gotta get this story on the roll! :-) Nevermind any grammatical or spelling mistakes. Its not edited that much. I made sure there arent any big mistakes though, so it wouldnt get irritating..
Jaiaxo - All Rights Reserved ©
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Melanie woke in a cold sweat. Tangled in her sheets, her pj shorts and tank clung to her skin uncomfortably. Her skin was all clammy and her pajamas were soaked through.
She couldn't stand life anymore. Just getting out of bed was a never-ending struggle. Every day without her mother was like being tortured with a hatchet to her heart. Sure the smiles and the perky attitude seemed genuine, but no. Most of the time, they never were.
A brain tumor. Maddy, Melanie's mother, was seemingly fine and healthy, or so they all thought. There were the sleeping-in-later-than-usuals, the headaches, the dizzy spells... people worried. Of course Maddy brushed if off as nothing, but in the end, it turned out to be everything but nothing.
Everyone guessed that she had been hiding symptoms for a long while. Where do you think Melanie got her acting skills from? Like mother, like daughter. Never showing any weakness, any pain, any hurt, but anger? Most definitely. Maddy and Melanie alike, had tempers like wildfire.
As she threw the duvet and sheet back, she smelled breakfast being cooked. Her stepmother happened to be a good cook. Yes. You heard right. Stepmother. Eight miserable months after her moms burial, her father remarried to a wealthy business woman.
The marriage wasn't because of money, of course not. With a successful lawyer for a father and the nurse her mother had been, they had plenty of money. No, this was because he "loved" her. How did one find love so soon after their wife of 20 years dies? Melanie asked herself the same question every day. Her anger at her father could barely be contained sometimes.
Mel walked into her personal bathroom to clean up. She showered, dried her long, brown, curly hair, and dressed for the day.
Making her way down the grand staircase, she overheard Salem, her stepmother, talking to her father. They spoke in hushed tones as if what they were saying was a secret.
"John... I just don't know what to do anymore." she half whispered, exasperated.
"I've tried everything. Melanie hates me. She hates that I'm here, she hates that we're married... I can't replace her mother, not that I'm even trying to in the first place. I think this was too soon. We should've waited like we planned."
Melanie had been being a bitch to Salem in more ways than one. She rudely declined lunch dates with her time and time again. She's walked away from the dinner table, just from her telling her she needed to watch her mouth. She never even acknowledged her presence in a room. Melanie almost felt a bit guilty for causing her such stress with her behavior over the last months. Almost..
"She's just not used to this honey. Give her some time. She took the her mother's death better than i thought she would." her dad replied softly.
In fact, she had not taken her mother's death at all well. She just held all of that pain inside and cried in her pillow at night in stead of on someone's shoulder.
'Mom wouldn't have wanted me to be crying and blubbering over her for months to others...' she thought to herself. 'and why the hell weren't i included in these plans to hold off that horrid wedding? Oh yeah. Right. Because I didnt know Salem even existed until a month before.' She rolled her eyes to herself.
Melanie then decided to stop eavesdropping and sate her growling stomach. Walking into the kitchen, she saw that her father had Salem trapped between the marble counter and his body. His arms blocked her ways out and his hands rested on the edge or the marble on either side of her waist. He was slowly leaning in for what looked like a kiss. She almost puked at the sight.
Instead of screaming at him 'WHAT ABOUT MOM?!' she stood there with a look of disgust and folded her arms angrily.
"Ahem!" she spat out loudly.
John and Salem jumped apart as if they had been shocked. They looked nervously at each other for a few second, extending the tense, awkward silence. Melanie continued to glare at the both of them. As soon as she made eye contact with Salem, Melanie narrowed her eyes menacingly, making her cast her gaze to the ground and fidget nervously. John was the first to speak, breaking the silence and and bringing Mel's icy glare from Salem's face.
"Morning sweet pea!" he said, trying to lighten the mood. He was good at that, plastering a smile on his face to loosen strained moments. It almost looked real. 'I guess physically lying to people just runs in the family..' she thought darkly.
"Morning Dad." she said quietly.
"Hungry?"
"Yeah. Very." Melanie replied.
Melanie was about to make her plate when Salem interrupted.
"Oh no no no.. you go and sit. I'll bring it to you darling." she smiled and insisted semi-sweetly.
Melanie froze at the endearment. She didn't realize how long she had been silent until she snapped out of her shock.
"Uh.. Uhm.." she stuttered. "Okay... I guess."
She made her way to the breakfast nook in the corner of the kitchen and took her usual seat, adjacent to the large bay window, that overlooked the Hudson river. That was the best part of living in Manhattan.
'She called me darling.. Why would she do that? Only my mother called me that..' she fumed in her head.
Melanie's attention was once then grasped by Salem placing her plate in front of her. She had to admit it. The food looked like it was fresh off the pages of a gourmet breakfast cookbook. Her mouth watered and her stomach almost clawed its way up her esophagus to get to the food faster, being that her hands weren't moving nearly fast enough for it.
"There you go Mel." Salem half whispered.
"Uh, thanks. " Melanie replied with a smile that she was sure looked more like a grimace.
"You're welcome hun.."
Melanie once again paused at yet another endearment, stunned to silence just as she was the first time. Holding a fork-full of food in mid air, she snapped her head up to meet Salem's hesitant gaze. The stare-down lasted until someone came noisily barreling down the stairs. Rounding the corner, he greeted everyone.
"Morning mom! John.." he said perkily before Melanie dominated his line of sight.
"Morning.." they both mumbled in unison, not paying much attention. John busied himself with the Sunday paper, now sitting at a stool near the kitchen island, and and Salem, making now three more plates instead of just two.
"Hey Mel.." Gabriel said. The slight pause before he greeted her and the slow once-over he had given her entire body did not go unnoticed by Melanie. Neither did the slight self consciousness she suddenly felt in his presence.
"Morning.." she replied dryly.
Gabriel sat right across from her. She had a clear view of the snug white tshirt that clung to his sculpted chest and biceps. She also noted the red and black gym shorts he sported. His brown disheveled hair was still slightly wet from his shower. The gray eyes that sparkled with mischeif were still strained on her face with plump, pink lips, a straight nose, and a sharp angular jaw to accompany them. This was how he made all the panties within a two mile radius drop. He also made sure to always take advantage of every opportunity as well.
'Ugh.. He's one slut of a stepbrother..' she thought sourly.
"What was that sweet pea?" her dad asked looking up from his paper.
'Oh shit.. I said that out loud..'
"Oh.. I, uh.. said that i slept on the wrong comforter. Yeah... I.. I meant to wash that one and use the other while it dried last night, but i forgot."
'Nice going smart ass.. now you just look stupid..' she thought to herself.
"Okaaayy..." her father said in a confused tone, waving it off as if he didnt want be let in to a female's train of thought.
Melanie heard a faint snicker come from Gabriel. She glared at him, and he just smirked back. She knew he had heard.
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~ A/N~
Sooooooooo... First chapter! I got it up early for you guys! Arent you happy? I sure hope so. I worked really hard. Typed my poor fingers to the bone..lol. What do you think? About Melanie? Gabriel? The rents? Tell me, tell me, tell meeeee! I wanna know your thoughts. Do i suck at writing? Did you like it? If you did please vote and follow! Please? Im begging. I need feedback to tell me how im doing. Did you love, hate, or were you okay?
(There will be explicit chapters in this book, so following is in your best interest if you wish to continue reading.)
Next chapter gonna be up some time next week! Probably thursday.. To the side is what i imagine Melanie to look like. :-)
Until next time my lovely readers!
-LoveisXO