Chapter 14

The next morning, Melissa prepared for her day. She placed the damning manila envelope in her briefcase. She had decided to tell Rachel this afternoon. She would follow her home after work. She knew it had to be today. She had taken a personal day for tomorrow, to spend another weekend with Glenn.

The workday slugged by. She was happy, though that she had signed a new client. That might put her in line for partner. A promotion like that would mean a much higher salary.

At lunch, she asked Rachel if she could come over to her house after work. An unsuspecting Rachel said she was looking forward to it.

At the end of the day, Melissa was slightly afraid of the events her visit to Rachel's would bring. Following her into her house, Rachel offered, "Want something to drink?"

"No thanks," Melissa said.

Noticing her behavior, Rachel asked, "Are you alright, Melissa?"

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Melissa began. "Rachel, honey. I want you to remember that I love you very much. You're the sister I never had."

Very confused now, Rachel said, "What are you talking about? Are you sick? Oh, my God, Melissa, please tell me you're not going to die."

Not saying anything Melissa pulled the manila envelope out of her briefcase and laid it on the coffee table in front of her.

"What's that?" Rachel asked.

There was no going back now. She couldn't turn back now if she wanted to.

"The other night at dinner, I hid Kevin's glass that he used. After you left, I had it sent to a crime lab to have Kevin's finger prints and DNA lifted from it. It was ran through the system and a match was found. The results are in that envelope."

Rachel was very angry at Melissa for her betrayal. "You did what? You lied to me! You didn't want to get to know him better! You wanted to…" She was so angry she couldn't finish her sentence.

"Rachel, I was only trying to protect you. Please understand," Melissa said.

"Protect me?" Rachel was yelling now. "I don't need you to protect me! I can't believe you did this. Did Carrie help you?"

"This was my idea. It was all me." Melissa said.

"Bullshit, Melissa! She helped you, didn't she?"

Melissa had no intention of answering her. She fully intended to take responsibility.

"Rachel, just read it!"

"I don't want to read it!" Rachel yelled.

"Why not? Fine, don't read it! But you just know that Kevin raped and beat a twelve year old girl to death! He walked on a technicality! Rachel, please listen to me! He's a killer!" Melissa begged.

Rachel was shaking her head. "Get out."

"What?"

"GET OUT!"

Melissa nodded her head, picked her briefcase up, and left. She only hoped Rachel came to her senses. She went home to get ready for her weekend. Letting herself in her apartment, she finally let her emotions out and cried. She cried out of fear and love for her friend.

She needed to talk to someone. Anyone. She called Carrie to give her the heads up that she'd told Rachel. She dialed Glenn's home number.

"Hello," it was Patricia's voice.

"Hello, Patricia, it's Melissa."

"Oh, hello, child. How are you?" The sweet woman asked.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing wonderful. What can I help you with, child?" She asked.

"I was hoping to talk to Glenn. Is he home?"

"No, I'm sorry, he isn't. He's working a double shift at one of the hospitals. He took the day off tomorrow in preparation for the weekend." Patricia explained. "Can I give him a message?"

"No, thank you. I'll see him this weekend. One more thing, though. Will Glenn be home tomorrow?"

Happy that Melissa asked, Patricia quickly said, "Yes. All day. He's finishing last minute details tomorrow."

Smiling, Melissa said, "Great, that's great. Could you not tell him I asked about tomorrow?"

"Of course." Patricia said. They said parting words and disconnected the call. Patricia knew in her bones Melissa was in love with Glenn. They were such a good match. She would see them married or die trying!

Melissa decided to drive to Glenn's early in the morning. She needed him. She needed the safety of his arms around her.

Early the next morning, Melissa packed a suitcase, including her swim suit, and two outfits for the party. Two because she didn't know if it was formal or casual. She loaded her car and headed for Kentucky.

Glenn slept in until seven a.m. Finally rolling out of bed to start his busy day. After eating breakfast, he went out to the garden to make sure the weeds had been pulled. Coming back in the house, he heard the doorbell chime. He started for the door to answer it, wondering who it could be this early.

He was surprised to see Melissa. "Hey! I didn't think I'd see you until tomorrow."

"Surprised?" She asked.

"Yes, I am. Pleasantly," he said.

He pulled her inside and kissed her. Pulling back, he said, "What's wrong, Baby?"

"I told Rachel about Kevin. She threw me out of her house." She said, wiping away a tear.

Kissing her head, he pulled her close and said, "Don't worry. She'll come around. She's just mad and hurt."

"I hope so," She said.

As if he knew what she needed, he held her tight against him. He caught sight of Megan working in the living room. When she seen he had seen her, she moved fast to get out of the room.

Melissa asked, "What was that about?"

"That was Megan. She's terrified of me," he answered.

"Why?"

"Who knows?"

He picked her bag up and headed for the stairs. They walked together to the third floor. He asked, "Do you want to share my room, or sleep in another?"

"Wow, you're kind of putting me on the spot here, Glenn. I might have to give that some consideration," She jokingly answered.

He placed her bag on his bed. He left to check on other things while she unpacked.

Her clothes put away, she went back downstairs. Coming to the second floor landing, she saw Patricia going into her office. She knocked on the door, and Patricia looked up.

"Hello, Ms. Dothan. How was your drive?"

"Melissa, please. My drive was great. I wanted to thank you for not telling Glenn I was coming today," she said.

"Oh, it's not problem. I like you and Glenn together. You look so natural." Patricia said.

They talked for a few minutes, enjoying their conversation. Suddenly, Glenn appeared in the doorway.

"Patricia, what are you doing?" He asked, suspiciously.

"Just talking to Melissa, dear." She replied with a not so innocent smile.

He responded with, "Mmmhmm."

"Honestly, Glenn. That's all I was doing. Melissa was telling me about her fascinating career." Patricia said, professing her innocence.

Melissa was a little confused, but was enjoying watching them. Whether they knew it or not, they were funny.

"I'm glad you're here, though, Glenn." Patricia said.

"Oh really. And why is that?" He asked.

"Well, I just wanted to ask you if you and Melissa had anything special planned."

"No, we don't," Melissa offered.

"Well, good then. I have plans for the two of you."

"Patricia," Glenn said in a warning tone.

"Oh, hush." She said, "I tell you, I have my hands full with this one," Patricia said to Melissa.

Melissa giggled, happy she came here today.

Glenn shook his head at Patricia and pulled Melissa out of the room.

"Crazy old bat," he said when they were out of ear shot.

"You two are funny," Melissa said. "Can I help do anything? Help you get finished faster?"

"That's alright. I only have a few more things to do and calls to make. Why don't you go for a swim. If you didn't bring a suit, one of the female staff might have an extra one."

"Really? Why would they keep their suits here?" She asked.

"They don't. I'm hosting a pool party for them tonight as a thank you for working tomorrow," he said.

"That's nice. But, Patricia said she has plans for us tonight." Melissa said.

"I told you, she's a crazy old bat," he told her.

"As luck would have it, I did bring a suit." They shared a kiss and she went to get her suit.

She had been enjoying the swim for about an hour. Suddenly, something grabbed her around the waist and pulled her under the water. When she resurfaced, she seen it was Glenn. "How did you do that? I didn't hear you come in the water," she said.

"Because, I'm sneaky," he said mischievously.

They swam together for awhile and got out of the pool. They dried off, got dressed and left the pool room.

Glenn took her hand and let her outside. "I want to show you something," he said.

They walked hand in hand to the barn. They walked to a stall that was occupied by a brown painted horse.

"Melissa, meet Slick. He's the reason I found you that night you wrecked your car," he said.

"Hello Slick," she said to the horse, turning to Glenn, she said, "How is that?"

Glenn explained, "Slick is afraid of thunderstorms. His name is Slick because he seems to sneak out easily. The night of the storm, he got spooked, escaped, and took off. I was chasing him when I saw you crash."

"Oh, I see. Well, thank you very much, Slick."

They headed back to the house. Once inside, they stayed in the living room most of the day.