Melina knocks softly on Franky’s door and waits eagerly for her to open it. Franky gasps the second she opens the door. She looks at Melina like she’s a ghost standing in front of her. Melina smiles and pulls her in for a hug. Franky hesitates to hug Melina back for a second but quickly wraps her arms around her and squeezes the life out of her. Tears fill Melina’s eyes as she takes in the scent of Franky, which reminds her of home. Melina has missed her sister a lot. She wishes she would never have to part with her.
“Let me take a look at you,” Franky says, pulling away from Melina. She takes a step back and scans her from head to toe. “Thank God you’re fine. I was so worried about you, Mel. Where have you been?”
“Italy.”
“Italy? What the hell were you doing there, and why didn’t you tell me you were going there? I reported you missing to the police, Mel. A text would have been enough to let me know you were fine.”
“I’ll explain everything. Can we go inside and talk?”
“Of course, come in.” Franky moves from the door, and Melina walks in and sits in the living room of her one-bedroom apartment.
Francesca and Melina are very close, so she doesn’t lie to her about her whereabouts or how she ended up there.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe this. It feels so surreal.” Franky stands up from the couch and runs her hand through her beautiful blonde hair.
“I know it feels like we are in a Wattpad book or something.” Melina chuckles softly at her statement.
“Yes, I can’t believe Thomas is the second in command to a mafia.”
“Lower your voice, sis; his bodyguard is outside your door. I don’t think Thomas would be happy to find out I told you his real identity.”
“You’re right; he won’t. So, tell me,” Franky ask as she sits back down on the couch and takes Melina’s hands into hers, “How has he been treating you? Mafia men are notoriously cruel to those who betray them. I’m glad he didn’t kill you, but I’m also shocked he hasn’t.”
“Fortunately for me, he isn’t mistreating me.” Melina doesn’t want to tell Franky the horrors she faced in the hands of Thomas. It won’t do any of them good. Melina doesn’t want to relive those moments, and it will hurt Franky to hear what she went through.
“I’m so sorry you’re going through this, Mel. I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
“There’s actually something you can help me with.”
“Tell me, what do you need? I’ll do anything you ask me.”
“I need a pregnancy test.”
“You need what,” Franky asks, blinking her eyes rapidly.
“A pregnancy test.”
Melina did some thinking while they drove to Franky’s place, and began to put two and two together. The only explanation for her recent unusual occurrences is that she is pregnant. Melina might have been spotting in recent days, but it doesn’t mean her period is actually close. Women spot while pregnant, and all the other signs were practically screaming at her that she’s pregnant. Throwing up this morning made her finally put everything together.
“Please ask me to get you something else. I love you too much to lose you.”
“Unfortunately, it’s possible that I’m pregnant, and if the test comes back positive, I’ll need your help escaping today.”
“Oh my God, can this situation get any worse?”
“To be honest, I don’t know.”
Melina doesn’t want to imagine what would happen if she were actually pregnant with Thomas’ child. That would be the absolute worst thing that can happen to her right now. Don’t get Melina wrong: she’d love to have a child, but having Thomas as the father won’t be ideal. Melina believes he would kill the child in a heartbeat because she’s the mother. Getting pregnant for Thomas would only bring her more misery. She really hopes she’s wrong.
***
Franky paces up and down her small bathroom as they wait for the timer to go off. Melina has no idea how she’s seated and not pacing the room like Franky, after peeing on the stick. Her shaky legs and bloody lips from biting them too hard shows how anxious she is to find out if she’s pregnant or not. She can’t bear the thought of Thomas killing her if she’s pregnant. Melina is hoping that’s not the case. She’s been through enough.
“How long did you say it has been since you guys slept together?” Franky asks, pausing from pacing the room.
“Six weeks.”
“Six weeks, and you didn’t realize your period was late until now.” She walks over to Melina by the edge of the tub and sits beside her.
“I started spotting four days ago. I didn’t realize I was already late.”
“That’s true. It wasn’t your fault that you didn’t notice on time.”
“Yes, and even if I did, nothing would’ve changed. The baby would’ve been in the oven already.”
“Once again, true. Have you considered that Thomas might want the baby? He might actually not have your head for it. Maybe you should tell him instead of running away. If you run away, I’m afraid of what he’ll do to you if he finds you again.”
“That’s too risky, Franky, because if he doesn’t want me to have his baby, I won’t even have a chance to flee once he finds out.”
“Hmm.”
“I know I’m putting myself in danger if I choose to flee. I’m hoping I’m not pregnant.”
The timer on Franky’s phone finally goes off. Melina peers between Franky and the pregnancy test. Her heart rate increases as she stares at the stick. She’s too scared to check, so she just stares at it.
“Could you please help me look? I can’t.”
“Of course,” Franky says confidently, but Melina can tell she’s just as scared as she is to check the result. Franky wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans before walking to the sink to pick up the stick. Melina holds her breath, waiting for her to say the result. Franky doesn’t say anything for a good minute, and Melina knows the result the moment a tear escapes her eyes.
“I’m pregnant,” Melina voices the words Franky is too shaken to say. Franky bursts into tears and pulls Melina into a hug.
“I’m so sorry this is happening to you, Mel,” Franky says softly into her hair. Tears stream down Melina’s cheeks as she holds her sister. She can’t believe she’s pregnant. Thomas is going to kill me.
“I still think you should tell him, Mel. He might hate you, but the child is his. He might actually want the baby,” Franky says, removing her arms from around Melina.
“Franky, trust me on this, Thomas would kill my baby. I have no iota of doubt about that.”
Thomas harbors a deep hatred for her. Melina can’t picture him happy that she’s pregnant with his child. It would only make him hate her more. She can’t risk telling him she’s pregnant in the hopes that he’ll want a child. Thomas killed someone when he got arrested because of her. He pretended to almost rape her because he was angry with her. He choked Melina twice and almost shot her. The horrible things Thomas has done to Melina are enough for her to know that he would never accept a child with her blood in its veins. Melina can bet even if he doesn’t kill her baby, there’s no way he’s going to love her child. Thomas will make her child pay for her sins, and she can’t let that happen. I need to run away from him. Hopefully, he will never find me again.
***
Thomas and Melina are returning to the hotel. Before Melina left Franky’s house, they discussed an escape plan. Melina changed her mind about making it happen today as she felt it would be wiser to run another day. Melina felt if she tried today, Thomas would definitely find her. He let her go out today, so there was no way he didn’t consider the possibility of her fleeing. She takes a deep breath and begins the first step of the plan.
“Thomas,” Melina gently calls his name.
“Yes,” he quickly takes his attention away from his phone and turns to face her.
“I wanted to let you know that I’m feeling better, so there’s no need to visit the doctor.” He looks at Melina from head to toe and touches her forehead.
“Did you take something? You don’t look pale anymore.”
“Yes, my sister got me something to help with the stomach bug,” Melina says, pleased that he’s buying into her lie. Even though she looked better than she had this morning, she was worried that he would push it.
“That’s good to hear, but if I see you throw up again, we’re going to the hospital.”
“It won’t happen again.” Hopefully, not in front of you.
“Have you eaten?”
“No,” Melina was so happy he asked. She’s starving, and now that she knows she’s eating for two, she feels hungrier than usual.
“What would you like to eat?”
“What would I like to eat?” Melina repeats surprised he’s asking her.
“I just fucking asked you that.”
“Sorry, cheeseburgers.”
“Jacob, find the closest place we can get cheeseburgers.”
“Okay, sir,” the driver replies.
Melina couldn’t believe it, but on second thought, things between her and Thomas haven’t been bad since he killed someone because of her. She wonders if she’s making a mistake by not telling him. Melina shakes her head. I’m not; Thomas is ruthless, and he might have softened a bit around me, but he still hates me. I’m making the right decision.