“While you were sleeping, you got a delivery. Hold on; I’ll get it.” The nurse disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a pink envelope in her hand.
“What? Who dropped that off?” I ignored every bit of the pain and sat up in bed.
“I’m not sure…” She walked over and put it in my hand. “There was a knock at the front door, but by the time I got downstairs, they were gone…”
The nurse left to fix me something to eat, and I stared at the envelope. I was sick of the messages—sick of the riddles—sick of the fucking games. As soon as I was better, I was going to figure out who the hell was behind it. It was one thing to fuck with me, but they sent a message to Melanie. That changed everything. It meant they knew we were together—and that meant they had likely been following me at some point. They might not have had confirmation but knew enough to figure it out. I let out a grunt and ripped the envelope open. The letter inside was different from the others—it had a scent—a perfume that was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
‘Fragile hearts always break. Get well soon…’
I was too riddled with pain and out of it to focus on the message. The nurse returned with a sandwich, a glass of milk, and my next dose of medication. I tossed the pink envelope and the letter into the nightstand next to my bed while she set the tray up so I could eat. The nurse left as soon as everything was in place, and I was just abo
ut to fight off the pain to retrieve my cell phone when I heard Melanie’s voice downstairs. I was sore as hell, but I still smiled when I heard her footsteps on the stairs, and my smile got bigger when she appeared at the doorway of my bedroom.
“Is everything okay?” I looked up at her. “You had a meeting?”
“Yeah, it was nothing. I took care of it.” She walked into the room and sat down next to me on the bed. “You need to take your medicine so you can get some rest.”
“I’ve been in bed all day.” I shook my head and groaned.
“You’re the one that checked yourself out of the hospital.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Being in my own bed is a lot better than the hospital…” I grunted. “Do you want the other half of this sandwich? I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“Yeah, I am a little hungry.” She nodded.
“I’m going with you tomorrow—just so you know.” I looked over at her as she picked up the sandwich.
“What?” She blinked in surprise. “No! You don’t need to be traveling right now!”
“Do you think I’m really going to let you walk into that courtroom by yourself?” I growled under my breath.
“My mom will be there…” She looked down for a moment. “You really don’t need to come with me.”
“Don’t fight me on this.” I reached over and took her hand. “This is too important.”
“Okay.” She nodded and laid her head on my shoulder. “Thank you…”
After getting that message, I’m sure as hell not letting you go to the city without me. Whoever is behind this Carnation Club nonsense knows who you are, and I don’t know if they’re dangerous or just fucking with me—I’m not taking any chances.
Melanie stayed with me for a little while, but I understood why she couldn’t spend the night. She didn’t want me to be there by myself, and the nurse wasn’t able to stay over night, so I agreed to let her call someone. An hour later, Taylor’s younger sister showed up at Alcott Manor with an overnight bag. Melanie got her settled in one of the bedrooms near mine, and she promised that she would take care of anything I needed—or call Melanie if I tried something stupid. I finally agreed to take my medicine and go back to bed, but I did it begrudgingly. The trip to the city was going to be hard, but I had to be there for her—no matter what happened.
* * *
The next morning
I was feeling a little better when I woke up the next morning. I still hurt, but I didn’t feel like I needed to be confined to a bed. Anna helped me pick out my clothes, and I was able to get ready on my own after a shower. I was a lot weaker than normal, but that was to be expected. A car had been arranged for us, but right before it arrived, I found out that Charley and Melanie’s mom would not be riding with us. It was probably for the best. I preferred to meet Charley under different circumstances, and I wasn’t sure exactly what Melanie had told her mom about us. I offered to go on my own so that Melanie could ride with her family, but she seemed to be too worried about me—I was the last person she needed to worry about.
“Thanks for staying with me last night.” I grimaced as I walked into the kitchen and picked up the cup of coffee that Anna had fixed for me.
“No problem.” Anna looked up at me and smiled. “I’ve never stayed in a house this big—it was kind of fun to see how the privileged live.”
“A big house doesn’t make you privileged.” I shook my head back and forth. “Neither does money…”
“My mom works a dead-end job and struggles to pay the bills every month,” she sighed. “I don’t think you understand how tough that is.”
“Maybe I don’t…” I shrugged.
I feel like I don’t know a lot of things these days…