Ice Bound (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 4

Wasted time, wasted breath. Melissa sprawled out on the living room couch in fumes. She laid on her stomach and hugged one of the plush pillows. Every muscle in her body ached. Mel wanted to lay in her bedroom. However, her mom mandated 'family time'. It didn't make any sense. Cynthia lived in the university dorms.

"How was skating?" Her mother set her book on the coffee table. "Cynthia said that you seemed to have a good skate."

Mel shifted uncomfortably and groaned. "I hated it. The rink is trash, I had a demon coach, and not to mention the prissy skaters." She forced herself up from her seat. "Now if you don't mind, I am going to take a nap."

"No, let's talk."

"No, I am going to lay down in bed. I'm sick of people."

"Don't you give me attitude missy!"

A groan elicited from Mel's lips. She fell back onto the couch and kicked her feet over the armrest. She didn't want to 'talk'. The 'talk' was another scolding to tune out. Melissa stared at the cream colored ceiling.

Her mom crossed her arms, "I know you 'hate' it here but it's not excuse to hate everything." She sighed, "Now about skating, we'll go again in a couple days. You'll do the same classes and freestyle. Let me know if there's something that you want to do."

Melissa didn't move her gaze. "You're coming this time, right?"

"Yes. I'll determine if the rink is really as bad as you say it is."

"You'll see." Mel stood up, "I'm not lying."

...

Savvy placed her call on speaker phone. Her fingers clicked against the keyboard. This was the second time today. It was friend withdrawals. Melissa called at least once a day. It wasn't annoying, but rather comforting.

"What's up hon?" She smiled through the phone. "How was power?"

"The coach is a demon! A demon! You have no idea!" She must have been online as well. You could hear her typing as well.

Savvy listened to every word of her friend's rant. Her fingers clicked across her keyboard as she searched google for some document to cite in her psychology paper. The clicking eventually stopped. She let out a deep sigh. She had never been a sympathetic person. It was difficult to respond in these situations. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to respond. Are you going to the rink again?"

"Sadly." Melissa's voice trailed off. She let out a sigh, "Mom is coming this time."
"Relax and take it easy. It's the best remedy right now." Savvy stopped typing. "Say, are still having those chest pains?"

"Yeah, let's not talk about it."

"Okay. Just wondering." Savvy heard her mom shout from downstairs. "Coming!" She ran her fingers through her hair. "Gotta go. Talk to you later Mel!" She hung up.

Melissa hit the play button on her laptop screen. A sullen melody flowed from her speakers. She watched the black notes light up as the computer mimicked their pitches. A rotten chord rang up. Mel hit the stop button and began to test different pitch combination. The computer generated piano sounded. Nothing but bad pitches. She didn't have much time to create her music for next season. Well, if she had a next season. That wasn't exactly guaranteed.

Melissa set her laptop aside and flopped onto her stomach. She wanted to throw the stupid piece of machinery across the room. She stuffed her face into a pillow. Her body ached. Her mind ached. Her emotions began to pour out into her pillow. She sought relief from her friend. She received none.

Tears stained her face. Melissa curled up and pulled her covers over her head. It hurt to cry, making her cry from her physical and mental soreness. "I hate you Savvy. I hate you!" She screamed repeatedly.

Nobody was upstairs to hear her muffled sorrow. The no soaked pillow was cast aside for a replacement.

The house shook. Melissa jolted in surprise before sinking back into bed. Her dad was home. She had no need to see him.

"Melissa! Get down here!" Her mom called, "Your father is home early!"

No response.

"Melissa Everness Sadent, get down here!" She walked up to her daughter's room and walked in. She was asleep, in broad daylight. Melissa's room was messier than it usually was, which meant one thing.

Her mom placed the soaked pillow back onto the bed. Melissa was curled up under her blanket with a pale, wet face. She had cried herself to sleep, again. The event had become increasingly common, worrying her parents.

"Mel, are you awake sweetie?" She sat down and grabbed a tissue from the nightstand. She gently dabbed the tissue on Melissa's face. Seeing that Mel wouldn't wake up, she stood up and moved the laptop back to the desk. She closed the computer and plugged it into it's charger.

Melissa started to cry in her sleep. She shifted around some so she could breathe.

"Mel, wake up." Her mom attempted again. "You need to wake up." Melissa was too deep into her sleep. Her mom shook her gently once before leaving. It was better to let her sleep.

It pained the mother to watch her own child struggle for months on end. These episodes were happening almost everyday. She crept back downstair with a sigh to begin cooking dinner. She looked at her husband with a frustrated glance.

"She's asleep again, Reiss."

"Again?" The man took a deep breath. "Leave her alone. We can't do anything if she isn't awake." Reiss kissed his wife. "Mandie, she went skating today right?"

"And she's been like this since she returned." Mandie huffed, "Who knows what goes through her brain." She opened up the refrigerator. "I called Cynth about it too."

Reiss shook his head. "Take her off."

"No! We can't do that! Have you seen the past few months? What has she done?"

"Call Savvy, cry, and work on her music."

"Exactly, we moved in the summer honey. It's not like she's in school!" Mandie began chopping vegetables. "The summer! We need to give her a life!"

"Then let her do that herself!"

"We need to help her!"

"Skating isn't needed anymore! She needs down time!"

Melissa had woken up and could hear everything from upstairs. Her eyes were all swollen and puffy. Her nose was clogged and all of her tissues were gone. She held the empty box in her hand and hide at the top of the staircase. Her parent's bickering was driving her nuts. Mel hesitantly tiptoed down, barely making a noise.

The discussion her parents were having was about to bubble.

"Gee, thanks for listening to my opinion." Melissa scoffed as she grabbed a new box of tissues. She dashed back to her room before either of her parents could say anything to her. She slammed and locked her door before she blew up again.

And then it happened. A throat ripping wail emerged from the girl's mouth. Melissa threw the box in her hand into the corner of the room. She was done. Nobody could stop her. Her emotions had full control of her actions.