Page 41 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Melody listened as the two exchanged stories about her for the next few minutes. Stories that she hadn’t thought about in years.
“Do you remember when Melody went through that phase where she was going to be a nun?” Bri asked Liz, barely containing her laughter.
Liz snorted. “What was that even about?”
“Kevin Bailey broke my heart, that’s what.” Melody rolled her eyes as memories of her seventh-grade year came to mind. “First heartbreaks are brutal, okay? I decided I never wanted to experience one again.”
Bri snickered. “You started wearing these long, boring skirts.”
“And remember how she cut those awful bangs?” Liz added. “What do bangs have to do with being a nun?”
Melody raised a hand. “I’m right here, you guys.” Not that she was offended by the conversation. Instead, it almost felt like she was being re-introduced to herself. Yes, she’d always run from things. She’d shied away from conflict and pain. But she’d run toward fun with just as much determination. She’d run toward fun with these very ladies. They had been her pack, and ultimately, they were the ones who made her realize she didn’t want to hide in a convent for the rest of her life. They were the ones who encouraged her to put herself out there and get her heart broken, time and time again. Melody had made acquaintances that resembled friendships in Charlotte, but she’d never found people who knew her the way her Trove friends did.
“I like it well enough here,” Bri told her finally, going back to the question. “The wardrobe and the food aren’t the best, but . . .” She lifted a shoulder. “I have a few friends that I enjoy hanging out with and a job in the library. I’m making the best of the situation that I’ve gotten myself into.”
Melody nodded as she listened. “That’s good.”
“So how is life beyond the isle?” Bri leaned forward and propped her elbows on the picnic table. If Melody didn’t know better, she wouldn’t believe that the woman in front of her was serving time for a crime. She looked relaxed. Happy even. “You’re the only one who made it past the bridge. Being locked in prison doesn’t count.”
“It’s . . . well, it’s okay,” Melody said. The truth was, though, life beyond Trove was lonely. It was surviving, but not living.
“Better than a prison cell?” Bri grinned. Then her gaze fell on Melody’s arm and her lips parted. “Is that what I think it is?” She reached out to touch the bracelet, hesitating as if it might bite her.
Melody stretched out her arm on the table. “It’s the charm bracelet. I found it in Jo’s thrift store.”
Bri looked up. “No joke?”
“Liz and I have been passing it back and forth every time we see each other.” Melody pulled it off her wrist and slid it across the picnic table toward Bri. “I know you can’t have it in here, but you can put it on while we visit. It was meant to be shared, right?”
Bri looked unsure. It took a moment, but then she reached for the bracelet, admiring it first before sliding it over her hand. “I don’t understand. How did Jo get it?”
“We don’t know.” Melody shrugged. “How did Jo get most of the things she had?”
“I could tell you a few ways, but,” Bri grimaced, “you’d probably rather not know.”
“Dumpster diving. Mr. Lyme told me.” Melody suppressed a grin. “Anyway, I think she was waiting for me to come back so that she could give it to me. And since I never returned on my own accord, she gave me a reason by willing me the thrift store.”
Bri cracked a smile. “You don’t even like used clothes. It’s ironic for you to own a store full of old things.”
Melody was surprised that Bri remembered that about her. “I’ll have you know this outfit is from the shop. Secondhand things have grown on me. But not enough to operate a thrift store for a living. That’s why I’m selling it. I’m heading back to my real life on Sunday,” Melody said without thinking.
Bri’s smile faded and she shared another look with Liz. “I see.”
Melody shook her head, guilt swirling in the pit of her stomach. She was so tired of disappointing people. When she was young, it was her job to care for Alyssa, which she’d failed miserably at, even before the accident. Maybe she’d been a glutton for punishment going into her chosen career because, while most were happy, there was always one client who could never be satisfied. “What I mean is, I have events planned and clients who are depending on me.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to let them down.” Bri slipped the bracelet off and passed it back to Melody. She looked away, her gaze falling somewhere behind them in the courtyard’s distance.
“But I’ll come back to visit, of course,” Melody said, wanting to keep the mood of this visit friendly. “Now that we’ve found our charm bracelet, I have to, right? So that we can keep passing it between us.”
Bri looked at her again. “Our friendship has nothing to do with a charm bracelet, Mel. With or without it, you should have come back.”
Melody swallowed. There was the Bri of old. The one who wasn’t afraid of a little confrontation. And somewhere inside of Melody, she felt the Melody of old, who was exactly the opposite. Who fled in the face of a fight. “I know. And I’m sorry.” What else could she say?
Bri looked at her, long and hard. “Okay, then.”
“Okay?” Melody asked, not quite understanding.
“Yeah. You and me, we’re good. But if you ever hurt Liz again, we won’t be. Because Liz is my best friend, and I don’t let anyone hurt her. Not even my other best friend.”
