Who am I:
Chapter 1
Spike opened his eyes briefly some time later. He was laying on a couch or a bed of some sort. He had on different clothes than he'd had on in the car. He was sure of it, laying under a couple blankets. There was a soft glow in the room where he was. He tried to look around, but found even the simplest movements hurt like hell at that moment. He groaned softly. Instantly there was someone there running a damp cloth over his head, shushing him softly. He let his eyes close once more.
The woman, Melanie, that was sitting at his side checked his pulse, noting that it was a little stronger than the last time she had taken it. Which was good. She made a small notation and then moved to the stove to finish fixing her supper. The German Sheperd, Max, watched her from his spot next to their unexpected guest. He whined softly, thumping his tail softly before settling down again to keep watch.
She looked once more at the sleeping stranger on her bed and turned the heat down on the stove. He was cute, that was for sure. But she had made up her mind to never get involved with another guy ever again. They were more trouble than they were worth. With the obvious exception of her son. That was the only good thing that came out of her failed marriage to Winston. There were countless bad things that came out of the marriage. Hindsight was 20/20. She was wishing now that she had listened to her parents.
"I know Max. I don't know who he is either. I hope he's not wanted by the police. Or a part of the police. They aren't exactly high up on my list of favorite people right now. But I couldn't very well leave him there in that broken, freezing car. I wonder where Jamie is. He said he would be back, he just wanted to examine the guys car, and see if there was anything that could help us identify him." She was pulled from her thoughts when the door opened.
"Mom. Hey mutt. I towed the guys car back here. I will take a look once the storm blows over to see if it's fixable. I didn't get a chance to go through his bag. I will do it tomorrow. How is he?" Melanie nodded and stirred the food in the skillet. She was concerned that having this young man here was going to ruin their plans of hiding, but her conscience demanded that she take the man in. She pointed at the sink, silently telling him to wash up.
"Dinner is almost ready, Set the table after you wash your hands please. He's in and out of consciousness. I will be staying up tonight to keep an eye on him. I don't know how hard he hit his head or if he has any internal injuries. I hope he wakes up soon so we can get him on his way. After we do that, I was thinking that maybe we could also move on. What do you think?" Jamie rolled his eyes at the thought. He was tired of moving around. But at least he wasn't around his father anymore.
After grace was said, they dug into their meal of tex mex skillet. Very little was said as they were both exhausted from the already long day. Melanie knew it would be a long night ahead for the young man and for her. She knew, without asking, that Jamie was going to stay up all night as well even though he needed sleep more than she did. He had a part time job so they would at least have some money coming in.
Hopefully when they were able to stop running, she would be able to get a good job to support them so he could do things that teens liked doing. She had hated uprooting him from everything familiar. Until then however, they would just have to make do with what they could acquire. She was pulled from her thoughts when Max stood up suddenly and started sniffing at the stranger. Getting up, she walked over to him.
He was mumbling in his sleep, saying things that sounded vaguely like a different language. She had hated having to undress him before putting him to bed, but he was wet and cold. He would have gotten sick otherwise. Thankfully she had remembered to grab some of Winston's clothes so she at least had some pants, and shirts to put him in. She ran her wrist over his forehead. It was still cool to the touch. No fever.
"Where? Where am I? Wha-?" He struggled to form questions and she shushed him gently. His whole body suddenly relaxed. He was out cold again. She replaced the blankets and returned to her supper. Jamie had finished his dinner and put his dish in the sink. It was his turn to do the dishes. They usually talked a little bit during and after supper. Jamie liked the close bond he felt with his mother.
"Mom? Everything's going to be ok you know. You and I are away from Dad. I have a job, at least we have some money coming in. I wish you would have been able to get your money out of the account though. You shouldn't have to live like this. When this is all over, I'm going to buy you the biggest house I can find that you like." Melanie smiled and did up the dishes before sending him to get a bath and go to bed.
A couple hours later, Jamie was in bed on the cot, sleeping soundly. Max had been let out to go the bathroom and was now sleeping at the foot of the bed the Spike was in. Melanie settled back with a book, keeping note of the time. She looked at the track phone she had purchased along the way somewhere and debated calling her best friend, Emily. That was where they were ultimately heading.
Emily lived in the United States, in Louisiana. She had always been after Melanie to come visit but Winston had always discouraged it. Melanie hadn't wanted to face the fact at first that he was trying to isolate her and have her completely dependent on him. He had already gotten her parents to keep away. That had not been easy. Melanie could handle that, though she missed her parents greatly. She could not handle what he did to-.
No. She wouldn't think about that tonight. It only served to upset her too much. She didn't want to start crying, because her sobs would wake Jamie up. He needed sleep. After a few moments, she picked up the phone. She needed to talk to Emily. She would still be awake. Jamie usually slept like the dead anyway. It would take a near explosion to wake him up sometimes. Emily picked up on the first ring.
"Hey Chica! How's it going? Does Winnie-poo know you are talking to me?" She had given Winston a childish nick name, knowing that it had pissed him off. She hated him anyway. She only put up with him because of Melanie. She missed her best friend. It had been about six years since she had last seen her. It hurt after awhile. She waited for Melanie to answer, when she did, it floored her.
"No. I left him a couple weeks ago. I took Jamie and we are currently in hiding. I couldn't take the shit he was doing anymore. I was tired of wearing those damned dresses he insisted on and I was not going to stand by and let him continue what he was doing to my son. Did you get the package that I sent you yet?" Emily was quiet for a moment. She HAD gotten the package and as per the instructions inside had taken it straight to her saftey deposit box.
"Yeah I got it yesterday as a matter of fact. I didn't look at anything other than the instructions. It is currently sitting in my safety deposit box. You left him? ALRIGHT! Good for you! When you going to be here? You know you and Jamie are ALWAYS welcome here in my home. I'm sure my daughter would love Jamie. I know my husband won't mind. Jamie's what, about 16 now right?" They chatted for a few more minutes before Melanie was quiet again. She had to tell someone.
"I left him because he hit me. He broke my wrist. He was- NO ONE knows about this yet. Say NOTHING. He was also sexually abusing Jamie for the past 4 years. I couldn't let him continue. But I also could not report him right away. That's what is in the package. Photos, xrays, signed statements, etc. I don't know when we will be there. We've been on the run for 4 months now. I'm tired of running. I miss you. So much."She paused. She would NOT cry.
"Well don't cry about it now sweetie. Just concentrate on getting yourself and Jamie down here to us. We will work everything out as soon as you get here. I know that you don't like Cops, but you've met Eddie. He's a tenderheart where women and children are concerned. He will keep you safe. And I know that mutt you have will too. How did you manage the last four months. Do you have enough to eat, enough money, shelter? We can send you some if you need it." Melanie rolled her eyes.
"We are good for now. Jamie has a part time job. It's not much but it's all we have for now. No you can't send money. You know how I feel about charity. If everything goes according to plan we should be there in Louisiana in about 2-3 months. And once we are settled, and I am legally able, I am going to start classes at the college to get my degree in Psychology. That was another stupid little rule Winnie Poo had. I wasn't allowed to take classes. What an ass. As soon as I can get new passports made, we can cross into the United States."
They talked for a little while longer. Emily was concerned that Winston could track her through the phone, but Melanie had explained that it was a track phone. When she had left, she had taken only the barest essentials. She had let Jamie packa lot more than was necessary. But she had understood. She had bought a brand new laptop somewhere along the way so she could do research and check email and what not. She had paid cash so she knew he couldn't track her through the credit card receipts.
After about an hour, they had hung up. She felt a little better knowing that someone besides her and Jamie knew about the abuse. She plugged her phone in to charge, fired up the laptop and checked her email. There was an email from her mother. Telling her to stay safe and call her when she could. She also mentioned that Winston had come by the house that day looking for her. She said that Melanie had told her she and Jamie were going backpacking in Europe somewhere.
Melanie smiled at her mother's outright lie. She knew her parents hated Winston. She wished so much that she could go to them for money and comfort but Winston lived not far away and that would be like stepping onto a nest of hornets. Just as deadly and painful. She wrote her mother back a brief email thanking her for the lie and tell her to give her love to her father. She left the laptop up and running for a while and went to check on their unexpected guest. He was due for another vitals check.
Spike had kicked the covers off. That was refreshing. At least he didn't have a broken leg. So far the only injury it looked like he had was the bump on his head. She checked his pulse again. It was strong. She checked the bandages that she had put on his head. They were still dry. That was good. She checked for fever, he was good. She went back to her book, thinking that she might catch just a few minutes of sleep.
Sometime later, maybe an hour, she slowly became aware of someone's eyes on her. She opened her eyes, sat up and stretched. She looked over at Jamie, and noticed that he was dead to the world. Max was sitting up and whining. She looked over at the injured man and found herself staring into his brown eyes. At first she thought that he was just vacantly staring, but no, He looked at her and smiled.
"Hi." He smiled at her again and pulled the covers up to keep warm. She smiled at him. She turned to make a can of chicken soup to see if he could eat that. When it was done, she put it in a bowl and carried it over to him. He was sitting up a little better in bed. He quickly ate the soup and the handful of crackers that she had given him. When he was finished she took the bowl and set it in the sink.
"My name is Melanie. You had a car accident just down the road from my place. My son, Jamie and I brought you here. Otherwise you would have frozen to death. How are you feeling? You were out for only a little while." Spike nodded and looked confused. He touched his forehead gently and felt the bandages there. He looked at his wrist it was broken. He knew just by looking at it. Melanie nodded.
"I know it's broken. I didn't want to take you to the hospital until you woke up because I didn't know if you would be alright with it. I don't know anything about you, other than you are around my age and you Speak Italian. You were muttering earlier. Something about Boss, and team. You were also talking to Lewis? Does that make any sense?" Spike shrugged. He leaned back against the pillows.
"Thank you, and your son Melanie for rescuing me. I would have rathered not died just yet. Some of it makes sense, Alot is really fuzzy though. I know I was heading to a cabin for a week. But other than that It's a blank." He bit his lip and furrowed his brow. Melanie got him a glass of water and sat back, giving him time.
"What's wrong there? You look sick to your stomach." He nodded. She handed him the basin so he could throw up. Which he promptly did, twice. When he was done, He rinsed out his mouth and spat into the bowl. He handed the bowl back to Melanie and let a couple tears slide down his cheek.
"I don't remember my name. Who am I Melanie?"
-OK! what do you think?