Melody.

Chapter 7: Jasper

"Jasper?" She says as soon as her eyes flutter open. I scoot closer until she can see me sat on the end of the bed. "Oh. Hey. You brought me home."

"You're beautiful."

"I'm a mess, actually." Her hair is knotted and wild, her makeup has run in streaks down her face, but she is still the most beautiful woman I will ever lay eyes on.

"You're beautiful." I repeat, and then I kiss her.

Her arms wrap around my neck and shoulders, our legs tangling together with her soft red lips so gentle against my own. My breath is coming faster, as is her own, as my hands slide under her strapless top. Her back arches against mine and she buries her face in my neck as my fingers work their way up her toned stomach.

"Jas-Jasper, stop. Stop." She gasps, pushing my hands away. I shake my head to clear the fog that is suddenly there.

"We can't do this right now. We need to find Harmony." She nods, as though she's attempting to convince herself as well as me. So I lean down and kiss her neck, and she sighs, leaning her head back, and then I stand and she does too, self-consciously running her hands through her hair and trying to rub off the makeup smudges.

"Don't worry. You're still beautiful with tangles in your hair." I grin as she whacks me, but she doesn't seem worried anymore.

"We need to find Jaidon." She says, flipping open her phone. "Hello Star Chinese? Yeah, hey. No, I don't want to order anything. Would you happen to have Jaidon Kingsley on the clock, please?" She waits a moment. "No?" Another pause as she listens to the other end. "That's okay, sorry to bother you. I probably have the business wrong. Bye."

"What, was he not there?"

"Not a registered employee, though one of theirs died a few days ago. I'm not one to make assumptions but I'm betting the person died en route to my house. What a bastard."

"I know. So where is he?"

"I don't want to stress you, but is your Dad home alone at the minute?"

"Oh, shit."

I ignore the stairs and slide down the banister, and she runs down them as fast as she can, taking them two at a time. I wrestle with the door and then slam a hand against it in frustration. "We'll have to jump out of the window, I don't know where my keys are." She walks toward the bathroom and holds the door for me.

"The window is tiny, how am I supposed to fit through that?" I ask. She shrugs, and then slips out of the window. I hear the thump as she hits the floor and swears.

I ease my legs out of the window, ignoring the claustrophobic feelings, and slide onto my stomach and ease my upper body through the window. My shoulders are too big and I have to hunch painfully, and then I'm freefalling for a moment before I hit the floor, knocking the wind out of me. I roll over, coughing and choking on the air. Melody rubs my back, easing me to a sitting position, but I shake off her hands and stand unsteadily, as the dizziness fades.

I grab her hand and run to the nearest car, a Vauxhall Corsa. "Keep watch." I tell her, and she frowns but looks both ways for me. I smash the window and open the door from the inside. Dusting broken glass from the footwell, I worm my fingers under the plastic cover and yank it off, exposing all of the wires. I bite my lip, searching my brain for which one hot wires a Vauxhall. I try one combination but it doesn't work. My next one causes the engine to rumble to life.

"I did not know you could hotwire cars. That is pretty damn awesome."

"Yeah. Right. How to drive...come on, I know this." I say.

"How old are you?"

"16."

"Where did you get driving lessons?"

"My Dad."

And the hotwiring?"

"My Dad."

I pull out smoothly from the parking space and out onto the road, rumbling through the streets until I'm at my house. It doesn't take long. I leave the engine running because I can't turn it off, and then I run to my front door and it bursts open.

"Jasper?" Dad calls. He sounds completely relaxed.

"Dad. Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I... Don't know."

Melody and I walk in, holding hands, to the kitchen. Dad scrutinises Melody for a moment, before saying, "If she's staying over, keep it in your pants." And with a collective laugh, the ice is broken. I climb the stairs, Melody behind me. She lies on my bed for a minute, stretching and yawning. "Where to now?"

"Nowhere." I say firmly. "No arguments. We'll get her tomorrow. You've been attacked, run a mile and then some. You need to rest. A little while, at least."

"Fine. But I'm not happy." She says after a long pause.

"Just sleep."

"I can't sleep in this." She says, reaching around her back and unzipping her top at the back. She holds it up at the front, looking at me meaningfully.

I turn around, itching to glance back. When she says it's okay, I turn round. She's wearing my favourite green shirt, that I'd left on the floor yesterday. She spins and poses dramatically, in her ripped leggings and fluffy red socks. She looks amazing.