Guardian Angel

Chapter 11 - Melody

Melody stood in front of Max' door. To be sure she checked the address in her phone once more and eventually she pressed the doorbell. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other while she heavily leaned on her crutch. She shouldn't have stayed this long in the library. She should have gone home right after lunch, but that one time Daniel didn't seem to walk away from her, she had simply wanted to enjoy it.

"Hey!" Max opened the door and a smile brightened his features. His wonderful blue eyes glimmered in the late evening sun and his cheeks were blushing. "I just put the lasagna in the oven." He pressed a kiss on Melody's cheek and then he held out his hand to take her jacket and crutch from her.

"I can smell it." Melody couldn't help looking around.

The hallway was relatively small, but the walls were decorated with wonderful paintings. A wooden staircase lead to the first floor and colorful pictures were almost hiding the mint green paint.

Melody had to repress the urge to check if there were some adorable baby pictures of Max among the collection and she followed Max to the small, but cozy living room.

Two huge blue couches were placed around a small and old television. A wooden table with four chairs stood against one of the walls. None of the windows had been washed during the last couple of years.

"What do you think?" Max stood behind Melody and he wrapped his arms around her body.

"It's different from what I expected..." She bit her lip, feeling how her leg protested against the extra weight Max put on her.

Max didn't answer, but eventually he stepped back and let Melody go. "I haven't changed anything since..." He didn't finish his sentence and Melody turned around.

"Since when?" She walked towards him and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Half a year ago my mother died." Max avoided her glance and he sighed relieved when the timer started beeping. Without a word he walked towards the kitchen and a few minutes later he came back with a smile on his face as if nothing had happened.

"Do you need help with something? I've heard I can be good at putting plates on tables." Even though Melody would have loved to talk about his mother with him, she didn't want to force anything either.

She tried to imagine what kind of mother she had been. Had she looked like Max? Had she shared the same blue eyes? Had she had the same blond hair?

"And I've learned that if you're limping you're supposed to sit down." Max removed one of the wooden chairs and he placed his hand on the back. "What did you do today?" He cocked his head, but instead of accepting his offer Melody scratched the back of her neck.

Even though Daniel was nothing but a friend, and a horrible one since he usually disappeared when she really needed him, Melody didn't exactly feel comfortable telling Max about his existence. She didn't really know why though. "I was in the library for a project for school." She shrugged her shoulders and eventually she sat down and watched how Max made the dinner tabel ready. "I wanted to stay until lunch, but I met a friend of mine and all of a sudden it was a few hours later than I had planned."

Max smiled when he sat down in the chair opposing Melody. "Did you get some work for school done too?"

Melody felt relieved when he didn't ask any other questions. She had not been planning on introducing Max to her friends yet, but she had actually not been planning on introducing Daniel and Max to each other at all. "Yes, I found some articles and a book I can use."

"Sounds good!" The timer interrupted their conversation once again and a few seconds later Max walked in with a steaming lasagna.

"I guess you're officially a better cook than I'll ever be." Melody leaned back in her chair and she placed her hands on her stomach. She felt at least five pounds heavier now and her tongue and throat were hurting a little due to her lack of patience.