My Heart's Melodie

I heard faint screaming before it became a normal volume. The screaming was calling my name, asking me to wake up.

Once I was more awake, I could also hear a few more voices, calm and gentle.

“Joe, she’s only been out for a few minutes.”

“I KILLED HER!” he screamed.

“Joe, she hit her head. She probably only has a concussion. It was only seven steps.”

“THEN WHY ISN’T SHE MOVING?!”

“PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU’RE SCARING HER WITH YOUR YELLING.”

That shut him up.

I slowly started to open my eyes, but quickly shut them again and let out a groan. The light hurt my eyes, and was giving me a major migraine.

“See? She’s fine.”

I reconized Kevin’s voice; it was calming. I could feel a prescence beside him, so I shaded my eyes and tried opening them once more. Joe was sitting next to him.

I punched him in the stomach as hard as I could.

“Ow! What was that for?!”

I closed my eyes again and put a smug look on my face. “That’s for pushing me down the stairs and not catching me.”

“Yup. She’s fine,” Kevin said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

Joe pinched him. “Shut up, Kevin.”

I could almost see Kevin rolling his eyes at Joe. I heard him get up and leave the room.

“You sure you’re okay?” Joe asked me, gently stroking my hair.

“Mhmm,” I said while nodding my head. I cringed; I could almost feel my brain racking around in my head.

“The paramedics are on there way,” I heard a voice call from the doorway. It sounded like Nick.

“She’s awake now.”

“They should still have a look at her.”

“That’s what a hospital is for.”

“They may need to take her to the hospital. Driving her to the hospital in on of our own cars means she would have to sit up which could do more damage.”

Silence from Joe’s end of the argument.

I could almost see Nick’s knowing smile as he knew he had won the argument. Joe huffed and bent back over me.

“Does your head hurt?”

Just kiss me and it won’t.

“Duhh.”

He kissed my forehead. “Better?”

I meant on the lips, but okay. It’s a start.

“Ehh, a little.”

**--**--**

We got home from the hospital a couple hours later. I had a concussion, but it wasn’t too bad. And the best part?

Alice was no where to be found.

And Joe was obviously only thinking about me, and my well being. As selfish as that sounds, it was true.

But once we got home, I noticed something…different about the way Joe was treating me. I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad, it was just different. Normally, we would be cracking jokes and everything, but now he was just worrying about my health.

He told the doctors that I hadn’t been eating.

And they told him that it was no longer a question of if I was eating. It was, you are eating.

“You feeling better?”

I heard the soft voice coming from the living room. I walked in the room and found Alice sitting there, reading a book.

Pride and Predjudice to be exact.

My favorite book.

“Oh, uhh, yah,” I said quickly, taking Joe’s hand and dragging him into the kitchen.

“What?” he asked me.

“She isn’t going to the concert with us is she?”

“Well, she wasn’t, but then she showed up today, and it would be rude to leave her behind, so yes, she’s going.”

I almost felt my heart drop. I was really excited about tonight, but now it was ruined. He would probably dedicate a song to Alice. And knowing my luck, it would be one of my favorite songs.

“Oh, ok.”

**--**--**

We got off the tour bus and got to the backstage area of the venue where they’d be performing. Nick and Joe had went off into a another room to talk, leaving Kevin to help with sound check and me sitting next to Alice on the couch.

I was too anxious just to sit still, so I went over to the door and overheard some of Joe and Nick’s conversation.

They were whispering, so I couldn’t quite desiphre whose voice was whose, but I thought the first voice sounded like Nick’s.

“Dude, I really like Melodie, and I just don’t know if she’ll love me.”

“But what about—“

“We broke up.”

“Oh. Then why don’t you ask her out?”

“I don’t know—“

I accedently hit the door. They stopped for a moment, but then continued talking, more quietly than before.

“Well there is another problem……Melodie and I have a bit of an age difference. I don’t think it would affect us, but you know Melodie might not feel comfortable.”

“Who cares? Just tell her that you love her.”

“Thanks. Just….you can’t tell her, okay?”

“Okay.”

I was really confused. If I had the voices right, that meant Nick loved me, and not Joe. But I didn’t feel the same way. I loved Nick and all, but like a brother.

I heard them getting up, so I hurried back over to the couch where I had been sitting before. When they walked out, Nick had a worried expression on his face. Maybe it was true; maybe he did love me.

Joe didn’t seem to act strangely. I don’t know, maybe I could learn to love Nick in that way.

No, I couldn’t. I can’t see myself with anyone but Joe.

And I couldn’t love anyone else for that matter.