Book 1: Lost In Translation (Another Reason To Cry) (Izzy Stradlin FanFic)

Ch. 6: Lost In the Meeting

I was at the café precisely when I said I would be, and of course, Melody was there waiting for me. She was standing outside of the front entrance, holding her tray of coffee cups, a crumpled piece of paper in her free hand, and was bundled up in that damn scarf again.

She hadn't yet noticed me, so I allowed myself to stand back for a moment and give myself some time to just take her all in. She was glancing around, and, for once, she actually looked kind of lost and worried. She normally held herself with a confidence that not even Axl possessed, but today she seemed to be searching for something. I felt giddy as I realized that that something was me.

She finally turned my way and caught my eye. She squealed excitedly and motioned for me to come over with a wave of her hand, the paper still in between her fingers like a tiny white flag. I chuckled and hurried over to her.

"What's up?" I greeted her with a wide smile. Of course, she said nothing. Instead, she handed me the crumpled piece of paper.

"You're meeting my mom and dad today."

I squinted back up at her. "Oh really?"

"Yes," she mouthed, nodding her head excitedly.

Before I could even respond with much else, she started walking away, heading towards the crosswalk that was a few feet away. As I passed by the café, I noticed Kim pointing and laughing at me through the window. I rolled my eyes and threw up my middle finger as I walked.

I tried to keep up with Melody's steps, but she was surprisingly fast despite being about half my height and wearing heels. I didn't mind, though. I had a great view of her butt swaying and jiggling with each step she took, and I was in heaven.

I followed her deeper into the city until we reached a tall and important looking sky scraper. It was there that things got tricky.

As I followed her in, the door man just about had me arrested by security because, apparently, I looked like "a creepy, drug-addicted bum that was following Mr. Swanson's daughter into the building".

When Melody realized what was happening, she was quick to slap at the security guards hands as he tried to hand cuff me. She wrapped an arm around my own, pulling my elbow right into her chest, and began grunting what I could only assume were obscenities at the guard.

When he finally took a few steps back to show her that he understood and would leave me alone, she gave him a satisfied nod and ushered me towards the elevator.

The elevator was slow, and we were going to the very top floor. It took a moment, but, when we finally reached the top, we stepped out and into a small lobby complete with a secretary's desk. Melody turned to me and began fiddling with my wardrobe.

I smiled at her, stooping so that she could reach my paper boy cap to straighten it. She combed through my hair lightly with her finger nails, making goose bumps pop up along my entire body. She then ran over my shirt and pants lightly to smooth out all of the wrinkles.

"Perfect," she mouthed.

I nodded, forcing a smile despite the fact that I was now at half mast and was about to meet her dad. Fucking perfect.

She waved to the secretary as she pulled me into another room. The secretary, on the other hand, was too busy looking me up and down and winking. I shrugged her off and turned to see where Melody was taking me.

Melody released me from her grip and rushed over to the end of a very large and very long, wooden table. The table seemed to stretch for about a mile before ending in a cluster of four men, all of whom were dressed in suits and ties. They seemed very busy and very angry.

Melody dropped the tray down beside the man at the head of the table.

"Thanks, Pumpkin," he murmured, still lost in his meeting, scribbling numbers onto a piece of paper. Melody rolled her eyes and tore a pen from her dad's hand.

"Hey!" He cried out. "I needed that!"

Melody hunched over his notepad, scribbling words under his math problems. She shoved the pen and paper in front of him. He read it carefully before looking up at me.

"Izzy? What the hell kinda' name is that?" He demanded.

Melody frowned at him but looked over at me, waiting for a response.

I gulped. "Uh...my real name is Jeffrey."

Wow. That was lame. Normally, I'd tell someone off for acting so rude to me. I'd give a sarcastic comment and flip him off. I've destroyed offices like this before. But, this was different. This man had had a hand in creating Melody, the most beautiful Melody I had never heard. I had to at least try to be a gentleman.

"Jeffrey, eh? And what do you want with my daughter, Jeffrey?" He spat my name like it left a nasty taste in his mouth. I cringed.

"I just think..." I struggled to think of something that didn't sound too corny, but also didn't make it sound like she was just another girl. I locked eyes with Melody and she was giving me a hopeful smile. She had faith in me. "I think that your daughter is beautiful. And I enjoy spending time with her. So I escorted her here. Or rather, she escorted me. She's the strongest person I've ever met. She never ceases to inspire and amaze me."

The men had all stopped writing and were now staring at me like I had grown a third eye. Mr. Swanson's face was beet red and Melody seemed to be holding back a giggle at my embarrassing outburst. I feared that maybe I had said too much. What kind of dad wanted a loser like me hanging all over their daughter? Especially their defenseless and naive deaf daughter.

"Plus, uh...I figured she needed someone to watch out for her on her way here. You know...keep her safe."

"Uh-huh," her father muttered shortly, still glaring at me. He turned to Melody, who was still trying not to laugh. "I like him. But he still has to meet your mother."

Melody's eyes grew wide and her expression grew serious. She signed something to him and he chuckled menacingly before turning back to me.

"As you can see, I allow my daughter to go get my coffee every week. I don't worry about her. I know she's strong. She's my girl. But I'm not the one you should be worried about," he added. "Good luck with her mother."