Cole

Melody turns on the electric fire pit before plopping herself back onto the sofa next to me. The space heaters all over the balcony keep it so warm you'd never think it was the middle of the winter in Canada. I wrap the soft fleece blanket around us, and she snuggles close against my side. She's so warm and soft, and her hair tickles my cheek as she nuzzles against my shoulder.

The night is cool and quiet. I watch the flickering orange flames send dancing shadows across the balcony. It's been a crazy day and I barely have enough energy to stay awake, but everything somehow feels right. I have no idea what's coming next, but for now, even if it's just for a moment, I can say I feel happy.

"Here you go." Mr. Carter comes out onto the balcony with a tray holding two cups of tea. "Extra strong, as you asked for, Cole."

"Thanks." I take the pale grey mug.

"Thank you Mr. Carter," Melody says as she takes her cup, "and thank you for what you did today. We really owe everything to you." She gives him a kind smile.

We sure do. Mr. Carter is pretty much the wingman to end all wingmen.

"My pleasure. Like I said, I always have your best interests in mind, Ms. Aria," he says softly. "I will be heading to bed now, enjoy the rest of your night you two."

We both say goodnight as he returns inside the apartment. I take a sip of the tea, I think Melody said it was Assam tea? I've always been more of a coffee than tea guy. Who thought hot leaf water sounded appealing?

I watch Melody gently blow on the steaming tea before taking a little sip. "How is it?" She asks and glances up at me.

"Strong," I clear my throat a little.

Maybe extra strong wasn't necessary. There's coffee coursing through my veins at this point. Cara and I definitely needed it though, learning that song was no joke. What's the fatal amount of caffeine again?

She chuckles and places the cup down on a pink coaster, I do the same. "So, what happens next?" I ask.

She stares blankly at the fire. "I have no idea." She shrugs and sighs. "The logistics might be a pain in the butt for everyone, but I could continue working from Toronto."

It's clear by the way she's fidgeting with her thumbs and chewing on her lip that she doesn't like the idea. "Every choice you make has a big effect, eh?" She has a whole team of staff and business partners. I can't imagine the weight she's always carrying on her shoulders. I wrap an arm around her and gently stroke her side.

"Sometimes I like to imagine a life without piano," she murmurs to seemingly no one in particular. "Everything would be so much easier."

I nod wordlessly, not wanting to interrupt her.

"Growing up was tough, it took so much work to get here. The countless hours and hours of practice. Sleepless nights I spent sitting on that bench, playing till the sun came back up again," she whispers, her voice gets quieter and quieter as she speaks. "Cramped fingers, nearly giving myself carpal tunnel. Sacrificing my social life and free time."

Melody's abilities are just incredible, I'm constantly forgetting we're the same age. She's miles ahead of what I'd ever be able to accomplish. "I can't even begin to imagine the amount of discipline and effort you put in," I murmur. "It paid off though...right? You've been so successful."

She looks up at me with teary eyes. "Did it? When I look back at my childhood, I realize piano is all there ever was. I missed out on so much." Her voice cracks a little and she quickly wipes away a stray tear on her cheek. She takes a deep and shaky breath before continuing. "It got me here... I've gotten to perform in front of thousands of people, been broadcasted over every form of media, released my own pieces, but who cares? Was this even worth it?"

"Mel, you-" I pause when I see the look on her face. Her lip quivers and her shoulders begin to tremble with each erratic breath. "W-wait, Mel don't cr-"

"Look what it almost did to us," she sobs. Tears begin to stream down her flushed cheeks. Melody buries her face into my chest and quietly begins to cry.

I pull her closer to me and slowly stroke her hair. What an unbelievable life she's lived, and she's only nineteen for God's sake.

After she's calmed down, she pulls her weak self off of me. "Sorry," she snivels. "It's just been... a lot to go through."

I gently place my bent finger under her chin to slowly tilt her face upwards. Her watery eyes almost glow under the cool moonlight. "Melody, why do you put yourself through this?"

She tugs away and slumps into the sofa, burying herself deeper under the blanket. "It's what I have to do, Cole. This is my life, it always has been."

"That's not true," I insist. Her lip trembles but she doesn't look at me. "What's preventing you from stopping?"

"Huh?" She quickly turns and looks at me like I'm insane.

"It's just making you miserable," I begin cautiously. I'm treading in dangerous territory here. "So why are you still doing it?" I ask, using my hand to gently cup her soft cheek. "I know you're not used to it, but it's ok to be unsure about things, Mel. New experiences can be a good thing."

She lets her eyes tiredly flutter shut and leans into my touch. "I... I don't know, Cole," she whispers.

"Growth is painful. Change is painful. But there's nothing as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't belong," I soften my tone. "You deserve so much better than this, Mel. You're an adult, you don't have to let others control you."

She looks at me, slightly confused. It's as if the thought has never occurred to her before. "You're...right," she murmurs. "I think...I think I'm done with performing." She looks up at me and smiles. It might be the first time I've seen her smile without the undertone of stress she tries to hide behind it.

"You're sure about this?" I raise an eyebrow. I don't want to be the sole reason as to why The Melody Aria retired from performing. "Maybe you should take some time to think things through."

She wrinkles her nose. "No, I'm sure. This was long overdue, I just needed someone to give me the push I needed," she insists and takes out her phone. "I'm going to call my mom."

My heart sinks down to my stomach. I don't exactly want her mom to see me sitting here with Melody right now. Me, the guy who helped her precious, superstar daughter decide to move on from her career. She's already calling before I can make an excuse to leave.

"Melody! Are you ok?" her mom immediately asks when she accepts the call. She looks worried, the same caring look a mom has when their child is sick. The cynic in me can't help but wonder how many times Melody has actually seen that look on her face.

"I'm ok Mom," Melody says calmly as she props her phone up against her teacup.

"Oh, hello Cole," her mom greets when she sees me. "How are you?"

"Hi Mrs. Aria, I'm well." Not for long though.

"Either of you care to explain what's been happening for the past two days?" She looks very unimpressed. "I've been trying to get ahold of you, Melody, but Mr. Carter said you were refusing to talk to anyone."

I quickly explain everything that had happened, for the fifth time now. I swear I'm going to lose it if I have to explain again.

Her mom listens quietly, adding in a few mhm's here and there. "I see. Well, the PR team has a plan to fix this. Everything should go back to normal afterwards." She's switched back to using a very professional and business-like tone. "You can finally start recording for your new album. I've even been having some meetings about another tour next year!"

"Um Mom, w-we need to talk about something," Melody stammers. I gently squeeze her thigh as her nervous grip on my hand tightens.

"Yes?"

"I think...I'm done with this," she states with a bit of anxious wobbling in her voice. "This professional music life. I want to move on."

Mrs. Aria takes her glasses off and clutches at her heart. Her eyes are as wide as saucers. "You're what?!"

Please don't mention me, please don't mention me.

She nods, slightly more confidently. "Cole helped me realize that I just want a simpler life."

God dammit.

Her mom shoots daggers at me with her piercing dark brown, nearly black, eyes. "He did what?!"

"Don't get mad at him, Mom." Melody frowns and defensively links her arm around mine. "I've been miserable since...well, since forever I suppose. I want time to do things I want to do. Whether or not it involves music should be up to me."

Mrs. Aria looks like she's spiraling into a crisis. The way her expressions are rapidly changing remind me of a cartoon character. Her emotions are all over the place. She's simultaneously furious at me and panicking about Melody, and it's a gamble as to which emotion is about to take control. She frantically tries to get Melody to change her mind, pointing out all of the awards and pictures on the wall behind her.

"Mom I-"

"Hundreds of people have already pre-ordered your album!" She exasperatedly drags her hands down her face and mumbles something under her breath.

"Mom, stop," Melody begins again, but her mom continues spewing out statistics and numbers that I'm certain Melody couldn't care less about.

"Do you realize how much money you made for yourself on your tour, Melody?! How can you just give up like this?"

"Mom!" Melody exclaims. Her mom actually looks taken aback and stops talking. "I'm not giving up. There's a difference between giving up and knowing when you've had enough."

Despite everything, I can't help but feel sympathetic for her mom. She hasn't once mentioned herself as part of the equation. She clearly didn't have any malicious intentions, it seems that she truly thinks she's doing it for Melody's sake.

Maybe Melody's maturity really has rubbed off on me.

I clear my throat. As much as I'd like to avoid being caught in the crossfire between these two, they need help. "If I may, Mrs. Aria," I begin in my most polite tone. Her scowl definitely says no you may not, but I don't have time to worry about that. "I've gotten to know Melody very well and I know that she knows what's best for herself. Don't you want her to be happy?"

Melody nods in agreement. "I'm nineteen mom. I'm not a little girl anymore," she states firmly. "This is what I want."

She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Alright Melody, let's figure out how we're going to do this."

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I still have mixed feelings about Melody's mom 🤔

Thanks for reading!