Melissa wiped her eyes, which were now red and puffy as she picked herself up from the ground. She walked into the kitchen tiredly and saw that her sticky note was still in place, untouched.
She opened the pot and the meatloaf stew was still intact. Melissa sighed and looked up at the wall clock ticking away. A couple of minutes after 9pm and Brandon wasn't home. Melissa was drained mentally and she didn't want to worry about Brandon. He usually got back home 5pm, well that was what he told her since she wasn't at home all the time.
Was he having extra lessons? Melissa shook her head. There was no way extra lessons would close this late. Maybe he was at the Library? Yeah, that was plausible enough since he was preparing for his final exams. Or he was at a friend's house? Melissa didn't know if Brandon had friends or not, he never
talks to her or tells her anything.
Melissa was getting anxious as the seconds passed. She contemplated going out to look for him, but she didn't even know where to start. She didn't know any place where Brandon would be. The reality that she didn't even know her brother was dawning on her, painfully.
Walking back to the living room, Melissa plopped down on the chair and laid her head back, tired, exhausted. She rubbed her puffy eyes and felt it sting. Melissa had been crying a lot lately, a thing she hated doing the most, crying. No matter how hard things got, Melissa never cried, but it seemed like her resolve had finally faltered. The strong walls she had built up to withstand any painful emotion she felt had crumbling, leaving her to be overly sensitive. Melissa blinked as she looked at the ceiling blankly, not knowing how to feel anymore.
The sound of the front door, accompanied with footsteps startled Melissa. She jumped from the couch and ran over to the front door. Brandon stood there, hanging his coat.
"Hey, where were you? I was really worried about y-"
Melissa paused when she got a view of Brandon's face. It was filled with bruises, fresh bruises. She walked over to him briskly and cupped his face in her hands as she examined the injuries.
"What happened to you?! You're all bruised up!" Melissa exclaimed as she looked at him frantically.
Brandon scowled and swatted her hand away from his face.
"And why do you care if I got beat up? It's none of your damn business." He said and brushed past her.
Melissa frowned and followed him. "How can you say that? Of course it's my business! You're very important to me Brandon."
Brandon stopped dead in his tracks and turned to her, his cold eyes and the glare on his face made Melissa flinch.
"When I got beat up in the past you didn't care, not one bit. Stop acting like a goddam hypocrite. It's disgusting to see you act like you care about me."
Melissa felt a sharp sting, a slight pain in her chest, no in her heart. Brandon had hit her where it hurt the most, and he knew that. She looked down to the ground, hot tears pricked her eyes. Brandon took one last look at her and scoffed, walking away to his room, and slamming the door behind him loudly.
Melissa felt her body tremble as she stood on a spot, unable to move. Her vision became clouded with tears and they trickled down her eyes like a waterfall. She wiped her eyes, too tired to cry anymore. The pain in her chest was growing, spreading like a wild fire, an unquenchable one. She clutched her chest and walked to her room. Falling down on her bed, Melissa closed her eyes, hoping the sleep will take away the pain, even if it was temporary.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
The mart was busy, boisterous and busy like it was during the day. Customers piled in and out of the shop and the workers suffered the impact. Scanning items as fast as possible to lessen the long line of waiting customers was taxing. Unfortunately, Melissa was manning the counter during this afternoon rush. Scanning items, receiving cash. The cycle was making Melissa feel nauseous.
After a couple of long minutes, the crowd had reduced considerably and Melissa could finally take a breather. She let out a long breath and sat back on the small wooden still behind her. She wiped perspiration away from her forehead and cheeks and stared blankly at the now empty store.
"Hey, Mel."
Mark popped out of the door beside her with a small smile on his lips. Melissa had expected things to be really awkward between them after their little date and Mark confessing to her, but to her surprise, things were as normal as it always was. Mark interacted with her normally an she did the same. It made things easier for Melissa.
"What's up?" She asked.
"It's almost 3:30, my shift is starting soon, so I thought maybe I could switch out with you now. The rush hour must have been hectic for you." Mark replied as he walked over to the counter.
"I'll be fine. It's just 30 minutes more, I'll survive." Melissa reassured him.
"Come on, I insist." He pushed on.
Melissa sighed. He was right, she was exhausted and would love to get off her shift now. She nodded after brooding over it for a while. "Alright, since you're insisting."
Mark grinned, pleased by her response "Great."
He looked at her for a long moment and leaned closer to her ear.
"I hope you'll give me an answer soon, I'm not a very patient man." He whispered into her ear softly.
Melissa felt her ear go hot as she stared at him, dumbfounded. She was about to speak up when a tall man emerged from the staff room.
"Hey Melissa, the boss wants to see you."
Melissa nodded and gave Mark one last look before walking into the staff room.