Imagined Peace: Clock Tower

[Melinda Litrell]

Melinda stood at the window of the nursary of her dead baby's nursery. She looked out at the bright day, she would have loved to be out on a day like this. Though now she just felt empty inside, cold, hard. She just wanted to curl up and just die. She don't know how her life turned upside down like this. She can't imagine herself as the woman she is today if this was years earlier. The wife of David Falcons, Mrs. Falcons. She closed her eyes for a moment and pulled the blanket she had around her body tighter around her.

She let out a breeath as she moved her hand to her stomach. She can't believe that David did this to her, she couldn't hate anyone as much as she hate him. She looked down to her wedding ring, she rubbed it and couldn't fight the angry tears that formed in her eyes. She closed her eyes as she thought of what her files read. She had been injected with massive ammounts of pheromones to make her body believe she was pregnant then when the injects stopped it made her believe she had miscarriaged.

She can never forget the pain of thinking it was her fault she lost the baby. She held the ring in ther hand and she didn't noticed the blood. A drop of blood dripped from her hand and onto the floor. She opened her hand sending the diamond had dug into her skin until it broke the skin. She couldnt't feel the pain, everything just hurted. If it wasn't for David Sr she wouldn't be married to him, she would be with Charley. Though David Sr threatened to hurt him and his family if she didn't marry him. Charley probably hated her now. She shook her head as she turned, her hair in her face and untamed right now. Dressed in her night shirt, she moved with the blanket around her.

She let it drop as she reached the bathroom, she ran the water as she cleaned off her hands. She let her ring drop down the sink watching it disappear with satisfaction.

[Charley Miles]

Charley has not been able to sleep much lately, so he had been out pacing. Thumbing his mp3 player to go to the next song, 'Foreplay/Longtime' by Boston started filling his head with the brillant beginning tones and he found himself humming. His feet were walking randomly, and he wasn't even thinking about where he was going. Before he realized what was happening, he was leaning on the doorframe of Melinda's house.

Tugging the earbuds out without turning off the music, Charley swayed slightly. Why in the hell was he here!? He moved to turn when he heard something clinging heavily through the pipes and he wondered what it was. Not knocking on the door, he pushed it open - it was cracked - and walked inside. Frowning at the place because she had married ... that ... man ... he continued towards the bathroom, where there was a light on.

Pausing down the hall just in time to see her. Melinda. She was a mess, but to him, she was the most beautiful thing in the world. "You a'right?" He asked quietly, not trying to scare her.

[Melinda Litrell]

Melinda moved her hand to the sink turning on the water, washing the blood off her hands. Making sure they were clean, she turned off the water. She stepped back still in a slight daze, she turned looking for the towels. She found one and took the white cotton soft material into her hands. She dried them off as she placed it back onto the rack. The guy next door turned to the bathroom door, stepping out into the nursery. She looked around, tears in her eyes. Anger fuming from the depths behind the tears.

She want to talk to David Sr and now. He forced her into this marriage and she want to know why. She looked to the blanket on the floor, the room was nippy today. She stooped down and picked it up before taking it in her hands. She sighed out as she closed her eyes. She looked up when she heard the sounds of footsteps, they seemd hesitate. Her eyes turned cold thinking it's David, she collected herself with a certain ammount of quickness and real convincing. She turned trying to put a smile on, the anger vanished though she wasn't expecting what she saw.

Her eyes widened a little, the blanket dropping. Her expression falling a little as the saddness formed. It all stopped and collected itself after a moment of gathering herself. She forced herself to give Charley a smile. She wondered if he have heard about the baby...well the fake baby. No one knew it was a fake pregency, even David don't know she know. Melinda Litrell isn't the same high school cheerleader with the girl next door personality and the girl that all the girls wanted to be and all the guys wanted to have on their arms. "Charley." She said a little breathless. "I'm alright...what are you doing here?" She lied pretty convincingly.

[Charley Miles]

Her husband's name was admittedly simple to say, but Charley would never bring himself to say it. To him, he was always "that man" or "him". He would always say it with a bit of a slant to it, degrading the man that called himself Melinda's husband. She deserved someone so much better. Not that bastard. Not even him. And now the moron had gone and knocked her up and then she miscarried. He suspected David had something to do with it - maybe both of the idiots. If Charley had his way, he would've taken Melinda back to the ranch for safekeeping and he would've killed both of them in cold blood. But no, he wasn't allowed anywhere near them.

Anywhere near her. Not since her wedding day. Not since the fight in the back alley the day after. Charley had threatened that man with his life if he so much as harmed a precious hair on her head. Now this was worse. And he wanted to make good. Stupid court-orders. Not like he'd pay attention anyway. Like he was here now. Of course, he knew that the man was gone, but still. He wanted to throttle him.

"Don't lie to me, Mel," he said calmly, "you were never good at it. 'Sides, I heard. About the baby ... that bastard." Charley trailed off and took a step closer towards her, offering a warm arm to wrap around her. "Just say the word and he'll be gone," he added, "I'm serious."

[Melinda Litrell]

Melinda couldn't believe that Charley was here, she had thought that she would never see Charley again. He's breaking the law at just being here though, she knew that he wouldn't obey it. If Nate didn't talk him into barging down here then he would have done it himself. She was happy, overjoyed to see him. Though now she just felt so sorry. She didn't want to bring Charley into this. She knew deep down that there's something different about all this. David, Wilmington, Charley. She knew about Charley's powers, she have started to suspect him of being different. He was just too...how can she say heroic.

Then there's Clark who done his fair share of showing up whenever there was danger. So on the day of her wedding she locked Chloe in the wine cellar in the mansion. Chloe called Clark and Clark came, Melinda hide in the cellar and watched as Clark ripped the door off the hinges and then did something to the hinges to melt them back in place. It was unbelieveable, Chloe had asked about Charley and if he really was going to let her marry this jerk. Clark couldn't really give her an asnwer and then he was gone. Just instantly and Chloe she seemed unphased...she knew.

Melinda had called Charley the same day asked him to come over. She was planning to leave David, she wanted to leave him. She loved Charley she felt that there was nothing between them anymore to stop them. No secrets, nothing, the relationship could work. She knew his secret, he had powers...maybe one of those metoer freaks. She don't know but after she had talked to him David Sr found the note she was going to leave David and forced her to marry his son. He threatened their lives, the Miles...all her friends. He was so...evil.

She looked up into Charley's eyes her hair hanging in her face. No make up and yet she wasn't unattractive. She stepped back when he moved to her wanting him to leave for his own safety. She closed her eyes as his warm body pressed against gers. She closed her eyes and leaned into him. She moved her arms to wrap around him and then finally she pulled back. She shook her head as she turned from him. "You have to leave Charley. I love David..." She said taking a breath and placing on her mask, that convincing and so real mask. She turned to him. "I meant what I said on the night of my wedding. I was...was having cold feet."

[Charley Miles]

Charley had to come to see her. Melinda was as beautiful as ever, even if he could inately tell that something was wrong. Very wrong. He just did not know what it was, and that was bothering him. David was an asshole, and Charley had known that forever. There was just simply something that rubbed him wrong about him from the moment he had met him. And now this whole thing!? Insane.

He was always trying to save her. Save her from her moron husband and his father. With his powers, he was always trying to help people, especially the people he loved. Sometimes he wished he could read minds or emotions or something to get a good read on Melinda. There was always something unspoken between them. Almost as if she was somehow keeping something from him to protect him or something, but that did not make any sense.

Charley loved her dearly, and the day that he was called over because Melinda wanted to leave David, he wanted to help her. Sweep her off her feet and move to Hawaii or something. Some place where they could get married and live in peace together. Have a sweet family. But no ... something changed. Something changed and she was suddenly saying she loved David. Cold feet. Damn cold feet! It was NOT cold feet and they both knew it. But he was powerless to do anything to protect her from that family. Mostly because she would not admit to anything.

He suspected David Sr. had to do with most of the things that were wrong.

Charley loved her with no make up. She was beautiful to him. Anytime, any place. He let out a small, content breath as she pressed into him and her arms wrapped around him. Feeling her pull away, he sighed heavily, "No you don't." He was bitter, and Charley wanted to shoot both Davids ... to sweep her away. Swallowing down some of his bitterness and holding back tears, he shook his head, "No ... you're not serious. You can't love him! He's a bastard."

But she was serious. How in the hell could she be so serious!? "Mel ... please ...," he blinked, a single tear streaking down as he moved to brush it away quickly. Charley turned some so she couldn't see him start to tear up more.

[Melinda Litrell]

Melinda was so much in pain deep down, she wanted to be with Charley. She loved him, she didn't love David. She didn't love David, she didn't. She wanted to live with Charley, have a happy life with him. When she had visited David, Sr in the hospital he had told her that he had forced her to marry David to protect the Miles family. That if she got together with Charley, she would be a distraction to him and get them all killed. He was telling the truth, she knew it. She felt it, she don't know what is going on but something is going to happen here. Something bad, she didn't want to endanger Charley or his family.

He was trying to protect them, David Sr. He's so confusing, he have always been a hard and cruel man. Even to his son though now...she was confused as to what his game was. She didn't know who to trust, she didn't want to lose Charley, not ever. She always wanted to leave Wilmington, break away from this place. She was never strong enough, she's tired of people protecting her. She's tired of being attacked by these meteror freaks and tired of just...this. She wanted to start over, she wanted to just end it all. She's so tired and want to just sleep forever. Be with Charley and sleep.

She dreamed of a peaceful life with him, with kids, a family. Growing old together and just enjoying their life together. It had destroyed a part of her to marry David, she never wanted to touch him again after what he did to her. She had to break away, needed to break away. She swallowed tensely at Charley's bitterness, her own eyes tearing up. She tried to fight it, tried to pull herself together. She started to shake and wanted to break down and cry. Tell him everything, she looked away from him sucking in her lip between her teeth. She turned her eyes back to him trying to keep her expression unreadable. "Charley...Char...please. Don't do this." She said to him softly.

She looked down and turned her back to him. Trying to not notice his pain, his saddness. It was breaking her heart. They had tried this in the past, Charley had so many secrets and she just couldn't trusth im. Trust and and love was what she wanted then she didn't have it. Though now she know about his powers, she thought he is a meteor freak. He tried to tell her about his powers on the wedding night, tried to make her see that he cared for her and wouldn't even let that between them like before. "Charley, David Sr. threatened to kill you if I didn't marry his son." She said looking at him and moving close to him. Wanting to touch him, make it better.