Chapter 12

Melonie and Andrew were laying in bed later that evening after a nap. Andrew looked at her. He was curious about her family, since she never really talked about them with him.

"So how is your family?" he asked her, hoping he could get a bit of a story that way.

Melonie looked down. She didn't really want to talk about them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hit a bad memory?" He didn't like her reaction. He felt bad for asking.

"My…parents died when I was in high school. I've been on my own since I was fifteen," she said.

"I'm so sorry…no siblings?" If there was anyone left in her family, he just had to meet them. He wanted to know everything about her.

She shook her head no…even though it was a lie. She had one brother, Matthew. After their parents died she tried avoiding him. He always bothered her. Sometimes more than others. He would even hurt her and tell their parents she fell or something. He never got caught.

"I met your sister in college. She was like a sister to me. Other than that I had no one…That's why I was so upset that you left," she said.

"Oh, Mel…" That made him feel worse about what he had done to her. He knew she forgave him, but he would never forgive himself.

She sighed and sat up. "It's fine really." She was silent for quite some time. She looked at him after a while and said, "I think I know what we should do later."

He sat up with her. "And what is that?"

"Well…we haven't really gone out on a date since we've been married. Maybe we could go to dinner?" she asked.

Andrew smiled. "I think that would be really nice.

"Then I will be right back," she said as she walked to the bathroom to get ready.

She came out wearing a dress and she saw him in a tux. He looked amazing.

"Wow," she said. "You look great!"

"Thank you, honey." He smiled and pulled her close. Just as he was about to kiss her the doorbell rang.

Melonie walked to the door and looked out the window. She saw Matthew. What was he doing there? How did he know she lived there?

She told Andrew she would be back and she went outside and closed the door behind her. Andrew watched from the window. He could tell she really didn't want to see the man who was standing in front of her. He thought that he kind of looked like her. Maybe he was just imagining things.

He tried listening to see what they were talking about. He heard the man tell Melonie that she was worthless and that he didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to marry her. Andrew didn't want to get in the middle of it, but he didn't appreciate what this guy was saying to his wife.

Then he hit her across the face. Melonie glared at him and started yelling and the man pushed her to the ground. She fell into a mud puddle, which ruined her dress.

This made Andrew very angry. He slammed the front door open, walked up to him and punched him in the face. "You learn a thing or two as a drug dealer."

"Andrew no.." Melonie said. She didn't want them near each other.

Matthew rubbed his face. "Drug dealer, huh? Now I understand why you would marry my sister." He laughed.

Andrew punched him again. "Also try professional athlete, robotics expert, and doctor!" He punched him over and over until he fell to the ground. Then Andrew kicked him in the jaw, and Melonie heard a loud crack. She flinched.

She ran up to Andrew and grabbed his arm. "Let's go inside…Come on."

"NO!" He wasn't going to just walk away after the way this guy treated her.

"Andrew, please!" she begged. She knew how Matthew was. As far as she knew he could be worse than she remembers. It had been years since they had seen each other.

Matthew stood up. He looked very angry. Andrew was ready to fight him. Matthew took out a gun and pointed it at him. Andrew quickly did the same, but Matthew just laughed and pointed the gun at Melonie. She stood completely still because she was too scared to move. Andrew narrowed his eyes and kept the gun pointed at him.

Matthew grabbed his sister and held the gun to her. He glared at Andrew. "Drop it."

Andrew didn't move.

"DROP IT!" he yelled. He moved his arm tightly around her neck.

Andrew just stood there and eventually got an idea. He smirked and whistled loudly. Next thing Matthew knew, a dog bit him hard in the back of the leg. He let Melonie go and she fell to the ground. Andrew ran to her and helped her up. Matthew pointed his gun at Andrew's Scottish terrier and was about to shoot it, when Andrew picked up his gun and shot him in the leg.

Melonie flinched when she heard the gun shot. Matthew yelled in pain and fell to the ground. Andrew wrapped his arms around Melonie and held her tight. He felt bad for what he did. This guy was her brother…wasn't he? She said she had no siblings. Then why did he call her his sister? But he was also trying to kill her. Andrew didn't feel bad anymore.

Matthew stood up and limped toward them angrily. Melonie looked at Andrew. "Let's go…Come on," she said. She pulled him inside and locked the door. Andrew's dog came in through the little doggie door.

Melonie was shaky and nervous. Andrew was worried about her. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like it. "What was that?"

She shook her head and looked down at her ruined dress. "I-I'm going to…change…"

"Melonie, no. Please talk to me," he said as he took her hands.

Her hands were shaking. He held them tight and pulled her closer. She hugged him and cried. He hugged her as tight as he possibly could without hurting her and stroked her hair.

"I don't know how he found me," she said through her tears.

"What does he want?" Andrew asked.

"Me," she replied. "…dead."

Andrew was shocked. What was wrong with this guy? Melonie was perfect. How could he want to kill her? "Why?"

She sighed. "He isn't really my brother. When my parents first got married they didn't think they could have a child. They tried many times, but nothing happened. So they decided to adopt. They adopted him when he was five years old. His parents left him, because they simply just didn't want him. A little less than a year later, my mother became pregnant with me. He has always been jealous of me, because I had my real family. He always tried getting rid of me. He would hurt me and say I fell, or he would take money from my mother's purse and blame me…I avoided him after my parents died. This is the first time I've seen him since." Her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Melonie…" Andrew hugged her tight. He looked at her muddy clothes. "You should go clean up. We can eat here tonight. What would you like to eat?"

She looked away. "I lost my appetite. I'm not hungry anymore." She walked upstairs and started a shower.

She took a very long shower. She needed to relax. When she was done, she got dressed and sat on the couch.

Andrew saw that she was out and sat with her. Melonie looked worried. "He's going to come back," she told him. She knew he would. Now that he knew where she lived…who knows what he would try to do.

Andrew kissed her. He wasn't going to let him ever touch her again. He was going to make sure no one ever did. "I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" she asked.

"Your brother…" he told her. He knew how she felt. He had sibling problems just like she did. Only he had Anna to help him through it. She had no one.

"It's…alright I guess." She sighed. It really wasn't alright.