Page 20 of Melbourne
“I find myself to be more aware of my surroundings.Like I’m always on the lookout for something that could harm me.Especially with my mom out there doing whatever she’s been doing.I can’t believe that she pushed my dad down the stairs.Though now that I say that out loud, I don’t know why I expected anything less from her.”He told her that she was at the building again now, and he had a faerie on her at all times.“Good.Having a heads up would be nice if she was planning on coming around to hurt one of us.I have a feeling that she’s going to search Justine and me out for something that we’re not willing to give her.Money mostly, and a place to live.I have no desire to help her out at all.”
“Pancake is watching over her, and he said that she talks to herself a great deal.Was that something she did before?”Sammy told him that was how they figured out what she had planned for them when she would do that.“I thought as much.She’s very comfortable with it.Like she’s making sure that she’s right all the time—or justified in what she’s doing to get herself what she wants.”
“That sounds like her.”Sammy went into the kitchen area and turned to look at him while she stood at the counter.“I thought that I wanted to have sex with you.I’m now thinking that I just need a place to be warmed by you.Don’t be mad at me.I didn’t mean to lead you on.But with all this talk about my parents, all I can think about is how they treated us as children, and Mom is doing the same thing again.”
“She’ll not harm you, Sammy.Not so long as I have my dragon.”She nodded, but he could tell that she wasn’t convinced.He didn’t blame her; there was no way to just forget about that many years of abuse and come out all right.“And I’m not mad at all.Whatever you need, I’m here for you.And if all you want is to cuddle all night, I’m here for you, too.”
He watched as she seemed to be crying.Moving toward her, he pulled her into his arms and held her to him.There was no way that he was going to be able to stand for her to hurt like this and not hold her to him.As she turned in his arms and held onto him, the tears came then.The great sobs that he thought she’d been holding in for so long were coming out.He loved this woman and felt the bitterness that he felt for her parents; both of them came through in that moment.
“My dad is trying so hard, isn’t he?”He said that he seemed to want this to work out.“He does, and Mom pushed him down the stairs.I have no doubt that she did that either.She pushed me down the stairs quite often when I was a child.Justine too.She’s mean and cruel, and while I know she’s my mom, I can’t stand to be around her anymore.I hate her.”
He held onto her until he picked her up and made his way to her bedroom.Lying her down while she still cried, his heart hurt for her, and he pulled off his shirt and pants.He was trying to think of something to say to her that he’d not said a hundred times before about her mom, but he couldn’t think of anything.Instead, he got in bed with her and was glad that she curled around him, holding him as tightly as he held her.
He woke sometime in the middle of the night, and with the darkened room, he didn’t know where he was.Instead of getting up when he figured it out, he noticed that her side of the bed, whilewarm, was empty.She was just getting back in the bed when he decided to go and find her.
“I hate how cold this room is.And I’ve turned off the air conditioner.”She snuggled up to him, and he held onto her shaking body.“I love you, Melbourne.Thanks for staying with me.”
“I love you.”He laughed when she elbowed him twice before settling down.“This might be a big enough bed for one person, but certainly not for the two of us.You get comfy, and I’ll get that way around you.”
He noticed that she’d put on something other than the jeans and sweatshirt she’d had on.The flannel pajamas were super soft and smelled like her.Melbourne held her tightly until she was out again, and he laid there thinking about the day that he was going to have tomorrow.He was going to convince Allen to press charges against his wife.
If the girls thought it was a good idea.He nearly forgot that he had to take their feelings into consideration.He would have done it himself but for the fact that they all seemed to be giving her a second chance.Melbourne wasn’t into second chances with people who nearly killed someone by pushing them down the stairs.He wanted justice, and he wanted it now.
The sun was nearly up when he woke.The room was dusted in a nice mauve color that he thought suited the room nicely.He could see the furniture now and wasn’t surprised that everything on the dresser was neat as a pen, and the closet door was open, too, where the same neatness was.He liked his things neat, too, and thought that they’d get along nicely when it came to sharing a room.He looked down at her when she snored softly.
Melbourne couldn’t believe that the beauty in his arms was his.He’d thought of finding a mate nearly all his adult life and wondered who she would be.There were times, too, that he feared never having someone to love; it had been years and years since he’d become an adult.But with Sammy here and now, all he could think about was the years that they’d have together, making memories together, and perhaps having children too to make even more memories with.
When she finally woke up, he smiled at her.Her bright smile made his heart beat a little faster for the closeness of the two of them.As soon as she kissed him on the chin, he kissed her back, deepening the kiss just enough that she knew that he loved her.
“I have so much to do today.I have to order for the restaurant.Do payroll for the employees.Then I have to see about getting out of here so that my sister can move in.”Her whispered comment had him grinning bigger.“If we didn’t get up, do you think anyone would care?”
“I wouldn’t care a bit if we were to lie here all day and never venture out.”She giggled, and he laughed with her.“Of course, the restaurant wouldn’t have any food next week, and people might not get paid.I can see your sister trying to find you if she backs up with a moving truck and you’re still in bed.”
“Yeah, I guess we should get up.”But she didn’t move, and he was all right with that.“We really should get up before I fall asleep again.I think that was the first night I’ve slept so well in a long time.At least since my parents got out of prison.I’m also going to see him today to tell him to press charges against Mom.”He said that he’d been thinking the same thing.“Can you do that for me?Help him get her into jail before she hurts anyone else?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.I have some things to do myself.Not as much as you do, but I do have some contracts to go over and furniture to purchase.”She said she’d forgotten about that.“We’ll get to it, no worries.If anything, we can find us a nice house to rent until the house is ready.All right?”
They both got up then but played around in the bedroom until they both had a shower.He pulled on his clothing and decided that he needed to go to his own place to pack up, too.There was a lot going on, and he found that he was all right with it.He had a mate and everything was making him happy nowadays.
Chapter 7
Everyone had clocked in correctly and had actually clocked out the same way.Payroll only took her about half the time because she didn’t have to chase people down and ask them what they worked on certain days.Since she’d already finished up the order for next week, she gave herself a little treat by leaving her office with her desk covered in paperwork.She went to find Donald, her cook and friend.
“You look like you’re happy.”She told him about payroll and how she’d gotten the order finished up as well.“Good for you.I bet you even remembered that we’ll be closed on Monday of next week because I’ll be out of state.”
“I did remember that.And I’ve put the day of vacation on this check for you so that you’d have extra money, like you asked for when you got to your sister’s.See?I do pay attention.”They both laughed, and he asked her if she’d gotten laid last night.“No, not that it’s any of your business, but I might soon.We’re just without a house right now, and it’s making things difficult.Justine is going to take my condo and sell hers, so I’m having my place packed up right now.”
“You told me that.”She nodded and asked if he had anything that she could munch on.He handed her a plate of carrots and celery that he was chopping up, and she sat down on the chair next to the stove where he was working.“I’ve been thinking about you and your parents.What are you going to do if they come in here and start making an issue?If they’re following you around, it wouldn’t take anything for them to follow you here.”
“It’s just my mom I’m worried about.”She told him about how she had pushed her dad down the stairs when he didn’t do something that she wanted.“Melbourne is going to see my dad today and convince him that he needs to press charges.There is no telling how long he would have laid there if he’d not had a phone to call for help.And in order for her to have left the building that they’re staying in, she would have had to have stepped right over him to get out.”
“That’s cold.”She agreed as he put cauliflower on her plate along with some strips of pepper that he was cutting up for dinner tonight.“What does your mate think about—I’ve been meaning to ask you about him for the last week.Do we know him?”
“You might have heard of him at the very least.He’s with the Walsh family.His name is Melbourne.You remember me talking about Alex and Storm Walsh before?They’re the richest people in the country, I’ve heard.”He whistled and she nodded at him.“Melbourne and I bought a house the other day, and he debated on paying cash for it.That’s more money than I’ve got right now.”It wasn’t, but Donald didn’t have to know that right now.
After finishing her snack, she was ready to get back to work.Going back to her office, she pulled her phone to her and called Melbourne.She could do the mind thingy, but she wanted to talk to him like this.In person would have been better, but she was happy that they could talk on the phone.
“I just left your dad.He’s going to be pressing charges.There will be a warrant out for her arrest, and she’ll be picked up soon.If nothing else, they can find her at the building where she has been staying.”She asked him how her dad felt about that.“He told me as soon as I was in his room that he’d been thinking about doing just that.He also said that he’s afraid of her and doesn’t want to have to look over his shoulder all the time while laid up the way that he is.”
