I put my phone in the side table drawer, where it normally always stayed while I worked. I didn’t like distractions when working because it pulled me out of my typical groove.
I pulled up the current project I was working on, looking through the rough draft of the cover I had and a few graphics I had started. It didn’t feel right anymore when looking at them. The story was supposed to be sweet and angelic, which is what Alexa said but the photo I had chosen for the cover, wasn’t that. I thumbed through the photo shoot until I found one of just the girl looking off into the distance with her back toward the camera and only the side of her face showing as she looked toward the sky.
Starting from scratch, I pulled the picture up in my editor and started on the cover again. This time, loving the feel of it with the title and the blurb. Then, as I finished the graphics, it all felt like it was finally coming together and I knew who I had to thank for it.
Melanie.
I pulled out my phone from the drawer but there were still no message from her. I frowned at the screen in my hand, trying to figure out if what Max had told me had really meant something to Melanie or if he had misunderstood, since it was only over the phone.
Work overtook me after that and I couldn’t be bothered to get up for lunch, instead finishing six samples for clients and finalizing four other projects that were on my deck. Two of which that weren’t due for another two weeks. When I finally looked at the clock, I’d seen it was well past eight and I knew I was the only one left in the building.
It happened more often than not, so I was used to closing up for the night.
I still had no messages on my phone but instead of turning it to silent, like I normally did when I got home, I turned the volume all the way up when I walked through my front door. I wanted to make sure if anyone needed to get ahold of me, I’d hear it.
The ding went off, only seconds after I walked through the door but when I looked down, it was only Chase. He was informing me that he loved the new look for the romance novel I’d redone today.
I tried to push it out of my head how bad I wanted Melanie to message me and sunk into the bed. This time I made sure to turn on my alarm before I closed my eyes.
The hardest part of the day wasn’t even being awake anymore. It was sleeping because even in my dreams, Melanie was there. Her smile, her eyes, her touch, her voice. Her everything.
As much as it was supposed to sooth me, there was a part of me that was scared for the first time in my life. As much as Max didn’t want me to break Melanie’s heart, even though she said she’d let me break hers, I knew deep down that Melanie could hurt me far worse than I think I could ever hurt her.
She’d let me in, maybe not all the way, but it was far more than I ever expected to get from her, especially this early in my endeavors. She was letting this happen and she had all of the authority in where this was going. My fear felt validated.
What scared me the most though, was that I wasn’t at all sure how ready I was for it if she ever decided she no longer wanted me in her life.
Nine
The alarmon my phone went off and I slammed my hand onto the phone, swiping right, trying to get the ringing to stop. It did but only for five seconds before it started again.
This time I opened one eye to look at the screen, seeing that it was only midnight and Melanie’s name was plastered across the screen. My finger couldn’t accept the call fast enough for me as I held the phone to my ear. She didn’t wait for me to say anything before she started rambling.
“I have no idea what to do, Jack! Amelia’s been throwing up since this afternoon and now has a fever and can’t keep anything down. I’ve tried giving her a cold bath, broth, cool towels, juice, and nothing is working!”
I sat up in bed, brushing a hand over my face. Melanie was calling me for help. Yet, I had no idea what we needed to do to make Amelia better but I know who did.
“Calm down, love. Take a few deep breaths. Where’s Amelia right now?”
“She’s lying in bed. She just threw up but I’m worried she’s going to again! It’s down to her just throwing up bile and dry heaving now.”
I pulled up the internet on my phone and put Melanie on speaker as I typed in the symptoms. I was only finding results for dehydration and the stomach flu, which seemed quite common for children at Amelia’s age.
“What’s her temp?”
“102.”
“It’s saying we should take her to the hospital if her fever is that high.”
“I know that,” Melanie huffed and when she spoke again, there was a crack in her voice. “I’ve never had to take her to the hospital before. Wade was always there to help make her better and it’s never been this bad before.”
A sniffle came from the other end of the phone and my heart hurt for her.
“I’m just scared, Jack.”
“I know you are, love. Did you call Max?”
“No.” Her answer was firm. I started to wonder why she hadn’t called her brother yet. They were closer than even Greg and I were and we’re twins.
