Just a Dare

Chapter Fourteen

When I pulled up, I observed that Melody was the only one home. I walked up to the door and carefully juggled the care package while I knocked, the same thrice knocking pattern I always did when I came to visit her, and stood on the doorstep waiting for her to open it.

Three minutes went by, and still no answer. I sighed and knocked again. I waited. Still no answer.

Okay, I will admit that I was starting to get a little worried about her now. She was always there unfailingly, ready to invite me inside with a soft smile. Something had to be wrong.

Though I knew it was a vain attempt, I reached for the doorknob to see if, by some miracle, it was unlocked. I turned the knob and pushed, and...

No, it was definitely locked.

Damn. Of course it would be.

I ground my teeth and stepped back from the door, trying to sort out what to do next. One thing was certain: I was going to get into that house if it killed me.

Alright, alright, maybe I wouldn't go that far, but I really was willing to break a window if that's what it took.

I did the second most logical thing besides trying the front door and went around to the back. Opening the gate was tricky, but once I got past that I was home free. I got to the back door and twisted the doorknob.

Click.

The door opened and I released a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding in as I stepped across the threshold into her kitchen. It was a tidy, well-organized room with gleaming chrome appliances everwhere I looked. I'd been in there so many times by then that I could have gone up to her fridge and told you that Mel had drawn that purple stick figure holding hands with a larger green one on a piece of yellow construction paper when she was in kindergarten, and that she was only ten years old in that picture when she was hugging her sister Rachel, who was still dressed in her cap and gown after graduating from high school.

I carefully set all the food on the island in the center of the kitchen and, after locking the back door behind myself, made my way to the living room to lay the DVDs on the Blu-Ray player. The soft sound of music drifted into my ears, and I paused for a moment at the bottom of the stairs to see what Melody was listening to.

"Just gonna stand there and watch me burn,

Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts

Just gonna stand there and hear me cry,

Well that's alright because I love the way you lie

I love the way you lie,"

I felt my chest constrict slightly with guilt, smiling bitterly. "How fitting," I chuckled humorlessly, suddenly turning away.

Who was I to think I had the right to drop by like that, unannounced and most likely not wanted?

The music turned off and everything fell silent, and I froze. I was standing at the bottom of Mel's stairs like some psychopathic stalker and as soon as she saw me, I knew she'd demand to know how I got into her house.

Shit.

What was I supposed to do now? Where was I supposed to go? My eyes were scanning the living room frantically for somewhere to hide until the coast was clear and I could hightail it out of there when I heard a shrill cry from upstairs.

Melody's quiet, soothing voice came next. "Shh," she said. I heard a door groan as she undoubtedly pushed it open. "Don't cry, little guy. I'm right here."