Connecting

Chapter 44

It's been a week since the incident and at present, the secret department are getting ready to attack and arrest Blake. David, as the director, gave Melissa a break and decided to let her choose if she still wants to continue her life as an agent when she recovers. As of now, she is really quiet and just likes to stay at home, but never goes inside her room. Chris is still staying with her and she just lets him.

At present, Melissa is sitting on the couch, staring at her window, but not really looking at anything, she's just thinking of... stuff. There are times where she would remember that day and the fear she felt and the hurt. Most nights, she is haunted by her nightmares and would have a panic attack afterwards. There are also days where images of the different abuse she's been through would flash in her mind and she would just tense or cry or... panic attack. During those days, which is mostly everyday, Chris is just the person who she leans into. Her family, particularly her mother and sister doesn't know about her condition, she doesn't want to tell them.

Chris stared at her fragile form. He stared at her while she look blankly into the space. he thought, this is the young woman that I saw, that young, brave, fearless woman. Now, she's... broken. And I don't know what to do to help her fix her again. He slowly approached her, trying not to scare her or something that may trigger her fear.

Chris made sure that he is in front of her, somewhere where she would see her immediately and won't scare her. "Hey," he said calmly and softly. "You good? Just tell me if you need anything..." he sat besides her. Melissa, snapped out of her thoughts and nodded after a few moments.

Chris sighed and leaned his back at the soft couch. "You know, when I was a child, I was a coward. I have an older sister... I just.. I don't know where she is now but when we were little, she's... brave. She's a badass. I.. well, was Chris, that coward, young Chris who's always scared and gets mad at his sister for getting his ball." Chris looked at Melissa who is looking back at the window but he knows that she is listening because of her bright eyes, she's not in her thoughts. "I was jealous of her because she's brave, her classmates admired her. Then, one day, she 'stole' the ball to mock me, to just make fun of me. She ran to the door, didn't notice the car is about to hit her, she was scared... mortified. I was there, standing, contemplating whether I should do something. Then, the memories of that ball.. that ball with my sister, my mom, my dad, that ball held a lot of memories. Then I saw my sister's face, scared and cannot think properly. That small thing, that ball, it gave me strength and made me think that, 'oh shit, my sister's gonna get hit by the car, I should move fast, think fast," he looked at Melissa and slowly grabbed her hand, she was surprised but let him. "You know what I did? I yelled. Loud. To stop the car from running over my sister."

There was a moment of silence. Just Chris holding Melissa's hand tenderly, hoping for a response.

"Lesson..." Melissa muttered, barely hearable but Chris was able to hear it.

Chris smiled. "The lesson? I was a coward but when I thought of the important thing and the people – my family, I faced my fear and just... just did what I thought I could that time." He sighed, then smiled when he saw Melissa now looking at him. "You see, Mel, even with our greatest fears, we can overcome them... with people that we love and we care for. For them, at least, we can be strong."

Silence.

"I am trying..." Melissa stuttered, she shook her head. Chris looked at her, encouraging her and telling her that he is right there, ready to listen. "For... you. My mother. Sisters."

Chris slowly rubbed his thumb on her hands, making small circles. "Why don't you... why don't you tell them?"

Melissa shook her head. "My mom... she lost someone. My sisters... they're... they are happy. I... I will just... ruin their happiness." She slowly replied, trying not to cry.

Suddenly a thought came into Chris's mind. "You know... why don't we spend a vacation somewhere? My childhood home. My parents are there right now, if I am not mistaken. They just arrived there few weeks ago. Well, they have a home here in LA but I know they are in Ohio right now. I'll give them a call, is it alright for you?"

Melissa nodded slowly and looked down. "Just.. somewhere away from here."

"Of course," Chris smiled.

---

"Blake." David called out, making the man in a black shirt and pants smirk. He turned around and gave him a huge smile, a crazy smile.

"Oh, hey," Blake said, slowly walking around. "Heard what happened to you so-called best agent. Hope she's fine. Is she alive?"

"She is and you're never going to see her again or lay your hands on her." David firmly said.

"What a shame, I wanted to visit her just now. You know, to finish what I started. I am still really not satisfied," Blake replied. "Anyway, you've made yourself pretty clear. I'm not gonna visit her but maybe I could do my work in peace now?"

David made a go signal to arrest him, the agents approached him fast and cuffed him. Blake was not ready and didn't expect that to happen. "Guess you ain't smart after all." David said.

Blake was surprised, mad, rather. But he didn't show it, he showed that he expected it and was ready to be arrested. "I think that I'm just someone who wants to take a rest for a lil while inside a very fancy room with weird doors, you know?"

"Just put him to where he belongs." David instructed his agents.