Face the Music - Part 2 (Patreon)

"You're up early today," Ruth observed, looking up from her cup of coffee to see her daughter walk into the kitchen, dressed for the day before her alarm would normally have even gone off.

"I thought about what you said," Madalynn told her. "And you're right. I should respect you more, and not question everything you tell me to do... You've been around longer than me, and you know best."

Ruth raised an eyebrow, curious about the change of heart, but not wanting to get the girl riled up by refusing to accept her apology for the sake of figuring out what her motives were. "Thank you," she said instead. "I'm glad you're mature enough now to realize how much more mature I am. I know that can be a difficult thing to accept."

"Oh, it is," Lynn nodded. "I know you have a lot to teach me... And, as a way to show that I'm really committed to changing, and being better at learning from you, I want you to keep punishing me."

"Hmm?" Ruth frowned, more lost now. "What do you mean?"

"My phone," Madalynn said. "I want you to keep it the rest of today, too, so I can truly understand the consequences of my actions. I need to learn to face the music." 

"Oh." Ruth wasn't sure how to even respond to that, although she wasn't about to say no. "Well, that's fine with me, if you think it will help."

"I definitely do," Madalynn smiled. "I just need to see it for a minute, because I have my locker combination saved in it, and I can't remember exactly what it is."

"Okay," Ruth agreed; the phone was already sitting on the table, waiting for Lynn, so she slid it closer. "If you need the phone for something as simple as that, maybe I should keep it more often... You don't want to get too dependent on it."

"Yeah, maybe," Madalynn's smile changed a little, looking a tad more forced for a moment before she unlocked the phone and tapped at the screen a few times. "I was wrong... I always think the middle number is 14, not 13. I was trying to recall it in my mind to see if I needed my phone at all, and I said 14 again. I should probably write it down so I don't do that at school, too. I forgot to grab my backpack! Hold on, I'll go get it, and jot this on my notebook or something."

Ruth nodded, shrugged, watching her go, amused. She really seemed eager to show her how much she'd changed... More than likely, she was buttering her up for some reason, but she might as well enjoy it while it lasted. It took a bit longer than she'd expected for Lynn to get to her room, grab some paper, and write down a few numbers, and she'd almost convinced herself the girl changed her mind when she reappeared.

"All right," she handed the phone over. "Go ahead, put it in your purse... You should take it with you, so I'm not tempted to look for it if I get home before you."

"Good plan," Ruth agreed, doing just that. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

She was in the middle of cooking when she noticed the music, although, once she did, she could have sworn she'd been hearing it for a while... Or maybe she'd just heard the song before? Honestly, it barely sounded like a song, though, more like the gentle background music her company played in the lobby.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"What?" Lynn replied innocently.

It was very odd... The more she thought about it, and tried to listen for it to try and track down where it was coming from, or what it was, the harder it was to hear; when she went back to cooking, and had her mind on it, she started to notice it again. Was she going crazy?!

"Are you sure you're not hearing anything?" she frowned, setting the plate down in front of Madalynn.

"Nope," her daughter shook her head. "But don't you think you ought to get going?"

"I still have time," Ruth answered. "Your bus hasn't even gone yet, and..."

"Don't you have a stop to make?" Lynn asked in an odd, pointed tone.

Even stranger than the music was Ruth's response... She didn't have plans to do anything before work, and yet, once she heard her daughter say those words, she felt a sense of purpose. "You're right," she said, nearly in a daze. "I do need to pick something up. I'll see you tonight, dear."

She grabbed her purse, kissed Lynn goodbye on the forehead, and headed out, never knowing exactly what it was she needed, not noticing the music following her until she was already on the road, headed to... wherever she was going.