Page 21 of Lightning Angel
Melissa.
Alexa blinked a few more timesto make sure her sleepy eyes hadn’t read it wrong. But no. The caller ID still showed Melissa’s name.
She checked the time on the top left of the screen; it was 12:12 am.
What game was Melissa trying to play at midnight?
Alexa fell back into the bed snorting and tossed her phone safely to the side. The ringing ended, only to start again.
Groaning, Alexa silenced it. A moment later, it began ringing again.
She grabbed the phone and glared at the caller ID in irritation. What did Melissa want to tell her at this time of night so urgently?
She answered, “Yes?”
“Alexa! I’m so sorry to bother you, but I want to apologize for what I said earlier today. I’m so sorry. I was so wrong to do it, I was bad. I shouldn’t have said those things to you. I was pissed then, I acted on impulse—”
Alexa froze in shock, surprise, and disbelief, but Melissa went on with her apology in one breath, not giving her a moment to speak. Not that she was going to; she felt too shocked to utter a word. Her mouth parted and closed, but she listened to Melissa’s venting.
And Melissa was practically wailing.Wailing!What happened to her?
Alexa’s first impression was that she had an encounter with Jesus. Even with her faith fading, there was nothing else Alexa could possibly think of that made a person like Melissa cry and apologize.
One could bend an iron rod easier than Melissa humbling herself to say a simplesorryto her declared enemy.
When Melissa was done venting and caught her breath shakily, Alexa asked, “Melissa, why are you crying? What happened?”
“Please tell me you forgive me, Alexa. Please, please, please.” She sobbed.
This wassounlike Melissa. On second thought, was she drunk?
Oh, Alexa knew drunk Melissa; she was worse than her sober self, especially toward her nemesis.
“What happened?” Alexa pressed. “Why are you crying like this?”
“Promise me I have your forgiveness first!” Though shaky, Melissa’s voice took on its all-too-familiar demanding tone.
“No, first tell me what’s going on,” Alexa insisted with the same ire in her voice as she sat up on the bed and crossed her legs.
“I’m scared.”
“What?” To Alexa’s credit, the breathy laugh that threatened to escape her lips, one that developed due to the irony of Melissa’s words, barely made it out.
Something was up, because Melissa wasn’t being herself. And she most definitely didn’t have an encounter with God. First of all, they weren’t scary. Second, why would God ever prompt Melissa to apologize to a person He had stopped caring about?
“Don’t think I’m crazy, because I’m sure I’m not.” Melissa’s voice dropped as she sniffed and said the next words, “There’s someone in my house.”
Alexa’s spine straightened in alarm. As much as she loathed Melissa, she didn’t wish her ill. “What?” she hissed in disbelief. “Where are your parents?”
“They’re on a vacation in Vegas, remember? They won’t be back until the weekend.”
“Then call the police, Melissa! Why did you callmeinstead? Call them now!”
Melissa’s voice dropped even lower. “I-It’s… It’s a ghost.”
Alexa blinked into the darkness of her room. Had the queen of Harmony Hills High gone crazy overnight?
“Alexa, I’mnotcrazy, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Melissa said, her voice tinged with frustration at Alexa’s prolonged silence. “It’s a ghost; Isawit, I saw it moving. Alexa, I’m scared, it’s still here. It won’t go until I call you and apologize.”