The Unraveling of Melody (3 page)

We thought we might help convince her to come
if we surprised her with a gorgeous dress. With her parents on our
side, we did just that. We bought her the most gorgeous dress we
could find with shoes to match. We had it all planned out. We would
wait and tell her the morning of so she didn’t have time to stew.
If she had time to think, she might change her mind, and we didn’t
want that. Her mom was going to take her out to breakfast that
morning while Sara and I got everything ready in Emma’s room.

If this didn’t work, I don’t know what
would.

Emma

Ever since Nick dumped me and blocked me out
of every aspect of his life, I shut down in most of mine. I gave
him a part of me that I thought he’d treasure. Instead, I was just
another notch on his belt.

He made me feel ashamed of what I
did.
At
the moment, I
wasn’t having sex. I was giving him a piece of me. I thought that
meant something.

Winter Formal is today, and I feel even more
depressed. Of course, I want to go, but seeing all of those couples
is going to make me sick to my stomach. Sara and Mel have been so
supportive through all of this, and I feel bad that I’m backing out
on them.

We pull up to my house after my random
breakfast with my mom. She usually hates going out to breakfast on
the weekends because everything is always jam packed with people.
The people still annoyed her this morning, but she insisted that
she wanted to be there.

We walk into the house, and I make my way
upstairs to my room. The second I open the door, I am
speechless.

Emma and Sara stand in front of me both
holding a bouquet of roses. We wrap our arms around each other in
our usual group hug. Tears are falling from my face, and I’m
overwhelmed with their thoughtfulness. These girls aren’t just my
best friends; they’re my sisters. Through
everything,
we’ll always have each
other.

At that point,
all I had noticed
were my friends and the
flowers that they held for me. I hadn’t even laid eyes on the dress
that was on my bed.

My hands fly to my mouth in shock. I can’t
believe this is for me. “What’s going on?” I ask.

Melody steps forward and grabs my hand.
“Emma, we decided that you’re coming to the Winter Formal with us.
That’s your dress and your shoes are in that box over there.” She
points at the box sitting on the carpet. “You don’t really have a
choice in the matter. You’re coming with us whether you like it or
not.”

I begin to laugh through my
tears.
At
this
moment, no man has a piece of my heart—my best friends do. “Well, I
can’t say no to that, can I?”

I release Mel’s hand and walk toward my
dress. It’s
stunning,
like Marilyn Monroe meets Cinderella. The color is a deep
forest green, which will go well with my creamy skin and red hair.
The top half
is form
fitting
while
the bottom half flares out and is about calf length. I
haven’t seen the shoes yet, but I’d bet they’re just as
breathtaking.

I turn to the other pieces of me. I try
to hold back the cry that’s forming in my throat and fail
miserably. My voice won’t work, so I bring my hands
to
my heart in a silent
thank you and smile through my tears. These girls are the
best.

***

We get ready together and take turns doing
hair and make-up. As soon as we make our way downstairs, my mom
takes about a million pictures before we leave.

The dance is being held at a nice hotel
downtown. We have enough rich parents on the
PTA
who wouldn’t dare host a dance in a
gym of all places. It’s not like any of us would care, but
apparently, once you’re an adult, priorities change.

Melody is still dating Scott, but she said
they were just going to meet here. I told her that she didn’t have
to do that, but she insisted. Sara has sworn away men for the time
being and said she’d be my date.

We spend the first hour dancing and singing
our hearts out. It is a perfect hour.

Then, Hilary makes her way through the crowd.
With Nick.

My heart drops to my stomach, and I feel the
tears pool in my eyes. I don’t want a confrontation; I just want to
get out of here.

Sara comes up on my right. “Oh, hell no,” she
says as she begins to walk forward.

I turn around and step in front of her,
“Sara, please don’t. Just get me out of here,” I plead.

Sara agrees, but on our way out, she aims a
few choice words at Nick. He turns around quickly, but as soon as
his eyes collide with mine, his mouth lifts into a smile. Then he
winks at me.

He fucking winks at me.

I turn to confront him, but Mel comes out of
nowhere and pushes me toward the exit.

“
Don’t, Em. He’s not worth it,” she
softly says into my ear.

I give up on trying to get back into the
building and let Sara and Melody lead me to a bench out front.

“
I can’t go back in there,” I cry. “I
can’t believe
he
showed up
with
her
.”

Sara rubs my back. “I
know,
hun. How about we just
call it
a
night
?”

“
No, you guys stay. I’ll go home; I’ll
call my mom to come and pick me up.” As soon as the words are out,
I remember that my mom and dad are about an hour away. I don’t want
to bother them, but I don’t want to worry Mel and Sara more than
they already are. I’ll just call a cab or something.

Mel starts shaking her head. “No, you
shouldn’t be by yourself tonight. How about both of you come over
to my house for a sleepover? It’ll
be fun
.”

I think on it for only a second then reply,
“I will but only on one condition. You both stay here and finish
the night. I’ll go grab my overnight back then meet you back at
your place.”

Sara and Mel think about it for a moment then
agree.

“
But Mel drove. How are you going to
get home?” Sara asks.

“
My mom is working, but I’m sure my dad
could come and pick you up if you want,” Mel says.

***

Sara and Melody wait with me outside until
Mel’s dad shows up. I give them both hugs and assure them that I am
fine. I just need to get out of there.

“
Hey, Mr. H,” I say as I climb into the
car. “Thanks for picking me up.” I buckle the seatbelt and look up
at him with a smile.

“
No problem at all, Emma. Lucas is at a
sleepover so I was pretty much at home just twiddling my
thumbs.”

Mel’s dad takes me home to get my things.
Luckily, my parents are gone—I don’t want to have to explain what
happened just yet. I change into a t-shirt and yoga pants then slip
my feet into flip-flops. It’s L.A., so even though it’s December,
it’s still sixty degrees out at night.

I hurry down the stairs and lock up before
heading back to the car.

“
Where to?” Mel’s dad asks
me.

“
Um…” I’m not quite sure how to answer
that. I was under the impression we were going straight back to
their house so I could wait for Sara and Melody.

“
I know you don’t want to talk about
what happened, but I figured maybe I could take you out for a late
night snack.”

I look over at him and smile. “That actually
sounds pretty amazing right about now.”

It’s funny—looking over at Mel’s dad, I
can remember how much of a crush I had on him as a kid. For being
my best friend’s dad, he’s actually pretty handsome. He has that
whole Gerard Butler thing going for him. Just minus the accent.
Weird, I know, but you’d have to be
blind
not to notice his attractive
features.

We
wind
up
at
a fast food parking lot eating various things off the menu. I
decide to go with the classic French fries and a chocolate shake.
Mel’s dad orders a double cheeseburger of sorts. We carry on
a
conversation
normally enough and even crack a few jokes. By the
time
we get back to the
house, I’m feeling much better than I had when he picked me
up.

“
Thanks for that, Mr. H. I feel much
better.” I smile up at him as we get to the front door.

He pats me on the back. “It was my
pleasure Emma and please, for the
hundredth
time, just call me Charlie. I feel so old
when you call me Mr. H.” He shakes his head.

“
You got it,
Charlie.
” As we make our way inside, I check my
phone and notice a text from Mel.

Hey Em, just checking in. A few of us were
going to grab a bite to eat after the dance, do you want me to
swing by and pick you up?

I quickly type my reply.

I just ate. You guys go ahead and have fun!
I’m just going to crash. Luv you!

I go to Mel’s room and drop off my bag.
I look over at the bed trying to decide what to do. I’m not really
tired so I head back out to the living room to watch TV. I’m just
as comfortable at Mel’s house as I am
with
my own, so I don’t think anything of
it. Sara’s house, on the other hand, is another story. I’m
terrified of her parents—her mother especially. She’s the
coldest
woman I’ve ever met;
it’s quite a miracle they made the firecracker that is
Sara.

I sit down on the loveseat facing the TV and
turn it on. I grab the pillow sitting next to me and hug it to my
chest with one hand while I flip through channels with the other. I
settle on late night reruns of some of my favorite 90’s
sitcoms.

After a few minutes, Charlie joins me. The
loveseat is the only seating in the direct line of sight of the TV.
Charlie takes a seat next to me, and although I know it’s wrong, my
body shivers at his proximity. I’m a horrible friend, but I can’t
really control my body’s automatic reaction.

Charlie sits beside me laughing along with
each corny line.

“
I know we just ate all of that food
but would you like some popcorn? It seems like the evening calls
for a lot of junk food.” He smiles at me. I suddenly notice
the
dimple
that only
appears on his left cheek. I avert my eyes quickly, hoping that he
didn’t see my blatant stare.

I clear the sudden nervousness out of my
throat. “Sure.”

I don’t know what’s coming over me. I’ve had
an eventful night, but holy hell, am I really delusional enough to
have the hots for Mel’s dad? That’s weird on so many levels. I
shake the bad thoughts from my head and focus on the prior events
of the evening.

I’m still in shock that Nick showed up
with Hilary. I didn’t even know that they knew each other. He knows
I go to this school so why in the world would he show up
with
her? To purposely hurt
my feelings? The tears start welling in my eyes and are threatening
to spill over. My bottom lip is trembling, and I dig my teeth into
it to stop it.

“
You okay, Em?”

Charlie’s voice startles me. I clear my
throat and prepare my lie. “Yeah, I’m…” but I never finish that
sentence.

I look up, and for the first
time,
I notice what Charlie
is wearing. Sweats and a workout sleeveless top. Sounds simple
enough, but sweet Jesus, he looks good. He’s toned more than I
would have thought and his sweats reveal more than I think he
realizes.

I quickly look down at my hands on my lap
embarrassed by the thoughts racing through my head. “Sorry, I was
just thinking about what happened earlier that’s all. Nothing to
worry about,” I brush off.

Charlie walks over and sets the popcorn
on the coffee table. He then gently grabs one of my hands and pulls
it until I get the hint and stand up. The butterflies in my stomach
are going full force, and I feel borderline nauseous. I keep
telling myself,
Stop it, Emma. This has
never been anything other than a kid crush. Stop reading into it,
it will never happen.

As I stand nervously facing Charlie, he puts
his hand under my chin so that my eyes meet his.

“
I don’t know the details, but I can
tell you with absolute certainty that you will find another guy who
will make you forget all about what’s-his-name.” He lets go of my
chin and embraces me in a reassuring hug.

It doesn’t feel weird that he’s hugging me.
What feels weird is all of the feelings arising within me.

Without thinking, I grab his face
between my hands and press my lips to his. I seem to
catch
him by surprise—one
instant he’s kissing me back, the next he’s pushing me away in
shock.

“
Whoa, Emma,” he says with his hands
raised as if stopping me. “We can’t do that. You’re a minor, and
for goodness’ sakes, I’ve known you since you were a
kid.”

The tears begin streaming as once again
I
feel
like crap
about myself. What have I done? I
kissed
Melody’s freaking dad. I’m so
dead.

“
I’m so sorry, Mr. H. I can’t believe I
just… Oh and just for the record, I’m eighteen, so you can’t really
get in trouble for that.” Word vomit, lovely. Because that just
made this situation so much better.