As Melody gazed up at the small, rundown house that contained too many memories which she thought had been left in the past she wondered how she had landed in this position. What had gone wrong for her to end up here? Her heart clenched in pain as she recalled her previous conversation with Leonardo. It had been merely hours since she had ended the phone call and she could only imagine the state she had driven her man into. Undoubtedly, he would be angry - Melody shivered at the thought.
Hesitantly, Melody brought her knuckles down on the wooden door. As she heard commotion in the house her nerves bit at her anxiety. What was she doing here? Her breath hitched as the door was yanked open and her eyes clouded with tears as a skeletal middle aged women was revealed to her. "Hi, M-mum."
The woman stared at Melody with caution and seconds passed before her eyes shone with a distasteful recognition. "Melody," she greeted and the girl flinched a little at her icy tone. "What are you doing here?"
Melody was wondering that herself. She shouldn't be here. Her voice shook with sadness as she stuttered an uncertain reply. "I-I have nowhere else to g-go."
The woman displayed no indication of sympathy; no motion of care. She wore an almost bored expression. She was not the least bit surprised at Melody's words. Contrastingly, the girl broke a little at her Mother's comfortless reaction and she began to reverse down the stairs that led up to the door as the harsh feeling of rejection fell upon her. "Wait..." The woman demanded, "you might as well come inside."
Melody was hesitant to accept the invitation that was offered with blatant annoyance in her voice. However, truthfully, this was her only option unless she wished to spend the night on the street. The girl was far too stubborn to return to Leonardo's house and she knew if she were to pay for a hotel her credit card would immediately alert her boyfriend of her whereabouts. Momentarily did she consider staying with one of her friends but they all happened to have ties to the man she so wanted to avoid. Guiltily, she did not feel able to trust them not to turn her in, their loyalties most likely laid with Leonardo - they had known him far longer than they had her.
Sullenly, Melody nodded and stumbled through the door as the woman let it hang open and returned inside. She followed her direction and shifted uncomfortably as her movements ended in the lounge. Her Mother carelessly plonked herself down on the tattered sofa and Melody felt rather awkward as she pondered over what to do. "So... how have you been?" The polite girl inquired and her feelings got a little stung as the woman scoffed at her voice which lacked authority and confidence.
"What? Since you ditched me for that no-good boyfriend of yours?" Melody anxiously toyed with her neckless at the sore topic. "What? He finally got tired of your gold-digging ass?"
Melody's eyebrows innocently furrowed at that description of her. It was purely coincidental that she had fallen in love with somewhere far wealthier than her family were. The girl never had any malicious intentions in her relationship with Leonardo and she would never dream of using a person in such a devious way. It was obvious and simple; she loved him and Melody became confused by her Mother's allegations. "N-no, that's not what happened," she denied.
"No? What then? He finally hit you?" The woman concluded and the poor girl's mouth flew open in shock at the mere suggestion. Yes, Leonardo was incredibly faulted but he would never dare lay a hand on his sweet girl. After all, she was his to protect.
"No. He wouldn't do that," she instantaneously objected. She obtained a spurt of confidence as she felt the need to defend Leonardo.
"You can't really be surprised! A brute like that and you're going to end up with some bruises," she continued and Melody's eyes flared with rage.
"He is not a brute - he has loved me and shown more care for me than you ever could and he would never intend to hurt me." Her voice was unusually definitive as he spoke for the man. Despite their current disagreement she would not allow her Mother of all people to speak badly about Leonardo. She didn't know him. She didn't know how he had protected and looked after the girl. In Melody's view, she had no right to make assumptions.
"You are so full of shit Melody. Are you really that naive? He doesn't care about you. Why would he? I'm not the slightest bit surprised he's ditched you, if anything I don't understand why he put up with you for so long." The words cut daggers into the girl as they openly projected her worst fears and insecurities. She never felt enough for Leonardo, he always seemed too intelligent, too brave, too freakishly beautiful for her. She hated how her own Mother confirmed the thoughts that seemed to haunt her.
"No, you're w-wrong. He l-loves me." Melody whispered with a guilty uncertainness. She was sure if Leonardo were there he would reprimand her for allowing her anxiety to run wild.
"Stupid girl! Nobody could love you. You're a selfish brat who abandoned your own Mother for some criminal!" The woman declared in anger as she rolled her eyes at Melody's dramatics. However, an expression of surprise washed over her as she noted how her daughter looked at her with such fury.
"You have no right to paint me as the bad guy in our relationship Mother! You have no right to act like you were there for me and supported me throughout my childhood because you and I both know you were neither of the sort. You were absent and cold. Half the time you ignored my mere existence and the other you made me wish I didn't have an existence to begin with! You were a bad parent and you have no right to judge me for moving on with my life; for being happy." By the time the girl finished she was breathless. Salty tears rolled freely down her face as she shared her true feelings with the angry woman in front of her.
"What? This is happy?" The woman scoffed, dismissively. "Coming crying to your Mother when a man upsets you is happy? God, you're more pathetic than I thought."
"You don't know anything about my life!" The poor girl could not contain how upset she was. She despised arguing with people and the simple presence of her Mother had made her more on edge that usual.
"And who's fault is that?!" The woman retorted, getting up from the couch and storming towards Melody in an effort to intimate her.
The girl grimaced with disgust as she felt her Mother spit on her face as she spoke. "Yours! It is your fault! You're the one that pushed me away! You were nothing but mean to me!"
"That's where you are wrong, my darling. Everything bad that has happened to me is your fault. Before you came along I was happy! I was married! I had a husband! You ruined that for me by driving him away! You made him hate us!" Melody fell apart at the cruel statement. Pained sobs racked through her and she struggled to remain standing.
"Fuck you!" She bellowed and her crying momentarily paused as she felt a rough hand come down on her cheek and she was thrown to the floor.
She gazed up at the woman with so much hatred. What had she done to deserve this? To Melody, the saddest part of the abuse was that she was not surprised. If anything she had expected this treatment when she first entered the unwelcoming home. She hated how her own Mother disliked her so much that she was willing to inflict pain on her. This wasn't love. This wasn't family. Leonardo was family.
"Get the hell out of my house!" The woman yelled as she stubbornly ignored the twang of remorse that reprimanded her for her actions.
"Gladly." Melody agreed before bravely picking herself up from the floor and forcefully shoving past her Mother as she trecked towards the front door. The interaction had only proven to her that her Mother had not changed nor did she have any desire to want to. Unbeknownst to the woman, she had driven the vulnerable girl straight back into the arms of the only person she believed to truly love her. As she quickly exited the house that was burdened with painful memories she had only one destination in mind.
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I'm sorry this chapter is a little short! I hope you are all doing great! This isn't edited by the way. Thank you so much for 10k! I love you all. xxx
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His Melody
Romance"Uh, uh, uh, none of that. What have we talked about, hm? You're safe, yes?" I reiterate and kiss the top of her head as she nods against my chest. "So, there's no need for your worrying, okay? I'm here and I am not going to let anything happen to y...
