Free The Unraveling of Melody by Erika van Eck Page B

inseparable ever
since. Sara and I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet.
    Emma, Sara, and I agree to go costume
shopping together. However, we end up in a lingerie store.
    I let out a frustrated huff. “Aren’t we
supposed to be costume shopping? There’s no way I would be caught
dead in this,” I say while holding a thin piece of fabric between
my fingers. By the looks of it, it’s supposed to be a firefighter
costume.
    “ Oh, come on, Mel. You know you want to
dress sexy for Scott. I’ve seen the way you act around each other,”
Sara says as she winks at me suggestively.
    “ You can look sexy and be fully
covered. This,” I shake the lace costume in front of her face, “is
not sexy. It’s slutty.”
    I hear Emma’s laugh from behind me. “Same
thing, Melody.”
    Sara nods her head in agreement. I guess I
won’t win this battle. I suck back my stubbornness and quickly
change the subject. “So, Emma, how are things with you and
Nick?”
    Emma lets out a sigh and looks dreamily up at
the ceiling. “Amazing. He is such a sweet guy, and he’s a complete
gentleman. Things have gotten hot and steamy between us, but I’m
just not ready to go all the way.” She looks down as if she’s
ashamed then quickly replaces the slight grimace with a soft smile.
“Nick is okay with it, though. He said he respects me.”
    Sara and I both look at Emma with smiles on
our faces. It’s nice to finally see Emma so happy.
    After bribing them both with pumpkin spice
lattes, they finally agree to go to the actual Halloween store. The
variety isn’t much better, but at least there’s a little more
material on the costumes. We make our selections and then spend the
rest of the evening talk excitedly about the Halloween party. Emma
is having it at her house since her parents are hardly ever home.
And even if they were, they’d still be okay with the party. They
like Emma to embrace all aspects of her life and that includes her
“growing into womanhood,” as they put it.
    ***
     
    The party starts in an hour, and I’m
nervous about my costume. It’s just a Little Red Riding Hood
costume, but I keep pulling at the bottom hoping it will cover
more. Unfortunately, I can’t make material suddenly appear. I throw
on a pair of black booty shorts underneath and pray that I don’t
accidentally flash anyone, even with the shorts on. Luckily, my
parents don’t see me in this. Sara and I have been here at Emma’s
all day to help set up. We’ve been playing an upbeat playlist,
singing and dancing along while being productive.
    People start showing up about an hour after the
designated time, per usual. The drinks start flowing, and everyone
seems to be having a good time.
    Scott and I are dancing to a slow song.
Although I have my doubts, I still want to see where this
relationship goes. He seems more into me than I am into him, but maybe I’ll get there with time. This
relationship is so new, plus we’re still in high school. If we
don’t work out, that won’t be the end of the world. I
think that’s where I’m different from my friends. Emma gets
attached easily, and Sara did the one time, but if her behavior
tonight indicates anything, it’s that she won’t be getting serious
anytime soon. Her heartbreak destroyed her, and although she
doesn’t flat-out say it, I know it’s true.
    Scott and I finish our dance, and that’s when
I hear a disturbance behind me coming from the kitchen. I recognize
the voice so I rush through the crowd to see what’s going on.
    I walk in and Sara is standing on the kitchen
island, obviously drunk, yelling obscenities at the surrounding
people. “You’re a bunch of hypocrites! You know that? Every fucking
one of you!”
    I quickly rush over and start grabbing for
her hand, but she’s swatting away my every attempt. I don’t even
think she knows it’s me; she has absolute tunnel vision for the
spectators in front of her.
    “ Because I give my heart and virginity
to a douchebag, I’m