Thomas doesn’t let go of Melina’s hand on the ride home. She wishes he would, as the blood is making their hands sticky. Clearing her throat, she looks up at him and tells him about it.
“Oh, I totally forgot,” he says, letting go of her hand.
“Thank you,” Melina says, looking at her palm filled with Xiao Zhan’s blood. Thank God he’s still alive; even Thomas’ hands are as bloody.
“Here,” Thomas says, placing a handkerchief in her hand, but before Melina can touch it, he grabs it and begins to clean the blood off her hands.
“Thank you again,” Melina says. Thomas grunts in response before speaking to Jacob.
“Find somewhere with a bathroom close by.”
“Okay, sir.”
“How long?”
“What?” Melina asks.
“How long have you been having the nightmare?”
“Since I left that house,” she says. Thomas hums in response, and a comfortable silence settles between them.
Melina suddenly starts feeling sleepy on the way and rests her head on Thomas’ neck. She quickly pulls it away once she realizes what she did.
“It’s fine,” he tells her, pulling her head back.
“Thank you.” She adjusts her head on his neck and closes her eyes.
When Melina opens her eyes because she needs to pee, she finds herself in an unfamiliar bed and room. She looks around, wondering where she is.
“You’re awake, good,” Thomas says as he walks out a door. Melina guesses the door leads to a bathroom as Thomas steps out with only a towel around his waist. Melina takes a second to admire his ripped chest covered in tattoosand water droplets before quickly returning to earth, remembering she isn’t in her room.
“Where am I?” she asks, climbing out of the king-sized bed with black sheets and gray covers.
“In my room,” Thomas walks to the closet and returns with only his sweatpants around his waist.
“Why,” she asks, looking around for her shoes.
“You’re sleeping here from now on.” Melina freezes, putting on her shoes on the floor near the couch in the room.
Her brows pull together in confusion. “Why?”
“Your nightmares.”
“My nightmares?”
“Yes, your fucking nightmares.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to; just know that you’re fucking sleeping here now.”
“Okay, but can I go to my room to change and use the bathroom?” Melina had gotten up to pee, so she still feels the urge to go.
“Your things are here, and you can use my bathroom.”
“Thank you” Melina rushes to the bathroom door. “God! I feel like my bladder will bust any minute,” she whispers to herself as she walks in.
Washing her hands after doing her business, realization dawns on Melina. She couldn’t believe she would be sharing a room with Thomas, and it was all because of her nightmares. Melina didn’t understand what her nightmares had to do with it. She shrugs her shoulders and walks out of the bathroom. Thomas is a possessive man and will always find new excuses to fill my space.
Melina wakes up the following morning and walks out of Thomas’ bedroom after showering and dressing up. She walks to the living room with a smile on her face for the first time in a while because she had a good night’s sleep. Melina feels refreshed and relaxed. She wonders if it’s because she slept beside Thomas. Speaking of Thomas, Melina hasn’t seen him since she woke up. She guesses he has already left for work. Melina picks up the phone to order room service but doesn’t dial as she’s suddenly startled by Thomas.
“Good, you’re awake. Get ready so we can leave,” Thomas says, walking out from the study in the suite.
“You scared me.” Melina assumed she was alone in the hotel room, so she wasn’t expecting him to appear out of nowhere.
“You have five minutes,” Thomas says, tapping his thousand-dollar wristwatch before walking back into the study.
“Where are we going?” she asks as he bangs the door after him. Silence stares back at her. Even though Thomas might have heard her, he had no desire to respond.
Melina returns to their room, changing into white jeans and a deep-brown V-neck printed blouse, which she wears with white vans. She walks to the door to leave, but she comes to a halt when she feels the need to pee. She dashes to the bathroom and does her business as quickly as possible.
“Melina, if you don’t get your ass out of here in the next minute, I am leaving you,” Thomas barks from outside the bathroom door.
“I’m coming,” Melina says as she quickly washes her hands and steps out of the bathroom. “Sorry,” she says, biting her lower lip.
“All right, let’s go.” He held her as they walk out of their hotel suite together.
Standing in the elevator with Thomas holding her hand, Melina recalls she doesn’t even know where they are going, but somehow, Thomas made her feel bad about not being ready on time. Hmm, isn’t that amusing?
***
Melina wakes up to Thomas’ voice for the third time today. The frown on Thomas’ face tells her she dozed off in his office while watching TV. Thomas brought her to his office and left her inside while he attended meeting all day in the boardroom. Melina can’t believe she fell asleep while watching TV again. She can’t fall asleep with noise, no matter how tired she is, but yesterday and today proves she can. How can my system suddenly change?
“I know sitting here all day can be boring, but you fucking have a TV to keep you entertained. Why the fuck are you sleeping?”
“I know, I’m so sorry; I didn’t plan to fall asleep.” She stands up from the couch and straightens her blouse.
“Make sure you don’t do it again.”
“I won’t.”
“Good, we will be leaving in an hour, so you will be able to sleep all the fuck you want soon.”
“Thank God!” Sitting in his office all day was very boring for Melina.
“You must be hungry. Ask my secretary to get you something to eat.”
“Thank you.” Melina picks up the phone but drops it because she needs to go to the bathroom. On her way there, Thomas stops her.
“I’m not trying to be rude, and that’s coming from me, but you have used the restroom more times than I count today. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Thomas’ words has Melina wondering if something is truly wrong. Her eyes widen. Could I have a UTI? Oh my God! I hope not, but how would I have gotten it?
“Melina,” Thomas says, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Yes.”
“I fucking asked you a question.”
“I’m fine. I just had a large drink for lunch,” Melina forces a smile on her face. She hopes Thomas can’t tell she’s panicking inside.
“Okay, but if you think something is wrong, inform me immediately.”
“I certainly will.” She walks into the bathroom and uses it for the tenth or more time today.
The following morning, Melina wakes up and dashes to the bathroom the second she opens her eyes to flush her last night’s dinner. Sitting on the bathroom floor, Melina tries and fails to muster the strength to lift herself off the ground and into the shower. She feels so exhausted. Melina wonders what’s wrong with her and hopes it’s nothing serious. Thomas will throw a fit if she’s sick. She’s hoping it’s a minor stomach bug. Hopefully, it will go on its own in a few days.
Melina manages to lift herself off the ground and into the shower. Once she’s done, she walks out of their room to have breakfast with Thomas. Melina feels nauseous as she approaches the dining area, but she swallows saliva to suppress the nausea. She doesn’t want to vomit in front of Thomas. He’ll ask her what’s wrong, and, unfortunately, Melina is clueless.
Melina takes her seat across from Thomas, and the second she breathes in the food, the bile in her throat rises to the point of no return. Melina finds the nearest toilet and empties the rest of her last night’s dinner. Feeling Thomas’ hands pushing her hair out of her face and holding it up, Melina realizes God doesn’t like her.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” Melina says quickly once she’s done emptying her intestines down the toilet because she has no idea what else her stomach has to throw up. She walks over to the sink to clean her mouth. Thomas lets go of her hair but remains close by.
“You look pale as well,” he says, touching her forehead. “Did you eat something without my permission?”
Melina’s eyes widen in panic. “No, I swear I didn’t,” she rushes to say.
“Then why the fuck are you sick?”
“I’m not sick; I just had too much ice cream before going to bed last night.” It’s normal for Melina to have a stomach upset after having too much ice cream. She’s not lactose intolerant, but sometimes her stomach doesn’t agree with ice cream.
“I’ll take you to the doctor after you see your sister today.”
“Visit my sister?” That’s the only part in his sentence she picked up.
“Yes, I’m letting you see your sister today. I have business in her neighborhood, so I’ll drop you off while I handle my affairs.”
“Oh my God, Thomas, thank you so much.” Her eyes well up with tears as she unexpectedly pulls Thomas in for a hug. The second the warmth from his body fills hers, she quickly pulls away. “Sorry,” Melina mutters, pulling her hair behind her ears.
Thomas clears his throat and takes a step away from her. “We leave in an hour.” He walks out of the bathroom once he’s done talking.
“Thank you,” Melina says to his retreating figure. She wonders why Thomas is allowing me to see her sister. Melina didn’t even ask because, knowing Thomas, she knew it would be pointless. She doesn’t even care to know why he suddenly decided to allow her. Melina is just glad he’s letting her see Franky today.