The Roots That Tied to My Feet

Melanie grinned widely as her friends and family all congratulated her. She and Ben had organized a formal dinner to make their announcement and everyone had been smiling and complementing the couple for hours now.

Garrett smiled as he slapped Melanie on the back, “Good luck, Mel. If you ever need me to beat anyone up, I got your back.”

“Stop kissing my butt, I don’t care that you’re dating Haley,” she laughed in response, glancing over to Ben who was talking to Mr. and Mrs. O’Callaghan. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Melanie sauntered across the room and linked hands with her fiancé, smiling at the people who had been her second family her entire life.

John O’Callaghan the fourth smiled at her, “John sends his apologies and congratulations, he had plans for the night already,” he said, in absence of his son.

Melanie smiled, knowing that he probably made plans for that night the second he was invited to the dinner just so he wouldn’t have to see her. “It’s okay. I actually told him the other night and he gave me his…regards then,” Melanie said formally, not an ounce of doubt in her voice.

June O’Callaghan looked at the girl who she had always seen as her daughter and wrapped her in her arms. Melanie felt the woman’s lips near her ear and grinned as she whispered, “You’ll be a fantastic wife. I know it.”

Melanie smiled graciously as she looked into the aging woman’s pale green eyes that matched that of her son. “Thank you, Mama Oh.”

“So, when’s the luck day?” John the fourth asked.

Ben glanced at her before answering, “We were discussing February 9; soon, considering Elaine’s illness,” he said, a look of sympathy in the couple’s eyes.

“Your mother is a trooper, dear,” June said, reaching out and grabbing Melanie’s hand in hers. She agreed with the woman and made some more small conversation before her and Ben excused themselves.

She and Ben made their way around the rest of the room, thanking everyone for being there. Melanie felt arms wrap around her waist from behind and heard a squealing in her ear, “You better get cute bridesmaids dresses!”

Melanie laughed and hugged Charlie in excitement, “No! I want you to look like crap!” She joked.

The girl giggled, “When are we going dress shopping? June said the wedding is in February!? That’s about four months, Melanie!”

“We can go next weekend, yeah? You, Haley, Chelsea, June and my mom can all help,” Melanie smiled.

“Oh my God I’m super excited!” Charlie laughed, and turned her attention to Ben. “I am going to make sure your fiancé here looks sexy as hell. I got you boy, no worries.”

Ben began laughing as he looked at the eager red head, “I trust you.”

Kennedy walked up behind Charlie and gave her a small kiss on her cheek, “This one here is already picking out patterns for you guys.”

Melanie laughed and squeezed Ben’s hand, “That’s what best friends do.”

The group continued talking about wedding arrangements, mainly Charlie discussing all of the plans she already had for Melanie’s ‘special day’ as she kept referring to. Melanie didn’t understand how she had come up with all these ideas within the hour long dinner.

Melanie politely excused herself from the room full of awe and congratulations and walked into the front yard where a thin boy was standing. His long brown hair needed a trim but that’s the way it always seemed to be.

“What you doing out here all alone, Pat?” Melanie asked, going and sitting at the small table that sat outside.

“I could ask you the same,” he smiled. He looked onto her front yard and down the street. “You know, he didn’t really have plans tonight.”

“Who?” Melanie asked absentmindedly.

“John,” Pat said. “He didn’t have any prior plans…he just didn’t want to come.”

She messed with the end of her long brown hair, “Yeah, I figured that much.”

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence, the mention of John ruining the pleasant mood Melanie was in. She didn’t want to deal with him anymore, she couldn’t. She was sick of this. She just wanted him to be happy for her—she was finally happy.

“I always knew you’d be the first one out of all of us to get married,” Pat chuckled.

Melanie laughed, “How did you figure this?”

“The first time I knew you were in love with John I knew you’d be the first one to marry out of our group,” he sighed. “I just thought John would have been the guy you were going to be marrying.”

She looked away from the small boy, “I love Ben, Pat.”

“I know you do; I can tell.”

She nodded her head slowly, welcoming the silence. She watched as Pat stood up in his chair walking back to the front door, but not before turning to her once more, “Don’t forget about him is all I’m asking, Mel. He isn’t doing well…he drinks, a lot, and I just—just remember that you two were best friends for a reason, okay?”

Melanie stared at Pat, wondering when he had gotten so wise. “Where is his new apartment?” She asked, knowing what she needed to do.

_____

The guests had finally all left the Hendricks’s residence by ten o’clock and after she had helped clean up and wished Ben a good night she hopped in her car, driving off to an apartment that was only a few miles away.

She tried to plan out their conversation in her head, the way she would approach him, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know what to say to John anymore.

Melanie raised her arm tentatively and knocked on the apartment’s white door. She shifted her weight from her left foot to her right foot waiting for him to open the door. And when he finally did she was at a loss for words.

His eye had a bruise around it that shined a bright purple with fresh blood pouring out of his left eyebrow. He had a bottle of Vodka in his left hand and a sloppy grin on his face. “Melanie!” He slurred. “What are you doing here, beautiful?”

“John, what the hell happened?” Melanie asked, pushing her way into his apartment, looking at his eye.

“Oh that?” He giggled drunkenly, “That’s nothing! Got into a little fight at the bar; you should see the other guy!”

Melanie shook her head angrily, “Go sit on the couch, John.”

She walked into his kitchen, seizing the bottle of Vodka from in between his fingers easily. She grabbed a towel from his bathroom and heated it with hot water, grabbing a Band-Aid as well. She walked back into John’s living room, finding the boy smiling ridiculously on the couch.

“This may sting a bit,” Melanie said softly as she put the towel to John’s eye cleaning out the wound.

He winced closing his green eyes quickly, moaning a little, “Ouch, Melanie.”

“Don’t get in bar fights then, dear,” she said quietly, cleaning out the cut and placing a penguin band aid over it for him.

John smiled at her, and she leaned away from him slowly, smelling the alcohol on his breath and taking it as a warning to not get too close tonight.

“Do I get a kiss better?” John asked, an intoxicated smirk on his lips.

Melanie sighed and ran her hand through her long brown hair, “You can get a foot in your butt for that. Why are you drinking this much, John?”

He looked at her, and his drunken mind spoke honestly, “I’m sad, and lonely,” he said. He sat there for a moment, shaking his head and she could tell that he was trying to process what was happening. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Melanie began, “About us.”

“There is no us,” John replied.

“I want to be friends again, John. Please, I know I hurt you, but you hurt me too…I just want to be friends. That’s all I’m asking for,” she said. She felt pathetic for begging, but she didn’t care; she wanted her friend John back—and maybe in the process she could save him from his self destructive habits.

John placed his head in his hands and ran his hand through his hair, looking at her with a bittersweet glum in his eyes, “I think that I need that.”

She smiled softly at the boy who was sitting on the couch, sobriety coming to him gradually. John stood up from his spot on the couch and grabbed her hands in his. He opened his arms nervously, unsure of her reaction.

Melanie bit her lip out of habit before wrapping her arms tightly around the boy who was once her world. John squeezed her body against his gently, placing a hand in her hair. She smelled his familiar scent and tried to ignore the wave of commemoration that took over her mind.

Melanie felt John’s body pull away suddenly as his face looked convulsed. “I-I think I’m going to puke,” John said simply before running to the bathroom.

It was going to be a long night.