The House of Bells: The Essences Saga - Book #1

House: Chapter 6

Six

I t was two in the morning. I was sitting on the porch swing, wrapped in a quilt from the living room sofa, and sipping on what must have been about my sixth cup of coffee. I had lost count a few cups back, attempting to blame my jittery nerves on the caffeine.

Sometime during the early morning hours, I dozed off while sitting there. An ambulance siren woke me as it raced down the street towards downtown. I worried about Melissa a little more after that, hoping that ambulance wasn't for her. But the thought left me as quickly as it came. Somehow, I knew she was safe, just being stupid.

When I made up my mind how I was going to handle her behavior tonight, I had also decided that I needed to make my outlook clear immediately. Melissa was rebelling against rules that she had no hand in establishing. She didn't want to be told what to do, how to do it, where to go. I unquestionably understood that. She wanted her free will, to make her own choices, to establish her own rules. The problem was that she didn't realize that she could already do that. No one had to do what others told them. People follow decorum for reasons. And it was up to that person to find those reasons.

Still Melissa wanted to rebel anyway. So, I was determined that I would give her nothing to rebel against. She wanted to make a big deal about her defiance. I wouldn't. She needed to witness my indifference first hand, hence the crick in my neck from staying up all night.

I also had another reason for remaining on the porch swing. Although, I was resolved to be nonchalant about the whole sneaking out business, I really wanted her to see me there, to witness that I had stayed awake to wait on her. She needed to know that I did care about her safety, that I was worried about her. Regardless of her behavior, Melissa still coveted security; all the girls did.

The rumbling sound I was waiting for echoed through the dark morning soon after I finished my cup of coffee. At the corner, the rumble silenced, and the motorcycle coasted to a stop at the drive way. Melissa hopped off the back. She tried to lean over as though to kiss the driver, but her "friend" pushed her roughly away. She turned on her heel and stomped up the driveway. The boy cranked his bike and wheeled around, leaving with a loud revving of the engine.

Melissa walked to the side of the house, attempting to enter in the same fashion as when she left. I stood up then. She saw the movement and stopped dead. Surprise flickered across her face, but was immediately replaced with pure, Melissa defiance. Her chin lifted, and her eyes blazed at me. I shrugged, expecting her attitude.

"I would rather you not break your neck," I told her calmly. "The door is open."

She stared at me, her eyes tensing, waiting for me to say something scolding. I shrugged again and walked into the house.

I was rinsing out my coffee cup when I finally heard her close the front door. Returning to the living room, I saw her pause at the foot of the stairs. She looked a mess. Her clothes were wrinkled and a little dirty, and her hair was tangled. She stared at me again with those ice-blue, daring eyes.

"Sleeping late on a Saturday is a joy for many people. Try not to wake the others." My words were calm, hushed, but the voice in my head was screeching at her. This is going to be harder than I imagined. Her face widened in shock, expecting a torrent of complaints and lectures, but I turned away from her and went to my apartment, turning off the kitchen light as I left.

Standing right behind my closed door, I waited until I could hear a faint click of her bedroom door shutting through the sleeping house. Then I closed my eyes and breathed again. Deep, full breaths. There was no way I could sleep now.

I took a long, scalding hot shower, sitting on the floor of the stall, letting the water assail my skin. After dressing and drying my hair, I took a few moments to lay my head against my reading chair. I needed the time to cool my thoughts and compose my deliberate charade.