Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Eight

Note: The words in Bold+Italics represent text messages.

***

"Alex?" Mellisa called out, looking around the house that barely looked habitable. Whatever few things were in the house looked like a hurricane had descended upon them. If not for the passed out human being on the couch, you would think this house was abandoned given its state.

Walking into the living room, Mellisa realized that it was Alex who was passed out on the couch. Around the room were scores of bottles and takeout cartons. It looked like Alex had had a party at home. He had told her that he was busy today, and that's why he couldn't pick her up at the airport. Yet, here she found him, on his couch, dead to the world.

Placing the car seat to one side, where she knew Amanda would be safe, Mellisa moved closer to Alex, gently nudging him.

"Alex? Alex! Wake up. Are you okay?" she called out a few times, only to be greeted with incoherent grunts.

"ALEX!" she ventured to scream, causing her unconscious boyfriend to jolt out of his sleep.

Rubbing his eyes, he gave her a scowl. "Oh! It's you!" His tone pierced through her.

"Oh my god! It's you! You're back!" his tone shifted soon, a renewed energy engulfing him as he made his way towards her, a massive smile on his face.

"I thought you were busy," she said monotonously.

"Yeah. My plans got cancelled last minute. It was too late to tell you, and then I fell asleep," he waved her tone aside.

"Where's the baby? Did you bring her?"

"Yeah, she's right here," Mellisa directed his attention to where she had left the car seat. Gently picking her baby out of her seat, Mellisa showed Amanda to Alex.

Alex had a shocked expression on his face. "Wow," was all he was able to say.

"Yeah! She's beautiful, isn't she?" Alex remained frozen.

"Can I hold her?" Mellisa nodded, handing Amanda over to him. He held her still for a few moments, before assessing each part of her. Mellisa quietly observed the pair. With each passing minute, however, she saw something shift in Alex's eyes. He got rougher in how he handled her baby. He started to get angrier as well.

"So, this is the brat!" came a malicious voice out of Alex, one that Mellisa had never heard. "This is the bitch that's going to ruin my life!" He started shaking Amanda. Mellisa felt hot tears roll down her face. This wasn't her Alex. This Alex scared her. She immediately rushed towards him, trying to get Amanda out of harms way. This Alex seemed almost volatile.

She tried repeatedly to get Amanda away from Alex, but he wouldn't let go.

"Alex, let go," she pleaded. "ALEX!"

Alex immediately released Amanda. If Mellisa hadn't been holding her, Amanda would have fallen on the ground.

"What's gotten into you? Look at the state of this house."

He didn't reply. Instead, he sat quietly on the couch, head in his hands, hunched over. Mellisa looked around the room. She couldn't stay here. This was no place to raise a child. Not when the house looked the way it did. She saw bottles after bottles of hard liquor strewn around the floor.

"Is this what you've been doing when I was in Boston? You've been drinking!" her tone came out more vicious than she intended it to.

"Never you mind what I've been doing," he said as he leaped off the couch towards her, tightly grabbing hold of her forearm. She knew it was going to bruise.

"Let me make one thing very clear to you. You're mine, and you're going to do just as I say. Nothing and no one is going to change that. If you even think of disobeying me, that little brat is going to get it," Alex said, pointing to Amanda. "If you want to ensure that the bitch makes it to her first birthday, you will do everything I tell you, and not make a peek to another soul about any of this," he yelled in Mellisa's face. "Do I make myself clear?" Mellisa stood frozen in place. What had she done?!

"I said, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" Involuntarily, she nodded her head, the fear engulfing her. She was stuck. Even if she had the opportunity, she couldn't say anything to anyone. Not at the risk of her daughter's life.

Mellisa continued to stay rooted to her spot as Alex walked further into the house. When he came back ten minutes later, he found her stood like a statue. "I called the hospital. They're ecstatic to have you back. You start tomorrow," he mumbled.

"What about Amanda?" she whispered.

"What about her?"

"Where will she stay when I work?" Mellisa didn't have the guts to tell Alex that Amanda was still too young and needed her mother full time. She would figure out the logistics later. For now, she just needed to ensure that Alex wasn't angered anymore, not when Amanda was within his reach.

"Here. With me. I need some incentive to ensure that you'll come back. And if it's not for me, you'll come for her. So, she stays here," his voice was forceful by the time he finished. Mellisa gripped her daughter tighter.

"Don't worry about your precious baby, my love. You do everything I tell you, and no harm will come to her," Alex said, sadistically before sending Mellisa and Amanda to their room.

Mellisa got no sleep that night. Half of her was scared, while the other half was shocked. How had her life come to this?! How did she repeatedly find herself in these kinds of situations?

At daybreak, Mellisa hadn't slept a wink. She hadn't even let herself rest her eyes for a few minutes. Cuddling her daughter to herself, she kept her eyes on the door the whole night. A little after 6.00 a.m., the door to her bedroom swung open, and Alex stood by the frame.

"Rise and shine, lovely. It's time to get ready for work," he said in a cheery tone. But his eyes remained cold. He crept towards Mellisa almost like a predator. "Let me take young Amanda for you, while you get ready," he offered. But it was clear in his tone that Mellisa had no choice but to obey.

Mellisa had set a new record that morning for how quickly a person could get ready. As soon as she had showered and changed, she sprinted out of the room in search of Amanda. She found her with Alex in the kitchen. Alex had a bottle in his hand.

"What's in that?" she asked him wearily.

"Formula. She was hungry."

"I can feed her," Mellisa went to take Amanda from Alex.

"No need," came his cold reply. "You're going to be late for work. The hospital isn't too far from here, but it will still take you ten minutes to walk there. You better leave if you don't want to be late," he said, his entire attention on Amanda.

Without a choice, Mellisa walked out of the house. The faster she started her shift, the faster she could be back home. The entire way to the hospital, she prayed to every god she could think of to protect her baby girl.

Just as she got to the entrance of the hospital, she felt her bag vibrate. Reaching in, she found a cellphone. Alex had texted.

Alex: If you even think about telling anyone anything you shouldn't be talking about, you're not going to like the consequences.