DO THIS MYSELF
1321 Words
MELANIE
As the words casually roll off his tongue, the ringing in my ears intensifies.
I can see my whole world slowly fall apart, every brick crumbling and smashing against the floor.
Val listens intently, his fingers digging into the skin of my shoulders.
I don’t even want to look at Xavier’s face. There is no doubt I would find nothing but sheer pleasure.
But there’s nothing pleasurable about this plan, nothing at all.
“No.” I cut in, mid Cassian’s sentence.
The scowl that forms on his face causes my throat to tighten.
“What?” His brows furrow, and I pull away from Val’s hold, walking towards the couch where Penelope is asleep.
“I’m not doing that,” I shake my head. “I won’t let you do that.”
“What are you talking about, Melanie?” Xavier fires at me.
“What other choice do we have?”
My spine stiffens as I pause on my tracks, fingers curling into tight fists.
Slowly, I look over my shoulder.
“We?” The question slips through my gnashed teeth.
“We?” A pained chuckle follows it.
“What makes you think there is a ‘we’ in this?”
“Mel…”
“This is my fight, she is my daughter, and I would not let you ruin her life,”
My hands are shaking as I turn fully, letting them take in the full extent of my annoyance.
“Fine, say you dig into his past or present and you find something incriminating, you’re going to make it public and ruin his career, and Pen’s chances of ever living a normal life? Like a normal child?”
My eyes continuously dance between them, taking in their expressions; every mild shift, every crease of a brow, every twitch of their nose or lips.
“Her face is all over the news already. You saw how she freaked out over that. I will not risk my daughter for a twisted sense of vengeance.”
“A twisted sense of…” Cassian starts speaking, then he cuts off, sucking in a deep breath.
“Look at what he did to you!” He tries not to scream, but it comes off as a harsh whisper.
“He is intent on ruining you, can’t you see it?”
“And he can’t, he won’t.” I respond, “I will stand and fight him. I would take it to court if I must. I would fight for custody of my daughter, and to put him behind bars, where he belongs.”
Val shakes his head.
“How’s that any different from what we’ve suggested?”
I swallow hard, looking away from him.
The truth is that I don’t know.
Discrediting him based on his actions and putting my daughter through a rigorous custody battle will definitely have the same effect.
But my way, the world—including Penelope—will see him for what he did to me. For the monster he was to me.
They will know that I’m not crazy, I’m not a bad mother, I’m not an awful woman that will try to hurt her daughter. I’m not.
I look away from them.
“I’m done with this discussion.”
I start to carry Penelope in my arms when Val speaks, his deep baritone cutting into the silence like a double edged sword.
“He will tear you into pieces, Melanie.”
The coldness of his voice sends shivers down my spine.
I can hear his footsteps behind me, growing closer and closer.
“He will pick you apart, and step on every one of those pieces over and over again,”
Tears burn the corner of my eyelids. I dig my teeth into my lower lip.
“And when he is done, there won’t be a single piece for anyone to find.”
I whip my head around, glaring at him, eyes burning with tears and anger.
“I am not weak.”
His eyes sparkle with wicked amusement. A faint smile laced with pity and mockery steals the harsh lines across his face.
“Yes. But you are not ready either,”
Fuck me.
“You were married to this man for six years. You loved him at some point, cherished him so much that when we asked you—pleaded with you—to stay, you chose him…”
Oh, I see.
I tear my gaze away from him to Cassian and Xavier. They’re quiet, their faces do not betray a single thought or emotion.
They do not need to.
Val is speaking for all of them.
I see it now.
I see this for what it is.
See them for who they are.
Vengeful, controlling men.
“So this is what it’s about?” I spit out, a sly grin curling up my face.
I take three steps towards Val, eliminating the distance between us.
“You’re so mad that I left all those years ago, despite how you pleaded, and begged, and moaned in my ears not to. You’re still mad,”
It’s almost delicious; the rage that flashes in his eyes and the satisfaction it gives me.
I raise my hand up to poke the tip of his nose.
“You’re still f*****g salty,” I chuckle. “Have you ever thought, that maybe— just maybe— you three didn’t f**k me good enough to make me stay? That Brandon was a better—“
The rest of the words hang in my throat as Val snatches my hand, pulls me towards his chest, and wraps his right hand around my jaw, forcing my face up.
His green eyes sizzle with anger, so much burning rage, yet…so much desire.
But for who?
For what?
“Do not ever utter his name in front of me again.”
“Or what?” I mumble.
His eyes dance around my face, over and over again, searching for something. I cannot say what, I do not know.
But he seems to find it, and when he does, the grip on my chin loosens, but he doesn’t back away.
“You can try as much as you want to push us to the wall, to prove to yourself that we are no better than the man who hurt and broke you…” he steps away, leaving me to mourn the cold that follows the space between us.
Every step he takes backwards makes my heart ache.
I crossed a line, I know it.
He takes a stand between Cassian and Xavier, all their eyes fixed on me.
Under their gaze, I feel small, tiny, broken, an inconsequential little thing. Just like how they looked at me when I showed up to their door step all those years ago.
“…but we are better, Melanie. And soon, you will have to admit it to yourself that you made the worst mistake of your life leaving us that night. That you,” he sucks in a deep breath, straightening up, rising to his full height.
“Should have stayed.”
I fight back the sob that threatens to rip my throat apart, but it forces itself out regardless.
“f**k you!”
I turn around, picking Penelope from my couch, and slowly placing her head on my shoulder.
“f**k all three of you.” I point at each of them.
If they feel sorry for me, they don’t show it.
“I don’t need your help. I would do this myself, and if I can’t, I have a mother. I have a f*****g family,” I blink, and the tears come rushing down my cheeks.
“Or at least I had one, before you three came and ruined everything. And I…I will never forget that.”
Those are the last words I utter, before leaving the room and banging the door behind me.
- Writer
