The rest of that day carried on as usual. A couple costumers came in here and there but only three people actually bought anything, and Corey was one of them. Mel found herself daydreaming about him through out the remainder of the day but this was nothing new for Thomas because Mel always daydreamed. Mel's dad use to say that she spent more time in her head than she ever did in real life.
It was close to closing time now and Mel was getting sleepy.
"So when should I move in?" Mel asked Thomas as they were preparing to close the shop.
"How about this weekend?" Thomas suggested.
"Okay I have to tell my land lord first."
"Oh right okay. Well we'll talk about it tomorrow." Thomas said grabbing his bag and leading them out of the store. It was around six and the sun was beginning to set. It was ordinarily cold as they stepped outside.
"You know I'm really excited about you moving in." Thomas admitted locking the shop door.
"Yeah it's going to be great I've always loved your flat, and your closets!"
"Oh yeah you're going to have so much closet space for your seven shirts and various pairs of jeans."
Mel rolled her eyes, "whatever I can expand my wardrobe with all this extra money I'll have." They both started to laugh until it eventually died down. Thomas looked at Mel then, really looked at her.
"You sure you don't want me to walk you home?" He asked hoping she'd say yes this time, but she never did. No matter how dark it got.
"No Thomas I'll be fine you go home and I'll call you."
"Promise?"
"Yeah." Mel smiled and they hugged goodbye.
"Be safe Mel." Thomas sighed watching her go.
Mel's daily walks back from the shop were always a little terrifying but the pepper spray in her jacket pocket made her feel a little safer. Mel lived on the poorer side of Birmingham, and Birmingham could be pretty dodgy at night. Especially for women. Mel knew that if you stood out or looked the slightest bit lost you would be targeted by the seedy men waiting for their next prey. So Mel was always wary of her surroundings. There was no room for day dreaming on her walks back. Still, she couldn't get Corey out of her head.
She was halfway home when she felt a man following close behind her. Mel quickly picked up her pace just praying to make it home, her hand tightening in her pocket around the can of pepper spray. As she neared the corner that lead to her house she could hear the voices of men fighting in the distance.
"You fucking owe me money Tony!" A familiar but distant voice yelled.
"Nah fuck that bruv I don't owe you a ting man."
Mel flinched at the sound of the guys screams that followed after a loud punching noise. Looking over in the direction of the voices Mel could see the figures of the two men that belonged to them. One of them was doubled over on the floor in pain while the taller man repeatedly kicked him in the abdomen.
"I gave you so much time to pay me back Tony and this is how you treat me? Running out here to Birmingham, wasting my fucking time?! You're fucking scum just like your whore of a sister." The man spat kicking the guy in the head.
"Shit." Mel whispered stopping in her tracks. The guy who was kicking the other man had saw her staring and was now making his way over. Mel pulled out the pepper spray not knowing what she should do, there was no time to call the feds. It was down to fight or flight? There was no third option.
As the guy emerged from the alley she could see him a little clearer now.
It was him.
He had blood on his face and he looked different from before. He looked wild. Mel wondered how this could be the same man, but she wasted no time asking questions.
"Please don't hurt me Corey." She whispered, all of her toughness gone with his presence. His face almost softened at her voice but Corey had shit to handle.
"I'm not gonna hurt you love." He stated, "I'm gonna hurt him."
It all happened so fast. Mel had almost forgotten about the strange creep that was following her. If Mel had moved even an inch in his direction, Corey's bloody fist would have hit her instead of colliding with the face of her predator.
"Who the fuck do you think you are following girls like that man?" Corey yelled shaking his fist in pain before giving the guy another hard punch in the nose. The mans nose proceeded to gush a river of crimson blood.
"I'm sorry I didn't know she was yours!"
"Don't you fucking speak. Did I give you the permission to fucking speak?" Corey hissed grabbing the shorter guy by his shirt. The man shook his head frantically.
"No man, I don't want any trouble."
"Apologize to her!" Corey enforced and the man pathetically obeyed telling Mel how sorry he was and how he'd never follow any girl ever again. Mel just stood there dumbfounded. The fear in her stalkers eyes was not blind, his demeanor trembled as if he knew who Corey was.
"Good. Now get out of my sight." Corey stated so strongly that Mel's entire body trembled and the man ran away.
Mel just stood there for a while staring at him as if he was the hero she had always dreamed of. She could tell that he was in some pain, his fists looked terrible and the cut on his face was bleeding now. Lifting up has black shirt he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Some of his hair blew softly in the night air. Mel tried not to look at his stomach but of course that was perfect too. Suddenly Corey's focus turned to her.
"I saw him following you, and you were just standing there you stupid girl. Why are you walking alone, at night, by yourself?"
"I-I .." Mel tried to speak but couldn't really form any proper words. What was she suppose to do, thank him? He reached for her arm and she flinched. Corey's face softened at that.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to walk you home." If it was anyone else Mel would have protested, but the way Corey said it made her know that he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Mel didn't say anything the entire walk to her house. She didn't know what to say and Corey didn't look interested in any conversation. Walking next to Corey, no one messed with her and that made her feel a little safe.
Corey's adrenaline during the fight allowed the pain to subside but as he walked next to Mel he tried to keep it together. He was used to getting in fights but he was never used to the pain. His fists ached and the place where Tony had scraped him in the face slowly throbbed. He hated doing his dad's dirty work because it always ended in a fight, but he had no other choice. In fact he probably would have killed Tony if it weren't for Mel staring at them in the alley. After all, Corey's dad paid for his every need and once he retired, the family business would be his.
The Barrick family ran a very successful and very illegal loan business. Anyone and everyone could come to them for money, even the feds, but if they didn't pay the loans back on time there would be a price to pay, and lately Corey had to be the one to pay all the debtors a visit. Corey had trained himself to not mix his morals with his work. He was raised to be tough, but he was also raised to be smart. Whenever he beat someone he told himself that it was their fault. They should have just paid back the money. They deserved this. After all, the people that got loans from his dad were generally the scum of England. The same kinds of people who followed girls around at night. Disgusting inbreds who had sex with their sisters and spent their money on drugs and pubs. Of course they deserved it. On this side of Birmingham he never saw any good in anyone, that's why Mel intrigued him so much. Sure she was stupid for walking the streets alone at night, but her innocence shook him and he never wanted her to loose it, but she would if she stuck with him.
They didn't exchange words as Mel lead him inside of her small one bedroom flat. They hardly even exchanged eye contact before she started tending to the wound on his cheek with some rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab.
"I'm sorry I only have girly band aids." She finally whispered placing a floral pink band aid on his cheek. If it was anyone else he would have ripped it off immediately, but in this moment he didn't.
"I'm sorry you know. That you had to see that and everything." He admitted as she stood in front of him. His eyes searched for hers in the dimly lit kitchen. His tall frame was sat awkwardly on her kitchen table as she worked on him.
"Yeah it's okay. I probably should be thanking you."
"Probably."
Mel proceeded to wipe the dried blood of his hands with a damp hand towel. She tried to be as gentle as humanly possible.
"Hey what's your name?" He asked amazed at the fact that he almost forgot to ask for it the second time that day.
"Mel. Mel Knight." She replied.
"What kind of name is Mel?"
"Well my full name is Melody, but only my dad called me that. It was his moms name, so when he immigrated here and had a family he named me that so he would always remember her." No one said anything for a while until Corey spoke.
"Well Melody suits you. It's beautiful." Corey whispered his voice thick. Mel resisted the urge to blush as she stood between his legs lost in the task of cleaning his hands. No one ever called her Melody after her dad died. With his death she grew to hate that name, and the memories of him that came with it. Even her mother referred to her as Mel, or as an annoyance, but coming out of Corey's mouth the name sounded perfect.
"That guy back there... he stole money from my dad and-"
Mel cut him off. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm just thankful I didn't get raped tonight." Mel chuckled, she always had a way of seeing the light in the darkest situations. Finishing up she threw the now bloody towel in the trash. She wouldn't need it once she moved in with Thomas.
Moving in with Thomas.
The reality of that statement was just now sinking in. Could she really do that. Would it not be awkward? These thoughts had been plaguing her all day at the shop but Thomas seemed so happy when she agreed, how could she let him down. After all she should be happy right, she really liked Thomas. At least she thought she did.
"So I should probably get going." Corey stated standing up from the table.
"Probably."
Corey had a way of never saying goodbyes. So when he left swiftly out of the door, Mel wondered if she imagined him ever being there at all.