The Trap

9. Alexander

As I wait for Mel at her house, I can't help but be overcome by fear. We were supposed to meet at 9. It was already twelve. I had called her several times, but she hadn't answered. After my fifth try, it had been switched off. I was tempted to go and check on her in person but decided against it at the last moment.

What if my worries turn out to be baseless? What if me going to check on her makes David suspicious?

I am brought back to the present when I hear the door open. It had to be Mel. I want to run to her, but I hold myself back. On an off chance that David was following her, or worse, accompanying her, it would hurt the plan if I were to see me here.

I remain in the upstairs bedroom and wait for her to come and find me. And she does. She enters without knocking, and a moment later, lights come on. "Alex!" She exclaims and joins me on the bed.

Her face is pale. She looks distressed. It worries me immensely. "Mel, did something happen?" I ask, wiping her brow. She nods and averts her gaze.

"Mel, did he do something?" I demand; tilting her chin up, I catch her eyes. "Mel, talk to me."

She closes her eyes; her brows knit. "Alex, I lost time. I remember going to talk to David in the study, but I can't recall leaving it."

"Mel," I take her hands in mine. They are cold and clammy. "What do you mean?"

She leans away, putting distance between us. "After you left, David came to find me. He wanted to have a talk with me. He," She stops abruptly and buries her face in her hands.

"Mel, if you don't tell me, I won't be able to help you." I take her in my arms. Unexpectedly, she pushes me away. It hurts more than I want to admit.

She wipes her tears. "David accused us of being in a relationship, Alex."

I try and voice my thoughts but her palm lands on my mouth. "Don't say anything. Just listen, I want to get it out of my system."

I nod, and she tells me everything that David had done. Anger builds inside me as I sit listening to the accusations he had made, but I don't interrupt Mel again till she falls silent.

"Mel?"

"Alex, I know what David says doesn't matter. In any case, that's the least of our worries." She gawks at her lower lip.

"There's more?"

Mel nods. "When David asked me to join him in the study, I switched on the voice recorder. I was hoping he would say something we could use against him." She falls silent again. She looks lost and scared. "Alex, he said something about Janice being..." Mel trails off. Her eyes roll back in her head.

"Mel!" I call and move closer in case she faints. She doesn't. She closes her eyes for a second, and when she opens them, my Mel is gone.

"Doctor." Janice smiles. It's the polite, restrained one I had seen her direct at me often.

"Janice?" I ask tentatively, and she smirks. Yes, it was definitely Janice.

"Doctor, you are good!" She chirps and leans in till our faces are barely centimeters apart. "Doctor...Alexander, I am sorry to barge in unannounced like this, but Mrs. Drew left me no choice."

"How did..."

"How did I enter my own body?" She tucks her golden strands behind her ear seductively; I nod.

"You didn't really think I would allow you free reign over my body without making sure you won't dupe me, did you?"

Her words scare me. We needed Janice on our side if we were to succeed. "Janice, I would never..." Her palm lands on my mouth.