dedicated to Princely_A_Seun for being the most interactive reader this month. Thank you, man.

***

Melanie had grown impatient and had wandered the mansion, hoping to distract herself from the thoughts and emotions that poked her mind obnoxiously. She understood that the top floor leading to the penthouse was off limit, so she had wandered freely and distractedly through other floors and had gotten lost and found herself in a large balcony. It was picturesque and fancy, overlooking a pool in a garden and providing a wide view of the city, sloping down a hill with other houses and trees. She temporarily felt the compulsion to jump off the balcony and make a big splash on impact with the surface of the pool.

Some of the climbing plants from the prolific garden below had climbed the walls and pillars to peak into the balcony. Snaking around the stony barricades and even the chains of the white bench by the right corner, hanging down from the ceiling by two shiny chains to swing freely underneath. She had sat on it for a minute or more and played, hoping to get the distraction she desperately need but it was not coming. She plugged her earphones into her ears and swiped through her playlist.

Confused emotions flooded her thoughts still. She wondered and couldn't understand why she had been behaving the way she had, the whole day. She was erratic and impulsive, surprising even herself with such actions as suggesting her feelings for Paul to him like she did. It was such actions that got people hurt, it was for such actions and their provocations that she stayed away from the guys for a week to control. She did not like how the boys made her feel – very happy and very hurt at the same time; very safe and very vulnerable at the same time.

That is just Paul.

On second thought, another thought and orientation took over her mind. It was only Paul, or him especially, that had her very confused and very vulnerable most times. Jake didn't. With Jake only came charm and fun and sensitivity to her effeminate instincts. It was weird how he seemed to know how to make her smile and feel good about herself by simply smiling at him. It was amazing how a simple touch from his hands gave tingly sensations.

I'm smiling.

She was smiling and she only realized it and it made her chuckle. It was amazing how even only the thought of Jake and his bottomless bank of exaggerated stories usually made her laugh out loud. It was unusual for her to laugh out that loud and she knew, because each outburst felt very strange to her, even her voice to her ears.

Jake distracted her effectively, from herself, from the toddler that constantly tugged her shirt, from the ghostly voice in her head that drowned out the will to wake up in the morning. Jake distracted her even from Paul and Ashley. On the ride back, she had managed to forget about the incident on top of the hill for most of the time and as soon as he left her alone in the room to go meet his father, the voice had returned and Paul's face and voice – his voice that was grateful to be told that she was joking about her feelings for him – haunted her. Which was why she had to leave the room, which was why either her earphones or a bottle of good wine was never far from her for long – or this time, Jake.

She was startled by Jake who badged into the scene in that same balcony. He didn't see her for he did not look in the corner where she sat on the swinging bench. He didn't bother to look because, obviously, no one else usually was there, and judging from his demeanor and back and forth pace, one could tell that he was lost somewhere in his mind, somewhere deep and dark like a pit.

She was going to say his name, to call his attention, but on sensing Jake's demeanor she grew curious and watched.

Is he crying?

Jake was crying or trying not to, and that part she was sure. His cries where silent and melancholic as he clutched the leafs of the climbing plant on the barricade and just sobbed. Tears pouring from his eyes and Melanie imagined that it had something to do with his father . . . or brother; the mysterious one she knew nothing about, except for his roles in the exaggerated stories Jake told often.

She approached him, quietly with the paws of a night cat. She watched him peering to see his face as bent forward, placing his head on the cold stone of the barricade and sobbed. Melanie was more than sure this time, that he was hurting within and it broke her heart.

"Jake," She called, placing a hand on his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

She had startled him, but that was to be expected. He spun quickly to see her but then lowered his head quickly. He seemed ashamed, it seemed he did not want her to see him so hurt and human and it melted her inside. His eyes were covered with a thin film of tears and he sniffed, his cheeks pink and quaking with fast jerks of the jaw. It was then that Melanie began to speculate how much pain he felt and instinctively, she opened her arms and enveloped him.

It was easier to hug him than it was to hug Paul. Their bodies wrapped perfectly like they were meant to fit, like a key in its key whole.

She plopped her jaw on his shoulder and again, she asked; "What's wrong?"

Jake's body squirmed in hers and she felt his urge to speak and pour out his soul and yet, the conflicting compulsion to swallow it all in and feign strength.

"I promise," she added. "It will just be between the both of us."

"He didn't even give me a second look." Jake finally mumbled, his voice throaty and cracked. He sniffed. "It was like I wasn't even there. In his room and in his head."

"Who? Your dad?"

She felt his head move on her shoulders with a weak nod, before he added. "I get that I'm not like the kind of son he wanted, but like . . ." He swallowed. "I can't be that bad. I can't be so . . . unlikable. Am I?"

Melanie frankly did not understand this feeling he was having and it was weird being in the position to console him for something like this, something she could not relate to. But it made sense, she understood it actually, just didn't feel it. She only knew that these sort of thing is what friendships were meant for and it was her duty to support him emotionally. So after a second of thought she replied.

"On the contrary, I think you're amazing. I think you're the most likable person I've ever met. Asides my brother, of course." She chuckled and stopped abruptly. "Sorry." She added and after moments of awkward silence, she patted his back and wanted to pull away from the hug, to look at his face and talk to him without awkwardness, but on sensing her intentions, his grip around her waist became tighter and wanting. He merged their bodies tighter and it made Melanie feel loved and uncomfortable at the same time.

This is more serious than I thought.

Her hands now on his shoulders, she sighed deeply and continued. "Look, you're the best okay? Don't let anyone make you feel any less. I know that sounds cliché, but . . . it doesn't make it any less true. What does it matter if he doesn't appreciate who you are? He's only one man who you did not choose to have in your life consciously. He is not your whole world. And if you ask me, family is not about the people you share DNA with; family is who loves you and you love them back, and they hold you when you cry and share your burdens with."

"That makes you family." Jake blurted, his voice reverberating into her ears.

Melanie bit her lips. That sounded stronger than she intended to make it, but well...

"That's exactly the point." She replied. "And Paul too and Junior too and my mum too. She is a sucker for friendship and any kind of relationship. She will come around to show you love eventually. We love you and we will always look out for you, no matter what."

Jake did not say anything and Melanie's back was beginning to ache in their position. The cold night breeze was getting to her, biting her finger tips and she began to wonder when they will get around to the topic of her going back home.

"I'm scared." Jake blurted, pulling back Melanie's attention.

She sighed. "scared of what?"

"You!"

The word rang in Melanie's ears, arousing her inquisitive consciousness. "Why?" She asked softly, but in her mind she interrogated him far more aggressively to speak up and speak up quick.

"Paul I know I should not trust with my feelings." He said and continued. "Sometimes he's cool and I swear, I love that boy when he's cool, but I can't believe him to be a true friend I can depend on, so I can't trust him and I won't get hurt."

"Okay?" She said curiously, but mentally nudged him to get to the point.

"Junior and your mum – eventually – I can love, but still won't have enough expectations to get hurt. I have learnt to not expect so much from people. Most just wants my money – my father's money, precisely. So I eventually lose them." He breathed. "You on the other hand; you that is interested in listening my stories and laughing out loud, you that looks at me and seem to really see me and not the Shere's name; you that promise to always love me and look out for me, you that is so beautiful . . . you're the one I'm scared of loving and trusting. You're the one that is truly capable of breaking me to an extent that no embrace and consolation could fix. That's why I was afraid to let myself fall for you. But it's too late now, I guess."

Oh my God!

"What do you mean?" She asked, her heart began to race. She was afraid of what Jake implied and her desire was that she was wrong about the implication. She pulled out from the hug quickly and look at his face. On it was nothing but sincerity and she held her breath involuntarily. "What do you mean it's too late?"

"Don't you see? I already have fallen for you, Melanie Blake."

With mouth ajar, her heart thumped in her chest. Something must have been sucking the oxygen in the air, for she took in air to her nose, but she did not quite breathe. She felt vertigo, and before she knew it she was pacing away from Jake.

"What does that mean?" She asked but was not really listening for an answer.

"I'm so sorry." She heard Jake say last and she disappeared quickly from the scene.

Author's Note:
Another short update?

I apologize for my lack of consistency in updates. It is due to predicaments that are far beyond my control.  Please enjoy this short update.  It is actually a completion of the last one.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your patience.