Melody (THE LOGAN FAMILY) (32 page)

Until she saw the earring.

She batted her eyes. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. She picked up the little golden leaf. She examined it closely. She’d know this earring anywhere. It belonged to Melody. She faced Keith. His face twisted into what Sarah could describe as only confusion. He didn’t have to bother to explain this. Finding the earring somehow put all the pieces together.

“Sarah…” He held up his hand. “What, what do you have there?”

“Why is this here?” She shut her eyes from disgust. “
Why
, Keith?”

“Uh, I found it. It was so beautiful that I kept it. I just…”

“Do you ever stop lying? Can you for once just be honest with me? Who in the hell do you think you’re fooling, Keith? You did not just find this earring! This is my mother’s earring, Keith!” He gaped. “I know damn well it is! My father had these earrings custom made for my mother on their last anniversary before they died! I received these earrings in the will! I gave them to Melody on her sixteenth birthday!”

“Sarah, I…”

“Why is this here, Keith?” Tears filled her eyes. “Oh God, is it true? Were you sleeping with my sister?”

“No!”

“Then tell me what the hell this is doing here, Keith!” Sarah paused. She glanced around. Her mind went to Melody’s description of the rape.

She remembered how upset Melody had been that she’d lost her earring that night. That had been strange. Melody couldn’t give a decent description, though she claimed she saw her attacker’s face. That had been strange. She nearly fell out whenever Sarah mentioned Keith. Sarah held her mouth.

Melody couldn’t describe her attacker or wouldn’t?

“Sarah, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking…” The earring shook in her hand. “The worst thing I could ever think in my life. Keith, I’m begging you to give me an answer I believe. Now, what is Melody’s earring doing here?”

“Okay, she left it that night she came over here. Must have been then because she was only here once.”

“Why did she take her earrings off in the first place and in your bedroom?”

“She left it by the couch, Sarah. Of course she wasn’t in my bedroom.” He sighed. “Sarah, I meant to give it to her but I guess I forgot I had it.”

“You forgot with it sitting right on your dresser? Tell me the truth! What is Melody’s earring doing here, Keith?”

“It fell off, okay! I mean, damn! I didn’t know she’d left it. By that time you’d banned me from the house.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Then why didn’t she come back to get it?”

“What?” He stood.

“You heard me, Keith.” Her tone stayed leveled. “If she simply left it, why didn’t she ever come back? Or better yet, why didn’t she tell me she left it here?”

“She probably didn’t know.”

She squinted. “And why would she not know?”

“Sarah, she was raped that same night! You think she cared about an earring? She probably thought she lost it when she was attacked!”

“She did, Keith.” He glared. “You see, she told me she lost it when she was raped. She figured she must have.” He turned away. “So I guess that explains it, huh?”

“Sarah, I know you’re not accusing me of…”

“I am, you motherfucker!” She trembled. “I’m accusing you, you bastard! You raped her, didn’t you, Keith? You raped her! It was you! All this time!” Tears filled her eyes. “Oh God! You sick, pathetic bastard!”

“Sarah!”

“I know it was you!”

“I can’t believe you’re accusing me of raping Melody! That’s insane! Sarah, how could you do that?”

“Because it’s the truth!” she shrieked. “I know it! Melody didn’t leave her earring! She lost it when you raped her, didn’t she? You sick bastard! Oh!” She gripped her head. “How could you do this? What kind of monster are you? Oh my God!” She walked around the room. “And I kissed you! I made love to you after what you did…,” she wailed.

“Sarah.” He tried to hold her.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t you ever touch me, Keith! You are gonna pay for this!”

“I didn’t rape her!” He shook her. “Do you realize how that sounds? Sarah, I love you!” She tried to break free. “How could you say something like this about me?”

“It’s the truth!” She pushed him with a force both couldn’t believe. “These earrings mean the world to Melody, Keith! For her not to come back here, she had to be scared to death! And she said she lost it when she was raped! Stop lying to me! Admit it!” She hit him. “Admit it!”

“All right!” he bellowed. Sarah shivered. He looked at her. “All right. I did it.”

“You…” She struggled to breathe.

“Oh, Sarah, baby.” He rubbed his hair. “I know it seems horrible but I did it for
you
. Everything I did was for you.”

“You did it for me?” She sighed. He nodded. “You did it for
me
?” she screamed. She charged him. “She’s my sister, Keith! She’s my little sister! The person I love more than anything and you did it for
me
? You son-of-a-bitch!” She pounded his face and chest. Keith ducked for protection. “You sick asshole! You son-of-a-bitch! I hate you!” Sarah slapped Keith with her purse, causing him to lose his balance. He fell to the floor and held his arms up for cover.

“I hate you! I hate you, you bastard! You raped my sister!”

“Sarah!” He tried to grab her swinging arms. She could feel herself going insane every time she hit him. Nothing could ever be enough. She wanted him dead. She wanted him dead for all the pain he’d caused. For all the lies he’d told. For the tentative, painful future that his actions would place upon her sister’s life forever. She wanted him dead for making her trust him. For making her believe in him over Melody. For making her fall so heavily in love, that she couldn’t see what lied smack dab in front of her face. She now hated him with every fiber of her being.

The more he begged, the more she hit. She wanted to inflict the most pain she could, hoping that he’d get a glimpse of what he had caused Melody.

“Sarah!” Keith jumped up. He wrapped his arms around her. “Sarah, please calm down!” She wailed in his arms. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Get away!” She shoved him. “I hate you! I hate you! How could you do something like this, Keith?” Her eyes widened with terror. She held her shaking hand to her mouth. “Oh…I can’t believe this.” She cried. “I can’t believe it.” She bent over to stop from throwing up. “I swear, this is one of the worst days of my life. And my Melody. My sweet Melody. She has dealt with all this pain because of you. The man I loved.”

“Sarah,” he sighed. “Just let me hold you.”

“You stay away from me!” She held up a fist. “You stay away from me and from both of us.” She glanced in the mirror. “I can’t even look at myself,” she whispered. “I kissed you. I made love to you. I let you touch me after…” She covered her mouth. “I’m gonna be sick.”

“I love you, Sarah!” He shook her. “I didn’t mean to hurt Melody but she left me no choice!” He held her close. “Stay with me, huh? Just stay with me tonight and…” She grunted in his arms. “Stay with me, please,” he whispered.

“No!” She turned from his kisses. “Stop, Keith!” He pulled her toward the bed. “You gonna rape me, too, huh?” He moved away.

“How can you say something like that? This is all Melody’s fault! You couldn’t handle the situation so I did!”

“Yeah? Well, we’ll see how the police handle the situation, won’t we?” She slapped him. She ran downstairs. He ran after her. He pulled her back. “Let go of me!”

“No, Sarah, no!” He shook her. “You can’t just leave like this. It’s only us in this world, okay. That’s all that matters, remember? We don’t need anyone else! We never did.”

“How could you do that to my sister? How could you do it to anyone?”

“I’d do anything to keep you, Sarah.
Anything
.”

“Let me go, Keith.” He did. She ran out of the house.

“You can’t be serious! You’re going to the police?”

“Oh, you’re damn right I am.” She ran to her car.

“And say what? You have no proof.”

“They have medical evidence on file, Keith.”

“Melody lied.” He shrugged. “And she’ll lie again. She won’t tell.”

“You bastard. You threatened her, didn’t you? My God, she’s too scared to leave the house because of you, isn’t she, Keith?”

He rubbed his face. “Just be with me, Sarah. I can make all of this go away. You always said I could make anything go away!”

“Not this time, Keith.”

“Sarah, you go to the police and you have nothing! They won’t believe Melody because she’s wasted too much time!” She shook her head. “Besides, money talks, Sarah. And I got enough of it to say anything I want. You know I’ll get the best attorney. And with my connections I’ll get off, Sarah.” She figured he probably would. But that wasn’t reason enough for her not to try. “Sarah, think about this. The police will believe me over what you or Melody say. I can get people to believe anything I want.” He squinted.

She wiped tears. “And to think that I once admired that about you the most.” She got in her car.

He stepped off the porch. “You belong with me, Sarah. Nothing I’ve done will ever change that. You’ll come back to me. You know no man will love you the same way I do.”

She started the car. “I hope not.” She sped off.

“Sarah!” Keith ran into the driveway.

“
A
hh!” Melody moved her head from the pillow just in time. The huge knife swung past her face. The blade instantly shattered her pillow. She turned around to see Keith standing by her bed. She couldn’t describe his twisted expression. She would have said angry or mad. But that didn’t even seem to fit. His hair and clothes were neatly in place.

A man like Keith never seemed to unravel in any circumstance. His cool-no-matter-what attitude had always alarmed Melody. She hadn’t seen him since the rape. Right now she wasn’t thinking about that. She thought about the knife in his hand. She wondered why she hadn’t heard from Sarah all night. She had no idea where she’d gone. Keith yanked the knife from the pillow.

He rubbed it against his leg. He dug the point into his skin until tiny drops of blood covered the blade. Melody stared at those icy green eyes. Could he not feel the blade? Could you not feel pain once
insanity
kicked in?

“So are you happy now, Mel?” He sighed. “You happy now?” She slowly moved against her bedroom wall. She held the sides of her floppy T-shirt. The clock barely struck nine. Where the hell had Sarah gone? “I asked you if you were happy now, Melody.” Keith’s voice trembled.

“Keith.” She sobbed without warning. “What…what are you doing?” She kept her eyes on the blade, while quickly cutting her eyes to the door. Keith shut it closed before she could make it out of the room. He stood in front of it.

“Sarah knows.” He sweated. Melody gasped. “I tried to explain to her that this was all your fault. She didn’t believe me. It’s the first time in my life that I had to prove myself. I didn’t enjoy the feeling.”

“Keith…”

“Shut up!” He held the knife toward her. Melody shook against the wall. “This is all your fault, Melody. Your pain, my pain, Sarah’s pain! It’s your fault! I wouldn’t have raped you if you hadn’t insisted on taking Sarah away from me!” he sobbed. “Did you even care about how I felt about her? Did you care I loved her? No, because you’re so damn selfish!” He swung the knife at her.

“Oh!” she shrieked.

“Selfish bitch! You’re not even worth being alive!” He swung the knife at her face.

“Oh God!” she wailed. “Keith! Ahh!” He swung again. She clung to the end table by her bed. “Keith! Please!”

He looked at the knife. “I’ve never loved anyone like I love your sister. There have been others, Melody. But none of them made me feel like Sarah does.” He rubbed the blade. “I don’t like hurting people! But I’ve always been taught that you do what you have to do to stay in control! You…” He wailed. “You gotta stay in control or nothing matters.”

“Keith.” She held out a shaking hand. “Keith, I…look, this has all gone too far. Even after all that’s happened, I’d like to help you.” She stared at the knife. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were in so much pain.”

He acted as if the knife put him in some sort of trance. “You really wanna help me, Mel?” he whispered.

“Yes.” She’d never seen anyone so desperate before. She just wanted to put an end to all of this. She had hated Keith from the beginning. Now she felt sorry for him. Obviously, his actions weren’t really his fault. He was very, very sick. Too sick to realize the things he did. Melody actually felt guilty for how she’d treated him. He needed help. He hadn’t needed her hatred.

“Why would you wanna help me, Melody? You know damn well you hate me.” He chuckled.

“I…I hate the things you do, Keith.” She kept her eyes on the blade. “But I don’t think I hate you. I realize now that it’s not your fault you do the things you do. I mean, you think you need to stay in control or else you feel like you’ll lose everything, right?” He nodded slowly. “I understand that, Keith. I don’t blame you for feeling that way. We all want to keep control and have the happiest life we can.”

“If you understand it now, how come you couldn’t all this time?” He looked at her with fire in his eyes. “Am I supposed to believe you want to help me, now? No, you just want to save your ass. Well, it won’t work, Melody! I came here to kill you! Sarah left me because of you! I’m losing everything! Even Lucas has doubts! You’re not gonna destroy me! I’ve worked too hard!” He swung the knife at her face. Melody screamed. The blade missed her mouth by less than an inch.

“Keith, please!” He chased her out the bedroom. Keith grabbed her on the stairs. She pushed him off before he could stab her.

“Melody!”

“Stop, Keith, please!” She stood against the couch. “Please, don’t do this. You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I do know. I’m gonna eliminate the problem and the problem is you!” He rushed toward her.

“For Sarah?” she shrieked. “You think killing me will bring her back to you?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that I cannot be happy with you in my life one more minute! Ah!” He sliced the knife through the air. Melody ducked. She fell on the floor. She begged for mercy. Keith cornered her against the front door. He stood over her with the knife held high.

“Keith, please!” She cried. “Please don’t do this!” He raised his arm.

“No…no…no!” Melody shielded her face with her hands. Someone knocked on the door. Keith froze. Lucas’s voice rang from outside. “Lucas!” Melody tried to open the door. Keith swung the knife to stop her.

“Don’t you dare open that door,” Keith growled. “I’m gonna finish this, Melody! I gotta finish this because I won’t have any peace with you around me! I have to kill you.”

“Keith, please don’t!” Melody cried.

“I have to kill you,” he whispered. “I got to or I won’t be able to breathe! You haunt everything I do! I can’t get peace of mind with you around! I can’t live like this, Melody!”

Melody didn’t know what shocked her the most. Keith wanting to kill her or that he felt she ruined his life. All this time she had hated him and wanted him gone. She had no idea that Keith felt the same way. She loathed him for being with Sarah. He loathed her for standing in his way. No other revelation could feel so amazing. She stared at Keith’s hard face. They both wanted the same things for different reasons.

They both hated each other. Obviously, Keith hated Melody far more than she could ever hate him. He wanted to kill her. What else was there to think about?

“Melody!” Lucas pounded on the door. “Keith, I know you’re in there! I see your car! Don’t you dare hurt her!”

“Lucas, I…” Keith rubbed his face. “Right now, this is none of your business! I know you think you love her, but you don’t know what she is. She’s evil, man! I don’t want her to drag you down. She’ll try to ruin your life like she ruined mine!”

“You did that all on your own, Keith!” Lucas shouted. Melody whimpered against the door. She tried to stand. Keith’s expression warned her against it. “Keith, what has happened to you, man? Is this because of Sarah?” Lucas twisted the doorknob.

“No, it’s because of Melody!” Keith pounded the door. “Go away, Lucas! I’m doing this for all of us! Don’t you see? We’d all be happy if Melody were dead! She’s like some disease! She just gets into your life and tears things apart until you have nothing!” He shook the knife.

“Keith, please,” Lucas whispered through the door. “I love you, man. We’ve been friends for years! You can’t do this. You want to go to prison for murder? Keith, I love her. Think about Sarah, man! Think of how she’d feel if you killed Melody. Keith, you can’t do this,” Lucas begged. “Please, open the door. You’re not in your right mind. Sarah and I care about you. We’ll get you the help that you need.”

“I don’t need any help, Lucas! Once this is over you’ll see how much better things will be!” He waved the knife. He struck Melody in the shoulder.

“Ahhh! Lucas!” She placed her hand to stop the blood. “Lucas, please help me! He’s gonna kill me!”

“Keith, stop!” Lucas pounded the door.

“I raped her, Lucas! I know she told you! Don’t pretend you care about me after all of this!” Keith bellowed.

“Wh…what?” Lucas fell against the door. “This can’t be true,” he whispered. “This can’t be true, Keith!” Lucas beat the door.

Keith stared at Melody. “It is! And you know what, Luke? I don’t regret it at all!” Keith brought the knife across Melody’s chest. Her T-shirt slightly ripped down the middle. He missed her chest by an inch. He swung again.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Melody screamed. “Lucas! Lucas, he’s gonna kill me!” She shut her eyes. “Lucas, help me, please!” Lucas noticed a cop car coming down the street. He ran off the porch to flag them down.

“Bitch!” Keith pulled her close. He jabbed the knife into her stomach. The sudden pain prevented her from screaming. She held her stomach. Blood covered her hand, yet she didn’t know how deep she’d been cut.

“Oh…” She slipped onto the floor, weak and helpless. She rested her bloody hand beside her face. She hadn’t the strength to fight anymore just like their last meeting. Keith stood beside her. He’d won that night too. She couldn’t gather any strength to fight him now. She never thought of what death would feel like.

She eased her eyes closed. Keith would finish her off. She didn’t know how she’d gotten into this mess. Would this be how she’d die? At the hands of her enemy? Keith claimed he always kept control. He only needed to stab her one more time to prove it.

The front door popped open. “Freeze!” An officer positioned his gun toward Keith. Another one rushed onto the porch. Keith shifted back and forth. He dropped the knife on the floor. The cops rushed to apprehend him. Lucas ran inside.

“Melody!” He snatched her up. Her eyes opened instantly. “Oh shit!” He saw her stomach and shoulder. “That motherfucker!” he cried. “Melody, are you all right?”

“I’m…I’m losing blood, Lucas. It’s getting hard to breathe and I can’t feel…”

“We need an ambulance, please!” he shouted to the officers. One called the ambulance. The other escorted Keith outside. Lucas cradled Melody against his chest. “It’s over now, Melody. Baby, it’s all over now.”

She raised her bloody hand to Lucas’s face. “I love you.” She drifted into unconsciousness.

“Hi, Steve.” Brianna stood at their adjoined desks the next morning. He rubbed the collar of his crisp, dark-green shirt. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. Hadn’t he realized she had no choice? He should have been happy that the nightmare had finally ended. He flipped through some papers. He hadn’t spoken to her a few minutes ago in Jersey’s office, either. She didn’t know why she expected him to be different now.

She scooted on top of his desk. He slightly turned away. She couldn’t help grinning at his effort to ignore her. “Steven, I’m sorry if I hurt you, okay? But I was trying to do what I needed to do. Anyway, when he showed up at my house a month ago, I didn’t know he wasn’t you! Steven, is the way you’re treating me fair? There’s a bigger picture here.”

He stood. “Really?”

She walled her eyes. “You know what? Forget you, Steven.” She moved from the desk. Cunningham and a few other officers gazed from their seats. “I don’t know why I’m apologizing to your ungrateful ass! Look, I put my life on the line for you! I went way beyond the call of duty because you asked me to. I let the man who tried to rape me into my home. Steven, I sat up day and night trying to figure out ways to help you. And this is how you treat me? You should be apologizing to
me
!”

She scoffed. “You just run off for a month and you don’t contact me? You were so selfish that you didn’t care that I was worried!” She sighed. “Then you have the nerve to act shitty with me? If it hadn’t been for me being bait, your ass may still be a suspect!” He looked at her. “Do you realize that?” She stood close to him. “I refuse to let you make me feel guilty…” He pulled her into a mesmerizing kiss. She floated from his arms afterward. She had to shake her head to snap from the trance. She touched her lips.

“Remember this kiss and how it made you feel, Bree.” He rubbed her hair. “I doubt that next time you’ll get confused again.”

“Wow.” Cunningham gaped at Brianna. She nearly fainted. She regained control when she noticed everyone staring.

“You mad that I kissed you?” Steven whispered. Those blue eyes seemed to search every ounce of her thoughts.

“No.” She smiled. “And you’re right. Next time I won’t be confused.”

“So, are you two back together?” Cunningham grinned. They didn’t answer. Parsons walked up. He switched his cigarette back and forth in his mouth.

“Oh yes.” Steven sucked his lip. “Now this is what I’ve been waiting for, Bree.”

She touched his chest to hold him back. “Now, Steve, you just got out of jail. I don’t think killing Parsons would be wise. Even if he is an asshole.” Brianna glared at Parsons.

“Well.” Parsons stood in front of them. “Nice shade of lipstick, Kemp.” Steven wiped Brianna’s lipstick from his mouth. “I was just at the commissioner’s office. They’re all abuzz down there, I tell you. I have a feeling the news stations will be heading your way, Kemp. I just wanted to say…”

“No, I got something to say.”

“Steve.”

“Be quiet, Bree, I’ve been waiting for this.” He cracked his knuckles. “Parsons, I’ve been waiting to say this ever since you wormed your way into my life. You’re the saddest, most pathetic, pitiful…”

“Hold on, okay.” Parsons held up his hand. “I wanted to say I was sorry, Detective.” Steven looked at Brianna. “I know I came down a little rough on you.”