"I think she is really scared at the moment and needs a family that will support her more. Her current family show no appreciation or love towards Melissa and she thinks her Dad will offer that as well as safety. From what she tells me, her dad was always arguing with her mum, but it could well be the other way round and that her dad just could not stay with her mum, but the fact that he has not maintained contact has made her a little unsure of whether her dad cares enough. She hopes he does and that her it something her mum has done to make sure Melissa stays away from him, like she has threatened him or something, not that he just left and wants nothing to do with her. But whatever the reason she wants to find out for sure. Currently she lives with a very nasty step-dad and a very ignorant mother. I asked if she has asked her mum about her dad, but Melissa really feels that she will get nothing from her."
"Well you certainly have shown how much you care for Melissa, but you have your work cut out for you Sophie." Said dad.
"I know, but do you think that any of you can offer any advice or maybe some help. One thing I did wonder is whether any of you have heard of Melissa's mum. It seems other parents know her and have wanted there children to avoid Melissa. Do you know why?" I asked. It was Mom that gave the clearest indication that she knew something. "Mom, do you know anything that can help?"
"It is very difficult to explain, mainly because I do not like to speak badly of people. But I have to say Melissa's mum, Monica, is a real bitch." This shocked me to the core; I have never heard my mom say such a thing about anybody. This was a real bad sign of just how much Melissa has suffered.
"Mom, is she really that bad?" Mom nodded before continuing.
"I knew Monica at school, but was never friends; she was such a bad influence to people, even then. I knew enough to avoid her and her friends. She and Ray, Melissa's dad, dated for about 3 months before Monica got pregnant, about a month before I was pregnant with you. So she trapped Ray into marrying her, he was a good person; he just did not see the real Monica. It was only after they married that life went downhill for him, but he did try for Melissa's sake."
"It is sad when a person can feel trapped like that." said Amy.
"It is, and I also agree with Melissa that Monica was probably having many affairs behind Ray's back, and when he finally left, nobody knows much about why or where he went. Monica is a real piece of work, you must understand that most of this is hearsay, but I believe it, especially after all the years I knew her at school and the few occasions we have crossed paths. It seems she treats most people like dirt, workmates and anybody else she dislikes. But to people that matter to her she has them wrapped around her finger. A few years ago, she was on the parents committee for your school. She made an enemy of almost everybody accept a few teachers and the head. But the committee was run and controlled by parents and after several months we finally voted her out. But a few of the parents took real exception to her and to anyone connected to her; she used such language and felt that the children should be severely disciplined if they misbehaved. This and other outrages claims were part of the reason we hated her narrow minded ways and was the reason why they told there children to stay away from Melissa. But like Amy, when a child faces that kind of rejection from her peers it can lead to a very lonely life. I think both Melissa and Amy are very privileged and lucky to have you Sophie. Thankfully your sister has helped you develop into a very caring and strong individual."
"I would like to think that I could help her, but it sounds like both Melissa and I have a very hard route ahead of us if we are to succeed."
"Well now you have us all, we all want to help. I hate to say this but we really can help Melissa, all of us, but it may mean bringing Melissa here." Both Amy and I flinched at this; dad just sadly nodded his head in agreement.
"As a lawyer I have some contacts and private detective's I can contact if needed to find Melissa's dad. I doubt Ray has left the country or anything, his family I believe moved south so I don't think he would have travelled far. I think Sophie, rather than you being stuck in the middle, if she really needs help, she needs to trust us and come here, and we can secretly try to help her. I think we need to make sure her mother never finds out, until it is too late for her to do anything. Melissa's life may seem bad now, but it could get worse if Monica's reputation has anything to go by. As for you and Amy's secret, it should be easy to remain so, if we just let Melissa know that she is kind of our adopted daughter, and that because of her parents we have took her in. And as long as that remains a secret to Melissa, that she must not let people know that you live with a teacher, then things should be fine. Sophie you need to discuss this with her in secret and try to see if you have her trust as she seems to have yours and that no matter what, if she would like our help, certain things must remain a secret, otherwise a lot of lives are at risk."
This was too much. All these secrets and lies were getting too much for me. Part of me reasoned that this was the main reason I remained friendless. But I had to be strong, Melissa needed me. I got up and sat on Amy's lap, holding her tight, I needed her strength, I needed her close to me. I cried into her shoulder with both her and our parents trying to comfort me. I felt like such a child. I may be 18, but being an adult was very hard. A child is supposed to grow into these problems over time, but with only just starting to really live my life, all the pressures were really affecting me. This is probably why I had cried so much in the days since I met Amy. When I was dealing with my own problems, it seemed mature and easy. So taking up the challenge of helping Melissa or being in a full time relationship with Amy, a teacher, it was all too much, too soon. But I had stepped up, taken the challenge and now I must face it, you cannot give up when life gets too tough, you have to fight, I was doing this for love and no matter what that was important. Caring about people, may have it's up's and down's, especially when they need you, but it also meant that when you needed them, they would be there for you. When I needed someone I would have those close to me, always by my side. I did not regret my decision to be with Amy or being friends with Melissa, but I did regret thinking I was mature enough to handle it, even if I jumped in head first. But now that I was in, I knew I would and had to follow it all to its conclusion, what ever the outcome.
"Thank you for being here for me, all of you don't know how much I need your help right now."
"We do Sophie, we all do, together we'll help you and Melissa get through this." Said Amy as she held me close.
