One step at a time, though.
The front door closes and Melody comes around the corner, sleepover bag in hand and tears in her eyes, and I can’t help but chuckle.
“What are you laughing about?” Melody asks incredulously. “Kayden made me think you were going to hurt yourself!”
“Well, the thought crossed my mind,” I admit sheepishly, shrugging my shoulders as I lay cocooned in my blanket.
Melody strides over to me, grabbing one of the pillows and walloping me over the head with it.
“You can’t just say things like that, Dani. I love you too much. You know that, right?”
“Well, I’m just being honest. Was I actually going to do it? Probably not, but there was an instance where my inner voice suggested it.”
She sighs, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. “What can I do to help you?”
“Honestly… just being here is enough.” I pause, thinking that over. “Actually, it probably wouldn’t hurt if you hold me accountable to taking my medications, too.”
“You’ll let me know if it’s not enough though, right? If you need more help than I can give?”
I peer at Melody, remembering what she told me had happened to her. How she was raped then stalked, kidnapped, tortured, and sexually assaulted before being rescued. How she went through all that and has somehow become this strong woman, lending her strength to those around her, I’ll never know.
“I promise, Melody. I’m OK, really. Will I decline the opportunity to have a girls’ week with you? Absolutely not. But you don’t have to be afraid to use the bathroom without me in case I decide to hurt myself. I won’t.”
“Alright. Then it’s settled. I’ll stay over for the week, lend you my moral support, get you taking your medications, and then we can go from there. Kapeesh?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say, nodding my head as I uncurl myself from the blanket I was huddled in. “Thanks, Melody.”
I reach over and give my best friend a hug. I don’t know what I did to deserve her, but I’m so thankful she’s in my life.
“Alright, how about some rom-coms and sushi?” she asks excitedly, holding me at arms length and wearing the biggest smile.
“How can a girl say no to that?!”
The first fewdays pass quickly—much too quickly. We have taken trips to the bookstore, indulged in all our favorite foods, talked about anything and everything, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Melody’s kept me distracted all this time, and I’m worried how I’ll manage once she’s gone. She’s made sureI’ve been taking my medications as I should be and even helped me make my first therapy appointment since I stopped going.
Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I feel like my medication is helping me now that I’m taking it regularly as I should have been from the get go. I’m determined to do this. I still have at least three more days with Melody, and honestly… She could probably go home now, but I’m not going to make a peep about it. Call me selfish, but I’ve never been able to have this much time with her. We normally see each other every few weeks, so this has been a treat.
She probably wants to pull my hair out. We’ve been in the same store for the past forty minutes because I can’t make a decision between the two dresses I picked out for our next night out. One is a deep-plum halter dress that stops just above my knees with ruching on the side. The other is a black sequin-covered dress with slits in each thigh and a plunging neckline. Both are incredibly flattering, but as usual I’m leaning toward the black dress because, well, black is my favorite color and always my go to—and it has long sleeves to cover my wrists. But Melody is currently arguing with me to add color to my wardrobe.
“Dani, I really think the purple one looks great. You have enough black in your closet as it is. And I know it covers your scars, but eventually you need to let yourself shine, scars and all.”
“But black is my color, Melody. It’s my signature,” I pout, holding the dress up to my frame in the mirror. “But on the other hand, you’re right. The purple does look really good, too.”
“That’s what I’msaaaying.”
“I just think the men will like the black dress better… it’s dangerous.”
“Men or just one man in particular?” Melody asks, a smirk on her face.
“I don’t know what you mean by that,” I reply, turning away from the mirror and placing a hand on my hip.
“You know exactly what I mean! You have one man on your mind, and that just happens to be Kayden. Admit it!”
“I’m not admitting anything to you,” I state, turning back toward the mirror.
Switching between each dress, I fumble the hangers as my phone blips, signaling a new text message.
Melody leans over to look at the screen but I snatch it before she can get a good look. “Oooh, who’s that texting you?! You never get texts!”
