There was no way I could save him now that he was on Melissa's radar. "Nice to meet you." Ralph replied, holding his hand out. "I'm..."
"Ralph. I know." She cut him off and walked past him, in to his room like she did with mine. A bad habit she had, since she felt entitled to know everything that went on in our family. That's part of the reason I did not feel the need to talk to her that often. Melissa gracefully perched herself on the stool for the vanity and crossed her legs at the ankle, leaving a confused Ralph gawking at her.
When he turned to me, after his disbelief faded, a blush covered his face. "You can come in too if you like." Ralph offered opening the door wider, eyes cast downward, not making eye contact. It did put a small hole in any hope I had, but I was asking him to cheat on his boyfriend, even though I told him it would not count here.
I nodded, not that he saw, and walked past him to sit on his bed and stared down my sister. This did not go unnoticed by her. "Oh relax Jack." She said leaning back on her hands. "It's not like I'm going to tell him you wet the bed until you were seven." My face flushed and Melissa put her hand over her mouth lightly. "Opps! There I go shooting my mouth. You should know better than to make me nervous." She commented, a smirk playing on her plump lips.
I could hear Ralph chuckle from beside me and I swiftly turned to him, glaring and daring him to tell anyone. "We all have things we're embarrassed of." He said fighting laughter. "I ran to my parents room during thunder storms until I was almost ten." He threw out, trying to make me feel better. It helped a bit, but the damage had been done.
Melissa just sat back, basking in the new information she had got. "So, tall me about yourself Ralph?" She asked, regaining the room's attention. "I heard you were in a car crash. How have you been dealing with that?" My sister sat up straight to make sure she could soaking in his answers. Big difference between Carrie and her was, if Carrie did not know you that well, she could not care less about anything you have to say, that is unless you are agreeing with her. Melissa had to know as much as she could about as many people she could. It is no wonder I like my co-worker better.
Ralph bit at his bottom lip, mauling over how her would respond. "Well, I'm still figuring thing out about myself..." He gave a small laugh indicating it was meant as a joke, but my sister just raised a, perfectly plucked, eyebrow. "But I have been remembers a few small things here and there, like, I remember playing sports and how much I loved it." Ralph paused to rate our reactions, until he was waved on to continue. "When it comes to dealing with the accident, it's hard. It upsets me to see faces and the hope they have that I'll be back to my old self soon." A sad smile played on his face. "I feel like they have expectations of me, but they're of a person I don't know." My sister looked like she was going to comment on it, but instead sat there quietly. I got up, walked over to Ralph and put a hand on his shoulder. Ralph turned and pulled me in to a tight hug. "It's hard and for some reason, you're the only person, other than my aunt and uncle, that can accept me and make it feel okay that I'm so lost."
I buried my face in to the crook of his neck and rubbed his back in a slow movement. Looking up, I noticed Melissa watching with sad, understanding eyes. "I'm sorry Ralph." She said in such a soft voice, I almost did not believe it came from her.
Ralph released me and turned back to her, a normal smile back on his face. I kept my hand on his back, not wanting to lose the warm contact. "It's fine. You were just asking normal questions that come with these type of things." Melissa started playing with her wavy hair, still having a downtrodden aura around her. "Really, it's fine." He egged on. "Is anyone else hungry, 'cause I'm starving and food sounds amazing right now." Ralph gave her a smile and she gave a small one back.
"Fine, let me show you to the kitchen." She said hopping up and waving him out of the room to follow her. "Just try not to spoil your dinner."
Ralph gave me grabbed my hand off his back and entangled his fingers in his own. It made my heart flutter. "No way I'm I letting you leave me alone with her." He joked dragging me along with him as he followed Melissa down the hall.
"Like I'd let you face her alone." I gave his hand a small squeeze. Entering the kitchen, I noticed a thick book resting on the counter. "I didn't know you could read Melissa." I joked picking it up.
My sister rolled her eyes as she opened the fridge to retrieve a drink. "Very funny." I gave her a smile before turning my attention back to Ralph and gesturing for him to look through the cabinets. "For your information, that's mother's book that she's been writing in."
That information sparked my interest as I took a seat on one of the bar stool. "That's new. What's she writing about?" I asked grabbing an apple from the counter and sinking my teeth in to it.
Melissa sat next to me, giving my a worried look. I could feel the uneasiness radiating from her and it transferred to myself. "Well...It talks about her feelings after dad's death and all the ways she grieved. She also puts down changes in the household and even goes in to how she saw us trying to cope with the situation." My sister paused waiting for my response, but the only thing I gave her was a dull stare and placing the rest of the apple down. "Say something please." I could tell my actions, or lack there of, was unsettling to her, but there was no way I could respond that she would like. "I hate that this is how you choose to deal with anything related to dad." Melissa scolded, but in a soft voice.
I knew Ralph was biting his time, by pretending to look in the cabinet, trying to eavesdrop without being too obvious. "I know you're listen, Ralph." I commented, Melissa twirling around to look at the blonde.
Shutting the door slowly, Ralph was biting on his thumb nail and finding the door more interesting than it is. "I..."
Cutting him off, I tossed the apple in the trash, suddenly not hungry. "I don't want to talk about this. Just forget this was brought up." I got up and gave my sister a glance. "Can you show Ralph around. I suddenly don't feel good." Without waiting for an answer, I headed back to my room and locked myself in. That's where I found myself for the majority of the first day.
A/N: With all the projects I've been buried under I haven't had time to sit down and write.:/ Hopefully that will all change soon. Sorry this chapter was a bit upsetting, my mind is blanking out a bit. -.- I'll work on it for next chapter.
CSIBakerstreet221b: I'm glad you liked it! More Ralph/Jack interaction to follow! :)
StanIsSexy100: Thanks! :D
People are so petty and tiny: Cliffhangers make sure people come back! XD Sorry for this chapter not being as good, but like I said I'll be working on it.
StarSeeker3459: That's crazy! XD LOL Melissa will play a pretty big part during their trip so there will be more of her. X)
Just Another Reviewer, BlueAnchor: Sorry that this chapter doesn't really have much Ralph/Jack stuff, but later chapters will. I promise!
Socialstudiesgeek16: I'm glad Melissa is a liked character so far! (not sure after this chapter .) Jack's mother will appear in the next chapter. :) The rest...let's just say TBC. XD
Sadistic Blonde: Don't worry. We'll see process soon. :)
