Chapter 20: Hello there, Future

Thank the heavens I finished this chapter, after this things will actually be more fun to write and things will start to make ALOT more sense. I love writing but things were just dragging on and on so after this chapter there shall be no more dragging and sluggishness going on!

They say good things come in small packages, and right now I knew it was true. It had been a week since the competition and here I was opening the lid of the mail box, to see a bunch of envelopes and silly brouchers advertising a bunch of crap we didn't care about, on top of a few bills. Behind all of that was an envelope with my name on it, it was thin and I felt it vigorously, I felt every corner edge and side of it, and could feel the little thin sheet of paper inside of it, it was definitely a check. 

Time surely didn't exist, when I was zipping through the front door and into my room. I picked up the phone and dialed David's number, he definitely got on my nerves alot of times but I wanted to thank him and besides, I was filled to the brim with excitement. The phone was dialing for what felt like forever and then finally David answered the phone and we shared a series of hello's, awkward ones-very awkward ones. Hello? Hello.... Hello? He sounded worried, as if I was one of those scary debt collectors threatening him. He insisted that I had the wrong number, until I said "It's me, Melody...Jessica's sister" and then he laughed, like he was relieved or something, he sure had a way of being sketchy. "Why are you calling me?" He asked and immediately I responded, not wanting to sound like a pest. "Wow, well I just wanted to say thanks for choosing me of all people to sing with you...I don't know why I'm calling you...I guess I'm just happy you believed in me...I don't know" David laughed after I said that and I could've sworn I heard a car in the back ground, it sounded like he was on the freeway or something but then it became dead silent again and I could hear him struggling with something. Soooosh, I heard the wind in the background and I asked him "Ummm....Are you outside?" David didn't answer me and it took him a while before he responded and  said "Oh, yeah I am outside actually but, yeah no problem" He sure was confusing me, and I wondered if he was actually listening to what I said because it took him an eternity to respond to me. "No problem?" I questioned him and then he chimed in and said "Yeah, no problem....You said you wanted to say thanks so I said no problem" He said that to me like I was dumb or something.

I tightened my grip on the phone, nervous although I hated him, somehow I was beginning to like him, not in a romantic way but in a friendly way, if that even makes sense. Denver was the one I was interested in but, he was a lost cause. I texted him, I actually conjured up the courage to text that bastard and say sorry and he didn't even respond so I followed my uncle's motto and figured it just wasn't meant for us to be friends. The guy had a lot of baggage and a past that would never be expunged and to be honest I wasn't sure I wanted to be bothered with someone like that, and he was kind of a manwhore. I think you're a pearl pearl in a room full of ordinary seashells and sandy rocks. Who says stuff like that? He definitely was a fraud, a blonde, beautiful, freaking fraud. Snap out of it I tell myself and David is on the other end of the line saying. "Hello? Are you still there?" Damn was I really lost in my thoughts for that long? I was so pathetic sometimes. "Oh yeah, sorry I'm sill here...I was thinking about something, what did you say?" David snickered and then increased the volume in his voice like a jack ass. "I SAID, I wanted to talk to you about something kind of important- well I wanted to ask you something" I could tell he sounded reluctant to ask me whatever it was he wanted to ask me and it made me nervous. "Well, um..Sure ask away" I said and David was about to speak when all of a sudden as if there were an earthquake "Aaaah! Chooo!" was all that could be heard on the line and I said "God bless you David". David laughed and said "Umm, that wasn't me" An image of my uncle sitting on his bed listening to our phone conversation, raced into my mind. I could just see him sitting there laughing at all of this, and I had to admit he was pretty clever besides the fact that he forgot to mute himself. "David, I have to go...Maybe we can talk another time" I said quickly and without even giving him a chance to respond I hung up the phone and darted towards the stairs. 

As soon as I made it up the stairs I saw my uncle coming down the stairs from the third floor, almost as if he were rushing. I walked over towards the Television and looked at him, he said nothing. "Really?" Was the only thing I said while throwing my hands up in the air, he still didn't say anything and he stood there acting as if he were clueless. "You were listening in on my conversation with David!" I cried out. 

"I'm getting ready for work, I was checking up on Adrianne...I was going to call her until I realized you were using the phone and yes I DID listen to you guys for a little bit, I just wanted to make sure he wasn't over stepping his boundaries and besides...The last thing I want to do is listen to two teenagers talk to each other on the phone like little puppies" He cringed while saying that. I laughed to myself I mean honestly, I don't think he ever listened to himself when he was on the phone with Adrianne, he sounded more like a puppy than me. 

"Okay, wait a second...Have you EVER heard yourself when you talk to Adrianne?" I asked him and he laughed a little. "You're sooo beautiful" "I think you're a wonderful person, I don't care what anyone else thinks of you" "I'll do anything for you" I mocked him, with my dainty voice and wide eyes, trying to sound as sappy and strung as possible. I laughed and then got back to the point. "Anyways, I was calling him to thank him for everything..Oh yeah, I got the $800 from that competition...I'm sorry it's not 1000 but it's closer than 0" I said looking down at the ground a little shamefully. 

He rolled his eyes at me and sighed. "Oh no! I told you don't worry about that money...I already sent your grandmother a check for that silly little mirror...Have fun with it, or better yet open up a bank account and save it" He sighed and looked love struck, he looked out into the open mirror behind me, clearly day dreaming and I laughed and just simply said "Adrianne?" and he looked at me pitifully "What? She makes me nervous, sometimes...I really don't want to mess things up with her...Please don't be late tonight, she's bringing her daughter and she's around your age maybe you guys will hit it off or something"

I smiled and said "Of course, just relax...I will be back home BEFORE you expect me to be home, relax" I told him and he honestly needed to do that. In case you're wondering, Adrianne is the woman he was talking to at the competition. To make a long weeks worth of a story shorter , I can just simply say that they talked on the phone nearly every freaking night and he finally mustered up the courage to invite her over for dinner and she was coming over tonight, the only problem was the fact that she was bringing her daughter along. The last thing I wanted to do was sit there and entertain her daughter even if she was my age and attended the same school as me, I just wasn't the social kind of person. 

"You're right, I have nothing to lose and nothing to worry about" He said to me while turning his frown upside down. "I hope everything goes well when you go over to the house today" He said before he paused for a moment and I didn't say anything. "If you need me I'm only a text away" He said reassuringly and it made me feel a little better but not exactly at ease about the fact that I was going back to my house, my home. I knew it would be bad to back out but I promised my sister I would stop by and see her today, so I couldn't go back on my word and besides it wasn't like I would be there forever, I was just visiting.  I just feared my mother, I didn't want to see her at all. She probably didn't want to see me anyways and besides, she barely ever was home so why would she be home today? 

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Desperation was surging in all throughout my entire being, I needed a distraction. I needed a quick moment to just stall for a few minutes so I stopped my bike at David's house since I saw him sitting outside and I figured why the hell not.  Chi-Chi came running out from the spot she was sitting in, I guess David's parents let him keep her after all. 

"Oh no, please don't tell me you're sitting here day dreaming about your car" I said sarcastically as I stood there in his yard watching him sit on the ground looking at the back of his car, just smiling somewhat deviously. 

I walked over towards David and he turned around to look at me and he smiled and waved me over, trying to get me to walk faster. I stood next to him while he was on the ground in his socks looking baffled, in a good way if that even makes any sense. "Look at my masterpiece" he said slowly while lifting his arms out towards the license plate on his car. "I'm sorry- I don't follow" I told him, confusingly. David looked back at me with his eyes wide, as if I were missing something obvious. "For starters, I got a new color, it's a darker red...You couldn't tell?" He asked me and I shook my head, it was pretty hard to tell the difference. If he wanted people to notice a difference in his car he should've just painted it an entirely different color like blue or something. "The best part is the license plate...You and I can't see it, no one can see anything BUT I  got this spray off the internet and it deflect the light from cameras soooooo NOW I can finally stop getting all those fucking red light camera tickets" He said while standing up to face me. 

Just then Chi-Chi came  over towards us and started barking and jumping up trying to reach David, she really was a cute dog. David started patting his lap and making faces at her and he said "Aww, are you happy for me?" Chi- Chi barked some more and David laughed and smiled, he was truly delighted in her. Chi- Chi turned around and started running around the yard and David looked up at me, and gave me a smile.

He was truly funny sometimes, he was a very stubborn person and he didn't even realize it. I smiled  back at him with a witty expression. "You do know that is illegal, right?"  I asked him, knowing damn well that he probably knew it was but he just didn't give a damn either way. 

David laughed so hard I swear he was about to cry. "Of course I know it's illegal but do you honestly think they're going to waste their time trying to track me down because I 'fixed' my license plates?" He had a point, they probably wouldn't give a shit as long as there was still a good amount of people who haven't caught on to this little trick. David continued "And besides if they want to come find me, let them...Finding a good lawyer isn't exactly a challenge for me" I rolled my eyes at his comment, he was so spoiled. 

Smiling like a kid with a lollipop David asked me "So, why did you just stop by so suddenly and uninvited?" I guess now you know the feeling, I thought to myself.

I smirked and tilted my head upward a little bit. "Oh please! I'm definitely no where near as bad as you and your random visits" I shouted scornfully before I started mocking him, as if I knew his thoughts. "Oh yeah look at me I'm David and I think it's a great idea to just show up at someone's house in the middle of the night UN-ANNOUNCED" I must admit I sounded like a little brat but it was pretty damn funny. 

Not wanting to get too 'sassy' I shift the gears and think of how I can come up with a good excuse for why I'm here and then it comes to me. "Well you know, I was going to see Jess and figured since I was passing your house I might as well just stop by and talk to you about what you wanted to ask me on the phone before I hung up" 

"Well, I had this great idea and was wondering if maybe you would want to start a band- uh, with me and uhhhh, some people- That I don't have yet BUT we can find some people" Oh fuck no. Was he crazy or just on drugs, I looked down at him, standing there in his socks and figured he might just be on drugs after all. This was too much to take in, we were like Tom and Jerry, always fighting with each other, how the hell could we be in a band together. 

David suddenly started frowning, and I thought he was doing that because he knew I was probably doing to say no, but nope I was wrong. "Wait a minute- you're going to see Jess...You better hurry up, she's going somewhere with that college guy in like 40 minutes- or at least that's what she told me" He said to me and I was dumbfounded. What college guy? 

"My sister is NOT hanging out with some guy in college- I think you're confusing her with someone else" I said to him blankly, still somewhat in shock. She begged me to come see her, there was no way she would blow me off for some guy, even if he is in college. 

He laughed at me and looked at me like I was a naive little girl, he was being patronizing without even realizing it. His eyes were so interrogating at times, like 2 blue bullets just aimed right at you. "Ohh please, Cris told me...He tells me everything and he's royally pissed off with her. I can't believe she didn't tell you" He said and it got me thinking. Just what exactly did he mean when he said everything. For all I knew him and Cris could've been sitting around looking at that photo, the thought of that just utterly disgusted me and I wanted to ask him if he knew anything about it but I didn't want to even go there with him. No one uttered a word about my sister or her breasts so it was pretty safe to say that Cris didn't send the pictures to anyone, well at least not yet. "Anyways, just think about it okay..You don't have to give me an answer today, or tomorrow or this week or next week just THINK ABOUT IT...Okay?" David said to me and then I realized I had did it again, I stood there caught up in my thoughts and didn't even realize he was talking to me. "You really should get going now" He said while laughing and I nodded my head in agreement, like some kind of robot. "Yeah, I'll think about it I guess...See ya" I said before picking up my bike and cycling out of there. 

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Screeeeeeech. I hit the brakes and the tires on my bike come to a stop. I kick my leg off the bike and rush the bike up the front yard. I didn't want to be here yet I was dying to be here at the same time. I had to know what the hell David was talking about. 

I walked into the house that was empty as always, no surprise there. I began wondering if anyone was even home but I walked straight up to my sisters bed room and found her walking around her room, pacing back and forth. There was no way she was nervous, she always felt confident, she knew she had nothing to worry about. "Oh! Dammit Melody you almost made me have a heart attack right now!" She squealed once she saw me standing in the room. 

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you but I'm just nervous being in here, being home you know?" I said to her and she didn't say anything back. "You know...You look pretty dressed up, you're even wearing a jacket- are you going somewhere...David said you were like, going somewhere with some college guy...I thought we were going to hang out today" I said looking at her peculiarly. She really was standing me up, what a bitch. 

She looked at me like she was angry when I was only telling what I heard. "Ugh! Tell David to stop listening to Cris! I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm just friends with this guy and so what if he's in college...He's nice and we're just going to see a live Christmas carol, I hate how Cris is just acting like a little bitch and assuming things" She scoffed while rolling her eyes at me. 

A Christmas carol? I frowned. First of all, it was only the beginning of October, second of all Jess hated holiday festivities so why the hell would she want to go see a Christmas carol? "Jess, come on just be honest you don't even like the holidays...It's obvious you're only going because the guy is in college and you probably like him and I don't exactly like Cris but if I were him I would be 'bitching' too...I mean seriously you're practically cheating on him and who the hell is this guy and how come you didn't tell me?"  I said stunned. 

"THAT!" She bellowed out to me. "That's exactly fucking why I didn't tell you! Everyone's assuming that I want to fuck this guy or something. WE'RE JUST FRIENDS and his name is Collin, the guy we met the night of the competition-" I couldn't believe her, was she stupid or just well, stupid. 

I couldn't even let her finish her sentence because she was being so stupid. "So you blow me off for him? Not even that I really care about that but seriously USE YOUR BRAIN! What do you think he wants from you? You're still in highschool- he's in college! FUCKING COLLEGE! All he wants is a quick hoo-rah and then guess what you're going to be done with!" I shrieked with excitement, I was so on edge. I just wanted her to wake up and smell the coffee, I didn't want to offend her but she was acting stupid. 

Jessica looked at me like she wanted me to leave and I was pretty sure she did but she didn't say that, instead she went off on a rant. "You see! This is why I barely tell you anything- you're judging me over something you don't even know! I don't like him that way! I have a boyfriend and I don't need you to remind me of that okay..." She let the silence surround us and she looked up at me with her eyes wide. "Please just don't assume that I want to jump in bed with him- NO! Don't EVER assume that I will just jump in bed with ANYONE because I wouldn't do that. I just want to meet people, and experience different things.. Yeah, I've never been into the holidays but maybe I'm changing...Maybe I feel different about some things in life, maybe my life is changing, maybe your life is changing, maybe OUR life is changing...Mom's not even the same anymore okay! She's changing...She's so clingy and she doesn't want me to leave her and dad is-" She put her hands on her head and then threw her arms out in front of her "Shit! Look I just want to experience different things, I'm going to see this Christmas carol and you know what maybe I won't like it and maybe Collin will turn out to be the total creep you say he is but if that doesn't happen I'm not going to just stop talking to him because of what other people think so-" 

What the hell was wrong with me? Yeah, I didn't have to agree with all the things my sister did but I definitely didn't need to scrutinize her like that. Maybe I was wrong, maybe she would be happy and I would be wrong but maybe I was right and maybe she would end up heartbroken. No matter whether I was wrong or right, she would always need someone to turn to, someone to cry to, someone to hold.  That person was me, we were sisters and I needed to just shut up no matter how much I disagreed with her, I stated my opinion and that was all that was needed whether she agreed or not. I felt bad and I said "Come here" and wrapped my arms around her. "I'm sorry" I said as I burried my head into her neck. "It's okay...I'm sorry too, I didn't have to go off on you like that- sometimes I just feel so different these days...I don't know what's what anymore" My sister said that and some strange feeling crept inside of me. I felt like this would be the first of many times to come where I would be holding my sister and actually being there for her for once, it was different but it felt good. 

My sister and I talked for a few more minutes and then she had to leave to go meet up with Collin. She apologized to me numerous amounts of times and I did the same, she said she didn't want me to feel like she was standing me up and promised me we would spend more time together some other time. I was walking down the stairs to leave, when I nearly bumped into someone, my mom. Her arms were wide open, her heart was open, and her eyes seemed to be full of sorrow and sincerity and she was coming closer to me and I just backed up from her. "Sweetie, please come here" Damn. Jess sure was right, mom was different. Her luscious blonde hair that she always bragged about was now slashed shorter and the color of a chestnut. 

My mother was stumbling all over her words and I could see her shaking. "I- I-I'm sorry. Word's can't even explain how sorry I am" Guilt was standing between us , not just from her but from me also. I felt guilty, so so guilty for leaving her, it just felt wrong even though I was happier now. "I think we should sit down and talk- I-I'm so-I'm so glad you're hear... come on let's go sit down and talk and I can make your favorite dish with those garbanzo beans you love and we ca-" 

I let out a breath of sadness and looked down at the ground, I couldn't even face her. I knew she felt like shit and I didn't want her to feel that way but I couldn't be here. I had to go. Adrianne was coming over and pretty soon it would start getting dark outside, my uncle wanted me home, he needed me and I couldn't let him down. "Mom, I really have to go- this isn't -this just isn't a good time right now okay" I told her, still avoiding eye contact with her. I don't know why but I just felt so ashamed and guilty even though I really had no reason to be. 

She probably didn't believe me but I could hear her breathing stifle a little and she shrugged. "It's okay...I understand just promise me you forgive me, just please take this weight off my shoulders...Free me from my demons, I can't eat, I can't sleep, sometimes I feel like I can't even breathe, I miss you honey I really do and I never wanted you to feel unwanted...Just please-please forgive me" I looked at my mom and she looked like she was about to cry, I looked off into the distance and away from her and walked straight through the door not saying a word, not even looking her in the eye. The way I felt was just overwhelming and I couldn't stay there any longer. To be completely honest, I wasn't even sure what forgiveness was I had no idea what it even felt like to forgive someone, to really honestly forgive them. And I didn't utter to say anything for that very reason, I didn't want to make a promise that I couldn't keep.

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It was the highlight of the night, or at least it was for my uncle. He was all giddy and jittery at the same time and Adrianne was standing in our dining room near the table I had helped my uncle set up and she just kept standing there saying a bunch of acclamations. "Who would've known that a man could be so organized" she said and I honestly wanted to roll my eyes, not because I didn't like her because to be quite honest I barely knew her. I was just in a very shitty mood and felt like I had alot on my mind. "maybe my life is changing, maybe your life is changing, maybe OUR life is changing...Mom's not even the same anymore okay! She's changing...She's so clingy and she doesn't want me to leave her and dad is-" My sisters words repeated in my head right then and there. What did she mean? "Melly could you please get the door, it's her daughter" My uncle said to me and I did as he said, like a robot. I had no energy for this, I was glad to be away from Adrianne though, at least I could stop faking a smile for at least 2 minutes or so. 

I was so done with this day and it hadn't even ended yet. I walked down to the living room and was facing the last person I would even want to be around right now. This was her daughter? Oh God someone just come and save me now, please. My eyes were wide and every hair on my body stood up, fuck this day. I unlocked the door, shot her a spiteful glare and said "The door is open" and began walking away from the door.

I turned my head back around since I didn't hear her open the door and glared at her again. She was standing there looking unnerved, holding her hands together and I didn't know why. I wasn't turning back around to open the door for her, and eventually she got the hint and walked in, opening the door herself. 

The dinner was interesting, Allyson was sitting in the chair like she had absolutely no respect for anyone and her boot was rubbing up against my knee cap ever so often the entire time we sat there because she was just a cynical bitch like that and she enjoyed watching me get annoyed. My uncle and Adrianne kept looking at each other intently, and they shot each other some flirty glances practically the entire night. My uncle was very tense though and it showed, God damn, I really wanted to just shake him and make him get a grip, he had this in the bag so I don't know why he was being so nervous. 

 "Anyways, just think about it okay..You don't have to give me an answer today, or tomorrow or this week or next week just THINK ABOUT IT...Okay?" Think about it, I sure had alot to think about. "Yeah, I've never been into the holidays but maybe I'm changing..." There were so many voices in my head and I didn't even realize Adrianne had asked me "So Melody, what are you interested in" Twiddle-dee, twiddle-dum. My index finger was moving up and down, I probably looked like a robot to her. "Music, reading, you know that kind of stuff" was all that I managed to mutter out and I looked down at my plate, I was hungry but I couldn't bring myself to eat especially around them. 

My uncle asked Allyson a bunch of questions and I pretty much drowned out her annoying deep voice but one thing stuck with me and made me tune in to all of the weird shit she was saying. "I'm interested in death, you know deep, dark, scary things that will make a person shiver and wish they hadn't been exposed to something, I'm all about mystery, I want to know all of the biggest secrets there is in life...Like death, man's greatest mystery and biggest fear" I felt the hair on my arm stand up as she said that, this girl was a fucking weirdo and there was no way in hell I was going to let my uncle date her mother, there was just absolutely no fucking way I was going to allow it. I was willing to do anything and everything in my power to prevent them from even going further in their relationship or friendship or whatever it was. 

My uncle's only response to her was "Oh really now that's quite interesting, I'm intrigued" and to be honest he probably wasn't lying. He was a very accepting person and he tried to understand others. I wish he could see how completely odd she was, but he probably was just so caught up in Adrianne to even notice how strange Allyson was.

"Allyson!" Adrianne hollered out, outraged and gasping. "I told you not to say that kind of stuff!" Her eyes narrowed down at Allyson, as if her eyes had the ability to push Allyson straight into the corner of the room. "I'm sorry please, ignore what she said" Adrianne said but of course my uncle was too in love to even care, brushing it off like he hadn't heard anything.

Allyson was completely blunt and uncensored, I was beginning to wonder if she was only acting like this because she didn't want to be here or maybe she really was that open and rude. "Where's the bathroom? I need to take a piss" Way to be classy, I thought to myself. My uncle told her where the bathroom was, he told her where my bathroom was and if that wasn't any better he pretty much volunteered for me and told her I would show her where it is.

I showed her where the bathroom was but I didn't go back upstairs, I stayed there with my arms crossed and my back against the wall. There was no way I was letting her just go into my bathroom, what if she stole something?  Thud! Frowning, I shifted my weight even deeper into the wall, what she was doing something in there, going through my stuff? I could've sworn I heard a faint sniffling but she couldn't have really been crying, was she? She was way too rough to be crying, what if it was worse- what if she was doing drugs in my bathroom. I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach at that thought, what a low life. 

Suddenly the door opened and I jumped, I didn't even hear her unlock the door or anything. She caught me dead on the spot. "What the fuck!" She whispered semi-loudly. "Were you- were you- You WERE weren't you?!?!?!" She laughed and continued on "You're a freak you know that? Who in their right mind listens to someone in the bathroom...I'll tell you who...You, you little twerp" Great, good one Melody. I looked away from her, extremely embarrassed "Look, I barely know you and I didn't want you going through my stuff or something and I heard you sniffling and I don't know...I thought you were doing drug-" 

"Drugs!" She whispered even louder. Her lips drowned in sorrow and any little glint of happiness had left her face completely. "Look, I really don't want to be here. It's bad enough that my mom forced me to take my piercings out and dress somewhat modestly. I feel sick okay, could you please give me some Advil or something-anything?" I shut up and didn't even bother to protest, I got her some medicine and we sat there at the dinner table for the rest of the night, it wasn't enjoyable but we got through it. We looked like a family sitting there, it gave me a strange feeling inside and some sort of vision of the future, and the future didn't seem that far away.  It was that moment, no let me re-phrase that. It was that day that I realized my sister was right, things really were changing and I wasn't sure if it was for better or worse.