Chapter 84
Mel let themself into the center and smiled at the voices they could hear coming from one of the gathering rooms. With it being summer vacation, there wasn’t much studying going on, but that was fine.
They hoped the center would still exist when it was time for that again.
They shook that thought off as they split off from their siblings to go into their office.
They had until the end of the month to find a way to prove this place made a difference.
One the directors couldn’t ignore for what they thought were more important concerns.
Which meant raising money. But how? They weren’t charging kids to come here. That completely defeated the purpose of this place, when some of them had nothing. Those who did have money certainly weren’t worth more.
No matter what the directors seemed to think.
Mel doubted holding a car wash or selling candy bars would be enough. Not to mention that was only temporary.
They didn’t know what else to do, though. They needed to figure it out. They should at least be able to manage this on their own.
At least thinking about it took their mind off Rhys. And that asshole who had been outside their house that morning. They didn’t understand exactly what had been going on. He’d had a camera. Had he actually gotten pictures of them?
Did it matter? They hadn’t been doing anything wrong.
Mel turned their attention to the problem that mattered more right now. They could talk to Rhys about the rest of it later. Surely him and Alfie would come over. Wouldn’t they? Well, Mel would invite them.
Mel
Any plans for after today’s game? I thought you’d want to come over again
No answer after a few minutes, but that was fine. Both Rhys and Alfie were probably busy with practice or whatever. Mel spent the time digging into some research on grants and seeing what other places had done to raise money for the same type of programs.
They wrote down a few foundations which might be willing to offer assistance.
And a few more ideas for fundraisers. Running ads, they weren’t sure how much that would begin to cost. Getting a business to sponsor them.
Around here, when they’d already had some people petition to not allow them to open? They didn’t see that happening.
One in particular caught their attention. A local sports team held a benefit drive, with a portion of ticket fees going toward a fund to help the poster’s organization.
That might be something they’d have to ask Rhys about being a possibility.
Their phone buzzed, pulling them out of the rabbit hole. They smiled as they saw Rhys’s name on their phone. “Speak of the devil.”
Rhys:
I’m sorry. I can’t do this.
Alfie
Do not
Mel
What is that supposed to mean
Rhys
I’m not cut out for this
If anyone has a problem with those pictures, tell them it was a misunderstanding.
I’ll stay away. I never should have bothered you in the first place. You deserve better.
Mel
What does that even mean?
He didn’t answer them. Mel could only stare at the phone until the screen went dark again. What had just happened? Had they lost this relationship already? For what? Because some asshole took pictures of them? Not even doing anything.
Rhys couldn’t have walked away from them because of that.
They lost him, they were going to lose this program they’d worked so hard for. Were they allowed to have anything good?
“Is it true?”
Liam stood in the hallway. This was the first time, aside from when they’d been cleaning up the destruction, he had come inside. “Is what true?” they asked him.
“You’re going to shut this place down.”
The words hit them hard. They hadn’t said anything to any of the kids. Not yet. Because they hadn’t given up. There had to be a way to convince the directors to keep this place going. They had to figure it out for themself.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
They would look into what options they might have for funding, even if they couldn’t ask Rhys for help. Not if he’d given up on them. If only there were some resources they could dip into to make sure they could fight for their relationship as well.
What could they do if Rhys was just done?