"Melissa?"
the teen stared blearily at the red walls of her bedroom, wrapped tightly in a blanket with Jesse at her feet.
Dick stepped farther into the room, "Can I do anything?"
it had been three very gloomy days.
"Invent the time machine"
In this particular stage of grief, it wasn't a good idea to remind Melissa that both her mother and ACME had time machines. Truthfully a day earlier, Dick was ready to borrow one and save the dog but after a lecture about what it could do to a timeline, he'd been forced to let the idea go.
Time machines were to be used for observation, not interference.
"Anything else?"
"Nooooooooooo" she slid from her chair, hit by another crying spell, "I want my puppy!"
Wordlessly, Dick sat beside her waiting for a moment before placing an arm around her while she cried
there was nothing else he could do.
…...
Melissa stared blankly at her dinner that night, a frown on her face.
"One bite, Melissa, please just one" Jenny pleaded, "You haven't eaten anything in three days"
"Not hungry"
Florence slammed her fork down, "Stop coddling her it's just a dog!"
Jenny jumped from her chair, struggling to pin Melissa in place while yelling, "Mother!"
"Never speak that way about my baby!" Melissa was still fighting Jenny who was losing steam.
"Well, it is just an animal and she has another one," Florence said defensively.
"Melissa," Jenny looked tiredly at the struggling girl, "Will you go to your room if I let you go?"
"Yes"
Melissa stomped off to her room, red in the face and biting back tears. She really didn't like this woman.
…...
As the days passed Florence's 'helpful' observations became more frequent. Melissa's condition got worse and Jenny was about ready to pull her hair out.
That's when the chilling realization dawned on her.
Melissa hadn't been taking her medicine.
Gathering the antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and the various other medications Melissa took on a daily basis Jenny hurried to Melissa's room and pushed open the door.
The curtains were drawn, the room was a mess. Basket overflowing with dirty clothes, desk littered with papers dog toys, and other random things were strewn haphazardly on the floor while Melissa slept wrapped tightly in her comforter.
Carefully maneuvering her way to the bed with the Ziploc bag of medications and a glass of water Jenny tried her best not to trip or break anything.
"Melissa, Melissa," she shook the teen awake after setting the glass on the bedside table.
"What?" Melissa asked, voice muffled by her comforter.
"You haven't been taking your medicine, let's take it now"
"What's the point?"
"It'll help you feel better and you need to take it, sit up, sit up"
When Melissa refused to do so, Jenny pulled the comforter off, pushing the pills into Melissa's hands, "Take them, that's an order"
Melissa put them in her mouth and took a drink after she'd swallowed she lifted her tongue to show Jenny the medications had gone down.
"Good, now when you feel like yourself maybe you'll clean your room?"
Melissa made a non-committal noise before pulling the comforter back over her head.
I just have to give it a few hours maybe even less Jenny thought to herself optimistically.
"I don't know why you're trying so hard, Jennifer," Florence remarked when Jenny passed through the living room, "That girl will be a high school dropout"
"That's not what those say, mother," Jenny retorted motioning to the various framed achievements and report cards.
"Frivolous," Florence waved dismissively, "Just wait, she'll drop out run off and before you know she'll be selling herself on the street just like whatever wh-"
"Shut it, Mother!" Jenny angrily grabbed the laundry basket and walked quickly to the laundry room.
She was very close to snapping.
…...
It wasn't instant and Melissa was clearly not a hundred percent herself when Jenny saw her later on that Saturday but she appeared to be on the mend if the fact that she'd taken a long, much-needed shower was any indication. She still wore pajamas but they were clean.
"How are you feeling, Melissa?"
"Meh," Melissa replied.
"Clean your room, please?"
"Sure"
Melissa disappeared back into her room, spending the rest of the day tidying it.
But, still, Florence griped
"I don't see why you adopted such a trouble maker"
Jenny pinched the bridge of her nose wishing desperately that her mother would lose the ability to speak.
…...
Once her room was clean Melissa sat in her desk chair, with Marley's favorite tennis ball in hand. There was nothing to distract her now. If she slept anymore she'd have a killer headache. Lazily, she threw it against the wall, biting the lump that rose in her throat. Jesse caught it and brought it to her with a whine. He was still looking for his brother.
"I know, boy" she stroked his back, "I know"
There was a knock at her door.
"What?" she asked without opening it.
"Mel," came Anya's quiet voice, "Can we watch the show about the princesses again?"
Melissa almost said no but that was as good a distraction as any.
"Sure"
…...
Shaggy was about ready to pull his hair out. Without a way to send his twin home or repair the magical trinket that caused the mess, Christina was stressed. Her answers were short, cries of frustration common, and worsening.
In the hope of easing her stress, Shaggy had forced his doppelganger into what could only be described as his alternate outfit. The red t-shirt and blue jeans.
It did very little to help.
What could he do? How could he help?
To clear his head he announced, "I'm headed to HQ"
"ACME or the mansion?" Christina questioned without glancing up from the spellbook she was reading.
"Mansion"
"Drop them, off there would you?"
"Sure, Sweetie," turning to Velma and his twin he ordered, "Come on"
so, the trio headed for the mansion where hopefully, the Velma of this universe could be of help.
…...
After Anya had drifted to sleep mid-episode, Melissa, snatched the tennis ball from her room and carried it to the corner of the yard where Marley had been buried two weeks prior, the shovel still propped against the fence. Grabbing it, Melissa dug a small hole and placed the ball inside.
"Here you go boy, find a friend to share it with, okay?" she asked quietly, covering the hole.
Heading back inside, Melissa sat in the recliner trying to pull herself together when someone knocked at the front door. Desperate for a distraction, Jenny beat her to it opening it to find men in white scrubs.
"Can I help you?"
"We've come to collect Melissa," the one on the right read from the clipboard in his hand, "Says here, she's a danger to those around her"
"That's her!" Florence charged from the kitchen, pointing at Melissa who sat dumbfounded in her chair, "Take her away boys!"
"Right away, Miss Jennifer," they nodded, pushing past Jenny.
Melissa bolted for the backyard. While jenny yelled and screamed at the men to stop.
They didn't listen, shooting Melissa in the shoulder with a tranquilizer.
All at once, her body went numb and her world went black.
,,,,,,
Bum Bum Bum!
It's short but I'm happy with it.
