Back Into Your Arms
Chapter 30
“I found the perfect apartment Mrs. Shepard” I said to her as she sipped her morning cup of coffee. I showed her the photos and the price.
“Quite nice”
“Right?”
“You’re really leaving Miss Riley?”
I nodded.
“You’re that serious about the guy?”
“It’s not just about him”
“Then?”
“I need to find myself again, I originally lived in Arizona Mrs. Shepard, all my memories are there, even the lost ones”
“But the guy comes included?”
“Do you distrust him too?”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, I feel you are getting really serious with this guy and you hardly know each other”
“I don’t love him yet Mrs. Shepard, I just want to get to know him better, and being far away from each other isn’t going to help that”
“So the real reason you are leaving is for yourself?”
“Yes, for me, not for him, for me”
“As long as that’s the reason”
I nodded and sighed. I understood her concern, but if Mrs. Shepard was telling me this, I could only imagine the things my mother would say.
Alex showed up at my door. He was waiting there, impatiently.
He looked up as he saw me get off the elevator.
“Melody”
“What are you doing here?”
“You blocked me”
“I did and for a good reason too”
“Please, hear me out”
“Go ahead”
“Can’t we go inside? Your neighbors will hear us?”
“No”
“Fine”
“Ok, spit it out”
“I was wrong”
“Good, that’s enough, I don’t really want to hear the rest of your clichéd speech” I said walking over to my door, putting in my passcode.
The door buzzed open.
“I was cheating on you”
I had to admit the words hurt, though they were no surprise.
I closed the door and turned to look at him.
“With who?”
“Co-worker”
“For how long?”
“5 months?”
“Then why did you bother to come and have dinner with me”
“You’re a good friend Mel and an excellent cook”
“Oh wow”
“I’m really sorry Mel, I screwed up. You just, were so sweet with me, I couldn’t break your heart but at the same time my conscience was killing me”
“I’m dating someone Alex, so if you have any hopes of getting back together it’s not going to happen”
“Who?”
“A lovely lead singer of a band”
He coughed.
“What?”
“I’m moving back to Arizona too”
“He’s from Arizona”
“He is, and so am I, I’ve no clue what I’m doing here in Brooklyn”
He was speechless.
He tried to say something but it wasn’t coming out.
“I really am sorry Mel”
“I know, I hope you don’t cheat on your next girlfriend”
He just nodded and began his walk of shame to the elevator.
Inside my apartment, I got another memory.
I was beginning to feel they were not going to stop coming at this point, rather get more frequent.
I was talking to some guy, some teen.
“I’ve liked you for a long-time Melody” he said to me.
“Greg”
“Why do you look so upset?”
“I’m dating someone already” I said to him, my voice was faltering, it appears I was telling a lie.
“Who?”
“Someone from the baseball team”
“Who?” he insisted. He was upset.
“John”
“O’Callaghan?”
“Yeah, him”
“The wannabe lead singer of a band?”
“He’s a lovely singer” I defended him.
“Whatever” he said upset as he walked away.
The rest of my memory was hazy. I remember feeling very distressed about the lie I had told.
I sat on my couch meditating on the memory I had received back.
I called John.
“Hi”
“Greg, he liked me for a long time”
“What?” he asked laughing at the randomness of my opening sentence.
“He did, he seemed pretty sincere about it too”
“Poor guy”
“I lied to him and told him I was dating you, did you know that?”
“You told him you were dating me?”
“I did”
“I thought he wanted to ask you to homecoming?”
“Nope, he was asking me to be his girlfriend and I told him I was already dating someone”
“Wow”
“Yup, I’m a pretty big liar apparently”
“I really didn’t know this information”
“He also called you a wannabe lead singer”
“Harsh”
“Maybe he’s been to one of your shows now?”
“I doubt it, especially if I stole his dream girl”
“True, but anyways that is all”
“This was a good one” he said, I could tell he was smiling.
“I’ll talk to you later Johno"
“Sounds good Melo”
***
“What has gotten into you?” my mother said walking into my apartment, I was extremely surprised she had showed up to begin with. I quickly turned off my music, I had forgotten she knew the passcode to get in.
She looked around as she saw a lot my things already packed into boxes, stacked in the living room.
“Are you really moving back to Arizona?” she said upset, not even greeting me.
I nodded.
“Yeah, I already found an apartment over there”
“What about your job? What are you doing about the school?”
“I love teaching, but I’m not sure it’s what I want to do right now…I’ve been doing it for so long…”
“You’re insane”
“I have enough money saved in the bank, plus, I’m selling the building”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I don’t want to live in New York any longer”
“Why?”
“Mother you try living here”
“Who doesn’t want to live in New York?”
“I DON’T, MOM!” I said getting upset.
“I don’t get it”
“Imagine being here on your own, it’s so cold here during the winter, I have very little friends, I don’t have a family to come home to every night…I’m lonely”
“Then get married”
I couldn’t believe she was telling me this.
“Excuse me mom, but who exactly do I marry?”
“Get back together with that nice boy Alex? We also have some friends who have some really handsome sons”
“Alex cheated on me, Mom”
“We know plenty of young bachelor’s”
“I know plenty too, now if you can please leave, this is my home”
She made a face of shock.
“Are you kicking your own mother out?”
“I’m busy cleaning and packing, unless you are going to help, you can leave”
“You are acting like a disrespectful teenager, what’s gotten into you?”
“Please leave before I say things that I will regret saying”
She couldn’t believe it, but I couldn’t believe it either.
She walked out and closed the door.
I didn’t want to fight with my mother, but knowing the truth hurt.
Knowing that she has been lying to me for 10 years, knowing that she was the one that kept me from recovering my memories, knowing that she was the one who sent me to New York hurt. Not only did it hurt but it angered me.
I wiped the tears from my face and proceeded to clean the house.
When night time came, she showed up again.
“Melody”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to catch my flight back to Arizona in about an hour, I just came to say goodbye”
“Did you just come to see me?”
“No, I came here on a business trip”
“Oh okay”
“I’ll see you over there then”
“Okay, bye mom”
She sighed and went on her way.
I called Julie.
“Jules?”
“Yes?”
“My mom sent you over here with me, right?”
“Um, yes”
“What were here motives?”
“For you or for me?”
“No, her motives for sending me to New York…I applied to other places, didn’t I?”
“You did”
“Then why did she insist on New York?”
“I really don’t know, that is something you should ask her”
I sighed, that wasn’t something I could simply ask right now.
“Okay”
“Why. What happened?”
“My mom came by”
“She WHAT?”
“Yup, on a business trip and she stopped by”
“Is she upset?”
“Very”
“And you still haven’t even told her that you know they lied, huh?”
“Nope, haven’t mentioned a thing yet”
“I’ll pray that everything works out, when are you leaving?”
“Today is Monday…I’m leaving on Sunday”
“I’m going to miss you a lot”
“Me too”
“Who knows, if it goes well for you, we might move over there too. Rent is cheaper”
“We can only hope” I smiled.
“I’ll go help you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sounds good”
I collapsed onto the couch and checked my stories on Instagram. John had sent me a few.
“Check this out and tell me what you think” He said in one of them. He started playing something from his computer, a new track. Always working on the tracks.
It sounded really good.
“Well did you like it? Best song you’ve ever heard? I knew it” he said this time showing his face.
The next story was a photo. Two tickets on a table.
“Will you be my date to prom?”
I laughed confused as the next video loaded.
“I’m kidding, we never even went to prom, we both hated those things...In all seriousness, will you go see The Technicolor’s with me? I miss you”
I was upset that they erased after watching them. The messages he always sent me were priceless.
It was time for my replies. I positioned the camera to my face, making sure all the boxes in the living room came out.
“I liked the track from today better than yesterdays, maybe add some soft piano? While you have fun in your studio, this is what I’ve been working on” I said flipping the camera to show all the boxes.
“I’ll be with you on Sunday, you better have a lovely dinner planned out. You have roughly 5 days to write and produce a song about me”
“I WILL go to prom with you, and YES we can go see The Technicolor’s instead of going to the dance. I miss you too”
I sent them all waited for his reply. This was our thing now, and it was lovely.
“Quite nice”
“Right?”
“You’re really leaving Miss Riley?”
I nodded.
“You’re that serious about the guy?”
“It’s not just about him”
“Then?”
“I need to find myself again, I originally lived in Arizona Mrs. Shepard, all my memories are there, even the lost ones”
“But the guy comes included?”
“Do you distrust him too?”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, I feel you are getting really serious with this guy and you hardly know each other”
“I don’t love him yet Mrs. Shepard, I just want to get to know him better, and being far away from each other isn’t going to help that”
“So the real reason you are leaving is for yourself?”
“Yes, for me, not for him, for me”
“As long as that’s the reason”
I nodded and sighed. I understood her concern, but if Mrs. Shepard was telling me this, I could only imagine the things my mother would say.
Alex showed up at my door. He was waiting there, impatiently.
He looked up as he saw me get off the elevator.
“Melody”
“What are you doing here?”
“You blocked me”
“I did and for a good reason too”
“Please, hear me out”
“Go ahead”
“Can’t we go inside? Your neighbors will hear us?”
“No”
“Fine”
“Ok, spit it out”
“I was wrong”
“Good, that’s enough, I don’t really want to hear the rest of your clichéd speech” I said walking over to my door, putting in my passcode.
The door buzzed open.
“I was cheating on you”
I had to admit the words hurt, though they were no surprise.
I closed the door and turned to look at him.
“With who?”
“Co-worker”
“For how long?”
“5 months?”
“Then why did you bother to come and have dinner with me”
“You’re a good friend Mel and an excellent cook”
“Oh wow”
“I’m really sorry Mel, I screwed up. You just, were so sweet with me, I couldn’t break your heart but at the same time my conscience was killing me”
“I’m dating someone Alex, so if you have any hopes of getting back together it’s not going to happen”
“Who?”
“A lovely lead singer of a band”
He coughed.
“What?”
“I’m moving back to Arizona too”
“He’s from Arizona”
“He is, and so am I, I’ve no clue what I’m doing here in Brooklyn”
He was speechless.
He tried to say something but it wasn’t coming out.
“I really am sorry Mel”
“I know, I hope you don’t cheat on your next girlfriend”
He just nodded and began his walk of shame to the elevator.
Inside my apartment, I got another memory.
I was beginning to feel they were not going to stop coming at this point, rather get more frequent.
I was talking to some guy, some teen.
“I’ve liked you for a long-time Melody” he said to me.
“Greg”
“Why do you look so upset?”
“I’m dating someone already” I said to him, my voice was faltering, it appears I was telling a lie.
“Who?”
“Someone from the baseball team”
“Who?” he insisted. He was upset.
“John”
“O’Callaghan?”
“Yeah, him”
“The wannabe lead singer of a band?”
“He’s a lovely singer” I defended him.
“Whatever” he said upset as he walked away.
The rest of my memory was hazy. I remember feeling very distressed about the lie I had told.
I sat on my couch meditating on the memory I had received back.
I called John.
“Hi”
“Greg, he liked me for a long time”
“What?” he asked laughing at the randomness of my opening sentence.
“He did, he seemed pretty sincere about it too”
“Poor guy”
“I lied to him and told him I was dating you, did you know that?”
“You told him you were dating me?”
“I did”
“I thought he wanted to ask you to homecoming?”
“Nope, he was asking me to be his girlfriend and I told him I was already dating someone”
“Wow”
“Yup, I’m a pretty big liar apparently”
“I really didn’t know this information”
“He also called you a wannabe lead singer”
“Harsh”
“Maybe he’s been to one of your shows now?”
“I doubt it, especially if I stole his dream girl”
“True, but anyways that is all”
“This was a good one” he said, I could tell he was smiling.
“I’ll talk to you later Johno"
“Sounds good Melo”
***
“What has gotten into you?” my mother said walking into my apartment, I was extremely surprised she had showed up to begin with. I quickly turned off my music, I had forgotten she knew the passcode to get in.
She looked around as she saw a lot my things already packed into boxes, stacked in the living room.
“Are you really moving back to Arizona?” she said upset, not even greeting me.
I nodded.
“Yeah, I already found an apartment over there”
“What about your job? What are you doing about the school?”
“I love teaching, but I’m not sure it’s what I want to do right now…I’ve been doing it for so long…”
“You’re insane”
“I have enough money saved in the bank, plus, I’m selling the building”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I don’t want to live in New York any longer”
“Why?”
“Mother you try living here”
“Who doesn’t want to live in New York?”
“I DON’T, MOM!” I said getting upset.
“I don’t get it”
“Imagine being here on your own, it’s so cold here during the winter, I have very little friends, I don’t have a family to come home to every night…I’m lonely”
“Then get married”
I couldn’t believe she was telling me this.
“Excuse me mom, but who exactly do I marry?”
“Get back together with that nice boy Alex? We also have some friends who have some really handsome sons”
“Alex cheated on me, Mom”
“We know plenty of young bachelor’s”
“I know plenty too, now if you can please leave, this is my home”
She made a face of shock.
“Are you kicking your own mother out?”
“I’m busy cleaning and packing, unless you are going to help, you can leave”
“You are acting like a disrespectful teenager, what’s gotten into you?”
“Please leave before I say things that I will regret saying”
She couldn’t believe it, but I couldn’t believe it either.
She walked out and closed the door.
I didn’t want to fight with my mother, but knowing the truth hurt.
Knowing that she has been lying to me for 10 years, knowing that she was the one that kept me from recovering my memories, knowing that she was the one who sent me to New York hurt. Not only did it hurt but it angered me.
I wiped the tears from my face and proceeded to clean the house.
When night time came, she showed up again.
“Melody”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to catch my flight back to Arizona in about an hour, I just came to say goodbye”
“Did you just come to see me?”
“No, I came here on a business trip”
“Oh okay”
“I’ll see you over there then”
“Okay, bye mom”
She sighed and went on her way.
I called Julie.
“Jules?”
“Yes?”
“My mom sent you over here with me, right?”
“Um, yes”
“What were here motives?”
“For you or for me?”
“No, her motives for sending me to New York…I applied to other places, didn’t I?”
“You did”
“Then why did she insist on New York?”
“I really don’t know, that is something you should ask her”
I sighed, that wasn’t something I could simply ask right now.
“Okay”
“Why. What happened?”
“My mom came by”
“She WHAT?”
“Yup, on a business trip and she stopped by”
“Is she upset?”
“Very”
“And you still haven’t even told her that you know they lied, huh?”
“Nope, haven’t mentioned a thing yet”
“I’ll pray that everything works out, when are you leaving?”
“Today is Monday…I’m leaving on Sunday”
“I’m going to miss you a lot”
“Me too”
“Who knows, if it goes well for you, we might move over there too. Rent is cheaper”
“We can only hope” I smiled.
“I’ll go help you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sounds good”
I collapsed onto the couch and checked my stories on Instagram. John had sent me a few.
“Check this out and tell me what you think” He said in one of them. He started playing something from his computer, a new track. Always working on the tracks.
It sounded really good.
“Well did you like it? Best song you’ve ever heard? I knew it” he said this time showing his face.
The next story was a photo. Two tickets on a table.
“Will you be my date to prom?”
I laughed confused as the next video loaded.
“I’m kidding, we never even went to prom, we both hated those things...In all seriousness, will you go see The Technicolor’s with me? I miss you”
I was upset that they erased after watching them. The messages he always sent me were priceless.
It was time for my replies. I positioned the camera to my face, making sure all the boxes in the living room came out.
“I liked the track from today better than yesterdays, maybe add some soft piano? While you have fun in your studio, this is what I’ve been working on” I said flipping the camera to show all the boxes.
“I’ll be with you on Sunday, you better have a lovely dinner planned out. You have roughly 5 days to write and produce a song about me”
“I WILL go to prom with you, and YES we can go see The Technicolor’s instead of going to the dance. I miss you too”
I sent them all waited for his reply. This was our thing now, and it was lovely.
♠ ♠ ♠
Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing, as I re-read it I realized it was kind of all over the place haha my bad! I won't be posting until Thursday, so see you guys then! Much love!