Through Thick And Thin

Chapter 5

Melody looked at her phone in frustration as the "Call ended" message flashed on her screen for the third time that day.

The calls had been coming in for a week now. It was always from a blocked number, and the caller always hung up 2 seconds after she answered.

"Ugh," she groaned, stuffing the phone into her purse as she walked into the bar where she was working.

It wasn't a dive bar or anything of that nature. This place was more corporate, with yuppies and such ordering cocktails before heading home after a long day at work. Melody was bored for the most part, but the tips were good and the customers weren't shitty, so it was a winning setup for her.

Melody spent the next few hours pouring drinks and making small talk with the patrons, and when business was slow she was reading up on the orientation guide from the University. She'd narrowed her possible majors down to two possible choices: Journalism and Psychology. Both were things she felt passionate about, and both would give her a way to help others.

"So you are attending the school," a familiar voice said.

Melody looked up and blushed when she saw David.

"Yeah," she said, stashing the book back under the register. "I'm starting next semester. Can I get you anything?"

"Just a Coke," David replied. "I'm actually here to talk to you about the car. Sky sent me over."

"Well this can't be good," Melody said, handing him a glass of soda. "What's up?"

"Well," he said. "It wasn't just the tires that were messed with. Fuel line and brake lines were tampered with, too. Someone's really pissed at her."

"Yeah, no kidding," Melody mumbled. She then shook her head, confused.

"I don't get it, though," she said. "She's got no enemies. She had an ex boyfriend in California but he ended up leaving her to go back to El Salvador and marry some girl his mom found more appropriate. The only one who has enemies is..."Melody trailed off, horror flooding her veins as realization set in.

The mysterious calls. The tires. The tampering with the car.

"I...I need to go," she whispered, looking at the clock and being relieved that it was quitting time.

"What's wrong?" David asked, concerned as Melody tossed her apron and grabbed her purse.

"Everything," Melody said, nearly in tears. "Everything is wrong."

....

Sky paced back and forth as Melody sat on the couch glumly. The bus ride home had been stressful, with Melody looking over her shoulder every five minutes, expecting to see a pair of cold grey eyes staring back at her. She'd ran from the bus stop to their apartment, where an already upset Sky was trying to figure out why her car was sabotaged. Melody quickly told Sky what her theory was.

"I think Josh found me," she'd said to Sky before explaining about the phone calls. Sky listened, and got angrier by the second.

Finally, Sky quit pacing and sat on the couch next to Melody.

"Okay," she said. "First things first, I'm getting a damn gun for the house. You are, too. You and I are going to a safety course, and we're going to get certified so we can carry them concealed."

"I don't like guns," Melody protested.

"I don't like stalker ex boyfriends sabotaging my car and terrorizing my best friend," Sky shot back. "I win this argument."

"Fine," Melody grumbled. "So I guess this means the club is off?"

Sky snorted.

Melody's 21st birthday was coming up, and Sky had decided that there was no better way to celebrate than by taking Melody somewhere she'd never been before: a nightclub. She was apprehensive but she'd been up for the adventure.