Deadline≫hemmings a.u

2.0 - Luke

It was an interesting thing to watch Melanie work. She was good with people, she could get them to trust her. She worked like I did. The only difference was that if we didn't live like this, people actually could trust her.

Like now, Melanie had gotten into a a target's house by getting the lady's cat out of a tree. Mel wasn't a firefighter, or even very tall, but she tried just a little harder than everyone else to help, which was why people liked her.

Yet, I was still wary about her. Despite what she's done for us, I still expected her to turn tail and run away. Whether she would go to the police about us, I wasn't quite sure. But for some reason, I had a feeling that Melanie could tear everything down if she wanted to.

I couldn't let that happen. Not for my sake, not for Michael's, and not for Ashton's. Certainly not for Ashton's.

Several minutes later, she emerged from the house, a small but satisfied grin on her face as she crossed the street to meet me.

"So how'd it go?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. She walked by me on the sidewalk with a shrug, already taking off down the block to where we would meet Michael, who was getting food and whatever other stuff we'd need like clothes. We were in Florida now and our warm clothes were no longer needed.

"Good," Melanie said over her shoulder to me. "The lady fell asleep while she was telling me about how she found her cat, so that made things easier."

"That's good," I nodded, quickening my pace to keep up with Melanie. Vaguely, I remembered how just over two months in the streets of Georgia, Melanie would trail behind me, putting at least three feet in between us. Over the long time that we spent going through Florida, she changed. She stopped being so cautious around Michael or me and gained confidence. I'd like to think that maybe I had something to do with that.

"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of drugging old ladies," she rolled her eyes and I chuckled.

I slipped my hand into the pocket of my jacket, my fingers brushing across the smooth surface of the box hidden inside and over its edge. I frowned slightly, my mind returning to the question of whether or not to give it to her. I just needed to make sure she wouldn't leave. I wondered what she'd think when I gave it to her. Hopefully she'd be happy at least. I wasn't trying to be suffocating, but I just had to be certain she wouldn't slip away.

"Hey Mel, can we stop for a moment?" I put one hand on her shoulder to stop her while the other gripped the box in my pocket.

"Um, yeah, sure," she shrugged, brushing her hair off her shoulder as she turned to face me. "What's up?"

"Well, you've been with us for about two months, and you know how valuable your work has been for us," I stated awkwardly, the words feeling too formal for me.

"You guys would have been alright without me." Melanie shrugged and I automatically shook my head, a smirk forming on my lips.

"Maybe, but there are things that you have done that Michael can't, not that I really would want him to." I said suggestively, reaching out to twirl a strand of her hair around my finger as Mel rolled her eyes. Over the past few weeks, Melanie and I had certainly done things I would never want to do with Michael, who still had no idea what was going on. In the beginning, she would blush and go silent if I ever teased her about it. But now, she just smirked and rolled her eyes. She'd even go as far as to make a few jokes on her own.

"Keep it in your pants, Luke," she chided with a laugh, folding her arms as she leaned against the wall of a hardware store that we stood outside of. "So what were you saying?"

"What? Oh yeah," I jammed my hand back into my pocket, wrapping my fingers around the box and pulling it out. "This is for you, to keep in contact."