Marlena Evans-Black rushed around her office trying to gather all her things to leave. The janitors locked up the main entrance doors early and if she wasn’t out of there in time, she’d be using the back ally doors, which didn’t really appeal to her much. She stopped her mad dashes around the office and focused her eyes on her favorite picture. It was taken on Christmas Eve. She studied the faces of her most favorite people in the world. John and their 4-year-old daughter, Melissa.
The picture showed Melissa leaning over John and giving him a kiss on his cheek. John had a huge smile on his face as he looked at the camera. She was suddenly broken out of her trance when the phone rang. Wondering who would trying to be getting a hold of her so late at the office, she sauntered over to the phone and answered, “Dr. Evan’s”
“Do you always answer the phone that way?” Her daughter’s voice asked with a giggle.
Marlena decided to tease her young daughter, “Who’s this?”
Melissa smiled and rolled her eyes. “As if you don’t know. It’s Melissa silly.” She informed her.
“Oh, well, please forgive me, Melissa. I wasn’t aware my beautiful daughter was still up at this late hour. Who’s fault is that?”, Marlena asked, laughing.
“I talked Daddy into letting me stay up until you got home. So far I’ve beaten him at Candy Land 4 times, but I think it’s almost his bedtime now.” She said with a smile.
Marlena laughed and asked, “Is that so? Well, you can tell Daddy that I will be home in half an hour, okay? But I have to go because the janitors will lock me in the hospital if I don’t leave now.”
“Okay. I love you Mommy.” She told Marlena before hanging up the phone.
“Love you too sweetie. See you soon”, Marlena replied.
Melissa hung up the phone and went back over to John who was trying his best to stay awake. “Mommy said that she will be home in about half an hour.” She informed her father.
John tried to convince his daughter to go to bed. “Okay, well, now that we know when Mommy will be home, how about you go ahead and go to bed. You look tired, honey.” He reached out a hand to caress her soft cheek as she got up on the couch beside him and snuggled up to his side.
“But, I’m not tired yet.” Melissa said with a small yawn. “And I promised Mommy I’d be awake when she got home.”
“I’m sure Mommy wouldn’t mind if you went to sleep. Mommy’s probably really tired herself. Come on, how about I go tuck you in. I’ll even read you a story if you want?” John jumped off the couch and held out his hand for Melissa to take.
Melissa took his hand and they started upstairs to her room. “I’ll only go to sleep if you read me my favorite story.” She told him.
“Okay, its a deal”, John smiled. When they reached the top of the stairs, John looked down at his 4-year old beauty. He nudged her arm and said, “Race ya!” They both tore off down the hallway, John letting Melissa win. She ran into her room and jumped on her bed, yelling, “I win!”
“You always manage that somehow don’t you?” John said with a laugh as he curled up beside her on the bed. Melissa handed him her favorite bedtime story book and John started to read it. “Once Upon A Time….”
Marlena walked out the main entrance doors and hit the unlock button on her Black Mercedes. She heard the beep sound and walked towards it. She threw her stuff in the back, then climbed into the driver’s seat.
What she didn’t know was that someone was watching her from the behind the corner of the wall of the hospital with an evil grin twisted on their face.
When she tried to start the car a loud sound came from the engine. She tried a few more times, but gave up when she saw smoke coming from the hood. She wondered what could be smoking and popped the hood. Her eyes started to burn when she lifted the hood all the way up. Huge clouds of hot smoke engulfed the engine.
When she finally got everything settled down she got her cell phone out of her purse and home.
John had fallen asleep with Melissa curled against him. When he heard the phone ring, he managed to move Melissa off of him without her waking up and got to the phone in time. With a gruff, still sleepy voice he answered, “Hello?”
Marlena smiled. “Honey, I’m sorry to wake you up, but I need you to come get me at the hospital. For some reason something happened to my car.”
His eyes shot open and he wanted to ask her a million questions. “Did it break down? What happened? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know exactly what happened. You’ll probably be able to tell when you get here. But, don’t worry. I’m fine.” Marlena informed her husband.
“Ok. Well, just stay put. I’m going to go get Melissa and we’ll be there as soon as possible”. His protective side came out and he said, “Doc, stay in the car, okay? Never know what kind of lunatics are out there at this time of night.”
Marlena smiled at his concern. “Yes, sir. But believe me, I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself until you get here. I love you.” She said.
“I love you too. I’ll be there soon”, John said. He waited til she hung up and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He went into their bedroom and put on sneakers and a sweatshirt. Then, he walked into Melissa’s room and gently gathered up her tiny body, making sure he didn’t jostle her awake.
He gently carried her out to the car and laid her down in the back seat. He hen got in himself and started as quickly as he could to the hospital.
John and Melissa arrived at the hospital shortly after. John saw her leaning up against the car and smiled in relief when he saw she was okay. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he didn’t think this was routine car trouble. Making sure Melissa was okay, he got out of his Grand Cherokee and headed towards her. “You okay?”, he asked.
“I’m fine.” She said with a small smile. “Where is Melissa?” She asked concerned.
John nodded his head towards the Jeep. “Asleep in the car. He turned his attention back to her car, only a little bit of smoke seeping out from the hood now. He popped the hood and pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. As he was trying to find what was wrong with her car, Marlena went to check on Melissa.
When Marlena got to the car Melissa was starting to wake up. “Mommy?” She asked sleepily as she reached for Marlena to pick her up.
“Yes, baby”, Marlena cooed, holding Melissa. She stood there for a few moments rocking back and forth, whispering in her daughter’s ear to go back to sleep. Marlena looked at John when she heard the hood slam shut.
“I think I have it fixed as best as I can.” John told Marlena. She sat Melissa down in the car and walked over to her Mercedes. Neither of the 2 noticed Melissa running off over towards where the stalker was watching.
“My husband, the hero”, she gloated, a smile plastered on her face. “Am I going to be able to drive it back home?”
“Try it out and see what you think.” John told her.
She was about to get in her car and try the engine when she noticed Melissa was no where in sight. “John?”, she asked, worry etching into her voice. “Where’s Melissa?”
“She’s in the ca–” He turned to look and saw she wasn’t there. “Melissa?” He called.
“Oh my God”, Marlena panicked, running towards John’s Jeep. She looked all around, yelling, “Melissa!”
All of he sudden Melissa felt something or someone try to grab her. She ran away as fast as her tiny legs would carry her. “Mommy! Daddy!” She screamed as loud as she could.
Marlena grabbed Melissa and hugged her, “Oh, Melissa, where were you? What’s wrong, sweet girl?”
Tears were streaming down Melissa’s face, but no words would come out of her mouth. She jus hugged Marlena as tightly as she could.
“Did something scare you baby?”, Marlena asked again.
All Melissa managed to do this time was slightly shake her head as if to say ‘no’.
John wasn’t convinced and started to head over to where Melissa came running from. Marlena said, “John, no, please. Let’s just go home, okay?” When he felt a tug on his shirtsleeve, he looked down and saw Melissa’s hand, pulling on him. “Daddy, I wanna go home”, Melissa pleaded.
“Alright, Sweetie.” John gave in. They all piled in the two cars and headed for home. Melissa stared silently out the window the whole way home.
As soon as they got home Melissa ran straight upstairs to her room without saying a word to anyone.
“What do you think is going on with her? She hasn’t said a word all the way home. Usually we can’t get her to be quiet”, John said, giving Marlena a look.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Marlena said as she headed upstairs.
“Want me to come with you?” John started to follow her up the stairs.
“I think that would be a good idea.” Marlena smiled to him.
He grabbed her hand and together they decended the hall to their daughter’s bedroom.
Inside her bedroom Melissa was laying under her covers silently crying. She tried to force herself to go to sleep, but she just couldn’t.
“Hey, you know if you actually stay under those covers long enough you might turn into a dust bunny”, John said, trying to joke with her. He went over to her bed and removed the covers from her face, wiping away her tears. Noticing she wasn’t laughing at his joke like she usually did, he asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Nothing.” Melissa lied quietly as she turned away.
“Hey there, you don’t think you can lie to your dear old dad, now do you? Come on, Melissa, Mommy and I want to help you. We love you. That’s what we’re here for. To help you and love you no matter what”. He looked towards the doorway, silently asking Marlena for help.
“Daddy’s right, Sweetie. Please tell us what’s wrong, so we can make it better.” Marlena said softly as she gently sat down beside John on Melissa’s bed.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Melissa said flatly.
John looked to Marlena and when he saw she was about to speak, he held his hand out to stop her from doing so. Then he turned back to Melissa and said, “Okay, baby. We love you. And I just want you to know you can tell us anything, okay?” When she didn’t respond, he stood up and leaned over Melissa, kissing her on the forhead. He whispered in her ear, “Love you”.
“I love you too, Daddy.” Melissa whispered as she laid back down under the covers.
Marlena stood up and also gave Melissa a kiss. She told her, “Love you, Baby”, then followed John out into the hallway, pulling Melissa’s door halfway shut behind her.
“John, what are we going to do? We can’t let her hide this thing from us forever.” Marlena said as a single tear made it’s way down her cheek.
John put his hands on either side of her face and used the pad of his thumb to wipe her tear away. She wrapped her arms around his waist and she silently cried in the safety of his arms. “It’s okay, Doc. It can’t be that bad. If it were, you have to believe that Melissa would come to us right away.”
“I hope you’re right.” Marlena said as John picked her up and carried her into their bedroom. He gently laid her down on their bed, and then got in himself.
He curled his body around hers, wrapping an arm around her waist. He laid his head in the crook of her neck and whispered, “I love you”
Marlena smiled slightly and whispered back, “I love you too.” Minutes later they both fell asleep.
The next morning found Melissa curled into a ball on the couch. A comforter was over her and only her eyes peaked out from the covers as she watched her favorite cartoon, Sponge Bob. Her eyes were drifting back to sleep when she heard a knock at the door.
She waited a few seconds, and when no one came downstairs to answer it, she got up and went over to answer it herself.
Her tiny, tired legs carried her slowly to the door. She rubbed at her eyes and stood on her mother’s briefcase to reach the door handle. When she unlocked the door, she stood back to open it. What she saw made her scream.
Melissa’s scream instantly woke Marlena up. She quickly ran downstairs. “Melissa, what’s wrong?” She asked as she reached the bottom step.
“Nothing”, Melissa whispered, as she watched the person get on the elevator before Marlena could see them.
Marlena was a little confused, but decided to let it go for now. “Why don’t you come upstairs and try to go back to sleep?” Marlena asked as she picked her up, and carried her upstairs to where John was still sleeping.
Melissa laid down beside John, her tiny hand came out and touched his face. Then, she laid her head down on his chest and fell back asleep.
Marlena watched the 2 sleep for a while until she finally fell back asleep, herself.
As the stalker sat in their, small dark apartment, they thought up a plan to snatch away the couple’s child. “If God took my baby away from me, then I will have to take my baby away from them. No one deserves to be that happy. And I will be the one to take that happiness away from them. When I’m through, the Blacks won’t know what hit them.” The stalker smiled a sick, evil grin pasted on their psychotic face and looked at all the pictures of Marlena and Melissa tacked to the wall.
All of the sudden Melissa started tossing and turning in her sleep. She then started to scream, “Leave me alone!”
John and Marlena both sat straight up in bed, urging their daughter to wake up.
When Melissa felt them touching her she started hitting and kicking at them. “Don’t touch me!” She yelled.
Marlena grabbed her daughter’s flailing arms and tried to hold them to her side. When Melissa calmed down, she started to cry and wrapped herself in her mother’s tender embrace.
Marlena rocked her back in forth for a minute, and then she finally spoke. “Baby, what’s wrong?” She asked as she dried her daughter’s tears. “That…that person…” Was all that would come out.
John immediately asked, “What person? Melissa, did someone hurt you?”
Melissa shook her head. “Not…not yet…but someone tried last night…and this morning too…” She managed to say.
“Why didn’t you tell me Melissa?” John asked her, the cop in him taking over.
“I didn’t want you to get upset…”
John was upset, though. He got out of bed and threw a shirt on. “Melissa, someone could have hurt you. What did they look like?”
“I don’t know. Last night it was to dark, and this morning they left too fast because Mommy was coming…” Marlena looked up at John with fear in her eyes.
John ran out the bedroom door and flew down the stairs, his feet pounding hard at how fast he ran. He swung the door open and looked around for a sign someone was there. He heard Marlena come down the stairs and walk towards him. His eye caught a muddy footprint in the carpet.
“John, what is it?” Marlena asked as she walked over to where he was standing.
He knelt down and examined the footprint. Getting scared at his no comment, she put her hands over her mouth and cried out, “Oh God, someone almost took my baby. John, someone was here and almost took our baby away”.
John stood up and held her in his arms for a minute. “Marlena, listen to me. No one is going to take our little girl away from us. I will NOT let that happen.”
They both looked up at the sound of their daughter’s voice. “Daddy?”, Melissa pouted, scared at his previous departure from the room. She held out her chubby little arms to him.
John smiled and walked over to her. He gently picked her up and hugged her tightly. “Everything’s going to be okay, Baby.” He told her.
“Daddy, I want to go to the park. Pleassee?”, she begged him. He gave her a smile and kissed her forehead. “Sure, sweety. You going to go in your pajamas?”
“Of course not.” She said with a giggle. “I’ll be ready in 10 minutes.” She said as she jumped down and ran into her room to get ready. “If she’s anything like her Mother we won’t be leaving for another hour at least.” John teased Marlena.
Marlena slapped his arm and headed upstairs. “I’m going to change too, coming?” she asked in a sexy voice.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He said as he followed right behind her.
An hour later, the three of them were headed out the door, when the phone rang. John and Marlena both looked at each other.
“Let the answering machine get it.” John said quietly as it rang.
The answering machine came on and they heard the loud beep, signaling to the caller that they could speak. Nothing way said but when John heard what sounded like a male voice breathing heavily into the phone, he told Marlena to take Melissa to the car.
When they got to the car Melissa was full of questions. “Mommy, what is Daddy going to do?” She asked as she got a tube of Marlena’s lipstick out of her purse, and tried to put some on.
Marlena took the lipstick from her, and pretended to put some on Melissa’s lips. Marlena looked worriedly back to the penthouse building and said, “I don’t know, baby”. Back in the penthouse, John heard the breathing get heavier, then an artificial voice whispered “Say Bye, Johnny”
John immediately picked up the phone. “Who are you, and what the hell do you want with my daughter?!” He shouted angrily.
The artificial voice replied, “How do you know its your daughter I want and not your…wife”.
John immediately picked up the phone. “Who are you, and what the hell do you want with my daughter?!” He shouted angrily.
The artificial voice replied, “How do you know its your daughter I want and not your…wife”.
“You seem to have been stalking my daughter, not my wife. But, answer me! What do you want with my family?!” John kept getting angrier by the second.
“Such a beautiful little girl. I’d say you can tell she’s yours. That long blonde hair and blue eyes…. Would be a shame if anything happened to her”
John was about to yell out for Melissa again when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He walked closer.
Melissa was too far off, and she wasn’t paying attention, so she didn’t hear John calling her. She was determined to find what she saw.
Suddenly, she felt someone grab her. She turned around and screamed at the top of her lungs.
She kicked and screamed with all her might, but whatever had grabbed her was not about to let her go.
John heard his baby scream and ran towards her voice. “Melissa!!” he screamed, when he saw her standing there crying. He asked her what was wrong and saw the black figure running from the woods. John tore off after the person.
Melissa started to follow, but her tiny legs wouldn’t go fast enough. Instead, she ran straight back into Marlena’s arms.
“Honey?! What’s wrong? I heard you scream and came as fast as I could. Where’s your Daddy?” Marlena questioned, her panic rising.
Melissa was shaking, and there was fear in her voice. “Daddy went after that thing that grabbed me.”
“What?! Oh my God!” Marlena said. The fear in her voice was beginning to scare Melissa.
The million tears reappeared in Melissa’s eyes once more. “Mommy, stop. You’re scaring me.” She said as she wrapped her tiny little arms around Marlena’s waist, and cried.
Marlena tried her best to calm herself and not to worry about John. She picked Melissa up and wearily looked around the park, in hopes of finding John. She whispered into her baby’s ear, “Shh..It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s sorry”
Melissa sniffled and laid her head down on Marlena’s shoulder. “Do you think Daddy caught that person?” Melissa asked as she dried her tears.
“I don’t know, baby. I just hope he’s okay” Marlena whispered, trying to reassure herself…
John chased the man out of the woods and onto the street. A car came to a stop, the tires screeching.
Marlena heard the screeching car, and she tore off in that direction, Melissa still in her arms. “Mommy, where are we going?” Melissa asked.
Marlena didn’t answer her daughter, she just kept running. Marlena stopped running and kept her and Melissa out of sight as she watched three men get out of the car.
“Who are they?” Melissa whispered as they watched.
Marlena placed a hand lightly over her daughter’s mouth to keep her from talking. The three men talked to the other man, who grabbed Melissa, and then they sauntered back to the car. Before they got in, Marlena heard the one ask, “What should we do with him?” The man who asked his boss, nodded his head towards the woods. “Leave him”, the boss said. Then, they drove off down the street.
Melissa removed Marlena’s hand from her mouth. “Where’s Daddy?” She whispered.
“I don’t know”. Marlena put Melissa down and grabbed her hand, running towards the figure of a man lying on the ground.
Melissa didn’t dare look, so she turned away. “Mommy?” She asked when she noticed Marlena wasn’t saying anything.
Marlena wasn’t sure if the man was alive or not. He wasn’t moving at all. Then she heard him groan loudly and ran over to him. The man was on his stomach and she couldn’t see his face until she turned him over and saw his bruised face.
“John?” She asked in disbelief. Melissa hurried over.
He didn’t answer, just groaned again. Then John said, “Ohhh…” and grabbed his head in pain. He finally opened his eyes and saw his beautiful wife and daughter hovering over him.
“Honey, are you okay?” Marlena asked as she knelt down beside him and gently touched his head to make sure the bruises were okay.
“I’m fine”, he said. By the tone of his voice, she could tell he didn’t want to be babied. She smiled to herself and thought, since when did she listen to him anyways? “Are you both alright?” John asked.
“We’re fine, but maybe you should go see a doctor.” Marlena suggested. “Yeah, Daddy, you’re pretty bruised up. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” Melissa said shakily.
“Oh no, baby. Its not your fault. Not at all. Don’t you ever think that, okay? No one will ever hurt you. And no one deserves to hurt you, got it?” John asked, making sure she knew.
Melissa nodded her head and she gently hugged him. “Daddy?” She asked after a few minutes.
“Yea, sweety?”, John said, sitting up as Melissa crawled into his lap, still hugging him.
“Thank you for protecting me.” She said with a small smile.
He was touched at her innocent words. But then he got very serious, and made sure she was looking straight into his eyes when he said this. “Melissa Black, don’t ever thank me for protecting you. I’ll always be there to protect you. And your Mom” he said, glancing at Marlena who was on the ground beside them. They shared a silent moment having a conversation with their eyes. He turned his attention back to Melissa and said, “Besides, I’m your Daddy. What are Daddy’s for? It’s my job to protect you”.
Melissa smiled. “I love you Daddy.” Then she added, “You too, Mommy.” She hugged them both.
John said, “We love you too, honey”. All three hugged each other and John whispered into Marlena’s ear, “I love you”. Then, he laid his head on her shoulder, and kissed the side of her face while her arm wrapped around his shoulders, her fingers playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.
Melissa giggled as she watched them. “Please, get a room.” She said trying to sound disgusted in between giggles.
“Hey, little miss, I think it’s time we got you home. You’ve had enough excitement for one day, don’t you agree, Mommy?” John asked, laughing at the look on his daughter’s face.
“Oh, yes I do.” Marlena agreed. “Do I get a say in all this?” Melissa questioned with her hands on her hips which made her look like a mirror image of Marlena.
John rolled his eyes at her expression. “No, Doc, you do not get a say in this”, he joked with Melissa, using her mother’s nickname to show her how much she was like her Mom.
Melissa giggled. “You can’t call me that for long because when I grow up I’m gonna be an actress.” She said as she flipped her hair like she was taking glamour photos.
“Okay, whatever you want, baby”, John said, smiling. “But you can only be an actress if you promise you will let me be your bodyguard”
“That goes for me too.” Marlena added. “But, by then I’ll be married, and my husband can be my bodyguard.” Melissa informed them. “But, if you really want too…..” She added.
“Woah, woah, woah. Wait just a minute. You’re getting a little ahead of yourself there. Who ever said you were getting married?” John objected.
“Daddy, you can’t keep me forever.” Melissa said.
“Wanna bet?” John questioned her.
“Mommy, help me here.” Melissa said as she glanced over to her mother. “Well, I think your Daddy’s right on this one.” Melissa wasn’t about to give up though.
“Well, Daddy, I can’t live with you and Mommy forever. Can’t I even move out sometime?” Melissa asked, innocently.
“We’ll have to see about that.” John smiled. “But, one day you and Mommy will die, and then I’ll be alone. What do I do then?” Melissa questioned.
Seeing the sad look on Marlena’s face at the thought of Melissa being all alone, he reassured them both, “Melissa, you’ll be all grown up then. But, tell you what, you won’t have to worry about that for a very long time, okay? Me and Mommy will be with you for a long time”
Melissa smiled. “Can we go home now?” She asked as she jumped on John’s back for a piggyback ride.
“Sure thing”, John said, standing up. He made sure Melissa was holding on tight, then took Marlena’s hand and the three walked back to the car.
When they got home there were people all around the penthouse. “Mommy, Daddy, what’s going on?” Melissa asked as she clung to Marlena.
John didn’t answer her, but looked at Marlena and said, “I’m going to go in and check out the place, see what they’ve found. But, I don’t think it’s safe for you two to be by yourselves right now”. He looked around for a minute, then pointed to a police van with two lady cops inside, talking. He pointed to them, making sure Marlena saw, then told her, “Why don’t you take Melissa over there and wait around for a while. I’ll be right back”. He turned to leave them.
“Daddy, I wanna go with you.” Melissa said as she followed him. “Melissa, come on.” Marlena told her.
“Daddy!”, Melissa yelled, putting her hands on her hips. Her tone got authoritative and she said, “I’m coming with you. If you like it or not”.
John sighed in defeat. He picked her up, and carried her inside the penthouse.
Stepping off the elevator, he walked inside their penthouse apartment. He could tell Melissa was tired because she had her head rested on his shoulder and her arm lazily slung across him. Her eyes were starting to drift shut, so he gently rocked her while one of the officer’s told him they didn’t find anything and were ready to leave.
“Are you sure there is nothing at all?” John asked as Melissa finally fell asleep.
“Nothing other than the footprint outside the door. We’ve taken a sample of the mud and have reprinted the shoe. Both print and sample have been sent to forensics and we might know something tomorrow. Although, we’re not going to be able to tell who the footprint belongs to. But, it sure is a start.” the officer replied.
“Yeah, it is. Thanks for all your help.” Once everyone left John put Melissa in bed and watched her sleep for a few minutes, smiling at how innocent she was. He didn’t notice Marlena standing in the doorway also watching.
John turned around and saw Marlena standing there. He gave her a small smile and they both walked out of the room, as to not wake Melissa.
“John, do you think that…person would actually try to come back here again, and get her? She’s just a baby….” Marlena said still in fear.
“I highly doubt it. It’s too soon anyways. I’m sure whoever they are knows that we have the police involved now. Even if they do come, I won’t let them take her. They won’t hurt either one of you, okay?”, he asked her, cupping her cheek in his hand.
Marlena slowly nodded her head as she melted into his embrace.
Wrapping his arms around her, they stood like that for a few moments, enjoying the other’s company.
After a few minutes Marlena jumped into John’s arms, and he carried her into their bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed, and then stared at how beautiful she was for a moment.
“Oh Doc, you’re so beautiful. How did I ever get so lucky to have you fall in love with me?” John asked, laying down beside her.
“It was easy.” She smiled. “You’re not so bad yourself you know.” She teased him as she gave him a long passionate kiss.
He kissed her with the same intensity, slipping his tongue inside her mouth.
“John?” She asked breathlessly after the kiss finally ended.
“Yes, baby?” he said, kissing her neck.
“Make love to me.”
He smiled and brought his lips back to hers, moving on top of her.
They began to make love, and it went on for hours.
When they both finally fell asleep, it was way into the middle of the night. A scream came from Melissa’s room, jarring John and Marlena awake.
They both quickly got out of bed and ran straight into Melissa’s room. “Baby, what’s wrong?” Marlena asked as she tried to get Melissa to wake up.
“Mommy!” Melissa screamed, throwing herself into Marlena’s arms, crying. Her hair was matted with sweat and all she could say was, “He’s gonna get me…he’s gonna get me. And you, Mommy. He’s gonna get us.”
Marlena looked directly at John with fear burning in her eyes. The tears started falling as she mouthed to him, “What now?”
John grabbed them both and hugged them to him. “It’s okay. No one’s here. I won’t let them hurt you or Mommy, ok? I’m going to–” John stopped suddenly, his eyes venturing to the open window. It wouldn’t seem that disturbing, except for the fact that it was below 50 outside.
“You’re going to what, Daddy?” Melissa asked with a sniffle as she looked up at him. Her eyes followed his gaze to the open window. As soon as she saw it she clung to John as tight as she could.
“Daddy?”, she asked, her voice quivering. By the time Marlena saw what they were looking at, John had put Melissa in Marlena’s arms and was walking towards the window.
“John, be careful.” Marlena demanded as she rocked Melissa back and forth trying to get her to go back to sleep.
John stood at the window for a while, looking around outside and on the window sill, trying to find any clues. As he turned to walk back to the bed, he heard Melissa yell, “DADDY! Look out!” John turned in time to see something flying towards the window and as the window smashed, he jumped on top of Marlena and Melissa to shield the flying shards of glass.
A few seconds later everything was quiet. Melissa broke the silence as she started to cry in fear again. “Daddy?” She whimpered. “What just happened?” She sniffled.
“I don’t know, but I want you two to stay right here and don’t move. Got it?” he asked seriously. He got up off the bed and looked onto the floor. There was a red brick with a piece of paper held onto it with a rubber band.
“What does it say?” Marlena asked as she glanced over to see what John was holding.
He didn’t answer her. Just crumbled up the note and threw it at the wall, yelling in frustration. Marlena could tell he was angry and it was scaring Melissa.
“Daddy!” Melissa screamed. “Daddy, stop. You’re scaring me.” She said as she started to cry. Marlena held her closer and looked at John. “John, what does the note say?” She asked again.
Not wanting to talk about it in front of Melissa, he turned and walked out of Melissa’s room. He knew if he didn’t get out of Melissa’s room soon, he was going to scare her with his anger. That was the last thing he wanted to do.
Marlena got up and carried Melissa into her and John’s room. “You stay here. Mommy will be right back.” She said as she gently sat Melissa down on their bed. Melissa nodded as she curled up under the covers. Marlena went downstairs into the living room where John was sitting on the couch staring at the note.
Without looking up, John knew Marlena was there. “I don’t know who the hell these people are, but they’re making me more angry by the second. I don’t know what they want from Melissa…or you. I don’t know anything right now except that no one is going to hurt you. And they got the nerve to write me a note, threatening Melissa” he said handing her the note for her to read.
“Oh my God.” As soon as she finished the note her hand went straight over her mouth. “They will not dare threaten my baby ever again!” Marlena yelled, her anger rising by the second
“Doc, please. It’s alright. Please don’t work yourself up. I’ve got to try not to either, but we have to stay sane for Melissa’s sake.” Melissa heard her mom scream and stood on the top of the stairs, crying while she watched her daddy comfort her mommy.
“You’re right.” Marlena said as she sat down on the couch beside John. “Why don’t we try and forget about this. I’ll go get Melissa, and we can pop popcorn and watch a movie together or something.” Marlena suggested.
“No. I’m getting you both out of here right now. Why don’t you go pack Melissa some clothes?” John asked, heading up the stairs. Melissa met him halfway and she jumped into his arms.
“Where are we going, Daddy?” Melissa asked as Marlena followed them upstairs.
“The loft” John said. “What’s that?” Melissa asked, making John chuckle. “It’s where Mommy and I lived before we moved in here.” Melissa looked like she didn’t believe him and looked at Marlena.
“He’s right, Honey.” Marlena smiled. “Daddy, what’s a loft?” Melissa asked as Marlena started to pack some of her clothes.
“It’s just an apartment I own”, John explained to her. “Well, why did you move out?” Melissa asked again. John replied, “Well, there’s only two rooms, and it was pretty small for all of us to live when you were born”.
“Mommy, don’t forget Katherine.” Melissa said as she picked up her favorite doll that she had named after Kate while Marlena packed her clothes.
John packed some food in the kitchen and some other necessities that they may need. Marlena came down the stairs carrying the bag she packed for Melissa and her and John.
John picked Melissa up, and made sure that they were ready to leave. “Do we need anything else?” He asked.
“No, I think that’s it”, Marlena said as the three walked out the door. They piled into the car and drove to the loft. Melissa was too excited to see her new home for a while that she stayed up the whole ride there.
“Are we there yet?” Melissa asked excitedly as she stared at the window.
“Yep, we’re here”, Marlena said as John parked the car. Before she got out, John squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her.
“Come on.” Melissa dragged them out of the car, and up to the loft. “How long are we gonna stay here?” Melissa asked as they went inside.
“I don’t know, sweety” Marlena said, holding Melissa while John unlocked the door. He slid it open and led them inside, making sure that when he closed the door it was locked. He also hit the numbers to the security pad and waited til it beeped.
“What if they know about this place?” Marlena asked John quietly as she sat Melissa down, who ran off to check the place out.
“Well, the only thing I can say is, that if they know about this place, they’re going to know about any place we go to. The only way they would know is if they fol–” John stopped. He didn’t want to scare her, but realized too late that he had said too much.
Marlena tore off to find where Melissa had run off to. “Melissa?” She called down the hallway.
“In here, Mommy!”, Melissa yelled. Marlena ran into the room, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Melissa sitting on the floor, looking at a bunch of photographs she found.
“Who is that?” Melissa asked as she pointed to a picture of John and Marlena and another small little girl
“Who’s what?” John asked, coming into the room and standing behind Marlena. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked at the picture. His eyes met Marlena’s.
“That little girl.” Melissa asked her father this time.
He didn’t answer her, leaving it up to Marlena.
“Mommy?” Melissa rolled ehr eyes and sighed. “Someone, tell me.” She pouted.
Trying to change the subject, John said, “Who’s hungry?”
“Daddy…” Melissa started, but then she finally gave in. Instead, she ran into the kitchen with John and Marlena following behind her.
Jumping up onto one of the barstools, Melissa took a good look around the small kitchen area. “So, what are you hungry for, beautiful?” John asked her.
Melissa thought for a minute. “Cookies.” She said with a smile.
“Cookies?” John asked in disbelief. He laughed and said, “Sounds good to me”.
Just then Marlena spoke up and said, “Absolutely not. You’re both going to get a sugar rush and I know how THAT goes. You turn into crazy animals”.
“We do not.” Melissa giggled. “She’s right. You’re just a party pooper.” John added.
Marlena rolled her eyes. “Party pooper? I’d say you would be too if you had to follow around two children with a sweeper”.
John laughed and whispered something in Melissa’s ear. Melissa giggled. All Marlena could do was stand there and look confused for a moment.
“What? Melissa, honey, what did your father tell you?” Marlena questioned.
“Nothing, Mommy.” Melissa said in between giggles. John came up behind Marlena and threw her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes.
“John Black put me down right now! Where are you taking me? John Black!”
John laughed, and carried her into the living room. Melissa followed behind them. He laid her down on the couch and Melissa jumped up on top of her to pin her down. “We got you!” She said in giggles.
“Go ahead Melissa. Put her through the Blacks’ torture”, John said, smiling at the half-serious glare from Marlena.
Melissa giggled and she did as she was told. “Do you give in yet?” She finally asked Marlena.
This time Marlena whispered something into Melissa’s ear. Melissa’s eyes got wide and she yelled, “Daddy! Run!” just as Marlena jumped off the couch, chasing John.
Marlena chased John around the whole loft with Melissa watching their every move.
Finally, John stopped on one side of the couch, Marlena on the other side. He pleaded, “Doc, I’m sorry. I swear it. Truce?” He asked. He held out his hand to her.
Marlena grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her, their bodies only inches apart. “Truce.” She said as she looked him straight in the eyes.
Cupping both sides of her face with his palms, he pulled her towards him, closing the gap between them. He lowered his mouth to hers, tugging on her lips with his own as he kissed her.
Once the kiss finally ended Marlena caught her breath and whispered. “It looks like Melissa was more tired than she thought she was.” They both glanced over at Melissa who was asleep on the couch with her tiny little thumb in her mouth.
“Yea”, John said, carefully picking Melissa up off the couch and heading upstairs with her. After tucking her in and making sure the windows were locked, he came back downstairs and looked at Marlena. He said, “I’m staying on the couch tonight. I put sheets on the bed for you upstairs. Melissa’s in our room. I figured if you were going to stay upstairs, you were going to keep her with you.”
“Good idea.” Marlena smiled. “I’ll miss you. We haven’t not shared the same bed since….I don’t know how long.” She said as she tried to remember.
“Well, it has been a long time since I was in trouble, so I haven’t been sequestered to the couch lately”, he said, joking with her. “But, I’ll be right down here if you need me”.
“You better be.” Marlena pulled him into a long, hot, steamy kiss. “I love you.” She smiled.
“Oh, see, and now you have to go and kiss me like that, then leave me down here. I love you too, Doc”. John told her, his face and the tone of his voice telling her he meant every word.
“Well, maybe I could stay down here for a little while….” She sighed. “I better not. We’ll just wait until morning.” She winked.
“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me, you know that? Filling my mind with these thoughts. You big tease”, he said smiling at her.
“It’s what I do best.” Marlena smiled seductively
“Would you just go upstairs already? If you stay down here any longer I’m liable to throw you on the couch and have my way with you. So you better go, quick”, John told her.
“Oh, wouldn’t want that to happen now would we?” Marlena laughed as she slowly sauntered up the stairs.
John sighed and fell back on the couch. He couldn’t look at her if they both expected to get some sleep tonight. The temptation was killing him. He tried to focus his mind on something else.
Marlena went and watched Melissa sleep for a while, to try to keep her mind off John. She finally fell asleep curled up next to her daughter.
Marlena woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Panicking, she called out for Melissa, then jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. She saw John’s head out of the covers, his face to the side. There was something on his back under the covers and she moved closer to get a better look. When she pulled up the covers, she saw Melissa sprawled out on John’s back, sleeping peacefully.
She smiled at them both, and gently shook John. “Wake up.” She whispered.
John didn’t reply, he just stuck his face further into the pillows.
Marlena turned on the TV and turned it to MTV. The song “It’s Gettin Hot In Here” was playing and she turned the volume up loud, and started dancing to the music.
John jolted awake at the loud music. He looked at his wife, squinting his eyes til they focused. “Doc, please!” he pleaded with her, pulling the covers over his head and once again burying his face in the couch cushions, pulling a pillow over his head.
“What’s the matter with you this morning?” Marlena asked as she turned the TV off and walked over to him.
He smiled to himself and decided to tease her. “I just gotta get some sleep.”
“But, you had your chance to last night.” She said with a sigh.
“Oh, yea, right. You actually think I slept after how badly you teased me last night? Doc, really, I thought you knew me better than that” he said, laughing.
“Oh, I was really that bad was I?” Marlena asked with an evil grin.
“Horrible”, John sighed, letting his head fall back to the pillow.
“I’m sorry.” Marlena kissed his head as Melissa started to wake up.
That was the first John really noticed she was there. “Wha…” he started when Melissa’s hand swung out and hit him in the face as she stretched, waking up. She straightened out over John’s back again and just laid there, waiting for him to notice her.
Marlena stood laughing at the two. “Good morning.” John smiled at Melissa. “Morning, Daddy.” Melissa said with a yawn.
Then, out of the blue, Melissa belched really loud. John smiled proudly and said, “Nice” and gave her a high five.
Melissa giggled, and Marlena just stared at them. “Who taught her that?” Marlena asked in disbelief.
John looked at Melissa innocently and asked, “Melissa, sweety, who taught you such an awful thing?” He winked at her.
“You did, Daddy. Remember?” She told him with a giggle.
John turned back to Marlena and rolled his eyes. He looked at her with disbelief written all over his face. He shook his head ‘no’ at her.
“Daddy, don’t lie.” Melissa scolded him. “John, you teach her such an awful thing.” Marlena half seriously glared at him.
“Yea”, he sighed guiltily. “I did.” Guilt was written all over his face and just as Marlena was actually about to believe he felt bad, he smiled proudly again and said, “But I obviously did a good job. That was great honey!” He high-fived Melissa again.
Marlena just rolled her eyes. “I am going to go fix breakfast. Melissa, if he tries to teach you anything like that come straight to me.” Melissa smiled. “I wanna help you make breakfast, Mommy.”
“Wait. So, it’s okay for you to teach her how to hold her hands on her hips and scold me like you do, but it’s not okay for me to teach her how to belch?” John laughed, following them to the kitchen.
“You got it.” Marlena said with a smile as she started to get the breakfast stuff out.
“Not fair”, John complained. “What are you smiling at, young lady? You win either way”, he said to Melissa.
“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it.” Marlena informed him as she started to make pancakes. “Mommy, can I go outside and play until breakfast is ready?” Melissa asked.
“Not by yourself. Wait for me”, John said, walking over to get his shoes. Melissa rolled her eyes and looked at Marlena.
“But, I’m a big girl now. I promise I’ll be okay. I watch ‘Charlie’s Angels’. I won’t let anything happen to me.” She pleaded.
“Melissa–” John started, but was cut off by Marlena.
“Honey, it’s just safer have your father go with you. Okay?” Melissa pouted. “Whatever.”
John smiled triumphantly at Melissa and she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Are you ready yet?” She asked John as she went over to the door.
“Yea, let’s go”, John replied, leading them in the hallway and outside.
“Daddy, can we play hide and seek?” Melissa asked as soon as they got outside.
“Okay. But, I don’t want you to go far, hear me?” John asked her, giving her a crooked smile.
“I promise. Cross my heart.” Melissa smiled. “Now, you count first.”
“Okay. One…two…three…” John counted as Melissa ran off into the woods.
She hid behind a big oak tree, and waited for John to come find her. “Ready or not; here I come!” john called as he started to look for her.
John searched around for a while. Thinking where she could possibly be, he headed towards the woods.
Melissa giggled quietly to herself as she saw him coming.
John saw some branches move out of the corner of his eye. So, thinking it was Melissa, he headed away from where she was and over to the bushes.
Melissa was confused at why he was going away from her. She was sure that she had heard her giggles. She silently crept out from behind the tree and watched to see where John was going.
John moved the bushes and said, “Gotcha!” only to find nothing there. Confused, he turned around. For the first time he noticed how dense the woods were and that he must be pretty far into the woods. He shook his head of the thoughts and was determined to find his little girl.
Melissa decided that she would run back to base. She thought she was going the right way, but instead she kept running deeper and deeper into the woods.
“Melissa?” John called. He wanted to find her and when he did, he was putting the woods off limits. But for now, he was set of finding out where she went. Melissa heard someone running after her. Thinking it was her dad, she laughed and ran behind the nearest tree.
“You can’t catch me!” She called from behind the tree. But, she was wrong.
She turned around and ran right into a man with a scar down the length of his face.
The man picked her up, and held her in his arms. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” He asked with a sick grin on his face.
Melissa didn’t say anything for a moment. Too scared to speak loudly, she softly said, “Let me go.”
“Not so fast, Sweetheart.” The man said. “What is a pretty little girl like you doing out here all alone?” He asked as he looked her up and down.
“Playing hide and seek with my Daddy”, she said shyly. But getting a little uncomfortable with the man holding her, she said a little more demanding and loudly, “Let me go, please”
“In a minute. I want you to meet some friends of mine first.” He said with a smile as he started to carry her out of the woods.
“No. Let me go!”, she yelled. “DADDY!! DADDY!! HELP!!” She kicked and screamed with all her might.
The man was starting to get annoyed. “If you know what’s good for you, you will shut your mouth right now.” He said forcefully.
“No! DADDY! DA–” The man put his hand over her mouth and she bit him, hard. Surprised, the man still held onto her and she kicked him right in the shin. Seeing this as an opportunity, she started to run, but the man grabbed her again and started to run. “DADDY!” she yelled again. Where was he?
John heard his little girl’s screams and started to run towards her voice as fast as he could. When he finally got there he was sick at what he saw. “You take one more step and you’ll be saying goodbye to Melissa, here.” He said as he took out a gun and pointed it at Melissa.
“Woah, hold on there”, John said, stopping dead in his tracks and putting his hands halfway up defensively. “Just let her go and we can discuss this rationally. Please, let her go.” John pleaded with the man, even though he wanted to feed the man the gun he had pointed at his daughter.
“Now, why would I want to do that?” He asked with a sick grin.
“You will if you know what’s best for you”, John said, getting angry. Marlena, who was inside making breakfast, had heard her daughter’s soul shattering screams and ran outside. She ran into the woods and was shocked and scared at what she saw before her.
The man put his gun back and threw Melissa on the ground a bit too forcefully. “Alright, you win……for now.” he said angrily.
The man had the gun still trained on them as he backed up enough to turn and get a head start running. John saw the man start to run and jumped over Melissa’s form on the ground, chasing the man. A car stopped and the man jumped in it. As the car was speeding away, John ducked as the men in the car started to shoot at him.
Marlena screamed as she heard the gunshots. After a few minutes everything died down. “John?!” She called fearfully.
“John?!” she yelled again. Marlena helped Melissa off the ground. She ran towards when the gunshots were heard.
“John, are you okay?!” She called as she looked for him.
He groaned out loud and Marlena followed the sound. She saw him and ran towards him. “John!”
“John, did….did they hurt you?” She asked shakily.
He looked down at his bloody arm, but when he saw Melissa running towards him, he said, “I’m fine.”
“Daddy, what’s wrong? You’re bleeding.” She said as tears fell down her cheek. Marlena took off her sweater and wrapped it around John’s arm to try and stop the bleeding.
“I’m fine, Doc”, John said, but Marlena knew he wasn’t being honest with her. John stood up and held Melissa with his good arm. “It’s not safe out here. Let’s go back inside. Are you okay, baby?” He asked Melissa.
“I’m a little sore, but other than that I’m fine.” She said as she laid her head on his shoulder. Marlena kissed Melissa’s head, and they went back inside.
John stopped at the doorway to the loft and handed Melissa to Marlena. He told them, “Wait here”, as he checked out the loft, making sure no one was there but the three of them.
“Can we come in now?” Marlena asked from the doorway as she saw John coming back towards them a few minutes later.
“Yea. It’s okay”, he said, leading them back into the loft.
Marlena sat Melissa down on the couch and turned on the TV for her to watch. She then lead John into the kitchen to take care of his arm.
“Doc, really, I’m fine” John said, shaking his arm free of her grasp. She stared him down and by the look on her face, he knew she wasn’t about to give up.
“John, give me your arm.” She said as she tried to gently grab it. Melissa stood in the doorway watching them with a smile on her face.
“Doc” John said, warning her. He backed up until he ran into the counter and knew he was trapped.
Marlena smiled and grabbed his arm. She cleaned it up for him. “This might burn a little.” She said as she put some alcoholic medicine stuff on it.
“Ow! That hurts!” he yelped, snatching his arm away from her.
“Awwww. Poor, John.” She said as she kissed him. Melissa giggled.
When she pulled away, she held out her hand with the alcohol on it. “No way, Doc. That stuff hurts” John complained.
“Just one more time.” Marlena said as she quickly dabbed it onto his wound.
He gritted his teeth and held his eyes shut, feeling the alcohol clean his wound.
“All better now.” Marlena said as she finished. She put all the stuff away, and smiled. “Was that so bad?” She asked.
“Yes. It was” John said, looking away from her. Melissa laughed at him from the doorway and he gave her a smile, then stuck his tongue out at her.
Melissa stuck her tongue out at him, and then ran off to the bedroom.
John smiled again at her gesture and then looked at Marlena. “And you’re just mean”, he said. Then stuck his tongue out at her too.
Marlena stuck her tongue out at him, and he pulled her in for a kiss. Melissa came back into the room in Marlena’s old wedding dress. “How do I look?”
She asked as she tried to twirl around.
Both parents laughed and John said, “Oh, honey, you look beautiful”. Standing there in Marlena’s old wedding dress, Melissa looked like a younger version of Marlena and it made John smile.
“Daddy, will you marry me?” She asked with a smile.
He laughed at her question and told her, “I can’t. I’m already taken. But maybe when you’re 60, I’ll let you marry someone.” He picked her up and Marlena smiled at them.
“60? I’ll be too old by then.” She laughed. “How old were you and Mommy when you got married?”
John stalled for a second and avoided Marlena’s piercing glare. He knew he had to get this right the first time or else it would be hell to pay.
Melissa patiently waited for an answer. “Go ahead. Tell her.” Marlena smiled.
John was sweating now and scratched his brow, “Uhh..” he stopped and cleared his throat “I was 23 and your mom was 24”. John said confidently, trying to keep the hopefulness that he was right out of his voice.
“You mean the other way around. I was 23, and you were 24.” Marlena corrected him.
“That’s what I said” John defended himself.
“I’m sure it was.” Marlena said as she took Melissa from him, and went back into the bedroom.
John followed them and flopped down on the bed. He turned on his side and propped his head up on his elbow. He cringed when Melissa asked another question, “Daddy, when did you and mommy get married?” He wondered, was she trying to get him into trouble?
“Well, why don’t you ask your mommy this one?” He suggested. Marlena gave him her death glare as Melissa turned to her and started to ask her.
“Melissa, honey, I have no problem answering your question, I just would like to hear what your father’s answer is first. See, I know when we got married”, Marlena said, staring him down. Inward she was laughing, thinking how he was so in trouble.
Melissa rolled her eyes and turned to John. “Daddy?” She asked growing impatient
John yawned, “I’m tired. How about a nap, Melissa?” He patted the spot beside him and laid his head down, closing his eyes. He was hoping this would buy him some time.
“I’m not tired yet.” She said. “Now tell me when you and Mommy got married.” She ordered.
“July”, John said, proud of himself that he remembered. At least the month anyways
“July what?” She asked.
He sighed and wished the date would just come to him. “Umm..July 3”, he said.
“Is that right Mommy?” Melissa asked.
“July 6, John” Marlena said. She smiled at Melissa.
“Daddy’s in trouble.” Melissa said with a giggle.
“You hungry Melissa?” Marlena asked her. Melissa said, “Yea!” she ran out of the room. When she left, Marlena whacked John over the head with a pillow.
“Hey, what was that for?” John asked as he rubbed his head.
“July 3? Care to explain why you forgot one of the most important days of our life?” Marlena asked.
“I didn’t forget. I was just making sure you remembered.” John informed her.
“I see”, Marlena said, disbelief evident in her voice. She heard a pan fall from the kitchen and sighed, going to check on Melissa.
John followed her. “Let’s see if you remember another important day in our life. When is Melissa’s birthday?”
“October 21”, Marlena said without thinking.
“Are you sure?” John questioned
“Positive” she replied.
The Jarlena Journal 