The young brunette laughed as the cat in the store window rubbed its head against the glass in which her hand was pressed against. Melody couldn’t help but yearn for her own cat, but her step father was allergic to them, so the family of three bought a dog instead. She had a fear of dogs due to being bit by one when she was a toddler at the age of four.

            “Come on Melody, we don’t have all day.” Her mom scolded her in a stern tone. Melody sighed quietly and removed her hand from the window. She looked back at the cat as she followed her mother back towards the car. The young girl pulled her jacket closer to her as the wind began to blow a bit harder than before.

            “Mama? Why can’t we get a cat?” She already knew the answer but she still had the urge to ask. Her mother gave her a look of pity as they got into the car. It broke both of their hearts to know they can’t get a cat but Mrs. Johnson didn’t have a problem with getting a dog. In fact, it was her idea to get the dog.

            “Melody, you know the answer to this. Your father is allergic to them.” Mrs. Wolfe replied. She began to drive her daughter and herself back to their house. Melody growled quietly at the last part.

            “He’s not my father. Daddy can’t be dead! He’ll come back home and we’ll all be happy again!” Melody argued as she crossed her arms and looked out the window. Her father, Thomas Johnson, was a cheerful man. He joined the Army and was stationed overseas three years ago, he hasn’t returned yet.

            “Melody Jacklyn Johnson! He’s as much of your father as he is a member of this family! Don’t you dare talk about Joan like that!” Her mother shot back, anger burning in her eyes. Melody stared at her in fear. The teenage girl stayed silent for the rest of the car ride. She was afraid she would upset her mother even more if she tried to speak again.

            The two made it back to their home. It was a beige colored house in a fancy neighborhood. Although they weren’t what people would consider “rich” the Wolfe Family-Melody hated being called Melody Wolfe, she preferred Johnson-had more money than average family of threes had. Melody worked at a coffee shop near her high school as to make her own money. She hated having to ask for money from her mom.

            As soon as they pulled up to the house and parked in the garage, Melody got out of the car and entered the house to her room. She didn’t want to see her stepfather laying on the couch with beer bottles surrounding him. He was an alcoholic and getting him worked up while he was drunk was not a good thing. She snuck past the living room and ran up the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as she possibly can.

            Melody entered her room and closed her door. She flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks, most likely from thinking of her dad. She wiped them away. I’ll save them for later, she thought, tonight when everyone else is asleep. The brunette curled into a ball and went scrolling through her phone notifications. Most of them were from Instagram, people liking her random edits that she does in her spare time.

            After about an hour of doing nothing, Melody felt hungry. She hadn’t eaten in a while and the hunger was starting to get to her. She felt sick and eating made it feel worse. Besides, it wasn’t like her parent’s care about her. They don’t really pay attention to her unless she screwed something up. Deciding that she would try to eat something Melody slowly got up and exited her room. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She was surprised by the site of her mother cooking.

            “Oh, hey Mel.” Her mother greeted her as Melody walked towards the refrigerator. Melody glanced at her but didn’t say anything. She was afraid she would say the wrong thing again. “I’m making hamburgers.”

            “Sounds good. I’m going to be in my room if you need me. I’ve got some homework to catch up on.” Melody replied as she started in the direction of the stairs. She was hiding a fruit loop in her pocket to snack on. Her mom sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. Melody quickly walked away and went back to the comfort of her room.

            She shut her door quietly and grabbed her backpack from her closet. She walked over to her desk and got started on her homework. She did her science homework first, as science was her favorite subject. “It’s really easy,” she had once said when asked why she loved it so much. No one understood why she made the choices she did, nor did they want to understand.

            The green eyed girl felt her eyelids getting heavy. She did her best to stifle a yawn. After fighting with her sleep deprived body for a few minutes, she fell into a restless sleep. This wasn’t unusual for her, but all the same it wasn’t healthy either. She knew that yet her insomnia usually got the best of her.