Page 8 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Subject: Liz Dawson’s Very Bad, No Good Day
Bri,
Today was miserable for so many reasons. Long story short, there was a car accident. Don’t worry, it was just a fender bender. Rose was driving under my inadequate supervisory capabilities. Really, what were my parents thinking? I saw my life flash before my eyes, which I know is ridiculous because it was literally just a scratch on the side door. I appreciate that you think I’m the strong one, but I’ll remind you that I never drove again after our accident. I ride my bike everywhere I go and consequently, I’m working a job that I don’t love. Oh, and I have panic attacks more frequently than I do orgasms. Do you still think I’m the strong one?
Anyway, these awful things are not the worst of my very bad, no-good day. The wreck wasn’t Rose’s fault. It was the other driver’s, who you wouldn’t believe it turned out to be. Want to guess? You’ll never guess. I think I’d like to see your face when I tell you though. I’ll come visit soon.
xx,
Liz
CHAPTERTHREE
MELODY
Melody’s heart was still pounding. Of all the people to wreck her car with, she’d run into the one person in town she was hoping not to see during her time here. Jo used to say that was how things worked.
“If you’re trying to avoid someone, best bet they’ll be the first person you see today.”
Jo had been right the last time she’d said those words to Melody. Melody had been avoiding a boy at that time. She’d broken up with him, like she always did soon after beginning a relationship. Melody never stayed with anyone for very long. Some things never changed. That same day, after Jo had said those words, Melody had run into the boy at least three times.
As she drove, Melody tried and failed to remember the boy’s name. At least she’d been successful in wiping some of her memories away.
She turned her car onto the street where she grew up and headed toward the end, pulling into her father’s driveway. She didn’t blink or breathe for a moment as she stared out her windshield at the one-story brick ranch-style house where she’d grown up. She hadn’t seen her dad in nine years, although they’d spoken infrequently on the phone.
A dozen raw emotions whirred inside Melody’s belly as she retrieved her luggage from the trunk and headed up the porch steps. She rang the doorbell before seeing the folded note clinging to the glass-paneled window, her name neatly printed on the front. She pulled it out from where it was wedged between the panes and carefully unfolded the paper.
Melody,
I’m at work until six. The door is unlocked. Feel free to go inside and settle into your old room.
Dad
A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. She’d called her father after hearing about Jo’s passing, and he’d invited her to stay here. She would have expected him to meet her at the door. But no. After all this time apart, he’d chosen work instead. She guessed she should be happy she didn’t have to greet him with a forced smile and polite hello. The reunion promised to be awkward at best. Having a little time to collect herself before facing her father was probably for the best.
Swallowing past the growing lump in her throat, Melody twisted the doorknob and then flipped a light switch to her left. Before stepping inside, she inspected the front room. It was exactly the same as it had been when she’d left. Neat, orderly, and as sterile as a hospital.
She crossed the threshold and took her time as she wandered through the living area. It smelled like lemon, a sign that Mrs. Chavis was still cleaning this place as she’d been doing since Melody’s mom had died. Melody had always liked the sweet-natured housekeeper, probably because she’d left candies on her and Alyssa’s pillows on the days she’d come to clean.
Melody headed down a dark hallway toward her old bedroom. A few posters were pinned to the pale-pink walls, unchanged since Melody’s middle school days. The twin-sized bed on the left side of the room still had a quilt featuring hearts and flowers. And there on the pillow was a caramel-flavored hard candy from Mrs. Chavis.
Melody’s gaze swept to the bed on the right side with polka dots in pink and purple. There was no candy on that pillow because Alyssa wouldn’t be coming home again.
Melody sucked in one breath and then another, suddenly finding it hard to pull air into her lungs. How was she going to stay in this room with her sister’s memory? Withallthe memories here. The Seagull Inn would have been a more neutral place to stay. But here? Melody blew out a long breath.This is just for two weeks.At least that was what she’d told her business partner, Julie. Maybe Melody wouldn’t even need that long though. She’d already signed the paperwork for the store. She just needed to put it on the market and then go to Jo’s celebration of life on Friday. Perhaps she’d be crossing that bridge out of Trove by Saturday.
Melody set her bags on the bed and reached for the caramel candy on the pillow. She peeled off its wrapper and popped it into her mouth, the taste reminiscent of her childhood. Then she let her gaze fall to the charm bracelet she was still wearing. She was half surprised that she hadn’t taken it off yet. She didn’t like reminders of her past, and this was a pretty big one. In some way, it made her feel close to Alyssa though.
Melody lay back in bed, entertaining random memories from this room. Alyssa on the neighboring bed chattering endlessly about the boy next door, Christopher West, whom she’d had an enormous crush on. He was a skinny boy with large, dark-rimmed glasses and deep-set blue eyes. Melody had never understood what Alyssa saw in him, but Alyssa would lie on her stomach, propped on her elbows, with a pen and her diary—the one she kept wedged between the box spring and her mattress—scrawling her name with his and surrounding their names with little hearts and flowers.
In Melody’s opinion, Christopher really wasn’t that much of a catch and yet, he’d never returned any romantic feelings toward Alyssa. He’d even broken Alyssa’s heart when she’d asked him to go with her to junior prom. Alyssa had been devastated for weeks.
Alyssa had deserved a chance at first love. She’d deserved a chance at life. So much had been taken from her, and some part of Melody would always blame herself—in addition to the boy next door who’d broken Alyssa’s heart.
At some point in her memories, Melody drifted off to sleep. She was awakened by the sound of the front door opening and closing.
Her father was home. She didn’t breathe for a moment. Maybe she should step out and say hello. Then again, he hadn’t been home to welcome his prodigal daughter when she’d arrived. Instead he’d left a note. In turn, she was going to stay inside the confines of her childhood bedroom and go back to sleep.
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