Melody screamed at Napier's rough manner. "Don't treat her like that, Napier!"
Her voice seemed to calm Napier down a little. He clenched his fists.
Evelyn stood up and straightened her clothes like nothing had happened. "Melody…" Tears welled in her eyes. "How long have we known each other?"
Melody smiled sweetly. "Twelve years, three months." She remembered the exact time. She'd had a lot of time to think. She was happy then, happy that she was young, healthy, and had a good friend in Evelyn.
"Yeah, we've known each other a long time. And you wanna go and leave me alone? You're the one who said you wanted to see me get married." Few people had seen Evelyn shed any tears at all. But she was unable to hold them back. She took a few deep breaths, and raised her head to hide it.
Melody stood up from the edge of the building, heedless of what the negotiator and the police were telling her. She stood there facing everyone. She stared at Evelyn intently and said, "But Evelyn, you'll get married one day, but I won't be there to see it. Besides, be honest: you don't want to take care of me anymore. If I die, I won't be a burden anymore."
"It's not like that! Melody, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that! You know I didn't mean that. I'm still here every day, right? You're not a burden, it's just hard to watch you in pain." If she could turn back time, Evelyn would change what she said. She would never utter those words again: "I don't care about you anymore."
Melody smiled palely. She walked on the edge of the roof carelessly. Everyone present was afraid she would fall off accidentally.
She didn't get how much danger she was in. "Don't take another step forward," she shouted at a firefighter. "Go away. I only want to talk to Evelyn."
Evelyn took a step forward and gently tried to calm her down. "I'm here. Melody, listen to me. Stay right there. I'll come get you, okay? Hey, look, if you come down from there, we can hang out. We'll go wherever you want!"
Melody lifted the long part of her dress and the wind caught it and did the rest. She was breathtaking. But she looked away, an expression of relief spreading over her face. "I won't be your problem anymore, Evelyn. I'm tired. It's been five years, and I just can't anymore."
She really loved Evelyn, with all her heart and soul.
Evelyn was terrified. Melody was flirting with danger like that. She could fall any minute. She wouldn't have to jump if that happened. "Napier's in love with you. Always has been. You two grew up together. Think of how he'd feel."
Melody smiled, "Thank you for loving me, Napier. But it was hard to be with you. Love can't be forced. After I die, get a girlfriend worthy of your love. And take care of Evelyn, too."
By now, Evelyn was so weak she almost forgot to breathe. The ice queen lost control and began babbling and begging. "Melody! Don't do this! It's my fault. It's all my fault! Please get down. Come back!"
She shouldn't have lost her temper when she found Melody smoking, and said that she didn't care about her anymore.
And she couldn't let Melody die like this.
Evelyn walked towards her, slowly, in measured steps.
But to no avail. She was two meters away when Melody said to her gently, "Goodbye, Evelyn!"
The woman looked into Evelyn's eyes with a smile. She stretched out her arms and began falling backwards. The girl in the red dress instantly disappeared from view.
"No!"
"Melody!"
Both Evelyn and Napier cried out in despair, but it was too late. Melody had jumped.
Evelyn didn't know how she managed to get to the edge of the roof. When she looked down, her head started spinning and she couldn't focus on what was below. The height seemed to swallow her view.
It was too high, and she was afraid of heights.
"Melody, Melody…" Napier shouted, devastated.
Suddenly, Evelyn felt herself being choked. It was Napier. He was red-eyed, pushing her to the edge of the roof. "You should die with her, Evelyn!"
Evelyn tried to breathe, but it was hard. Napier's grip was too strong.
At that moment, she saw death. She started to black out.
Suddenly, she could breathe again. The pressure was gone. As she stood there trying to clear her head, she heard Napier's groan.
She panted and slowly opened her eyes. Carlos grabbed Napier and tossed him away like a rag doll. He wouldn't abandon his daughter.
Debbie ran to her daughter and held her in her arms. "Evelyn! Are you okay?"
Leaning against Debbie's chest, Evelyn nodded with difficulty. She pointed at Carlos, who was busy pounding on Napier, and gasped, "Dad, don't hurt him!"
Carlos cocked his fist and warned, "Touch my daughter one more time and I'll kill you. She's not responsible for Melody's death. Evelyn did what she could, but it wasn't enough. I'm sorry, but Melody made her choice."
Napier struggled to step back and yelled, "Bullshit! If Evelyn hadn't said what she did, Melody would still be alive. She wouldn't have jumped!"
"My daughter is not Melody's guardian. It's not her job to take care of her. Evelyn came to see her every day. She loved Melody. Quit making it worse! Melody Song had advanced gastric cancer, but she still kept smoking. She had already given up on herself. What could Evelyn do? Was she wrong when she said that?" Carlos felt bad for his daughter. She was nice to Melody, but both Melody and Napier took it for granted. And now Napier was blaming Evelyn for Melody's death. Carlos had enough.
Napier was so angry that his face turned red. He said, "She's a murderer!"
Carlos grabbed him by the collar and was about to punch him again when Evelyn grabbed his hand. "Dad, I want to see Melody."
Carlos shoved Napier away, straightened his clothes, and pulled his daughter into his arms. He kissed her hair lovingly and comforted her. "Evelyn, I'm here for you. Don't be afraid."
Evelyn nodded, "Thank you, Dad."
Thank God for giving her a happy family and a father who took care of her no matter what!
Evelyn handled Melody's funeral arrangements. Melody's parents had died eight years before. In order to cure Melody, Napier had blown all his savings. He had no money to buy her a tomb or take care of her funeral.
After Melody was buried, Napier went mad. He guarded her tombstone every day and the graveyard guard couldn't drive him away.
At first, everybody thought it was just hard for Napier to accept Melody's death; they thought he would be back to normal as time went by.
But no, year after year, he did the same thing.
