoia.
Why couldn't they just be normal?
Realizing how dry her throat was, Mel suddenly found herself dying of thirst. She stood in the kitchen, guzzling copious amounts of water, when she heard the shuffling of several pairs of feet coming from the foyer, followed by a loud "Oof!" and an even louder, "SHH!!"
Mel carried her glass of water to the doorway of the kitchen and leaned against it, watching the three men, who were completely oblivious to her presence, lug a rather large tabletop into the living room. "Dude, with the size of this house I'm sure she couldn't hear a damn explosion down here," Zac said.
"I don't care, I'm not taking any chances," Tay hissed. "Just let her sleep."
"This is the most awkward, and definitely the most quiet, move I have ever participated in," Isaac interjected.
"Are we seriously standing here holding this table up while we chit chat??" Zac groaned, adjusting his side of the table in his hands.
Tay looked around, looking for a place to put it. "Um...we'll just put it over here for now..." And then,
behind him, his eyes landed on Mel. "Mel!" He was obviously taken by surprise and, in the process, managed to loosen his grip on his corner of the table.
Zac cried out in pain as he dropped his side of the table on his foot. "GODDAMMIT, TAY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??"
Gently laying down his corner, Ike rushed over to lift the side of the table off of Zac's foot. "Are you okay?" Mel asked Zac, temporarily ignoring Tay.
"How long have you been awake?" Tay asked Mel.
"Why aren't you helping your brother?"
"Oh!" Taylor suddenly snapped back to reality and turned his attention back to Zac.
After a couple of minutes it was determined that all was well with Zac's foot and the guys decided to take a break. Tay followed Mel into the kitchen as she pulled three more glasses out of the cabinet. "I, uh, was hoping to have this all finished before you woke up," he said.
"Surprise," Mel said dryly.
"Are you mad?"
"No."
"You're mad."
"I am NOT mad! I promise."
"Are you sure?"
"I would know if I were mad."
"How's your cheek?"
"Still hurts."
"Have you put any ice on it?"
"I just got up."
"Oh. Okay."
"How are YOU?" Mel asked him.
It was then that she really got a look at him and how haggard he looked. He rested his elbows on the counter and rubbed his face. "I'm okay."
"You're exhausted."
"I'm fine."
"Did you even sleep last night?"
Tay looked at her and she had her answer. "Tay, why are you trying to get all this done today? You need to rest. None of it's going anywhere."
"We're almost finished," he said. "Seriously. Just a few more things and it'll be done. I don't have a
whole lot. Like I said, I really only wanted to keep a few things, I don't really care what happened to the rest."
"What can I do?"
Tay leaned over and kissed her good cheek. "Not a thing."
She smiled as Tay walked back into the living room and she fixed three drinks and carried them behind him. It wasn't like it was hot outside or they were doing anything too strenuous. She wanted to be nice. She was beginning to feel a little awkward for all the attention her situation was garnering since last night and playing hostess was the least she could do.
_________________________________________________________
DREW
"You're late," Gerard said to Drew as she walked through his door. Drew always felt weird walking into Gerard's place. She always expected a multi-millionaire director in Malibu to live in a huge beachside mansion with a full staff. She never expected the two bedroom condo with the ocean view he called home.
"I took a later flight," she answered. "I wanted to spend some time with Mel before I had to leave but she ended up sleeping all day. Tay nearly had a conniption when I suggested waking her up to say bye."
Gerard sighed and kissed Drew's forehead. "That poor dear," he said. "I sent her flowers."
Drew pulled away from him and smiled. "You did? That's so sweet of you!"
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. So I take it you didn't get to see her."
Drew sighed and shook her head. "It was probably better that she got all the rest she could get anyway."
"Did you tell Jason?"
She shook her head more rapidly. "I'm not touching that one. When Mel wants to tell him, she'll tell him.
I'm actually not sure she will tell him. Tay really stepped up last night in a major way. I'm pretty proud of him."
Gerard smiled, amused. "You call bloodying another man's nose 'stepping up?' "
Drew furrowed her brow at him. "I don't mean just THAT. I mean everything. The way he handled the
police, the way he took care of her...I was impressed."
"So everything is okay then?"
"Okay as it can be, I guess."
"How was your reunion."
"Embarrassing. And the basis for last night's entire ordeal."
"I'm sorry."
"I missed you being there."
Gerard smiled. "I missed you being here."
Drew felt herself blushing. "Really? You missed me?"
"All the time."
And then the moment was over the second Gerard's cell phone rang and he rushed over to his desk. Normally she would be annoyed by this, but not today. The fact that Gerard admitted to missing her when she wasn't around nearly sent her on cloud nine. He was romantic and he was charming, but discussing feelings wasn't something he was terribly good at. So on the rare occasion that he did, Drew embraced it.
Before she knew it, Gerard raced over to her excitedly. "We got it!"
"Uh, got what?"
"The new script! It's being financed! We're going to make this film!"
Drew smiled. "Gerard, that's great! Uh, who's 'we?' "
He paused, puzzled. "You and I."
"Me...?"
"Well, yes. I accepted the script because I can see you in the lead. We work so well together I thought we'd
give it another go."
Drew had a hard time containing her excitement. She'd read the script and it was fabulous. "But--this
last one hasn't even be released. How can you judge our work together based on that?"
"Drew, love. We worked together for four months and everything went swimmingly. And look at us now, the
chemistry is still there. Imagine what it'll be like when it's all translated on film!"
Well, she had to admit, she did like the way he said that they had chemistry. He wasn't lying. They'd had
chemistry since the first time they'd met. In spite of herself, she felt herself growing excited at this prospect.
Before she had time to react, Gerard was already throwing on a blazer. "Come. We're going to celebrate!"
As Drew followed him out the door, she took one more look at the condo before the door closed. She realized that seeing Gerard so excited at getting the financing for this new film had absolutely nothing to do with the money. It couldn't possibly, considering the way he chose to live. It was all about passion. He loved his
work and it showed through the success he had gained over the years. And now he believed in Drew enough to let her help him further his success. It was an intimidating thought, but she knew she wouldn't have had it any other way.
_____________________________________________________
MEL
Taylor dreamed. Well, of course he dreamed, everybody dreamed. But Taylor dreamed in animation. John
used to dream like this. Usually all it took was for Mel to squeeze his shoulder or something and he would calm down. But not Tay. Tay was something different entirely. Tay wasn't a violent dreamer. No sweating
or convulsions or anything of that nature. He just seemed restless. And he mumbled in his sleep. There was no amount of touching him that would calm him or wake him because he practically stayed on top of Mel all night long.
Mel was miserable. And exhausted.
And yet every single morning, Tay woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with no recollection of his seemingly restless sleep from the night before. This baffled Mel.
It had been a week since the reunion. She and Tay had met with investigators twice since then. Things seemed to be moving relatively quickly. Eric was on an indefinite suspension and, miraculously, nothing had shown up in the media. However, Mel was experiencing horrible cabin fever.
One morning, while Tay slept, Mel managed to creep out of bed. She threw on a robe and headed downstairs, swiftly scrolling for Zac's number in her phone. Her other two best friends were half a country away. She prayed Zac wasn't busy.
"Do you have plans today?" Mel asked Zac as soon as he picked up.
"Kate and Nikki took the kids shopping for clothes. I try not to participate in such adventures."
"Good. You gotta get me out of here!"
Zac laughed. "Trouble in paradise?"
"No...kinda the opposite, actually. I can't get away from Tay! If he's not all over me when he's awake, he's all over me when he's asleep! I understand his need to be...overprotective or whatever, but he's suffocating me!"
"Wow. Living together for a whole week and already trying to get away. This'll be an interesting living
arrangement."
Mel sighed. "No, I mean--I haven't set foot beyond my patio since last Saturday except to go to the police station and back. If I don't get out of here soon someone's gonna have to build me a padded cell in one of the spare bedrooms."
"Where's Tay?"
"Still asleep..."
"Mel..."
"I know! I'll leave a note or whatever, I dunno. I know it sounds horrible but if I wake him up and tell him I'm going somewhere without him, he'll freak out."
"Is it that bad?"
"Well...I mean it's not THAT bad...I dunno. I just need a few hours for me. Just a few. I'm begging you!"
"If I didn't think of you as a sister I wouldn't be putting my life on the line here. But since I love you like
family, I'll do this for you."
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Where are we going?"
"I have no idea."
"That's a start..."
"We can go for coffee, drive around aimlessly, I don't care..."
"Well...The Music Store did get a new shipment in and I wanted to browse a few things for the studio. And I
could definitely eat..."
"I have no problem with that. When can you be here?"
"When can you be ready?"
"Yesterday."
"I'm on my way."
How Mel managed to shower and dress without waking Tay, she had no idea. She stood by the bed and watched him sleep for a moment. She almost felt horrible, but only almost. Quickly she scrawled out a note and tucked it underneath his cell phone laying on his bedside table. "Case of cabin fever. Lunch and shopping with Zac. Don't freak out, didn't want to wake you. I love you." She hoped the part about not wanting to wake him would make her life a little easier.
Minutes after leaving the note, Zac waited for her in the driveway. She checked the mirror one last time on her way through the foyer. The bruise on her cheek was now a yellowish/green hue. It still looked gross but it definitely beat the purple/blue hue that was there several days before. She put her large sunglasses on her face and a scarf around her neck and bounded out the door.
"I feel like I'm committing a crime," Zac said as Mel got in his car. "Tay is going to murder me."
"No he won't..."
"Yes he will. I know what to expect. He's pulling the same shit he pulled the first time you guys were
together."
"It's really not that bad..."
"You keep saying that."
"It's the truth!"
Zac gave her a knowing glare as he pulled out of her driveway.
"Look, he's still coming down from what happened last weekend," Mel continued. "You know how he is. He'll get over it and everything will be normal again."
Zac scoffed at the concept of normal. "Are YOU over it?"
Mel shrugged a small shrug. "I'm better about it now. I mean, Eric's still a sick bastard, but you gotta be
able to move on from things. It happened, I can't change it. Besides, this isn't the first time I've ever gotten my ass kicked."
Zac glanced over at her and smirked. "Oh really?"
"Hardened criminals don't give a shit if a cop is female or not. Damn near had my nose broken once. It wasn't fun."
"Does Tay know how you feel about it now?"
"He does. But you know how he is."
"Yeah..."
As if on cue, Mel's text alert went off. "Guess who?" she said to Zac.
Zac laughed. "It was only a matter of time."
"Where are you?" Tay texted.
"In the car."
"With Zac?"
"No. I'm giving driving lessons to a chimp."
"Does the chimp look like Zac?"
"Yes."
"Exercise your brake pedal frequently. Chimps are unpredictable."
Mel couldn't help herself but to laugh out loud. Apparently her laugh was infectious because Zac smiled at her. "So he's cool, then?"
She smiled back at Zac. "Everything's fine. Just don't wreck the car or else your next trip will be to a science
lab."
Zac looked puzzled. "What??"
Mel laughed harder. It felt good to laugh for no other reason than for a stupid inside joke. "Nothing," she
said. The short text exchange with Tay told Mel everything she needed to know. It was apparent that he was okay with her going out with Zac, possibly needing time for himself as well, and was probably thankful that she made the first move on it. Perhaps the initial shock had finally worn off of him and he was ready to rejoin society as a functioning member again.
Mel looked over at Zac as he parked the car in the parking lot of the restaurant. She had never felt more grateful for him.
_________________________________________________________
MEL
Mel opened her eyes, slowly, the entire room a blur. It was dark. The bed was empty beside her. Slowly
she rolled over, wincing in pain as her thighs rubbed together. She looked over at the clock. It read three-thirty. She glanced at the drapes over the window to see the sliver of light through a crack in the middle.
It was three-thirty in the afternoon. Not in the morning. She groaned and lay back down.
She supposed she ought to feel rested, seeing as she slept all night and all day long, but she didn't. In fact,
she felt extremely exhausted. She lay there, staring up at the ceiling, her brain involuntarily rehashing last night's events. She hoped it wasn't real, that it was just a nightmare, but judging by how real her bruises felt and how tender her cheek still was, she was sadly mistaken.
Mel didn't really know what to do at that point. Did she stay in bed? Did she get out of bed? Did she go
downstairs? What should she do? What should she say? She started by sitting up, wrapping the covers tightly around her. She turned on the lamp by her bed and was pleasantly surprised by the three vases of
flowers that surrounded her bedside. The biggest and most beautiful bouquet were the red roses from Taylor. She smiled in sadness. He had done so much for her already. She felt horrible--it didn't seem fair. She needed to do something for him. And as soon as her head was more clear she would brainstorm.
Checking the cards on the other two, she found a mixed bouquet from Gerard. That was very sweet of him. They barely knew each other but no doubt she received them merely because she was Drew's best friend. Mel smiled at the thought. This one might actually be a keeper for Drew.
The last bouquet was a bouquet of yellow roses from...Jason? Wow, Drew sure had a big mouth. No doubt she'd wasted no time calling him. God, he must have been so pissed. Mel hadn't wanted him to know, especially since Taylor had the entire thing handled, but now she figured she had no choice but to call him. Not now, of course, but when she was ready. Right now she still had to work on getting out of the bed.
Mel missed having the coffee pot ready for her at the second floor bar right outside of her bedroom when she woke up in the mornings. She would have to clue Tay in on one of her many routine habits. Speaking of, where was he? She was slightly surprised to find herself in bed alone.
She trudged slowly down the stairs, disgusted with herself for sleeping so late as the afternoon daylight flooded her house from the large windows she so dearly loved. She stopped at the bottom and looked around. It was different. It no longer looked like her living room anymore. She felt like she'd just stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
And where in the hell had that horrifically tacky arm chair come from??
Then Taylor's last words in the Jeep last night dawned on her and, honestly, she hadn't actually taken him too
seriously. But perhaps she should have. Because here it was--boxes of stuff, some of it unpacked, some of it not. It was move-in day.
This wasn't how Mel had envisioned move-in day. Move-in day was supposed to be more like a celebration, celebrating their finally coming together as one. It was supposed to be a happy, romantic day. But instead, it stemmed from a terrifying incident resulting in emotional anxiety and paranoia.
Why couldn't they just be normal?
Realizing how dry her throat was, Mel suddenly found herself dying of thirst. She stood in the kitchen, guzzling copious amounts of water, when she heard the shuffling of several pairs of feet coming from the foyer, followed by a loud "Oof!" and an even louder, "SHH!!"
Mel carried her glass of water to the doorway of the kitchen and leaned against it, watching the three men, who were completely oblivious to her presence, lug a rather large tabletop into the living room. "Dude, with the size of this house I'm sure she couldn't hear a damn explosion down here," Zac said.
"I don't care, I'm not taking any chances," Tay hissed. "Just let her sleep."
"This is the most awkward, and definitely the most quiet, move I have ever participated in," Isaac interjected.
"Are we seriously standing here holding this table up while we chit chat??" Zac groaned, adjusting his side of the table in his hands.
Tay looked around, looking for a place to put it. "Um...we'll just put it over here for now..." And then,
behind him, his eyes landed on Mel. "Mel!" He was obviously taken by surprise and, in the process, managed to loosen his grip on his corner of the table.
Zac cried out in pain as he dropped his side of the table on his foot. "GODDAMMIT, TAY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??"
Gently laying down his corner, Ike rushed over to lift the side of the table off of Zac's foot. "Are you okay?" Mel asked Zac, temporarily ignoring Tay.
"How long have you been awake?" Tay asked Mel.
"Why aren't you helping your brother?"
"Oh!" Taylor suddenly snapped back to reality and turned his attention back to Zac.
After a couple of minutes it was determined that all was well with Zac's foot and the guys decided to take a break. Tay followed Mel into the kitchen as she pulled three more glasses out of the cabinet. "I, uh, was hoping to have this all finished before you woke up," he said.
"Surprise," Mel said dryly.
"Are you mad?"
"No."
"You're mad."
"I am NOT mad! I promise."
"Are you sure?"
"I would know if I were mad."
"How's your cheek?"
"Still hurts."
"Have you put any ice on it?"
"I just got up."
"Oh. Okay."
"How are YOU?" Mel asked him.
It was then that she really got a look at him and how haggard he looked. He rested his elbows on the counter and rubbed his face. "I'm okay."
"You're exhausted."
"I'm fine."
"Did you even sleep last night?"
Tay looked at her and she had her answer. "Tay, why are you trying to get all this done today? You need to rest. None of it's going anywhere."
"We're almost finished," he said. "Seriously. Just a few more things and it'll be done. I don't have a
whole lot. Like I said, I really only wanted to keep a few things, I don't really care what happened to the rest."
"What can I do?"
Tay leaned over and kissed her good cheek. "Not a thing."
She smiled as Tay walked back into the living room and she fixed three drinks and carried them behind him. It wasn't like it was hot outside or they were doing anything too strenuous. She wanted to be nice. She was beginning to feel a little awkward for all the attention her situation was garnering since last night and playing hostess was the least she could do.
_________________________________________________________
DREW
"You're late," Gerard said to Drew as she walked through his door. Drew always felt weird walking into Gerard's place. She always expected a multi-millionaire director in Malibu to live in a huge beachside mansion with a full staff. She never expected the two bedroom condo with the ocean view he called home.
"I took a later flight," she answered. "I wanted to spend some time with Mel before I had to leave but she ended up sleeping all day. Tay nearly had a conniption when I suggested waking her up to say bye."
Gerard sighed and kissed Drew's forehead. "That poor dear," he said. "I sent her flowers."
Drew pulled away from him and smiled. "You did? That's so sweet of you!"
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. So I take it you didn't get to see her."
Drew sighed and shook her head. "It was probably better that she got all the rest she could get anyway."
"Did you tell Jason?"
She shook her head more rapidly. "I'm not touching that one. When Mel wants to tell him, she'll tell him.
I'm actually not sure she will tell him. Tay really stepped up last night in a major way. I'm pretty proud of him."
Gerard smiled, amused. "You call bloodying another man's nose 'stepping up?' "
Drew furrowed her brow at him. "I don't mean just THAT. I mean everything. The way he handled the
police, the way he took care of her...I was impressed."
"So everything is okay then?"
"Okay as it can be, I guess."
"How was your reunion."
"Embarrassing. And the basis for last night's entire ordeal."
"I'm sorry."
"I missed you being there."
Gerard smiled. "I missed you being here."
Drew felt herself blushing. "Really? You missed me?"
"All the time."
And then the moment was over the second Gerard's cell phone rang and he rushed over to his desk. Normally she would be annoyed by this, but not today. The fact that Gerard admitted to missing her when she wasn't around nearly sent her on cloud nine. He was romantic and he was charming, but discussing feelings wasn't something he was terribly good at. So on the rare occasion that he did, Drew embraced it.
Before she knew it, Gerard raced over to her excitedly. "We got it!"
"Uh, got what?"
"The new script! It's being financed! We're going to make this film!"
Drew smiled. "Gerard, that's great! Uh, who's 'we?' "
He paused, puzzled. "You and I."
"Me...?"
"Well, yes. I accepted the script because I can see you in the lead. We work so well together I thought we'd
give it another go."
Drew had a hard time containing her excitement. She'd read the script and it was fabulous. "But--this
last one hasn't even be released. How can you judge our work together based on that?"
"Drew, love. We worked together for four months and everything went swimmingly. And look at us now, the
chemistry is still there. Imagine what it'll be like when it's all translated on film!"
Well, she had to admit, she did like the way he said that they had chemistry. He wasn't lying. They'd had
chemistry since the first time they'd met. In spite of herself, she felt herself growing excited at this prospect.
Before she had time to react, Gerard was already throwing on a blazer. "Come. We're going to celebrate!"
As Drew followed him out the door, she took one more look at the condo before the door closed. She realized that seeing Gerard so excited at getting the financing for this new film had absolutely nothing to do with the money. It couldn't possibly, considering the way he chose to live. It was all about passion. He loved his
work and it showed through the success he had gained over the years. And now he believed in Drew enough to let her help him further his success. It was an intimidating thought, but she knew she wouldn't have had it any other way.
_____________________________________________________
MEL
Taylor dreamed. Well, of course he dreamed, everybody dreamed. But Taylor dreamed in animation. John
used to dream like this. Usually all it took was for Mel to squeeze his shoulder or something and he would calm down. But not Tay. Tay was something different entirely. Tay wasn't a violent dreamer. No sweating
or convulsions or anything of that nature. He just seemed restless. And he mumbled in his sleep. There was no amount of touching him that would calm him or wake him because he practically stayed on top of Mel all night long.
Mel was miserable. And exhausted.
And yet every single morning, Tay woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with no recollection of his seemingly restless sleep from the night before. This baffled Mel.
It had been a week since the reunion. She and Tay had met with investigators twice since then. Things seemed to be moving relatively quickly. Eric was on an indefinite suspension and, miraculously, nothing had shown up in the media. However, Mel was experiencing horrible cabin fever.
One morning, while Tay slept, Mel managed to creep out of bed. She threw on a robe and headed downstairs, swiftly scrolling for Zac's number in her phone. Her other two best friends were half a country away. She prayed Zac wasn't busy.
"Do you have plans today?" Mel asked Zac as soon as he picked up.
"Kate and Nikki took the kids shopping for clothes. I try not to participate in such adventures."
"Good. You gotta get me out of here!"
Zac laughed. "Trouble in paradise?"
"No...kinda the opposite, actually. I can't get away from Tay! If he's not all over me when he's awake, he's all over me when he's asleep! I understand his need to be...overprotective or whatever, but he's suffocating me!"
"Wow. Living together for a whole week and already trying to get away. This'll be an interesting living
arrangement."
Mel sighed. "No, I mean--I haven't set foot beyond my patio since last Saturday except to go to the police station and back. If I don't get out of here soon someone's gonna have to build me a padded cell in one of the spare bedrooms."
"Where's Tay?"
"Still asleep..."
"Mel..."
"I know! I'll leave a note or whatever, I dunno. I know it sounds horrible but if I wake him up and tell him I'm going somewhere without him, he'll freak out."
"Is it that bad?"
"Well...I mean it's not THAT bad...I dunno. I just need a few hours for me. Just a few. I'm begging you!"
"If I didn't think of you as a sister I wouldn't be putting my life on the line here. But since I love you like
family, I'll do this for you."
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Where are we going?"
"I have no idea."
"That's a start..."
"We can go for coffee, drive around aimlessly, I don't care..."
"Well...The Music Store did get a new shipment in and I wanted to browse a few things for the studio. And I
could definitely eat..."
"I have no problem with that. When can you be here?"
"When can you be ready?"
"Yesterday."
"I'm on my way."
How Mel managed to shower and dress without waking Tay, she had no idea. She stood by the bed and watched him sleep for a moment. She almost felt horrible, but only almost. Quickly she scrawled out a note and tucked it underneath his cell phone laying on his bedside table. "Case of cabin fever. Lunch and shopping with Zac. Don't freak out, didn't want to wake you. I love you." She hoped the part about not wanting to wake him would make her life a little easier.
Minutes after leaving the note, Zac waited for her in the driveway. She checked the mirror one last time on her way through the foyer. The bruise on her cheek was now a yellowish/green hue. It still looked gross but it definitely beat the purple/blue hue that was there several days before. She put her large sunglasses on her face and a scarf around her neck and bounded out the door.
"I feel like I'm committing a crime," Zac said as Mel got in his car. "Tay is going to murder me."
"No he won't..."
"Yes he will. I know what to expect. He's pulling the same shit he pulled the first time you guys were
together."
"It's really not that bad..."
"You keep saying that."
"It's the truth!"
Zac gave her a knowing glare as he pulled out of her driveway.
"Look, he's still coming down from what happened last weekend," Mel continued. "You know how he is. He'll get over it and everything will be normal again."
Zac scoffed at the concept of normal. "Are YOU over it?"
Mel shrugged a small shrug. "I'm better about it now. I mean, Eric's still a sick bastard, but you gotta be
able to move on from things. It happened, I can't change it. Besides, this isn't the first time I've ever gotten my ass kicked."
Zac glanced over at her and smirked. "Oh really?"
"Hardened criminals don't give a shit if a cop is female or not. Damn near had my nose broken once. It wasn't fun."
"Does Tay know how you feel about it now?"
"He does. But you know how he is."
"Yeah..."
As if on cue, Mel's text alert went off. "Guess who?" she said to Zac.
Zac laughed. "It was only a matter of time."
"Where are you?" Tay texted.
"In the car."
"With Zac?"
"No. I'm giving driving lessons to a chimp."
"Does the chimp look like Zac?"
"Yes."
"Exercise your brake pedal frequently. Chimps are unpredictable."
Mel couldn't help herself but to laugh out loud. Apparently her laugh was infectious because Zac smiled at her. "So he's cool, then?"
She smiled back at Zac. "Everything's fine. Just don't wreck the car or else your next trip will be to a science
lab."
Zac looked puzzled. "What??"
Mel laughed harder. It felt good to laugh for no other reason than for a stupid inside joke. "Nothing," she
said. The short text exchange with Tay told Mel everything she needed to know. It was apparent that he was okay with her going out with Zac, possibly needing time for himself as well, and was probably thankful that she made the first move on it. Perhaps the initial shock had finally worn off of him and he was ready to rejoin society as a functioning member again.
Mel looked over at Zac as he parked the car in the parking lot of the restaurant. She had never felt more grateful for him.
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