When we get back to the car, Andreea in hand, Davide sits in the back with her and tries to comfort her even though she can’t talk. Though, nearly three by now, she can understand some.
He says the same speech to her in Czech, Italian, and English, hoping one will stick. Not knowing what she had heard enough or been taught, and I can feel the guilt hanging heavy in the air around us as if it’s been his fault he wasn’t there for her in her early life.
“I know you don’t know me, and you must be scared. You’ve been taken by so many people, and I don’t know if anyone of them cared for you properly. But I can promise you love. A room of your own. Everything you ask for will be yours. And my wife will be your mother. You already have a little brother who will dote on you, and I will love you and never hurt you. Okay?”
I look in the rearview mirror, hanging on to see what she might do or say, if she can say anything. And finally, she nods, seemingly understanding.
“I promise,” he says again. And I look away, knowing he deserves privacy with his daughter.
Chapter Thirteen
Melody
Forty-seven children saved so far; it’s better than I could ever have imagined. They just keep coming, and we just had to hire another teacher. It was bittersweet because I love these kids, almost like they’re my own. I would love to be with them all, but it just won’t work. I can’t give them the attention they need. So, I’ve taken on the girls ten and up while the new teacher’s taken on the rest. Mikel is supposed to be interviewing another assistant teacher when he gets back from whatever business trip he and Davide went on.
Though, I try not to think about that day because I’ll have to face him and explain my behavior before he left.
The fight was childish, no matter how valid my or his feelings are. I could have handled it better, and something’s got to give.
I’ve done a lot of thinking since that moment and have pinpointed what’s wrong.
Even as much as he seems like this nice man, he has secrets. I don’t buy the stories he’s fed me about the strange happenings and people that show up, and I have no idea what he has done to make so much money before this charity.
I don’t know what Davide does either. Or Mariana. And I doubt they’re all independently wealthy.
And I do have stronger feelings for him than I would like. Both my body and my heart warm up around him, and though I don’t know if I can call it love, considering my lack of experience there, it’s definitely a strong crush. A care that’s more than as a friend or colleague. And I for sure want to feel him inside me again, which could prove problematic if we don’t define whatever this is instead of dancing around it.
But I can’t trust him fully until he tells me all of the ugly truth, whatever it is, about what he does for a living, what’s been happening at the estate, what happened with his ex, and his relationship with Blanka.
Distracted, I realize Eshe has been asking for me a few times.
I go to her, getting down to her level to help her with a reading problem at the same time a few of us look up, hearing two strange sounds coming from the roof.
I stand up, looking in the direction of the sound strangely. “Large bird, maybe?” I wonder out loudly but then some faint sounds can be heard from outside the building, like scuffling feet, like objects touching the side of the building.
I walk toward the main door to investigate, only to be stopped by a boy of about twelve coming from the other room, the teacher screaming after him.
He gets in front of me, and I notice a smell of something . . . burning?
“Don’t go out there, we need to count to one hundred and then leave,” the boy, named Rudi tells me.
“I don’t understand . . . “
I don’t get to finish what I’m saying; drowned out by the mingle of screams and busted glass, the few windows on the building shattering in piles on the floor.
I rush back into the classroom to tell the girls to get away from the windows only to notice the burning makeshift wicks in slow motion.
“Everyone, out the door and to the library!” I call. It’s the safest place I can think of. I don’t have time to analyze who’s doing this and why, though at the back of my mind I know who and why.
And I also know the building won’t withstand what’s about to happen.
My words fall flat as the girls huddle together, trying to pull each other out the door, Rudi leading them like the good young gentleman he is. Just as I open the door, another sound of glass shattering, landing at my feet, and an explosion that pushes me back inside on the floor, a draft of fire coming straight at me.
The screams of the girls tell me they’ve moved on, hopefully following directions and getting out.
“The boys,” I whisper to myself, looking down at my hand and knowing it’s shaking but not registering any pain. Not yet. “I have to help them get out.”
I run into the other classroom, the teacher trying to pick up some of the youngest and cart them out. She looks at me, horrified, and I try to ignore it as I give her garbled directions to get them out and to a safe place like the library and then count heads.
The smoke is thick as I cough, dropping to the ground as more smoke rolls through the roof, which will quickly deteriorate. The boys’ classroom is already aflame, alight with fire so thick I don’t know how anyone is alive.
I reach in the billows for hands, I follow voices crying out, and one by one lead them to the door until I know I won’t make it any longer and be of no use to them if I don’t get to safety myself.
The searing pain hits me under the hot sun. If I had to describe it, it’s like being bitten by a million fire ants, having all my skin ripped off, and then having someone scrape my face with sandpaper at the same time, and one of my arms has a spot that feels similar.
I am burned, and my lungs are surely filled with so much smoke that if I live, I’ll have to worry about cancer or some other kind of lung disease later in life.
One of my eyes can’t see, and now I know why everything, even through the flames, seemed black.
As I struggle through the streets to make it the block and a half to safety, I see my lack of life in my mind’s eye and pray that all the children made it out before it was too late.
With the library in sight, turning the corner, I can’t go any further, and I collapse.
Chapter Fourteen
Mikel
“What the fuck happened?” I scream into my phone at Davide as if it’s his fault. I know it’s not, but I have to have someone to fucking blame for this shitshow.
He’s working double time while Blanka cares for Andreea, helping me figure out what the hell happened while we were gone.
I leave for a few days. I rescue a toddler from the horror the warlords would put her through, and the charity, the building local men worked so hard on, and everything Melody loved just went up in literal flames.
“The building is gone. Nothing left. I already checked.” I pace back and forth in the hall outside the waiting room, waiting to talk to a fucking doctor about Melody. I already had to fight to have them let me in there the first time I got here, after I got the call from Arno about what happened. Because I’m not fucking family.
I made sure they knew she had nobody else here and they better fucking shut up and let me see her or there would be hell to pay. I’m sure I scared some of the nurses.
“Shit, what about the kids?”
“The other teacher, she says Melody stayed behind and saved many, but we lost nine of them. They meant for us to lose all of them. But there was a boy, Rudi, he realized what was happening. They’d done it before when he was with Thato. It was napalm.”
“Fuck!”
I get a few weary looks and a “Shh!” from the poor people sharing this area with me who are likely sick of me, but they don’t dare throw me out. I may be good at keeping under wraps exactly what I do. I know some of the nurses know I have a lot of money, and I don’t get it from being a co
p, farmer, or librarian for damn sure.
“There will be retaliation. Let Arno and I focus on that. Please, see to Miss Melody. The kids are worried. They love her so much.”
I purse my lips, knowing he’s right. I’ve only left her side twice; once to smoke and calm down as much as I can, and this time to get any information I can. So, I know who to make pay.
I hang up and go back into the room, standing over Melody and looking down at the gauze wrapped around two places on her arm, her face, and a place on her right leg.
Seeing her hurt, it makes me want to scream, cry, and curse even God right now. Melody is the greatest woman I’ve ever met. Loving, kind, smart. Everything I’m not. Even Jessica who birthed my child was not this level of good, and yet it’s Melody that suffers in all of this.
As her eyes begin to flutter open, and knowing she’s in and out between shock and pain meds they have to keep her loaded with, I know regardless of what happens after this I can’t hold my feelings for her in anymore.
Life’s too fucking short.
The fight we had was stupid, and not like me at all, and I don’t want any more of it if I could lose her.
I sit down and place my hand on top of her uninjured one so she knows I’m here.
“Mikel?” she croaks out, getting her bearings. I can’t imagine how she feels. She must be scared and angry, confused, worried for the kids. But physically, I doubt any pain med in the world could get rid of what a burn like that feels like, especially on a place as sensitive as her face.
“I’m here. You’re in the hospital. Do you remember?”
“Yes,” she cuts me off harshly, then blinks and tries to relax. “I mean, yes, I remember.” Her voice is softer, almost inaudible.
“I’m so sorry for everything, and for being an ass before I left. I don’t know why you thought I was with other women, but I wasn’t. I’ve been falling for you since the moment I laid eyes on you in Atlanta, and I don’t fucking care if you feel the same, I just need to get this out because you could have died on me. You’re so fucking beautiful, inside and out. We fit together so well, like two pieces of a puzzle, and the way you are with the kids . . .” I choke up and look down, taking some deep breaths to get my composure. Falling apart won’t help her. I need to be a rock for her right now. “It’s amazing. Like Heaven sent you down here to be with them.”
“What about Blanka? She’s so pretty. You’re so close. I’ll never look like that, never have, and now . . .” She fights her hand out of mine and brings it up to gently frame the gauze on her face. I know what she means and scoff.
“There’s nothing with Blanka. She’s like a daughter to me, and Davide would literally behead me. And as far as your face, that’s surface bullshit, and you know it. But none of it matters if you don’t want to be with me. I don’t want to push you right now.”
She puts her hand up to stop my talking, so I do what any smart man would do, and I shut my trap to listen.
“I think the fight we had makes it clear I have feelings for you. I’m no good at this stuff. Never been a mushy person, but there’s so much about you that feels right.”
“I only have one more question right now, and then you can rest. I’ll still be right here for you,” I assure her, my hand going back over hers. “Is work going to get in the way?”
She shakes her head, and my heart I swear does a fucking jig in my chest. “This whole thing has changed the way I see the world.”
Chapter Fifteen
Melody
As much as I love having Mikel here, holding my hand, I can look at him and tell he needs some rest. Not to mention I know there are the logistics of what happened to deal with, my workaholic mind working overtime thinking about the business repercussions of the attack.
But I think it’s more to keep me from asking questions about the hard stuff . . . the stuff I’m just not ready to know.
“You need to go home and get some rest so you can deal with damage control,” I tell him, patting his hand as I pull mine out from under it. “I feel a need for another hit of morphine anyway which will just knock me out,” I add so he won’t feel so guilty. If he thinks I won’t be awake, maybe he won’t feel the need to be here. Especially since I’m lucid now. The nurse has already come in twice to check on me and said I’m doing well, though my recovery won’t be simple or short.
They said I might be here for weeks, and then I might have to go for grafts later on. I refuse to even look at myself in the mirror right now. All in time.
Mikel finally nods and gets up to leave, the nurse replacing him shortly, worrying over me, which I guess is just her job.
“You know,” she comments, looking at all my vitals and noting she needs to order more pain meds and fluids before my bags run out, “That’s pretty much the first time he’s left your side this whole time. He’s obviously very devoted to you. You’re a very lucky woman.”
“I’m honestly not used to that level of devotion.” I don’t mean to say it out loud, but it makes the nurse smile at me and pat my arm like she feels sorry for me. I know I need to learn to accept love before I get old, gray, and bitter with no one. And the way my life has been put in danger makes me want to jump in headfirst and see what love can be like when both people are present.
But my pained head is still telling me I need to be cautious. Look for the stop signs and all that in case they come out of nowhere.
I fall asleep shortly, only to wake up to the sounds of the nurses just outside my cracked door having a conversation . . . about Mikel.
My biggest flaw is my curiosity, like a cat’s, and I can’t help but pretend to be asleep still while I listen intently.
“You know the only reason he gets away with all that behavior is how much money he has. We’ve all been paid to give her the best care, be quiet, and do what he says,” one of the female voices chimes in.
A male speaks up in a thick accent it takes me a moment to catch any of the words. “What he does . . . Wrong. Diamonds . . . Not a good man.”
The woman speaks again. “Who cares what he does? He uses his money for good. You know the reason this happened is they were saving some of those poor kidnapped children.”
I don’t try to hear anymore, because my ears are burning. I remember now that before the fire happened, I was going to ask him to tell me the truth about everything before we got serious or even considered it.
I still want him, but this makes me pull back, almost regretting being so sure with him only hours ago.
I’m going to have to give him an ultimatum; he tells me it all or I’m out. Out of all of it.
Chapter Sixteen
Mikel
Truth be told, I don’t know if I ever thought this day would come. I’ve been here watching Melody grow stronger every day, overcoming every obstacle thrown in her way with such resilience, and yet I still have doubts. How foolish of me. She’s undoubtedly the strongest woman I’ve ever known.
Melody hasn’t been very happy with me lately. Three weeks ago she demanded I tell her everything, but I didn’t. I made a deal with her, if she was to focus on her healing and getting better, I’d tell her the night I brought her home about everything I do.
I meant it, too. I’m going to tell Melody every single thing tonight. I won’t leave out any of the good, the bad, or the ugly. If she’s going to be in my life she deserves to know the truth, and thus she shall.
“I can barely tell,” I smile at Melody, seeing she’s chosen to wear a blue and white polka dot blouse with her khakis. Her sleeves stop just below her shoulder caps, exposing a good bit of the area she experienced burns. She’s a rather pale woman, so her burn scars are about two to three shades lighter than her skin tone. There’s a line around where she was burnt, but the doctors have assured us it’ll fade over time as it continues to heal from her trauma.
I’ve had three weeks to think about how I’d tell Melody who I am, and what it is I really do. I’ve had twenty-one entire days and nights to t
hink of some sort of elaborate lie, one that would save what’s left between us . . . but I made a promise. I vowed to be honest with her and I can’t break it.
There’s a high possibility she won’t ever look at me the same. I know this because I know her. She’s kind, caring, and compassionate. She’s the type of woman who wants world peace, for people to recycle more, and equal rights for everyone regardless of age, race, sex, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. I’m fully on board with her on equal rights and for individuals to recycle, but world peace has never been possible because of one reason, and one reason only— greed.
As humans we’re entirely too selfish. We want the best and for those of us who don’t have it. Well, we’ll do whatever we can to obtain it. Many do this through war. They use violence as their outlet and will continue doing so until they’ve gotten what it is they truly desire.
Ironic how what I truly desire is Melody, and my violence and inner demons will most likely end up ripping her from my arms. I love this woman so much and she doesn’t even know. I won’t tell her, either. Not until after today, until she knows everything and can see me for who I fully am.
Melody cocks a brow, stifling a forced laugh. “I appreciate you trying to make me feel better about the scars, Mikel, but I don’t. I’m wearing this because everyone will be staring regardless. It’s better to give them a show and say fuck it to my insecurity.”
This.
It’s one of the many reasons I care so much about her. Even though she’s bothered by the scars her burns left, she’ll do whatever it is she needs to get through the day. “The sooner I get used to looking at them, the better.” She goes on to say.
While she sounds strong, I see the fear in her sky blue eyes and close in on the distance between us. She half-smiles, though I can tell it’s forced as well. I cup her cheek in my hand and look down at her, from the color of her soft pink lips that remind me of the roses my mother had grown when I was a child, to her eyes which make me think of the sea outside of Greece. I’m in awe of the woman who stands before me.
Flawed (The Clans Book 12) Page 6