Miss You (Harry Styles)

Chapter 40

*not edited

"Why the sudden change?" I ask her.

Melanie showed no interest in getting to know me again. Most of the time, she's hiding out in the guest room. I see her in the mornings for breakfast and maybe when I come home for dinner. She hardly asks me anything about what our life was before the accident. I honestly just thought she was going to give up on us, and we'd break up with a couple of weeks.

"Well, you've been nothing but amazing and very patient with me. I think I owe to ourselves to finally try and make this work."

"So, no more hiding out in the guest room?"

"No more hiding. Also, I was wondering if I could sleep with you tonight. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course, it's okay," I smile, pulling her in closer to me. She chuckles, and I think she's going to pull away, but she doesn't. Melanie snuggles her face up into my torso, and we watch the rest of the movie.

In the morning, I make multiple trips out preparing for my date with Melanie tonight. On one of our late-night talks, she wanted to have a picnic in a Japanese garden. It was a long-time fantasy of hers.

Luckily, I have a friend who tends the grounds and is helping me set up everything by the lake.  He agreed to reserve the place after 5 for us, which is still cutting deep in my pockets. We'll arrive at the garden around five and enjoy a nice walk through then by six, go to have our picnic dinner. Then I have something extra afterward, only if she's up to it. I have a feeling she's going to love it.

I go home to finish some of my work and look over resumes for Melanie's replacement. I found two candidates that might be good for the job, a woman in her mid-thirties, Janice, and a gentleman a little older than me, George. Janice was a manager at a daycare that went bankrupt two years ago. She's been doing temp work since. George was a manager at his family's nanny organization, but he found the family drama too much and wants to work under people he's not related to. They both would do a fine job. It's just I can't seem to pick which one should have it.

I shake my head, leaving my home office and see if I can get Melanie's opinion on the matter. Hearing another voice might help me choose. I thought she was in our room because that's where I left her this morning. She was sound asleep, looking beautiful as ever. The guest room door down the hall was closed, so I decided to peep my head inside. Melanie was lying on the bed with her face away from me. She was watching something on her laptop and didn't even notice me come in. I tilt my head to see what she was looking at, and my face immediately heats up.

She was watching porn like it was a fascinating documentary. Her eyes are so fixated on the couple fucking on the screen. Why the hell is she watching it now? She's just lying there casually watching it like it was nothing. Almost like she's studying it, but why?

I clear my throat and tap on the door, pretending I was just walking in. She slams her laptop close and jolts up, turning towards me. I give an awkward smile, not sure if I should ask her about it.

"Oh, hey. I thought you went out," she averts my gaze.

I decided against it and asked her what I came for in the first place.

"I did. I came back about a half-hour ago. I wanted to ask your opinion on something."

Melanie releasing a long breath, probably thinking I saw what she was looking at or was going to ask about it. Maybe both. I sit on the bed, but she still doesn't look me in the eye.

"Okay, what it is?"

"Well, I was looking at who I can hire as your replacement, but I can't pick between them. They are both good. I was wondering if you would look over the resumes and tell me what you think."