Do No Harm
12. Kiss of Death
---
"Sure you got everything?"
"Yep."
"Positive?"
"Like a flu test in April." Autum zipped up her suitcase and turned to face her sister, "You have to face him sometime, Mel. Why not now?"
Melony sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she strolled into the room and sat down on the bed, "I know. I just...I can't believe he would think that I cheated on him!"
Autumn but her bottom lip, "Well, you kinda did..."
"What?! I did not!" Melony fumed.
"Granted!" Autumn held her hands up in defense, "Granted, emotional cheating isn't as bad as the other kind of cheating. In fact, it doesn't even compare. But it's not your fault, and it's not Carlito's--it's Montel's."
Melony nodded in agreement. She knew for a fact that Tavious had been the one to plant the idea in Carlito's head, and she knew without a doubt that she'd never forgive him for that. She was ready to sever all ties with him completely. In fact, he was in the same boat with Jericho right about now. Having helped Autumn do her makeup that morning to hide the bruise he'd left and it still shining through, Mel felt she couldn't be held responsible for what she would say or do the next time she saw. It was funny, she thought. Two weeks ago, both her and Autumn's lives had been perfect. Now, they were chaotic and messy.
"Guys," Carlito called from the hallway, startling Mel from her thoughts as he poked his head in at the door, "We've got trouble."
---
Kennedy was fuming, his face red as he kept his hands balled up at his sides, willing them with all his might to stay put, "Chris, I'm telling you one last time--go away."
"I have to get in there, damn it. I need to see her!"
"Why? So you can evaluate the damage you did on her face?!"
Jericho's jaw clenched, "I need to apologize for that."
Ken shook his head, a part of him silently proud that thanks to him, Chris looked pretty shitty himself, "You hit her, Chris. An apology is not gonna make that go away."
"You think I don't know that?!" Jerichi ran his hands over his face, pacing back and forth on the porch, "I have to make it right. I have to fix everything!"
"Nothing's gonna fix it, you son of a bitch!" Melony burst out the door and stormed past Ken, not hesitating a second before slapping Chris across the fact, "I thought I told you, you weren't welcome here anymore!"
Rubbing his jaw, Chris kept his eyes focused on the ground, "I guess I deserved that."
"You deserve a lot more, jackass!" Melony sighed, "You can't even look at me."
"I don't want to look at you! Or Ken, or Carlito either! I came to see my fucking girlfriend, alright?!" He screamed, "And the last time I checked, I wasn't dating either of you!"
Ken rolled his eyes as he stepped inside the door, pulling out a suitcase on wheels and a gymbag, shoving them harshly towards Chris, "Autumn doesn't wanna see you, alright? So just take your shit and go, before I call the cops."
"Just answer me one thing, my supposed best friend," Chris spat, glaring deeply into Ken's eyes, "Was she already sleeping with you, or did she do it just to get back at me?"
Ken's punch connected with Jericho's face so hard, it knocked him down. Without another word, Ken lead Melony back into the house and shut and locked the door.
---
Autumn had brought her luggage downstairs and had sat in the kitchen, listening intently to the argument occuring on the front porch. She had wanted to badly to just storm out of there, kick Chris in the nuts, tell him everything she thought about him, and end it all right then and there. So why didn't she? Was she afraid? Of Chris? Of something else? A small part of her had hoped they could mend everything that was wrong, and simply go back. But she knew now that was impossible. It was over, and she desperately wanted him to know that. She just couldn't face him yet.
"I'm ready to go." She muttered to the empty kitchen, glancing at her watch.
"Well, let's go!" Ken shouted from the doorway, startling her, "I mean, granted, if we leave now--together--that means Melony and Carlito will have to drive to the airport together, and that means they'll argue and fight, and eventually..."
"Fix everything that's bothering them!" Autumn nodded and stood, "Let's get going."
"Mel's gonna kill us both."
"What else is new?"
They loaded up their luggage into Autumn's rental car and she tossed him the keys, before climbing into the passenger's seat. Ken said a silent prayer of thanks, seeing as he hadn't been entirely sure Autumn would agree to leaving with him. Neither of them had mentioned--or even hinted about--their kiss the previous night, and Ken was anxious to know where they stood. Was it simply just a kiss--a heat of the moment sort of thing? Or was it an indication that there was something more between them? Oh man, since when did he care? He hadn't even liked her two weeks earlier.
"God, I am such a woman!" He muttered and got in the car.
Five miles down the road--after spending ten minutes arguing over radio stations--Autumn received a text message from Melony. Eyes wide as she read it, she burst out laughing and looked at Ken, "She's definitely going to kill us."
Ken laughed nervously, "Why? What did she say?"
"A lot of stuff I couldn't repeat without feeling like I needed to go to confession right afterwards." She shook her head, tossing her phone in her purse, "Don't worry--she'll thank us later."
"Ha! Yeah right! We've been marked! By her...kiss of death."
Autumn narrowed her eyes at him, "Very subtle, Ken."
He scoffed, "Subtle? What are you talkin' about? What do I have to be subtle about?"
"Stop kidding."
Ken glanced at her and sighed, "I'm not good at this kind of stuff."
"Who is?"
"I just wanna know...was it something or nothing?"
Autumn frowned, truly thinking about it. What had it been? Amazing, yes. Better than Jericho, yes. Just what she needed, yes. But in the grand scheme of things, what had it been? "I know." She stated truthfully, looking over at him, "There's so much going on. All I know is that it was a breath of fresh air. That I..."
"We'll figure it out!" He interrupted her, not wanted to ruin any sort of relationship between them by making it weird, "Or, atleast cooly ignore it and continue with our demented reportoire."
Autumn smiled, breathing a sigh of relief, "I like that idea."
---
Carlito glanced nervously from Melony, to the road, and back again. He cleared his throat, eyes narrowing as he fought to think of something to say. Finally, he decided it was probably best to just suck it up and admit his wrong-doings. "Babe, I'm sorry."
Melony shrugged, "For what?"
"You know for what." He shook his head, "I was in the wrong, and I'm sorry."
"You know what hurts the most?" She turned so she could look at him, "The fact that you don't trust me. You go and let Montel put all these ideas in your head, and you lose your trust in me!"
"I know, I know, I'm..." Carlito sighed, feeling guiltier by the second, "I'm sorry. That's all I know how to say, okay? I'm sorry, and..."
"Just promise me one thing, Carly." She stared at him pleadingly, "Don't ever believe him over me. Montel was a good friend, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a lying, conniving, manipulative son of a bitch!"
"Mel, I..."
"Just promise me!"
He reached over and took hold of her hand, squeezing tightly, "I promise."
---
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Oh, damn it!" Melony groaned, "How does paper beat rock anyway? That is so messed up!"
Carlito laughed, "Hey, I didn't make the rules, baby, that's just the way it is!"
"Whatever! Chances are, those two dorks are in the airport bar anyway."
"See? You're better at tracking than I am. It's best that you lost." He smiled at her, before pulling her into a hug and kissing her softly on the lips, "I'll be right here, ok?"
"Yeah, you better be. If I have to search for you too, it's gonna be all over and we're stayin' our asses in Miami!" She smiled and turned to leave, and Carlito sat down to wait. He glanced at his watch and, seeing as there was over an hour to kill until their flight, decided he really needed something to do.
His cell phone rang and he answered it without looking, hoping it was a savior to cure his deathly boredom. "Hello?"
"Hey Carlito. What's up, man?"
Carlito froze, deciding to play it cool, "Hey Tavious, what's up?"
"Don't play me, man." Montel's voice took a tone that chilled Carlito to the bone, "Everything's still good between you and Mel, ain't it?"
"Yeah--why wouldn't it be? You think one little manipulative white lie can come between us?"
"No--I think the truth can come between you. I love Melony, more than you know. And deep down, she feels the same about me. So don't bother planning too far into the future, cause chances are, she'll be walking down the aisle with me."
