Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
She doesn’t measure up...
You’re a disappointment!
You’ll never be happy.
I’m disappointed...
The voices echo in my head.
June’s matter-of-fact voice overlaps my mother’s cold one, each fighting for dominance.
I can feel my chest start to close up and my palms clamming up.
Not now. Not here.
I haven’t had a panic attack in so long that I almost forgot how it feels. I try to regulate my breathing, but it’s not working.
I stagger blindly, groping at the wall to find my way. I try to fight the darkness that threatens to pull me under, but I’m powerless against its pull.
I fall heavily against the wall, my vision fading.
“Oh my God, Melody? Mel? Are you okay?”
Brenda’s voice pierces through the dark cloud trying to smother me. I gaze up blankly at her, unable to pull myself out of my head.
I’m in way too deep.
“What’s going on?” Brenda asks in a panicked voice, searching my face. “Abram! Let me get him.”
I grip a handful of her shirt in my hand and shake my head at her. I can’t let him see me like this.
Brenda seems to understand.
“Okay, darling,” she says in a calming tone, running her hand down my hair in a soothing rhythm. “Breathe...slowly, Melody. You’re fine. You’re alright... Yes, breathe in and out...just like that.”
I close my eyes and focus only on the soothing sound of Brenda’s voice. My heartbeat gradually slows, and it feels like I can finally take a breath again.
“Th...Thank you,” I murmur in a small voice.
“Oh, thank God,” Brenda says with a huge breath of relief. “I was so scared. Come on, let’s get you to a hospital. I wonder where Abram is. I’ve barely seen....”
“I...I want to go back home,” I interrupt softly.
“Uh?” Brenda says, blinking rapidly at me.
“I need to go back to Hudson,” I tell Brenda, hoping she sees the desperation in my eyes.
I need the comfort of home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Abram
I let out a sigh of relief when I catch sight of Brenda on the patio, quietly nursing a glass of champagne. I walk up to her in hurried steps.
“Hey, Brenda,” I greet. “Have you seen Melody?”
“Where on earth have you been all day,” Brenda asks, turning toward me.
“I had to take care of some other business,” I say quickly. “Where’s Melody? I’ve looked everywhere for her.”
“She’s gone,” Brenda says, turning away with a sigh.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I ask incredulously.
“She’s gone,” Brenda repeats with a shrug. “Back to Hudson.”
I scoff lightly. Brenda isn’t making any sense to me.
“What are you saying? Why would she go back to Hudson?”
“I don’t know the details, but something seemed strange,” Brenda says, turning toward me again, her lower lip pulled between her teeth, a gesture of pensive worry.
“Please, talk to me,” I say urgently, my chest tightening up with anxiety. “What the hell is going on?”
“She told me she was going to the restroom. I realized it was taking too long, and I decided to check on her. Then, I found her in the hall gasping for breath. I think it was a panic attack, but it was so intense that I freaked out. I tried to make her go to a hospital when she came to, but she insisted on returning to Hudson. I had no choice but to let her go.”
“Which door did she take from the exhibition hall?” I ask slowly. “The left or the right?”
Brenda seems to think about my question for a moment.
“She definitely went in through the left door. I remember asking a waitress for directions to the bathroom, and she pointed me to the right door. When I went looking for Melody I found her gasping for breath by the door. She looked really pale and awful. I would have gone with her, but she said she’d feel bad if I couldn’t enjoy the exhibition on her account. I just thought she needed some time alone.”
“She heard…,” I murmur to myself, my chest tightening painfully with a gradually mounting dread.
It was the only reason that made sense.
“What’s wrong, Abram?” Brenda asks, searching my face. “You look pale. What on earth is going on with you both?”
“I need to go,” I say quietly, already sprinting for the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Melody
I turn restlessly on my side with another sigh. I can’t seem to find sleep, no matter how hard I try.
Why did June’s words affect me so much?
I thought I’d gotten over being affected by other people’s opinions of me, but it seems like I still have a long way to go.
Should I have waited to see the whole scene come to an end? Abram wouldn’t have returned her kiss, right?
I sigh heavily and get up. I need a glass of warm milk and maybe some pills.
I glance at the digital clock on my bedside table and I’m surprised to see that it’s barely nine PM. I shrug on a robe and slippers and head toward the living room.