I was going to do what mom and dad said. I’d give her time but that didn’t mean I was going to back down and not be there for her.
I needed to prove to Melanie that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.
Three
I turnedmy music down as I pulled into the gas station at the only pump that was still open. I was on my way up to my parent’s house in Helen to help my dad fix up his truck. After it broke down for the second time this week, I didn’t want them having to rely on just one car, so I offered up my assistance.
It also helped to get me out of the city for a few more days.
I’d spent most of my time locked in my fortress at work or locked in my condo, alone. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see the guys but going out and risk seeing Melanie before I could get my thoughts together just wasn’t the smart thing to do.
She’s been on my mind since the talk with my parents on Wednesday but I hadn’t figured out where to start with her without it seeming so abrupt. Seeing her at Apollo’s birthday party was a complete fluke and now the next time I saw her, I needed to have my thoughts together and not come off as an asshole.
I pulled the gas cap off my truck and started pumping the gas. It would only take a few minutes and then I’d be out of Atlanta for the weekend.
I leaned against my truck, arms crossed over my chest and that’s when my heart stopped.
Melanie stood by her SUV, trying to get Amelia to stay in her car seat so that she could pump the gas. After watching a few failed attempts, I pushed myself off my truck and walked over to them.
“Everything okay?” I asked and Melanie jumped, turning around with her hand over her heart. She’d clearly not heard me come up behind her.
“Yes,” she snapped at me as she squinted her eyes in my direction and turned back around to Amelia who was squirming in her car seat. I could tell just how frustrated Melanie was with how she was pushing her hair out of her face and her shoulders were tense.
“I wanna play mommy!” Amelia yelled.
“Now’s not the time to play, honey. Mommy needs to put gas in the car,” Melanie tried to smooth talk her daughter with a voice that was as sweet as honey to my ears. If she’d been talking to me, I’d do exactly as she said but instead she was talking to a toddler who had no care in the world to listen to her mom.
“I need to peepee.”
“You just went, honey.”
This time when Melanie spoke, a tinge of annoyance was in her voice. She was being as patient as she could with her daughter but it was wearing thin and it was only ten in the morning. She struggled again to keep Amelia in her car seat.
“You sure I can’t help?” I asked, trying to see if there was anything I could do to help her.
“We’re fine,” Melanie snapped at me without turning around this time. She jutted her hip out and flipped her hair over her shoulder. I’d seen Lilly do this a few times with Greg when she got mad or annoyed with him. It meant leave me alone, or else.
I was up for seeing what the or else would be from Melanie.
“Hi!” Amelia stuck her head around her mom to shoot me a toothy grin as she tugged against the restraints on her car seat.
Melanie pushed Amelia back into her seat, holding her there. She tried to tighten the restraints so that she could finish what she needed to do at the pump. I decided not to wait for Melanie to give me permission to help her, so I made my way around the car, knowing that my truck was already done and needed my attention but I started Melanie’s pump for her. Taking off the gas cap and paying for however much gas she needed to fill her car.
I just wanted to make sure that she was able to get where she needed to and didn’t have to stress about doing something so small, while also trying to take care of her daughter.
“You don’t need to do that.”
Melanie came up behind me but it didn’t matter what she said. It was already probably halfway through filling up her tank.
“Almost done.” I showed her the same kind of toothy grin her daughter had given me but instead of finding it adorable, Melanie let out an exasperated breath and threw her hands in the air.
“How about this?” I stepped away from the pump, opening up space for her to finish. “Why don’t you top off the tank?”
I heard the car door open from the other side and I didn’t wait for Melanie to answer me as I went to investigate, only to find Amelia leaning halfway out the window she’d managed to roll down. Her arm was stretched out far enough to try to open the door but I could see that she was stuck in the position she was in.
Tears were forming in her eyes as I came to stand in front of her, her bottom lip trembling. I opened the door the rest of the way and helped place Amelia back into the car seat.
“Didn’t your mom say to stay in the car?” I asked in the lowest tone I could. I knew Melanie was a good mom, even with just seeing her with Amelia for a moment, and I wanted Amelia to know just how serious this was.
