Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Twenty-Two

For the rest of their vacation, Mellisa hadn't had any fun. She was constantly lost in her thoughts. No kid would have wanted to hang out with her. Fortunately, Emily and Ryan, who had newly updated their relationship status to 'couple', had decided that they hadn't spent enough time with their children during this trip.

So, for the last two days of their vacation, they had taken charge of keeping the kids entertained, Amanda included.

Mellisa was dreading going back home. She had been on leave for longer than two weeks. With Dr. Perez and her brother both in the hospital, it was decided that Mellisa was better off staying away, at least till one of their statuses changed.

Her bank account was still frozen and investigations going on. So, laying low had been her best option at the moment. But with Dr. Perez wanting to see her now, she didn't know what to make of the situation.

Mellisa also hadn't a clue what the hospital staff had been told about her absence. She'd been gone for so long they might have thought that she had just quit. Then again, she was escorted out of the hospital by the FBI, so fired and imprisoned maybe?

Whatever the reason may be, heading back into the hospital meant being met with thousands of questions. She wasn't sure she was ready to answer them. She wouldn't even know how.

"Do you think I should risk going to the hospital?" She'd asked Emily.

"You work there. Why would going there be a risk?"

"Em! I haven't been at work for a month. I can't even fathom what the rumor mill is saying about my absence."

"Oh, don't worry about it. We used the same excuse as last time."

"Sick relative?"

"We promoted this non-existent relative to dead."

"And the hospital was okay with it?"

"They had no choice if they didn't want to be sued for mental harassment, forcing you to come to work during your time of bereavement."

"So, I can just waltz in?"

"All anybody needs to know is that whichever day you choose to go see Dr. Perez will be when you just got back into town and immediately went to see him."

"What about Vivian?"

"The nurse?" Mellisa nodded.

"She's the only one who knows the truth"

"How? Why?"

"You remember the agent on my right when I came to talk to you?" Mellisa jogged her memory for a minute before remembering the dark-skinned, hazel eyes tower of a man, with a steel rod straight spine. She nodded.

"That's agent Johnson. Vivian is his wife."

"I didn't know her husband was in the FBI."

"FBI agents don't go around telling everyone that they're FBI agents, unless they need to."

"What do you think I should do?"

"You have questions that only Dr. Perez can answer. For your own sanity, I would say, talk to him."

"But he knows about Amanda."

"And you're scared he'll ask to see her? Despite the unfortunate nature of this connection, the fact remains that Amanda is his granddaughter. He has the right to get to know her."

"What if he takes her away?"

"Mel, you've known Edward Perez for a long time. Does he strike you as someone who would do that?"