Scarlett White (35 page)

"Well, hello, 'Little-Miss-Sleep-In-Till-They-All-Think-I'm-Dead.' It's about time you woke up; it's nearly the middle of the day."

"Melody?" Scarlett's voice cracked from lack of use. She didn't talk to anyone these days.

"Well, duh. You're looking right at me—Dad told me about what happened, and I am determined to make you feel a hell of a lot better. So let's get started. You don't look so good. When was the last time you wore makeup? And your
hair...
We are definitely going to need to do something about that rat's nest. Have you not been out of this bed at all? You need some exercise, some fresh air. I know! You can go to the beach bash that a bunch of the kids from the high school are having. My best friend's sister goes to that high school. You might know her. I think her name is Chloe Levine.
"

Scarlett was too overwhelmed to realize that Melody had already pulled her to her feet and was circling her like a predator does its prey, muttering to herself. She only cared enough to catch a few glimpses of what Melody was saying, "Needs new clothes...eyeliner...foundation...bronzer...some new shoes...maybe stilettos...definitely a new curling iron...green will suit her best...maybe yellow...a golden yellow...silk, denim, Gucci, Prada, Juicy Couture, Chanel. Ralph Lauren won't do her well...no, not at all..."

Finally Scarlett realized what was going on. Her brain wasn't functioning as quickly as it used to. She whipped around and glared at Melody. Which was close to impossible; Melody's bubbly face made it hard to stay mad at her. Her bright sea colored eyes were inundated with over-enthusiasm, her upturned smile shined a glossy white from her perfectly shaped teeth and was almost too blinding to stare at for too long.

"You're not changing me," Scarlett rejoined. She surprised herself. She hadn't felt this much emotion since the night that Tristan had first kissed her after she had caught Francis cheating on her with a cheerleader. "I'm not wearing makeup, new designers, or anything else. I just don't care anymore. It doesn't matter, not anymore."

"Sure, sure," Melody said, grasping Scarlett's arm and pulling her down the hall and three doors to the right, into a room Scarlett had never entered. While Melody skipped gleefully over to a lavender vanity stocked with all sorts of different eyeliners, mascaras, eye-shadow colors, blushes, bronzers, eyelash-curlers, and many other things that Scarlett had never seen before in her life, Scarlett stopped in amazement looking around the room.

Its walls were painted a soft pink with white trimming. There were many pink, fluffy pillows everywhere, on the bed, on the chair, on the bench, on the white couch that faced an LCD television. A mirror trimmed in gold was set into the opposite wall, taking the entire wall to fill; ceiling to floor.

Scarlett gasped, and Melody didn't miss it; she turned around smiling smugly. "You like?" she asked, wriggling her eyebrows up and down suggestively. "I've always loved my room. My dad was really generous when it came to surprising me with material things," Melody continued, indicating the large television on the opposite wall.

"This is really...amazing..." Amazingly expensive. How much did that stereo cost? And don't even get started with the television...

"Thanks. Now, sit down and be ready to get beautified by yours truly."

"Melody..." Scarlett said in a hesitant voice.

"Oh, shut up and sit your butt down here this instant." Her voice had the essence of authority about it. "You know, many would be honored to be worked on by moi." And Scarlett instantly thought about Chloe, Zoey, and Millie—for the first time in days. They all wanted to be exactly like Melody. Everybody did, even though Melody hadn't been to Humphrey Day in years.

Reluctantly Scarlett trudged over the white shag rug to the purple silk seat next to the purple vanity and looked into the wide mirror that was surrounded by white light bulbs.

God, she did look like crap.

But that was going to change; for better or for worse, Scarlett didn't know.

Soon enough it was Saturday afternoon, and Melody had finished with Scarlett's makeover. Though Scarlett looked better than she had ever looked in her entire life, she didn't feel at all better than she had in her life. During lunch that day, while Timothy, Rosa, Melody, and Scarlett all sat around the dining room table eating—Melody was staying for the week; she was convinced by her dad to help Scarlett get back on her feet—Timothy asked, trying desperately to make conversation, "So, Scar, what do you think of your new look?"

Scarlett nodded and tried to look happy, but didn't succeed. Timothy looked at Melody, urging her to say something.

"Hey, Scar," Melody said, happy suddenly, "What about seeing a movie tonight before the beach party?" she asked as her face lit with enthusiasm.

"Sure, that sounds...great." Scarlett didn't care enough to come up with a better adjective, so she left it at that.

And then finally Rosa spoke up, "You haven't seen Charles in a while."

"What are you talking about?" Scarlett asked, looking at the three faces in front of her.

"Oh, that's right. I haven't told you yet…" Rosa said with a smile on her face. "Timmy had Charles flown over here. He's in a new hospital, right over in the next neighborhood. It's only about a ten minute drive to him. I can give you directions."

And that was what did it. Charles. Scarlett had completely forgotten about him in her depression. Scarlett jumped up from her seat and, for the first time in years, hugged her mother. And she also hugged Timothy for the first time since he had been introduced in her life.

"Yeah," and for the first time in a while Scarlett didn't have to pretend to be happy, "Yeah, I think I will go visit him after lunch, before the beach party."

Chapter Seventeen

Scarlett left from
her visit with Charles around six o'clock that night. She had spent all day with him. She had arrived at the new hospital around twelve o'clock as soon as she had finished lunch with Rosa, Timothy, and Melody. Now she was heading to the cinema that was located downtown to go to a movie with Melody. She didn't know her soon-to-be-stepsister that well, and maybe this movie date would help with that. Though Scarlett was still partially depressed about the recent events of her life, she thought that maybe this was exactly what she needed to get out of her funk.

She met up with an auburn haired, blue eyed Melody who was bouncing lightly on her toes. She was wearing a one-shouldered orange shirt that matched her tanning-bed-made skin tone perfectly. She wore white skinny jeans which were tucked into fashionable cowboy boots. She looked stylish and chic as she waited in line to buy the tickets.

"Hey." Scarlett popped up next to her in line.

"Hey, how was Charles?"

"He's okay. What movie are we going to see?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Awesome." Scarlett smiled, loving how eccentric Melody was.

"So after this, you're going to the beach party, right?" Melody asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"You don't seem all that excited about it."

"No, no, I'm excited." Scarlett's pathetic attempt at happiness didn't fool Melody.

"You'll have a great time, I promise."

"I don't really know anybody."

"Sure you do. My dad told me that you are friends with the most popular people at school," Melody contradicted.

"How did he know that?"

"He's on the board of the school's committee. And so are…oh, what are their names? Chloe, Zoey, and Millie, I think. Well, their parents are as well," Melody explained.

"Oh. Are you going to the beach party as well?" Scarlett asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.

"No, I have a couple of friends coming into town that I want to meet up with," Melody explained. "But it'll still be fun without me, I promise. And it'll help get you out of this funk."

"I guess you're right," Scarlett agreed.

"Of course I'm right. Oh, hello. Two tickets for…um…how about 'Kick-Ass'? Is that any good?" Melody asked the person behind the glass.

"There have been great reviews about the movie. But you have to be at least twenty-one to get a minor in," the boy behind the counter said.

"Oh, how flattering. You think I'm younger than twenty-one and she's younger than seventeen." Melody giggled and dug into her purse. "Well, if you want some IDs, here you go, you silly, ol' boy."

"Oh, sorry. It's okay. I don't need to see your IDs. Here are your tickets."

Melody winked at the boy. "Thanks, hun."

Scarlett took her ticket tentatively while Melody snatched hers up and seemingly glided through the doors of the theater.

"I'm only sixteen," Scarlett whispered once they entered the building.

"Yeah, and I'm only nineteen. You just have to act like you know what you're doing, and anybody will believe that you're older than you actually are. Especially if you have mounds like these." Melody jutted her chest out.

"Melody!" Scarlett giggled.

"Whatever. They help me get what I want." Melody winked and joined the line to get some popcorn. "So, are there any cute boys at Humphrey Day these days?"

"Oh…well, I…I guess I have a boyfriend."

"You guess?"

"Well, I mean, it's a long distance relationship. He lives in Florida. We've only been going out for a few weeks. And…he's kind of in the hospital right now from a football accident," Scarlett explained.

Melody gasped, and genuine concern filled her ocean colored eyes. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah…that's why I've been so depressed lately."

"Are you going to go see him anytime soon?" Melody asked.

"I can't just leave school, and I don't have any money. And with our parents' wedding around the corner, I don't want to ask for any more money," Scarlett replied.

"Well, maybe after the wedding, my dad will give you some money. He's good about that kind of thing. I used to just ask my father for money whenever I needed it when I was a teenager, and he would simply give it to me. He never asked for what. He's really a nice guy, you'll soon learn," Melody said.

"He's already done more than enough by flying Charles up here so that I can visit him," Scarlett responded.

After the movie was over, Melody and Scarlett talked for a few more minutes before they parted, and Scarlett called Chloe to get the directions to the beach for the party even though she wasn't in the mood for a beach party. She wasn't in the mood for any kind of party. She was particularly in the mood for a certain someone who was stuck down in the southern region of the US of A in a coma.

And then there was Christian Cox. He looked just like Tristan Cox, probably because—at least in Scarlett's mind—they were cousins. They had to be. They looked too much alike; they had the same last name, and, for Heaven's sake, their first names rhymed. They had to be related in some way. Anyway, Christian was nice to Scarlett, and she had a suspicion that he had a crush on her. During school, she would catch him looking in her direction. And she would overhear her name being mentioned in his conversations during lunch. And he would find little things to say to her to start a conversation between them. But every single time Scarlett was around him, she was reminded of Tristan and how kind he had been to her in those last days that she had gone to Watson High. And whenever she was around Christian, she simply wanted to cry.