A WINTER OF CHANGE[Complete]

5

Melanie didn't visit the next day, Benjamin sat in his cabin waiting but she never showed up. She had only visited twice but he was so used to it now that he craved it. Even when he was up at the mansion, he did not see her. She was there but, in her room, doing whatever it was she was doing.

It surprised him how he missed her and it even surprised him how he liked to torture himself. Why couldn't he just let her go? The daughter of the mayor was never going to be him. He wasn't Keith Marshall—her ex-husband—nor was he ever going to have the kind of money Keith had. In this life he was a loser and he never believed in the crap that there was a second one.

You only live once, if you screwed up in this one then it was over. Did he screw up? Probably not. He was the one screwed over. Life had judged and worked against him from the start. Life hated him from the beginning and it was still doing the same.

Shaking his head, he focused on writing. It was all he could do to forget about her for the time being. His thriller novel and his characters were really giving him some hope. Sometimes he thought of taking his first manuscript to a publisher but those thoughts left him as soon as they appeared. Like everything about him they were going to hate it as well. A knock came at the door, his heart leapt in his chest.

Taking in a deep breath he rose from the chair to the front door. She was there wrapped in a thick shawl, tears trailing down her cheeks. There was a slight tremble in her shoulders and it broke his heart. He quickly ushered her inside and let her sit in the chair while he pulled the stool again.

"What happened?" Benjamin had an inkling that he knew very well what the hell happened at the mansion but instead of making assumptions and following his heart he chose to hear it from her. After all, he could be wrong and that would be very embarrassing.

"My father said I need to leave and go back to my husband and pretend everything that happened never did," her lips trembled with the force of her sobs.

"You will follow his order, right?"

"I will not!" She snapped then looked away.

"Then what will you do? We both know that when your father wants something he stops at nothing to get it. You might as well stop all this and just do it," Melanie turned and stared at him like he had lost his damn mind.

"I don't like him even worse, I've never loved him; it was a daughter fulfilling her duties and I got hurt in the process."

"Who do you like then?" He asked. If it wasn't Keith, he had to know who she held dear in her heart. "Don't tell me you waited for him to make a mistake and used that opportunity to escape the loveless marriage."

"He messed up, Ben, even if I loved him and he cheated I would still leave. But you're right I always waited for him to mess up and when he did I didn't hesitate."

"Who do you love, Melanie?" Her brown orbs snapped to him. For a while they gazed at each other. Melanie was the first to break the connection. She took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Even if I tell you, you won't believe me."

"Try me," he prompted.

"Nope," she said and her face fell. Suddenly, the hem of her dark blue shawl held all the importance in the world. Benjamin stared at her for a moment. Every time he did it, he always noticed how enticing she was. Even in his wildest dreams he failed to understand why a man would cheat on her. After all, you don't know what you have until it's gone.

"What do you do in here?"

"Nothing," he replied.

"We both know that's not true," she said.

"I'm serious." His love for writing and literature was his little secret. But if someone wanted to know they would just have one look at his bookshelf and no words were needed after that.

"Take me on a tour," she suddenly said.

"Why?" he croaked. There was nothing worth seeing in his house.

"I just want to invade your space," she joked but he could tell she was serious.

"You've been to the kitchen, the dining room, we're here and that's all."

"I've never been to your room," she said and grimaced. "I know that sounds wrong but I need something to distract me." There it was again; she was using him.

"I can go alone," she bargained.

"It's a mess, try again tomorrow and I might let you see it." Melanie got to her feet and sauntered where she knew the bedroom was. Benjamin followed soon after trying to stop her but it was too late. She stood in his room, her eyes scanning everything.

"That bed is too small for you," she said. This wasn't how he imagined his night going.

"It's fine," he said.

"Oh!" he followed her gaze which stopped at the table where his typewriter and papers were. "What are you working on?"

"It's nothing serious, just passing the time."

"A blunt lie, that looks serious," Melanie walked towards the table and lowered herself in the chair. She picked a single paper and got lost in it. Benjamin watched preparing himself for the inevitable criticism.

"Jesus!" She whispered, her eyes widening.

"That's enough," he said rather harshly. Melanie looked up at him in awe.

"This is incredible. Is it done?"

"What?" Once again, she took him by surprise. He thought she would be disgusted with his writing.

"Can I take some of it?" She asked and he found himself bending and retrieving the box he kept his last manuscript in. He handed it to her.

"That's the first book," he told her. Melanie took it so carefully like it would break or something.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For letting me be the first person to read it."

"You're welcome and you should go."

"What if I choose to stay?" She winked and got up; she was joking but the images his brain painted were nothing but innocent.

"Come one," she followed him and they were outside the cabin. Just like the other day she kissed him again, this time lingering for a bit. Melanie smiled at him and sauntered away leaving Benjamin Weathers burning for more.