A Year Full Of Surprises

A Year Full Of Surprises - Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two...

"What's wrong?" Jord asked, making me realise I was still on the phone and had just sworn down it.

"Mel's here." I answered briefly. "I'm going to have to have to go and talk to her, but I don't really think it's a good idea to do that in front of my parents. She'll be asking some questions that will confuse them." I mused aloud.

"Okay." Mr. Armstrong said. "I'll see you on Monday, have fun explaining to Mel, I don't think she'll be quite as understanding as your parents somehow." He teased.

I groaned. "I don't think so either." I complained. "This isn't going to be pleasant." I agreed.

"Oh," He said, keeping me on the phone for a second longer. "I never asked you if you thought the policeman noticed anything with your parents and their addiction."

I had been so caught up in my explanation that I hadn't really considered that either. My parents had actually seemed pretty sober, so I assumed the police officer had noticed nothing wrong. A couple of mood swings would be understandable in the situation. "No, I don't think so. He seemed nice enough, and my parents seemed pretty normal, under the circumstances."

I had to go then to talk to Mel and after saying our goodbyes, I walked downstairs and opened the door, shouting that I was just going out for a bit to my parents who didn't bother to argue. I caught sight of Mel's still angry face through the windscreen of her car and I became even more nervous than before.

She didn't bother to lean across and open the car door for me, so I opened it myself. "Hey." I said, not really knowing what else I could say.

She didn't even look at me. "We're going to my house to talk." She ordered, rather than asked.

I just nodded before we lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. The ride to Mel's house was a short one, but it felt like forever with me shifting constantly in my seat and trying to ignore the vibes of annoyance and anger coming off Mel.

There were no cars on the drive, so I could guess that no one was home. Mel had no siblings. Mel got out of the car in silence, expecting me to follow.

We walked to the door and she let me in, gesturing for me to sit on one of the luxurious sofas in her living room. I sat down apprehensively and waited for the interrogation that I knew was coming.

"So..." She began, speaking for the second time. "What's happening Jessica? I drove past your house earlier, because I was going to have a go at you then, but I saw the police and I decided I shouldn't interfere. When I came back and the police were gone, I thought I should come and get the story." She explained, her voice losing a bit of it's cool exterior as she mentioned seeing the police.

"I think I need to start from the beginning." I told her, before launching into the Zack story. "A couple of weeks ago, the day that I hit Leonie actually, I was going to last lesson when Zack was there. He told me that I shouldn't have hit Leonie, then he accused me of being jealous. I got angry and basically told him that he was a prick. He went really weird and started saying that everybody wanted him and backed me up against a wall."

Mel gasped and I wasn't sure whether I should add some fake tears into this performance or not. Mel looked like she got the idea of what I was about to say, and was shocked enough without me having to put on a performance.

"He began to undo his trousers and I instantly knew what he was going to try and do. After he had pressured me for it the week before, he was going to just take it instead." I said dramatically. It sounded as though I was telling the tale from someone else's point of view and it had never actually happened to me, but Mel didn't seem to notice that. She was enthralled and horrified at the same time.