I stand by the doorway, saying goodbye to guests as the party finally begins to die down. I make a handful of plans to hang out with my friends and family in the upcoming months - once my real break starts. Lunches, dinners, road trips, and vacations. I refuse to go through the same isolation ever again.

I breathe a sigh of relief after I've shut the door behind the last guest. As much as I love my friends and family, I've always been and always will be an introvert. I'm absolutely exhausted from all of the socialization. Only seconds after I've begun to head back down the hall, there's quick, almost frantic, knocking on the door. I assume someone must have forgotten something.

"Carmen?" I raise an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" I don't recall seeing her here tonight. I can't for the life of me remember whether or not she was even invited. Cole and mom handled most of the guest list.

She looks at me with glassy, wide eyes and suddenly pulls me into a tight, rib-crushing hug. "Melody! I just wanted to say how sorry I am for what happened at the formal!" she exclaims.

"I-it's alright," I cough and try to wriggle my way out of her grip. As insane as that night was, I can't help but empathize with her distress. "Do you want to come in?"

She takes a couple cautious steps into the penthouse. Her eyes nervously dart back and forth a couple times and she chews on her nails before she leans closer towards me and lowers her voice. "Have you seen Alyssa recently? I've sorta been, um, avoiding her since the formal. She's like, super scary when she's mad and I heard she was super mad when she found out what happened."

She can say that again. Alyssa called me that night and she sounded absolutely livid. I had to call Cole to check up on her and make sure she hadn't annihilated Carmen. The two of them live in the same sorority house. I can't even begin to imagine how Carmen's been avoiding her for nearly a week now.

"Well, yes we're cousins," I remind her. "She's still here, she's staying over tonight."

Carmen's eyes widen in horror and she quickly turns back around. She fumbles with the door as she scrambles to unlock it and probably bolt.

"Carmen?!"

We both turn and see Alyssa storming down the hall towards us. Carmen gasps and presses her back against the door. She grabs my arm and tugs me in front of her to use as a human shield. I try to move, but her long, hot pink nails dig into my skin.

"H-hi Alyssa," she stammers. "I just came here to apologize to-"

Alyssa pulls me out of the way - nearly sending me crashing into the foyer's indoor water fountain.

She corners Carmen and crosses her arms. With her high heels on, she's nearly an entire head taller than Carmen. "How could you do that to Melody?" she hisses. "I told the board to leave her alone at the formal. I have every right to kick you out of ADPi you know."

"W-wait A-Alyssa," Carmen sputters as waterfalls of tears almost immediately begin streaming down her flushed cheeks. "I love the sorority! P-please don't do-"

"Don't bother," she sneers.

Just as Carmen looks like she's ready to get on her hands and knees to beg, I quickly pull Alyssa back. Her skin is hot and I can feel the intensity of her anger fuming from her.

"Liss, please don't. It's alright," I whisper.

She laughs dryly. "Mel, I know you're really kind but this isn't the time. People told me how terrified you seemed." Carmen flinches a bit as Alyssa turns back to her - shooting a flash of white-hot anger with her piercing eyes.

I'm simultaneously touched and terrified by Alyssa right now. She was nearly suspended a handful of times when we were in primary school before I left. She'd constantly get into fights trying to defend me.

I quickly tug her arm again, dragging her further away from poor Carmen. "I was, but she helped me in a way. It let me learn how much Cole..." I feel heat begin to rush to my cheeks as I speeak, "how much he cares about me. I really like him, Alyssa."

Alyssa hesitates for a moment, glaring back at Carmen, looking ready to bite her head off. "I'm happy for you but...Mel, come on."

I give her a small smile. "Life is too short to be spiteful."

"Fine," she says. "Carmen, you're kicked off the board but you can stay in ADPi."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Carmen gushes. She reaches to Alyssa for a hug but quickly stops in her tracks when she sees Alyssa's deathly glare.

"That's what I thought," she scoffs, her voice cold as ice. "Now leave, before I change my mind."

I help unlock and open the door for Carmen as she scrambles out.

Alyssa runs her hand through her hair and shakes her head in disbelief. "I don't know how you do it, Mel. You truly have the patience of a saint."

"Holding grudges doesn't help anyone."

She just chuckles and slings her arm around my shoulder as we head down the hall. "You seriously remind me of your dad. I still remember your mom getting away with the dumbest shit because of him." She rolls her eyes playfully. "Anyways, I'm gonna go shower and get ready for bed. I'll see you in the morning."

She heads towards one of the guest rooms while I take a turn to head to the kitchen, I assume Cole and Mr. Carter are still in there. I gasp as I nearly walk face first into a shadowy figure standing in the center of the hall.

I fumble with the lights and sigh in relief when I see it's just mom. "Mom, what are you doing here in the dark?"

She brings her index finger to her lips in a shh motion. She points to the wireless earbud she's wearing and mouths that she's in a call. I debate whether or not to just leave her here and continue on my way to the kitchen. She's wasted enough of my time.

"Great, I'll tell her now. Talk to you soon Arvin." She ends the call and gives me a tired smile. "You really could've chosen a better time to do this Melody. This week has been absolute mayhem." Her voice is stern, though I know she's not actually mad. That's definitely not to say that she wasn't mad when I called her about this last night.

"I'm sorry mom, I just wanted to get everything done in one go. That's how you handle things, right?" I tease her a little.

She chuckles. "Fair enough honey. Anyways, Arvin said you can stop by his office this week to fill in the paperwork. Let me know which of your things you want me to mail to you, I'll take the rest back with me."

"Back?"

"Well yes, I'll be moving back home to Maryland." She pauses for a moment and her voice softens. "I'm looking forward to it... tonight made me realize how much I've missed everyone."

I lead mom over to sit on one of the velvet cushioned benches along the hall. "That's really nice to hear mom."

We sit in an awkward silence for a moment - both of us hate small talk. I suppose it's one of the few things I inherited from her. She stares at the strange and colourful abstract painting hanging on the wall across from us. "What's that supposed to be?"

"I don't know. Some cats who got into paint then had a fight on top of a canvas?"

We both laugh and I feel the tension lift. She turns and gives me a soft smile. "Listen, Melody... honey, I'm sorry I've pushed you so hard since you were little." She tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and gently rests her hand against my cheek. "You've grown up so much. I'm incredibly proud of you and dad would be too. I know I say that all the time, but I'm not talking about your music this time."

I raise an eyebrow. "So what do you mean?"

I see the warm, kind look in her eyes that I haven't seen in a long time. "I know standing up for yourself wasn't easy. Like you said earlier, you're an adult and you're still figuring things out for yourself," she says and places her hand over mine. "I should trust you to be intelligent and mature enough to make decisions that you know are the best for you. I'm sorry that it took me this long to realize it."

I didn't even realize she had heard me. I saw her leave while I was speaking in front of everyone. It didn't phase me though, she was usually too busy to come to my shows. When she actually did attend, she would be preoccupied with something else.

"I understand if you don't forgive me right away. I know you've had a rough childhood," she sighs and gently squeezes my hand. To my surprise, I see tears in her eyes. I haven't seen mom cry in years. "I'm just hoping you'll give me a chance to change things between us, Melody. I want to be here for you, not as your manager, but as your mom."

I give her a wide, wobbly smile and she pulls me into a hug. "Of course Mom, that's all I've ever wanted," I murmur into her shoulder. I feel her let out a deep breath of relief.

We walk together to the front door. "Oh by the way," I mumble as I dig through my purse. "Hang on to this, would you? I have plans for it." I hand her the sheet music from the final version of Cole. Pretty big plans, in fact.

She takes it and grins. "I'm very happy for you two, Melody."

"Love you Mom, talk to you soon."

"Bye honey."

I shut the door and lean back against it as a wide grin spreads across my face. I feel like I'm going to burst with excitement and happiness if I don't tell someone the news soon. I practically skip down the halls to the kitchen. Cole and Mr. Carter both look puzzled as I happily hop in.

"Big news!" I can't be bothered to sit down and just stand next to Cole at the island, buzzing with excitement.

Cole raises an eyebrow. "What's up?"

I clasp my hands together. "I'm moving to Toronto! I'm buying the penthouse and staying here."

Mom and I have been living in the fancy mansion back in LA for twelve years. I never felt settled in or comfortable. It's always felt so cold and impersonal, as if it's been someone else's house this entire time. It's been painfully long since a house has felt like a home, and the feeling has finally come back.

Cole's eyes widen and he smiles brightly. "Really? That's great Mel!" He pulls me into a tight hug. I sigh and relax at the feeling of being in his arms. The reality of it all slowly begins sinking in.

I won't have to say goodbye.

Mr. Carter beams at me proudly and reaches across the island to rest his hand over mine. "I'm very happy for you, Ms. Aria. After all the work you've done, you deserve this."

"Thanks Mr. Carter." I give him a warm smile.

I can't remember ever feeling this happy. It took nineteen years, but it finally feels like I have control over my own life. Things are finally falling into place.

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Happy endings are my favourite 😭😭😭 Epilogue coming next!

Thanks for reading!