Mr. Harvey nodded slightly as he watched, wide-eyed, as they left his office.
Tessa let out a loud grunt as they made their way out the front door toward her car. “I feel like I’m carrying deadweight. Melina?” Tessa asked, a slight panic in her voice. “You’re not about to pass out, are you?”
Melina was silent. She didn’t have the strength to talk.
A few seconds later, she felt Tessa gently lay her down into the passenger seat and buckle her in. The door slammed shut, and when her friend plopped down into the driver’s seat, she sounded exhausted and out of breath. Melina knew that Tessa probably needed to rest after carrying her all that way, but the pain was only growing worse. “Please, go,” was all she could muster the strength to say before letting out a low groan. She curled up in her seat and buried her face in her arms. She had to make it all stop, and soon.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
About halfway through the ride back, Melina sat up in her seat and pushed her hair back from her face. “Where are we going?” she asked as she gazed around out the windows. “Are we going back to my apartment?”
“Um, yeah,” Tessa said, a bit surprised that her friend was sitting up. “You were in a lot of pain and could barely walk. I thought that was probably the best idea so you could rest. Are you feeling okay now?”
“No, but I’m not in the amount of pain that I was. You need to take a left up here,” Melina said as she motioned toward the upcoming street.
“What? No, Melina. You need to go home and—”
“No, I don’t need to go home,” Melina interrupted. “I need to go and see Lee at his store. Mr. Harvey said there was a letter from Lee’s dad amongst the documents he gave him. I don’t think Lee ever read that letter. Actually, I’m not sure he even knows he has it, and I have a feeling it’s the solution to everything. And it all needs to end now.”
“Okay, okay,” Tessa said as she turned the car left. “But how could he not know that he has the letter?”
“It’s just a hunch, but I think that once he found his parents' divorce papers and saw that his mom was the one who'd filed, he didn’t care about the rest of the documents and probably never looked through them again.”
“So what’s the plan once we get to his store?” Tessa asked.
Melina opened her mouth and was about to tell Tessa that she could handle it on her own, but then thought otherwise. She knew how much her friend wanted to help. “We need to convince Lee to come and talk to us. We have to tell him about the letter.”
“Wait. Convince him? I thought he was okay with allowing you to still help him.”
“Yes, that’s what he said on Saturday, but that was right after I dumped everything on him and then, once again, left hastily,” replied Melina. “Who knows what he’s thinking now that he’s had a couple of days to process it all.”
“Then let me go in by myself,” said Tessa. “He only saw me briefly at the Fall Festival. I’m sure he won’t even remember me.”
“Okay, but what are you going to say to get him to come and talk to you?”
“I’ll think of something,” Tessa said as she turned onto another street.
About five minutes later, they arrived in front of Lee’s store. Luck must’ve been on their side that morning because they were able to find a parking spot right out front, just like they had at Mr. Harvey’s office.
Melina tried to peer through the front window as she said, “I hope he’s here.”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” asked Tessa.
“I don’t know, but if he’s back at his apartment, then we’re going to have a much harder time trying to get to him if he doesn’t want to talk. He’ll make sure that his doorman doesn’t let us in, and I don’t think I could bear to teleport right now.”
“You rest for a bit,” said Tessa as she patted Melina on the leg. “I’ll be back.”
Tessa hopped out of the car and made it over to the store entrance, when Melina changed her mind and stepped out of the car as well.
Tessa spun around. “What are you doing?” she asked as Melina walked up to her. “I thought I was going in alone.”
“I know, but I got to thinking and it might be a good idea if I was there to hear the employees’ thoughts in case Lee told them to cover for him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that.”
Tessa gave her a concerned look. “Are you sure? Won’t using your powers to hear their thoughts make your pain worse?”
Melina nodded. “Yeah, but if I want the pain to go away for good, then I need to do it.”
Tessa nodded back at her, and then she opened the door and walked inside. Melina spotted a young male employee with short, wavy black hair over to their right. He was cleaning the top of one of the glass display cases, whistling cheerfully as he worked. “That young guy there,” she said as she pointed at him. “Go and talk to him. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Okay.” Tessa put a smile on her face and approached the young man. “Hello, sir,” she said brightly. “I’m looking for Mr. Lee Atwood. Is he available?”
“Oh,” he said as he looked up at Tessa and Melina. “Good morning, ladies.” He smiled at both of them and then turned back to answer Tessa. “No, I’m sorry. Mr. Atwood isn’t here.”
“Do you know if he’ll be in later?” Tessa asked.
The young man shook his head. “He won’t be in at all today. Would you like to speak with one of our store managers?”
“Um…” Tessa hesitated as she glanced back at Melina.
Melina shook her head, indicating that she didn’t hear any thoughts from the man and that he was telling the truth.
Tessa turned her head back around to face him again. “No, that’s okay. Thank you for your help.”
“Sure,” the young man replied and then resumed his cleaning.
Once they were back in the car, Tessa asked Melina what she wanted to do now.
“I’m going to try to call him,” Melina said as she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. “He said he would still allow me to try and help him with his problem. Maybe I’m being paranoid about him not wanting to talk to me.”
After she dialed his number, she eagerly waited for him to answer, but the phone rang and rang until it finally went to his voicemail. She restrained herself from hitting the redial button and tossed her phone back in her purse.
“He’s not answering. I guess we’re going to have to try his apartment.”
“Tell me where to go,” said Tessa.
“The Skyrise Apartments.”
“Wow, he lives in the Skyrise Apartments?”
Melina nodded.
“Wow,” Tessa repeated. “Now I understand why you said we may have some difficulty getting to him. I bet that place has some good security.”
“It does,” Melina said. “You can’t even get in the front door without the doorman entering in a code. I really don’t want to have to teleport up to his apartment.” She laid her head back against the seat to rest, and they drove the rest of the way in silence.
Soon they arrived in front of Lee’s apartment building, and as Melina was showing Tessa where to park, she saw a black SUV pulling out of the parking garage.
“That’s Lee,” she blurted out, pointing over to their left.
“What?” Tessa asked.
“That’s Lee!” Melina repeated as she raised her pointed finger up in front of Tessa’s face. “We need to follow him. Turn around, Tess, hurry!”
Tessa jerked the steering wheel to her left, whipping her car around in the direction of the SUV. She slammed on the gas, throwing them both back into their seats, then eased off when they caught up to him.
“Where do you think he’s going?”
“I’m not sure,” replied Melina.
Tessa glanced down at the gas gauge. “I hope it’s not anywhere out of town. We don’t have the gas for that.”
“Go as far as you can,” Melina said, keeping her eyes on the SUV.
They had bee
n cautiously following Lee for about ten minutes or so when Melina noticed they were heading in the direction of her bookstore and apartment. Maybe he was going to see her. He didn’t know where she lived, but he could look up the address for her store.
They grew closer and closer to her street when suddenly he turned right, driving away from her place. The hope that had started to build in her faded away. He wasn’t going to see her. So then where was he going? She was almost desperate to know now, and luckily for her, after just two short blocks, she had her answer. He was going to the park.
Melina told Tessa to follow him in through the park’s entrance but then had her park almost immediately. It was too close quarters, so he would definitely notice them in here. And besides, she didn’t need to follow him anymore to know where he was headed.
After finally convincing Tessa to stay in the car, Melina set off in the direction of the secluded park bench. Approaching him alone would be best. She found the spot quickly, as she had walked there many times herself, and as she approached she could hear Lee’s thoughts growing louder and louder.
I saw her teleport and then I saw that man just appear in my living room and fly out the window with her in tow. Everything she said has got to be true. Either that or I’m going crazy.
He was trying to justify that everything he'd seen and everything she had told him was true. She felt a small sense of relief. He was attempting to cope with it all instead of being in denial. It gave her hope that he would at least hear her out. She decided to cut in before he went any further down the I’m going crazy route.
“Lee,” she said as she cautiously stepped out from behind the row of evergreens.
He startled a bit as he turned around to see who had said his name. “Melina,” he said, a nervous look on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all morning,” she said as she took small steps toward him. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Stop right where you are.” He held his hand up to her and gave her a tense smile. “Please. I'm still trying to comprehend and deal with everything you told me a couple of days ago. I don’t think I can handle anymore.”
“It’s not about me. It’s about you and your father.”
Lee’s brow furrowed. “What is it?”
Melina took a step forward but noticed Lee take a step back. He was serious about keeping his distance. She stopped where she was and took in a deep breath. “Your father left you a letter. Mr. Harvey said it was in with all the documents that he gave you, and that it would probably help you understand how your father really felt about you.”
“Wait, wait. Mr. Harvey, my dad’s attorney?” Lee asked. “Why did you go and talk to him?”
“You said you would still allow me to help you,” Melina said in a defensive tone. “And believe it or not, Lee, but I do care about you… more than you know. I thought that if you heard how your father really felt about you from someone who knew your father well, but not you, that you might actually believe it. That’s when he told me about the letter.” She gave Lee a curious look. “Did you even know you had the letter?”
Lee stared down at the ground and shook his head. “No. I found the divorce papers first and then didn’t bother to look through the rest of the pile.” He looked back up, his eyes now glossy with the beginnings of tears. “If my dad left me a letter, then why didn’t Mr. Harvey tell me so when he gave me the documents?”
“He said that after he told you about the store, you weren’t really in the mood to talk anymore. So he made sure to give you the documents and then let you go on your way. He thought you would find it.”
Lee rubbed his head as if he had a headache starting up. “I need to go. If you’re telling the truth about the letter, then I need to find it. I need to see it for myself.”
She swallowed hard as her own tears began to form. “You can trust me, Lee.”
He stood silent for a moment and then started to walk away. Melina watched as he disappeared behind the trees. The tears in her eyes slowly started to make their way down her cheeks, burning her skin in the cold air. She took a seat on the bench and continued to let the tears fall freely.
Lee was so cold and distant. Did he have any trust left in her at all? Did he have any feelings left for her at all? Had she failed and now she was going to die? All of these questions and more swarmed around in her head. She curled into a ball as she lay down on the cold, hard bench and stared off into the cold, gray sky.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Melina had her eyes closed, thinking of what she should do next, when she heard the soft crunching of dried leaves. Someone was walking toward her. She opened her eyes but didn’t move as she waited for the person to reveal himself. Suddenly the noise stopped, and instead of seeing someone, she heard a voice.
“Melina?” a male’s voice asked.
She had expected it to be Tessa or even Lee coming back, but the voice belonged to a stranger. Melina shot up from the bench and quickly looked around until her eyes landed on an elderly man with a scruffy beard and shoulder-length gray hair, standing just behind her. He stared at her and she stared back, examining him. Something about him reminded her of Walter.
Maybe it was is his long, black trench coat and matching fedora. Or maybe it was his eyes, which were the same gray color as Walter’s. Melina narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what it was when she noticed he had a slight glow about him, just like Adelia. Was he another elder angel?
Before she had any more time to think about it, the man answered her question. “Yes, you’re correct. I’m an elder guiding angel. My name is Phinneas.”
Melina’s eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat. It was Phinneas. The one she and Walter suspected of sending the demons after her. He wanted her dead.
“Walter!” she screamed as she started to back away, her eyes locked on Phinneas. “Walter, I need you now!”
Phinneas didn’t try to stop her. Instead he said to her in a soft tone, “Please calm down. I’m not going to harm you. I just want to talk.”
Melina continued to back away when suddenly Walter appeared right between Phinneas and her. Relief washed over her face as she ran over to him. “Walter!”
“Melina, what is it? The demons or your powers?”
“Neither,” she said, her eyes traveling back to Phinneas. “It’s him.” She raised her shaking hand and pointed behind Walter.
Walter turned around and his worried expression instantly turned to one of surprise. “Phinneas? What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to help you. Well, to help your charge,” he said as he gestured toward Melina.
Walter stared at him, his expression now changing to a mixture of confusion and suspicion. “Is that so? You’re here to help her? I doubt that.”
Phinneas sighed. “I know what you and Melina think of me. I’m not here to hurt her, nor do I want anyone or anything to hurt her.”
“Then why are you here?” Walter asked him.
“I’m here to explain everything, to tell you both the truth about what’s really going on.”
Suddenly Melina spoke up. “If you’re really here to explain things to both of us, then why did you confront me when I was alone?”
“I knew you would call to Walter,” Phinneas said, holding his hands up in defense. “It was the safest way. I couldn’t seek out Walter myself without raising suspicion.”
“Raising suspicion? With whom?” Melina asked.
Phinneas hesitated as he looked back and forth between Melina and Walter. “I thought I had prepared myself, but just looking at you…” He sighed as he nodded his head toward Melina. “It makes me feel that much worse.”
Melina was about to say something when she suddenly heard someone calling out her name. She turned and saw through a gap in the trees that it was Tessa. “Oh boy.” She took a step toward her friend but then stopped as she caught Phinneas’s eye. Her nerves got the best of her, an
d she couldn’t get herself to leave the comfort of hiding behind Walter. She looked back over to Tessa who was now quickly approaching them.
“Melina, there you are.” As Tessa approached, she continued to talk, acting like she didn’t even see Walter and Phinneas. “I saw Lee take off a while ago, and when you didn’t return to the car shortly after, I thought you might be having another episode. Are you okay?”
“Yes, Tessa, I’m okay.”
“Hold up,” Walter interjected. “What is Tessa talking about with you having another episode?” He looked straight at Melina, waiting for an answer.
She gazed back at him, the guilt from not telling him when it had first started evident on her face. “She’s talking about my powers. I’ve been experiencing very pain-filled episodes off and on for a few days now. They come on randomly, not just when I use my powers now. I think it means that—”
“You’re running out of time,” Walter said, finishing her sentence. “Melina, why didn’t you notify me immediately when it first started?”
“You were busy trying to track him down,” she said, motioning toward Phinneas. “And besides, there’s nothing you can do about it. Nobody can help me, but me.”
Her eyes started to water, but she didn’t look away. Walter nodded in understanding, his eyes starting to tear up as well, when suddenly Phinneas spoke up.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m… I’m so ashamed, but I…” He took in a shaky breath, attempting to compose himself and then continued. “There’s no excuse for what I did, but I’m hoping to make amends for it now.”
“Make amends?” Walter asked as he turned back around. “Phinneas, what are you talking about?”
Phinneas let out a long sigh as he turned his gaze toward the ground. He didn’t look up as he began to speak again. “I thought she was right, that humans like Melina weren’t supposed to be, that they were abominations. She brainwashed me, and I didn’t realize it until I saw how much you really care about Melina. She—”
“Wait, wait. Who’s she?” Walter interrupted.
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