AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ONE
Melanie
A couple of months earlier.
A
re you crazy, Theo?!” I pushed my boyfriend away, fixing the clothes he’d tried to take off of me. “Did you think I would have sex with you in a storage room?”
He rolled his eyes at me, making that weird sound he always did to express his frustration. “I’m so tired of it, Melanie!”
“Of what exactly?” I frowned, crossing my arms.
“We’ve been dating for over a year now, barely having sex,” he snarled.
“Oh, you thought I would let you screw me between my legal analysis and procedural law classes?” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.
Theo and I started dating in our senior year of high school, winning the titles of king and queen of the prom. Although, I could never tell if Theo was more of a friend to me or a boyfriend because as much as I enjoyed his company, I’d never felt the burning lust everyone was talking about. We had our first sex after eight months of our relationship, and only because Theo was pushy, but no fireworks for me. I felt terrible because I cared about him and our relationship. At the same time, no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t feel the spark. I thought it might’ve been caused by my bad experiences haunting me from my past. My former boyfriend hurt me in the worst possible way, leaving an irreversible strike on my soul forever.
After graduation, Theo and I chose the same university. Or rather, it’d been selected for us. As the daughter of this year’s candidate running for the governor of California, Derick Atwood, I couldn’t decide about my own life. In my case, everything was already planned for me. The course of my education and my future career. Even my boyfriend, which at first, I had no idea about. So yes, I was one of those rich kids who got into Stanford University because of their societal position. And even though I had no desire to get a law degree, my father believed it would be best if I followed in his footsteps and became a lawyer or, even better, a politician.
“I don’t know what you want,” Theo growled, snapping me back to reality. “But it frustrates the hell out of me that my girlfriend won’t let me touch her!”
“Theo—” Before I could finish, he stormed out of the dark, dusty storage room, slamming the door behind him.
“Very mature.” I let out a deep sigh. I had no time or energy to deal with this crap. I was up all night cramming for that legal analysis exam. I fixed my clothes and left for the next dry as dust lecture.
AFTER SCHOOL, I TUCKED myself under a soft, white blanket. I’d had one of those bad days when you wanted to sink into your bed, hoping no one would ever find you. But despite the thick walls of my bedroom, I could still hear my parents arguing—again. I covered myself with a furry pillow, pushing it onto my head. Even that didn’t make their shouting or throwing dirty names at one another stop ringing in my ears. I hated their fights, and those would happen daily. My parents’ marriage was of convenience, not love. And I was their only child, so I was stuck in this toxic swamp all alone. Or maybe it was better I had no siblings? At least there was no extra person who’d have to suffer everything I had. I could never understand why my mother wouldn’t just drop everything and run away from that monster, a.k.a. my father, burning all the bridges after her. Especially after everything he’d done to her. Or maybe, I wish I had done that myself? And yet there I was, trying to survive yet another day in this luxurious life of mine… that behind the closed doors of this hell of a mansion called our home wasn’t luxurious at all.
I heard a loud door slam, followed by my mother’s heels clicking on marble stairs as she headed downstairs—finally, no more screams. I took a deep breath, crawling out of my bed that felt like my fortress, helping me survive all the wars this house had witnessed. I reached out for my phone and saw a few missed calls from Theo, and one text from Scarlett, my best friend. I chose to ignore the calls from my boyfriend and, heading up to the bathroom, unfold the entire message Scarlett sent me.
From: Scar
Hey, boo! Will u make it to the party tonite?
We’re at Mike’s.
Sent Friday 5:52 PM
I sighed, not feeling the Friday night vibe as a nineteen-year-old girl like me should. But the truth was, I’d rather go out than stay in this dreadful place, risking being an invisible partaker in yet another quarrel. I quickly freshened up and was ready to leave about an hour later. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, amazed at how a little bit of makeup and a sexy outfit could boost one’s self-perception. I tended to be very insecure about myself. I blamed my emotionally unsteady childhood for that because my mother would never tell me I was beautiful like my friends’ mothers would do. I’d been struggling with my low self-esteem ever since I recall. It felt like I was fighting my own war with the demons. Demons slumbering inside me, waiting for the least convenient moment to come out and destroy the self-confidence I desperately tried to build all over again. But that wasn’t the case tonight. I smiled at myself, satisfied with how I looked. I slipped a black minidress, with a straight neckline cut out in the middle, over my naked breasts, pleasingly tightening them. The V-cut on the left bottom gave some sultry to its design. I brushed my lips with my favorite Dior gloss in a medium nude shade and drew a simple cat line over my eyelashes, enhancing my look.
To: Scar
I'm on my way, S.
Sent Friday 7:18 PM
I typed the quick response and hitSend, leaving for the party.
~••~
“Do you want me to wait for you, Miss Atwood?” my chauffeur asked as we were approaching Mike’s place.
“No, you can go back home,” I answered as he pulled over in front of my friend’s house. Music was playing so loud I bet all the neighborhood could hear it.
“Are you sure, miss?” Gregory peeked at my reflection in the rearview mirror, and I met his hazel eyes. The freckles forming around his eyelids implied he was smiling.
Sometimes it felt like he worried more about me than my parents did. I’d never seen him only as my chauffeur. We had a connection, something like a grandfather and granddaughter would have. And something I’d never experienced because I’d never gotten to know my grandparents. But even though it felt nice, it still hurt that a stranger would care more about me than my mother or, let alone, my father would.
