“Stop right there, Missy,” he said. “Or I’ll shoot!”
She turned toward him, her jaw tightened and her eyebrows narrowed. “So you’ll kill me just like you killed Momma? Is that what you want to do?”
A siren sounded in the background, but Melody ignored it. The gun still pointed toward her, but her father’s expression hardened even more. “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Sure I do. Momma could’ve been saved, but you made her die. You wouldn’t let her have treatment, so you killed her. You’re gonna pay for that, and you’ll also pay for what you’ve done for me for years. You’re an evil man, and I’m not afraid of you anymore. You can’t hurt me.” She turned just as the police ran into the house. Their guns were pointed toward Martin, and Melody stood still. If she moved, she knew someone would shoot.
“Put down your weapon,” one of the policemen said. “Melody, are you okay?”
“Yes. But how do you know my name?”
“Someone by the name of John called our department. He was in New York and said you were in trouble.”
She sighed. “He was right, and I’ve been in trouble for years. But I’m walkin’ right out of trouble as soon as you gentlemen tell me I’m allowed to go.”
“If you move, I’ll shoot you and anyone else in my way,” Martin said, raising the shotgun even higher and aiming toward her head.
“This is your last warning,” the main officer said to Martin. “Lower your weapon or we’ll be forced to shoot you, and we shoot to kill.”
Martin aimed and put his finger on the trigger. “Go to…” He didn’t finish his sentence before a shot rang out and he fell to the floor. One of the men grabbed the shotgun, while the other two tended to her father.
Melody stood still, stunned by what had just happened. She didn’t want her father to die, but at the same time, he was stopped from killing her.
“Are you okay?” one of the cops asked her. “Hey, you’ve been all over the news. You’re some celebrity in New York, right?”
“Not really.” She looked down at her father. “Is he gonna live?”
The man watched the two officers holding onto Martin’s chest, trying to stop the bleeding. “I don’t know. They called an ambulance. He’d have killed you, you know. If it weren’t for John, you’d be dead.”
“I see that.”
The man walked closer to her, studying her face. “How long has he been treatin’ you like this?”
She felt the tears fill her eyes. “Since I was eight.”
“And you let it happen? That’s a long time.”
“How could I stop it? He’s my daddy!”
The man handed her a business card. “Go see this man. He’s a psychologist and won’t charge you a thing. You were an abused child and you probably need therapy.”
She handed him the card back. “No, sir. I’m fine.” She hugged her arms tightly across her chest and watched the two police officers tending to her father, holding onto the wound with rags. Her father moaned and she wanted to hug him, but at the same time, considered him to be evil.
“What’s gonna happen to him?” she asked, pointing.
“He’ll go to the hospital, then to jail. He’ll need a lawyer or he’ll be there for a long time.”
She picked up her suitcase. “Can I leave now?”
The man glanced at her father, then back at her. “Sure.” He walked with her out of the house, then helped put her suitcase into the back of the car. “John wants us to call him back. He wants us to keep tabs on you.”
Her life was in shambles and the last thing she wanted was for John to think even less of her. “Tell him to forget it. I can’t do as he wishes and my home is here. Tell him to forget me, too. I’m fine and I’m movin’ on. He needs to do the same.”
The officer smiled. “I’ll give him a dear John over the phone. It’s a shame because he really cares about you.”
She sighed, knowing it was true. “I know, but my life is so embarrassing, I have to rebuild from the ground up. I’m not upper class like he is, and can never be someone like that. He, of all people, should understand that.”
“Who is he, if you don’t mind me askin’?”
“John Spencer, the tennis player.”
The man’s eyebrows hit the ceiling. “John Spencer? The one who’s grandfather is a senator, and whose parents are gettin’ a divorce?”
“Yes, and it’s my fault they’re divorcing, too. See why I have to distance myself?”
The man shook his head, setting his jaw. “Oh, he’s not gonna like this one bit. He’s gonna hunt you down.”
“Let him try.” She opened the car door. “Thank you for savin’ my life. Tell the other guys that, too, will you?”
“Sure. Take care, and let me know if you want that psychologist’s card.”
She grinned, knowing she was tougher than ever. “Nope. I’m fine.” She got into her car and backed out of the driveway just as the ambulance was pulling in front of the house. She felt guilty, because she didn’t stop to find out if he’d be okay.
As soon as she was out of sight of the house, she started to cry. Her father could be dying and she just walked away. What kind of monster was she? Was she really that cold and insensitive?
She drove back to see her aunt and her brother. They’d blame her and she knew it wasn’t going to be nice. She pulled into the driveway, got out of the car and went up to the apartment.
“Something’s happened.” She fell onto the couch and put her head into her hands.
“What, sugar?” Aunt Shirley asked, holding a cup of tea in the kitchen.
“Dad’s been shot. He’s in the hospital and I don’t know if he’s gonna make it.”
Her aunt sat down beside her, silent for a moment. “What happened?”
Melody relayed the whole story, in a full sob by the time she was done.
“So you had Dad shot?” Jimmy asked, sitting on the other side of Melody. Belinda was still in the rocking chair, laughing at everything, even though it wasn’t appropriate.
“No,” Melody said, wiping her cheeks. “I tried to leave, but the cops showed up and he wouldn’t lower the gun. He wanted to kill me.”
“But he’s done that before,” Jimmy said. “And he always lowers the gun and walks away.”
She leaned up toward her brother. “But this time, he had to prove himself to Jillian. You don’t get it, do you? He doesn’t need me to take care of him anymore. He wanted to kill me just like he killed Momma.”
“But he didn’t kill Momma,” Jimmy said.
Aunt Shirley sat back on the couch. “I was afraid this would leak out. He didn’t kill her directly, but he didn’t allow her to get treatment. It’s the same thing.”
“What? Daddy did that?” Jimmy asked. He stared at Melody. “And you knew?”
“I found out in New York. The Johnsons were there and I overheard the whole thing. It’s not pretty, Jimmy, and we’ve been livin’ with an evil man all our lives.”
“How dare you say that?” Jimmy exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “The man’s hangin’ on by a thread and you say he’s evil?”
“You haven’t lived with him for the past eight years after you left home. You haven’t been tortured or beaten like I have. He never laid a hand on you, and even sent you to college when you knew I was the one who wanted to go. You didn’t care and threw it all away.”
Jimmy’s mouth hung open and he finally turned toward Belinda. “I think we need to leave. Someone has to be there for Dad.” He grabbed his wife’s arm, but she stayed put.
“This is one time I have to agree with Melody,” she whispered.
Jimmy’s eyebrows rose and his jaw slackened. “You’re goin’ against your husband in a family fight?”
She faced him directly. “Yes, sir. As a matter of fact, I think it’s time I leave you and move on. I’ve seen how your father treated Melody, and you’re beginnin’ to treat me the same way. I’m done, Jimmy.” She walke
d toward the door. “Thank you for a nice vacation,” she said to Shirley, then left the apartment.
“Belinda! Don’t leave!” Jimmy ran after her. “I’ll change! I promise!”
Aunt Shirley closed the door behind them and faced Melody. “So what now?”
She lowered her head, tears filling her eyes. Bad things seemed to follow her. “Considerin’ I seem to ruin every relationship of anyone near me, I’ll find a place as soon as I can and get out before Uncle Ned comes back.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Shirley said with a grin. “I’m glad you stood up to all of them, and I’m proud of you. It’s about time, too.”
“Do you think so?” Melody asked while lifting her head and wiping her tears.
“Yep.” Shirley picked up the phone and sat down beside her. “I want you to call John. Right now. Tell him you’re okay and thank him for savin’ your life.”
“You’re right. I have to thank him, but I don’t want to run up your phone bill.”
“Don’t worry. We’re in the modern times now. One fee, call as much as you like, anywhere.”
“Are ya sure?”
“Sugar, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” She thrust the phone at Melody. “Call him, then I want to talk to him too.”
“I don’t have his number, but I have the number for his bodyguard.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Bodyguard?”
“He’s a celebrity and needs to keep the reporters and psychos away.”
Shirley smiled. “Oh, that makes sense then. Call the bodyguard and get John’s number.”
Melody took the card from her purse and dialed the number.
“Ted here.”
“It’s Melody. Can I speak to John?”
“He’s kind of busy right now, but I’ll tell him you called,” Ted said.
“He’s playin’ in the U.S. Open, isn’t he?”
“Yes, and he’s worried about you and isn’t doin’ well in practice. I’ll tell him you called and you’re fine.” He paused for a moment. “You are fine, right?”
She tried to smile but it was difficult. “Yes, sir. Better than fine. Thank him for savin’ my life, will you?”
“Sure. I’ll give him your best.”
“Thank you.”
“Have him call me,” Shirley whispered, writing down her number. Melody had the number memorized already, but it was good to have it in front of her.
“Oh, Ted, can you have him call the number here when he’s done?”
“Hold on.” She heard him get some paper. “Shoot.”
“Poor choice of words.” She heard him laugh, then told him the number.
“I’ll give him the message,” Ted said. “Is this the number where you can be reached?”
“It’s my aunt’s number and I don’t know where I’ll be. She wants to talk to him.”
“I understand. I’ll tell him.” They said goodbye and she ended the call.
Melody faced Shirley. “I have to get a job, and I’ll be back as soon as I find something. Thank you so much for helpin’ me out.”
“No problem. I’m gonna call the hospital to find out about your dad, then open the salon. When you get back, I could use some help.”
Melody smiled. “I’d love to.” She gave her aunt a hug, then left the house and drove to the cemetery. She talked to her mother’s grave for a few minutes, then headed toward the hospital. As soon as she walked inside, she felt an overwhelming feeling of calm, as if she’d conquered something very difficult.
She approached an older woman with a bouffant hairdo at the front desk. “My father was shot and brought into emergency. Can you tell me how he’s doin’?”
“Melody Gray,” she said with a smile. “You’re our local celebrity!”
Melody offered the woman a half-smile. “Can you tell me how my father, Martin Gray, is doin’?”
She looked on the computer and smiled. “Oh, he’s fine. It was only a flesh wound to his shoulder. The bullet grazed his skin, then bounced off.” She leaned forward. “But you didn’t hear that from me. You need to ask the doctor.”
“Right,” Melody said, grinning. She got the directions from the woman and headed toward the third floor nurses’ station. “I’d like to talk to the doctor who treated Martin Gray. I’m his daughter—”
“Melody! We’ve seen you all over the news! Welcome home.” The young nurse leaned forward. “So how’s John?”
Melody’s eyebrows rose. “John? Spencer?”
“Sure. How many John’s do you know?”
“Just one, and he’s fine, I think. I haven’t spoken to him since Daddy got shot. How is Daddy?”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Feisty. They have a police officer guardin’ him. Did he really pull a gun on you?”
“Yes, but that’s beside the point. So he’s gonna live?”
“Oh yeah, but you need to talk to the doctor.” She leaned out and looked down the hall. “He’s headed this way right now.”
Melody turned to see an older man coming toward them. “Melody Gray. Do you remember me?”
“Dr. Sawyer?”
“Yes. I’m the one who set many, many broken bones for you. I tried to put your father in jail, but he always weaseled his way out.”
“I know,” Melody said. “But this time, it should stick.”
“It’s about time, too,” he said. “He’s gonna be fine, but if I were you, I’d stay away from him.”
“I intend to. Thank you.” She talked a little bit longer with Dr. Sawyer, then said goodbye, turned, and walked away. She was done with her father, and it was finally over. She couldn’t be happier.
After stopping for a newspaper, she checked the classifieds for a job and started going over them one by one. The first one she saw was about ten miles from her aunt’s house in a town called Oakville, so she drove to the warehouse and walked inside, determined to get a job. The building was old, but pictures hung on the wall of the reception room. They told the story of how the building was created, showed the founding fathers and the work done at the place. The room reeked of cigarette smoke, but Melody just ignored it and marched up to the front desk.
“I’m here about the production line work,” she told the woman doing her nails behind the counter.
The woman stared at her mid-stroke of the nail polish brush, raked her eyes over Melody’s clothes, then turned back to her face. “You seem overqualified.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a celebrity. You can get a job anywhere.”
That was easy for her to say. “But I don’t have a job. Can I at least apply?”
“Sure.” The woman put down her brush, air-dried her nails by shaking them, then handed her a clipboard, being extra careful of her wet nails. “Knock yourself out.”
Melody sat in the small office and finished the paperwork in no time, listing references of people she’d known all her life. She handed the thing back to the woman and as she turned to leave, she heard a door open behind her.
“Melody Gray.”
She spun around. “Yes?”
“I’d like to see you in my office,” a rotund man with gray hair said. “I think we can make a deal.”
“Right now?” She looked down at her jeans. “I’m not dressed for an interview.”
He smiled. “Doesn’t matter.”
She followed the man into his plush office and sat in a chair situated across the desk from him, realizing he didn’t have a southern accent. It made her miss John.
The man leaned forward with a serious look on his face. “We have an opportunity that you won’t want to pass up. We’re a greeting card company, and the job you applied for is assembly line work, boxing up greeting cards.”
Melody nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“I want to make you a deal. I’ll pay you twice minimum wage if you do two jobs for me. Half the time you’ll do the boxing, and the other half the time, I’d like to center a new greeting card around your face.”
“Excuse me?”
“Consider it a modeling job. Your face will go out all over the world as our new funny girl. You’ll be put on many cards with a funny caption.”
“Nothin’ crude,” she said. “I’m not that type of girl.”
“That’s fine. I don’t think of you as the crude type, but the girl next door who does stupid things and is fun.”
“Stupid?”
He sat back in his chair and grinned. “Oh, you know what I mean. Locks her keys in her car, overspends on her checkbooks, you know, things we all do. We were looking for someone just like that and I think we found it. You’ll sell our greeting cards and I know you’ll be good at it. You’re going to put our face on the map while we do the same for you.”
She studied him for a minute. “You know, modeling agencies in New York wanted to talk six figures with me.”
“But you’re here and not in New York. There’s a reason for that, and I don’t think you’ll find double minimum wage in any other business in West Virginia with your background.”
“True,” she said. “Can I do it on a trial basis?”
“Let’s say a month and see how it goes. You’ll be working the first four hours of your shift in a photo shoot when needed, then the last four hours in the assembly line.”
“Why so much for the photo shoot?”
He smiled. “You’d be surprised at how long it takes to get the pictures just right.” He extended his arm. “Deal?”
She shook his hand. “Sure. When do I start?”
He checked his watch. “At three. You’ll be working three to eleven.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’ll have all the papers ready for you to go when you get here. Just stop by my office, and welcome to Oakville Greeting.”
“Thank you, sir.” She turned and walked out. Double minimum wage was a great amount for a high school education, and she couldn’t be happier. Maybe losing her job at Jack’s was a good thing after all?
As soon as she got into her car, she looked at the apartments for rent. She drove down the street about half a mile to a place that boasted furnished apartments for a thousand a month. She didn’t need much, just a place to sleep, a bathroom, and a place to eat.
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