Fallen Melody: Fallen: Book 1

by Layna Snow

  She looked away quickly, not wanting to show her desire in public—surely that was against the rules! Her eyes came to rest on Seth, who watched her like a predator. He focused on her mouth, on the lips she had been biting, on her tongue that kept swiping out. She was curious about his reaction, but didn’t feel comfortable asking. Surely Emily would notice and she was supposed to avoid Seth!

  Em’s laugh made her look back to what was happening on the other side of her, what she had ignored while focused on her boys. “I did see! Nice dance, too.” She was saying, her hand lingering on Nate’s bicep. Her tone light while her eyes darted over his chest. Tim didn’t seem interested in talking, he just drank some of his water and placed the bottle back on the cooler, accidently knocking the thing over when Nate sidestepped into him.

  Em waved it off, offering their services to put it all to rights. And soon the time-out was ended and the guys left them alone once more. “I don’t remember whose water is whose. Didn’t you take off your label? It looks like someone else did as well. Hmm. Well, one of them is yours.” She shrugged and put them all back inside before hesitating. “You aren’t used to the sun. You should probably drink more water.”

  Mel agreed. She was feeling very thirsty. Her mouth was dry, although that seemed to happen when she watched Caleb drink. “Alright,” she said taking the fullest bottle. She didn’t know if it was hers or not but she hadn’t noticed anyone else having no label.

  The water tasted refreshing, slightly different from tap water but she was told by Seth that it was the same, simply filtered more. She almost drank the whole bottle before quenching her thirst. Emily groaned and Melody put the bottle down in time to see Caleb score a touchdown—what Emily explained as getting to the other side of the field without being tackled. He jumped up and down and Melody was so happy she too jumped up and cheered.

  He had gotten past the others! He had run faster! He had not gotten hurt! He was the best! And Melody was so proud to be in a relationship with him! Wow, what he must feel every time she accomplished anything! She was glad to give him such a good sensation all the time.

  She sat back down and smiled. This was more fun than she thought. The game might not be very well designed, but it was nice to feel excited about something.

  Melody cleared her throat, looking back at the water. She felt thirsty again, her mouth going dry. It was strange, being out in the sun. She understood that when one sweated, they needed to take in more water, but she did not realize how much. Surely Emily was on her second bottle already. Maybe she should drink a colder bottle, just in case.

  “Em, could you pass me another bottle?” she asked, running her hands along her face and neck. She felt warm to the touch, and wondered how warm Caleb would feel. They should probably drink more too.

  “This is fun. I don’t spend enough time hanging out with girls. I go to the bar sometimes but that’s different. My friends are looking for guys. They didn’t realize that to get a good guy, you need to look for outsiders, am I right? None of my past boyfriends could compete with Nate!” she said, handing the bottle over.

  Melody drank as she continued to listen. “I mean, he took me to see a scary movie in Barrie last night. He didn’t even mind that I grabbed onto him.”

  “Oh,” Mel said, running the bottle along her skin to cool down, “was it very scary?”

  Em laughed, shaking her head. “No, silly! It’s an excuse to cuddle up to the guy. You hide you head against him in scary parts, get him to wrap an arm around you. It’s the whole point of seeing a scary movie with your boyfriend.”

  “I see,” Mel didn’t really comprehend. She snuggled up with Caleb and Seth all the time when they watched movies. She didn’t need to pretend to be scared. Cay enjoyed having her close, and until the last outing with Emily, Melody enjoyed being close to Seth. He so rarely let her near.

  “Have you gone on any dates with Caleb?” Em asked, her attention split between Mel and the game.

  “Well, no. He works a lot and I like staying at home. He hasn’t asked me to go anywhere.” She asked, clearing her throat once more.

  “Oh, that’s a shame. You need to get him to take you out to eat. He has money, let him take you somewhere where you won’t have to cook for a change!”

  Melody rubbed her face again, feeling a little uncomfortable. “But what about Seth? What will he eat if I don’t cook?”

  Em just laughed. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to cook for them all the time. Seth is a grown man, he can cook his own food. Or he could order in.”

  Melody felt herself growing confused. Order in? Did Em mean food? “You mean someone else cook food for him? Oh, but surely that would not be good. We would not know who these people are? Why would they cook him food? And he would feel so awkward eating with them! He does not do well with people! Oh no! This is not a good idea!” She did not like the feeling of knowing another person—maybe a woman!—would cook food for him. She felt a little dizzy at the thought.

  Emily laughed, her body bowing as she jerked with laughter. It went on so long that Melody wondered if she was alright. She was about to ask when Em sat up, wiping at her face. “Oh my God, I’m crying. That was great! Oh, they wouldn’t eat with him,” she started before laughing again. Melody decided to have another drink, enjoying how the cool water slid down her throat, soothingly. “Oh boy! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. It is just funny. I can picture Seth sitting rigidly while a Chinese family ate at the table with him. Oh! His face!” she laughed once more.

  Mel didn’t think it was funny! She felt sick, almost as if it stopped her from breathing in. She didn’t want anyone eating with Seth, or cooking for him. That was her job. That was what she gave to him. She wanted to be there while he ate. She wanted to sit and talk with him. No other women!

  Mel stood, ready to walk away but she stood too fast, her brain fuzzy and her lungs labouring. She could see little dots dance in front of her face, her throat so tight that she didn’t think she could draw in any more air.

  Everything seemed to hang suspended for a moment, and she wondered what had happened to make her feel this way. And then she didn’t wonder anything, she simply started to fall and black took her vision.

  16

  Out of all the boys on the field, Seth got to her first. Caleb didn’t know what the fuck happened, he just turned in time to watch Melody drop. He didn’t notice that Seth had thrown the ball to him, or that Tim was running towards him to take him down. It just happened so quickly—and fuck did he hate that cliché.

  It took him a moment to realize something was wrong, a moment to get his shock under control and to force his fucking feet to move. It took too long.

  He should have been there to catch her! Dammit! He should have gotten there to break her fall!

  But no, his body wouldn’t cooperate! His feet wouldn’t move, his legs didn’t work hard enough to take him there in time. SHIT!

  Cay heard a scream—her fucking scream!—but realized it was in his head, a memory of a day weeks ago when he rushed to her aid.

  Seth appeared to have no problems with his body, his long legs eating up the distance between them and Mel. His movements frantic, but graceful.

  No, Cay didn’t make it to her first, but seeing her get wrapped in Seth’s arms, his hands trailing over her body to look for wounds, that was acceptable. With Seth, Mel was safe.

  Life seemed to go by in a rush again and he was there, kneeling by her body, desperately looking for a pulse. It seemed like endless minutes before he found it. And thanked whatever god is out there for that slight flickering at her wrist.

  “What happened? Oh, God! Is she alright. Why isn’t she breathing?” Caleb asked, his questions quick, anxious. Fuck! He needed her to be okay!

  Distantly, he was aware of shuffling behind him, of the panted breaths of the other guys and of Em’s agitation. Nothing could compare with the wailing fear that ran through him, paralyzing his fucking brain.

  “I, uuh.
I mean… I don’t know. She was really thirsty. Could she be dehydrated? Maybe heat stroke?” Emily said, her words breaking through the fog in his brain.

  Oh God, please let it be heatstroke. They could get fluids in her. They could do something!

  But when he dragged his eyes from her pale, lax face, he noticed Seth’s analyzing stare. Seth’s fingers moved to her mouth, passing over her lips.

  This is not the time buddy!

  Seth seemed to be concentrating. “Her lips are fuller, puffier.”

  Caleb wanted to yell that it didn’t matter what her lips looked like! Seth could kiss her after they saved her! She needed to be alive to take him again. But he knew that Seth never dropped the ball. He never got distracted. But fuck! They had to do something now before she died!

  “Open her mouth, Seth.” Tim ordered, pushing through to sit on the other side of Mel. When Melody’s mouth was pried open, Tim positioned himself to see inside. “Yeah. She’s having an allergic reaction. Her tongue is swelled, along with her lips. Her throat is closing up too.”

  “Anaphylaxis,” Seth provided helpfully. As if they needed to know the fucking name to fix her!

  “Oh shit! What else is she allergic to besides silver? Did she lick a ring or something?” Called Ian, but the kid could just chill out! They’d get to that later! Everyone needed to shut the fuck up and do something!

  “Alright. She can’t take anything orally to help. We need something more immediate. Oh we can use-“

  But Tim’s words were cut off by Nate’s outburst, “An adrenaline shot! I have one of those. Bees.” He explained, before making rustling noises. Cay wasn’t planning on turning around to see what he was doing. He just hoped the guy found it fast.

  “Yes!” Tim said, looking both excited and relieved. “That will work great! Hurry, we have to get it in her before her throat closes up fully. She has a little breath, but these types of reactions happen quickly. Her body is fighting off whatever is in her system, feeling that it is harmful. The mast cells-“

  But Caleb didn’t care. He wasn’t listening, he didn’t want an explanation. He just wanted her better. He wanted to see Melody’s smile and hear her laugh. He wanted to hold her, and make love to her gently—to show her she’s loved.

  Damn! Was he already thinking the L word?

  Cay didn’t notice Tim pulling up Mel’s beautiful floral dress, or his stabbing the needle into her leg. He focused on how her wrist felt in his hand, how smooth her skin was, how wonderful her faint heartbeat was, how magical each tiny breath seemed to be. He focused on her living again.

  The change wasn’t instant. And at first he didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but Em’s relieved cry confirmed it. She was breathing a little better. And her heartbeat picked up again.

  Caleb’s relief was monumental. He felt it showering his fucking body, his muscles relaxing and his mind catching up.

  She was going to live.

  “Oh, thank God!” Em exclaimed, before moving around behind Cay. “We need to call an ambulance. She needs to go to a hospital.”

  “No,” the objection came from Seth and surprised Cay. Of course she had to get help.

  “She really should go,” Tim said, his voice full of concern.

  Cay didn’t need to look at Seth to know that his face would be set determinedly. He had seen his friend like this too often. Knew that tone of voice. “She was born in a cult. She has no paperwork. No birth certificate, no health card. They won’t take her and it would be a waste of time.”

  And with his words, Cay remembered. Mel was different. She couldn’t have people doing tests on her. She couldn’t have blood drawn or be given regular medicine. They were lucky that the adrenaline shot didn’t kill her.

  “Shoot, man. There has to be something!” Ian exclaimed.

  “The one in Barrie will take her. I’ll make sure of it,” Nate said, his voice firm.

  “Oh, and how can you guarantee that?” Cay asked, forcing his eyes from Mel’s still body in order to look at Nate.

  “Because my dad is the head of a department there and I own stock. They will do what needs to be done. I’ll call my father, he’ll send a chopper.”

  Emily gasped, turning to see her boyfriend more clearly. “You didn’t tell me that! Why are you working construction if you don’t have to?”

  Cay watched Nate shake his head. “Construction is my job, I enjoy it. The extra money just means that I can come do work in person, don’t need to grow the company.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Seth interrupted, pulling Caleb’s gaze back to him. “She’s not going. We will think of some other way to help her. Tim, you’re a doctor and I’m a vet. She doesn’t need to go anywhere.”

  Seth was right. Not only did they have medical professionals here, Mel was an Angel. She healed fast and would beat this thing. They just needed to give her a little help.

  “Are you guys kidding me? She needs to go to the hospital! I’ll call them. I’ll get a chopper out here. I don’t care what you say, she is coming. It’s for her own good.” Nate said as his steps pulled him further away.

  Why was he insisting? Why did he want her to go to the hospital so badly? This had nothing to fucking do with him.

  “Nate. Stop. It’s not your decision. Besides, there are tons of places she could go. Why does it need to be your hospital? What’s in this for you? Do you get money for every patient that goes there or something? I mean, hospital staff in the states get that deal sometimes but really man? Just let them decide what’s best for her.” Tim argued.

  Tim was right, what was in it for him? Why was he fighting this hard?

  “Shut up, Tim. You don’t care about her, you just want to put your hands all over her, fucking creep!”

  A bunch of snickers and gasps sounded behind them, but Cay was too focused on Mel to turn around.

  Tim didn’t seem angry, at least not as angry as Nate was. “I don’t poach, thank you very much.”

  Nate just glared back, which caused Tim to laugh. “Well, I don’t poach from friends. I have no romantic interest in Melody.” Tim explained which was followed by a noise of outrage from Emily.

  Seth growled, bringing their attention back to the situation at hand. “Enough! Stop fighting, both of you. We need to get Mel somewhere cooler. We also need to get liquids in her and figure out what caused this.”

  “I saw her drink water, but that was all.” Emily supplied “The bottles got mixed up when the cooler fell. Maybe she drank someone else’s. There were two without labels.”

  Caleb looked around. He didn’t need to look at Seth, Cay knew that he was thinking the same thing. Someone must have put something in the fucking water. No one had an allergic reaction to water, and she had been drinking bottled water all day.

  “There’s nothing in any of these. I thought maybe someone might have dropped something in it by accident… Does someone have a tongue ring?” Ian asked, and after a bunch of negative sounds, Cay realized the truth. Someone must have drugged her water somehow. It had to have happened in the switch.

  He also knew that it wasn’t Seth. He didn’t need to question him. Seth wouldn’t do this. Period.

  He eyed the others. He hated to think that Emily could have a hand in this but she was the one who organized the bottles after. She could have switched them. But, she wouldn’t hurt someone else, especially not Mel.

  Her boyfriend was a different fucking story. Cay didn’t really know shit about Nate.

  “He didn’t do it! His had a label on it still! And as much as I’d like to lie, Tim’s had one on too.” Emily appeared sad by this news, given how much she instantly disliked him, Cay didn’t have to wonder why.

  “I swear I was over there with Felicity the whole time! Fel, mine had a label too right? So did yours.” Ian said which was followed by a feminine, but distinctive ‘yes’.

  “Well. It doesn’t matter now, does it? We won’t figure it out. Obviously it was an extra water bottle.” Cay sai
d, using his voice for the first time since this happened. His throat felt raw, dry, and rusty. He knew he sounded like he swallowed a cup of rocks. But shit, having your girlfriend almost die would do that to a guy!

  “Caleb’s right. Let’s get her inside. We can figure this out later.”

  “No, wait. Hold on. I don’t like you guys thinking that I did this. I didn’t. It was probably an accident. Someone touched something she’s allergic to or something. We don’t have to get carried away with accusations. And I still think that she should go to the hospital. She needs to be looked at.”

  Seth shook his head, his eyes focused on Nate. “I don’t think so. This anaphylaxis only occurs when one ingests something that they are allergic to. It wouldn’t just happen from a touch. It had to be something she consumed.”

  Caleb eyed the contractor closely. Was he trying too hard to get out of the blame? “It had to be something in the water.”

  “Caleb! Are you seriously kidding me right now?! Like honestly, how could you just turn on someone like that! I mean, your own friends! God, she’s changed you, hasn’t she? Has you accusing people of murder! Cay this isn’t you!” Emily said, her voice dripping with malice. And how could she take his side over Caleb. She hadn’t known Nate for a month!

  “Woah! Calm down! You’re overreacting a bit! No one said anything about murder!” Ian tried to step forward, but he Caleb easily moved him out of the way. “Wait, she’s not going to die, is she?”

  “No, she won’t. “ Cay never broke eye contact with Emily. “He’s not my friend. We hardly know him.”

  Emily looked angry. It wouldn’t surprise Cay if she started stomping her feet and throwing things. Luckily Nate took her arm. “Come one, Em. Let’s go. We don’t want to be here if we’re not welcome.”