Page 75 of Defended
Sienna and Lisa were on her side. And Peggy was looking somehow smaller. Less threatening. Less important. Melody had already decided that she didn’t care what Peggy thought, weeks ago, so why was she letting Peggy affect her now?
"It's perverted!" Peggy sounded outraged, but the woman standing next to her was no longer laughing with derision. The other customers within earshot weren't even pretending not to listen anymore and none of them seemed horrified, they just looked like they were enjoying the show. No one was staring at Melody like she was a freak. No one except Peggy.
"It's none of your business," Melody said, finally finding her tongue. Sienna and Lisa's reactions—well, their lack thereof—had given her strength. She straightened, facing down her ex-friend in a way that she hadn't before, even when she'd defied Peggy's demands. "We're two consenting adults, and we're not asking you to play with us. I don't know why you ever thought you got a say in what I do."
"Because I'm your friend! Or I was, until you turned out to be a shitty friend." Peggy's face was starting to turn red with frustration and anger. "I was supposed to look out for you!"
"By kicking me out of the apartment because you didn't like who I was dating?" Melody's temper, which had been smothered by her embarrassment, started to rise. "By trying to control my sex life? By mocking me and issuing ultimatums? By trying to embarrass me out in public when you could have just walked on by?" She looked at the woman standing next to Peggy, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. "If you're getting close with her, this is what you have to look forward to when she decides you're not friend material anymore."
Peggy flushed even brighter red, her fists clenching at her sides. "Fuck you, Melody! Go play your perverted games, but don't come crawling back to me when he dumps you for someone younger because you don't look like a little girl anymore!"
Glancing down at her breasts, which were by no means small or hidden, Melody had to laugh. "I'm pretty sure I don't look like a little girl right now."
Making a disgusted noise, Peggy spun around and stormed off as a sense of triumph welled up inside of Melody. Peggy's companion hesitated, glancing after Peggy and then looking back at Melody before finally turning and walking off—in a different direction than Peggy had gone.
Melody let out a long breath, shaking slightly from the adrenaline still coursing through her.
"Holy shit, girl!" Lisa's arms came around Melody from behind, giving her a huge hug and eliciting a surprised gasp from Melody. "I'm so proud of you!"
Another small impact rocked them both as Sienna came in from the side, hugging both of them. "I am too! Who the hell was that?"
They broke apart, so that Melody could turn around and face both of them. She felt rather sheepish, embarrassed again but for a different reason this time.
"That was Peggy." She'd told Sienna that she'd had a falling out with her former roommate and had to move out, but they hadn't gone into why and Sienna hadn't pressed. Lisa knew more about the situation, because she'd met Peggy and knew they hadn't just been roommates, but Melody hadn't told her exactly why they'd had an argument either. Just that they'd had one and Peggy had told her to move out. Lisa hadn't exactly been surprised.
"Ugh. Thank goodness you don't live with her anymore," Sienna said, wrinkling her nose.
"Right?" Lisa chimed in, shaking her head. "I never understood how you could put up with her. She's completely toxic."
"She was a good friend at one point..." Melody started to say and then her voice trailed off, because the truth was that it didn't matter how Peggy had come through for her or been a good friend at some point. In the end, she'd turned into a terrible friend and, Lisa was right, a very toxic one.
"Well, no one'sallbad," Sienna said, sympathetically. "I stand by what I said though. She sucks. And not in the fun way."
Kind of hard to argue with that and Melody felt her lips tugging up in a reluctant smile. She wished that Peggy was different and their friendship had gone differently, but that wasn't up to her. And maybe Peggy hadn't been all bad, but she hadn't been good for Melody either.
"So..." Lisa drew out the word, her eyes sliding back and forth between Melody and Sienna. "Daddy, huh?"
This time when Melody blushed, it didn't feel like a bad thing. Lisa looked more curious than anything else, and she'd already demonstrated that she didn't care.
"Yeah. Um..." She groped for words but Lisa held up her hand, palm facing Melody, to stop her.
"You don't have to explain. Not my thing, but I'm not the one being asked to call my boyfriend Daddy." Lisa sighed, dropping her hand. "Not that I have a boyfriend anyway."
"Do you want one?" Sienna asked, in the same tone she might ask if Lisa wanted ice cream. Like, if she answered yes, then Sienna would take them to the part of the store where they could just pick one out for her.
"Eh. Maybe later." Lisa shrugged. "I'm too busy with school right now. I don't know how Melody manages to balance it all. I'd be going nuts."
"Who says I'm not?" Melody teased.
As the other two laughed and moved back to the lingerie, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. There was no sign of Peggy though. She had disappeared from Melody's life as quickly and fully as she had the first time. It was probably for the best.
Melody had real friends now. The kind who supported her and didn't try to manipulate or coerce her. Heck, she and Lisa might have been better friends sooner if it hadn't been for Peggy. Being friends with Peggy had made her so isolated, and she had a feeling that was how Peggy had wanted it.
She was better off now. She hoped that Peggy would find happiness, but she could do it without Melody in her life.
* * *
When Melody came home,Kawan was sitting on the couch reading through his latest case file. Looking up, his whole chest felt like it loosened when he saw her coming through the door. Of course he'd known it was her, but seeing her coming in with a bright smile on her face, made his home feel complete. She beamed as soon as she saw him, dropping her purse and the shopping bag in her hand as she bounded toward him. Chuckling, he set the file aside just in time for her to jump onto his lap.
