Til The Dawn [Midnights #1] ✓

chapter 63

Noah stood by the front door of the station, a foot or so away from Amalia's desk, watching Melissa McCall in her car through the blinds.

She'd been out there for about twenty minutes now. And another ten before that, according to their receptionist. But Noah had no idea what was going on. She hadn't called first. And he'd checked. Twice. She was also very obviously talking to herself too, which didn't bode well. She only did that when she was working up the nerve to confront someone. He'd seen her do it a few times over the years. Honestly, it was adorable, but it didn't clear anything up for him.

He was tempted to go and ask his guys if any of them had been foolish enough to date Melissa and then wrong her in some way. But that couldn't be it. They were all so damn gossipy. There was no way he wouldn't have found out if somebody had worked up the courage to ask her out and somehow succeeded. Especially if they had only fucked it up later.

It occurred to him that she might be intimidated by all the badges walking around in here. There were some people who had panic attacks when enough officers were in one place, even when they hadn't done anything wrong. So it was an entirely reasonable answer. But not so much when it came to Melissa, as she wasn't someone who got intimidated by much.

Then again, he hadn't talked to her in forever. Maybe he didn't know her all that well anymore.

And that one little errant thought, which made him a little disheartened, also caused his mind to go hurtling backward through time, reminiscing about growing up in their mostly mind-numbingly boring town with her and Claudia and even that douchebag ex-husband of hers, Raf. Hell, there wasn't a memory he had of this place that didn't involve at least one of them. Usually it was all of them, though. They were hardly ever apart in high school, forever trying to find some kind of trouble to get into together.

Melissa and Raf had been two years behind him and Claudia, but you wouldn't have known it with the way Claudia had adopted Mel. It hadn't mattered to her that they were sophomores. That was her friend and the rest of the world be damned. She had taken Melissa under her wing without worrying what anyone thought, gotten her a spot on the cheer squad, and even made her captain when they graduated. And if it didn't bother Claudia, it sure as shit hadn't bothered Noah. He would have followed her to the ends of the Earth.

Nearly tried when she couldn't fight the cancer anymore and left him and Stiles behind.

But, of course, that same woman who had fought right beside Claudia every single day in the hospital wouldn't let him give up. She dropped off food every single night instead, leaving it on their porch when he refused to answer the door. And made sure it was easy enough for a much younger Stiles to reheat all by himself, if necessary. And most days it was necessary. Noah had been utterly useless for so long after Claudia died. And yet, Melissa wouldn't let him drift off into nothingness. She just kept coming, holding Stiles in the same rocking chair he still had on that front porch, and letting that little boy talk her ear off. Or cry. Whatever he needed. Whatever they both needed.

It was as if Claudia had known, from the very beginning, one day her boys would need someone to look after them and Melissa was that someone. And she took on the role no one asked of her because she saw a boy in desperate need of a mother and a man in desperate need of a swift kick in the ass.

It had worked, of course. Exactly as Claudia had probably planned all along.

Noah smiled fondly thinking about it all and unable to stop himself from wondering where they might be if it weren't for Melissa. But he knew there was no need to bother with that, really, since she was here. Right here. Currently squaring her shoulders to come in and face whatever monster she had cooked up in that head of hers.