The New Neighbor

Chapter 14: Getting Rid of Rot

A/N: Only four more chapters to go!

Mellie slept until her dad knocked on the door at eleven on Sunday morning. He stuck his head in. Mellie opened her eyes, looked at him, groaned, and turned her head back into the pillow. Frank was by her side instantly and whispered, "Headache, Mellie?"

She turned to look at him, so he would see she was okay, and said, "No, I was just up until 4 AM."

Frank smiled but he looked at the other side of the bed, and it faded a bit with confusion. "Where's Jax?"

Mellie giggled. "In his own bed I assume, unless he got up already. You're so weird, daddy."

Frank frowned. "Weird?"

Smiling, Mellie said, "You're happy when you find a boy in my bed and disappointed when you don't."

Frank chuckled. "Our situation isn't the norm, Petunia Blossom. Anyway, I'm not disappointed, just confused. I know he was here late last night. I heard you two laughing." She winced, causing him to frown and ask, "What?"

With a soft sigh, she said, "I'll tell you all about last night, but let me get up first. I need the bathroom."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll get brunch going. Take your time."

Mellie wasn't sure who she was more worried about coming clean to, Jax or her dad. She expected Jax to be angry with her for putting herself in possible danger. The same went for her dad. She suddenly realized that it would be so much worse with her dad. Jax hadn't lost his wife to a violent crime! She groaned in the bathroom. The weight of the guilt inside her was crushing. She should have known the eventual confession would be terrible when she decided not to talk to her dad about the problem beforehand. She quickly decided to only tell her dad about last night. She would talk to Jax first about the whole of it, practice on him.

When she took her seat at the breakfast table, her dad looked at her expectantly. She said, "It wasn't Jax I was laughing with last night."

Frank looked really confused. "Who was it?"

"Jake Carter."

His eyes widened, and he shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry. I thought you said Jake Carter."

Mellie nodded. "I did. Jake Carter."

"You know two Jake Carters?"

"No, this is the Jake Carter, jock, from school. Remember I told you about Clone Jake? CJ?"

Frank nodded slowly. "Yes, but when did you become good enough friends with CJ to let him in the house in the middle of the night?"

"I didn't. It was a huge mistake." Frank nodded again and listened. Mellie told him everything that happened ending with the talk with Jax.

When she was finished, Frank said, "I absolutely agree with the conclusions you came to later as well. The only thing I have to add is: you do know that this entire Clone Jake thing is all a ploy to get you to break up with Jax and have a relationship with him. Right?"

Mellie thought about that for a moment and said, "I knew that was his aim at first, but I've made it very clear that I'm staying with Jax. Why does he continue?"

"He just hasn't given up, Mellie. He's being persistent. He's trying to wear you down."

"Right. Okay." She gave him a little smile before she picked up her dishes and brought them to the sink.

Frank asked, "What are your plans today?"

"I'm going to hang out with Jax."

"Okay. Let me know if you'll be home for dinner and if Jax is joining us."