Page 68 of Melody

“Uh…not here. Can we go outside? Or would you rather wait till later?”

At first, Kyle wondered if Tommy had shown up at her place—or maybe the cops had gotten back in touch with her to deliver bad news. But then he knew…that wasn’t it.

She was leaving.

She’d been pondering it ever since her ex had shown up at Tequilaville threatening her—and how stupid Kyle had been thinking she was considering staying. He’d been rather impressed with his persuasive skills, but now he wondered if she’d just stuck around until it was a good time to bolt.

And as much as he wanted to talk her out of it, now was not the time. “Just a sec.” Kyle approached the stage again, this time pulling his leather jacket off a chair in front. As he turned and got closer to her, he pulled the jacket onto his arms. Melody was already walking toward the door. As he caught up, he said, “If you’re planning to leave, can we just talk about it after practice? That way, if your mind is made up, you can take my car instead of yours.”

They were outside by that point, but Melody continued walking a few feet from the door before turning around to face him. Although it was dark out, the streetlights illuminated enough that he could see her facial features—and he was immediately struck with another realization.

His guess must have been wrong. So what the hellwasit? Was she pregnant or something?

“No, I, um…” Melody shook her head and then looked down momentarily, smoothing her forehead with the fingers of one hand. When she looked up at Kyle, her brows remained pinched together. He hoped his face looked calm, because inside was like a boiling mess.

But he kept his mouth shut, waiting.

Finally, she said, “Kyle, you are such a good guy—and, especially after Tommy, you have been exactly what I’ve needed. But this past month with you has really opened my eyes to a lot of things…especially the realization that I really need to be alone.”

Was he hearing her right? Did he understand what she was saying? “What?”

“You’re a great guy, Kyle…and you will be a good boyfriend for someone else someday. I know that. But it can’t be me.”

“What the hell does that even mean, Melody?”

“It means I’ve been doing some soul-searching.” As she spoke, Kyle tried searching her soul as well through her eyes—but it was like she was wearing a mask. “I realize that I make the wrong decisions time after time and it’s due to something fucked up inside me. My judgment is skewed and I really can’t trust what I think and feel.”

“Wait a minute. That’s not true.” None of what she was saying sounded honest—but Kyle had a theory. “Did Tommy show up again? Is he threatening you?”

“No.” The way she said it told Kyle she was at least being honest about that. “But look at how I’ve been running scared ever since he showed back up. It’s unhealthy—and I’ve been jumping at shadows and questioning my every move. I don’t know if I’m going to leave yet but I know I need to be alone so I can figure out what I should do next.”

“I can help you. We can do it together.”

“No—don’t you get it, Kyle? Wecan’tdo it together.Ican’t. I haven’t been making decisions for myself and that’s what I should be doing…what I should have been doing all along.”

It was as if she had a blade and she was slowly pressing it into his chest as her words began sinking in. But he still held on to a glimmer of hope. “Okay. So how long do you need?”

She swallowed and looked down, taking one of his hands into both her small ones. He tried to focus on how much he loved the touch of her hand, but he sensed it was futile. When she looked up at him, he tried donning emotional armor, freezing the muscles in his face, as he awaited the fate of their relationship.

“I’m really sorry, Kyle…but this isn’t just a cooling off period. I can’t see you anymore.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. What decisions aren’t you making for yourself? How have I stopped you from doing that?”

“To begin with, you didn’t let me leave when Tommy first showed up.”

Ignoring the knot in his gut, Kyle shook his head. “Yeah, okay. But do you really wanna spend your life running,constantly looking over your shoulder? Is that really the kind of life you want?”

Melody let out a long sigh. “I really didn’t want to say this.”

“Saywhat?”

“I don’t understand—” She shook her head. “Look, it doesn’t matter. I care about you, but I also need to look out for me. So this is over, okay? I wish you the very best in your life, but I can’t be a part of it.” Letting go of his hand, she turned and started walking away while Kyle’s heart thudded to the ground. When she turned back around, he could almost feel it starting to ascend, but that changed quickly. “I almost forgot.” As she moved back toward him, she reached inside her purse—and what she handed him shattered his heart into a million pieces on the sidewalk.

It was the print he’d bought for her on their first date.

“I can’t keep this.”

“Why not? I gave it to you as a gift. You don’t return gifts.”

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