Chapter 6

Melonie woke up the next morning and he was gone. At first she was a little worried until she found a note. She picked it up and looked at it.

Melonie,

I went home to pick Alice up and check on Anna. I will be back in a few hours. There is food in the fridge for you to heat up for breakfast. Stay safe!

I love you.

Andrew

She smiled and put the note away. She went to the kitchen and made herself some breakfast. Once she finished eating she washed her dishes and put them away. Without Andrew home the house was quiet.

She sat on the couch to relax for a bit. She wondered how long he was going to be gone. Eventually she decided to take a nap.

As she was lying on the couch someone was watching from the window. He stared at her, angrily, through the window. He was holding a weapon.

Melonie heard someone moving and sat up. He froze.

"Andrew? Is that you?" she yelled. She got up to see. There was no answer so she yelled again. "Andrew…Are you back?"

She heard more movement outside. She opened the door and looked around but didn't see anyone.

Just as she was about to go inside Will grabbed her and she screamed.

He put his hand on her mouth to stop her. "Hello Melonie…There's no need to be afraid."

She stared at him. Andrew told her that Will didn't know about this place. "H-How did you find me?"

He smirked at her. "Wasn't too hard with the tracker."

Melonie was shocked. "Tracker?...Where's Andrew?"

He chuckled. "You won't be seeing him anytime soon."

"Tell me where he is!" she yelled.

"No."

Melonie raised her arm to hit him. Before she could touch him, he stabbed his knife in her side. She stared at him in pain and fell to the ground.

He laughed at her. "Pathetic!"

She held her side and used every ounce of energy she had and kicked him. He fell to the ground and she started to crawl away. Will crawled after her and grabbed her.

"G-Get off of me!" she cried.

He tried pulling her towards him and stood up holding her in his arms. "Alright. I'll go, but I will be back, my love." He let her drop to the ground again and got in his car and sped away.

She hated him, but she hated herself even more for getting herself into this mess. She couldn't get up. She knew she was going to die.

Melonie closed her eyes.

Andrew got home a few hours later. The whole car ride back he bragged about Melonie to Alice. She seemed very happy that her father found someone who made him happy. She knew how lonely he got sometimes. She was ready to meet the one person who could fix that.

But when she got out of the car she heard the sound of her father yelling. She watched him hurry inside carrying a body in his arms. At first she didn't understand what was going on. It scared her to see him act this way. Quietly, she watched from the doorway as Andrew took care of Melonie.

She wasn't dead, but she was barely breathing.

Alice saw him crying as he covered her wounds. He was worried that they didn't make it home in time to save her.

Luckily, they made it just in time. Barely.

Andrew calmly explained to Alice what had happened, as Melonie rested. She hugged him tightly.

Alice sat, patiently, on the couch. She wanted to see Melonie, but she didn't want to ask just yet. She knew it was a bad time.

Andrew came out of the bedroom and looked at his daughter. "Are you ready?"

She smiled at him and nodded. She ran to his side and held his hand. They walked to the bed where Alice saw her with a blood stained bandage covering her stomach. She didn't even know her and already she felt bad for her. She looked at her father, who nodded and smiled. Alice walked up to Melonie and sat in a chair beside the bed.

"Hi, Alice," Melonie said weakly. "It's nice to meet you."

She didn't speak.

"I'm Melonie. I have heard so much about you."

Still, Alice said nothing.

Melonie reached out her hand for Alice to shake. Alice saw bruises covering her arm. She looked up at her sadly and instead of shaking her hand, she kissed one of the bruises. Melonie looked at Andrew, then back to Alice.

Alice looked down. "My daddy always says that love is the best medicine," she said shyly.

Melonie smiled at her and put her hand on her face. "I feel better already. Thank you."

Alice looked at her and smiled back.

Andrew left the room as the two of them bonded. They talked for hours about anything and everything. He could tell they liked each other from the start. Which got him thinking.

Melonie would make a perfect mother to her.

Andrew never dated after Alice was born. He had no reason to. She was the only person he would ever need in his life. But he always knew that one day there would come a time when she would need a mother. He figured Anna would be able to help him when he needed it, but she was getting sick, and day by day she started getting worse.

He looked back toward the room where Melonie and Alice were talking and laughing. He had to marry her. Everything about her was perfect. She made him happy. She was so sweet to Alice.

It started to get late and Andrew helped Alice get into bed in her new room. He tucked her in, read her a story, and told her how much he loved her. He did this every night since she was born. He kissed her cheek and told her goodnight.

Just as he was about to leave the room Alice sat up. "Daddy?"

He turned around. "Yes…"

She smiled. "I like Melonie. She's nice."

Andrew smiled back. "I'm glad." He turned the light out and closed her door.