Empower

by Ashley Stambaugh

  “Morning, ladies,” Tessa said with a small grin.

  Melina was too surprised to respond. She couldn’t believe that Tessa actually showed up and seemed to be in a good mood.

  Tessa put away her things and went to unlock the front door. She greeted a couple of customers then walked back to the front counter where Melina and Gwen were standing. “I didn’t expect you to be here so early,” she said to Gwen.

  “Oh, Melina asked me to come in.” Gwen turned to Melina.

  “I’m going to be out for most of the day,” Melina said. “And I, um, wasn’t sure if you were going to make it in or not.”

  “Oh,” Tessa said. “Where are you going?”

  “Canada. Dean isn’t responding to any of my calls or e-mails, and I really need to talk to him.”

  Tessa raised her eyebrows. “Wow. Canada. And you’re only going to be gone for the day?”

  “I’m going to try to teleport there,” Melina said. “It’ll be faster that way. That is, if I can do it.”

  “Of course you can do it,” Gwen said as she patted Melina on the back.

  Tessa rolled her eyes and said in a snide tone, “Of course. Melina can do anything with her powers.” She then turned around and walked out onto the floor.

  Melina looked after her friend. Tessa had seemed fine when she had first arrived, but now she was back to having an attitude again. What was going on with her? And why did Gwen’s comment about her powers make Tessa’s negative attitude flare up again?

  She turned to Gwen and said, “That’s the strange behavior I’m talking about.”

  “I see,” Gwen said. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

  “Thank you,” Melina said as she briefly touched Gwen’s arm. “Carl should be in soon. I’d better get going now.”

  She made her way back up to her apartment and grabbed her phone to call Lee. She hadn’t had a lot of time to talk to him about her going to Canada since he’d had a busy day at work yesterday, so he had asked her to call him in the morning before she left. He wasn’t too keen on her going, so he wanted to talk to her about it in more detail.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” Lee said.

  Melina smiled. “Good morning. You seem to be in a good mood.”

  “I am,” he said. “Especially now that I’m talking to you. Are you getting ready to leave soon?”

  “Yeah, um… as soon as I can gather up my courage.”

  “Tell you what,” he said. “How about I go with you?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Last night you weren’t too thrilled about me going, and now you want to come with me?”

  “Yeah. I don’t have much to do at the store today since I got so much done yesterday, and I thought it might ease your nerves if you had somebody go along with you.” He remained silent for a couple of seconds then said, “Last night I wasn’t being very supportive, and I’m sorry. I really do want to help you.”

  Melina wasn’t sure what to say. She was surprised, in a good way, that he wanted to come with her, but she was also scared. She had never teleported with another human on her own before. And he wasn’t just asking her to teleport to another location in town with him. They would be going to a completely different country. She swallowed and then attempted to say something, but he cut her off.

  “I know you’re scared,” he said. “But I also know you can do this. I have faith in you.”

  She let out a heavy breath. “Okay. Let’s try it then. I’ll teleport over to your place as soon as I grab everything.”

  “Okay,” he said. “See you soon.”

  She ended the call then quickly gathered her things. Then she closed her eyes and pictured Lee’s apartment. I want to teleport to Lee’s. As soon as she thought the words, she was gone and then reappeared right in his living room.

  As she looked around, she heard Lee’s voice coming from behind her. She turned and saw him walk into the room, his phone up to his ear.

  “Yeah, yeah. That’ll be fine,” he said to the person on the phone. “I’ll be in tomorrow. Yep. See you then.” He looked over at her as he ended the call and slid his phone back into his belt holster. “I was telling one of my managers that I was going to be out for the day. Are you ready to do this?” He stepped over to her and took her hands in his.

  She gave him a nervous smile. “I think so. It’s just… I’ve never teleported with another person before. What if something goes wrong?”

  “Could something go wrong?” Lee asked. “I mean, has Walter ever told you not to teleport with another person, or told you that something could go wrong if you didn’t do it a certain way?”

  Melina bit down on her lip. “Well, no…”

  “Okay then,” he said, giving her hands a squeeze. “Let’s give it a go.”

  She let out a long exhale then slowly nodded her head. “Okay.”

  Lee packed a few things in Melina’s purse and put on his coat, and then they were ready to go. They stood across from each other in the middle of his living room. Lee reached out and grabbed her hands.

  “Do you think this is good enough? Just to hold your hands?” he asked. “That’s all I did with my guardian angel, Ronan, when he teleported me to your apartment after Maura had attacked me.”

  Melina tilted her head to the side as she thought about it. She and Tessa had teleported with Walter one time, and all that they had done was hold his hand. But, Walter and Ronan were both angels, and they were used to teleporting with humans. While she did have angel powers, she was still only human herself, so holding Lee’s hands might not be enough for her.

  “Um, maybe we should be a little closer to one another.”

  Lee grinned. “No argument here.” He pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her.

  She smiled up at him as she laid her head on his chest and slid her arms tightly around him.

  “So do you know where Dean lives?” Lee asked.

  She shook her head. “No. But I know where he works.”

  Lee pulled back a bit. “You said he owns his own architecture firm, right?”

  She nodded.

  “If he works for himself then he could decide to work from home or not come in at all if he didn’t want to.”

  “I know,” she said. “But let’s just hope he decided to go to work today.”

  “All right,” Lee said. He pulled her in close again, a small grin on his lips.

  Melina cocked her eyebrow at him playfully. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”

  “I am enjoying it,” he said. “But I’m really just trying to make you smile. I can tell how nervous you are.”

  “I might be nervous, but I’m also determined.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said and then gave her a quick, reassuring squeeze.

  She smiled and took in a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s try this.”

  Lee nodded as he tightened his hold on her.

  Melina closed her eyes and brought up a mental image of the picture she had found online of Dean’s architecture firm. Then she started chanting in her mind, I want to teleport to Dean’s architecture firm.

  A few seconds later, she felt a chilly breeze on her face and knew she was outside. She opened her eyes and smiled as she saw a three-story brick building standing in front of her. She had made it to Dean’s office. Then suddenly it hit her. She had made it, but Lee hadn’t.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Melina’s breath quickened as she frantically started to look around the alley she had teleported into, hoping to see Lee, but there was no sign of him. She hurried over to the sidewalk and peered around the corner of the building. No one. Her mind began to race as she tried to figure out what happened.

  Why didn’t he make it? Did we do something wrong? Oh no. I hope nothing happened to him.

  Panic started to set in, but she quickly tried to push it out. “He’s fine,” she said to herself. “Nothing happened to him. He just didn’t make it for some reason, and he’s still back at his place. I just need to go ba
ck to get him.”

  She walked back to the alley, and after taking in a shaky breath, closed her eyes, clenched her fists together, and teleported back to Lee’s apartment. When she arrived a few seconds later, she opened her eyes to see Lee standing right where she had left him in the middle of his living room. A huge sigh of relief left her as she rushed over to him.

  “Melina,” he said as he pulled her into a tight hug. “You’re all right.”

  “Oh, Lee. I was so scared,” she said as she hugged him back. “I thought something had happened to you.”

  “I’m fine,” he said, gently rubbing her back. “But what happened?” He released her from the hug as he stepped back and looked at her.

  She shrugged and then shook her head. “I don’t know. It should’ve worked. I… I don’t know.”

  “Okay, okay,” he said as he held his hands up in the air. “Calm down, and let’s think about this.”

  “All right,” she said and then followed him over to the couch and took a seat.

  “Now, you did everything you usually do when you teleport by yourself, right?”

  Melina nodded. “Yeah. I brought up a mental image of Dean’s office and then chanted in my mind that I wanted to teleport there.”

  “Maybe that’s it,” Lee said.

  She gave him a confused look.

  “You chanted that you wanted to teleport to Dean’s office. Maybe you need to say that we want to teleport there.”

  Melina raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t even think about that. I bet you’re right.” She jumped up from the couch and held out her hands. “Here, let’s try again.”

  “Okay,” he said as he stood to join her.

  They hugged each other tightly again and this time she said we want to teleport instead of I. A few seconds later she felt the same cool breeze she had before, but when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t disappointed. Lee was there with her, his arms still wrapped snugly around her.

  He opened his eyes and looked around then smiled down at her. “We made it.”

  “Yes, we did.”

  He gave her a quick squeeze then kissed her lightly on the head. “I knew you could do it.”

  A proud smile took over her face. Yes, she had done it. She had actually teleported somewhere with another person.

  “Now,” Lee said as he gazed up at the brick building. “Let’s hope that Dean decided to come to work today. I’m assuming that’s the building?”

  “Yep. That’s it,” she said.

  “All right then. Let’s go see if he’s here.”

  Melina grabbed ahold of his hand, and then they walked around to the front of the building and through the front door. They entered into a small lobby where a big directory sign hung on the wall. She scanned it and found the name of Dean’s firm.

  “It’s on the third floor,” she said to Lee. “Suite 328.”

  They made their way over to the elevators and took one up to the third floor. When the doors opened a few moments later, Melina saw that Dean’s office was right in front of them. She took in a deep breath and, with Lee following behind her, walked over to the door and stepped inside.

  A middle-aged woman with short, curly brown hair was sitting at the receptionist desk. “Good morning,” she said with a smile. “How may I help you?”

  “Hi,” Melina said. “Is Dean Porter here today?”

  The woman’s brow creased. “No, I’m sorry, he’s not. Did you have an appointment?” She turned in her chair and glanced at her computer screen.

  “No, we don't have an appointment,” Melina said. “We’re, uh, some friends of his who live out of town and were just stopping by for a visit.”

  “I didn't know Dean had any friends from out of town.”

  Melina turned to her right in the direction of the voice and saw a man with sandy blond hair standing in the doorway to one of the offices. “Oh, well, um…”

  “I’m kidding,” the man said. He stepped forward and held out his hand to her. “I’m Tim, one of Dean’s partners.”

  “Hi,” Melina said as she shook his hand.

  The man greeted Lee as well then looked at both of them expectantly.

  “Oh, um, this is Lee,” she said as she gestured in his direction, “and my name’s Melina.”

  The grin that was on Tim’s face slowly disappeared. He eyed Melina cautiously then cleared his throat. “Melina, you said?”

  “Yes,” she said while giving him a confused look.

  “Just a second.” He walked back into his office and then reappeared a few seconds later with his coat on. “Come with me.”

  Melina and Lee followed him out the door and into the elevator. When it reached the first floor, Tim made a brief exit and quickly headed out the front entrance. Once they were all outside, Tim led them down to the alley next to the building and then immediately turned around and stopped them.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he said to Melina.

  Her brow creased. “What? Why not?”

  “Look,” Tim said. “I know who you are. Trust me when I say that Dean doesn't want to see you right now.”

  “But why?” she asked.

  “For the same reason he doesn't want to see me,” Tim said.

  She cocked her head to the side. “Why wouldn’t he want to see you? You’re one of his good friends.”

  Tim nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

  Melina glanced over at Lee, who just gave her a slight shrug, and then looked back at Tim. “I’m afraid we still don’t understand.”

  “I don't either,” Tim said. “I’m the only one who believes him yet he’s shutting me out.”

  Melina remained quiet. He seemed to be talking in riddles, so she thought that if she gave him some time he might eventually start making some sense.

  Tim let out a heavy sigh then started to recount how just a few weeks ago Dean had come to him and their other partner, Miles, and told them everything about his new supernatural life. Miles had laughed and told him he was crazy, but Tim had done his best to be supportive.

  “Don’t get me wrong. It was a lot to wrap my head around,” Tim said. “But I could tell that Dean was scared and was telling us because he was hoping to gain some support. But even though I believed him, I guess it wasn’t enough. I didn’t see him again until a couple of days later, and within that short amount of time he had changed.”

  “What do you mean?” Melina asked.

  Tim shook his head. “He told me to forget that he had ever said anything about his powers, that it was just crazy talk. When I told him that was nonsense and that I believed him and would help him, he called me a liar and said that I was just like everyone else.”

  Melina stared at him, a look of disbelief on her face. “What would cause him to change his attitude so drastically?”

  “Not what,” Tim said. “Who. And that who is named Lynn.”

  Her lips pressed together as she clenched her fists at her sides. “Lynn.” Melina had really wanted to like Lynn, and had been hoping that she would come to terms with Dean’s new life, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen. Instead, Lynn was still not wanting to accept Dean’s powers and was now trying to convince him to not believe in them either.

  Melina shook her head. “She can’t do that. Someone needs to talk some sense into him.”

  “I’ve tried,” Tim said. “He won’t listen.”

  “He might listen to Melina,” Lee chimed in. “She knows what he’s going through.”

  Tim eyed them both and then let out a sigh. “Okay. It’s worth a try, I guess. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if he refuses to talk to you.”

  Tim led them both out of the alley and over to the sidewalk out in front of the building. He hailed a cab for them and told the driver Dean’s address. Melina and Lee said good-bye to him then climbed inside the car. As the cab took off down the street, Melina felt a nervous twinge in the pit of her stomach. There was a good chance that Tim was right and Dean wouldn’t talk to her. But t
here was also a chance that he would. She hoped that Tim was wrong.

  Chapter Fifteen

  About fifteen minutes later, the cab pulled into the parking lot of a beautiful apartment complex. The buildings were all made of brick with light tan shutters and decks. The driver drove all the way down to the end of the lot and came to a stop as he pointed at the last building. “Apartment 112.”

  “Thank you,” Melina said. She paid the man then she and Lee exited the car.

  “So what’s your plan?” Lee asked as they both stood staring in the direction of Dean’s apartment.

  “Well, I was just going to go up and knock on his door, and when he came out I was going to make him talk to me.” She looked over at Lee and saw that he was grinning at her. “What? You don’t think that will work?”

  Lee shook his head. “I just love how straightforward you can be sometimes.” He motioned toward Dean’s door. “Shall we?”

  “Let’s go.” She walked up to Dean’s apartment and knocked on the door.

  A few seconds later the door opened, and she came face to face with a tall, lean man with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. It was Dean. His eyes widened at the sight of her.

  “Melina,” he said and then glanced over at Lee. “What are you two doing here?”

  She swallowed and stood up straight. “I came to talk to you. I couldn’t get a hold of you by phone or e-mail, so I figured I would just come see you in person.”

  He held her gaze for a moment then took a step back. “Well, you’ve wasted your time.” He started to close the door, but Melina put her hand out to stop him.

  “Dean, please. It’s the Noxin demons. They’ve started something. And you said that if that happened, you wanted to help stop them. Remember?”

  “I’m sorry,” Dean said, shaking his head.

  “No,” Melina said. “Don’t do this. Don’t let Lynn do this to you.”

  Dean opened his mouth to say something, but Melina cut him off.

  “I know you said that you were going to do all that you could to make things right with her, but this has gone too far. She’s trying to convince you that you don’t want your powers anymore, and you’re believing her. But why? Just so you can win her back? Do you really want to be with someone who doesn’t truly love you?”