Behind the Cherry Tree, A Not-So-Short Story

32. Vanishing Act

Yet again, my lovelies, this chapter is NOT in Mel's POV! It's in 3rd person because I don't know who's POV to put it in and honestly I can't think of a better way to do this... sorry for the inconsistency. 

Also- this chapter is a short one. VERY SORRY. But it just is, there's no way to flesh it out without sounding too try-hard. It is what it is. :)

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At 21 years old Mel disappeared. 

Well, to the rest of the town she'd disappeared. Her family knew where she'd gone, naturally, but the world was in the dark. Her parents had freaked when they'd opened the door to see their daughter passed out and bruised on the pavement of their home and it hadn't taken long for the whole story to come out. There wasn't one person in the whole town that hadn't been in a state of complete shock. Everyone spoke of the tragedy in hushed whispers at first. Not that anyone saw Will as evil or abusive, nevertheless he felt so. He didn't trust himself around women anymore.

Will's shame was public but his friends took him in and helped him through the dark days that followed. Mike's presence was no longer a secret and although Will and Mike never forgave each other and kept their distance from one another, Mike managed to sway some of his old friends to believe that he'd changed. Slowly, oh so slowly, and ever so carefully, Mike began setting down his roots again.

Tess and Leo returned from their honeymoon, oblivious that their world had blown up, only three days after Mel left. Tess had been heartbroken, of all the girlfriends, she'd had the hardest time comprehending what had happened between Will and Mel. She simply couldn't accept that he'd hit her. Even though it had only been once, there was an unspoken rule that girls don't stick with abusive guys, intentional or not. Will had struggled with that part the most.

There were many things that could have caused their break up, but hitting her had never crossed his mind. Never once had it even seemed to him as having the remotest possibility of ever occurring. Dave and the boys took him out of town to try and help him get over it, but it didn't really do much. If anything it made him worse as everytime he saw a girl that looked similar to Mel he'd have a semi-mental break down.

The plan had been that Mel would take off, have a break from the town that was suddenly too tight for her to breathe in. Her parents knew where she'd gone, but not how long she'd be away, this way neither boy would be able to find out where she was. But at the same time there would be no public alarm at her disappearance, no calls to the police demanding she was missing. If anyone asked her mum or dad where she was they would reassure them that Mel was fine and that she was taking a break, but nothing more.

Days passed with no sightings of Mel.

Months passed.

Minka came home the second she'd received the call with the news. Whether the news was bad or good was really quite subjective. To Mel perhaps this news, this trip, was a fabulous opportunity, to the rest of her clueless friends, this was some of the worst news a person could hear. 

After a year the small town had come to accept that Mel was gone for good and never to return. The friendship group hadn't forgotten her, but had moved past their denial of her leaving, now they waited for her return so that they could slap her for being so stupid and hug her because they missed her so much. Mike hadn't moved on, his love for Mel if anything got deeper. He worked harder on being a better person everyday and soon had his old gang back, in other words he'd been forgiven. They'd all matured past holding grudges, but they never forgot what he'd done, it was just something they'd have to get used to.

Will had contemplated moving town when he'd gotten over his initial self-hatred, but had been convinced that staying home was his best option. While away on a business trip, near the date that marked one year since Mel left, he'd bumped into a woman from a different company. She was a little taller than him, quite chubby, and had the sweetest smile he'd ever seen. She fell for him quickly and moved where she worked so that she could be in his town. Will on the other hand was a little more reluctant to admit he was falling for this big hearted beauty, but when he eventually did admit that she took his breath away the ring of wedding bells didn't take long to follow.

This isn't to say that he got over Mel quickly, quite the opposite. Will's wife, Cassie, knew best of all just how hard it was for him to move on. He dragged his feet and made every excuse until one day when they'd been dating she threatened to leave him if he didn't wake up and see that Mel was gone. Cassie had gotten through to Will in a way that his friends hadn't in almost a year, it was then that he realised just how much she'd mended his heart and decided he couldn't be stupid and lose her too. They had no secrets, she knew he'd hit Mel, but she also forgave him for it and showed him just how much he meant to her despite his flaws.

Cassie had fit right in with their little group. Her quick wit and take-no-shit attitude had made her click with Minka almost instantly.

Dave and Michelle had planned to get married as soon as her baby bump had gone away, neither had anticipated Mel disappearing and so they had agreed to wait until she came home before they tied the knot. That's how desperate, and how sure the group was that Mel would come back. When Michelle's baby was born her only regret was that Mel couldn't be there to see their beautiful baby girl. Mel was, afterall, the godmother of their child.

As for Mike, he visited the cherry tree everyday from the day she left until present. He'd wait for her there, contemplating what exactly he would do if she came back, his plan last time was terrible. This time he wouldn't make the same mistake, he couldn't afford to screw this up with her for a third time.

It was while he sat there, under the cherry tree, that the idea occurred to him. She'd brought up the issue of their parents during that night. That was a potentially fixable problem. Mike watched the sunset most nights, gazing out over the field when his second epiphany occurred. What that second epiphany was, dear reader, you'll find out later.

He resolved to fix what he could about his situation and so half a year after Mel's disappearance a determined Mike knocked on the door he knew so well. Mel's door. The seconds between knocking on the door and the door opening stretched on like an elastic band. Then the door opened and his heart-rate sky rocketed, his surefire plan suddenly seemed frail in the face of Mel's shocked parents.

"Hello, you might know me, my name is Mike and I'm in love with your daughter."