The Beginning of the End, Part 30

My head was buzzing with the cocaine high as I tried to formulate words to speak to Melanie. Bobby and Kevin were sitting on the other side of the room, oblivious to anything except the rocks they were cooking. Melanie sat cross-legged on the floor by the door, zoning out and playing with her hair. Finally, I swallowed, squeezed my eyes tightly shut and then opened them again. I lowered myself off the bed and onto the floor across from Melanie, and she gave a start as she seemingly saw me for the first time.

“Gosh, you scared me!” she said with an uncertain smile.

“Sorry,” I replied, trying to appear friendly. I looked down at the worn motel carpeting and tried to figure out what I wanted to say to her. Actually, I knew what I wanted to say, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be well-received. I decided my best strategy would be to befriend this “lost girl,” and then try to save her.

“So you ran away, huh? From Chicago?” I asked nonchalantly.

She gave a laugh. “No! I grew up just outside of Reno. I met Bobby at the park one day, and we just hit it off. I thought he was really, you know, different.”

I looked over at Bobby with his baseball cap and orange streaked hair. He’s different, all right, I thought.

“Anyway, I started sneaking out to meet him every night, then one day my dad caught me. We had a huge fight, and he grounded me.” Her expression darkened. “He had no right to ground me. I mean, I’m sixteen! I’m not a kid anymore. So I left in the middle of the night and hid in the park. The next day I walked around most of the day, then went back to the park and found Bobby.”

Melanie smiled and looked over at him. “He’s everything to me. He brought me to his room, and we went and got me some new clothes and everything. You know, since I left my house so fast. He promised he’s going to take care of me.”

She looked so confident, and it made me want to cry. I wasn’t sure what Bobby’s story really was, but I knew that Melanie didn’t belong with him. Her father obviously loved her, or he wouldn’t have bothered to follow her or ground her. I thought of my own parents, and their concern over my move to Reno.

But I’m different, I thought. I mean, Melanie is only sixteen! I’m twenty three, an adult. And I can handle this lifestyle, she can’t. And Kevin is a good person – but Bobby…

Bobby suddenly appeared at Melanie’s side and put an arm around her protectively. She snuggled closer to him, and he kissed her cheek, then looked at me suspiciously.

“So what’re you two jawin’ about over here?” he asked.

“Oh, I was just telling Dasi how we met,” Melanie gushed. “And how happy I am,” she added quickly.

Bobby’s steely gaze was making me uncomfortable.

“Is that right?” Bobby drawled. “You two seem to be getting kinda cozy.”

I laughed. “Actually, it’s nice to have another girl around to talk to,” I said pointedly.

He continued to stare at me and it was giving me the creeps. There was just something about him that I didn’t trust – but I didn’t want him to know I felt that way. I tried to hide my fear.

“So, Melanie tells me you two have been together for a while now,” I said casually.

“Just about a month,” she offered. “Actually, I’ve only been living here for a little over a week, though.”

I nodded and smiled. And I wondered how long it would take for the cops to knock on our door looking for this teenage runaway.

Suddenly, Bobby jumped up and pulled Melanie up with him. “We’d better get back,” he suggested. “Leave Dasi and Kevin alone for a while.”

Kevin walked over. “Hey, you don’t have to leave on our account. There’s still plenty of partying left to do, and we enjoy the company.”

I almost laughed, but I managed to just grin idiotically. “Oh, yeah, we always enjoy the company,” I parroted.

Bobby held up a baggie. “We got our own supply. We’ll hook up again soon, dude.” Then he looked at me pointedly. “Nice to meetcha.”

My grin was still frozen on my face. I nodded in response.

“I hope we get to talk more next time,” Melanie commented wistfully.

This made my smile soften. “We will,” I promised.

I watched Kevin shut the door behind them. I hoped I would be able to keep my promise to Melanie.

“Ready for another?” Kevin asked.

“Sure,” I replied distractedly, still looking at the door Bobby and Melanie had just walked through. “Hey, Kev?” I called, turning around.

He looked up from the pile of rocks he was sorting. “Yeah?”

“What do you think of them?”

He snorted. “What do you mean, ‘what do I think of them?’ I like them. They’re cool.”

“But Melanie’s only sixteen. And she’s a runaway.”

Kevin froze and looked up at me. “Really?” he asked, stunned. “She looks older.”

“Not when you look in her eyes, she doesn’t,” I murmured. “She doesn’t belong here, Kev. And she definitely doesn’t belong with Bobby.” I shuddered. “He gives me the creeps. What’s his story?”

“I think he did something in Chicago. Not sure what. Actually, I’m not even sure if ‘Bobby’ is his real name.”

“What?” I asked, stunned.

“Oh, relax,” Kevin scoffed. “He’s harmless. And he really does care about Melanie, even if she is only sixteen.”

I remained silent.

“Just stop worrying about it. They’re fine.”

“What if her parents, or the cops, come here looking for her?” I asked.

Kevin sighed. “They won’t. Besides, we’re not even involved. If anything, they would go to their room, not ours.” He handed me the pipe. “Just have a hit and relax.”

A paradox if I ever heard one.

I tried to put Bobby and Melanie out of my mind for the time being as I took a long pull on the pipe. I handed it back to Kevin as I exhaled.

“I need to call work tomorrow,” I said, somewhat under my breath. “And Nancy. To see what’s been going on.”

Kevin coughed out a plume of smoke. “What?” he choked.

“Nothing, I was talking to myself,” I muttered.

I closed my eyes and fell back on the bed and let the high take over. For now, I would stop worrying about Bobby and Melanie. Because I had a feeling tomorrow’s phone calls would bring on some brand new things to worry about.