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FIFTEEN
Melanie
I
stared at the devilishly handsome man before me. His eyes filled with a mix of dismay and fear. He was rooted to the spot, frozen. My head was pounding, my body sore. But even that didn’t stop me from pranking. I sat up, adjusting myself on the hospital bed. It was dark outside, and the room was dim. Thank God because my eyes hurt at the slightest trace of light. I pressed my lips together, fighting a smile.
“I’m sorry, Shane.” He frowned at me, confused, tilting his head slightly to the side, his mouth partially open. “I guess it was a bad joke.”
He gave me a puzzled look before shaking his head. A faint smile curled up his lip. “Bad joke?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re an evil woman.” His tone was teasing, and I chuckled.
“Please, don’t make me laugh. I’m all sore.”
“You started it.” He shook his head, now smiling broadly. “You frightened me to death.”
“Are you mad?” I asked, making puppy eyes.
He brought his hand to my face, caressing my cheek. “I couldn’t be mad at you. I’m over the moon that you woke up.” He leaned into my ear and lowered his voice. “I’ll punish you later.”
He winked at me before leaving a soft kiss on my lips before our eyes locked.
“For a moment there, I thought I lost you.” His tone was low, soft. “And it was the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced.”
I drowned in his ocean-blue eyes, butterflies dancing in my belly. I wanted to tell him that I was falling for him or that perhaps I already had, hard. But I couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. I was scared it was too soon, and I would scare him off, lose him, and that thought was frightening. Shane slid his hand to the back of my head, gently leaning in to kiss my forehead.
“I’ll call a doctor,” he whispered, and I shook my head, yes, breathing out heavily. I hadn’t found the courage to tell him that I loved him.
“EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE,” the doctor, a pleasant Hindi beauty, stated as she wrote her notes down on the patient record. “You’ll be good to go home tomorrow. We’ll keep you for observation for the night.”
I nodded, acknowledging, smiling at her. Despite that being her job, I was grateful for her help. Shane was standing beside me, resting against the wall next to the window, his hands crossed on his abdomen. It was only then that I noticed he was dressed in an unusual way. He looked like a gangster that just dealt with something dangerous, shady. I scanned him carefully all the way from his heavy black boots up to his black leather jacket, wondering what secrets he had. What dark things I didn’t know about the man I was falling for.
“Your family is waiting outside to see you,” the doc’s soft voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Do you want me to let them in?”
I glanced at Shane, who stood by my side like a bodyguard, taking a deep breath. As much as I didn’t want to see my father, I knew it was inevitable. “Yes, let them in, please.”
The doctor nodded and gave me a polite smile before she left. I heard her soothing voice through the door she left ajar, updating my parents about my condition before telling them they could come in.
“Melanie, darling, thank God!” My mother ran through the door, reaching her hand to hug me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Mom. Just… sore.” I felt uncomfortable in her embrace, and I wasn’t exactly sure if it was because she would rarely hug me or because I was in pain.
“We were so worried about you.” My father’s stern voice rang in my ears.
Wow… he really has some nerve.
Mom sat on the edge of my bed, caressing my hair, staring at me with her brows furrowed and a worried gaze. “The doctor said we can take you home tomorrow. We’ll take care of you. I promise.”
An image from my quarrel with my father flashed before my eyes and an uneasy feeling of anxiety rushed through my body, and I flinched. I looked over at my father and Shane. They were exchanging deadly stares. Shane’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched.
“You should leave now,” my father shrieked, still staring at Shane. “Melanie’s with her family, and her boyfriend is waiting to see her.”
I couldn’t believe the audacity of this man. Even after everything that happened, he still wanted to use me, pushing me into the arms of the man who cheated on me. The man who was responsible for everything that had happened since. Maybe I should thank Theo because if it weren’t for his betrayal, I wouldn’t have met Shane.
“Are you serious?” I winced. My mother straightened up, swallowing hard. She looked like a scared puppy, afraid to even open her mouth.
“Come to your senses, Melanie,” my father hissed. “Don’t throw your whole life away because of…him.” He barely refrained from showing his true colors again.
“No, you know what? You leave.” I shook my head, a wave of resentment rushing through me. I looked to the side to see Shane, who respected my need to talk to my parents even though I knew how much he despised my father, especially after I confessed to him the night before. He glanced at me fleetingly, instantly knowing what I needed. He read me like an open book. He understood me without words, and that made our bond so special.
