by Dana Mason
“What are you doing?” Brian stepped around Erin and Melissa. “I told you to stay away from my family. Why are you talking to my daughter?”
“I only wanted to ask how she was,” Jeffries said, his hand locking around the handle of the gym door.
Melissa put herself between Brian and Coach Jeffries. “Brian, let’s go. You don’t need another fight with him.”
Brian narrowed his eyes, glancing from Erin’s tear-streaked face then back to Jeffries. “Why is she crying? She doesn’t want anything to do with you. Stay the hell away from her.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong.” Jeffries glared over at Erin. “She came to me to talk.”
Erin inhaled a loud gasp and looked at Melissa for help, vigorously shaking her head.
Melissa whipped her head around. “That’s not true, you lying son of a bitch.” She turned back to Brian, but it was too late.
“No!” she and Erin screamed simultaneously as Brian’s fist made contact with the side of Jeffries head.
Before Melissa had a chance to get out of the way, Jeffries grabbed her upper arms and used her as a shield. When Brian backed off, Jeffries threw her down and rushed back through the gym door.
Chapter Nineteen
Melissa twisted, trying to catch herself, wrenching her ankle before landing sideways, hard against the tile floor. She sucked in a breath, inhaling against the force of air that had thrust out of her on impact.
“Melissa! Oh God, Daddy!” Erin rushed toward Melissa.
“Lis, I’m sorry.” Warm hands cupped her face. “Breathe, babe!”
She inhaled again on a gasp then tried to exhale slowly.
“Daddy, do something!”
“She’s had the wind knocked out of her. She’ll be fine in a second.”
When Melissa’s breathing steadied, she closed her eyes against the tears forming and reached for her ankle.
“Dad, should we take her to the hospital?”
Melissa shook her head and muttered, “I’m fine.” She inhaled another steady breath. “Help me up.”
“No. Your ankle is swollen. Look at it.”
She looked down to see her left ankle twice the size of her right. Purple clouds already surrounded the bulging baseball-sized lump. That explained why it hurt so damn bad.
“You need to go to the hospital.”
“Did you kick that jerk’s ass?” she asked, focusing on Brian’s face.
“I didn’t get the chance. The coward threw you to the ground and took off running.” Brian’s brows lowered as he examined her ankle, his eyes bright green from his flaring anger. “Here, Erin, answer Melissa’s phone. It’s Auntie Ali.” He handed her the phone.
“How do you know?” She grabbed it, checking the caller ID.
“Trust me, it’s her.”
Melissa scanned the foyer as cops entered through the large glass doors. “Oh, crap, here comes the Calvary. Damn it, Brian, they’re going to arrest you,” she said as she lifted and tried to get up.
“Stay down,” he said. “I’ll have Ali come and get you. Are you hurt anywhere else? Did you bump your head or anything?” He reached to touch her face. “Maybe you should lie back. Wilson, give me your jacket for her head.”
“Brian, they’re going to take you to jail.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be home tonight. Don’t worry. They won’t keep me, but I will have to give you a rain check on our date.”
“Not a date,” she mumbled, refusing Matt’s jacket when he tried to hand it over. “Thanks, Matt, but I’m fine. I don’t need to lie down.”
Brian leaned closer. “Lis, can you do something for me?”
“Yes.” She grimaced and tried to turn her foot from left to right.
“Find out what Frank Jeffries was doing with Erin. Find out why she was crying. Will you talk to her, get the story?”
Melissa squeezed her eyes closed and nodded again.
“If you’d let me fight my own battles, you wouldn’t get hurt.”
“Shut up!”
Brian held her down when she tried to stand up again. “You shouldn’t get up yet.”
Melissa glanced around and her eyes landed on Matt. He was standing over her, still holding his jacket with her sandals in his other hand. “He’s right. You should give yourself a minute before you get up.”
Melissa brushed some of the dust from her clothes. Her entire left side ached from the fall. She twisted her arm and ran her hand up and down to examine the bruises forming where she hit the tile floor.
Brian took her hand and examined the bruises, too, lifting the top of her sleeve where they trailed up past her shoulder. “I’ll kill that son of a bitch,” Brian muttered, his eyes glowing even brighter green than before.
“Don’t say that. Geez, Brian.” Her eyes shifted to the officer approaching.
“Detective Hammel, we need to get statements,” Officer Reed said as he nodded toward Erin.
“I know, Reed, can you give her a second. She’s a little upset still.” Brian motioned to Matt. “Start with Matty—Wilson, this is Officer Reed. He needs to take your statement.”
Brian watched as Reed walked to the other side of the Foyer with Matt. “Where’s Ali?”As if he summoned her, Ali pulled open the glass door and entered the school. Her eyes darted from face to face, looking for Melissa. When their eyes met, she exhaled in relief.
“I’m fine,” she said as Ali knelt down to hug her.
When Ali pulled away, she glanced around at the two officers then at Brian. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine. Will you take Erin home and keep an eye on Melissa? It was a pretty bad fall.”
Ali’s eyes widened. “What the hell happened?”
“She tried to break up a fight between me and Jeffries. He knocked her down trying to get away.” Brian gestured to her left arm and the trail of bruises.
“I’m fine, Ali. They’re going to arrest Brian. Can you go with him? He’ll need an attorney.”
“Melissa, I work for the DA. I’ll be lucky not to have to prosecute him.”
“Don’t you know someone?”
“Yes, I’ll make some calls.” She glanced over at Erin, who was sitting on the ground and leaning back against the wall. “Erin was a mess when I talked to her.”
Brian closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m not sure what was going on, but I plan to find out.”
“Detective Hammel?” Officer Cain approached. “We still need statements.”
“Yeah, thanks, Cain.” Brian glanced at Erin then at Ali. “Ali, will you sit with Erin while Officer Cain takes her statement? Melissa and I can’t.”
“Of course.” She stood and followed Cain over.
“Melissa, do you feel up to giving a statement?”
She nodded with a grimace as she tried to bend her ankle again. “Yes. They better arrest Jeffries.”
“I’m sure he’ll be charged, too,” Brian said as he leaned in and scooped her up in his arms.
“Jesus, Brian. I can walk.”
“Shut up and let me help you.” He set her down sideways on the bench next to the gym door. He removed his jacket and folded it up and laid it on the opposite arm rest, then he lifted her feet and rested them up over the jacket. “Stay put until EMTs check you over.”
“EMTs? Come on, who called an ambulance.”
“Probably one of the officers.” Brian waved a hand at her. “Just behave yourself and let them look you over. Be a good patient for once in your life.”
After Melissa and Erin had given their statements, the EMTs examined Melissa and released her to go. “Ms. Parker, you should follow up with your doctor and get x-rays.”
“Thank you so much for your help.” She examined the tight dressing they’d wrapped around her ankle and tried to shift the freezing ice pack they’d tied to it.
“Leave it be, Melissa. You need to let the swelling go down,” Ali said. “Are you ready to go?”
“Ali,” Brian leaned in and whispered,
“will you get Erin out of here in case they do arrest me?”
Ali nodded and took Melissa’s arm as Melissa stood.
“I am fine,” Melissa said, but when she put weight on her foot, she nearly collapsed.
Brian gestured to Matt and said, “Do me a favor and help her out to the car.”
Matt nodded and took the arm Brian had abandoned.
“Come on, Erin,” Melissa said. “Our babysitters are taking us home.”
“What about Daddy?”
“I have to go down to the station. I’ll be home later.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. This is my fault.”
“Erin, don’t do that. We’ll talk when I get home. I want to know what you were doing with him and why you were crying.” He reached down and pulled her into a tight hug. “Don’t worry about it now, okay? Take Melissa to our house and keep an eye on her. Don’t let her walk around on that foot.”
Erin nodded again before following Melissa, Matt, and Ali out of the school.
“Melissa,” Brian said before she stepped out the door. She turned toward him. “Sorry about our plans. Maybe tomorrow night.”
“I’ll see you later?” she asked, looking over at the officers waiting for Brian.
He waved her off. “Yes, it’s fine, don’t worry.”
Matt helped Melissa into the car then turned concerned eyes on Erin. “You going to be okay?”
Erin nodded. “Thanks for helping.”
“No problem. I’m going to follow you guys to the hospital in case you need me.”
“Thank you, really, Matt. I’m so sorry you’ve been mixed up with all this.”
“No, God, don’t worry about it.”
Erin slid into the backseat and closed the door, rubbing both hands over her face.
“Okay, Erin, what’s going on?” Melissa asked, turning her head slightly toward the backseat.
“Why did you bring Daddy?” she asked with a whine to her voice.
“He called when I was already on my way and asked if I wanted to go out with you guys this evening. When I told him where I was going, he wanted to meet me here. Why were you with Jeffries?”
“He won’t leave me alone. The last couple of weeks, he’s been trying to get me back on the water polo team.”
“Why haven’t you told your dad?” Ali asked
“You saw why. I don’t want Daddy in more trouble.”
“Erin, why does Jeffries want to talk to you so badly?” Melissa asked.
“I told you, he wants me back on the team. He keeps acting like he cares about me, asking me how I’m doing. I try to avoid him, but now he has my friends trying to get me to agree to come back.”
Melissa shifted again to look into the backseat. “Is Matt one of those friends?”
“No, he hates Coach.”
“Smart kid.” She faced forward again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That’s why I asked you to pick me up. I was going to tell you today. I thought he’d back off if you talked to him.”
“Tonight, when Brian gets home, we’re telling him everything.”
“We shouldn’t tell him. I don’t want him in trouble.”
“Erin, who’s picking Cody up from school?” Ali asked.
“Gran is.”
“Okay, I’m going to take Melissa to the hospital to get her ankle checked out. Then I’ll go check on your dad.”
“I don’t need—“
“Yes, Melissa, you need x-rays. Erin, can you keep an eye on Melissa for me if I leave her at your house?”
“Yeah, can you keep Daddy out of jail?”
“I’ll see what I can do, but you may need to file a harassment charge against Jeffries.”
“No, I can’t do that.”
“I thought you wanted him to leave you alone.”
“Maybe you or Melissa can talk to him.”
“Erin, what are you leaving out? There’s obviously something you’re not telling us,” Melissa said. She couldn’t erase the feeling that something was missing from her explanation, or maybe Melissa’s headache had just clouded her judgment. She wanted so bad to just lie down in a dark room.
“Nothing. I really asked you to pick me up, hoping you would talk to him.”
Melissa nodded, closing her eyes and laying her head back on the seat.
When they arrived at Emergency Room, Ali helped her inside. “I’m fine, Ali. Please go take care of Brian.”
“I can’t leave you here without transportation.”
Matty lowered himself down into the chair next to Erin. “I can take everyone home.”
“Really, you don’t mind?” Ali asked. “You don’t need to be anywhere? This could take a long time.”
“Nope, I have nowhere to be.”
Ali glanced between the three of them and finally nodded. “Okay, call me if you need me. I’m going to the police station.”
When they got to Brian’s house, Matty helped Melissa upstairs and into Brian’s room at Erin’s insistence.
“I don’t need to be in a bed. The couch is fine.”
“No, I think this is better.” Erin pulled the covers back and Matt laid her down. Then she gently lifted her leg and tucked a pillow under her injured foot. “I’ll get some water so you can take your pain pills.”
When Matt was gone, Erin rushed around for another ten minutes then appeared with a glass of water and a bottle of meds. “It says to take two.” Erin handed her two pills and a glass.
Melissa felt like she was being handled. It’d been a long time since someone had put her to bed and gave her medicine. She smiled and swallowed the pills, thankful for Erin and proud at the same time.
“Thanks,” Melissa said when Erin finally left her alone. She settled into Brian’s bed and moaned at the increasingly achy pain throughout her entire body. She glanced over at the pill bottle and snatched it up, taking another pill and chasing it down with the water Erin had left for her. Prescriptions were always conservative, if it said two, she should be able to take three without a problem.
She then wrapped herself up tightly in Brian’s thick comforter. She inhaled deep and sighed. “Smells like Brian,” she whispered. “I sure hope they don’t put him in jail.” She looked over at the phone on the nightstand and wondered if Ali would call her cell or the house phone. She rested her head back down, knowing Erin would wake her if someone needed her.
Chapter Twenty
When Brian got home, he expected to find Melissa and Erin waiting for him, but the house was quiet. Cody was crashed on the couch with the videogame controller still in his lax hand. He walked through the downstairs, but couldn’t find Erin or Melissa.
He went upstairs and knocked on Erin’s door, but she didn’t answer. He turned the handle and peeked in. She was crashed on her bed with her headphones stuck in her ears and her iPod blasting.
“Erin,” he said. He yanked out one of the earbuds and shook her. “Erin!”
Her eyelashes batted open and she jumped. “Dad, are you okay?” she asked yanking out the other earbud.
“Yeah, babe, I’m fine. Why didn’t you put your brother to bed?”
“Sorry, I fell asleep.”
“Change and get into bed. We can talk in the morning. Where’s Melissa?”
“She’s in your bed. She took her pain medication then knocked out.”
“Okay, get into bed.”
Brian put Cody to bed then went in search of Melissa. When he walked into his bedroom, it was pitch black. Instead of turning on the bright lamp, he switched on the bathroom light. He walked over to the bed and pulled the comforter off Melissa’s head. She didn’t stir in the slightest. He picked up the pill bottle and frowned as he read the instructions. One to two pills when needed for pain.
“Melissa.” He shook her lightly. “Hello,” he said in her ear. “Melissa, wake up.” He leaned close, inhaling her soft, powdery scent and cursing himself for doing it.
He lifted the comforter off her completely and removed th
e now warm cold pack from her foot. The swelling had gone down a bit. He then examined her left arm, lifting her sleeve as he eyed her black and blue shoulder. Melissa still didn’t stir as he rubbed a hand down her arm to feel for any other swelling.
He leaned in again. “Melissa?” God damn, she was going to be the death of him. “Are you trying to kill me or what?” he whispered before lowering his nose to the crook of her neck. His lips brushed across the soft skin below her ear lobe, and he wanted to melt into the bed next to her.
“God help me, Melissa, if you weren’t so damned incredible, I could get through this in one piece.” He brushed the hair off her face and wondered how many of those pills she took.
“Lissa, wake up,” he said with a little more urgency this time. He shook her harder, but she didn’t move. Brian kicked his shoes off and lay down next to her, propping his head up on one elbow. “Melissa Parker, I need you to wake up, honey,” he chanted singsong-like in her ear.
He cupped her neck and checked her pulse before resting his hand on her cheek. Melissa turned toward him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. She reached her arm out and wrapped it around his waist, leaning closer and rubbing up against him. A little shiver traveled up her body. Brian reached down for the comforter to cover her back up, praying she woke up before he got himself in trouble.
“Melissa?” he said louder this time.
“Shh,” she whispered. “I’m sleeping.”
Brian chuckled. “Melissa, look at me.”
Melissa lifted her chin and looked at him through half-closed lids and with a faint smile. “Hummm . . . what?”
“Babe, how many of those pills did you take?”
“You smell so good,” she purred, inching closer to him.
“Whoa, cupcake, how many pills did you take?”
Her smiled widened. She lifted a heavy hand and dropped it on his chest. “You called me cupcake.”
“Yes, and can you tell me how many pills you took?”
“You haven’t called me cupcake in years,” she slurred. “Three.”
“Three years or three pills?” he asked, gripping her chin to keep her eyes on his.
