Chapter 31 Melinda
Chapter Thirty-One
MELINDA
Istared at the empty space Alex had just left.
What the fuck had happened?
I looked at the envelope he placed in my hand, ripping it open. I scanned it.
Are you fucking kidding me?
I stormed into the kitchen and came face to face with mum. “Get the sperm donor here.”
Mum walked over to the backdoor, and the sperm donor entered. “You tried to kill Alex’s dad?!” I screamed.
“What?”
I threw the paper at them. “How could you not tell me? Either of you. I told him there was nothing I was hiding!”
“Melinda, calm down,” mum said.
I shook my head and started to bounce my leg, “You’ve ruined everything! I hate you both! Why did you do this?”
“Ugh, rude. How come I got blamed for his attempted murder?” The sperm donor said with a roll of his eyes. “Melinda, he’s just a boy.”
“There you go mum, he’s just a boy,” I snapped.
I spun around, storming out the house. I entered the park, walking around the small pond before sitting down.
I pulled out my phone and looked at the call log. I shouldn’t have dodged his calls.
God, how much had he spiralled with me not answering my phone?
I should have just answered them. I sent Megan a pin drop of my location, knowing that she would come.
My phone began to buzz with messages.
I opened it up, seeing some of the people from my course talking.
I opened them up and my heart sank. The break-up had already hit everywhere.
I opened my social media apps and saw videos had been posted as well as comments.
People were making suggestions of why we would have broken up.
Hate comments and death threats were beginning to enter my inbox.
I shut my phone off as tears slid down my cheeks. I sniffled trying to keep silent whilst crying.
How did everything go so wrong?
I ran a hand through my hair and started playing with the ends.
I couldn’t understand how the sperm donor tried to kill his dad?
I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
The debt I could understand because I should have been honest with Alex about it. It had blown up in my face. But the father card, he should know any time he tried to mention it I would just push away or change the subject.
Had I created all of this?
I heard a crunch in the grass and turned to see Megan wrapped up in a coat and another one in hand, she walked over placing it on my shoulders. “Your mum rang and said you didn’t take a coat or shoes.”
I looked down at my feet and realised she was right. I had left the house barefooted.
Megan sat next to me and reached over, squeezing my hand.
The tears began to fall harder as she squeezed onto me tighter.
“What happened, Mel?”
“He broke up with me,” I whispered, sniffling. “I didn’t tell him about something, and then my sperm donor tried to kill his father. I didn’t know.”
“What was it?” Megan asked, confused. “You two were so wrapped up in each other, I thought he knew everything.”
“My secret,” I mumbled.
Megan looked at me confused, “I don’t understand, Mel. What secret could be bad enough that he would dump you.”
“I have debt.”
Megan snorted. “Don’t we all? The joys of university.”
I looked at my best friend.
She was so innocent in her thinking and I loved that for her.
“No,” I admitted. “When the sperm donor left my mother, things got bad. My mother racked up a lot of debt in my name. She committed fraud, and I owe shit ton of debt.”
“What the fuck?”
I sniffled. “I was eight the first time I picked my drunk mum up off the floor. I used to worry she’d vomit and die.
She lost her job, and that’s when she stole my identity, wracking up a load of debt in my name.
I couldn’t get a maintenance loan or much help from university, because to them, I look like we have loads of money.
They tried to give me guilt money, but I can’t accept it.
I know the easiest thing is to accept it, and a lot of my problems would go away, but it feels like it would just be sweeping everything under the rug. ”
“El, how much do you have left to pay?”
“Eight grand,” I whispered.
“That’s why you were working so hard, and why you didn’t always eat,” Megan whispered.
She pulled me into a tight hug and I burst into tears, it felt so good to say it out loud.
A weight had lifted off my shoulders. “Hey, what was it you said before? Ride or die, remember? When we’re together, no judgement. You can get that from anyone else.”
I sniffled and let out a little laugh. “You do listen to me.”
“You can say some insightful things.” She laughed. “A problem shared is a problem halved. Did you try to claim fraud?”
“They wanted me to report it to the police, but they would know it was mum. And as much as I’m pissed, she’s my mum,” I said.
“Maybe you should talk to my dad. He might be able to help from a law perspective,” she said. “You can talk to him and know he won’t do anything without your permission or report your mum.”
“Thanks, Megan. You’re the best friend anyone could ask for, you know that?”
“I know. Right, the next problem is Jeremy Kyle,” she grinned. “I really do miss that show.”
“Alex asked me if I slept with him to claim assault and then blackmail him,” I whispered, my heart breaking with each word.
I couldn’t help but replay the way he flinched, and the way he shut down. Our conversation started with Alex, and it ended with Prince Alexander.
He had rushed back to public persona.
His armour and protection.
“The fuck is wrong with him? What would you gain out of blackmailing him?”
“Money, to pay the debt,” I said.
“Fucking idiot. Does he not realise you are obsessed with him.”
“I don’t know how this is going to be fixed. He hated me, Megan. I let him in and fell for him. Now, he hates me,” I cried. “I can’t. He called me a liar. How did they think the sperm donor who tried to kill his dad wouldn’t affect my relationship?”
“He has no right to call you a liar. Did he forget he kept a massive secret of being a fucking prince from you? Hello pot, meet kettle.”
I snorted a little.
This is why I love my best friend.
“You know what this therapy session needs,” Megan said, raising an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Warmth for a start because how the fuck are you not freezing? It’s nearly December man,” she shook her head in disgust.
“You always were dramatic.”
“And alcohol, let’s add some fun to this little pity party.”
I looked at her, it probably wasn’t a good idea considering I needed referring to a specialist but on another note I didn’t fucking care.
“Oh, also, I needed another blood test. I lost my vision the other day. Yay for trauma!” I jumped up and held a hand out for Megan who looked stumped. “Let’s go get drunk.”
She reached for my hand standing up and we began to make the slow walk out the park, now Megan had mentioned the fact I wore no shoes I finally felt the cold on my feet. I shivered slightly. The quicker we got out the cold the better, because I was feeling it now.
I blinked as my vision went a little blurry, although it had happened a few times since the hospital trip I still paid no mind to it.
I stopped as the world began to spin.
“El, are you okay?”
I shook my head, I placed my hands on my waist as I struggled to breathe. It was like I had run a marathon without actually running one. “I think I need to—” I squeezed my eyes shut trying to focus. “I need—” The world tipped as I found myself falling to the ground.
“El!” Megan shouted.
I sat up trying to find balance. “I don’t feel—” I slumped into the grass as the world went dark around me.