Page 43 of Defended
"Hello, little prince." His dad's warm chuckle made Kawan grin.
"If she wants to treat me like royalty, I'm not going to argue with her," Kawan teased.
"Smart boy."
Thankfully his dad just wanted to know how he was settling in at the new firm and what his new home was like. Melody, grandchildren, and dating never came up at all. It was just a breather, Kawan knew, but next time he talked to his mom, he'd be more prepared.
* * *
Freshly showeredand changed into her own clothes, Melody felt trapped. If she left her room, Peggy was going to want to talk about last night. Melody didn't really see that conversation going any better than the previous one had. As much as she loved her bestie, right now she was being a royal bitch. And Melody didn't understand why Peggy had such an issue, but she wasn't okay with it.
She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to have to defend herself or Kawan or what she wanted.
Why was that so hard for Peggy to understand?
Nibbling on her lower lip, Melody stared at her bedroom door. Maybe she was overthinking things. Maybe, now that Peggy had had time to cool down, she'd realize that she was being unreasonable.
Sure. And pigs were doing cartwheels in the sky right now.
This was kind of her fault, she realized. It was so much easier to just go with the flow when it came to Peggy, but that had turned her into a little bit of a doormat. Melody didn't like thinking of herself that way, but the truth was that she was constantly doing what Peggy wanted her to do. Because it was easier. Because she didn't want to fight.
Or, truthfully, because she hadn't felt like the fight was worth it. Was Kawan, and what he offered, worth fighting with Peggy? She really hoped the answer was yes.
Steeling herself, she made herself walk out of the bedroom and out to the living room where she could hear the television blaring. She made a face when she got there. Peggy was watching one of the trashy reality TV shows that she loved and Melody hated.
It probably wasn't a pointed dig at Melody. At least, that's what she told herself.
Peggy didn't even look up at her. She was sitting on the couch, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at the television. Everything about her posture said ‘Fuck off’. The desire to confront all the ugly things she'd said slid away as Melody looked at her.
Whatever. Peggy could think what she wanted. She couldn't tell Melody what to do.
That didn't mean Melody wanted to hang out here either.
"Where are you going?" The question bristled with hostility as Melody picked up her purse.
"Out." Melody could have told Peggy that she was planning on heading over to the university and losing herself in work for a while but... she didn't owe Peggy any explanation. Or maybe this was her way of trying to make Peggy confrontheragain so they could have it out? Ugh. How passive aggressive. But also easier than being the confrontational one.
"Back to the pedo-perv?"
"Stop calling him that." Melody whirled around, glaring at the back of Peggy's head, because she hadn't even turned around to fight with Melody. For a moment she pictured herself slapping Peggy across the back of the head, as if attempting to slap the bitch out of her. Ugh. Not worth it though. Talk about a friendship ender. Right now she was doing her best to salvage the friendship, even if Peggy was being a horrid bitch. "I don't care what you think about my relationship with him, I don't want to hear it. Don't call him that ever again."
"Or what?" Now Peggy did stand up and turn around to face her, challenging Melody with her own glare.
Melody pressed her lips together. Normally she'd say a man wasn't worth ending a friendship over, especially herbestfriendship but... it's not like Kawan was doing anything wrong. Peggy was the one in the wrong.
Breaking the long silence with a snort, Peggy shook her head, sending her red curls flying around her face. "I don't get it, Mel. Your parents are totally normal, you weren't abused, you don't have daddy issues—or at least, I didn't think you did—so what the hell is going on? Are you so desperate for sex that you'll fuck anyone?" Shocked, Melody's mouth dropped open and she stared at Peggy. The other woman's voice softened slightly, her gaze becoming pitying. "Look, we'll work on it. You can lose some weight, I'll dress you up, and we'll find you a guy."
It wasn't all that dissimilarfrom things Peggy had said to her in the past, but suddenly it was like Melody heard them differently.
Her words didn't sound kind or caring. They didn't sound supportive. They didn't sound like she and Melody were a team. It sounded like Peggy wanting to control Melody's life. Something that Melody had been guilty of letting her do in the past. Because she had wanted to lose weight... because she hadn't felt confident enough to pick out her own sexy outfits... because she had wanted someone to help her find a guy.
But now she'd found a guy that she wanted. And he thought she was sexy. He didn't seem to think she needed to lose weight. When she was around him, she didn't feel like she needed to. Only Peggy made her feel that way.
Melody didn't have daddy issues, but she was starting to wonder if she had friend issues.
"I'm going to the university to get some work done."
She moved so quickly that she was yanking the front door open when Peggy's furious response caught her off guard.
"Don't you dare leave, Melody, we're not done talking about this!"
"I'm done," she snapped back, her temper finally getting the best of her. "I'm done talking about this. It's my life, not yours, and you don't get to choose who I date or where I'm going. I'll see you later."
"If you leave now, don't bother coming back!" Peggy practically screamed it at her.
Melody slammed the door shut behind her and stood in the hallway for a moment, shaking. Only the fear that Peggy would come out after her got her moving again. She could not do this right now. She needed some space. To clear her head. To think about what she was going to do next. About Peggy and about Kawan.
Because she was starting to feel unsure about whether she could have both.
