The counselor in her recognized the warning signs. Pushing back from her desk, Melanie grabbed her phone and left her room in search of Alex.
“What’s up?” he said when she found him in the kitchen making a cup of coffee.
“I need to take a couple of days off. Actually, maybe more like three or four.”
Alex’s brows drew together as he lifted his mug to take a sip. “Why?”
Her first instinct was to tell him it was none of his business. They never—ever—discussed what had happened to her all those years ago. That was mainly due to her parents not wanting her to be upset by talking about it, and she’d been happy to not have to constantly rehash what had happened.
“Jenni needs me,” she said.
“Jenni?” Alex set his mug down, his gaze serious.
“She was one of the girls who was kidnapped like I was.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “What’s happened?”
“I’m not sure, but the last few emails from her have me concerned.”
“You’re still in contact with the other girls?” It seemed that the idea that she maintained contact, surprised him.
“Yes. Not all of them, but there are a few of us who email back and forth. No one else understands what we went through and how it has impacted our lives.”
He leaned a hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve never talked about it with us.”
“You didn’t need to know everything that happened.” Melanie could hardly believe she was having this discussion with Alex after all these years.
His eyes narrowed. “There was more that happened to you that you didn’t tell Mom and Dad?”
Her heart pounded as Melanie carefully considered her answer. “Yes. You knew why the kidnappers wanted us, Alex. Think about it.”
His jaw clenched, and Melanie could see the muscle jump in his cheek. “You said you weren’t raped.”
“I wasn’t, because they wanted virgins, but they wanted us to be knowledgeable. Think sex ed on steroids.”
The color leeched from Alex’s face. “You never told me.”
“And I’m not sure why I’m telling you now, but Jenni is in the middle of a meltdown, and I need to go to her.”
Alex gave a jerky nod. “Are you okay to go by yourself?”
“Yes. I’m able to protect myself now, and I’ve made sure that I’m not what they want anymore.”
As his gaze flicked to her hair, comprehension dawned on his face. “Why didn’t you ever tell us, Lanie?”
“There was no reason for you to know. There was nothing you could do to help me.”
“But…” Alex’s arms dropped to his side as a helpless look crossed his face.
Melanie moved to his side and laid a hand on his arm. “I’m fine. I figured out how to deal with it, but Jenni hasn’t.”
Alex reached out and pulled her into his arms and held her tight. With her arms trapped between them, she couldn’t return the embrace, but in reality she was so surprised by the move, she probably would have just stood there not knowing how to respond anyway.
“Take all the time you need.”
“Thank you.”
She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head before he let her go. His blue eyes stared down at her. “And you need to trust us more. We love you, Lanie. Probably more than you’ll ever realize. Yes, it’s hard to hear these things, but none of that changes how we feel about you.” Alex sighed. “You can tell me anything. Anything. I’m here for you.”
“I just didn’t want to burden you guys with the knowledge of stuff that had happened to me that you could do nothing about.”
“Maybe we couldn’t do anything about it, but we could help carry that burden with you so you would know that you’re not alone. Just like you’re going to help Jenni, we want to be there if you need our help.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” Melanie laid a hand on Alex’s cheek. “But old habits are hard to break.”
“Do you need me to get Lisa to book you flights?” Alex asked.
“No. I’ll book the tickets myself tonight.” She paused. “But there is one thing you can do for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Can you check on Tyler tomorrow if I need you to? He was pretty sick today. Although he seemed better by the time I left, I’m worried he’ll relapse. I’ll check in with him in the morning, but if he seems bad again, you might need to go over there.”
“Is there something I need to know about you and Tyler?”
The question was getting a little old, so Melanie just grinned and said, “Yeah. We’re good friends.”
The tension eased from Alex’s face. “Well, I’ll be sure to check in on your good friend tomorrow if you need me to.”
As she sat at her computer a short time later making ticket reservations, Melanie felt a heavy sadness in her heart. Given what she’d been reading from Jenni, there was really only one way this situation would have a positive ending. Jenni would probably hate her, but at least she’d be alive.
~*~*~
Tyler popped his head into Melanie’s office after his visit with Simon Thursday afternoon. He was feeling one hundred percent better, pretty much back to normal after three days off on sick leave.
“She in?” he asked Heather.
Melanie’s assistant shook her head as her brow furrowed. “She’s been out of the office since Tuesday morning.”
“Is she sick?” That had been his biggest concern with her having come over to his place.
“No. She had to take care of some personal business out of town. In an email I got from her this morning, she said she’s hoping to be back in the office tomorrow.”
“Okay, thanks,” Tyler said before he left the office.
As he made his way out of the Wellness Center, Tyler tried to figure out why Melanie hadn’t said anything. He’d talked to her Tuesday morning, and she hadn’t told him about going away. She’d also called for a quick chat on Wednesday, and again, there had been no mention of being anywhere but Minneapolis.
With a frustrated sigh, he jerked open the door to his vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. Her standard response to him, when she'd come to help him out, had been it’s what friends do. Well, friends also told each other if they were going out of town or if something was going on.
“Thank you for your help with this, Tyler,” Marcus said as he brought their meeting to an end the next morning.
“I wish I could have given you more definitive answers or more clear connections.”
Marcus shrugged. “Sometimes the connections that aren’t made can be as helpful as the ones that are. Just keep an eye on things. You know the drill.”
He did. Picking up the file that sat on the edge of Marcus’s desk, he got to his feet. After shaking the man’s hand, he left his office. As he walked down the hallway to the elevator, he recognized the woman headed toward him, head bent over her phone. He stopped and waited for her to get closer.
“Hey, Melanie.”
Her head jerked up as she came to a stop. “Tyler! Hi.”
Right away he saw the tension in her face and the dark circles under her eyes that even makeup couldn’t hide. “Everything okay?”
She smiled. “Yep. Just have a meeting with Marcus about the service dog program.”
“I stopped by your office yesterday after visiting with Simon.”
“Yeah, Heather mentioned you’d come by. Sorry I missed you.”
“Can you come by my office when you’re done with Marcus?”
Her brows drew together briefly before she nodded. “Sure. It shouldn’t be a long meeting.”
He watched as she walked the rest of the way to Marcus’s office and disappeared inside. He wondered what exactly her trip had involved considering that she’d come back looking drained and tense. Would she tell him if he asked?
CHAPTER TWELVE
WHEN MARCUS ASKED her if everything was okay, Melanie realized that perhaps her ma
keup wasn’t doing such a great job of hiding the stress and sleepless nights of the past few days. Thankfully, he wasn’t one to prod when she said that she was fine.
The meeting didn’t last too long. He had wanted to let her know how things were going with his sister and the dog they’d gotten for her. Melanie had been relieved to hear that it was going very well. Having this be a success with Marcus’s sister would mean his unqualified support of the service dog program and its financial needs.
As she left his office, she remembered Tyler’s request that she stop by and see him. Melanie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had a ton of work waiting for her at the office, so she really should head there. But when she stepped into the elevator, she didn’t hesitate to press the button for Tyler’s floor. She’d just have to work over the weekend to get caught up.
As she neared his open door, Melanie saw Tyler focused on his monitor. Rather than knock, she walked in and settled into the chair across from him. His gaze flicked to her briefly then, as if registering it was her, he turned his chair toward her with a smile.
“Hey! Done already?” he asked as he reclined back in his chair. He looked a whole lot better than when she’d last seen him on Monday night.
“Yep. Was just a quick update meeting.” She relaxed into her chair, crossing her legs as she rested her hands in her lap. “So, you’re looking remarkably better.”
“I’m feeling better too. Took me a good three days to feel like I had my energy back, but yesterday I felt well enough to come back to work.”
“How is Simon doing? I assume you were there to see him yesterday when you stopped by my office.”
“He’s coming around. Slowly, but surely. I think he agreed to have a session with a counselor.”
Melanie smiled. “That is good news. Definitely a step in the right direction.”
“Yep.” Tyler’s brows drew together. “When Heather said you were out of the office, I was worried you’d come down with the bug I’d had.”
“No. I managed to avoid getting that.” She hesitated, knowing he was no doubt wondering where she had been the past three days. “I had to go out of town to help a friend.”
“Heather mentioned you’d gone out of town. I was just surprised you didn’t mention it when we talked on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
This was treading perilously close to things she really didn’t want to share with him…or anyone, for that matter. “It was kind of a depressing and stressful trip.”
“All the more reason to share about it with your friends. At the very least we could pray for you.”
Friends? “I had to go to Seattle to help a friend who was on the verge of suicide.”
Tyler’s brows drew together. “Suicide? Were you able to help them?”
“I’m not sure she thinks I helped her, but yes, with her family’s support, we got her some psychiatric care.”
“It looks like it took its toll on you. Have you known her long?”
“I…met her when we were teenagers. She was a gentle, fragile soul back then but unfortunately, it’s made her unable to cope well with certain things.” Melanie’s thoughts went back to the moment Jenni realized what was happening. Her last memory of Jenni was her screams of how much she hated Melanie and how she’d betrayed her.
Tyler pushed back from the desk and came around to sit in the other chair, pulling it so it was right next to hers. Before she could adjust to his nearness, his arm slipped around her shoulders. “I’m sure that was difficult for you to deal with.”
Melanie felt the mask she’d tried to keep in place the last few days melt under Tyler’s caring words and supportive embrace. She took a deep shuddering breath. She couldn’t fall apart now, couldn’t show how much seeing Jenni had shaken her.
His hand rubbed up and down her upper arm as he continued to murmur encouragement to her.
“She said she hated me.” The words slipped out on a whisper, but Melanie knew he’d heard her when his hand tightened on her arm.
The tears she’d been holding back since that moment flooded her eyes. Melanie bent her head and leaned against Tyler. Without hesitation, his other arm went around her and she felt his cheek rest on the top of her head.
“Heavenly Father, we come to you today to ask that you ease the pain Melanie is feeling.”
When Melanie realized that Tyler was praying for her, a fresh flood of tears escaped her eyes.
“Please give her peace in knowing that she did the right thing for her friend. We can’t know the turmoil of her friend’s soul, but You do. You know the pain Melanie is feeling right now as well. We ask that you bring comfort to Melanie and give her the courage to continue to do the tough things. Assure her of Your love and presence, we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Though she hadn’t prayed much in the years since the kidnapping, she’d prayed a lot the past few days with Jenni. And now to hear Tyler pray for her, she felt as if she wasn’t alone, that even without knowing all the details, Tyler was willing to step up and ask God to help her.
“Hey, bro!” Ryan’s voice interrupted the silence that had fallen at the end of Tyler’s prayer. “Oh. Sorry. I’ll come back later.”
“Ryan, it’s okay.” Melanie straightened, rubbing her hands over her cheeks.
She looked over to see that Ryan had dropped to his haunches next to her, concern on his face. “Everything okay?”
Though Tyler’s arm was no longer around her shoulders, she could still feel the warmth of it where it lay on the back of her chair. “It will be. Just had a couple of rough days.”
His gaze shot to Tyler then back to her. “You didn’t get sick, did you?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“That’s good.” He laid a hand on Tyler’s desk and pushed to his feet. “You take care of yourself.”
“Thanks, Ryan.”
“I’ll be back to talk to you later, bro.”
“Sounds good.”
As Ryan left the office, Melanie gripped her purse and tried to keep from looking at Tyler. “I really should go.”
“Hey, how about dinner and a movie tomorrow night?” Tyler asked as she got to her feet.
Melanie glanced down at him, not sure how to respond.
As if sensing the reason for her hesitation, he said, “I think you could use a night out, and I owe you a thanks for taking care of me.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Melanie said. “That’s what friends do.”
Tyler stood up, making her have to tilt her head to look at him. “Well, friends also try to help friends when they’re going through a rough patch. I think dinner and a movie would be just what you need after this week.”
“Don’t you have basketball tomorrow night?” Melanie asked.
“You’re lucky. As it happens, we had already canceled because too many of the guys had other things going on. I was just going to sit at home with Ryan watching television and eating bad pizza. You’d be doing me a favor.”
Melanie laughed for what felt like the first time in years even though she knew it had only been a few days. “Well, if it will make you feel better.”
“It would.”
“Do I get to pick the movie?” Melanie asked.
“If you must.” A pained look crossed Tyler’s face, but it quickly slid into an indulgent smile. “I’ll pick you up at five tomorrow.”
Melanie nodded. “Sounds good.” She took a couple of steps toward the door then turned around. Tyler stood with his hands on his hips, his gaze on her, a serious expression on his face. “Thank you.”
A small smile curved his lips. “You’re welcome.”
As Melanie walked to the elevators, she realized she felt lighter than she had since…well, in a long time. Was it Tyler? Or his prayer? Or both? She didn’t know for certain, but she was going to enjoy the feeling for as long as it lasted.
Melanie took a break from the work she’d brought home with her and headed down to the kitchen. She found Adrianne sittin
g at the table with a bag of Oreos and a glass of milk. Frowning, Melanie sat down across from her sister. She reached for the bag of cookies, but Adrianne pulled them away.
Staring at Adrianne in surprise, Melanie said, “What’s going on? I thought you were going out tonight?”
“I was. Julie and Liz were supposed to meet me for dinner.”
“What happened?”
Adrianne sighed. “Julie’s little guy is sick, and Conrad ended up getting the night off unexpectedly so Liz decided she’d rather spend the evening with him.”
Melanie felt for her sister. She knew something like this just rubbed salt into an already open wound when she had neither a child nor a husband. “So why can’t I have one of the Oreos?”
“Because.” Adrianne glared at her. “You’ll eat just one and stop. Meanwhile, I plan to eat about ten. Or the whole pack. I don’t need to be reminded of yet another way in which I’m failing.” She plucked one from the package and twisted it apart to lick the frosting. “I should take your approach to friends.”
“My approach? I don’t have an approach.”
Adrianne stared at her then said, “Who’s your best friend?”
Melanie answered without hesitation. “You.”
“I’m your sister. Aside from me, who’s your best friend?”
She shifted in her chair. What was Adrianne trying to prove? “I guess I don’t really have one.”
“Exactly. You don’t have friends because you don’t want to have to open yourself up to them. Or, you choose to have guy friends because they don’t tend to ask you to share about your emotions and stuff.”
Well, that wasn’t completely true, as Tyler had proved earlier that day. But she figured Adrianne’s words had merit. She had lots of acquaintances at work, but she’d long accepted that she’d never have that best friend who would know everything about her.
A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3) Page 14
