Chapter Three
Meanwhile back in the house Melody had managed to wriggle out of Arvie tight grip and began to clean up the house just as Leland arrived and kicked the door down. He checked every room in the same methodical way Dakota had but you could see the haze of anger which surrounded him even before he walked through the door to Melody's bedroom. By which point she was being held up entirely by Arvie as sobs ripped through her body, her breathing was becoming more irregular, the shakes getting stronger. Finally Arvie had to face the fact that it was easier to sit on the floor and hold Melody than trying to keep her upright.
"What have you done to her?" Leland yelled scaring Arvie to point at which she was shaking as his heavy combat boots stomped closer shaking the wooden floor beneath them. But he was not done yet. "Found everything you were looking for, slag?" he growled before continuing on again "where is my son? Why is my sister crying? And where on earth is Lyssa?"
Arvie bit her tongue until she could taste the metallic coppery tasted of blood filling her mouth. She was biting back her biggest fear, Dakota's family killing her, and her sarcastic comments which were threatening to burst out of her mouth. They mainly related to Melody and the truth. She hated Dakota's family and they hated her with all the passion in their hearts and nothing could or would ever change that.
"Melody is the best person in this family and she's not even related to you. Why would I hurt her?" Arvie yelled as Jinger rested her head on Arvie's lap trying to calm her.
Leland continued getting closer before reaching out to grab Arvie's hair ready to yank her away from his poor, defenceless baby sister. He had just reached her hair when he heard Dakota's voice.
"You have no right to speak to my girlfriend like that, no right to demand her to do things and most of all no right to speak to Melody like that she didn't choose us." Dakota could feel the anger rising up in his chest but it felt so good to finally stand up for himself say what he had been feeling for months.
"Never talk to me like that again boy" Leland growled back "we'll deal with this later"
"No you won't Dakota is staying here with Melody" Lyssa yelled trying her best to sound as authoritative as possible towards her elder brother "she needs _".
"Sorry to disturb your little family argument but Melody has passed out" Arvie quietly cut off Lyssa mid sentence but it was important. Dakota immediately grabbed his phone and called Beth even though they had argued Beth was also the grandma he needed, the mom to all the Chapman kids and definitely the best in an emergency. Lyssa called 911 to get an ambulance there as soon as possible. Melody's breathing was becoming more and more shallow and sporadic.
And all Leland did was freeze he knew he could not lose her she was his baby sister and no one in the world was more important to him than her. Had he caused it? The yelling, it was different this time. So different. Usually her breathing would be evening out and consciousness returning but it wasn't. Had it finally got too much for her? Was another of his sisters about to die? The sirens pulled him out of his daydream but he was still paralysed. He couldn't move. His limbs felt like lead. Impossible to move no matter how hard he tried. It was like he was watching his own death. But it wasn't. It was Melody instead.
She was put in the ambulance with Lyssa holding her hand as Beth came to collect Dakota, Arvie and Leland. But he was still stood staring at the spot then he noticed. The photo of two people discarded in a broken photo frame laid on the floor. He picked it up carefully avoiding the shattered pieces of glass which threatened to stab into his fingers.
"Leland, are you coming?" Beth asked gently from the door.
"No I'll stay here, they probably won't want to see me but thank you for asking" Leland replied quietly hearing Beth's footsteps retreating back towards the car outside and then the car leaving crunching on the gravel as it went. He knew she wanted to comfort him and tell him it wasn't his fault but everyone knew not to cross Leland when he was angry or annoyed.
He glanced at the photo, it wasn't dad, Beth or any of the family so who were they and why was their photo in his sister's apartment? He carefully set the photo back down onto the nightstand when he noticed some pieces of paper fall from the back of the frame. They were scattered on the floor, a few burnt around the edges, a few with blood on the edges. One by one he picked them up noticing some swirly, neat handwriting on the back of a few of them.
A newspaper clipping with the headline 'Stark Industries in turmoil after death of Howard'. Another 'Tony Stark kidnapped'. Then he noticed a photo of two young children one about a year old and another around six, when he turned it over there was a handwritten note.
'To my beautiful baby girl, we will always love you, I am very sorry. I hope I will see you again someday. Love always Mommy, Daddy and Anthony.'
Leland dropped it instantaneously. Who was Melody and what had happened?
