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My hand nervously gripped onto the strap of my duffel bag while I eyed the door in front of me. Lifting a hand up, I hesitated for just a second before knocking.

I waited and I waited until I heard the sound of a familiar voice speak up from behind the door. "Who is it?!"

It was quiet for a moment and I figured she was peeking into the peephole to take a look. It didn't take long before the door flung open to reveal Melissa standing with a confused expression on her face.

"I wasn't expecting you over.." her words soon died on her tongue once she took in my puffy gaze and sheepish smile. Her eyes flickered to the duffle bag I had over my shoulder before she met my stare again. "Spill everything."

Before I knew it, I was seated in Melissa's apartment with a cup of tea in hand, ready to tell Melissa everything that had occurred in the past hour and a half.

She listened to me without interrupting once, instead choosing to take hold of my free hand which she squeezed reassuringly when my voice trembled and my fears resurfaced.

"I don't know what to do?!" I huffed, leaning back into the couch after I finished explaining my situation. "I mean I can't run away, I can barely even hide. I don't even feel safe in my own apartment anymore—" I shook my head.

Melissa pursed her lips together, flashing me a sympathetic smile while still holding onto my free hand reassuringly. "You have to tell Damien, or even Roberto or one of their men." She spoke up. "That's the only way to guarantee your safety since you can't flee."

"The thought has crossed my mind but what good would it really do?! I mean, they already know that the police have been harassing me and they even had men watch over my apartment but those cops still got to me?! I don't feel protected, I don't feel safe.." I sighed. "Telling Damien would do me no good right now. It's not like he can take care of the cops like he does other people—" my words quickly died on my tongue.

"What do you mean by that?" Melissa's eyebrows furrowed as she put two and two together.

"You know what I mean. What he does for a living is pretty self-explanatory." I tried to brush it off but Melissa had already caught on.

"No, no, that's not it. You said it like you know something and that's probably why those police officers are chasing you around town. That's the reason." She stated. "You know you can tell me?"

"It's nothing Melli-"

My hand suddenly felt cold once Melissa reeled hers away from mine. "Mina." She deadpanned, keen on getting the truth out of me but I was reluctant.

"Melissa, it's nothing."

"It's nothing?!" She parroted in disbelief. She rose to her feet now, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked down at me before she threw her hands up expressively. "If it was nothing like you say it is, you wouldn't be here with a duffel bag packed to stay the night. This is far from nothing and I know you know something. Why can't you just open up to me?! I'm here to listen, Mina?!" She huffed, moving to now stand in front of me where she later squatted down to my height.

"I can't." My words were a feeble whisper.

"You can't or you won't?!"

"If I could tell you, I would've told you the second it happened." I sighed. "This isn't easy for me, Melissa!"

"The second what happened, hmm?!" She questioned, rising back up to her feet. "It sounds like you saw something you weren't supposed to see."

"Melissa, can you stop? Just stop, I can't tell you?! I just can't. Believe me when I say I wanted to—I wanted to tell you and Cori but I was scared, hell I still am, if not more scared now than I was before."

𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀Where stories live. Discover now