His Forbidden Sweets (Complete)

Chapter 21

The next week passed much like the last one. Melody just went to her classes and came back to her dorm. Friday night Zoe invited Landon and Scarlett over for a movie night; hoping to cheer Melody up. They had some drinks and snacks. Melody didn’t care for the idea at first but once they were there she really started to enjoy herself. She loved her brother and knew this would be the only year they got to do things like this. He would graduate in the spring and she didn’t know where he was planning to move after school. The more time she spent with Scarlett the more she liked her. She fit in very well with their little group and she liked the way Landon was around her. But she would be lying if seeing them together didn’t make her miss Riley. Melody had broken down during the week and told Zoe what had happened. Zoe had been just as confused and furious with Riley. Ever since Zoe had been trying to make Melody forget about him and cheer her up. But his absence couldn’t go without notice.

“Have you guys talked to Paxton lately?” Landon asked.

“Nope. Haven’t seen him since break.” Zoe replied.

“Mel?”

She shook her head. Landon sighed. Zoe tried to change the subject.

“Scarlett are you going to the game tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I will admit I’ve never gone to any of the games until Landon asked me to come out and watch him. Would you guys want to meet before and sit together?”

“Sure!” Zoe said.

The rest of the night was full of food, movies, and laughs. Melody was happy Zoe had planned it. But the happiness only lasted until she was in bed alone with her thoughts. 

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Landon ran out of the locker room and greeted Scarlett and Zoe. 

“Coach will kill me if he finds me out here but I had to say hi to my girl! Where’s Mel?”

“She said she had too much studying for finals to make it.”

“That’s bullshit, she’s never missed a game. What’s up with her lately?....shit I have to go…”

Riley sat in the locker room trying to focus and get ready for the game. He saw Landon come back in and noticed the look on his face when he sat down next to him. 

“Where were you?”

“Just saying hi to Scarlett...she’s supposed to be sitting with Mel and Zoe but Mel didn’t show up.”

Riley just nodded. The last thing he needed before game time was to think about Melody. They lost...in big part due to Riley’s three dropped passes.

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Finals week was stressful. Melody studied, took tests, ate, and slept for 5 whole days. She cheered up a bit Saturday when her parents showed up for Landon’s last football game. She didn’t want to go to the game and watch Riley play. She sat with her parents, Zoe, and Scarlett. Zoe tried to support her as much as possible. Melody couldn’t wait for the game to be over so she could head back home with her parents for winter break. Melody tried her best to cheer her brother on. She was happy they were able to win for Landon’s final game. He wasn’t going Pro and it would be his last football game ever.

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 Riley flew home for the holiday. He was numb these days. He had tried to talk to Melody and possibly explain things but she had refused to text him, answer his calls, and he hadn’t seen her around campus until their last game. He couldn’t believe she had missed last week's game and he tried to tell himself it had nothing to do with him, but deep down he knew she was avoiding him. When he got off the plane he saw Finn running towards him. He picked him up and hugged him tight. It’s like he was pouring the pain of the last two weeks into that healing hug.

After a few days at home his mom stopped him when he came in from a run. She poured a glass of tea and asked him to sit down at the table. 

“How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“How’s Melody doing?”

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to have this conversation. 

“Did something happen between you and Melody?”

He sighed and put his head in his hands. He let out another large sigh and started to tell her everything that had happened. 

“...and I tried to apologize and explain but I waited too long. She wouldn’t respond to my texts or calls.”

He left out how he had been numbing the pain with alcohol ever since.

“I see.”

“I screwed up Mom.”

“I don’t know Melody very well but I believe she will forgive you once she hears you out. I’m sure she is confused and hurt by your reaction.”

Her heart ached at the pain in her son’s eyes. 

“Tell me...do you regret your choice?”

“No...I mean I wish I had done things differently...I just didn’t know what to do...I panicked. God why didn’t I just stay and talk to her, instead of running off?!”

“You can’t change what happened, but I think you do need to talk to her. When was the last time you tried talking to her?”

“Like two weeks ago.”

“Call her. Maybe she just needed time to process things. She might be just as upset as you, missing you, and wanting to talk to you. The more time passes the harder it will be to start a conversation. I’m sorry this has happened. I hope it all works out.”

“Thanks Mom. I’m going to go get cleaned up.”

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Christmas morning Riley sat on the couch watching Finn bounce around the living room opening up his gifts. There is nothing like the joy of a child on Christmas morning. He wished he could share this with Melody. He didn’t know what to say to her but he knew he had to try. 

Merry Christmas Sweets -R