"Did I hear you right?" Nick asked; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I asked you to promise me that you will find love after me."
"Mel, what are you saying?"
She squeezed his hand and took a deep breath. "If something should happen to me, I want you to find love."
"No, Mel, I'm not going to discuss this with you." Nick yelled getting up from the bed.
"Nick, please." She stood up and walked over to him.
"No, I'm not going to talk about you not being here. We are going to get married, have children, a life together."
"Nick, I want that more than anything, but I have to face the fact that there is a chance that I could..."
"NO!" He yelled, looking right at her. "What happened to your destiny is to be with me, as my wife? Are you going to just give up?"
"No, Nick, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to fight with everything in me. I promise you that." She stated closing the space between them. "I'm not going to let Adam control me anymore. He always had some kind of control over me, even when I thought he was gone. I was always scared or angry. I don't want to be like that anymore, I want to let it all go."
"Then why are you asking me to find love after you?" He asked with tears welling up in his eyes.
"Because honey, there is a chance that Adam could hurt me. If that happens I don't want you alone for the rest of your life. I want to you be happy again, find love again with someone else."
"But I don't want anyone else, I want my Angel."
Now her eyes were welling up with tears. "You aren't going to make this easy, are you?"
"No, because I love you and I refuse to believe that there a chance of you...of you..."
"Of me dying, you can say it Nick."
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT, ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" He walked out onto the balcony.
Melissa sighed and wiped the tears that fell. She watched Nick lean against the railing. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back.
"I'm sorry honey. I shouldn't have said any of that." Nick didn't respond, so she turned him to face her. When he looked at her, she saw tears running down his cheeks. "Nick, I'm so sorry." Nick embraced her tightly, not wanting to let her go.
After some time they broke away and Melissa led Nick back into the room. She wiped away any remaining tears and then smiled at him. "If you don't smile, I'm going to tickle you." She responded hoping to lift his spirits.
"If you try and tickle me, I'll have to use force." A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"What kind of force?"
"This." He quickly grabbed her and pinned her down on the bed.
"That's not fair, you're stronger than me!" Melissa giggled.
"That's not my fault." He stated before he started tickling her.
"Stop...Nick...stop!" She chuckled, trying to push Nick's hands away. He stopped and glazed into her eyes. He softly brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.
"I love you." He gently placed a kiss on her lips.
He walked into the large apartment and shut the door behind him. He made his way towards Adam.
"Is the job done?" Adam asked without turning to look at him.
"Yes, boss."
"Did anyone see you?" He asked finally turning around.
"Nope, no one."
"Are you sure? Because if anyone saw you, there will be repercussions."
"No one." He sat down in the chair nearest to him.
"Who found him?" He asked reaching for his drink.
"Your girl. She did everything she could to help him."
"Yup, that's Mel and if I know her she'll be doubting herself. She will want to protect everyone, but she can't."
"What's the plan?" He questioned leaning forward, placing his elbows on his thighs.
"Mel."
"I thought you wanted to torture her slowly by going after her friends."
"I did, but now will be the perfect time to go after her. She will be watching over her friends, making sure they are fine, when she should be watching out for herself."
"What about the boyfriend?" Adam walked over to the balcony and stared out at the ocean.
"He's not a problem."
"He could become a problem."
"That pretty boy won't be a problem. I always get what I want and no one will stop me. Not Nicky boy and not anyone."
"Boss, if I can ask, why do you want the girl so much?"
"She got under my skin, made me have feelings for her. When that happened, I lost my control and I don't like losing my control."
"All of this because you have feelings for her, she won't come back to you. Not after what you have done."
"Your job is to do what I want, that's what I'm paying you for. I didn't ask for your opinion." Adam yelled, facing him.
"Sorry boss, so you want me to go ahead with plan?"
"Yes, you know what to do." He left, closing the door behind him. Leaving Adam alone with his thoughts, he sat down and took a sip of his drink. "She'll come back, it just won't be willingly."
"That looks great Jeni and Alyssa!" Melissa said as two girls raised a banner stating, "Welcome Home!"
"All the food is set, Angel. Do you need anything else?" Nick asked as he approached her.
"Yes, come here." He wrapped his arms around her as she kissed him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Nick looked at his watch. "Jonathon and Jules should be here in a couple of minutes."
"Good, I have missed not having those two around."
"They are here!" AJ yelled and turned off the lights. Everyone quickly hid and waited for their friends.
"Slow and steady." Julie stated as they climbed the stairs.
"Jules, I had a concussion, not emergency surgery." Jonathon smiled at her.
"Hey, I love you so shoot me."
"Do you have a gun?"
"You are lucky you are injured or I would hit you." She responded as she opened the door.
"SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME JONATHON!" Everyone yelled, causing Julie and Jonathon to grin.
"Wow, I wasn't expecting this kind of homecoming!" Jonathon replied smiling ear to ear.
"Welcome back Jonathon!" Melissa said wrapping him in a hug.
"Let me guess this was your idea?" He asked once they separated.
"Maybe, come on sit down."
"You are just as bad as Jules." Jonathon stated sitting down on the sofa.
"Well I'll take that as a comment."
The party was in full swing and everyone was enjoying themselves. Darrell walked in and looked for Nick.
"Hey Darrell, making the rounds?" Nick asked shaking his hand.
"Yeah, I just wanted to tell you I'm going to check around the houses. Call me if you need me." Nick nodded and watched Darrell leave.
"Hey Nick, come join us!" AJ yelled. Nick exited the kitchen and joined everyone else in the living room.
He walked over to Melissa and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Jonathon seems in good spirits." He stated as they watched Jonathon and Julie talking.
"Yeah, he does. Maybe things will work out okay."
"They will Angel."
He snuck into the house through the back entrance. He moved quickly and entered the kitchen. He found her drink and grabbed a plastic bag from his pocket. He dumped the substance into her water and hurriedly shook it, to make sure all of it dissolved. Once he was done, he exited the way he entered, without anyone noticing him.
"Let's make a toast!" Jonathon said as everyone grabbed their drinks. "To friendship, happiness, and love." He said looking at Julie. They clinked their glasses together and drank. As time when by, Melissa started to feel sick to her stomach and decided to sit down on the sofa. Slowly she made her way to the sofa, when all of sudden a dizzy spell hit her. The room started to spin and she could feel her knees giving out. Just as she was about to fall, Nick caught her.
"Angel, are you okay?" He asked holding her in his arms.
"I'm not feeling so good. I think maybe I should go lay down for a bit." She replied trying to stand.
"Do you want me to come with you?" He helped her to the stairs.
"No, I'll be okay. Go and enjoy the party." She climbed the stairs and steadily made it to the bedroom. Melissa laid down on the bed, closing her eyes.
"I just need to rest. I'll be fine, just need rest." She stated before she passed out.
He looked at his watch, realizing it was time. He carefully reentered the house and went up the back stairs. He found her resting on the bed and quickly went to her.
"Mel, Mel, can you hear me?" She didn't respond, she didn't move.
"Perfect. We have to go; the boss has plans for you." He replied picking her up in his arms. He headed for the door and softly opened it. Just then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He swiftly placed her back down and hid in the closet. He watched as Nick entered the room.
"Mel, I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some food." He said sitting down on the bed next to her. "Mel, are you awake?" He touched her cheek, he received no response. "Angel, can you hear me?" He grabbed her arm and checked her pulse. "Oh my god, Mel, wake up! Wake up Angel!!" He received no response from her.
"AJ, HOWIE, JONATHON, GET UP HERE NOW!!!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone came rushing up the stairs and into the bedroom.
"What's wrong?" AJ asked reaching the room first.
"I can't get her to wake up. Her pulse is weak, something is wrong. We need to get her to a hospital, NOW!" He picked her up with everyone following him.
Once they all left the room, he exited out of the closet. "Shit, boss isn't going to be happy."
By the time they arrived at the hospital, Melissa's breathing had gotten shallow. The color was gone from her face and she laid limp in Nick's arms as he carried her in.
"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" A doctor and a nurse rushed over to Nick.
"What happened?" The doctor asked.
"She said she felt dizzy and wanted to lay down. I checked on her ten minutes later and she was out. I couldn't wake her." Nick told them as they placed Melissa on a stretcher.
"What's her name?" The nurse asked him.
"Melissa."
"Melissa, can you hear me? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Nothing happened. "Let's take her to trauma room one. What did she eat and drink recently?"
"Just some water and fruit, why?" They entered the room with everyone following.
The doctor checked her breathing with his stethoscope. "Her breathing is shallow and her heart rate is low. Get her on a heart monitor. Then hook her up to an IV and get an oxygen mask on her. Also run a toxic screen, we need to find out what is causing this." The nurse nodded.
"What about them?" She stated pointing to Nick and everyone else.
"I'll talk to them, once you get that toxic screen done; rush it down to the labs." He responded before walking to over to the gang.
"What is wrong with her?" Nick asked.
"Please follow me; we'll talk in the waiting room." The doctor replied.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Nick, come on, he's trying to help Mel." AJ stated and made Nick follow them to the waiting room.
"Doctor, what's wrong with her?" Julie asked, clutching onto Jonathon's hand.
"I have reason to believe that Melissa was drugged."
"What? Drugged? How?" AJ asked.
"I was hoping one of you could tell me."
"None of us did it." Jonathon stated, squeezing Julie's hand.
"Could of someone placed it into her drink without her knowing it?" The doctor questioned.
Nick looked at the doctor's name tag. "Doctor Newman, no one at this party would do something that to Mel."
"Well, Mr...."
"Carter."
"Well, Mr. Carter, Melissa shows all the signs of someone who was drugged. She's unconscious, her heart rate has slowed drastically, and she has respiratory distress."
"Wait, respiratory distress?" Julie interrupted. "Is that serious?"
"It could be, if her heart rate drops any lower."
"What do we do if that does happen?" Jonathon asked, getting scared.
"Well, we will have to tube her."
"Tube her?"
"We would have to place a tube down her throat to help her breathe."
"Doctor Newman, could Mel die from this?" Nick asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"Yes Mr. Carter, she could die from this."
