Page 152 of On The Edge
I know right then that I’m not getting anything from her.
“Yeah, I am.” I straighten my spine and steel my voice. “I need to know if you’ve seen Melody around Haven recently.”
There’s a beat of silence that turns from disbelief to anger.
“Melody…Sullivan? That girl who used to hang around with you all?”
“You know who Melody is,” I grumble.
“And you want to know if I’ve seen her? Have you?” My mom scoffs and I can hear her laughing under her breath.
“That is what I asked, yes. Have you seen her?” I know there’s a slim chance. Melody always avoided my mom like the plague and my mom… Well, let’s just say she would never admit to noticing someone “so far beneath her.” I was always one bad moment away from being slapped or disowned.
God, this woman pisses me off.
There’s a reason why I stayed away, and it wasn’t only because of how she treated Melody.
It’s how she treatedme.
“Melody Sullivan? No, I haven’t seen or heard from that girl since the day after you left, and I hope I never see her or hear her name again.”
What?My mind short circuits and a fury starts to build in my chest, red tingeing my vision.
“What did you just say?” I ask softly, a little louder than a whisper.
“What?” Her tone changes. She knows what she did… she knows that she fucked up and I’m going to lose my shit.
“You talked with Melody the day after we left?” I ask again, my voice lowering darkly.
“I told you that,” she answers, switching gears. There’s no fucking way. If she remembers that the last time I talked with her was the same week we left, then she remembers that conversation with Melody. My mom is slick like that; she remembers everything, especially when she thinks someone did her wrong.
“You didn’t. In fact, you went so far as to say the opposite,” I snap, my voice picking up.
“I did not. I distinctly remember that you and I talked and you hung up on me.” She’s trying to fucking gaslight me out of remembering one of the most heart-wrenching memories of my life. Is she serious?
“You sure as fuck said that to me. “Melody hasn’t come by, hasn’t asked, she doesn’t care about you.” Sound familiar?!” I yell into the phone. My chest hurts as the realization comes around again that Melody really didn’t leave us back then. She went so far as to ask my mom where I was, and I’m sure this witch was evil to her. Probably blamed her for everything she could think of.
Why didn’t Melody tell me?
But I immediately know the answer.
She didn’t want me to hurt more.
“You… You cost me something I can’t get back.” My voice is gruff and dangerous, full of violence as I talk. I know for a fact that if she had said Melody had come to see her and was crying, begging, pleading to know where we were, I’d have called. I’d have opened that door to Melody again.
And my mother knows that, too.
She did this on purpose.
“I’ve cost younothing.” My mother’s voice turns sinister, the last word she says coming out with a hiss that tells me she knows what she’s done. “If I had told you that girl came to see you, you’d never have the career you have today. You’d have thrown it all away for her.”
“My career?” I scoff, just as Kai walks into the room, sitting down to watch me pace the space in my hotel room between the foot of the bed and the dresser. “The career you didn’t believe I’d ever have? The career you spent my entire life telling me was a waste of fucking time? You can’t flip the switch now that I’m successful and famous. You can’t change the narrative from when I was younger, so don’t fucking start now.”
Kai stands up, eyes burning with intensity after only hearing my side of the conversation, but I’m too far into my anger to try and clue him in.
“I did what I had to do. And you know what, Reisyn? I regret nothing. Because what I did, or didn’t do, caused this level of success for you. I’m the reason you’ve become this successful. A world famous rockstar, touring the world with his best friends, making more money than God, and getting to show the world your poetry. That’s all because ofme.”
“No, Mother,” I say immediately with no hesitation, all the fire I’m feeling in my chest flowing through my lips. “I’m this successful because ofme. Because of my friends. Because ofMelody. None of this is a tribute to youat all.” I pause. “Maybea small bit. A small bit of ‘Do not believe in your child, because theywillprove you wrong.’ That’s the only thing I’ll give you.”
