Date = 13 November
Place = San Francisco (Grimm house)
POV – Melaena
After a few hundred strides, my hormone level settles, and I notice I’m hitting some sort of wood. There is a designated path and I keep on it in order to avoid getting lost.
Hell, I’ve touched his penis. And it was hard … and huge – the biggest on the track – if you believe the gossip.
Then I broke it with my foot.
I’m such an idiot. I soak in the stupendous beauty of my surroundings, trying to forget my own stupidity.
The sunlight battles to penetrate the green tree canopy and only bits and pieces reach the ground where verdant fields flow seemingly indefinitely. Colorful flowers break the sea of green and I even spot little critters attempting to hide in the lush forestry. Even in broad daylight, this place feels like it belongs in a novel.
I wonder where the pathway leads, and keep going, increasing my pace, just in case I’m being followed. Suddenly the forest clears into a pasture and the bright light of the sun blinds me for an instant. I blink a few times, strutting to a walk.
The scene unfolding in front of me is as mesmerizing as the first time I saw it – the Grimm mansion.
“Hi, what are you doing here ?” A voice suddenly jolts me from my love-struck dream, spooking me. I look around for the owner but find no one.
“Hey, Sista, I’m talking to you!” Now I’m slightly getting panicked. And then a shadow jumps from the trees and lands next to me.
“Holy ship!” I scream, ready to run again, but something grips my arm, leaving me frozen in shock. I look down into Luke’s shining eyes. My gaze bobs from him to look up into the tree from where he dropped, and I notice the quaint wooden tree house. How could I miss that? Maybe I’m still having some side effects from the drugs. Or the penis touching.
“Girls are so silly.” He’s so right.
“So, are you going to invite me for some coffee?” His smile spreads from ear to ear.
“Of course. And maybe we can play ‘Fallout’?” His face grins with excited anticipation. He for sure has the Grimm charm. How can I say no to that? And I need some distraction.
“Definitely, but I must warn you, I’m pretty good.” He pulls me a little faster and then opens a big wooden door.
“Mom! Mom! We have a guest! MOM!” he shouts.
“MOM, your daughter-in-law is here!”
“Why would you say that?” I scold him.
“Listen, I may be young but I’m not stupid. I know you’re going to marry my brother one day.”
I hold up my finger to tell him exactly what I think about his loving brother, but Haley appears drying her hands on her apron. Her surprised face lights up when she sees me.
“Melaena, I didn’t know you were coming. Is Damion with you?” She looks around expecting to see her older son.
“No,” I say, not quite knowing how to explain, so I change the subject quickly, “You have a beautiful home! Very very beautiful.” She smiles softly and her green eyes are full of love.
“Thank you. Come, let’s go to the kitchen. I’m dying for some feminine company.” She lovingly rubs her hand through Luke’s dark locks.
“I found her, so she’s going to play with me!” Luke pouts and I laugh at him.
“I will, I promise. Let me just talk a little bit with your mom, okay.” He agrees and walks up some stairs.
“I’ll go pick out some games.” He winks at me and then disappears. Haley gestures for me to follow her and we walk into that amazing farm-style kitchen, decorated with loads of wood, iron, and brick. I’ve been in here once before, but haven’t taken anything in due to my Damion-induced coma.
The huge windows light up the room, highlighting the gray color scheme, with patches of soft pastels here and there to brighten things up.
“I’m surprised that Damion is not with you, given what happened last night.” She looks at the cut on my throat while pouring coffee from a baby pink kettle.
“To tell you the truth, I think he’s rather pissed at me. My foot broke his junk.” She throws her head around, a proud, surprised smile on her face, and her eyes dance with the same fire sparks as her son’s.
“You kicked him in the balls?”
“Accidentally,” I add quickly. She muses on the thought for a moment. “Good. I think you deserve some cake for putting my son in his place.” She takes a red-velvet from the counter and puts it on the large wood table. We start talking as if we’ve known each other our whole lives. She’s so easy to talk to, the total opposite of her pain-ass of a child.
“Please fetch me some milk,” she gestures holding a fork. I get up and remove the carton from the fridge. When I close the door, I notice the photos posted to it with magnets. Some are of Damion, some of Luke and then there’s some of a small girl with ice-blue eyes and light brown hair.
“That’s my daughter, Lori,” Haley says. I’m surprised.
“Damion never told me he has a sister.”
“He doesn’t talk about her. Lori was 8 when she died 11 years ago.” I gasp a deep breath, holding it for a while. She’s my age. I don’t know what to say.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Nice Mel, that must be the most cliche words ever!
“Thanks.” She pauses for a while, looking down at her hands. “They say that the best way not to break your heart is to pretend not to have one. Unfortunately, since her death, Damion does a very good job of acting heartless.”
“You can say that again.” It’s out before I think. Damn filter.
“Mel, don’t throw him under the bus just yet. He needs you more than you know.” There are pleading tears in her apple-green eyes, the pain she suffered clearly visible.
“And, I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. Call it fate or destiny or a supernatural power. But Damion meeting you at the worst time in his life was not a coincidence.”
“And maybe it’s giving back a little part of what we’ve both lost.”
She looks at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I’m still trying to figure out what she means, and then it hits me right between the eyes.
“Mel, you becoming my daughter is a prayer come true.”