EPHEMERAL | JJ Maybank

6 • baby dino

Melody decided to go to her house for the night, thankfully her stepdad was gone. Which wasn't unusual, just rare. She never cared much for what he was doing while he was gone though. She stepped foot into their dirty kitchen, all of it was Steven's mess since she hasn't even been there. She sighed at the dirty dishes in the sink and lack of food in the refrigerator. She grabbed jelly from the fridge and shut the door, finally noticing a note that was stuck there.

Gone to the mainland for the weekend. Here's food money
Love you,
Dad

She rolled her eyes and wrinkled the note, tossing it in the trash. She pocketed the twenty dollars and grabbed the peanut butter and nearly old bread from the pantry and made her a sandwich. He's anything but a dad to her now, but on his good days he still calls himself that.

She grabbed her sandwich and walked to her room, shutting the door behind her and twisting the lock on it just in case, as she always does when she here. She sat on her bed and quietly ate her sandwich, staring off into space until her eyes gazed upon the mirror, across from her bed. She finished the last bite of her sandwich and hopped up, walking closer to her dresser mirror to inspect herself. She looked a mess, her eyes blood shot from the crying. Hair knotted from surfing, and her white shorts ruined from the blood that fell from her cut. The cut that is on her top lip with crusted blood around it. She just knew it was going to scar. A bruise already started to form around the cut.

Getting into fights is something she's always been used to because she was always one to defend her friends. Especially John B. But this one scared her, she felt it deep in her bones that things were about to get worse.

Melody sighed at the way she looks, agreeing that she is ugly. At least with the dirt, sand, and blood on her so she hurriedly took a shower and instantly felt better. When she stepped out, she wrapped a towel around herself. She heard a little cling and snapped her head in the direction of the noise. She heard it again and knew someone was at the window. She walked over to it and opened the curtains, seeing none other than JJ Maybank. "Can I come in?" He whisper yelled, not sure if her step dad was there.

Melody hesitated, not sure if she wanted to speak to him. But she figured that he didn't want to go back to John B's either after tonight, nor would he want to go to his house so she sighed and opened the window, gesturing for him to come in. She watched as he pushed himself onto the window seal with his arms and climbed over gracefully. She closed the window behind him. "Sneak in to girls rooms often?" Melody asked, partly as a joke but serious at the same time.

JJ nodded, "Before you, yea." Melody snickered.

He looked at her, like really looked at her and saw how beat up she was, physically and emotionally. "Oh Mel, I'm sorry he punched you in the face." He said softly, holding her cheek with his hand.