Witness protection

A sob escaped before she could suppress it. Her eyes blurred as she navigated onto the main road into town. At least she had their daughter. She'd have to hold onto that piece of Colin for the rest of her life and let it be enough. Angelina touched a piece of Melissa's heart that could belong to no one else. She thought about how unfair it was that her daughter had never met her father,would never meet him.

   But then,this was the way it had to be,she reminded herself. Melissa's father was old and sick. He'd made him mistakes and they were both paying for them. If Richard had followed through on his threats,her father would live out the rest of his life in jail. She couldn't allow that to happen no matter how angry she'd become at him for his unethical business practices. And then there were the threats Richard had made about Colin and his family. The man could destroy the O'Briens if their secret was revealed. The bedrock of the family had been their parents' unwavering love and devotion. If Richard had gone public with the photos he had,the ones of Mr O'Brien having an affair,the family would've been crushed. Colin would've been devastated.

In order to save her father and Colin, Melissa had done as Richard had said. Break off her engagement with Colin and agree to marry Richard instead. Save two families. Melissa had naively believed that all she needed was time to figure out how to back out of the arrangement with Richard m it had all come at her so fast. How simple had she been to think that man wouldn't force her to go through with the wedding or a loveless union?

  And then she'd missed her period. Once she'd realized she was pregnant and that Richard would stop at nothing to destroy her if she walked out on him, she'd been too frightened to put up a fight . Scared he'd force her to give the baby up for adoption or,worse yet,do something more sinister,she'd convinced Richard that Angelina was his. She hadn't realized how a small snowball of lie could grow and build ,gaining momentum until it became an avalanche and destroyed everything in it's path, destroyed her.

         In her heart,she'd known all along that Richard would've moved heaven and Earth to find her if she'd left him before the feds became involved. Then he'd destroy everything she loved. The worst part about her whole marriage was that she'd had to persuade her husband that Colin meant nothing to her. Her and her daughter's lives had depended on Melissa being convincing. 

Three day after Angelina was born,the feds had shown up and told Melissa they were building a case against Richard and his family. She'd been given an ultimatum: help the government or lose her daughter. She'd negotiated to have her father taken into protective custody. He was living in an undisclosed facility. Melissa had secretly helped gather evidence against her husband,living in daily fear of being discovered. And that wasn't the worst of it . The true hell that she'd lived had been wondering what her life would been like if she'd married Colin instead...

       There was no time for doubts now.

Melissa had done what she'd had to do in order to protect those closest to her, including him. Regretting the past or her action now wouldn't change a thing. Witnessing the pain In Colin's eyes had her second-guessing everything.

Tears streaked her cheeks as, once again,she drove away from the only she'd ever loved.

______

"Thank you so much,Mrs.Klein", Melissa said as she held out a couple of twenties In her fist not realizing she was clenching her hand until she noticed her white knuckles.

       The older woman glanced at Melissa and smiled before waving her hand. She'd retired and moved to Bluff after thirty years of teaching in the Huston ISD. Her husband's family was originally from the area,and the two of them had returned to live out their retirement In a small town. She was the perfect neighbor because she didn't know everyone yet and had no idea about Melissa's past in Bluff.

"I can't take all that especially not for__" Mrs.Klien glanced at her watch"__an hour and fifteen minutes worth of work".

   "Please do. I didn't realize I'd be back so soon and I've messed up your whole Evening'". Tears free-fell down Melissa's cheeks now,and they had nothing to do with the words coming out of her mouth.

"Don't worry about it,dear. Seriously,there's still time to catch CSI with Bernard if I hurry". Mrs.Klein's brow furrowed and she had a mix of pity and kindness on her face. She really was a sweet woman."The baby was no trouble. She's been asleep the whole time".

           Melissa told herself to get it together. She would. It had been easier to leave town when she thought she was saving everyone she loved. With everything that she'd been through in the past twelve months,she figured she could endure most anything. Seeing Colin again was too much. She'd been naive to think that she could see him again and then walk away a second time without a few tears. He looked good... unbelievably good. Different,but good. His quick smile and easy going charm had been replaced by distrust and cautious eyes.

 The way he's looked at her,so angry,so hurt...so final.

       For Colin there wasn't a lot of gray area. Life was black-and-white. She should've known that once she'd left him,he'd be done. Having her fear confirmed hurt. The only consolation was that she'd always have a piece of Colin with her in their daughter.

"At least take something for your time", Melissa managed to get out before Mrs.Klien could walk out of the door.

 Melissa flipped on the front porch light. Nothing happened. The electricity in this old house was about as reliable as the cell coverage in town. Both were spotty.

  "Oh,great. Now what?'" Melissa asked rhetorically as more tears streamed.

"It's really okay dear. Don't make yourself sick over it", Mrs.Klein said,patting Melissa on the shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?"

  Melissa suppressed a sob."I'll be fine. It's been a long day and I just need a good night of sleep.that's all".

She wished a few hours of rest could fix all her problems. Instead,she'd be meeting with her handler in a little more than an hour and a half. Her world would never be the same again.

     "Whatever's going on will get better with time. I promise", Mrs.Klein soothed.

The woman had no idea how complicated Melissa's life had become.

"At least take something for your trouble". Melissa held out the fistful of twenties towards Mrs. Klein.

"If it'll make you feel better". The old woman peeled off the top twenty and tucked it inside her pocket. She winked. "I'll take Bernard out to breakfast with that money in the morning".

     "Thank you for everything". Melissa said. She closed and locked the door after watching Mrs. Klein walk across the street to see that she was safely home. She texted Carolina that she'd left the party. 

Melissa was relieved that the older woman hadn't pressed to find out what was really wrong with her. She'd been mute for twelve long months,save for the conversations she'd had with the feds,and she wanted to shout from the rooftops now that was free. But she wasn't really free. Richard was still out there. Somewhere. Melissa shivered at the thought. She was about to leave everything she'd ever known behind for witness protection because of that man. And there was a very real possibility that she would never see Colin again. A sob tried to escape. 

She suppressed it.