Melody's Crush

Chapter 25

I was lying across the bed studying for finals when a knock came from my door. Expecting it to be Kyle, I swung the door open.

"Met your psycho broth... oh." My eyes went wide when standing in well fit jeans and a muscle forming t-shirt with his hair now slightly wet from a shower was Kyle's brother.

The corner of his mouth lifted for merely a second giving away his amusement of my outburst.

His lips pursed as if to say, please continue.

"Where's Kyle?" I asked not caring about formalities or introductions.

"Downstairs waiting for you. Something about not eating until you arrive."

"Something wrong with his legs?" I asked dryly.

He huffed a short laugh suppressing quickly his enjoyment.

"I'm just the messenger," he said, the deeper baritone notes drifting to caress my ear.

"Pha... right. Like you don't have enough of those running around here." I moved to close the door only to stop to swing it back open. "Oh, messenger boy," I called out to his retreating frame. He stopped without turning around. "Tell your boss I'll be down in a minute."

"I'm sure he could care less." He picked up his stroll again.

"Fine. Just start without me," I yelled while smiling.

"I've no doubt I will," he yelled back over his shoulder turning to disappear around the corner.

Oh, this was gonna be fun.

Quickly, I changed into a pair of clean jeans and slipped on a thin ribbed sweater.

Grabbing the monitor from the nightstand, I turned it on but there was no sound. Kyle must have left the transmitter off. Reaching his room, I knocked knowing he was already downstairs. Turning the knob, I pushed the door open and stepped timidly into the room.

The other night when I barged in, I really didn't have time to see what his room looked like. There was a king sized bed placed between two double French door windows that went all the way to the top of the ceiling that looked to lead out to a stone balcony. The furniture was dark but the bedding was a light grey with light blue geometric designs that were hardly noticeable. On the far left that separated his room from mine was a 'love me' wall lined with shelves that housed trophies, medals, certificates and more. My feet moved on their own as they walked over to the wall. I couldn't help but smile when seeing some older pictures of a toothless Kyle beaming as he held up a medal or palmed a trophy. It seemed in these pictures, life hadn't snuffed out his dreams yet. He was a boy full of aspirations of being greater than a hotel manager.

I wonder why all that changed.

Shaking my thoughts, I turned to scan the room for the transmitter. Next to Kyle's sleigh bed, there was an actual bassinet cradled on a stand. Sitting on the nightstand behind it was the transmitter. Walking over, I reached for the power button but my fingers froze when I saw a picture of a young girl in a frame sitting next to the lamp. Not thinking, I picked it up to study her.

Whoever she was, she was beautiful. She was wearing one of those school uniforms Kyle's brother was wearing only she had on a skirt and her blonde hair was neatly piled high on her head. Her neck looked even longer as her head was playfully tilted to the side as she smiled a dazzling smile. But what really stood out were her eyes. They were a deep sapphire blue full with life that made her breathtaking.

For some reason, she looked familiar. Who was she? Why was she granted permanent placement next to Kyle's bed?

Acid somehow reached my throat making it difficult to swallow. A wave of suspicion washed over my nervous system stirring a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Hearing the door behind me open wider, I quickly replaced the picture and acted like I was reaching for the power button on the transmitter.