Chapter 7.

"So, you wanted to talk to me? It sounded urgent, and you also sounded...angry?”

Melissa just stared at Tory as she sipped from her cup of lemonade. She wasn’t particularly mad, well she was but it had subsided compared to how much she was seething with rage yesterday. All she wanted was answers from her. She didn’t want to bombard Tory with a lot of questions on the phone and thought it’ll be better to talk it out in person.

“Mm, it’s not like I’m angry, well, not anymore.” Melissa finally said.

Tory winced and groaned.

“Let me guess, The date didn’t go well?”

“The date not going well is an understatement, a really huge one.”

Tory gaped at Melissa, her face full of curiosity and a slight hint of worry.

“What happened? Please tell me it wasn’t that bad.”

Melissa sighed and placed her cup of lemonade on the table as she tried not to relive the memories of last night’s date, but she had to, Tory needed to know what she had set her up with.

“First off, Who is that man... Gabriel Marshall?”

Tory pondered on her question for a while.

“Well...I’m not really sure. He was on the list of men I went through. I thought he was really hot, and he looked rich, so I picked him.”

Tory didn’t know who he was, so Melissa was sure he wasn’t some kind of celebrity.

“Did he do something to you?”

Melissa grimaced, not sure how to respond to her question.

“Gabriel Marshall, he is the most arrogant asshole I’ve ever met.”

Tory’s eyes lit up. Her curiosity had sky rocketed and she was looking at Melissa expectantly, waiting for her to continue. Melissa did, and told her everything that occurred during the date last night. She couldn’t help but cringe as she recounted every word he had said to her, without leaving out a single detail. Tory listened intently as she sipped on her latte.

“I cried all night Tory. It was frustrating, annoying. What annoyed me the most was that I cried because of him, that prideful man, but I couldn’t stop the water works.” Melissa said, rubbing her arm.

“I’m so sorry Mel, I didn’t know this was going to happen. I’m really, really sorry.”

Melissa felt a bit better seeing how sorry Tory was. She knew it wasn’t her fault. There was no way her best and only friend would intentionally set her up with a douchebag. But Melissa blamed her a bit, because she was the one that pushed and cajoled her into going for a blind date, something she clearly didn’t want to do.

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ll accept your apology so easily. After all I was humiliated last night because of you.” Melissa teased as she drummed her fingers on the round table.

“Aw, c’mon Mel, caught me some slack here.” Tory whined.

“I will accept your apology if you...”

“If I?”

“Buy me lunch. Good thing were at a restaurant.”

“Yes, your highness, I shall buy you lunch, anything you desire.” Tory said with a dramatic bow.

Melissa giggled at her friend’s ridiculousness and watched her walked up to the counter to order some burgers. Being alone left Melissa with a slight wistfulness. She gazed out the window, at the busy roads and the noisy people, chattering and hurrying down the street. Melissa let out an absent sigh, letting herself relax as she tried to forget the unfortunate events of last night. As she sat there, gazing at the streets, Melissa whispered a silent prayer.

“I hope I never see you again, Gabriel Marshall.”

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“Shhh, go to sleep now.” Melissa hushed the baby boy she cradled in her arms. His wailing got quieter as she gave him several pats on the back softly. The baby boy fell asleep within a few minutes and she dropped him carefully in his cot.

Melissa exhaled and looked around. Each child lay in their cot, sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world. This was one Melissa’s part time jobs, working as a baby sitter in a small nursery. The job was tedious, dealing with children took a lot of mental and physical power, but the pay was good, so Melissa couldn’t complain.

She found a chair and sank into it, trying to get as much rest she could get before a child pipes up and starts crying. Melissa laid her head back on the chair and blinked her eyes slowly. They were still very sore from crying all night and she barely got any sleep. Melissa blinked again, and found her eyes lids getting heavier. She tried to keep them open, but it was impossible.

The door swung open, startling Melissa, causing her a temporary relief to her drowsiness. A slim, light skinned twentyish lady popped out from the door. She greeted Melissa with a warm smile and walked into the room.

“There’s someone here to see you.” She said.

Melissa furrowed her eyebrows. Who could possibly want to see her? It couldn’t be Tory, it was 2pm and she was definitely in the saloon, working. Loan sharks? Melissa felt her face go cold. There was no way it could be the loan sharks, they couldn’t have known where she worked.

“Is it a man? With long black hair?”

The woman shook her head.

“No, it’s a man, but he doesn’t have long black hair.” She replied, her face showing that she was a bit confused by Melissa’s accurate description.

Melissa sighed and dragged herself out of the chair. She walked out of the room and to the small reception at the beginning of the daycare.

“Mark?” Melissa asked as soon as she saw him sitting in one of the chairs.

Mark quickly shot up from the chair and walked over to her sheepishly.

“Whats up? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to ask you something and we’re having different shifts today, so I wouldn’t be able to see you.”

“Oh...Sure. what is it?”

Mark rubbed his neck nervously and exhaled.

“You said you’d treat me to a meal, as thanks for helping. Why don’t we make that a date then?”