Collide

by Ashley Stambaugh

  She turned and saw that behind her, on each side of the doorway, were two massive mahogany bookcases filled with a variety of books that ranged from Charles Dickens to Stephen King. Melina looked around the roomy office again, clearly impressed, and then finally took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his matching mahogany desk.

  Lee closed the door behind him and hung his coat on a hook by the door. He walked toward Melina and held out his hand. “Would you like me to take your coat for you?”

  “Sure. Thank you,” Melina replied as she shimmied out of her peacoat.

  Lee took the coat from her and then nodded toward her scarf. “I can hang that up with it.”

  “No, that’s okay,” she said, holding one hand up to her neck to guard the scarf and the other one out in front of her to block Lee.

  He shot her a strange glance.

  Melina relaxed and put her hands in her lap. “I like to keep my scarves on.” She shrugged and gave him an awkward grin.

  Lee shrugged back at her and gave her a look as if to say, As you wish, before turning around to hang her coat next to his. He then made his way back over to her and sat down in the chair next to hers. His eyes immediately went down to the box again.

  “Open it, please,” said Melina.

  Without looking at her, he did as he was told and lifted off the lid. He unfolded the small piece of tissue and revealed the thin, shiny silver rectangle inside. His thumb gently ran over his engraved name on the front, and then he dug it out of the box.

  “It’s a business card holder.”

  Lee nodded but remained quiet.

  “I thought it might help you have a little more respect for them.” Melina braced herself, waiting for an angry or defensive come-back. But instead, she received more of an explanation.

  “Thank you,” Lee replied. He gave her a faint smile and then turned his eyes back down to the gift as he turned it back and forth in his hands. “It was very thoughtful of you to think of me. I am learning to respect the cards, actually. I know that I should take pride in my position, but… it’s just so hard when I didn’t see it coming.”

  Suddenly he stood up from his chair and made his way over to the window. He stared down at the city below, still passing the cardholder from hand to hand.

  Melina expected to hear his thoughts soon, but after waiting a few seconds, she heard none. She decided to ask the obvious, hoping that he would continue to talk. “It’s a family-owned business. How could you not know that your father was probably expecting you to take it over?”

  Lee turned and looked at her. “Couldn’t I ask you the same thing?”

  Melina paused for a moment and then said, “I knew my parents wanted me to take over the store.”

  “You told me that you were studying to be an English teacher but then suddenly switched your major to Business when your parents died. That doesn’t sound like you knew they wanted you to take over the family bookstore.”

  “Let me rephrase. I knew they wanted me to eventually take over the store. I thought I would have at least ten to fifteen years to teach before they decided to retire and hand the reins over to me.”

  “Hmm,” Lee replied as he turned to look out the window again. “Well, I never thought my father would leave the store to me. I always thought he would leave it to my sister, Claire, or even to one of my cousins.”

  Melina’s forehead creased. “Why’s that?”

  Lee shrugged, still staring out the window. “I never showed any interest in the store, never really helped out with it. He should’ve left it to Claire.”

  Melina pondered what he'd said and was about to ask him another question when she suddenly heard his voice in her head.

  Great. Now she’s going to ask me a bunch of questions about why I never helped with the store or why I think my dad should’ve given it to Claire. It’s nobody’s business.

  He rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. I need to get back to work. I’ll just tell her that and ask her to leave.

  Before he could say anything, though, Melina sprung up from her chair. “No, Lee. Please don’t shut me out.”

  He turned from the window, a quizzical look in his eyes.

  Melina swallowed as she stared back at Lee. Oh no. Her kneejerk reaction now had Lee wondering how she knew what he was going to say to her. How was she going to explain that to him? She couldn’t just tell him the truth. Could she? Walter never told her if she could tell Lee the truth or not.

  No. She couldn’t tell him. He would probably think she was crazy and not want to see her again.

  She fumbled around in her head for an answer and then finally sputtered out, “You stopped talking. I just wanted you to continue to open up to me. I think it’s healthy for you. Talking to someone really helped me.”

  He held her gaze for a while and then looked back down at the business card holder. Hmm. She does seem to be genuinely interested.

  “Let me go down to the break room and fetch us some hot cocoa,” he said as he laid his gift down on his desk. He looked back up at Melina. “You do like hot cocoa, don’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Melina watched him exit the room and then turned back around to gaze out the window. She recalled his last thought, and it made her stop and think. I guess I’d never thought about how I came across to him. Of course I’m interested in what he has to say. Did he not think so before I gave him that gift? I mean, yes, I want to get to the root of his problem as quickly as possible so these powers don’t kill me, but I don’t think I’ve acted disinterested, have I? No, I’m interested in his well-being. One could even go as far to say that I’m starting to care for him. Well, just a bit. I don’t even know him that well yet.

  Her eyes traveled over to the painting of Lee and she blushed. She continued to admire the painting, admitting to herself that he was a nice-looking man, when suddenly her entire body was consumed by an intense power surge. It felt like when she had first made contact with Walter, only ten times stronger and a bit more painful.

  She leaned over and grabbed the edge of the desk for support, but it didn’t help much. The feeling was only growing stronger, like it was building up for something. She didn’t have to wait long for the reaction, though, because it was only a second later when her light shield unexpectedly burst out around her.

  Melina closed her eyes, trying to focus on getting her light shield to stop, when what seemed like a hundred different thoughts exploded in her mind. She let go of the desk and grabbed her head with both hands. The sheer amount of chatter in her head was too much to handle. She leaned forward and then fell out of her chair and onto all fours on the hardwood floor.

  What was happening to her? Was she hearing the thoughts of all the people in the building? And why wasn’t her light shield diminishing? It was the longest it had ever stayed out, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make it go down. What would Lee think if he saw her?

  She had to get out of there. The intense feeling from the surge wasn’t letting up any, though, and the voices in her head were only growing louder. She didn’t know if she would be able to focus enough to try and teleport, but she had to give it a shot.

  “My apartment,” she said out loud as she brought up an image of it in her mind. “I want to teleport to my apartment.”

  Normally she had to chant the name of her destination several times before the power would take effect and teleport her, but now it happened much faster. Before she knew it, she was lying on the plush carpeted floor in her living room.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Melina opened her eyes and looked around her living room. It was dark except for the sunlight coming in through the windows. She crawled weakly over to the couch and pulled herself up onto it. It wasn’t just her head that hurt now. It was her entire body. She closed her eyes and told herself that she was only going to rest for a little while.

  Several hours later, Melina awoke. She rubbed her e
yes and then opened them as she sat up on the couch. It was dark outside now, but one of the lamps next to the couch had been turned on. She looked over at the end table where the lamp was sitting and saw a small piece of white paper. Someone had left her a note. She reached over and picked it up. The handwriting was familiar, and Melina knew who it was from even before she started to read…

  Gwen and I got most of the store picked up and put back together, with the help of Gwen’s husband Archie and my two older brothers. Don’t panic, though. Archie knew what was going on from what happened with your parents, and we came up with a pretty convincing story to tell my brothers. We probably still need another day or so to organize and complete some finishing touches before we reopen to the public. Gwen and I are happy to take care of the store for as long as we need to, so don’t start worrying about that. Oh, and sorry we didn’t wake you before we left, but we didn’t know when you’d returned and didn’t want to wake you if you hadn’t been asleep for that long. You looked like you needed the rest. Call me if you need anything. Love, Tessa.

  Melina laid the note down next to her on the couch and sighed. Tessa was always so cheerful and optimistic. And Gwen, who was like her second mother, never stopped believing in her. They were too good to be true. She needed to try to be more like them. And Tessa was right. She didn’t need to worry about the store. It was in good hands.

  “I wonder what time it is.” She looked up at the clock on the wall and groaned when she saw that it was almost ten o’clock in the evening. “A whole day pretty much wasted. I wonder what Lee thought when he came back and I wasn’t there.”

  Just then she remembered her Jeep. Oh no. She would have to see if Tessa could take her to go and bring it back in the morning, because right now she didn’t even want to think about teleporting. Actually, she didn’t want to think about using any of her powers after what had happened in Lee’s office. She probably did need to ask Walter about it, though.

  “Tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll worry about retrieving my Jeep and asking Walter why my powers are acting up tomorrow.”

  Not even bothering to turn off the lamp, Melina trudged into her bathroom. Once her face was washed and her teeth were brushed, she made her way over to her dresser to find some pajamas. The temperature was starting to drop in the evenings now, so she pulled out a pair of gray and black flannel pajamas.

  She pulled her scarf off and gingerly touched the bandage on her neck. It, along with the bandages on each of her upper arms and left wrist, probably needed to be changed, but she would do it in the morning after she had taken a shower. Right now she just wanted to go back to sleep. She finished changing her clothes and then climbed into her bed.

  When Melina woke the next morning, she was surprised to find that her body was no longer sore and her headache was gone. She actually felt pretty good for the first time in days, and it scared her. Ever since she'd developed all four of the powers, she'd had constant and painful headaches. They would eventually fade, but they never fully went away. She always had a dull throbbing in her head. So why had it suddenly stopped?

  She wasn’t anywhere close to getting through to Lee, so that wasn’t it. Maybe it was because of what happened yesterday in Lee’s office. Hmm… she really needed to talk to Walter about that.

  “I need to take a shower first,” she said out loud.

  Half an hour later, she emerged from the bathroom. Her hair and make-up were already done. Now she just needed to pick out some clothes to wear. As she dug through her drawers, trying to find a shirt to wear, she silently cursed herself for not owning a turtleneck. She had never liked turtlenecks because she felt like she was being choked when she wore them, but one sure would come in handy right now.

  She lightly touched the fresh bandage on her neck and sighed. “Guess I’ll have to wear the scarf until it heals.”

  A couple minutes later, she finally decided on a thin, black sweater. She pulled a pair of jeans on, along with a pair of black boots, and then went into the kitchen for some breakfast.

  She had a blueberry bagel and a glass of orange juice, and after she brushed her teeth, she decided to call to Walter. He may not know what was going on with her powers, but she had to ask. Hopefully he wasn’t in the middle of questioning the elders.

  With her eyes raised up toward the ceiling, she called out in a loud voice. “Walter, I need to talk to you.”

  She kept her gaze skyward as she waited for him to arrive. A few seconds later, she saw a bright white light flash from her living room. She walked into the room right as Walter turned around.

  “Melina, what’s going on?”

  “Well…”

  “Is it the demons?”

  “No,” she replied. “It’s my powers.”

  He took a step toward her. “What is it? Are they getting to be too much already?”

  She slowly shook her head. “I’m not really sure what’s going on with them.”

  Walter cocked his head to the side and gave her a curious look.

  She recounted the details of what happened in Lee’s office and explained how when she'd woke up all of her pain was gone. Walter didn’t say a word during her entire story. When she finished, he didn’t talk at first. He just stared off to the side and stroked his chin.

  “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Melina asked.

  Walter shook his head and then looked over at her. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

  She sighed. “I was worried you might say that.”

  “I could ask Adelia, but I still can’t find her. I still can’t find Phinneas either.”

  “Isn't there some way you can contact them?” she asked.

  “No,” Walter replied. “Not for elder angels. One elder is always supposed to be available for their respective angels, but the rest of them can go and do whatever they need to do without anyone knowing where they’re going.”

  Melina’s brow creased.

  “Their view is that any elder should be able to help you, so as long as one of them is available, it shouldn’t matter where the others are.”

  She nodded. “I see.”

  “I wouldn’t ask Adelia about it even if I did know where she was. I suppose I could ask one of the other elders, since they’re apparently more involved with your kind than I thought, but I’m not sure I would ask any of them either. Would we be able to believe what they said?” He sighed. “I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

  Melina swallowed hard. “I understand. Thank you for coming so quickly.” She gave him a faint smile and then lowered her head toward the floor.

  She thought there might be a chance that he wouldn’t have any idea what was going on, but now that she knew for sure that he didn’t, she was even more scared. Walter was unsure about which of the elders he could trust, and she felt the same way, so there was no one to go to now.

  “You’re scared,” Walter said, interrupting her thoughts.

  She raised her eyes to meet his. “Yes, I’m scared.”

  “But why? I would take it as a positive sign that your pain is gone.”

  “I would like to think that way, but I’ve only spoken to Lee a few times now, and I know I’m not anywhere close to helping him with his problem.”

  “You don’t think you’ve made any headway with him? Not even a little?” Walter asked.

  Melina shook her head. “I’m not even sure what his actual problem is. There’s a lot more that’s bothering him than he’s letting on. But I guess I have gotten him to open up a little bit more each time.”

  “Maybe that’s it,” said Walter. “The closer you get to your goal, the more control you’ll gain over your powers. And the more control you have, the less pain you’ll have.”

  Melina’s brow furrowed. “That makes sense, but my pain didn’t just lessen a little. It’s completely gone.”

  She and Walter stared at each other. Finally, Walter broke the silence.

  “The only thing I know to tell you is to keep trying to help Lee
with his problem. And the only thing I know to do myself is to not give up until I get all of the elders together so I can get some answers.”

  She nodded.

  Walter gave her a smile and tipped his hat to her, but before he left, she suddenly spoke up.

  “Walter, I…” She paused to clear her throat. “Thank you for caring about me so much.”

  He stepped forward and pulled her into a friendly embrace. “We all care about our charges, Melina. It comes naturally to us.” He stepped back and smiled at her again, and then he was gone.

  Melina reached her hand up and wiped at a tear that was starting to slide down her cheek. Then she grabbed the scarf off of her dresser and wrapped it around her neck as she made her way to the door. She instinctively reached up for her coat before she realized it wasn’t there.

  “Oh no. I left it in Lee’s office.” She sighed and was about to go back to her room to put on an extra layer when she heard the back door to the store slam shut. It must be Tessa or Gwen. She went out onto the top of the stairwell, and a couple of seconds later saw a head of perfectly curled blond hair walk by.

  “Good morning, Tess.”

  Tessa jumped as she took a step back and looked up at Melina. “Oh, Melina. You scared me. I didn’t think you’d be up yet. Are you all right? What happened yesterday?”

  Melina smiled at her. “Come on up so we can talk.”

  Tessa made her way up the stairs, carrying two large foam cups in her hands. “I brought you some hot cocoa.” She handed one to Melina as they walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

  Melina took a sip. “Mmm, exactly what I needed to warm me up. Just thinking about going outside without my coat made me chilly.”

  “Where’s your coat?” Tessa asked.