Melina and Thomas walk into the restaurant, trailed by his bodyguards. All eyes turn to face them as they walk in. Melina didn’t even want to imagine the theories going through their heads right now. She bets most of them are wondering what she’s doing with men with ink all over their skin; it’s not that having tattoos is bad, but we all know how the world misjudges people with tattoos like theirs. And in this case, they are right because they are people you shouldn’t mess with; if she had known this as well, she might not be here today.
Thomas is the only one whose tattoos aren’t visible, but he’s also the most frightening of the bunch. As a businessman, he made certain that his tattoos were only drawn in places where his clothes could cover them.
Thomas and Melina take their seats at the first empty table they come across, while the bodyguards stand around them. Melina is puzzled as to why he went into the restaurant with his bodyguards today. While they were dating, Thomas never went to restaurants with them. There must be a reason why he did today. It crosses her mind to ask him, but she knows better than to do that.
A waiter approaches their table, trembling, and asks for their order. Melina smiles softly at the young boy to calm him down. He must be afraid of Thomas because he is a dangerous man, but Thomas isn’t unnecessarily ruthless. She’s certain the poor boy believes Thomas will harm him if he speaks out of turn He stammers even as he asks for her order. She places an order for creamy squash and hazelnut fettuccine with sauteed mushrooms. Thomas does not order anything for himself.
Melina looks out the window as she waits for her food. It’s been months since she was last here to see her sister. Melina knows Franky must be worried sick about her. She bets she has already reported her missing to the police. Turning to look at Thomas, she wonders if he would let her visit Franky. It would really make her happy if he did.
Melina snaps out of her thoughts, hearing her name. She turns away from the window and notices an old classmate approaching their table.
“Melina, why are they preventing me from reaching you?” the bodyguards stopped Claire from approaching the table.
“She’s an old classmate of mine, Thomas.”
“Let her through,” Thomas orders.
“Thank you.” Melina gets up and meets Claire halfway.
“How are you doing?” Claire asks, pulling Melina in for a hug.
“I am doing well. How are you?” Melina hugs her back.
“I’m doing good. How is James doing? It’s been ages since I saw you guys.” Melina’s body goes cold. She can’t believe Claire just mentioned James. She hopes this doesn’t spoil Thomas’ mood. He has been treating her like a human being these past two days, and she hopes that doesn’t change.
“Fine, I guess. I haven’t heard from James in a while.”
“Oh my God! Don’t tell me it’s true.” Claire must have heard of their divorce.
“Unfortunately, it is.”
“That’s sad; you guys were such a lovely couple,” she laments.
Melina’s eyes automatically move to Thomas to see how he reacts to hearing that. She pales, seeing his knuckles turn white as he tightens his fist. This isn’t looking good. Thomas is definitely going to have her head when they are alone.
“Even beautiful things come to an end, sometimes,” Melina says as she fakes a smile. She hopes Claire couldn’t tell she was panicking inside. Things would only get worse if Claire noticed and asked.
“Yeah, that’s true, and I hope you’re doing fine. Divorce can be hard.” Claire looks down at Thomas, whose attention is on his phone. Melina notices her staring at his tattoos. His sleeves are rolled up, so they are exposed. She must be wondering what Melina is doing with someone like Thomas.
“Everything is fine.”
“Are you sure?” She looks into Melina’s eyes like she’s searching for the answer there.
“I am, indeed.” Melina hopes she is unaware she’s been missing some time. Franky must have reported it to the police, but she’s hoping Franky didn’t call Claire to inquire about her whereabouts. Claire isn’t the first person to call to inquire about her whereabouts, but her last stop before Portland was LA. It would make sense for Franky to call and ask her, but it would only complicate matters for Melina.
“Alright, if you say so,” she says as she opens her purse and pulls out a card. “I am assuming you lost your phone, which is why you haven’t called or returned my calls. Give me a call sometime. I am always available to help,” she says as she hands her the business card.
“Thank you, Claire.” Melina kissessher cheeks goodbye.
Once Melina returns to her seat, Thomas takes the card and lights it up.
“You won’t need any fucking help,” he says. Melina’s eyes are filled with terror as she watches the card burn. “If you try to get help from her to escape, I’ll burn her business down just like I burned her card in front of your eyes.” Don’t you dare try anything stupid, Melina? A word is enough for the wise.” Melina nods in agreement.