Forever Remember: The Rose Code

Chapter 30 (continued)

I had nothing to hide anymore. Melaney knew all my secrets. I just wished she trusted me enough to tell me what really happened with her and Dean. "I know you don't want to talk about it right now, but when you're ready, I'm ready to listen. How did you date Dean for four months without anyone finding out?"

"I promised Dean I wouldn't tell a soul." She placed a hand on her heart. "So I haven't. But yesterday, he finally gave me permission to tell you his secret."

"He already told me how he feels about me."

"No, not that secret, another one."

"What?" I tugged at my ear lobe. Did she just say Dean has another secret? I don't know my best friends at all.

"It's a long story, but you have to listen and not ask any questions until I'm done."

"Okay," I agreed, but only because I was in shock.

"Remember when you got grounded for two months after the cricket incident at church and for -"

"But I didn't have anything to do with the cricket. That was all Dean."

Melaney poked me in the chest with her finger. "You promised not to interrupt."

"Oops, sorry."

"And for sneaking out of the house to play midnight manhunt with Dean at his friend's house."

I nodded. I did.

"Well, since you were grounded, Dean asked me to help him find his biological father. He'd found a picture of his grandfather wearing a gold watch that his wife, Dean's grandmother, gave him before they were married. It was engraved with the words, 'Our love is timeless.' Dean knew the watch was passed on to his mother when his grandparents died. He believed his mother gave the watch to his father. So if he found the watch, the person who had it would be his father, if he didn't sell it to anyone else."

"Wow! Did he find it?"

Melaney rolled her eyes at me. "I never realized what a lousy listener you are."

"I'm sorry, again. I have a feeling this incredible story will take all night to tell. Let me call Tyler. I promised him I would."

Melaney handed me her cell. "I'll go start the pizza. Do you want barbeque chips and Pepsi?"

"Yes, please, and Kit kats."

Melaney went downstairs to put the pizza in the oven and get the snacks.

I entered Tyler's number.

"Hi," he answered. I loved the sound of his phone voice.

"Hi. What happened after I left?" I asked, hoping my voice sounded more curious than nervous.

"My mother demanded I give her the flash drive, but I refused until she signed into rehab. She was furious with me. But I stood up to her and told her she needed to get professional help before she hurt herself or someone else, again. She stomped out of the library to her bedroom. I haven't seen her since."

"You should talk to your dad when he gets home."

"Yeah, I will."

"Maybe, he can convince her to get the help she needs."

"I hope so. I don't know what to do if she doesn't cooperate."

Melaney walked into the room, balancing two soda cans, a bowl of chips, and a bag of Kit kats in her hands.

I quickly grabbed the bag before she dropped it. "I hope she makes the right decision. I'll talk to you in school on Monday morning."

"See you then, bye." He sounded so sad.

"Bye." I wished we could've talked longer, but I honestly don't know what I could've said to make him feel better.

Melaney put the snacks on her dresser.

I put the Kit kats there, too, and handed her back the phone. "So far, Mrs. Price is refusing to go to rehab."

"It's only been one day. I'm sure she'll do the right thing."

"I'm not. But I don't want to think about her. I want to hear the rest of your story. I promise I won't interrupt again."

"The pizza has 15 more minutes before it's done." She set the alarm on her phone. "Let's get out the sleeping bags and get changed into our pjs first."

So we did, and then we went downstairs to the kitchen to take the pizza out of the oven. Melaney put four slices on each paper plate. We carefully carried the pizza to her bedroom, grabbed our snacks and drinks, and found the most comfortable spots on top of our sleeping bags.

Melaney began to tell me all about her adventures with Dean. I didn't interrupt once. I just stuffed my face with pizza and chips and washed them down with soda.

The sun set, her parents and sister returned from the movie theater, and I finished the last Kit kat bar before Melaney finished telling me her story.

I couldn't believe shy, cautious Melaney had done all those crazy things or how she kept everything a secret from me. She had broken so many rules and, maybe, a commandment or two. I guess she wasn't perfect. She was even better. She was brave and bold, and I've never admired her more.

"I still don't believe Dean is really in love with me. I think you put that idea into his head. But we are, henceforth, going to forget about the past and focus on the future. So you, my fearless and feisty friend, are going to call Shawn and ask him out on a date. Just for fun, nothing serious."

I grabbed her cell phone off the floor in front of her sleeping bag and handed it to her.

She wouldn't take it. "It's the middle of the night."

I placed it in her hand. "Then text him. I bet you a kit kat that he'll text you back."

"You ate all the kit kats."

"Just text him already, and if he texts back, call him. I have to brush my teeth. I'll take my time." I went to the bathroom and slowly brushed my teeth, washed my face, combed my hair, and brushed my teeth again. Then I tiptoed back to the room, not wanting to interrupt if they were still talking. I didn't hear anything, so I went in.

Melaney stared at her phone with the silliest smile on her face. "He said, 'Yes!' He seemed quite enthusiastic about the date."

I pictured him grinning from ear to ear. "I can imagine."

"We are going to meet at Fables tomorrow night at seven. I'm not ready for him to pick me up here. Too many parental questions."

"I totally understand." I yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. It's been a long day." I got my body into the sleeping bag and my head on the soft pillow, just right. My heart and my head felt light as a feather, freed from the burdens of the past, focused solely on the future.

Melaney stood and stretched. "I'm too excited to sleep, and I had way too much Pepsi and chocolate."

"One can never have too much chocolate," I argued with my eyes closed.

"You can't. Sweet dreams, BFF. I'm going to brush my teeth."

"Night," I whispered, falling asleep.

Important Author's Note: The story that Melaney tells Jasmine in this chapter about her adventures with Dean to find his father  will be the prequel to Forever Remember. It is titled, Only Time Would Tell. I am looking for someone to make me a cover, with the title at the top, a gold watch in the middle, and A Rose Code Novel by ElleLeeLove at the bottom.