Jake and I ran around the house, "Melody! Mel! Where are you?!" Although we knew she wasn't here we were holding on to the hope that maybe she was somewhere else.
I heard someone walking upstairs and by the expression on his face I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was, Melody was just sleeping somewhere else. But of course we were wrong.
"Why are you yelling so much?" Todd walked down the stairs rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Jake collapsed on the couch. I just walked into the kitchen hoping to avoid having this conversation with Todd leaving it to his older brother.
Although I was in the kitchen I still could hear their conversation as if they were only two feet away.
"Jakie, what, what's going on? Why is Nate here? Where is Mel?"
"Todd, Mel is gone. Nate and I have been looking for her all morning."
"Stop joking Jake. Where is she?"
I peeped my head around the corner of the kitchen and walked out.
"Todd," I began to tell him that she really was gone
"No! Shut up! She can't be gone!" Todd ran up to me and grabbed the bottom of my shirt and looked up at me with tears in his eyes. I had seen Todd be scared before but nothing like this.
"Nate, is she really... Gone?" I looked over at Jake before answering to make sure it was alright to tell him.
"Yes Todd. She's gone."
"B-but she can't! She was going to teach me to ride my bike soon!"
"Todd-" Jake stood up to go comfort him.
"No!" Todd ran upstairs wiping the tears from his eyes. I just collapsed on the floor and pulled my knees up to my chest and rocked myself. Jake stormed off to the garage and a few seconds later I heard things start crashing in the garage. Jake came out of the garage with tears strolling down his cheeks.
"Nate, it's not your faul-"
"Yes it is." I looked up at him and sighed.
"I shouldn't have given Ashley a reason to hurt her. I shouldn't have left her side... I'm and idiot" I put my head back down onto my knees. A few moments passed before either one of us actually seemed to realease a breath loud enough for us to hear. I continued to sit there and the kitchen floor where just a few weeks ago Melody and I had white chocolate chip pancakes.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Jake standing over me with tears in his eyes and a slight smile on his face.
"You did more to protect my little sister than I have ever done for another girl. Including my little sister. Don't blame yourself Nate. You did this to protect her. Not to cause her any harm, and for that I thank you."
He patted my back twice and walked off. A few minutes later I got up off the floor and walked up the stairs to Todd's room and knocked on his door. A few sniffles were heard from behind the closed door and although he didn't say I could come in I figured it was okay. I cracked open the door, "Hey how you holding up?" I asked.
"I should've known." He mumbled under his breath. I looked up, "What was that? What do you mean 'should've known'?" He just sat there crying some more. I walked over to the side of his bed and laid a hand on his shoulder so he knew he could trust me with whatever he need to say.
"Todd, what do you mean? Who did it?"
"Kyle. Kyle Ambers." I was furious, but I gave Todd a slight smile anyway.
"Thanks Todd."
I practically tripped over my own feet I was running down the stairs so fast. "Jake! I know who it is! I know who has Meldoy." Jake came running out of the garage for what seemed about the fourth time since we discovered that Melody was missing.
"Who?! Who has her Nate?!" I enhaled a large breath, "Kyle Ambers."
"That ass." Jake mumbled under his breath. I looked up at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Jake leaned up against the railing of the stairs, "The day you came to visit Melody, which I totally don't appreciate you doing by the way but I'll look past it, anyways, Kyle knocked on the door and I opened it thinking it was Tes but you can guess who it was." I stepped down off the stairs, "What did he do Jake?"
"I told him to leave but he pushed passed me and ran upstairs. I followed him and got to Mels room just as he was about to hit her." That jerk. He was going to pay twice as much now.
"Do you have any idea where they might be?"
"Maybe. Let me see my phone." I said. Jake handed me my phone back which I had completely forgotten he had. I showed him the text Rachel had sent us about the party.
"Come on were going to crash a party."