If I'm Wrong, There's No Such Thing As Right[CURRENTLY UNDERGOING EDITING]

Chapter 9: Rocky Relationship

   Melody laid lazily on the couch, mindlessly flipping through channels. Snuggling with her beloved panda toy, her mind began to wander to last night.
     "And besides, you've survived all this time without them." Kiku's words replayed through her head like a broken record. Although of course that wasn't true!
     "I mean, they pay for a roof over my head! Not to mention I get to go to to a freakin' private school! How many people get to do that?" she mused. But then again, she wasn't sure why she was so opposed to the idea of being independent.
     "They just have a busy schedule. Of course they care, right panda?" she asked, looking into the beaded eyes of her toy for assurance. Its stitched muzzle stayed in a smile as its head fell to the side. She took that as a yes. By the way, where were her parents? They didn't even come home last night. What if they got into a car crash? What if they got mugged? What if they really did abandon her?!!! She slapped herself for thinking such worrisome things. They were fine! Just a bit late. She diverted her attention to her new toy.
     "Gee, you sure are pretty, aren't you?" she observed, picking at one of its buttoned eyes. "It was nice of Kiku to get you for me, huh?" She wondered how he had even been able to spend more time at the stand with that jerk. Helping him move his own sketchy stand just so she could get a panda bear, how silly! She hugged the bear close.
     "Although, it was pretty sweet of him. He must have a great eye; he shot those darts like a pro! I wonder if he learned that in Japan." Actually, she didn't really know anything about his time in Japan. Or better yet, his time in America, either. She barely knew anything about him, like his dreams, or goals, or something. The feeling left her longing to talk to him. She shook the thoughts away.
     "What am I thinking? Geez, I spend one night with a person and suddenly I'm acting all boy crazy? I blame hormones," she scoffed, changing the channel as she cuddled with the panda. Flipping, she saw a glimpse of a familiar face.
     "Woah, woah, woah!" she blurted, quickly changing back. What she saw shocked her beyond words.

  "The man revealed to be forty year old Thomas Hill was found behind his fair stand earlier today at nine o'clock this morning in critical condition. He had suffered major head trauma, along with several broken bones and internal bleeding. It is said he had connections with the mafia. He remains in critical condition at the hospital."

     The remote in her hand dropped to the floor upon hearing the news. She sat there on the couch, mouth agape, clutching her stuffed panda.
     "Oh geez! The dart stand guy?!!" Melody burst out. She stared at her fluffy panda in horror. He couldn't have! She quickly snatched up her phone from the nearby table, frantically dialling his number. Her heart felt like it would pop out of her chest as she listened to it ring.
     "Moshi moshi," a monotone voice answered.
     "Kiku! Have you seen the news?!" she asked.
     "Oh, Melody! What a pleasant surprise!" he cooed.
      "Yeah, yeah. Hi. But have you seen the news?"
     "Hm... not sure. Depends on what news you speak of," he answered. She pulled at her hair in frustration.
     "THE NEWS! ABOUT THE STAND DART GUY AND HE WAS BEAT UP AND HE WAS IN THE MAFIA AND CRITICAL CONDITION AND-"

     "Hey! Calm down!" he advised. Although she couldn't see him, she had a feeling a look of bewilderment was etched on his face. She took a couple deep breaths before speaking again.
     "But have you seen the news! The stand guy! In critical condition!" she restated, feeling a bit dizzy from all of the nervous hyperventilating she was doing. There was a moment of silence on the other side of the line. Soon, Kiku's calm voice spoke up, a bit quieter.
     "Oh yeah, that news. Yes I have," he nonchalantly responded.
     "How can you be so calm?!" she stressed. She knew there was no way Kiku could've done something so brutal, but there's always a way for people to get blamed for something. Just thinking about the beating getting pinned on him made her worry. 
    "What if they blame you or something?" she hypothesized. There was a slight pause, before Kiku replied.
     "Well, when I left he was still in fine condition. And besides, they said he was in the mafia, right? Must have something to do with that," he finished. This did help calm her down, although she was still pretty nervous.
     "Y-yeah. You're probably right. He must've just forgotten to pay back some money or something. I wouldn't be surprised considering how cheap he seems," she reckoned.
     "Exactly," he replied soothingly. "It's nothing of our concern." She rubbed at the bridge of her now sweaty nose, pushing her glasses back up.
     "Right. Sorry for bothering you. I guess I was just worried... as usual. Bye," she sighed, quickly hanging up as to avoid more embarrassment. She had to admit, she did think he had something to do with the crime, which thankfully wasn't true. However, she couldn't help but have this strange nagging feeling in the back of her head. Her thoughts were interrupted by the closing of the front door and the familiar click-clacking of stilettos.
     "Ma!" she squealed, quickly shutting off the television so nothing could interrupt them. She ran towards the cause of the sound and wrapped her in a hug.
     "Woah!" her mother exclaimed, teetering back.  "Watch out! I'm in heels, Mel!" Melody shot her an apologetic smile before they both broke out in giggles.
     "I'm sorry! I was just really worried about you and dad! Speaking of, where is dad?" she asked, releasing her mother from her strangling hug. The smile immediately dropped from her face.
       "Your father is at a hotel," she spoke frankly. Melody's smile dropped as well.
     "What? Why?! What's wrong?" she asked. She felt a need to be panicked, but swallowed it. No need to act panicked until she knew all the details. Her mother's face hardened for a minute, before it became soft as Playdough.
     "Um... well, he just needed a little break. It's nothing extreme," she confessed. Ok, now was the time to panic. Something had definitely gone sour.
     "A break? But that's what this whole vacation is for! A month together, as a family!" Melody countered. Her mother gulped.
     "I know, I know. It's just... complicated," she trailed off, looking off into space.
     "Mother!" Melody cried, snapping her out of her trance. She must've sensed the frustration on Melody's face, because she shot her a weak smile and quickly drew her into a hug.
     "Don't you worry Mel, everything's just fine. We've just hit a couple bumps in the road is all," she assured, rubbing Melody's back. She pulled away, wiping a tear from Melody's face that she didn't even notice was there.
     "He'll be back before you know it," she finished, scurrying upstairs. Melody stood there, awestruck. She wasn't stupid; she knew something was wrong. Although she wasn't exactly sure what. And neither did she know what this meant. Were they just taking a break? Was it something more serious? She couldn't stand the suspense. Quietly, she turned the television back on, turning the volume louder than before. Setting down the remote, she tiptoed upstairs. Her location: her mother's room. Inching down the hallway, she finally got there, placing her ear against the wooden white door. Just as she suspected, her mother was in the middle of making a phone call. Of course, she had never done this before, nor did she ever think she'd have to. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
      "OUR daughter, Clarence!" she heard. Her eyes grew wide with shock; she had never heard her mom yell at her dad before. Although she couldn't hear what exactly he was saying, her dad was speaking loud enough for even Melody to hear it.
     "No, no, no! We came out here to spend time with her! What?! How can you even say that?! WHAT KIND OF FATHER ARE YOU?!!" her mother hissed. Melody began shaking, wishing that she could just burst in there and tell them to stop. But she couldn't, because then she'd have to explain the fact that she was eavesdropping, one of the things her mother hated the most. So she'd just have to stand there and smell the roses. Her parents were having a full-out argument. And it was about her. Now her mother was talking much quieter, to the point where Melody could barely even hear her. The silently scolded herself for turning up the television as loud as she did. However, there was one fatal word she was able to make out. One she wished she would've missed.

     "..... divorce ......".

Melody gasped, tumbling away from the door in horror. This couldn't be happening! They couldn't get a divorce! Where was all of this coming from?! Her head felt dizzy as she raced down the stairs, tripping on the last step and falling down, skinning her knee. Her mother apparently heard the ruckus, as she called out to her.
       "Mel?" she called out.

      "I'm fine, mom!" Melody notified, trying to peel herself off the stairs. Luckily, she only suffered a skinned shin, which created a puddle of blood on the wooden floor. She hopped over to the couch like some deformed bunny, plopping down and throwing a blanket over her.
      "I'm coming down!" her mother announced. Melody silently groaned. Maybe if she didn't just hear her mother taking about divorce, she might be a bit happier to see her. But right now, she just wanted to be alone. Her mother came down shortly after, still in her business suit with the exception of her black high heels, which were replaced with socks.
     "Is everything go-" she began before stepping in Melody's puddle of blood. She looked at the ground in horror.
     "What the heck?" she blurted, looking down and then eyeing Melody.
     "What happened?!" she fretted, immediately running over and examining Melody.
     "Nothing too serious. I just fell and skinned my shin," Melody admitted. She couldn't help but feel annoyed at the fact that her mother would fret over a wounded shin and just ignore that fact that she was on the brink of divorce. Why wasn't she trying to tell her?!
     "Oh, ok then. So you're ok? Nothing broken?" her mother checked. Melody sighed under her breath.
      "Yes, I'm fine! Gosh!" she said, exasperated. Her mother gave her a questioning look, which was too be expected. She had never lashed out at her mother before.
       "What's your problem?" she pried, looking at her. Melody crossed her arms, turning her head and planting her eyes to the floor.
      "Nothing, alright!" Melody snapped. Her mother gave her a look of pure shock, in which she ignored. She felt a bit bad, but right now she was just angry. She felt like crying, but stopped herself immediately; she hated crying in front of others. Her mother said nothing else about her weird behavior, probably passing it off as hormones or something. Instead, she asked her a question.
      "How would you feel about moving?" she asked. Melody looked up at her in shock. That was not what she was expecting to hear at all.
     "Moving? I don't want to move!" she protested.
     "Calm down, calm down! I didn't say we were moving. Just, how would you feel about, hm? Moving out of state, or maybe to another country, like Japan or something," she suggested. Melody glared. Not at her mother, but more or less at the idea that she was suggesting.
      "I think that'd be awful!" Melody rejected, running upstairs before she broke out into a crying fest. She ran into the her room, slamming the door behind her and flopping down on her bed. She began crying into the pillow, so upset that her parent's relationship was going bad and she wasn't sure as to what she could do. A few minuets later, her mother came up the steps, knocking lightly on the door.
      "Hey Mel? Can I come in, hun?" her mother requested.
      "No, not really!" she responded, lifting her head from her pillow as to make sure she heard her correctly. There was silence for a few more minuets before her mother spoke up again.
      "Well... I'll be in my room if you need me," she sighed, leaving the door. Melody cringed; she already started calling it her room. She buried her face back into her pillow, suffering a headache from all the crying she did. It had been a while since she cried like that, and she was just glad nobody was there to directly witness it. What am I supposed to do? What can I do?! She laid in the bed, deeply thinking about what this all meant. She would fall asleep there, as well.

A/N: Hey guys! So here's your chapter, uploaded on a Wednesday like I promised! Don't forget to comment and tell me how I did! And thank you for reading! Bye!