Melanie Parks had it all. An amazing childhood best friend Lauren Porter, they're attending one of the best colleges in the country together, a great family, and a longtime boyfriend, Jamie Sanders, she loves and who loves her back.
Or so she thoug...
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By Friday night, the following week, I'm ready for a weekend free of responsibilities and to have some fun with my best friend and boyfriend.
To kick off the weekend tonight, Lauren and I are going to go out for dinner and then stopping at our favorite local bookstore since they're having an open mic night. Lauren had mentioned possibly wanting to try out a new song she's been working on the past couple weeks, but she hasn't committed last I heard.
The low temperatures have me bundled up in Jamie's oversized dark brown turtleneck sweater, medium washed straight jeans and black sneaker-style platform boots. I walk off the elevator of the third floor at our apartment building, past two apartments and when I stop in front of mine and Lauren's apartment, I hear my best friend's voice through the door.
"It's that kind of burn that melts my heart/Tell me we'll never be apart/Let me surmise what forever feels like/In the midst of this summer afterglow/Never let me forget our whiskey kisses/Under the bluest of skies and brightest of stars."
Punching in the lock code, I let myself in and find her sitting on our gray curved sectional that's along the far back wall as well as the wall shared with her bedroom. Our flat screen TV is hanging above the dark peacock sleek media console with brass accents and two doors with two open shelves across the living space on my wall.
She has her white and gold BEOPLAY H95 headphones covering her ears and is strumming along to her lyrics on her Larrivee OM-03R Acoustic Guitar, her notebook and cell phone laid out in front of her on the matching ottoman. She's dressed casually as well in a cropped black long sleeve top, a black and brown flannel and light washed boyfriend jeans. The flannel must be one of Beckham's for the way it hangs off her slender shoulders since he's got arms twice the size of hers.
I set my things down in the entryway and make my way further into the apartment, my feet meeting the plush off white rug that has a subtle striated texture and shine in the living space before she notices my presence.
Her eyes must have caught me out of her peripheral vision because she slips her headset off to hang around her neck and she pauses the recording on her phone. "Hey, sorry, I didn't know you were home."
"I just walked in. You know you dont have to apologize for using our space for your music. Sorry for interrupting it though," I tell her.
She flashes a small smile, slightly shifting her position on the couch. "Eh, I was just tweaking something I already have in the works," she shrugs.
"The same song you've been working on the most lately?"
"Yeah."
"Is it what you're going to play tonight?"
She groans. "I don't know. Do you think I should? My music doesn't really have the same vibe as that place."
"I think it could be good to get up there. It's more exposure for you."
