Having to deal with heartbreak and the loss of her father, Melissa was an emotional wreck. She had inherited a huge fortune, but money could not heal her pain. That money was dirty; she had no idea how many people had suffered for Frank to make it and that fact only added to her misery. In her agonizing pain, Melissa struggled to find hope. She blamed herself for pushing away Bruce. Two days after her father’s death, Melissa had hardly slept. Going to work felt like an impossible thing to do. She kept reminiscing about the happy memories that she had with him, but she also recalled the moment when he had flipped the table over and yelled at her. His angry words echoing in the warehouse and his frozen eyes haunted her mind.

Once again lost in her thoughts in her living room and on the verge of tears, she heard her doorbell ring. It was Julia.

“Jesus Christ, Melissa!” She exclaimed, gazing at the black circles under her cousin’s eyes. “You look like hell!”

“Nice to see you too, Julia.” Melissa spoke, with a bitter smile on her face. “Come in.”

“I’m not going to ask how you’ve been.” Julia murmured. “I think it’s pretty obvious. I’ve just come to tell you that I’m here to stay. My suitcase is in the car.”

“Girl, what are you talking about?” Melissa sounded surprised. “What about your job?”

“Nah, screw my job.” Julia waved her hand in front of her face. “Jeffrey could use a break, especially after…” She faltered. “You know.”

“Thank you so much.” Melissa whispered, putting her arms around her cousin’s back. “I could use a friend right now.”

“I thought you should know…” Julia spoke, gently pushing her back. “I went to Boston.”

“What?” Melissa’s voice turned into a high-pitched squeal.

“Yeah. I set it up with Matt. You should have seen his face, when I walked in that bar.” Julia smiled.

“Well, you shouldn’t have.” Melissa protested.

“Why?”

“I know how it went.” She spoke in a firm tone. “He’s still mad at me.”

“How can you be so sure?” Julia posed another question.

“Something in his voice told me that day.” Melissa explained. “He said ‘goodbye’ like he meant it. Why did I talk to my father, Jules? I keep…” She faltered. “Racking my brain and I just can’t find an answer.”

“You said you thought it was the right thing to do.” Julia spoke in a calm voice.

“How could I have been so naïve?” Melissa whispered.

“Naïve?”

“Come on, girl. Bruce was right. I was naïve to think that my father would let me follow him.” She continued. “You and I both know he’d kill him, the moment he arrived in that truck.”

“I guess we’ll never know.” Julia said.

“Actually, I do.” Melissa admitted. “I’ve been going over some of his business deals. For some strange reason, most of his partners over the years have ended up dead. Cause of death? Asphyxia, electrocution, car accident, heart attack, suicide… A guy even fell off the twelve floor of a hotel. Whenever a job went south, he had his partner killed.”

“Unbelievable.” Julia commented. “Look, why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“I can’t.” Melissa said with a sigh.

“Why’s that?”

“Because…” Her voice broke. “Every time I go to sleep; I keep having the same old dream. We’re in my aunt’s house, dancing to that old song. ‘Love Bites’. We’re hugging, we’re kissing and then…” Melissa’s lips began to quiver, as tears welled up in her eyes. “The window just bursts wide open and this huge, black shadow snatches him away from me!”

“It wasn’t a shadow that broke you guys up, honey.” Julia whispered, wiping the tears that were streaming down her cousin’s face. “It was his ego.”

“Please, don’t say that.” Melissa requested. “He’s not selfish. He’s just hurting too much.”

“I beg to differ.” Julia slightly raised her tone. “You guys would be together if he wasn’t just so goddamn selfish.”

“Stop it!” Melissa yelled, breaking out of her embrace. “He put his life on the line for me. How many selfish people would do that?”

“You may have a point there.” Julia sighed. “I still think he’s overreacting, though. Anyway, if you don’t feel like sleeping, why don’t you go put some clothes on? You need to get some fresh air.”

“I need to stay home.” Melissa groaned. “I miss him so much.”

“He’s thousands of miles away, sweetheart.” Julia said. “You need to let him go. This is not healthy.”

“I don’t care, Jules.” Melissa muttered. “I think I should go to Boston. Maybe seeing me will change his mind.”

“Oh, hell no!” Julia cried. “You’re not going anywhere; you hear? Ok, you screwed up, you said you were sorry… What else can you do? Please don’t tell me you’re going to beg him!”

“You’re right.” Melissa spoke, running her hand through her hair. “I’ve done everything I could.”

“Finally!” Julia cheered. “Now, go get dressed.”

“Alright.” Melissa said. “Where are we going?”

“Anywhere but here, honey.” Julia said with a grin. “Anywhere but here.”