𝖀𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖉 • 𝖊𝖉𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖓

Chapter 12

"Wanna get some lunch with dad and I?" Melody is halfway into her car when Bella stops her after school. She debates it for a minute, sure she knows Charlie and has held a couple of conversations with him since he started dating Charlotte, but she's never actually talked to him for more than ten minutes.

"He won't mind?" Melody asks, twirling a piece of her red hair around her figure in nervousness, she doesn't want to intrude on a father-daughter lunch.

"No, I think you guys should get to know each other before the big introduction of families your mom and Charlie want to do. You know, get rid of the awkwardness and everything," Bella shrugs. Melody bites her bottom lip and nods her head, choosing to follow Bella's truck.

Bella's waiting for her outside the diner when she gets there, having a conversation with Mike and a couple of other guys from school. Melody groans as she watches Mike's eyes light up when he catches sight of her inside her car, he's already moving towards the driver's side and opening the door for Melody.

"Nevada. Yo, what up?" He says, slinging his arm around Melody's shoulder. The redhead grimaced a little, sending Bella a pleading look, but only gets a chuckle from her friend. "So, you and Cullen, huh?"

"Yeah," Melody answers as she crosses her arms in front of her body.

"I don't like it, he looks at you like you're a piece of meat and can't wait to tear into you," he shrugs his shoulders.

Melody chuckles and steps out of Mike's arm. "Mike, he's vegetarian," with that she moves towards Bella and drags the girl inside the diner, leaving behind a frustrated Mike.

"Melody, glad to see you could join us," Charlie says, casting his eyes to his daughter and then sending Melody a small smile. "I remember you like the salad from here so I got you that."

"Thank you," she means it.

"Here you go honey," Melody smiles at the waitress. The redhead watches as she turns to Charlie. "Say, Chief, the boys want to know," a group of men turn their attention towards their table. "Did you find anything down by Queets River today?"

Charlie sighs and looks at the woman, "Yeah, we found a bare human footprint." Melody tenses up, her mind immediately going to the conversation she had with Edward a few days ago. She knows vampires are responsible for the death of Waylon and her stomach coils in guilt as she pokes around her salad, not feeling hungry all of a sudden. "But it looks like whoever that is, is headed east, so Kitsap Country sheriff is going to take over from here."

"I just hope they catch him fast," the woman says, staring down at her hands solemnly. With that she leaves, the table of men in front of them whisper to themselves. A silence descends upon them.

Melody takes tiny bites of her salad. Charlie turns to look behind the girls.

"Looks like your friends are flagging you," he says, a smile tugging on his lips as he looks at both girls. Bella and Melody both turn around to find Mike wiggling his flat ass. Melody chuckles while Bella pulls a disgusted face. "It's okay if you guys wanna join them," he chuckles. "I'm going to turn in early today, Charlotte isn't getting out of work until much later," he tells Bella. Melody almost coos when she watches him blush as he avoids eye contact with her.

"Yeah no, I have homework to do so I'm staying in," Melody chuckles, there is no way she's hanging out with Mike Newton. He'll probably take that as a sort of signal that she likes him as more than a friend and she's not having that.

"Same," Bella says.

"Come on girls, it's Friday night. Go out, have fun," he shakes his shoulders in an imitation of dancing. "I saw the way that Newton boy was staring at you, Mel."