Jeffery's Arc

Chapter 3 of 5

Jeffery watched the screens inside the camper. The cameras showed Melody on the open road, shrinking with every step. His white cat trotted at her heel, loyal to her now, not him. He grabbed the phone from the shelf. The wooden ring sat against the glass where she had dropped it. He picked it up and closed his fist around it. The ring was his last hook. He had carved it to fit only her finger. He had told her it was proof of love. As long as she wore it, she carried a piece of him. But she had left it behind. Without it, he had nothing to pull her back with. Jeffery ran out of the camper. The dirt was cold under the morning light. He caught up to her at the edge of the trees, where two glowing girls stood in the half-light. Their pale shapes flickered. They had shown her the path out. They watched him now and did not move aside. "Melody," he called. She stopped but did not turn. "You forgot this." He held the ring up. She looked at it over her shoulder. "No," she said. "I left it." He stepped closer. "I love you. No one else can ever love you like I do. No one else will ever have you. You belong to me." His voice shook. He meant every word, and that scared him. "You hear me? No one can have you. Ever." Melody turned around. Her big eyes were wet, but steady. Her hand drifted to the spot where the ring used to sit. The finger looked bare and wrong. Her chest ached like something had been cut out of her. "That's why I'm leaving," she said. He froze. The glowing girls brightened behind her. The cat sat at her feet and stared at him with green eyes. "You said no one can have me," Melody went on. Her voice stayed low. "Not even me." She held out her hand. "Give it to me." Jeffery wanted to run. Instead he set the ring in her small palm. His fingers brushed hers. He felt the old pull and leaned into it. Melody closed her hand. Then she drew back her arm and threw the ring into the deep dark woods. It spun once and vanished among the trees. "Now you have nothing of mine," she said. Jeffery stared at the dark gap in the trees. The ring was gone where he could not reach it. His last hold on her was gone with it. Melody turned to the road. The cat rose and followed. The glowing girls faded into the daylight. She walked away, barefoot in the cold dirt, and did not look back. Jeffery stood alone at the treeline. His hands were empty. He had lost the thing that bound her to him, and he had no plan for what came next.