The Unraveling of Melody (6 page)

My dad has stopped trying to call me, but
Emma is still texting and calling every day. I’ve considered
changing my number, but I’m stubborn in my ways and I don’t want to
move my life around more than I need to. I’m already moving away,
but I’d like to think that’s because of college. However, I’d be
lying to myself if that were the only reason.

Sara has been going through her own hardships
as well, but she’s been by my side this whole time. Our friendship
has strengthened. She’s my family. My mom has agreed to let Sara
stay with us until she gets settled. I’m sure we’d be inseparable
anyways, but the thought alone puts me at ease.

Lucas has been distant. Well, distant
for a six-year-old. He stays on his LeapPad most of the time, but
at
night,
he sneaks
into my room and lays next to me. Every single night, his body
shakes from the tears he cries, and every single night, I’m there
to soothe him to sleep. He doesn’t know all of the specifics of the
situation, but he knows enough to see our family breaking apart. He
sees my mother’s tear-stained face in the mornings, no matter how
hard she tries to hide it. He knows.

It’s time for all of us to start a new
chapter in our lives. I need to get away from L.A. Even if it’s
only eight hours away, it’s far enough that we don’t risk running
into Emma or my father.

The summer passes quickly, and before I know
it, we are packing up our U-Haul and making the trip up north.

We only had a small debate
on
which town near Davis we
were moving to. At first, my mom had her sights set
on
Sacramento, but I wanted
something a little less crowded and a little more townie. I want to
be close enough to a city that I can drive there but far enough
away that I can go on a country drive. Davis is
nice,
but the
cost of living there
is high compared to
the neighboring towns.

That’s when I fell in love with Vacaville. My
mom was hesitant because she’d run into a lot of old friends there
since that’s where her and my dad grew up. But after a few pouty
lips and a lot of begging, she finally gave in and here we are.

It’s the first time all summer any of
us
has
been
excited
about
anything. Even Lucas can’t get the smile off his
face.

I’ve reflected
on
our situation enough over the summer to
last a
lifetime,
but
I’m ready to take a break from the bitterness. Reflecting isn’t
always good, sometimes it’s just better to take what life throws at
you and roll with it. I’m not saying I’m
cured of
the bitterness; I’m very far from
it. But I am ready to stop letting it rule my every
decision.

It’s time to live my life and see what comes
my way. I know it’s going to be hard, life always is, but it’s
going to be worth it.

Melody’s story doesn’t end
here! For more check out
Ace’s
Wild
,
OUT
NOW
!

(There’s a sneak peek of Ace’s Wild on the
next page!)

(An Excerpt from Ace’s Wild, OUT NOW!)

Melody

I push my legs as hard as my body will
allow. I need to go fast to clear my mind. With every stride one
more worry falls from my mind. But not enough.

I run harder.

Running has been the only outlet I’ve had to
cope with life’s many curveballs. The most recent being my dad’s
new wife. When I found out he was getting married I wouldn’t talk
about it to anyone. I still haven’t, with the exception of my
little brother, but that’s more to see how he’s coping.

My mom even tried to get me to attend my
dad’s wedding. That says a lot, considering the hell he dragged her
through, but I haven’t been able to find it in myself to forgive
him.

I continue running down the paved trail and
think about running up the steep dirt path to the right but I
change my mind at the last minute. I’m in need of a water break so
I run to the bench and take a seat.

I twist the cap off my water and drink a few
mouthfuls between gasps. My breathing and heartbeat start to settle
after a few moments. I stand from the bench to stretch my limbs and
then continue my run when all of a sudden I hear the faint sounds
of the strum of a guitar. The song is haunting and heartbreakingly
sad. When I hear the voice begin to sing I’m completely mesmerized
by what I’m hearing. I wish I could figure out where the music is
coming from. His voice sounds so familiar for some reason, but I
just can’t place it. There’s a deep rasp to it and a richness that
fills my body with warmth.

I plop back down onto the bench undeniably
glued to my seat. I don’t think I could move even if I wanted to.
This man’s voice has such a deep sad quality to it but it’s also
lined with anger. I can’t exactly make out the lyrics but I don’t
have to when I know his tone all too well.

Pain. Betrayal. Heartache.

I haven’t paid attention to the length of
time I’ve been sitting here. A few people have walked by nodding a
hello, but I barely manage to acknowledge them. How are they able
to walk by without even a side glance? His voice paralyzes me.

I wonder if I’m hearing things. Maybe the
stress has finally caught up to me, and I’m beginning to hear
things. That can’t be it, there’s no way I could dream up that
voice.

A little while later the music stops, and
I’m released from his spell. I’m not sure how much time has lapsed.
Minutes? Maybe hours? I don’t know. I start the walk back to my car
and on the way I receive a text from my mom.

Hey sweetie! Can you pick up your brother
from practice?

I quickly type my reply.

Of course! On my way now.

I hop in my car and sit for a moment to
gather myself. It’s like I was part of some spiritual exploration,
I feel cleansed even. All from this mystery man’s voice.

How can that be? I’ve never been affected
this way by anyone.

I never felt a spiritual connection like
this, even in past relationships. A part of me has awoken and wants
more.

It’s official, I’m losing my marbles. Call
the men in white coats to wheel me away.

I make my way to the soccer field where
Lucas is practicing. As I pull up I can see Luke sticking out of
the group of kids. He’s not difficult to miss as he’s the tallest
skinniest ten-year-old out of the bunch. On top of that he has
blond, almost white, hair and pale skin, different from my chestnut
hair and tanned skin. Our blue eyes are the same though.

He spots me and starts to run over.

“
Mel! You shoulda seen me at practice
today. Coach Scott says if I keep playing like that then he’ll let
me off the bench, and I get to actually play in a game!” He
excitedly jumps up and down.

“
That’s great Luke! I can’t wait to
see you play!” I reply.

The thing about my little brother is he’s a
bookworm to the max. He’d much rather spend a day inside reading
the adventures of his favorite wizard in training. He didn’t get
anti-social until four years ago when our home life began to
deteriorate. This past summer my mom got tired of him being a
hermit, so to his dismay, she signed him up for soccer. The fact
that he’s finally excited is a huge deal.

“
Wait ‘til mom hears about this, she’s
going to be so happy,” I say as I scruff his hair then pull him in
for a hug.

He smirks. “I hope so”

We wave goodbye to Coach Scott and then walk
to my 1997 2-door Honda Civic. It has definitely seen better days,
but she’s my baby and I love her.

Luke throws his gear in the back and begins
clicking through the radio stations since my CD player is broken.
He stops on the rock station and “In my bed” by Spades is playing.
He pokes the button to turn it up and starts singing.

Oh girl come to me, get a little bit hot for
me. Get a little bit taut for me.

I’m shocked that he knows the words not only
because they are highly inappropriate but because he’s ten.
Shouldn’t he still be listening to Barney or something?

“
What are you doing?” I ask over the
music in surprise.

“
I’m singing” he says slowly as if
trying to explain this to a small child.

I turn down the music. “You shouldn’t be
listening to that kind of crap.”

“
Come on Mel, aren’t you supposed to
be my cool big sister? I already know the song, it’s not like you
forced me to listen to it.”

“
Oh you really had to pull the ‘cool’
card huh?” I sigh. “Fine but if you tell Mom about this I’m going
to kill you.”

With a smile he turns the volume back up and
continues singing until the song ends.

“
We’re back! That was rock
band Spades with ‘In My Bed’. Rumor has it, folks, that they kicked
out lead Singer Ace Caplin due to his past with drug addiction. In
my opinion you can’t keep Spades going without the Ace of Spades
himself. I want to know what you all think. Call, text, or email
the show and let me know!”

“
What?! No way! Ace was my favorite!”
Luke angrily says.

I’m shocked, I can’t believe a band would do
something like that. How can you kick out the band’s founding
member and still expect to sell albums? I don’t get it.

We get to the house and unload Luke’s gear
into the garage. Already I can smell Mom’s amazing cooking, and I
can’t wait to see what’s for dinner. She loves to cook, that’s one
thing you will never hear me complaining about is my mother’s
cooking. If there’s any complaining, it’s because she didn’t give
me enough, never because it doesn’t taste good.

We walk into the house and down the short
hallway leading into the kitchen. Luke shouts a greeting to my mom
and runs to his room to get cleaned and changed. My mother is
standing over the oven, still in her work scrubs, stirring the
delicious smelling concoction that’s cooking on the stove. I give
her a kiss on the cheek and rest my head on her shoulder.

“
Hey Ma, what are you
making?”

“
Chicken Parmesan,” she answers. I
lift my head from her shoulder and walk to the opposite counter and
hop up to take a seat. My mom looks over at me and rolls her eyes
before she continues. “Thank you for picking up Luke. It was Ryan’s
mom’s turn to take the kids to practice and pick them up but I
guess Ryan got sick in the middle of practice and she had to take
him home. How’d Luke do?”

I smile. “I’ll let him tell you.”

Right on cue the whirlwind that is Luke
rushes into the kitchen and gives us a play by play of what
happened at his practice while my mom finishes dinner and I set the
table.

This is the typical night for us since my
dad left. Unless my mom is working extra hours, which has seemed to
be happening more often lately. We’re happy though. My mom has
found it in herself to forgive my dad. I obviously haven’t, but she
says if I can’t forgive him then I can’t truly be happy in life. I
told her I was plenty happy and ended the conversation there. But
if she’s forgiven him after everything he put her through then more
power to her.

After dinner I help clean up then I head to
my room to study. I’m taking on a full load at UC Davis but I’m
attempting to push through the best I can considering it’s my last
year in college. I take out my psych book, sit at my desk, and
begin studying. I barely get three pages in when I hear the all too
familiar obnoxious laughter coming from the living room that I
recognize as my best friend.

My door swings open and the bombshell also
known as Sara walks in. I mean, the girl is gorgeous. Legs for
days, skinny with just the right amount of curves, pale skin,
chocolate brown eyes, and red hair. When I say red hair I mean fire
engine red hair. That will probably change soon, as she changes
hair color weekly. I don’t swing that way at all, but if I did
she’d be at the top of my “to do” list, if you know what I
mean.

“
Hey skank, what are you doing?” she
says as she bounces onto my bed.

I turn my chair toward her. “Studying for
the test tomorrow. Are you ready for it?” I question, fully knowing
what the answer will be.

She jumps off the bed. “Oh, shit! That’s
tomorrow?! I’m so dead. I was planning on skipping class tomorrow
for work, I have an appointment coming in at ten.”

“
Well, I don’t have that class ‘til
four so I can cover for you until you’re done if you need me to.
Just tell me what you need me to do.”

I barely finish what I’m saying before she’s
hugging me in excited relief. “Oh my gosh, thank you! You are the
best! All you have to do is open up and turn everything on. A buddy
of mine needed an appointment for his friend and is coming in at
ten. I would reschedule him but we’re pretty booked and he wanted
to get in ASAP.” She’s talking so quickly I almost didn’t catch
everything she said.

“
No problem, what are friends for?” I
say as I turn back to my textbook.

“
Speaking of friends, has Emma still
been trying to get a hold of you?” she asks hesitantly.

I slowly turn back to face Sara.
“
Ex
-friend and, yes, she has.
I can’t bring myself to answer. If I do I think I’ll just yell at
her some more, maybe even threaten her life again. She deserves
everything she gets,” I reply bitterly.