Deceptions, Lies, and Butterflies

When morning came, John woke to find Melissa still curled up next to him. She remained fast asleep, as he watched her. It was then he made his decision. He would tell her he loved her. He knew he couldn't continue allowing the pain Helen had caused to prevent him from moving forward. However, he wanted the moment to be just right. Thinking about what he wanted to do, John reached for his t-shirt and put it on. He then located his boxers and started to put them on, as well.

Melissa stirred as she felt John’s movements. She opened her eyes to find him getting dressed. Was he leaving? Was he regretting their night together? Oh no. She had scared him off by confessing her love for him. Her heart fell as she realized her mistake. She looked at him with a sadness she couldn’t hide. “John?”

John turned toward her and immediately noticed the look in her eyes. "Hey, hey. I'll be back," he assured her. Leaning over he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I just have a few things I need to do. I'll need to bathe first, but I shouldn't be gone more than an hour."

Melissa sighed with relief. She watched as he left and then took the opportunity to shower. She took her time getting dressed, wanting to look extra nice for John.

While Melissa bathed and got ready, John did the same, before heading down to the lobby of the hotel. While there, he spoke with the concierge and arranged to have a picnic lunch set up. He also enquired if there was any place he could purchase a bottle of Dr. Pepper. Luck would have it there was a store nearby and he arranged to have a bottle picked up and included in the lunch. John then went to the hotel florist and purchased a bouquet of flowers. As he made his away back to his room, he couldn’t help remembering Melissa’s statement that she did not deserver any of this. Something about the way she had insisted, not just once, still nagged at him. However, he continued to push those thoughts aside, as quickly as they arose.

*****

When she heard the telephone ring, Melissa answered it without thinking. She forgot the only person who knew she was there was Stacy. She had already ignored all the messages Stacy had left for her. Had she remembered, she would have never answered the phone; instead she was lost in thought about the wonderful man in the next room. When she heard Stacy’s voice, it held an anger that Melissa had never heard before. “Stacy, I…” Melissa didn’t even know where to start. “You weren’t going to come and I…”

When John arrived back in his room, he placed the flowers on the table and headed over to the door that lead back to Melissa’s room. As he reached for the doorknob, he heard her voice.

“No, that’s not it. I just… I wanted to get away for a while and you threw the ticket in the trash. I thought maybe I could get a fresh start here. I almost backed out; I really did. But at the last minute I found myself on the plane and… Stacy, it was too good of an opportunity to throw away. I had to come.”

A confused look crossed John's face. He couldn't understand what was meant by what he heard. And who was speaking to Stacy?

“Stacy, no, please don’t call the authorities. I’ll be home in a couple of days and you can have all your stuff back. I’ll give you your license, your passport, everything. Please… please just let me finish out the trip with John. He thinks I’m you and if he finds out I’m not… Stacy, please, I’m begging you.” Melissa couldn’t keep the hysterics out of her voice.

John then realized she wasn't talking to someone else. It was Stacy's voice he heard. At least that's what he thought. His heart sank at what he was hearing. No. It just couldn't be. It just couldn't be. He pulled open the door quietly and saw her on the phone, her back to him.

Melissa tried once more to reason with her sister. “Stacy, please. I’ll do anything you want when I get back but please don’t call the police. As your sister I am begging you to let me finish out this trip with John thinking I’m you. Once we get back….” She let her voice trail off. She knew once they got back everything would change. But for now she just wanted to spend her last days pretending that nothing was wrong. “Stacy, I love him.”

Those words Melissa had spoken the night before now felt like knives in John's heart. How could she be saying what she was to...obviously the real Stacy...? How could she have done this to him?

Melissa breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much. Stace, I really owe you for this. I promise I’ll make it up to you.” It wasn’t until after she hung up the phone and turned around that she saw John in the doorway. From the look on his face, he had heard every word. She had been caught red-handed.

Anger crossed John's face, as he made eye contact with her. Whoever she really was. Jerking his chair around, he wheeled himself back into his room. He then slammed the door behind him and locked it. He never wanted to see her again.

Melissa ran to the door, trying to stop him. “John, wait. Please let me explain.” She tried to open the door only to find she couldn’t. She knocked repeatedly as she continued speaking to the door, hoping he was listening. “John, please, open the door. Just let me explain. My name is Melissa. Stacy is my sister.”

John was listening, but he didn't care. What did she mean Stacy was her sister? It didn't matter what she said. He could never forgive her for what she had done. How could he have been so foolish? He angrily clinched his hands into fists.

Melissa put her back to the door and slid down to a sitting position. “John I wanted to tell you. I really did. And I never wanted to hurt you. I never meant…”

She never wanted to hurt him? She knew exactly what she was doing posing as Stacy. How dare she!

Choking back a sob, Melissa continued, “I never meant to fall in love with you. But I did. I do. I love you. And I’m so sorry that I lied to you. Please open the door.” She broke down sobbing as she kept repeating over and over again, “I’m so sorry.”

That was more than John could bear. How could she still profess love for him after all that? He had gone over to the table and now picked up the flowers he had purchased for Melissa. Flinging them across the room, the vase broke against the wall, as angry tears rolled down John's face.

Melissa heard the sound of breaking glass and knew that he would never open the door. It was just as she had known it would be – he hated her. Anything they had, anything he felt, anything they could ever have, was gone. She couldn’t move. She sat against the door sobbing, not caring if he heard her anguished cries. Right now, at this moment, all she wanted was for him to forgive her. If he didn’t, she didn’t know how she’d go on.

Later, she didn’t know how much time had passed; Melissa rose and made her way to the phone. She dialed the number to John’s room, hoping that if he wouldn’t talk to her in person he would at least talk to her over the phone.

John heard the phone ringing. He did not want to speak to anyway and was not planning on answering it. However, he remembered the lunch he had ordered. The concierge was going to call, when everything was ready to be sent up. Great. Now he had to deal with that. He grabbed the phone. "Hello," he said dully.

Melissa’s breath caught in her throat when he answered. She had half expected him not to. “John?”

Gripping the phone angrily, John realized it was the last person he had expected. The last person he wanted to talk to. "I have nothing to say," he stated coldly and started to hang up the phone.

"John, wait!" Melissa pleaded.

Bringing the receiver back to his ear, John frowned. "What?" he asked bitterly.

“I’m so sorry. For everything. I just….” Melissa sighed, “Please just let me talk to you in person. Let me try to explain.”

“You're sorry?" John laughed harshly. Did she even realize what she had done? Of course, she did. He wouldn't have put it past her and her sister to have planned the entire thing out. Probably planning to con him, just like that bastard who called himself his father. The thought brought a bitter taste to his mouth. "You're sorry!" he said again. "I don't ever want to see you again!" With that, he slammed down the phone.

At his confession of never wanting to see her again, Melissa’s heart shattered into a million unrecoverable pieces. She just stood there, holding the phone in her hand, not knowing what to do. She had never in her life felt about anyone the way she felt about John. And never had she had anyone show her the kind of anger he had at her deception.

As soon as John had hung up, the phone rang again. Couldn't she take a hint? He was through with her! Snatching up the receiver once more, John shouted, "What?!"

"Mr. Locke, it's the front desk."

John had completely forgotten they were due to call. "My apologies," he managed to say in a much calmer voice, although his heart was racing.

"We have your lunch ready."

"I... I don't need it now," he replied. He had to bite back a sob, as he said so.

"I'm afraid we will still have to charge it to you."

"Fine. That's fine," John said, before hanging up the phone.

Melissa finally realized she was still holding the receiver when the incessant beeping broke through the fog in her mind. She hung up the phone and went back to the connecting door. She knew John would never open it so she didn’t bother to knock. Instead she placed her palms on the door and whispered, “Please forgive me.”

About 15 minutes later John heard a knock on the door. What now?

"Room service, Mr. Locke."

Room service? He hadn't ordered.... What the hell? When he opened the door, he saw a hotel worker holding the picnic lunch he had ordered. Of course, he had paid for it so they were still going to deliver it. "Thank you," John said to a bewildered attendee. He tipped him, before shutting the door. Flinging the basket, the bottle of Dr Pepper rolled across the floor, stopping at the wheel of his chair. John placed his head in his hands and started to sob.

Melissa leaned her forehead against the door and let the tears silently fall. She heard John answer his door and then heard the loud crashing of something being thrown. It was more than she could bear. She crawled back into her bed and cried herself to sleep.

When John's sobs finally subsided, he went into the bathroom to wash his face. He couldn't bear to look at himself in the mirror. At the fool he truly was. First the walkabout had not come through and now he had the love of his life tear his heart to shreds. He had to fight hard not to start crying again. He felt like crawling into a hole and dying. He had to get out of there. He had to leave. Melissa was welcome to stay. He didn't really care. The hotel had already been paid for.

Locating his plane ticket, John called the airline and arranged to take an earlier flight back to LA. He felt lucky, if he could really call it that, that there was a flight out that very day. However, he'd have to leave as soon as possible. No problem there. The sooner he was out of there the better. Grabbing his belongings, he flung them into his suitcase, before calling the valet to assist him. As he made his way to the elevator he didn't look back. He never wanted to think of Sydney or Australia or Stacy... or whatever her name was, ever again.