Melody

3

The rest of Melody's day was pretty uneventful. She managed to find all her classes without being late, and no one else had reacted strangely to her. But no one tried to make her feel welcome either. The best part of her day was lunch, when she sat alone outside under a tree, enjoying hummus, pita chips and an apple while reading a new paranormal romance on her kobo. The book was good and the sun was shining, and there had been no sign of her pervy step brothers anywhere. Robert had graduated last year, and was supposed to be studying at the community college to improve his grades before he moved on to something better, more appropriate his father would say.Only Randy was in the same grade as her, so he was the only one she was at risk of sharing a class with. So far so good though.

Her final two classes of the day were uneventful and step brother free. She still had gym tomorrow, but that was the only class that she hadn't had yet. Hopefully her luck of avoiding sharing a class with Randy would continue tomorrow.

Melody made her way back to her locker, dumped her unneeded text books inside, grabbed her helmet and headed to the front doors of the school and the bike lock by the parking lot. The helmet was swinging from her bag from the strap it was clipped to as she walked, tapping out an awkward beat as she walked quickly to her little taste of freedom. Melody burst out of the main doors, turned to look at her beloved baby blue bike and frowned.

Tall, broad shouldered, pretty blonde guy was next to her bike. Like he was waiting for her. Even though that was impossible. He hadn't said a single word to her and had bolted from the desk they shared like he was electrocuted off the chair. But he smiled in her direction, and Melody felt sparks as his warm smiling face made direct eye contact with her.

"Hi! I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier, I'm Alexander. Sorry if I came off as rude earlier, I'm not myself before lunch" he closed his eyes and laughed from his belly at his own joke. Eyes crinkling at the outer corners just a little.

"Melody. It's fine. You're blocking my bike." she gestured broadly at the only bike in the rack, and how his bulky body was blocking her from unlocking it.

"I thought it might be yours, I was going to offer to drive you home, but I don't have a bike rack on my jeep right now" he looked sincerely disappointed. Melody didn't understand this guy, first he acts like she smells bad or is contagious and now he's offering a ride. What is this guy's deal.

"I don't live far, and I like biking, so if you would just move" she made a shooing motion with her hands, "I'd like to get home. It's been a long day" not that she actually wanted to go home, but at least she had a private room there. Private and quiet sounded nice right now.

"Sorry. I'll get out of your way." he took a few steps so he was no longer in her way. She dropped her bag in the basket, and buckled the helmet on her head. Alexander was still standing there, watching her. "I'll see you around Melody."

"Umm ok then. Bye." Melody swung her leg over the bike, kicked off and started pedaling home at a leisurely pace. Letting the lightly salted breeze blow away her less than ideal first day at school.

Alexander watched her back as she rode down the narrow country road. Framed between the golden, red, and orange leafed trees in the perfect, late afternoon sun. He practically had to slap himself to stop from letting his tongue loll out his mouth while he drooled after her. He slid his hand to his back pocket, grabbing his phone, and making a call.

"Mom I found her," he had to pull the phone back from his ear as his mother reacted exactly how he thought she would when he finally got to make this call. "Ma, calm down. I don't know when we will be home, things are a little complicated right now. "

Fifteen minutes after leaving Alexander at the school, Melody was back at her stepfather's home. At her home now technically. Melody's mother's car wasn't in the driveway, she must be working late tonight Melody realised as she put her bike away next to the garage, grabbing her bag she headed into the house.

There was a verifiable wall of testosterone when she walked in the front door. All three brothers and their father were home, all in the living room watching a wrestling match on the large flat screen over the fireplace. Well more like they were all yelling at the wrestling match. Melody winced at the cacophony.

The heavy wooden front door swung closed harder than Melody intended. When the door slammed shut, four pairs of matching dull brown eyes looked her way, like she had murdered a puppy and not just interrupted sport time.

"Yer ma is working late, be a doll a fix up some dinner." Frank barked at her. Looking away as soon as the last word fell from his lips. His tone was one that showed he felt assured his instructions would be followed without question.

Melody's jaw fell open, slack from shock. "Excuse me?"

"You heard him"

"Time to get cooking"

"No spaghetti, make something decent."

Melody was caught so off guard by what all the men had said to her that she wasn't even certain which of the triple threat idiots said what. When her mind started turning again, she was in the kitchen staring dumbly into the fridge.

Fuck this. She opened the freezer, and saw a family sized frozen lasagna. Perfect she thought to herself, they bought this crap, they can eat it. She read the instructions on the package and threw the processed dinner into the oven. There was nothing green in the fridge at all, so throwing together a salad wasn't an option. She looked over her shoulder at the testosterone filled living room, they probably don't even eat salad anyways.

She looked around the kitchen for something else to serve with the frozen dinner to make it seem like more of a meal. There was a nice loaf of sourdough bread Melody's mom had picked up from the bakery on the weekend when they tried having a family brunch on sunday. Melody sliced the bread and set a pan on the stove. She added butter and garlic and made garlic fried bread as a side.

Once everything was cooked, she set the table, and arranged the lasagna and bread on the table. She walked back to the living room and told her step family that dinner was ready. She was angry she had to cook it all by herself, and at how rude they had been, she thought it was a better meal than they deserved. Sucking back her own feelings, to not be a problem. She had spent most of the drive here being told over and over all the ways she made things worse.

She sat down, served herself and waited for the men to join her. She was nearly finished her plate when they finally sauntered in. Her step father's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of her sat at the table eating.

"What do you think you are doing?" Frank asked, his voice sharp, and accusing.

"Eating dinner?" Melody had no idea where his attitude was coming from now. She had done what he asked, and told him it was ready. Without complaining. Out loud anyways. 

"And you just started to eat without us? Men get served first Melody. Did your mother teach you anything about respect." Again, Melody's jaw fell open in shock. She had no idea how to even respond to that and was frozen in place.

"Apparently she didn't teach you any manners either. Close your mouth you look like a whore" Frank's words cut her like a knife that time. She got up wordlessly, leaving the remainder of her dinner where it was and walked like a zombie up the stairs to her room. She thought someone might have yelled something else but she didn't hear them.  She went up the steep sliding stairs, and pulled up the cord behind her, swinging the lock into place before she threw herself onto the bed trying to make sense of what had happened tonight.