Melissa’s POVPanic grips my throat like a vice. My body acts faster than my brain. I find myself trying to position myself in the backseat to kick open the car window. My hands are still bound behind my back and there’s not much I can do.But the cops are already leading me to a path off the road, the ride getting bumpier by the second. The driver seems to notice my antics and speeds up, making me fall from the backseat and onto the floor of the car. A scream is stuck in my throat. I’m desperately trying to get up even though I can barely move my upper body. But that’s when the car screeches into a grinding halt.“Stop fucking moving!” the driver calls out to me, getting out of the car and turning off the headlights. Soon enough, the other cop gets out too. I hear the door to the backseat opening, then I feel hands grabbing the back of my collar and dragging me out.I land on the ground. I can feel dry soil and moist grass under me. We’re in a field with tall grass, and the only t
Third Person POVEleanor looks at Andrew, but there’s something different about her gaze that he’s never quite seen before: impatience.This is the one thing that separates Eleanor from Melissa in Andrew’s eyes. It was one thing that he grew tired of over the years. The expectations. Melissa expected him to do things, to think certain things. While Eleanor just let him be. She never asked him to do anything, never waited for him to deliver a certain outcome.And now she clearly is.The pressure is so extreme that he turns to Melissa out of habit, only to find that she’s the opposite.“I don’t care,” the look on Melissa’s face says.Her hair is damp from all the drinks splattering on her, her hair lashed across her face. Yet her eyes are firm on his. She’s covered in bits of food and flower petals, even scrapes on her arms. But there’s a certain carefree wild look to her that he’s never seen before, mixed with the kind of mocking contempt that makes him feel a certain way.“Andrew,” El
Melissa’s POVWhen I arrive at Eleanor’s house, I can confidently say that I’m not even myself anymore. I park the car in front of the house, almost crashing the front right into the pretty flowerbeds. One of the maids outside freaks out, watching me get out of the car and head to the front door.“You can’t park there, miss!” she says, running after me.But I just push past her. My throat is tight with rage. My face is blazing hot. I shove the front door open, causing it to smash against the wall. The sound echoes in the wide foyer. I expected Eleanor to come running because of the commotion, but to my surprise, she’s not here.The grand living room is decorated to the nines. Flowers, fairy lights, little glass angels on the tables that weren’t there before. There’s a big table in the corner covered in a pretty pink cloth, full of sweets and pastries. There’s even a chocolate fountain for the kids running around. I thought this was just a normal sleepover where the parents drop thei
Melissa’s POV“What’s going on?” Dylan has skipped all the formality when she arrives at the hospital and sees me standing alone. She immediately takes off her jacket and wraps it around my body, giving me a spare helmet. I put it on and get on the motorcycle, ready to leave.But she won’t let me. “Look, you can’t ask me to pick you up from the hospital and say nothing. You look like death. Is it that bitch Eleanor again? Or that bigger bitch Andrew?”“No, I just went in because I wasn’t feeling well,” I mutter. “Today is the day I’m supposed to find a final resting place for Allie, and I can’t do it alone. I need you.”“Then I’ll be there.” Dylan’s voice has softened. “I’m sorry. Let’s go and do that, okay? Everything will be alright.”I nod, and it’s the only thing I can do to stop myself from crying. I’m shaken. Throughout the ride to the memorial park, I tremble, thinking of the comments that Eleanor said offhand about Allie.I have a strong feeling that she knows, but I just hav
Melissa’s POVThe dark satisfaction that floods into my body watching the red splotch on Eleanor’s cheek grow and spread, copying the exact mark of my hand. I step back, watching her gasp and clutch her cheek. “Andrew will know about this,” Eleanor says in a low voice. She’s rubbing her cheek hard, which I assume is to leave a redder mark for Andrew to see. “As soon as he comes here—”“You taunt me about being alone when all along Andrew isn’t here for you either,” I interrupt. “At least I know he’s not here for me because we’re divorcing. What about you?”She lets out an unhinged laugh. “He might not be here now, but he will be here soon. I already called him, and he will find out what you did!”“I told you to stay away from me. You don’t listen, you get slapped. That’s just how it works. I warned you. Keep my daughter’s name and anything about her out of your mouth.”“You bitch,” she hisses under her breath. “He will never tolerate this from you!”“By all means, tell him,” I say d
Melissa’s POVI look around for help. The last thing I want is for the two men to square off. I find Eleanor standing by the closest table, her face dark with rage. I can basically feel her jealousy all the way to the door.I know it’s just a matter of time before she shifts the attention back to herself.Just like clockwork, Eleanor walks up to Andrew, but not before faking a limp. She puts her hand on her chest, her face contorted in fake pain. “Andrew, I don’t feel so well….”Andrew turns around, and Eleanor collapses on cue. He lets me go with a slight push, rushing towards Eleanor to prop her up in his arms. His face is slack with worry, and immediately he forgets all about me. “Move out of the way, I’m taking her to the hospital!"Andrew moves quickly. He scoops up Eleanor in his arms and gets up. For some reason, he lingers by the door, looking at me and Zane, but in the end he just leaves.I heave a sigh of relief, but my chest is still tight. I sit down at the waiting benche