Page 32 of Conflicted (Change 3)

“Nothing. What’s up?” She raises her eyebrows and gives me that mom look that says ‘you better tell me what the fuck you are hiding because I’ll find out, and when I do, I’ll pester the shit out of you for not coming to me with it to begin with,’ I chuckle at my thought, and she gives me a stern look. “Okay, Mom. I don’t know what to do about Mel. I’m completely in love with her, but I haven’t told her, and now, I’m bringing you and the girls back with me, leaving her with no one. I want to ask her to come, but I think it may be too much too fast. I’m scared to death I’m going to have to leave without her.” I don’t want to tell her that I would stay because she’ll want to stay, and that’s not an option. She grabs my hand and smiles.

“Keith, you always were an over-thinker. You need to start following your heart, son, or you’ll never find true happiness. Be honest with Mel, she may just surprise you.” She stands up, kisses my cheek, and starts toward the door.

“Mom, wait.” She turns with a smile on her face. “What did you want to talk about?” She shakes her head and opens my door.

“I was just coming to check on my boy.” She closes the door, and I quickly stand up. She’s right. I need to talk to Mel, and I need to do it now. I rush out of my room and she is standing by the front door with her keys in her hand. I grab them and kiss her.

“Thanks, Mom, for everything.” She hugs me tight.

“Anything for you, my boy.” I squeeze her tight and run out of the house to the car. I race over to Mel’s. I need to talk to her now before I lose my courage. I park out front and only see Connie’s car. I take a few deep breaths before getting out of the car. I make my way to the door and knock before walking in. Connie is sitting on the couch watching TV. She looks up at me and smiles.

“Hey, big brother.” I give her a kiss and sit down next to her.

“Hey. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but where’s Mel?” She laughs and hits me with a pillow.

“Fuck you. Honestly, I don’t know where she is. She is usually home by now. Give her a call. Maybe she got held up at work.” She’s probably right. I pull out my phone and press her number. It rings a few times before it goes to voice mail. I hang up and look at Connie.

“No answer. Maybe she’s busy. I’ll give her a few minutes to get back to me.” As much as I want to sit here and make small talk with my sister, I’m starting to let my mind wonder. What if Jenson is giving her a hard time? What if her captain is being a dick again? I stand up and press call again. It rings and rings before going to voice mail again. What the fuck? “Connie, did you talk to her at all today?” She stands up and puts her hand on my arm.

“Keith, relax. She’s probably just busy.” I want to believe that, but I’m starting to get a really bad feeling. I start pacing and call her again. Still no answer. I run my hands through my hair and turn to Connie.

“You call her.” She laughs but does it for me. I can tell that it went to voice mail when she looks at me.

“Don’t over-think shit. Maybe she’s drawing a sketch. She wouldn’t stop to answer her phone. Here, I’ll call the precinct and find out.” She dials, and I keep pacing. “Hi. I was wondering if you could please tell me if Melissa Thompson is still there?” She’s quiet for a minute. “Oh okay, do you know how long ago?” I fucking knew it. Something is wrong, I know it. “Okay, thanks.” She hangs up and holds her phone tightly in her hand.

“WHAT?” She jumps when I yell, and I rush over to hug her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just know something is wrong. What did they say?” She clears her throat and looks up at me.

“They said she left about forty-five minutes ago.” I immediately dial her number again.

“Hello?” What the fuck? Why the fuck is a guy answering my girlfriend’s phone.

“Who the hell is this?” Connie looks at me with her eyebrows drawn in as I wait for a response.

“This is Officer Ortiz.” My heart begins to pound in my chest. A cop, she’s with a cop?

“This is Mel’s boyfriend, would you please put her on her Goddamn phone?” Connie is looking at me with wide eyes now, and I lift my shoulders.

“I’m sorry. Your girlfriend was in a car accident. She’s on her way to County General. Her phone was in the car, and it kept ringing, so I answered for her.” I feel my knees begin to buckle and slowly make my way to the couch. It’s like everything is moving in slow motion. A car accident? Oh God, please let her be all right. I try to keep myself composed, so I take a few deep breaths.

“What happened?” Connie already has tears in her eyes, and she doesn’t even know what happened. I need to keep it together.

“Sir, I just got to the scene so I’m not sure.” I stand, look over at Connie, and see the fear on her face.

“Alright. Thank you for letting me know. I need to get to the hospital.” We hang up, and Connie starts crying.

“The hospital? What the fuck happened?” I grab her hand and lead her quickly out the door. I’ll explain it all in the car. I just need to get to her now.

We rush into the emergency room, and a flood of memories comes back to when we did the same thing for Kenz. I push people out of my way and run to the desk. “Melissa Thompson.” She is typing in the computer, and I’m starting to lose patience.

“She’s in the back.” Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“Obviously, I know she’s here, or I wouldn’t be. I need to see her now.” Connie is standing next to me, ringing her hands together. The receptionist looks back and forth between me and Connie.

“Alright, just the two of you though. Go through that door and follow the corridor to the end. Turn right, and she is in the second room on the left.” I don’t even thank her, and I just push my way through the door and hope Connie is on my heels. Never have I felt the need to get to someone so quickly. I need to make sure she is all right. I run down the hall and rush into her room. She is sitting on the bed with a hospital gown on, and as soon as she sees me, she starts to cry. I rush over and wrap my arms around her. She grabs onto my shirt and cries into my chest.

“It’s alright, sweetheart, I’m here now.” She cries harder, and I begin to wonder if I’m hurting her. I start to pull back, she looks up at me, and my heart breaks. She looks so sad and maybe even scared. I wipe away her tears and kiss her salty lips. “What happened? Are you in pain? Did the doctor see you yet?” She laughs through her tears, and it is the most amazing sound.

“I’m fine. I’m not in pain, just shaken up. I had the green light, and this asshole came out of nowhere and slammed into me. It scared the shit out of me, but I didn’t hit my head or anything. It wasn’t that hard. The doctor was in just before you, and he said he wants to do a CAT scan just to make sure.” I move the hair off her face and cup her face in my hands.

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