Saving Melanie Deen

Chapter 11

"Don't thank me, Melanie. You should probably thank Ethan"  Tyler chuckled, a hint of sadness definitely present in his voice. What? "I'm guessing all of this is his genius plan..." He added.

"What do you mean?" I whispered, staring at Ethan's back through the windshield. Tyler groaned, struggling to answer me.

"Melanie, think about it" He began."He stormed in and told me everything because he cared enough to help you. He realised you won't budge so he took matters into his own hands. I did some digging in my free time, he's not exactly just any other teenage guy. His name is big on the streets. I've seen assholes like Nick get framed countless times by Ethan and his people" He explained carefully.

"What...what do you mean? I don't understand" I rambled, struggling to take the information in.

"Look, just take it as a gift from above. Nick's gone from your life and I'm going to act like there's nothing more to the story" He sighed, trying to calm me down. My mind was going crazy, trying to process everything. Ethan framed Nick? For me?

"Okay...yeah. You're right. I should be happy" I nodded, still staring at Ethan's back. Does he really care that much?

Tyler and I said our goodbyes and I slowly opened the car door to creep up on Ethan. He put out his cigarette, blowing smoke in the opposite direction from me. "Any news?" He asked, not once taking a look at me. He's mad that I thanked Tyler instead of him. I got all sloppy, thinking I was saved by the good cop. But in reality, I was saved by the incredibly annoying, moody bad boy.

"I'm so stupid..." I whispered, sitting beside him on the hood of his car. He didn't scoot away like I expected him to.

He took out another cigarette, lighting it immediately. "Why's that?" He asked, his tone was stone cold. I stared at the cigarette mindlessly, not knowing how to act now. He placed it between his lips, glancing at me.

"It was you" I forced the words out of my mouth, staring into his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" He played dumb, not looking at me. God, I'm so dumb.

"It was you. That's why he texted me that I snitched, right? You threatened him, right? And that's how he's in jail now...You did it. You took him out of my life. You-"

"Yeah, so what?" He cut me off, finally meeting my stare. I took in his emotionless eyes, gulping. "It's not like it means anything to you" He shrugged, tapping the ash off his cigarette. I looked away, feeling my heart drop from his word. It means everything to me. I never would have thought that Ethan would do something like this for me.

"It does," I said.

He scoffed, throwing his cigarette away angrily and turning to face me. "No. It doesn't, Melanie" He shook his head, shooting daggers at me with his glare."I'm not Officer Tyler Hunt, so it doesn't mean anything" He spat. With that, he walked off towards the entrance of the grocery store. I took his words in, cringing.

Nevertheless, I chased after him, fighting my pride. Look at me, chasing a guy. Things really do change, huh?

"Sorry" I panted. He shook his head at me, walking right passed me to get a cart. "Please, Ethan" I begged, following him.

"Let's go, stop whining" He glanced at me. I pressed my lips into a thin line, trying to hide the satisfied smile creeping up onto my smile. 

We walked alongside each other silently. Ethan dragged the cart along as we entered the grocery store."What do you want to eat for dinner?" He asked, breaking the awkward silence.