Chapter 4
Four
Light
I keep telling myself that I'm being cautious.
But I've never been this cautious about someone I don't care about.
It's been a few days since I've been over to Melissa's house to check on the electrical work that I completed for her.
Every time I come around, I can tell that she's just a little unsure about me. Uneasy about what I'm doing. I guess that should be expected. I did accidentally assume she was only coming to me because she wanted me to blow her back out.
I don't think she's ever going to let me live that down.
Still there is no real reason for me to keep coming over here to check on her.
Today though I tell myself it'll be the last time.
Just one more check of the equipment and I leave her and the boy on their own.
I'm sure she's got her own people to come look out for her.
She doesn't need me. Even if she did I'm not on the market right now to be anyone's savior. I'm just the electrician.
The deep rumble of the bike under me soothes my thoughts for a moment before I turn the ignition and let the bike settle on the kickstand. I hop off the bike and make my way toward Melissa's house. She steps out before I have a chance to make it to the porch.
"Back again?" She raises an eyebrow at me and crosses her arms over her chest.
She's wearing a plain white tank top with multicolor pajama pants. Her hair is in one of those messy buns the ladies like to wear and she has on big black framed glasses. She's not trying to impress me in the least, but by God she's absolutely stunning.
I clear my throat and look away from her. I'm not here to gawk at her. The last thing I want is for her to start feeling uncomfortable with me.
"Ah, yeah... I did a lot of work the other day.
I'd hate for anything to short out and have to do it all over again.
" I finally look back up at her and give her one of my charming smiles.
Usually that's enough to make women melt.
Instead, she just huffs and shrugs her shoulders, as if she's not interested in the least in what I'm telling her.
I don't know if she's figured out that I'm lying, or if she just doesn't care anymore.
I feel...rejected.
It's not a sentiment I have much experience with.
"Well, you know where everything is. I'll be inside if you need anything." She walks away, leaving me standing at her front door searching for something more to say to her. Searching for anything that will allow me to keep talking to her.
I'm coming up with nothing.
I guess I can just do what I told myself I came here to do. Check on the electrical work that I completed.
I'm not really worried about it. I know my work is good. There's no reason for anything to be wrong with it, but then again I'm not sure what she's got going on in her life that would cause someone to cut her electrical lines in the first place.
I walk over to the electrical box and open the lid as if I'm truly looking for something.
It's the same as yesterday. Everything is perfectly in place and working well.
I stand there for a few seconds so it looks like I'm actually doing something before I close the box and get ready to go back to the clubhouse.
I take one step and see something I know shouldn't be there.
Cigarette butts.
They could be from Melissa but she's already told me that she doesn't smoke.
Of course, I know people lie, but I was under the impression that her son had some sort of breathing problem and Melissa didn't strike me as the type of person that would put a selfish habit over her son's health.
No, these aren't from her. It must be from the same people that cut her electrical lines in the first place.
These weren't here before when I first came I'm sure of it.
That just means that there is someone making it their job to come out here and terrorize this woman and her child.
Is it possible that she doesn't even know they are coming.
After all if they were invited why would they stand at the side of the house smoking. It didn't make any sense.
The other part of this whole situation that didn't make any sense was the fact that I was so interested in the real story of what is going on with this woman.
She didn't call me or the club here to protect her, she called me here to fix her lights.
I did that. So why can't I just let this shit drop.
My eyes focus on the cigarette butts and then I hear Melissa talking to her son in the house. My eyes flash up toward the sound and then back down again.
Even as the gears continue to wind in my head I know what I'm thinking is a bad idea.
"It's not my problem...not my...Fuck!" I hiss before I rush back to my bike and pull out my go bag. I have a few tools and some equipment in there that I used around the clubhouse compound. One piece of equipment in particular is the small surveillance camera.
It's small, maybe the size of a golf ball but it's definitely not what Melissa asked me out here to do. For some reason walking away from this knowing that some asshole is getting his jollies off watching them is driving me insane. I just can't let this go down.
Melissa seems like a decent enough woman. Though not decent enough for her to understand that I want to set up a camera right outside her house. No, this I'm going to have to keep to myself.
"God damn it!"
I hear Melissa curse and instantly I'm on high alert.
I quickly close up the electrical panel and run into the house not even bothering to wait for her to invite me in.
I see her standing in the kitchen, the coffee machine sparking as the water from the well spurts up like a pulsing geyser from the back.
She's trying to pull it out but I quickly get in front of her.
I yank it out the wall before she can get a grip on it.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" She squeals as I pull the coffee machine away from the puddle of water, splashing myself in the process.
"Damn woman, how the hell did you do this?
" I complain, shaking my head, but I'm already focused on the outlet behind the coffee machine.
I need to make sure that she didn't do any damage.
"Don't touch it. I'll be right back." I shoot her a tight glance before I go back outside where my tools are and get what I need.
My shirt is soaked, so I quickly yank it off and make my way back into the house. I stop for a second when I catch my reflection in the mirror. I'm shirtless in this woman's house. This might not have been the best idea.
When I get back to the kitchen, she's not in there. I focus on the coffee machine and try to figure out what made it spaz out in the first place.
“Did the shirt not survive the water?” Melissa questions as she walks back into the kitchen. I turn to look at her and notice that she's staring at me. I'm not sure if she's looking at me because she likes what she sees or... what am I thinking, of course she likes what she sees.
“I find clothes restrict my… performance.” I waggle my eyebrows and she scoffs at my humor.
“Then let’s restrict the flirting and focus on the fire hazard.” She gestures to the coffee machine in front of me.
I give her a wink and a little flex before I lean forward to examine the outlet. The minute I touch it with one of my tools a tiny surge of electricity zaps me.
“Damn, she’s feisty.” I mutter.
Melissa laughs and leans against the door frame of the kitchen. "You mean the outlet or me?"
My eyes dart up to hers, "Yes."
She laughs, and shakes her head again. This is the most at ease I've ever seen her and I have to say I like it.
“I swear to God, if you destroy my coffee machine trying to flex, I’m suing you for emotional damages.”
"Me? This piece of junk was destroyed long before I got here." I snap back.
"It was not... I was handling it." She pushes a strand of hair that has fallen out of that messy bun behind her ear.
Now it's my turn to shake my head at her, "Sure.
" I take a look at appliances in this kitchen and realize what they all have in common.
It seems like everything in here is second hand stuff, almost like she went to a garage sale and decorated her entire house.
It's not like it looks bad, but it's a wonder more things in here haven't started to break down on her.
I pull the coffee machine away from the counter and wrap the cord around it. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you won't be getting your coffee today."
"No, heavens no." She groans and runs a hand through her hair. You'd think I just told her, her dog died. I guess losing the ability to have coffee is a reason to cry.
"Sorry, I did the best I could." I shrug suddenly feeling bad that I wasn't able to fix the machine for her.
I could always get her another one.
No!
I shake the thought out of my mind and turn to walk out of the kitchen.
"Is everything still all good outside?" She questions and I remember that I never finished what I was doing earlier. The surveillance camera.
"Actually, I need to do one final thing.
" I tell her. Grabbing my tools I make my way back outside before she can go out there and see what I'm doing herself.
I don't want to have to answer any questions.
Mostly because I don't have the answers.
I don't know why I'm having such a hard time leaving her to fend for herself.
It doesn't take very long for me to get the surveillance camera set up. In fact, it took longer to connect the camera to my network.
I wipe the sweat from my brow just as Melissa steps outside to see what I'm doing.
"So what's the verdict? Are we all good?
" Her eyebrows raise slightly and I think for a second that I might tell her the truth.
It's not like I've put the camera up because I just want to spy on her.
I'm putting it up to catch whoever is out here bothering her.
In fact it would be all the more easier if she just told me who was behind all this to begin with.
"Yeah, doesn't seem like anything is out of order. Do you want to tell me how the wires got cut in the first place?"
She blinks at me a few times and that carefree expression she had a few seconds ago is gone. "I told you, it was probably an animal or something. Maybe just old age." She shrugs.
It's a piss poor excuse if I ever heard one.
"Sure, if you say so." I clench my teeth together and walk away from her. I'm not going to press her if she doesn't want to tell me. I'm not going to press her but it doesn't mean I'm going to ignore what's going on here. I can't.
I hop on my bike and take off back in the direction of the clubhouse.
Usually, I'm completely focus on the ride but right now I'm focused on the way Melissa completely shut down when I asked about who could have destroyed that equipment.
It's obvious that she's being terrorized. That she's in danger.
I can't stop thinking about her. This is dangerous. I'm a playboy by choice getting too invested in a woman leads to nothing but pain. I know Brick and Hook think otherwise and have even tried to get me to rethink my manwhore ways recently but I've got my own experience and it's not good.
Still I can't stop myself from thinking about her.
Melissa might not know it yet, but I just made her my responsibility.