It took some begging, and the use of the ‘it’s my birthday’ card, but Lyric’s parents gave in. At 11:00 on Friday, Lyric’s dad pulled up across the street from the Wolfes’ house.

Before they left the car, her dad turned to look at her in the back seat. “We’ll sit and talk with them, but I’m reserving the right to decide when we leave.” He was looking at her with his serious stare, an expression she rarely saw on him, so she knew just how bothered by this whole meeting he was.

“Alright.” She looked out the car window at the house, reaching for the door handle. “I just want to-- Is that Luke?”

Across the street, Luke was walking up the front steps in front of the Wolfes’ house. Lyric wondered if he had finally gotten the courage to give his condolences to Melody’s parents. She hoped so.

Lyric and her parents got out of the car and crossed the street, but Lyric decided to hold back from joining Luke in front of the door. She watched him take a deep breath and ring the doorbell.

The door was opened almost instantly. An excited Marina appeared, but her face fell when she saw Luke. “Can I help you?” She asked, looking around.

“I--”

“Lyric!” Marina cut Luke off when she spotted Lyric and her parents. Her face lit up again and she pushed past Luke to meet them on the sidewalk. “I’m so glad you came.” She pulled Lyric into a hug.

Lyric hugged her back, but she was watching Luke. He looked unsure now.

“Please, come in.” Marina ushered them toward the house. “Allen’s making lunch. Do you like tomato and provolone?”

Lyric saw Luke shrink away. She grabbed his hand before he could leave and gave it a squeeze that she hoped was reassuring. “Marina.” She got everyone’s attention. “This is Luke.”

Marina looked confused. “Your boyfriend?”

Both she and Luke let out a splutter of surprise. “No.” She tried to force a laugh, hoping that she wouldn’t offend Luke. They knew each other well enough for that, right? “He was friends with Melody.”

“Oh.”

All eyes were on Luke now, studying him. Lyric saw the longing on her parents’ faces and knew that they wanted to ask him what Melody had been like. She knew that they wanted to know Melody as badly as Marina and Allen wanted to know her. A familiar pain clutched Lyric’s heart, but it hurt less than it had at first. Maybe someday it wouldn’t hurt to remember the mistake.

Luke met Marina’s gaze only briefly before looking away. His eyes wandered over to Lyric’s parents. He didn’t look away from them.

“Would you like to come in?” Marina finally asked. “We’ve all got questions about Melody, and you might have the answers.”

Lyric felt Luke’s muscles tense through her grip on his wrist. “Alright.” He met Marina’s gaze again. “But I’m warning you, I’ll only give honest answers, and you might not like them.”

Marina hesitated, surprised, but nodded. She led the way through the front door and into the living room. It was the same as the last time Lyric had seen it, except that there was a birthday candle in a candle holder on the mantle beside the photo of Melody.

As they settled in the room, Allen came out of the kitchen with a plate of paninis. They smelled amazing. Lyric wondered if he’d teach her to make them. Then she wondered if Melody had known how to cook.

Luke wandered over to the mantle and looked at the photo. He didn’t say anything, just stared at it.

“Do you miss her?” Lyric’s mom asked him.

“No.” Luke turned away from the photo to look at her. “I don’t miss her at all.”