The New Neighbor

Chapter 17: Cross-pollination

The hospital let Mellie go home shortly after Officer Frank left the room. She asked Jax to stay with her, and he happily did so. After she ate, she fell asleep in his arms and slept until Jax woke her early on Saturday morning. He gently asked, "Do you want to go to your track meet, Mellie? Coach says you don't have to."

She moved around, trying to wake up some more, as she thought about what he had just said. Suddenly, she shot up straight in the bed and said, "Yes! I want to go. I need to go."

She threw off the covers and moved to get out of the bed, but Jax remained in the way on the side of the bed. He asked, "Are you sure, Mellie? You feel up to it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I'm not quite awake yet. It's a huge meet, Jax. We only have one more after this. It's important for my scholarship. I want to do it."

Jax gave her a smile and said, "Okay, Mellie." He backed away slightly and helped her out of bed.

Frank drove both Jax and Mellie to the university where the meet was taking place. It was a regional event being hosted in Atlanta. Jax walked Mellie to the locker room and looked like he didn't want to let her go in alone. She hugged him and said, "There are tons of girls in there, Jax. I'm fine. I promise." He nodded, smiled, and let her go.

Her own team members weren't there yet, so Mellie found a locker and got ready. Her team walked in all together and were obviously shocked to see her. They surrounded her quickly and all began talking at once. Mellie had to tell them to slow down. One girl, Cadence, said, "Coach called us last night, telling us to come to a meeting at school before the meet today. He told us what happened to you yesterday, Melanie. He said you wouldn't be here. Are you okay?"

Mellie nodded and said, "I'm all right. Jake didn't do much before I fought back. So I'm okay." She looked around and asked, "Lauren isn't here, is she?"

Samantha said, "Of course not! Oh my God!"

Mellie was shocked by Samantha's apparent outrage. Those two had been joined at the hip before this. When Mellie just kept looking at her, Samantha said, "Lauren was my best friend, Melanie, but I had no idea she was going to drug you. She's seriously sick in the head."

Mellie nodded slowly.

Cadence said, "She's been kicked off the team for sure. We think she's being expelled."

Mellie nodded again.

Cadence asked, "Are you sure you're okay to run today?"

Mellie said, "Yes, I want to run. I don't want to let Jake interfere with my goals. It's important for my scholarship."

The girls rallied around her, most of them hugging her, all of them telling her how sorry they were for what had happened to her and that they supported her. They swore they would never leave her alone in the locker room again and several of them would walk her out to her car every day. When she walked out with her team to the track, Coach looked shocked to see her. He pulled her aside and questioned whether she was okay to compete. She repeated that she wanted to, needed to, and that she didn't want Jake to take it away from her. He finally agreed but told her she could change her mind at any time and leave.

The stadium was much larger than the high school ones they usually ran at. Mellie searched the stands for several minutes before a high pitched whistle caught her attention. Her gaze followed the direction of the sound, and she smiled to see her father and Jax both standing and waving. She waved back to let them know she had found them, and they sat down. Mellie ran extremely well that day. She went back in her mind to the rage she had felt and let it fuel her with extra energy. She beat her personal best times in every event she participated in, causing her team to cheer louder than she had ever heard, even from her old team, which had always been supportive.