Back Into Your Arms

Mel’s P.O.V

My parents picked me up from the airport. They began bombarding me with questions. I was tired from the flight, hungry and a bit sad, the perfect combination for me to be caught completely off guard by my own parents.

“Yeah, on the second day John and I ended up staying at his friend’s apartment”

I realized what I had said too late. I burst into a cold sweat as I began to feel nauseous.

“John?” my mother asked, from that moment forward the silence in the car felt eerie and unsafe.

“John…that’s J’s name”

“Wait, all this time, he was with you in New York?”

“Yeah”

“John what?”

“Mom”

“Tell me, what’s his last name, who is his family?”

“Mom, honestly not right now”

“Melody Riley” she said sternly.

I felt light headed. I then remembered that they didn’t know I had remembered anything. For a second I wanted to know how far they would go with their lie, and the curiosity won me over.

“His name is John O’Callaghan” I confessed.

My father almost swerved the car and my mother almost had a heart attack. She looked alarmed, it was her turn to feel nauseous.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Why were you hiding it from us?” she scoffed.

“I wasn’t hiding it from you guys, you just never asked”

We continued riding in silence until we reached my apartment. My mother looked extremely concerned and unwell. My father looked furious.

“We aren’t done talking about this” my mother said bitterly handing me back one of my suitcases.

“I know we aren’t” is all I replied. I took my suitcases and thanked them for the ride. My parents felt distant again. We were playing a game of chess, I wish I had known their next move.

John’s P.O.V

Her mother figured out where I lived, I don’t know how she did it, but she did. She knocked on my door furiously at 6am. I had barely returned from Nashville at 1am and she had woken me up from my overdue sleep. I was a mess, I was groggy, I was confused, but her mother didn’t care.

There she stood, dressed up as if she were going to court, which she probably would be right after her visit with me.
Her mother had changed a lot since the last time I had seen her. She looked more miserable. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that it was Mel’s mother at the door, and that her visit couldn’t possibly be friendly.

“WHY DID YOU LOOK FOR HER” she demanded. Before I could even reply she was already demanding something else.

“WHY CAN’T YOU LEAVE HER ALONE, ARE YOU OBSESSED? DO YOU NOT HAVE ENOUGH WOMEN TO MESS AROUND WITH?”

That part hurt. What did she think I was?

“I DO NOT WANT YOU SEEING OUR DAUGHTER, I THOUGHT I HAD MADE IT CLEAR BACK THEN, BUT I’LL MAKE IT CLEAR AGAIN, STAY AWAY FROM HER”

I wanted to rage, but out of respect I held back. She was rude and mean, and inconsiderate but she was still the woman that gave life to the woman I loved, I had to show respect.

“Mrs. Riley, would you like to come in? It’s cold outside”

She looked at me as if I couldn’t be serious.

“You think this is a joke?”

“Absolutely not”

She looked even more confused, she was speechless. How could she fight with no one to fight with?

She huffed, turned around and walked back to her car. Slamming the door so loud it echoed a bit. I watched her as she turned the car on and furiously drove away.

I was left wondering if I had hallucinated the whole thing, wondering if I was still asleep and this was just a nightmare.