The Unraveling of Melody Read Online Free PDF

I thought it would be nice to meet my dad at his
office for lunch.
    I get ready and make my way to the
studio. It’s about a thirty-minute drive from our residential
neighborhood to downtown L.A.
    I try calling my dad, but he never answered
so I settle on surprising him. I stop down the street at our
favorite bakery and grab coffee and sandwiches. I even throw in a
couple of my favorite M&M cookies.
    As I walk into the building, Miles looks
surprised to see me. “Melody, what are you doing here?” His eyes
nervously look back to the studio then back to me.
    “ Hey, Miles. I thought it’d be a nice
surprise to bring lunch for my dad. Is he here?” I
smile.
    “ Let me see if he’s done with… his
client.” I raise my brow to his pause, but I chalk it up to nothing
more than Miles possibly having too much coffee today. When he
drinks too much coffee, he starts acting like a nervous little
Chihuahua.
    I nod my head and sit down in the
waiting room. Miles picks up his phone to call my dad’s office
phone. Usually, he
lets me go straight back there, even if a client is here, so it’s
out of the ordinary that he’s taking so many
precautions.
    Miles hangs up. “He’ll be right out,
Melody.”
    “ Thank you, Miles.”
    Yeah, something is definitely up. My dad
never comes to the front to get me; they always send me straight
back to his office. Something isn’t right.
    As my dad walks out, I’m struck by how
scrambled his appearance is. His shirt is rumpled, his hair is a
mess, and his mouth looks raw. Not hurt raw, more like a making out
for too long raw.
    What in the hell?
    I don’t want to assume the worst of my dad,
but it looks like he was just sucking face with someone. For a
moment, I think he’s cheating on my mom but then it clicks. My mom
is totally in my dad’s office sucking face with him. I thought she
was at work, but apparently, she snuck over on her lunch break.
    “ What a nice surprise. What are you
doing here, Melody?” He comes in to hug me, and I give him a light
hug in return. He smells of a familiar flowery perfume, but I can’t
place it.
    “ I just thought I’d surprise you with
some early birthday grub.” I hand over his bag of goodies. “I see
you’re busy so I’ll just go.” I smile.
    I know he’s with my mom, so I don’t want to
hint at anything else. It’s gross enough that I just practically
walked in on them. I did that once when I was Luke’s age; it’s not
something I’d like to relive.
    “ Are you sure? We can go to the park
down the street and have a little picnic.”
    I pick up my purse and bag from the
chair. “No, no, you go back to doing… Whatever it is you
were doing. I’m going
to call Sara and Emma and see what they’re doing.”
    My dad clears his throat. “Oh, okay, I’ll see you
tonight at birthday dinner?”
    “ Sounds good, love ya ,” I say as I make my way to the front
door.
    “ Love you, too, Melody
Grace.”
     
    ***
     
    “Check the mail!” Sara’s voice yells
through my phone. I pull the speaker away from my ear because I’m
pretty sure she just damaged my eardrum . “Melody, it came! My letter just came, but
I refuse to open it until you open yours. I want to do this
together. So, for the love of all that is holy, GO CHECK YOUR
MAIL!”
    I laugh as I run out of my room and to the
front door. Our house is in a newer development so the mailbox is
across the street and three houses down. I run as fast as my bare
feet will allow with my phone pressed firmly to my ear. I halt in
front of the boxes and insert my key into our designated slot.
    As I cradle the phone between my ear and my
shoulder, I shuffle through the mail and…
    “ It’s here! Oh, my God!” We’re both
squealing, but then reality sets in. “Sar, what if we didn’t get
in? Or worse, what if one of us gets in, and the other
doesn’t?”
    The sound of a farting noise comes from the
other end. It’s obviously Sara making the noise with her mouth. Or
maybe she ate a