The Song

Part 5

"It is interesting." Melody sipped some water.

"Of course it is!" Mrs. Horgins exclaimed. She was a little drunk and without alcohol she was already a jerk. It made Melody want to leave. However, family is family. Melody's aunt rambled on more about her turkey story. Melody tuned her out. It was the George and Kat Richards twenty-fifth anniversary. They were having a party to celebrate. It bored Melody, mainly because she had a different thought on her mind.

"Oh Melody, you are glowing tonight!" Kelsey Summer called as she came into the kitchen. She gave her daughter-in-law a hug, "Absolutely gorgeous."

"Thanks mom." Melody poured Mrs. Summer a glass of wine. "Have you happened to see Peter John anywhere? I needed to tell him something." Melody seemed to trail off back onto her previous thought. It has been three years since Melody and Peter John married. They still were in, if not more, deeply in love as that night.

"Yeah, in the basement having a beer," Kelsey sighed. She did not approve of how much Peter John drunk. She was afraid of him following in the footsteps of his father.

"Thanks." Melody set her glass on the counter and left Mrs. Summer in the company of Aunt Whore-gins. She smiled at the old joke that started when she had discovered a certain book that inspired it. You could not hear the sound difference but Melody and her father always took pleasure in calling Kat's sister by that nickname. It might have been childish but it felt good to have something familiar. So much would be changing soon. So much more than Melody could ever imagine.

Melody opened the basement door. She could here all the men laughing. Peter John was in the middle of them all. He was not drunk though for he could hold his liquor very well. "Peter, could I talk to you?" Melody asked, hesitating a little.

"Of course, babe, what is it?" Peter John asked her. He knew it must be serious, as she never called him just by his first name unless something was going on. Panicked thoughts flooded his mind but he ignored them.

"Could we talk outside?" She asked her husband. He nodded and grabbed her hand. Together they headed out back into the garden. Visible from Melody's childhood home was Peter John's parents' kitchen. They did not see Mr. and Mrs. Summer fighting though. Maybe if they had it would have been different. They did not see Peter John's father reach for the gun. They did not see Kelsey standing proud. She knew she would die. She knew she could do nothing. Therefore, she stood her ground. They did not see her close her eyes as her father's brain, damped with alcohol, sent the signal to pull the trigger.

Now they did see Kelsey fall to the ground. They did see Jerry point the gun at himself. They did see his brains splatter the walls. Peter John's stomach seemed to have been blown to bits with his father's head. He ran towards the house anger surging in his veins. It blocked out the grief and he was thankful. He did not want Melody to see him truly hurt. He was too proud or maybe too selfless.

Melody however, had a much different reaction. She instead called 911. Although she knew, Jerry was hopeless dead (Thank God, the pain he cause would end, though his family would not be around to feel it); she was not sure about Mrs. Summer. As she explained the situation to the woman on the other line people rushed out of the house to figure out what was going on.

Peter John stood in his parent's kitchen. He let out an ear retching scream. Pain and anger flowed through it. He fell to his knees still screaming. He felt as if the moment he stopped then that would be it. Emotions would overcome him and he would snap. He would die inside. He would become the walking dead. Therefore, he carried out the scream as long as he could.

Nevertheless, just like all things, it ended. He then stayed on the ground with his fingers in his dark hair and just sat there. He felt numb. He could not feel the ground beneath him or the chill in the air. He could not feel the blood seeping towards him. He could not feel the police officer's hand on his shoulder. He could feel nothing because he was nothing. He might as well have been dead for his will to live died with his mother.

The police officer took Peter John out to the ambulance and another officer questioned Melody. The paramedics looked over Peter John. He was fine physically of course. They gave him a blanket though for the shock. Then they turned their attention else well. Apparently, Mrs. Horgins had fainted.

Peter John decides then that he would do the one thing that had been on his mine for a while. He always pushed that thought away. Now that he was dead on the inside, he felt it was right to kill the outside. Peter John sneaked away. He went through the back door into his parents' house. Peter John grabbed a piece of paper. He grabbed the gun and went to his old bedroom. He closed the door.

Melody was the first to react to the gunshot. She tore away from the police and the flashing lights towards the house. The only thought in her mind was of Peter John. She knew it was he. He was still in shock and confusion. He would do something stupid.

She made it into the house before anyone could stop her. She went to the door and found a note written to her. She grabbed it and read.

Dear Melody Richard,

You have been my best friend since we met. I still remember our first kiss, how much we loved each other through the years. Because my dear Melody, we loved with so much passion and fire it out shined the stars. Sadly, even darkness can destroy a light that bright. Therefore, here is my note. Know I am sorry.

I want you to know this is not your fault, Mel. If anything, you helped more than anyone did. However, this was my breaking point. I just cannot go on anymore, Melody. Please understand. There is no other way than this. I must take my life for death welcomes much better things then life could ever bring me. However, that is not your fault. It was my dad. It was this stupid small town. It was all of the people who filled it. It was not you. Please believe that.

There is so much pain in my life. So much strife, so much hurt. There is not enough happiness and I do not know how to go on. So here I am, saying goodbye.

There was not a day that went by where you did not cross my mind. You were always there for me, sun up, and sun down. Your smiling face eased the pain. I still remember all of the kind things you have said to me. You gave me a reason to fight Melody. Thank you for that. I am sorry I am not strong enough to keep fighting. I wish I was strong enough, believe me, I do. However, I am not. Nothing can change that, nothing at all.

Goodbye Melody, goodbye my love, my friend, my song. Goodbye.

Your husband,

Peter John Summer

Her stomach dropped. No, this couldn't be. Her love had killed himself. He was gone. She opened the door and fell to her knees. She saw Peter John's brains on the floor. His blood covered the floor. The gun smoked.

She threw up. The vomit burned her throat. But it wasn't as bad as the pain she felt in her heart. She felt like it was literally tearing apart. She sobbed so hard she couldn't breathe. She felt someone tug her arm but she didn't actual feel it. Her whole body seemed numb to the outside world. The only thing in the world that seemed to matter was her fiancé dead on the floor. She tried to crawl to his body. Her hands spread the blood around. Someone holds her back. But she hears the muffled words "Let her go."

Melody crawled to Peter John and threw her head on his chest. She hugged him. She sobbed into his chest.

All of the things they would never do, memories they would never make, life they would never enjoy together. But the one thing that haunted her the most, the fact he never knew about his child.