CHAPTER THREE #4
"...Worth it." Amanda laughed.
"It definitely was."
They both just stared into each other's eyes in silence, both blushing. Amanda directs her eyes to his lips; Michael smirks.
“What?”
“N-Nothing!”
Amanda turns away fast, taking another bite of her sandwich. Michael chuckles and lifts her chin to have her look at him. Amanda smiles and turns bright red.
“Is there something you want?” He smiles.
“Y-You…”
Michael smiles at her before they both lean in and kiss. Nothing crazy, but it was slow, intimate, and passionate. The world fades away around them. Michael grabs her by her waist, gently guiding her. She giggles before they both pull away, breathless.
They smile at each other; Michael kisses her forehead once again as Amanda lays her head on his shoulder.
Later that day after school-- Melissa quietly pushed open the front door. The house was unusually dark. She slipped off her shoes, expecting the familiar sounds of the television or her father's favorite radio station drifting through the kitchen. Instead... She heard her mother's voice.
"...Please."
Melissa froze. It wasn't loud. It wasn't angry. It was... Desperate.
"I'm trying."
A long pause. Melissa slowly stepped farther into the house. "I just..."
Her mother's voice cracked.
"...I just need a little more time."
Melissa's stomach tightened. She followed the sound toward the kitchen. She stopped just before the doorway.
Her mother sat alone at the kitchen table. Stacks of overdue bills surrounded her like a wall. One hand clutched the phone. The other covered her forehead.
"I understand."
Another pause.
"I really do."
Tears slipped quietly down her mother's cheeks.
"But..."
She closed her eyes.
"I don't have the money."
Melissa felt her heart sink. Her mother took a shaky breath.
"Please..."
Silence.
Then—
"No..."
She looked at the phone.
"...Please don't disconnect—"
Click.
The line went dead. The only sound left in the room...
Was her mother's quiet sob. Melissa couldn't move.
She'd never felt so helpless. She wanted to walk in.
To hug her. To promise everything would somehow be okay.
But she couldn't make promises she wasn't sure anyone could keep.
Instead... She quietly backed away. One careful step at a time.
Until she reached the hallway. Then the stairs. Then her bedroom.
She closed the door as gently as she could. Only after the latch clicked into place did she allow herself to breathe. Her hands shook as she reached for her phone.
There was only one person she wanted to hear right now. John answered before the second ring.
"Hey."
His voice immediately softened.
"You okay?"
Melissa closed her eyes. The concern in his voice almost broke her.
"...No."
Her own voice trembled.
"...Not really."
There was no hesitation. No awkward silence. Only one simple answer.
"I'm here."
Melissa sank onto the edge of her bed. She told him everything. About her father's health. The hospital visits. The overdue bills covering the kitchen table. The eviction notice. Her mother's tears.
The phone call she'd just overheard. John never interrupted. Not once. He simply listened. Every now and then he'd quietly say,
"I'm listening."
Or...
"Go on."
Giving her permission to let everything she'd been carrying finally spill out. When she finished... The room became quiet again. Melissa stared down at the floor.
"I don't know what to do anymore."
Another pause. Then John's voice came softly through the speaker.
"Melissa..."
She closed her eyes.
"You don't have to carry all of that alone."
A tear slipped quietly down her cheek. She laughed weakly.
"Sometimes..."
Her voice cracked.
"...it feels like I do."
“I’m on my way to the restaurant to make your night better.”
Melissa smiled through the phone.
“Right. I almost forgot about that. See you soon, Handsome.”
Amanda's bedroom was quiet. The string lights above her bed cast soft golden shadows across the walls, filling the room with a warmth she didn't quite feel.
She sat cross-legged near the foot of her bed.
Her phone rested loosely in her hands. Melissa's contact filled the screen.
A smiling picture from the summer before.
The two of them covered in ice cream after dropping their cones at the county fair. Amanda smiled despite herself.
She remembered laughing so hard her stomach had hurt.
Back then... Everything had seemed so simple.
Her thumb slowly drifted toward the green call button.
She stopped. Just before touching it. Amanda sighed quietly.
Then locked her phone. The screen faded to black.
She stared at her own reflection for a moment.
"...No."
She whispered.
"I'm not ready."
A few seconds later... She unlocked it again. Melissa's picture immediately reappeared. Still smiling. Still looking exactly like the girl Amanda had grown up beside. Amanda traced the edge of the screen with her thumb.
"...I miss you."
The confession escaped before she realized she'd spoken aloud. Her eyes began to sting. She looked at Melissa's picture for another long moment. Then quietly whispered,
"...Why?"
A tear slipped onto the screen.
"...Why did you have to choose them?"
The room offered no answer. Amanda let out one shaky breath before gently tossing the phone onto the blankets beside her.
It bounced once. Landing face-up. Melissa's smiling picture still stared back at her.