His Melody

Chapter 17 - Jackass Frost

Melody's POV:

Instinctively, I rush to the door. I clumsily stumble as I move with haste but upon reaching it I find myself freezing in position. My hand hovers over the handle in hesitance, my breath hitches in my throat as my mind goes blank and the little confidence I have dissipates.
Can I really do this? Without Leo?
A continuation of knocking makes me flinch and recoil from the door.
The noise was louder this time; angrier. I'm making him angrier.
Digging my nails into my sweaty palms I force myself to breathe before reluctantly grabbing the door handle a swinging it open.

I am forced to adjust my gaze as my eyes only reach the man's chest. As I analyse his appearance I can only make out a vague resemblance between him and Leonardo - the lack of familiarity somehow makes me more anxious.

He doesn't look like his Father; he doesn't look like a Father.

Retrospectively, that statement sounds silly however I cannot deny that the man is not at all what I pictured a Father to be. He seems to lack the "Dad's belly" that the books I read often describe as I note his muscular physique that is visible through his clothing. Contradicting the descriptions further, my eyes quickly catch the intricate tattoos that appear to begin from the v-neck of his shirt and come to an end at his jawline - I imagine that he has many more hidden elsewhere. My eyebrows furrow as the balding head I had assumed to find is replaced by a perfectly styled mess of jet black hair. Unlike Leo, he lacks the facial piercing that I've grown so fond of, but he does still have the stubble of a beard on his chin, although his seems to be more prickly; more sharp. Furthermore, the man appears much younger than I had thought him to be; the only indicator of Fatherhood being a few grey whiskers in his eyebrows. His eyes, however, hold only youth; he has the same crystal blue eyes as Leonardo - the kind you could get lost in and never return from - an exact replicate, and yet, his seem colder somehow.

"You done fucking staring?" The man grumbles and I instantly feel my cheeks burn red with embarrassment as I divert my vision towards the floor.
His voice lacks the softness Leonardo uses with me; it was unwelcoming.

"S-sorry," I apologise, and decide to focus on the feeling of my nails pressing into the delicate skin of my palm rather than the man's crippling gaze.

The man grunts a reply before waltzing from the doorway and into the house, forcefully shoving me aside as he went. It's okay, I was in the way.

I stand rigid in shock for a few mere moments before I regain my senses and carefully close the door, trying my best not to make a noise as I imagine somehow furthering the man's annoyance towards me. Swiftly, I turn around and find him surveying the room, the jacket he previously had on now carelessly sprawled over the back of the nearest sofa. My mouth opens in an attempt to make small talk with him and hopefully allow him to feel more at ease however I ultimately fail as I appear at loss for words.

"Once you've finished gaping like a fucking fish, it's polite to offer the guest a drink you know. I've had a long ass journey," he criticises and I don't miss his bitter tone.

"Y-yes, of course, I'm sorry. Would you like a drink? We h-have.. um, apple and orange juice, hot chocolate, and...well lots of alcoholic beverages... I mean if that's what you're in the mood for..." I suggest but my nerves spiral as he merely rolls his eyes. "Of course we have water... I mean only from the tap but I swear it's very good quality wat-", I continue before he loudly sighs and interrupts me.
It's okay, I was blabbering.

"Coffee. Black with no sugar," he demands and I gulp with fear as my nails dig even deeper into my palms.

"Actually... I'm really, really sorry but we don't have any coffee at the moment," I truthfully reply but find myself whimpering quietly as he glares daggers at me and moves closer so that he is invading my personal space - purposely trying to intimidate me. "I-it's just t-that I'm more of a tea p-person you see and Leo only drinks coffee when he's s-super tired," I explain and silently curse myself for my stuttering.

To my utter surprise, the man scoffs and chuckles with fake amusement, "what did you just address your boss as? 'Leo?' Who the fuck do you think you are?" He challenges with a threatening tone. Huh?

"W-what do you mean?" I inquire as my head tilts a little to the side with blatant confusion. What does he mean by boss?

"Listen girl, I don't care if you're fucking him or whatever but you will only refer to my son as Mr Romano, clear?" He states, passively and I shrink further into myself.

"I d-don't underst-" I continue but quickly shut up as he takes a step closer to me.

"Are we fucking clear?" He spits and I visibly shake before frantically nodding my head and mumble a feeble, 'yes sir'.
"Good. Now go to the shops and get me some goddamn coffee."

I waste no time before following his orders and sprinting out the front door; too scared to argue.
As I amble up the driveway I feel something sticky on my palms and as I look down to investigate I clench my jaw uncomfortably as I find small trails of blood leading to red fingernail marks imprinted into my skin.
I didn't think I had been pressing that hard...Leo... I mean Mr Romano won't be happy.

****
Hello my lovely readers!

Firstly, I would like to apologise for being so inactive recently. I have had some difficult personal issues going on which I have been preoccupied with, however I am going to try my best to begin posting on here regularly. I have quite a few new ideas for this story and I am very excited.

I'm sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual, I debated doing another section to it but ultimately decided to post it as it is and include more in the next chapter. I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible!
(It will be in Leonardo's POV.)

What do you think of Leonardo's Father? What do you think Leonardo will do when he finds out how his Father treated Melody?
I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

I hope you are all having a lovely summer, sending all my love. <3 Xxx