Alicia had spent most of yesterday crying on and off and trying to figure out what to do next. There was no doubt that what she should have done was block Levi’s cell number and Facebook account, and also his email address. This was something she should have followed through on back in June when he was first released. She’d told herself a couple of times that she would, but that had all been nothing more than a bunch of idle thinking. She didn’t want to end all communication with Levi. Not now, not ever. But she feared that if she continued reading and listening to his messages, it wouldn’t be long before she went to him. Each of his words had tugged at her heart and made her long for him, but none had affected her as much as the note he’d sent her yesterday. Levi had laid everything out with all the right logic and sentiments, and she couldn’t argue with any of what he’d written. He was definitely her soul mate, and he was the only man she loved with her entire being. They were connected in a way she couldn’t explain, and no matter how hard she tried, she would never share that same kind of chemistry with Phillip. He was a good man with a good heart, but she couldn’t control who she loved. No one could do that, and anyone who claimed otherwise was lying.
What she’d also learned was that not everyone’s soul mate would be the ideal choice. Take Levi, for example. Here he was a former drug dealer who’d served time in prison, and Alicia was a college-educated writer and a pastor’s daughter. They’d come from totally different backgrounds and had lived completely different lives, yet they could relate to each other on every level. If only she could have fallen in love with Levi before marrying Phillip the first time…
Alicia wondered how many other women secretly felt the same as she did: married to men who were great in almost every regard, but whom they weren’t in love with. She had a feeling there were thousands who fell into that category. She was sure, too, that there were just as many men who didn’t love their wives. These people were merely living in the house together, believing they had no other choice. Most of them had lost out on being with their true soul mates because they’d feared what others might say. This was part of the reason Alicia hadn’t been able to break off her second engagement to Phillip so she could marry Levi. No one would have understood or approved of their relationship.
Alicia glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost ten. Phillip had been gone for more than an hour, and she’d had no idea so much time had passed. It felt as though she’d only been sitting there for ten minutes, meaning she’d done more fantasizing about Levi than she’d realized. She jumped when her cell phone rang because if it was Levi, she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to ignore him today. Thankfully, when she picked it up, she saw Brad’s number.
“Hey, Brad,” she said.
“Hey, how are you?”
“I’m good. What’s goin’ on?”
“Well, you know if I’m calling you in the middle of a Friday morning, it’s pretty bad.”
“Oh no. What’s wrong?”
“It’s Mel. She’s steadily not eating and steadily losing weight, and she won’t hear anything I’m saying.”
“Phillip and I were just talking about that yesterday. She’s lost a ton of weight, and she doesn’t realize how small she is.”
“She doesn’t see it at all, and when I got to work this morning I went on Google and discovered something called BDD. Body dysmorphic disorder. I also think she’s anorexic.”
“I’ve heard of BDD, but I never thought Melanie might have it. I just thought she was self-conscious about the way she looked because of how heavy she was when she was younger. And even more so now because of the way her mother talks to her. Mrs. Johnson has Melanie thinking a size ten is huge.”
“Her mother has played a huge part in this, but I still think she has BDD and anorexia. This morning when I told her how sickly she looked, she was livid. Totally defensive.”
“She was the same way with me in June. Remember when she passed out the same night her dad was having surgery?”
“Yeah, she was already in trouble then, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until now. Her personality is even different. She flies off the handle about everything. Anyway, I was hoping you would go and talk to her.”
“I can try. I’ll call her later to tell her I’m coming by tomorrow.”
“I’ll be at the office most of the day, so that’ll be a good time. If I’m there, she’ll swear we’re ganging up on her.”
“I just wish she knew how beautiful she was before she started losing so much weight,” Alicia said.
“So do I.”
“What does she eat for breakfast?”
“She drinks a shake.”
“What about lunch and dinner?”
“She claims she has a salad for lunch, and unfortunately, I’ve worked so many hours over the last few weeks, I haven’t been home to see what she has in the evening.”
“Well, she can’t be eating all that much. Not with losing so many inches and pounds.”
“I think she’s eating only enough to survive.”
“Gosh, that really scares me, Brad.”
“It scares me, too. This is serious, and something has to be done.”
“I’ll definitely go over and talk to her tomorrow. I wish I could get her to meet me for lunch, but I know that’s out of the question. She stopped doing that a while ago.”
“She doesn’t want to go to restaurants, because she doesn’t want us to see how little she eats.”
“I really wish we’d paid more attention to what was going on. I mean, I knew she wasn’t eating enough, but I never expected things to turn out the way they have.”
“Neither did I. But hey, I have to get going. Alicia, thanks for listening.”
“Of course. Mel is my girl, and you know you can call me anytime.”
“Will do. Talk to you later.”
“See ya.”
Alicia hated having to confront Melanie, because there was a chance it might end their friendship for good. Alicia still hadn’t forgotten how angry Melanie had been that night she’d practically thrown Alicia out of her room. But if losing her as a friend meant saving her life, then so be it.
She picked up her phone to call Melanie but noticed that she had another Facebook message. She clicked on the icon and opened it.
Hi Beautiful,
I really thought I would hear from you by now. Especially after pouring my heart out to you the way I did yesterday. Maybe you’re hoping I’ll just give up, but sweetheart, that’s not going to happen. Giving up on us would be like giving up on life, and I can’t accept that. I have a lot of plans, but none of them will mean anything if you’re not coming along for the ride. Actually, I think I’ve done a lot better than most would expect. I haven’t once tried to see you, even though I could easily have found you or “accidentally” run into you anytime I wanted. I also haven’t left you any voice messages except during the week when I know your husband is at the church. So I think you know by now that I’m not trying to make trouble for you. I just want to see you face-to-face. If it’ll make you feel better, we can meet at a public place. Whatever you want. Just tell me where, and I’ll be there. Oh, and by the way, I know you’ve read every last one of my inbox messages here on Facebook, because it always shows the exact time you opened it.
You take care, sweetheart. I’ll love you always.
Levi
Alicia closed her Facebook app and took a deep breath. She needed to get dressed and get out of there. She had to find some way to keep her mind off Levi. Just about anything would do, but it didn’t take long for her to consider something she hadn’t done in years: venturing out on one of her fabulous shopping sprees. Right after Phillip had divorced her the first time, she’d completely stopped spending beyond her means. But today, maybe a bit of retail therapy was what she needed. Something to relax her mind. Something to keep her from being reckless and irrational.