The Ultimate Betrayal (12 page)

N
o matter what explanation Alicia had tried to come up with, Melanie knew something was wrong. Alicia had sounded sort of squirrely, and she'd paused for a couple of seconds before answering Melanie's question. Most people who lied didn't realize they were doing that. But as of yesterday, Melanie had begun doing a bit of pausing and lying herself to her ER doctor, so she knew firsthand how a person acted when they weren't telling the truth.

Melanie heard Brad shutting off the water in the shower, so she knew once he shaved he'd be getting dressed pretty quickly. She still had on her robe, but it wouldn't take her long at all to slip on the pair of jeans and sweatshirt she'd already laid out. The temperature was going to be in the eighties today, but the air-​c
onditioning
at the hospital last night had been pretty cold, and she wanted to be prepared for it. There was no doubt that her mother would think she should have worn something more presentable, but Melanie was planning to stay for a few hours and wanted to be comfortable.

She looked at the clock. Since it was still too early to call her office to let them know she wouldn't be in today, she took a deep breath and called her mother. She wasn't looking forward to speaking to her, but Gladys was still her mother and it was only right that she check on her.

Gladys answered on the first ring. “So when exactly are you going to get back over here?”

“When Brad gets dressed, he'll be dropping me off.”

“Well, it's good to know that you're in no real hurry.”

“Mom, I really needed to get some rest, and I do feel a lot better.”

“Yeah, but it's like I told you last night, if you ate right every single day and not just when you want, you wouldn't gain any weight, period. You also wouldn't have to resort to some crazy crash diet. All that up-and-down stuff is just plain silly. Especially when I've taught you so much better than that.”

“I do eat right, and I work out, too. But I'm not you, Mom.”

“Isn't that the truth, because if you were me you'd be using a lot more common sense.”

Melanie squinted her eyes. “Why are you always so mean to me?”

“Look, what time are you going to be here? It's bad enough that you left in the first place. Your dad's doctor came and talked to me and Freda about an hour ago, but you're the nurse practitioner. You're the one who understands all that medical lingo. But noooo, you were more worried about going home and getting in bed.”

“Mom, I'll see you in a little while, okay?”

“Whatever, Melanie. Come or don't come. Good-bye.”

Melanie opened her mouth to respond, but Gladys had already hung up. Her mother had always been unloving and disapproving, but now she was being downright cruel. She seemed mad at the world. Although, maybe this was the only way she knew how to deal with her husband's illness and the fact that he wasn't doing so well. Melanie was afraid, too, but instead of being angry she was trying her best to remain prayerful and positive. She also didn't understand why her mother was being so unsympathetic about her collapsing at the hospital or about her struggle with her weight. It was as if her mother didn't love her, and that she spent most of her days looking for reasons to criticize and hurt Melanie. It was senseless, and while Melanie had become as immune to her mother's comments as she could, she wondered why Gladys had always been so tough on her. She wondered why her mother had never loved and nurtured her only child. Maybe it was because Gladys had grown up in foster care and had never met her own parents. There were times when Melanie had wanted to do a background check on her mom and search for her biological grandparents, but her mother had made it clear that she never wanted to lay eyes on the “lowlifes” who obviously hadn't cared enough about her to raise her.

Brad walked into the room with a large bath towel wrapped around him and sat on the bed next to Melanie. He hugged her, and Melanie wondered if this was his subtle way of saying he was sorry for squealing on her to the doctor.

But how wrong she was.

Brad wrapped his arm around Melanie's waist. “Baby, I know you won't want to hear this, but you need help.”

She scooted away from him. “For what?”

“Your eating disorder.”

Melanie laughed out loud. “You must be kidding.”

“I'm very serious. You have a problem, and I would be less than a husband to sit back and watch you starve yourself. Which is exactly what you're doing.”

“Where is all this coming from?”

“You have to ask? You're not eating. You fainted in the ER last night. You were dehydrated, and I found these inside the vanity,” he said, pulling her box of diuretics from inside his towel.

“What were you doing in my drawer?”

“The same reason you were in mine the other day. I wanna know what's going on.”

“And you think losing ten thousand dollars—no, wait, make that twenty thousand dollars—is the same thing as me taking a couple of pills?”

“I'm not saying it's the same thing. I know what I did was wrong, and I've owned up to it. But you're in denial.”

Melanie got up and stormed down the hallway. “I don't even wanna talk to you anymore.”

She slammed the bathroom door and let her robe drop to the floor. For the first time in years, she hadn't gotten on the scale as soon as she'd gotten up, and it was all because she'd been afraid to see how much weight she'd gained from the IV. So, this morning, she'd gone to the bathroom and come back out to call to check on her father. But now, Brad had made her so furious, she needed to know how much damage had been done so she could take care of it.

She stepped on the scale and wanted to cry. She was up five pounds. Five whole disgusting pounds, the four she'd lost this week plus a new one. She'd known this was going to happen, but somehow seeing it with her own eyes made it too real to deal with.

She looked at her body in the mirror that spanned the double-sink vanity and shook her head. What a disaster. Here she'd stopped eating solid food so she could lose more weight and do it quicker, yet she'd ended up dehydrated and had been pumped with fluids. As she gathered her thoughts and composure, however, she realized all she needed to do was take two diuretics and drink her three shakes. She would do this today and tomorrow, and at the very least, she'd be down those five pounds by the time she got up on Sunday or Monday. She'd been worried about what she would eat on Father's Day, but sadly, dinner was no longer happening.

She would also take the potassium pills Dr. Romalati had prescribed for her, so she wouldn't have to worry about that, either. Her father would get well, she would lose the weight, she and Brad would settle their differences, and life would return to normal. There was, of course, this awkward tension between her and Alicia, but she knew that would work out, too.

In a few weeks, her problems and emotional concerns would be a distant memory. It would feel as though none of it had happened.

A
licia scanned through a few SiriusXM channels until she found Kirk Franklin's Praise. She'd been driving for nearly an hour, heading back to Covington Park, and she needed to hear something inspirational. Something that would help her stop thinking about Levi and do the right thing. She couldn't, shouldn't, and wouldn't see him today. Instead, she would drive straight home and get back to work.

She switched lanes and saw that her father was calling.

“Hey, Daddy.”

“Hi, baby girl. What's going on?”

“Just on my way home.”

“Have you spoken to Melanie? How's Brother Johnson?”

“I talked to her a couple of hours ago, but there's still no change.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. I said another prayer for him this morning, and I'll continue to do so throughout the day.”

“It was really nice of you and Charlotte to stay so late last night.”

“Of course. Brother Johnson is a wonderful member, but he's also your best friend's father.”

“This is really hard on Melanie. She's not saying much, but I can tell she's worried out of her mind.”

“I'm sure she is, and that's totally understandable.”

“I wish I could be there with her today, but I really have to get my manuscript read.”

“How are you in general, though?” Curtis asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I'm good,” Alicia said, but she wasn't sure she liked where their conversation was going. She knew her father well, and his tone sounded suspicious.

“I hope that's true, because you seemed a little preoccupied at Bible study this week. Then last night at the hospital you weren't much different.”

Alicia bit her bottom lip. “I'm fine, Daddy. Really.”

“Baby girl, I've seen you like this before, and since I've never been one to mince words, I'm just going to say it. The last time you acted this way was when you were having that affair with Levi. And don't tell me he's still in prison, because I saw D.C. on Monday, and he said Levi was released last Friday.”

Alicia had known her father would eventually find out, either from D.C., a man her father knew well and who was also good friends with Levi, or from someone else. It was just that she'd been hoping he wouldn't learn about Levi's release so soon.

“Daddy, I can't believe you would think something like that.”

“Look, you're a grown woman, and I can't control what you do. But I won't condone it, either.”

“You're worrying for nothing, Daddy.”

“Really? So Levi hasn't tried to contact you? Not in the whole week he's been home?”

Alicia hated having these kinds of conversations with her father, because she didn't want to keep lying to him.

“Daddy, it's like I said. You're worrying for nothing.”

“Why won't you answer the question?”

“Because it's silly.”

“What's silly about it? You were in love with that man, and now he's out. Not to mention, you're acting like something's troubling you.”

“All that matters is that I love Phillip, and we're going to be married.”

“You're clearly not going to tell me the truth, so I'll just say this. The last time you messed around with Levi, things turned out horribly for you. Have you forgotten that you were arrested like a criminal? Have you forgotten how heartbroken Phillip was? How badly you hurt him?”

“Of course not, and I would never do that to him again.”

“I hope not, because even the kindest of people can only take so much. Sometimes people will react in ways you never thought possible. It's called temporary insanity.”

Alicia shook her head. Her father was so dramatic, and he would say just about anything to get his point across.

“I'm not doing anything wrong,” she said. “Everything's fine.”

Curtis paused a few seconds, and she knew he didn't believe her. “I just don't wanna see you ruin things for you and Phillip, so if you don't love him you need to tell him.”

“Daddy, please. I
do
love him. You know that.”

Curtis sighed. “I'm going to let you focus on the highway, but I hope you hear what I'm saying. Oh, and just so you know, it was after I saw D.C. that I decided what Bible study would be about on Wednesday night. I know from personal experience that temptation is nothing to play with, and that the devil really does have more tricks than you can imagine. I did a lot of wrong in the past, and a ton of people were hurt in the process. So, baby girl, I'm begging you not to go down that road. Leave well enough alone while you still have a chance. Stay away from that man, and be prayerful.”

Alicia had wondered about her father's chosen topic, and her suspicions had been correct.

Curtis continued. “This is the kind of thing you have to pray your way out of, which is the reason I made sure to focus on Matthew twenty-six, forty-one. You can love Phillip and tell yourself you don't want to be with Levi, but because the flesh is weak, you won't be able to control yourself. Temptation will consume you, and it'll have you doing all kinds of terrible things you shouldn't.”

“Everything is fine, Daddy. I mean that.”

“I'm going to keep you in my prayers.”

Alicia heard her phone beeping and saw a blocked number display across the screen on her dashboard. Her stomach stirred with angst, as there was no doubt it was Levi. She wouldn't dare tell her father she had to hang up because of another call, but thankfully, he told her he had a meeting to get to.

“You take care of yourself,” he said.

“I will, and I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too.”

Alicia pressed the Accept button on the screen. “Hello?”

“Finally,” Levi said. “Why didn't you call me back?”

“I was at the hospital pretty late, and I spent the night in Mitchell.”

“What about now?”

“I'm headed home.”

“Are you stopping by here first?”

“No. I have a lot of work to do, and there's something else you should know, too. My father knows you're out, and he thinks we've been seeing each other.”

“We have.”

“That's not funny, Levi.”

“And I'm not laughing. I'm just being real, and anyway, who told him I was home? D.C.?”

“Yep.”

“Well, it's not like D.C. knows anything, because I would never tell him about us.”

“I know you wouldn't, but my dad still knows. I could tell by the way he was talking.”

“Why don't you just tell your dad the truth and get it out of the way? I've always had the utmost respect for him, especially after he decided the church could no longer accept my financial contributions because of where it came from. That's when I knew he was working really hard to do the right thing. He never treated me like a drug dealer, though, and now that I've changed for the better, I think he would be proud.”

“My dad will never be okay with you and me being together. He loves Phillip like a son, and he blames both of us for hurting him.”

“It might take some time, but once your dad sees how happy we are, he'll be fine.”

“No, he won't. He'll never hate you, because he doesn't hate anyone, but he will
never
give us his blessing.”

“Let's just say he doesn't. To me that shouldn't mean a thing, because this is about us. Our happiness is the only thing that should matter.”

“I wish it were that easy, but it's not. This is so much more complicated.”

“It doesn't have to be.”

Alicia's phone beeped again, and this time it was Phillip. “Hey, I have to go.”

“Why?”

“I have another call.”

“Who is it?”

“I have to go. I'll talk to you later,” she said, pressing the button and answering her other line. “Hey.”

“Hey, baby. You almost home?”

“Yep, not far to go at all.”

“Good. I just wanted to make sure you got there safely. I miss you already, and I'm glad you stayed.”

“I am, too.”

“Did you pick up something to eat?”

“No, I'm just gonna fix a salad and get to work.”

“Well, happy reading, and I'll see you this afternoon. I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too. Have a good day.”

Alicia turned into her subdivision, pressed the garage door opener, and drove inside. She turned the car off and leaned her head against the headrest. Her emotions were in an uproar, and she couldn't stop thinking about her father's words. She also knew he'd been right about everything he'd said, so she got out of her vehicle, went into her condo, and dropped down on her knees in front of the sofa. She locked her hands together and closed her eyes.

“Dear Lord, I come before You, begging you to forgive me for all my sins. Lord, I know I have been wrong when it comes to all the things I've done with Levi, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm in love with him, and I'm to the point where I think about him all the time. But I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to feel that way, and I don't want to sleep with him or see him ever again. So I'm asking You, Lord, to please remove all carnal feelings I have for him. I'm asking You to let me not just love Phillip but be
in
love with him. Lord, I also ask that You would please encourage Levi to move on so he can find someone else to love more than he loves me. Someone he can spend the rest of his life with. That way, I can marry Phillip the way I'm supposed to, and I won't have to worry about Levi trying to contact me. I ask You, Lord, for these and all other blessings in Your Son Jesus's name, Amen.”

Alicia opened her eyes. Tears streamed down her face, but she knew she'd made the right decision. Not only for herself but for Phillip and everyone who cared about them. The two of them would get married, and God would take care of the rest. He just had to…and Alicia trusted and believed He would.