The Unraveling of Melody Read Online Free PDF Page A

bodies are only inches
from each other.
     
    A soft gasp escapes me. As I look up into his
eyes, I notice that they are trained on my lips. This time, his
mouth crashes onto mine. I don’t stop him. At first, his kiss is
cautious, but once he notices the passion behind mine, he drops all
barriers.

     

 
    Mel’s
18 th Birthday
     
     
    I t has been a
rough few months for everyone, it seems. My mom and dad won’t stop
fighting, and Emma is still not acting right. It’s as though she’s
pained to be my friend, which sounds like I'm paranoid. Hey, maybe I am. I hope I
am, but her eyes tell a different story.
    She’s always avoiding eye contact with me,
and when she does look at me, her eyes look sad and ashamed. I’ve
asked her about it more than once, but she’s quick to wave off my
worries.
    Sara and I have been impatiently
awaiting our acceptance letters into UC Davis. We’ve gotten a few
from other colleges, but Davis is our number one selection. The
three of us—Sara, Emma, and I—all got into UCLA. Emma was thrilled, but Sara and
I weren’t so much. It’s a great school, but we have our sights set
on Davis. We haven’t discussed it much, but I know once those
letters come, there will be a lot of things to talk about.
Assuming that we get
in, of course.
    Scott and I have been going through the
motions of being a couple lately. He’s planning on going to
college in Boston.
I’m not delusional enough to think that we will stay together.
Honestly, he’s not even that great of a boyfriend. He only wants to
hang out with me if it’s just going to be the two of us. He doesn’t
get along with Sara at all, so he avoids me if I’m with her. My
feelings don’t get hurt; I don’t have any hopes past prom. After
that, I think we will go our separate ways. I guess, in a sense, we
are both using each other.
    Sometimes I feel incomplete. It’s as though
there’s a part of me floating around and I won’t be complete until
it finds me. Scott isn’t that piece; he’s just there to help fill
the void. I’m not saying I need a guy to be complete, even though I
know it comes across that way. A woman doesn’t need a man to be
complete; she just needs the fitting piece to complete her soul.
That piece can come in different forms—a friend, a significant
other, their child or children. Hell, I’m sure some people would
say their animal is their other half. It’s just a piece that makes
you feel complete. No one can figure out the missing piece except
for you.
    Maybe my missing piece will come in the form
of a ton of cats. I’ve always been quite fond of cats.
    Or, maybe I’ll find my other half in
college.
    It’s the week before my birthday, and the UC
Davis acceptance letters should be arriving any day now. My nerves
are shot, and I’ve been driving just about everyone crazy. Luckily,
Sara is feeling the same as me, maybe even more so. Her parents
have been wearing her thin. We’re about two months out from
graduation. My mom has already agreed that she can stay with us
until we move closer to whichever college we will be attending.
    Sara basically just goes home to sleep now.
She shows up at school early then hangs out with Emma or me until
it’s time to go home for the night. That still doesn’t stop her
parents from wreaking havoc on her life. After the Winter Formal,
her mother took everything out of her room except the bare
minimum—a dresser, mattress, and whatever was in her closet. She
even went as far as taking Sara’s door off the hinges. I think she
thought that would push Sara into choosing to go to one of their
preselected schools, but if anything, it had the total opposite
effect. Sara was determined as ever to get the hell out of
there.
    It’s the morning of my birthday, which just
so happens to be a Saturday. My dad’s birthday is tomorrow, and we
usually celebrate together but lately things have been worse than
ever at home. My mom said she’s going to make dinner and cake
tonight, but