by Cruz, Sofia
"Be right there." It was definitely Felicia's voice, but that didn't calm Melanie's nerves. She still wasn't sure if Felicia was alone or not. She mentally crossed her fingers. Now wasn't the time to come face to face with Lonna. She wanted some answers from Felicia first.
Seconds later, the door opened. She and Felicia stared at each other for what felt like twenty minutes, but was only seconds. Watching Felicia's eyes, she knew the instant her presence registered in Felicia's brain and managed to shove her foot in the doorway just in time to stop it from slamming shut in her face.
Pushing it open, she walked inside as Felicia darted for the phone that sat on the table in the middle of the living room. Melanie bolted after her and grabbed Felicia from behind, wrapping her arms around Felicia's middle, trapping her arms at her sides.
"Get off me!" Felicia tried to wiggle loose, but Melanie held tight.
"Calm down! I just want to talk to you, Felicia!" But Felicia continued to try and pull herself free. "Damn it, Felicia!" They struggled a little longer before Melanie twirled her around and pushed her towards the couch. Felicia hit the couch and immediately sprung back up. Anticipating this, Melanie was ready and quickly wrapped a hand around Felicia's arm and tugged her back towards the couch.
Sitting down, she pulled Felicia down with her and made her sit down beside her. "I just want to talk, Felicia. That's it." Slowly, she let go of Felicia's arms and held both hands up in front of her signaling surrender. The minute she let go, Felicia slid down to sit on the opposite side of the couch, but didn't try to run again.
"What do you want?" Felicia snapped.
Figuring she might not get a lot of time to talk to her, Melanie decided to cut to the chase. "Who's Lonna Tassin and why is she paying for your apartment?"
Melanie held her breath, watching Felicia's face, half expecting her to bolt again. She saw Felicia's eyes widen at her question, then they started to flick over the room. Felicia seemed skittish and it was making Melanie really nervous.
"Felicia, what's wrong?" Melanie was careful, this time, to keep her voice soft and calm. When she didn't get an answer, she tried again.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Still no response, and Felicia was looking everywhere but at her.
"Felicia, baby, what's wrong? Please talk to me. All I want to do is help you, Felicia." Refusing to budge, Melanie just sat there, but didn't say anything else, just waited Felicia out. In the silence that followed, she studied Felicia. She seemed unusually pale, as if she'd been sick recently. Melanie noticed Felicia's eyes had lost some of their normal spark and she had circles under her eyes. Felicia seemed worn out, beaten, and Melanie realized that it hurt to see Felicia this way. She had a strong suspicion that this was Lonna's doing, and Melanie vowed to punch her lights out, first chance she got.
Time seemed to stretch out for hours as Melanie and Felicia sat on the couch, Melanie watching Felicia, Felicia refusing to look at her. Running out of patience, Melanie slowly sank down to kneel on the floor in front of Felicia, gently resting her hands on Felicia's thighs.
"I'll protect you, Felicia, you know that. We're friends. You can tell me anything." Felicia didn't answer and she still wouldn't look at her. Sighing, she bent her head, resting her forehead on Felicia's knees. Closing her eyes, she rattled her brain trying to figure out what to do next.
Melanie had no idea how long they two of them sat like that, but finally she felt Felicia's fingers brush over her hair. She stayed still, afraid that any sudden movement would scare Felicia away. More minutes might have passed before she felt Felicia's fingers sink into her hair, Felicia's hand resting on her head.
"You...you have to go, Melanie. She can't find you here and I'm not sure when she'll be back."
Melanie finally looked up and looked Felicia in the eye. "Why can't she find me here, Felicia? Will she get jealous? Angry? God, tell me she doesn't hit you." Melanie practically growled the last sentence; visions of someone beating Felicia made her eyes darken in anger.
It wasn't lost on Felicia. Seeing the concern, the anger on her behalf in Melanie's eyes, made her feel wistful, and a little sad. If only she'd told Melanie everything from the beginning. If only she'd gone to Pittsburgh, looking for Melanie. But those weren't options any more. Upset, she pushed Melanie away from her and jumped up from the couch, walking behind it towards her bedroom, which was separated from the living room by pocket doors, which now stood open.
Melanie stood up. She couldn't remember ever seeing Felicia this sad, this upset, and she followed her into the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway as Felicia sat down on the side of the bed, staring blindly out the window. She knew Felicia wanted her to leave, but it wasn't going to happen. She wasn't leaving Felicia like this; not in the shape she was in now.
"Talk to me," Melanie pleaded. Seconds ticked by in silence.
"She has something on you, doesn't she?" Felicia didn't respond, but Melanie watched as she hung her head.
The silence continued to stretch on and Melanie remained in the doorway, wheels spinning.
"Lonna tricked you into embezzling funds." Melanie stated it like a known fact, stepping into the room and to the left so she could see Felicia's reaction. When Felicia's head whipped up, her eyes wide, she got the answer she was looking for. Sighing, she slowly walked over and sat down beside Felicia, Felicia's eyes following her every move.
"How did you know?"
"I didn't. Lucky guess," Melanie said with a shrug. Felicia burst out laughing, but it sounded hollow to Melanie, without any heart in it. She waited in silence, hoping Felicia would elaborate.
Felicia went back to staring blindly out the window, debating her next move. She wanted out of here, away from Lonna, but thought she was in too deep. But Melanie was here now, sitting right beside her, and she seemed to have figured everything out anyway. If anyone could get her out of this mess, it was Melanie, but a part of her was very afraid of what would happen if she went against Lonna. Felicia was so lost in thought, she jumped when she heard Melanie's voice.
"Did you know Lonna was your uncle's ex-fiancé?"
Felicia nodded. Feeling ashamed at being duped, she couldn't seem to find her voice. Then she felt Melanie wrap an arm around her shoulders, tugging her against her, and Felicia felt the dam inside her break open. Her head on Melanie's shoulder, the tears spilled out in waves.
Melanie laid her other hand against Felicia's head and held Felicia against her, giving her time to cry it out. She pressed a kiss to the back of Felicia's head and gently rocked her. It took some time, but she heard Felicia's jerky breathing and could tell that her tears were starting to subside.
Melanie turned towards Felicia on the bed, pulling one leg further up, and pulled Felicia against her so she was sitting between her legs, leaning against Melanie's chest. She kept her arms wrapped around Felicia and laid her cheek against the top of Felicia's head.
"Just tell me what happened, Felicia, so I can figure out how to get you out of here and someplace safe."
Felicia snuggled closer and took a deep breath. "Jessica and I couldn't go two seconds without fighting, and I couldn't even make myself look Uncle David in the eye, I was just so ashamed of myself. And I knew Jessica was hurt because you were gone, that she partly blamed me for it, and I blamed myself too." Sitting up a little, Felicia looked at Melanie and gave her a weak smile. "To be honest, I missed you too. I...I think that's why I started sending you e-mail. I needed someone to still like me."
"Oh, Felicia! I always liked you. I never stopped. I left because," but Felicia laid her fingers against Melanie's lips, stopping her.
"I know why you left. It wasn't your fault, Melanie. I'm the one who made a mess of it all."
"You didn't do it alone, Felicia. I dug my own hole. Just forget about that for now, though, and finish telling me what happened."
Felicia leaned back against Melanie and went on with her story. "I need to get away, just for a little while. I told Lonna that, and she suggested
I come up here and stay with her for a while, so I took out some money, packed my things, and drove up here intending to stay for a few months, or so. I just wanted some time to get my head straight, but when I got here, told Lonna it was just for a little while, she turned on me. She starting laughing, really mean like, and told me my place was with her now; that I belonged to her. She said if I tried to leave, she'd give the police all the evidence she has against me."
Felicia laid a hand on Melanie's chest and pushed herself away. "I bumped into her almost a year ago at a restaurant back home. I recognized her and we started talking. We ended up lovers. After a while, we started talking about my family and what happened to my parents. She started talking about what happened to me afterwards, starting filling my head with all this stuff about how unfair Uncle David had treated me, about how I always ended up in Jessica's shadow. I was falling in love with her and, like a fool, hung on every damn word; even started to believe her. Finally, she started talking about how I needed to put Jessica and my uncle in their place, and she had this whole plan all worked out."
Felicia sat upright on the bed and hung her head. "I bought into it, lock, stock, and barrel." She gave a humorless laugh, and then continued. "Lonna laid out the plan for me to embezzle company funds. 'You wont really steal it, just hide it for a bit.' That's how she explained it to me. She had this computer whiz available to help me do all of it. What I didn't find out, until I got here, was that this computer geek was able to make it look like it was all me, that I did it without help, and he had copies of everything, which he gave to Lonna. She has enough evidence against me that, if the D.A.'s office saw it, they'd press charges in a heartbeat. The case would be a slam dunk for them."
Melanie sucked in a deep breath. If Felicia was right, if what Lonna told her was true, Felicia would be in jail in a nanosecond. It wouldn't matter if David chooses not to press charges. In the case of a felony, the D.A.'s office could press charges themselves. If they had enough clear-cut evidence, it wouldn't even matter that David would be testifying as a hostile witness. Hell, with enough proof, they probably wouldn't even need David's testimony.
"Did you see this so called proof?"
Felicia nodded yes and Melanie swore under her breath. Now that she had started telling Melanie everything, Felicia desperately needed to finish, so she pressed on. "When Lonna saw that I knew I was trapped, she tossed me keys to this apartment and papers giving me a new identity. She told me it was all taken care of, that she was even saving me a job at her club. All I have to do to stay free, is work at her club and be available when she wants me."
Felicia's last few words had Melanie's fist clenching in anger, her gut knotting up. She knew exactly what 'available when she wants me' meant. If Lonna walked into this apartment right now, Melanie knew she'd probably beat her to death, she was that angry. Standing up, she grabbed Felicia's hand and started for the door.
"What are you doing?" Felicia asked, her voice panicky.
"I'm getting you the hell out of here! Hell'll freeze over before that bitch touches so much as a hair on your head, every again." Melanie's eyes were locked on the front door and she didn't immediately notice that Felicia was trying to pull away from her. When it finally registered, she let go of Felicia's hand and spun around, fire in her eyes.
"Don't tell me you want to stay!"
Felicia bristled. "I don't want to go to jail! That's exactly what'll happen if Lonna finds out I skipped town. The minutes she shows up here and finds me gone, she'll call the police and hand them everything she's got against me." Felicia took a few steps back, afraid Melanie would try and bodily drag her out the door.
She knew Felicia was right, but hated the thought of leaving her here. "Ah!" she screamed in frustration, beginning to pace around the little apartment.
Felicia stood in the middle of the living room, nervously watching Melanie prowl back and forth. "I have to stay," she whispered.
"Shit!" Melanie whirled around to stare at Felicia, feeling torn in two. Felicia was right, but she didn't think she could leave her behind.
Felicia saw it in Melanie's eyes and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. "I don't think I can watch you leave anymore than you can walk away and leave me here, but there's no other way."
Melanie couldn't bring herself to hug Felicia back; she just stood there feeling like complete scum. Felicia stepped back.
"Tell Jessica I'm sorry," Felicia whispered. "That is, if she's speaking to you?" She forced herself to grin at Melanie, trying to lighten things up.
Melanie pulled the key out of her pocket and held it up for Felicia to see. Felicia gave her a quizzical look.
"It's the key to your front door, so yeah, she's talking to me," Melanie explained, grinning back.
Felicia felt her heart lift a little. At least something was going right. "Good. Good. You two are good together. At least I'll know she'll be ok. You'll take care of her."
Melanie felt her smile disappear. Felicia was talking as if she would never go home again.
"I'll take care of you too, Felicia. I know I have to leave now, but I'll be back for you, and soon. I'm not leaving you with that bitch a moment longer than absolutely necessary."
She could tell by Melanie's voice that she meant it, and took heart. If anyone could get her out of this mess, it was Melanie. She trusted her completely. Giving Melanie the best smile she could manage, she pushed her towards the door.
"I'm going to hold you to that. Now go." She pushed a reluctant Melanie out into the hallway and slowly shut the door. Once it was closed, Felicia sank against it and slid to the floor, fighting tears. She hoped Melanie came back for her soon, because she wasn't sure how much longer she could live like this.
Chapter 6
It took everything she had to make herself leave Felicia and drive back to New Orleans. She grew more and more angry with each passing mile, vowing to not only get Felicia home, but also annihilate Lonna Tassin in the process. Pulling up in front of Jessica's house, their house now, she slammed out of the car and shoved her way into the house.
Hearing the front door slam shut, Jessica ran out of the kitchen into the hall, all smiles, to greet Melanie. Her good mood quickly deteriorated when she saw the look on Melanie's face, and it was quickly replaced with fear.
"Did you fine Felicia? Is she ok?" Jessica reached out and to grab Melanie's arm, but she pushed passed her. Ignoring Jessica, Melanie marched into the parlor and went straight for the liquor cabinet. Pouring herself a glass of bourbon, filling it almost to the top, she tried to calm down enough to tell Jessica what happened. She tossed back almost half of it, and then slammed it down on the bar, liquid spilling onto her hand as it sloshed over the top.
Jessica felt ice cold; fear like a dead weight in the pit of her stomach. Clearly, Melanie's trip hadn't gone well and she was afraid to hear about it. Suspecting the worst, she started picturing Felicia in the hospital, or worse, and couldn't stop the tears quietly spilling down her face.
Melanie heard a soft sob and spun around to find Jessica in tears. Rushing over, she wrapped her arms around Jessica and held her close.
"Felicia's alive and healthy. Don't worry."
Jessica pulled away, brushing the tears from her eyes. "But not happy. You didn't say happy, or safe."
How did Jessica get to know her so well in such a short time? Frowning, mad at herself for scaring Jessica, she grabbed her hand and pulled her into the living room so they could sit down on the couch. She pulled Jessica against her and told her everything.
When she finished, Jessica leaped off the couch and tore out of the room. Melanie rushed after her.
"Where are you going, Jessica?" She followed her into the kitchen and saw her reach for the wall phone.
"Who are you calling?"
"The police. I want this bitch in handcuffs within the hour."
Melanie yanked the phone out of Jessica's hands. "If you call the police, Felicia will be the bitch in ha
ndcuffs, not Tassin. Please, Jessica, let's sit down and try to talk this over. Better yet, I'm calling your uncle and asking him to come over." Melanie dialed as she spoke. As she listened to the phone ring, she faced Jessica and held out a hand. Jessica accepted it and she pulled her against her side, hugging her tight.
David answered on the fourth ring and Melanie gave him a quick summary of her trip to Baton Rouge. David hung up, promising to be there within the next ten minutes. Keeping her arm around Jessica, she walked them both back to the living room and sat down to wait for David. She and Jessica didn't speak; Jessica just sat, leaning against Melanie while Melanie kept her arms around her.