Chapter Seven
Melissa
I ’VE BEEN IN Miller Point for two weeks now. While my body doesn’t hurt as much, I’m still in pain on a daily basis. Especially when it comes to my ribs. Moving certain ways leaves me gasping for breath and having to hold myself still before the pain begins subsiding. I know Dr. Mueller said they would take time to heal, but this is insane. Even sleeping has been difficult because it takes me forever to get comfortable. Oaklynn even went out and got me more pillows in an attempt to become more comfortable. Nothing works. So, I do the best I can and make it through each day dealing with the pain. Thankfully most of the bruising is gone and what’s left is easily covered by make-up.
Over the last week and a half, I’ve been putting in applications everywhere I can think of in town. The few interviews I’ve been on seem to go well, but I end up not getting a call back. When I call them, I’m told my pregnancy is holding me back from getting the job. I’m a month and a half pregnant. I don’t understand what the hell my pregnancy has to do with flipping burgers or working as a secretary. Apparently it does though. So, I keep putting in my application and trying to find a way to earn money.
It’s not often that I go outside though. Not if I can help it. I’ve seen my father and the men from his club in town more than once. I always run from them and make sure they don’t find me. Those days, I don’t bother putting in the applications I’ve filled out, stopping at any store, or anything. I run back to Oaklynn’s cottage and hide out for the rest of the day. Hell, I don’t come out for two days after that. If my father gets his hands on me, there’s no telling what he’d do to me. There’s nothing I won’t put past him at this point. Not after what he’s already done to me.
Each time I see him, the reminder of what he did to Zeke fills me. My heart breaks all over again and I can’t stop the tears from flowing. It’s the hardest part of trying to get past Zeke’s death. His senseless death. Those are the days it’s hard for me to get out of bed and do anything at all. Oaklynn gets home from work and joins me in my bed for the rest of the day. We lay in bed and do absolutely nothing because my heartbreak won’t let me.
Anyway, today I’m back to trying to find a job. I’ve already been to three places and submitted my applications. I get the friendly smiles from the men or women at the front counter but that’s it. I’m getting a feeling someone has already been there and instead of putting in a good word for me, they’ve told the businesses not to hire me. Hell, I swear at the first place I went this morning they threw my application out before I even made it back out the door.
Frustration fills me to no end. All I want to do is find a job so I can make money and get my own place. To give Oaklynn back her cottage. We’re not getting in one another’s way or anything, but I’m sure she wasn’t planning on having me living with her when she left Mirfield. It was always something we talked about, but in our talks, we were living in a college dorm.
Oaklynn’s cottage is cute as hell. It’s got two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and large kitchen. There’s also a laundry room off to the side of the kitchen. I’ve taken over her guest room. While she’s at work during the day, I clean the cottage, make dinner, and go out searching for a job. When Oaklynn’s home from work, we usually sit back and relax while watching a movie and eating whatever I’ve made for dinner that night.
Walking into the next fast food joint, I pull out the application I’ve filled out and wait in line to turn it in. Looking at my burner phone, I realize I’m here at the lunch rush. The line is long as hell and moving slower than molasses. Still, I wait and smile at those who look in my direction. When I finally manage to get at the front of the line, I hand over the application. The woman looking at it lifts her eyes once she sees my name and glares in my direction.
“We’re not hiring?” she growls out, still glaring at me.
“There’s a large sign on the window and another on the door that says you are,” I respond, my voice soft and polite despite the anger filling me.
“Not for people like you,” she returns.
“What do you mean, people like me?” I question her, my voice laced with the anger I feel now.
“I mean a pregnant woman who leaves her baby’s dad just because he wasn’t as excited as she wanted him to be. On top of being a drug addict and stealing from everyone around her. So, no, we won’t ever have a position here for the likes of you,” the woman says as outrage fills me.
“I’m not a drug addict, I’ve never stolen anything in my life, and the father of my baby was murdered less than a month ago. Whatever you’ve heard about me is nothing but fucking lies. Do you believe I’d be as healthy looking as I am if I were on drugs? And I don’t have proof of my man’s murder, but I can give you details about what happened to him. Yes, I was forced to watch him get killed. By my own father. If you don’t want to hire me because you’ve been fed a pack of lies, that’s fine. I don’t want to work here anyway. Not where the health department should be brought in to fucking close this place down. Everyone, I’d highly recommend checking all of your food very carefully before eating it,” I announce loudly before turning and leaving the fast food place.
Tears roll down my face as I leave the restaurant and head down the street to turn in more applications. The little bit of hope I had at finding a job here in Miller Point is now completely gone. I don’t want to turn these applications in, but there’s no other choice. The need for a job is overwhelming. I can’t continue sitting at the cottage doing nothing but living off of Oaklynn’s generosity.
For the rest of the afternoon, I go in one place after another and try to find a job. From the looks of things, my father or one of his men has been to almost every business around here and spread numerous lies about me. Not a single person will hire me here. If I can’t get a job then I’m not going to be able to stay here with Oaklynn and will have to find somewhere else to go.
As I walk toward the cottage, the burner phone starts ringing in my purse. Pulling it out, I open it up to find Jace’s number on the screen.
“Hey, Jace. What’s going on?” I answer the phone.
“Not much. Just checkin’ on you,” he says, a ton of noise in the background on his end of the phone.
“Where are you? It sounds like you’re at a party or something,” I ask him, my voice filled with laughter at the thought of Jace at a party at noon on a weekday.
“Kind of am. Not that I’m partakin’ in it, but I’m here. Finally found a spot to call home. I think anyway. I’m in Frostford and have been here a few days now. It’s a smaller town and exactly where I wanna be. How are things goin’ with you?” he answers me as a smile breaks out on my face despite the tears still falling.
“Oh, you know. My father is still making my life a living hell. I just turned in an application and was informed that I’m a drug addict, left my baby daddy because he wasn’t as excited as I wanted him to be, and that I steal from everyone around me. I don’t know what I’m gonna do if I can’t find a job, Jace. I can’t keep living off of Oaklynn,” I inform him, my voice breaking as I finish speaking because my emotions are overflowing.
“I’m sorry, Melissa. That’s a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. I’d look online and see if you can find anythin’ there. Maybe you can do somethin’ from home so you don’t have to go out in public. Have you seen your father or any of the other cocksuckers while you’ve been out?” Jace asks, knowing I’ve seen my father a time or two.
“Not today. I’m not sure where I’m gonna go if I leave Oaklynn. Plus, I don’t really wanna leave Oaklynn. I’m loving being here with her, but I refuse to stay if I can’t get a job. Maybe I will look online and see if I can find some kind of job I can do at home. Less exposure and I won’t have to worry about running into my father while I’m working. Or anyone else from that club,” I tell Jace, my voice fading as I see a motorcycle up close to where I have to turn in the cottage’s driveway.
“What’s wrong, Melissa?” Jace asks me, the noise in the background fading into nothing.
“Nothing. I’m being stupid. There’s a bike close to where I have to turn in for Oaklynn’s driveway.”
“It’s not stupid. Can you go a different way?”
“No. It’s the only way into the cottage since the main house is past the bike,” I tell him, clutching my purse tighter to my body and the phone in my hand so hard my hand actually hurts.
“Stay on the phone with me until you get in the cottage. Make sure all the doors and windows are locked and set the alarm. I know Oaklynn has one. Don’t take any chances, Melissa,” Jace orders me, his voice leaving no room for me to argue with him.
“I will. It’s what I do on a daily basis. Whenever I’m at the house alone, I don’t have anything open. The alarm is always set and I stay as far from the windows and doors as I can get. Usually, I bring all the snacks and drinks I could possibly want with me so I don’t have to keep getting up and down. I also keep the blinds and curtains drawn so no one can see inside.”
“Good. Now, tell me about the baby,” Jace says, trying to get my mind off the other shit in my life.
“Well, I go to the doctor next week. I haven’t had any problems from the attack or anything. You know I’m having twins?” I ask, not sure if I actually told Jace I was having twins or not.
“What? Are you sure?” he questions, excitement filling his voice.
“I’m sure. Got the pictures to prove it. The doctor did an ultrasound when I got here and pointed out the two baby’s to me while I was in there. Oaklynn saw the same thing. The only good thing about this is I don’t just get to have one piece of Zeke with me, I’ve got two now. These two are my only ties to the man I love and never got to say goodbye to. I miss him so damn much, Jace,” I respond, my voice breaking once again as more tears slide down my face.
“I know you do, Melissa. I didn’t know him like you did, but I miss him too. I’m sure Oaklynn misses Zeke as well. You’re not alone in this. It will get easier. And I’m here no matter what time of day or night it is. You need to talk, call me,” Jace promises me as I get up to the bike and take a close look at it.
This is a brand-new bike. Not one that my father or the men in his club could ever afford. They spend all their money on drugs and alcohol. That’s their only concern and how it’s been for as long as I can remember. I mean, my father did make sure I had everything I’d ever need or want, but the rest went toward drugs and alcohol.
Taking a deep breath, I release it and hope the tension that’s been filling me leaves with it as well. Every single time I spot a bike or someone closely resembling my father or anyone else in his club, my entire body becomes tense and I’m filled with fear. I’m talking about my heart racing, palms sweating, breathing hard to do, and my body shakes. Talking to Jace has helped today, but not by much. He’s far away and couldn’t get here to help me if I needed it.
“How close to the cottage are you?” Jace asks, taking a deep inhale of a cigarette.
“I’m walking down the driveway now. In another two minutes, I’ll be inside and be able to lock myself away until Oaklynn gets home. Though, I believe she has a late night tonight. In the meantime, I can take you up on your suggestion and see if I can find a job online or something. I don’t know if I’m qualified to do anything, but maybe I’ll be surprised,” I answer him, pulling out the keys for the front door.
“I think you’ll be surprised. What did the school ever say about you graduatin’?”
“I got my diploma. I’d already taken all of my tests before everything happened. It was more a matter of me explaining the situation so they understood I didn’t just skip school and was attacked and beaten so bad I could barely move. I ended up sending them a few of the photos you took of me the day we left. They sent it to me in the mail here and it’s currently sitting in one of the bags you packed for me. I was honestly surprised I got it,” I inform him as the music starts up on his end again.
“I didn’t have a doubt about you gettin’ it, Melissa. They have to give it to you if you graduated. Now what are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking about taking some online classes through the local community college or something. I could become a paralegal and then work my way up to becoming a lawyer.”
“I think you’d make a good lawyer. Then you can keep my ass outta jail,” Jace teases me as I unlock the door and let myself inside.
While Jace is still on the phone with me, I walk through the entire house to make sure no one else is in here. After checking things out, I double check all the doors and windows before finally setting the alarm.
“Are you all locked inside now?”
“I am. Thank you, Jace. You always call exactly when I need you to,” I tell him honestly.
“You’re welcome, Melissa. Call me if you need me and I’ll get there as soon as I can. I’ll check in on you in a few days,” he returns, hanging up the phone before I can respond.
This is nothing new for Jace. He’s always hanging up when he’s done talking. I’m honestly surprised he talks to Oaklynn and me as long as he does since it’s not something he likes to do. He’s a good friend and I’m glad we’re getting closer. Oaklynn feels the same way. Jace is a good guy and is on the run just like I am. If my father and the others get their hands on him, he’ll be dead. He did betray the club after all. At least in their eyes.
With nothing more to do, I make my way to the kitchen and grab a few snacks and bottles of water. I need to grab some more apple juice tomorrow if I happen to go out. Taking a seat on the couch, I don’t bother turning on the TV today. Instead, I grab the laptop Oaklynn has and begin searching for something I can do online for work. It’s not until I get to my social media that I realize something I can do. I’ve always loved writing and have written several short stories. Maybe I can become a ghostwriter or something like that. Write for someone else and use their ideas for the story. I’m sure that I can do this job and make it work.
I begin researching and reaching out to a few people I’ve had conversations with in the past. They’re in the independent author community and work with a ton of authors in one way or another. It’s not long before I’m being put in touch with an author who has been looking for a ghostwriter. She’s new to this industry but has a hard time writing due to some disabilities she has. She has all the ideas for the stories, but can’t sit down and actually write them down.
We hammer out some firm times to get together via video calls and work out the rest of the details. With a plan in place, I feel better about the day. The author is also going to get a contract for us drawn up to make sure everything is set before any writing actually gets started. She’ll make sure the royalty split and everything is included in the contract. I’ll have to get a lawyer for myself to go over the contract and make sure it’s all legal and nothing has been put in there that I don’t agree with.
Once I know how this is going to work, I’ll decide if I can handle adding in another author or if I should just stick to one and do what I said to Jace. I can take some online classes at the local college Oaklynn’s going to and start working on getting my degree. At the same time, I can still write and work both jobs so there’s always money coming in. Especially when the babies get here. I won’t have to take any time off from the writing so I can still keep the money coming in. This will also allow me to save the money I need to get my own place here so I can remain close to my sister from another mister.