Chapter 16: Sixteen

Melina never hid from Evangeline her origins and the fact she had a father, never. She told her about him in their bedtime stories, and not once she said something bad about Henry to the girl. Melina knew one day they would meet each other, and she wanted them to have a friendly relationship. She didn’t think it would be so soon.

Giagiá told her to embrace her fate, and it was easier said than done, but she was trying and hoped for the best. Life was so messed up, she didn’t work full time at her clinic. She went in the mornings and would go back right after lunch, remaining on house call for emergencies. Gabs agreed with her. She needed this time for herself and Eve. The heaviness in her heart was so oppressive she had to spend as much time as she could with the girl.

“Muffin, mommy needs a word with you.” Evangeline was busy with her toys in her room, when Melina sat on the bed, bringing the girl to her and sitting Eve on her legs.

“Girl, your mom has that wrinkle on her forehead, you know? The one she gets when we misbehave and she feels like strangling us.” Socks glanced at Eve and she turned to him. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“You sound worried, mommy.” The little hand flew to her face, trying to detect what was wrong with her mother.

“Just a little.” She pinched Eve’s nose, making the girl giggle. “Remember mommy told you, daddy lived far from us?”

“Yes, there is a big sea between us, and there are monsters in the water. But you said daddy was a brave man, and one day he would cross it and find me.” It amazed her how Eve absorbed her stories. She was like a sponge. One reason she had to watch her mouth around the girl, Evangeline would walk around repeating every word she spoke of from the heart.

“If I tell you, daddy killed the monsters, and he is here?” Eve was quiet for a moment. Then her face lit up in surprise, realising that maybe one of her mommy’s crazy fairy tales came to life.

“For real?” The little hand went over her mouth. “Can I meet him?” She turned to one of the cats with excitement. “Lina! My daddy is here!”

“Lucky you.” Lina stopped her bath and turned to her with mischief in her yellow eyes. “At least you know he’s your father. I envy you!” She said, going back to lick her paw. Eve giggled, not understanding the statement, but thinking it was funny. Then she turned to Melina.

“When I can meet him?” Anxiety came out of her pores.

“In a few, I need you to be a brave girl, okay?” She nodded and Melina kept going, “There is a little sick kitty, and it needs mommy’s help.” Melina didn’t want to put stress on Eve’s shoulder, so she inhaled to calm herself. She had never lied to her daughter before, and she was doing it now with a heavy heart. “Mommy will need to travel for a few days to see the kitty, and you can’t go with me...”

“I wanna go, I want to meet the kitty, too!” Eve cut her off, whining and her eyes tearful. “Please, mommy!” Melina had to hold herself not to give away her troubled feelings. It would be hard enough if Eve got fussy.

“Listen, I’ll make a deal with you. You’ll stay with Giagiá.” Eve started crying, and she added, “and daddy, look how nice. Daddy will be here with you the whole time, and if you behave and be mommy’s brave girl, I’ll bring the kitty to you. What do you say?” When the girl quieted down, pondering at her offer, she breathed a little. Maybe things would work out fine. Maybe.

“Okay, mommy.” The girl rested her little body on Melina’s chest, sniffling. She hugged her tight to herself, kissing the top of her head, and they held each other for quite some time.

“Come, let’s go meet daddy!” And for now Evangeline forgot all about the entire fake trip, focusing on her father. Melina put her on the floor and, holding her by the hand, both left the house.

Hank didn’t know what to do with his heart when he saw Melina and Evangeline arriving at his porch. They were beautiful, perfect together, and they belonged to him, no one else, only to him. An inner voice told Hank he was making a big mistake separating them, but he didn’t listen to it. He shut up and gagged that voice like he did so many times with people over the years.

Melina had a long and flowing pink sundress, a light shade of pink that made her already sinfully tanned skin even more golden, and it hugged to her curves with perfection. Every time she walked, the skirt would flow with the breeze, giving her an ethereal look, almost like a princess out of a fairy tale. Charming’s princess. How he could ever forget. He couldn’t wait for the day to come.

She brought Eve by the hand. Her sandy-blond hair was in pigtails, heavy pink glasses, and also in a sundress matching her mother’s. Then he realized what she meant about loving someone who was his spitting image. Apart from the cute dress, Eve was just like him as a child, but as delicate as Melina.

Oh course, he could sit Melina on the couch, and force her to listen to everything that was stuck in his throat. She had built a horrible image about him over the years with all the crap that surrounded them. He knew he was downgrading the importance of the facts. Terrible things had happened, and he had his share of guilt, of course, but he wasn’t a monster for her to run away from.

He didn’t know for how long they were staring at each other, and their eyes spoke volumes. The chocolatey ones were deep with hurt and anger flashing at him, but there was something else in them, a fire like he’d never seen before, and it was spreading to his body like lit gunpowder, his body became uncomfortable with what he found in her gaze. He didn’t know if she was aware of the way she stared at him, but it thrilled him about the discovery.

Melina didn’t let go of his eyes the entire time as she approached. She wasn’t a scared teen anymore, and it was time for him to know that. Since the first time she met him, she fell in love with his eyes, and got so happy when her little Eve had the same color in them. They were like two pools of warm honey calling to her, and if she wasn’t careful enough, she would drown in them. But there was also pain in those gorgeous eyes, and hidden behind the furious stare, guilt. Pure guilt. She wasn’t mistaken, and after a few seconds, lust replaced all those feelings and her skin was about to catch on fire as those pools were burning on her.

“Mommy, are we in Henry’s house? Weren’t we going to see daddy?”

“Yes, Evangeline… I’m here, little one.”

Melina heard when his voice faltered as she asked about daddy. All the emotions such a simple word could bring to a lost soul, to someone who deserved such a priceless gift. They forgot all about their little silent battle. He kneeled in front of her, gathering Eve in his arms, holding her tight. Eve was about to scream for air, just as she used to do when Melina squished the soul out of her when he stood up, taking her with him, and her little arms flung around his neck.

He closed his eyes and whispered only to their ears, “I’m here to stay.” Melina averted her gaze when emotion swallowed her up.