Of Confidence

Melanie flattened the edges of her dress to where there were no wrinkles to be seen on the thin black material that clung tight to her skin; too tight. She zipped up the zipper on the front of her bustier that was connected by thin black threads to a perfectly fitting black skirt. She knew she looked like a slut, but she didn't care. She was angry, and she just wanted to feel good.

Her black dress accentuated her small hips, giving her behind definition in how tight the material clung to her body. Her cleavage was pushed up just enough to peek out of the top of her bustier but not too much to where she felt uncomfortable. She wore sheer black tights that made her tanned skin look darker than the sun already had made it that summer. She pushed her hair messily around her head, giving herself a messy bead head look that would tempt boys to run their hands through the dark blonde hair.

She carefully put on her Alexander McQueen lace pumps before standing up and walking over to her full length mirror. She looked great and she knew it. Any boy in the room would want to take her home, and for John's own boyish thoughts, that's all she wanted. She wanted him to know that she was done; she was leaving him behind, but the better part of her wanted him to be jealous.

Melanie carefully ran a line of eyeliner over the lid of her baby blue eyes, trying to further the accentuating of the blue color that her smoky eye look was already creating on the canvas of her eyes. She pulled a dusty pink lip gloss from her purse as she slid it over her lips slowly, making sure to hit every curve.

Melanie turned to her door as she heard a knocking, and she watched as it slowly opened revealing her sister.

Haley smiled at her, running her eyes up and down her body. "Melanie, you look frickin' sexy!"

Melanie could feel herself smiling as she achieved her one goal of the night. "Thank you."

"Pout for me, baby," Haley said in a deep voice, using her fingers as a makeshift camera.

Melanie laughed as she bent over and pushed her lips into a small pout. The sisters continued to giggle as Melanie struck model poses, pushing out her hips and running her fingers through her hair. Just as she pressed her shoulders together, making her breasts look larger she heard someone clear their throat from her open door frame.

Melanie and Haley adverted their eyes to where they saw Taylor standing at the entry to her room. Melanie nervously chuckled as she ran her hand through her hair, flattening out the tassel she had created to look "sexy" in her photo-op. "Hey Taylor."

Taylor laughed, her lips pulling back over her unnaturally white teeth. "Hey so, John told me you weren't coming to London, so I called the airport and we changed our flight to eleven, so if you want we can drop you off at your party on our way so you don't have to drive."

Melanie nodded her head in acceptance to her offer, "Yeah, that'd be great...thanks."

"Sure thing," Taylor replied, looking down at the watch that was on her left wrist. "But, it's nine thirty now, so if we could leave in like ten minutes that'd be best."

Melanie nodded her head once more before turning back to her mirror and fixing the small kinks in her hair. She listened as Taylor's footsteps disappeared into her empty home to go find John.

She shuddered as she felt Haley place the cold, gold bracelet around her wrist. "Thanks, Hales."

Her sister nodded in response before grabbing Melanie's hips and turning them to where she was looking at her. Haley looked over her fully, adjusting her outfit to where it would perfectly hit every curve of her body making Melanie look her best. Haley gave her a small smile before pulling away from her sister. "You look great, sis."

Melanie smiled as she pulled her into a hug; she'd miss these days with Haley after she left. As she released her baby sister she walked over to her vanity in her bathroom, grabbing some berry spray and spraying it in her neck and throughout her hair. She turned to face Haley and with one last nod and smile she began to walk downstairs where John was waiting.

She walked down the stairs into the dimly lit first floor, quietly making her way into the living room, where she could hear John and Taylor whispering softly.

She listened as Taylor giggled and she could hear as their lips moved against each other knowing that the reason for the volume had to be because of Taylor, for John was as quiet as Melanie was when it came to kissing. She couldn't help but to wonder if John got the same feeling he had with Taylor as he did with her.

Did Taylor know that when you kissed the patch of skin below his left ear that he would hold his breath? Did his hands fit around her waist as well as they fit around her own? Did Taylor know that when you run your fingertips down his back he got goose bumps? Did she set his skin ablaze just like Melanie did?

Melanie softly cleared her throat as she watched John sit up on her couch that he was previously laid out on, Taylor on top of his body. "I'm ready," she said quietly.

She watched as John turned his eyes from the girl next to him, and she held back a devious grin as his eyes traveled up and down over her every curve repeatedly. She watched as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, his eyes glancing to her breasts; he wanted her and she knew it.

John's mouth slowly turned into a straight line and Melanie watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. He handed them to Taylor, never taking his eyes off of Melanie's. "Will you go start the car?" He said, more than asked.

Melanie watched as Taylor slid out of the room, grabbing her bags for London on the way out. She turned her eyes back to John whose face was impossible to read. He looked angry with the tight line that held on to his lips, but his eyes showed his want and need to reach out and take hold of Melanie.

"You should put more clothes on," he said through tense lips.

Melanie crossed her arms, her left leg popping itself straight holding her weight. "I think I look fine."

John chuckled cruelly. "You look like you're asking for it."

Melanie cocked her eye brow, staring into his eyes intensely. "Maybe I am."

He watched up to her quickly, grabbing her hips tightly in his hands. She could see anger frolicking on his face, and she was surprised when she saw it holding worry's hand.

"John, get away from me," she whispered forcefully. She stared into his eyes that were a mere two inches from her and she tried to squirm from his grasp, but he was too strong.

He moved his lips closer to hers, to where the familiar pattern of his breathing was falling on her lips, but he didn't move any closer. "Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"If you try to kiss me, or anything else, I will kick you in the balls," Melanie said, compellingly.

Her body rocked back as John pushed her hips away from him roughly, a malicious laugh in the air. "See, I would let you go, because I'm not a creep. But the kind of guys you're going to attract in that outfit aren't always great, Melanie. And, they might not let you go."

Melanie rolled her eyes before she walked into her kitchen, John on her heels. She grabbed the thin packet of paper off of her kitchen table before placing it firmly against his chest. "Have a great time in London."

He dwindled her plane ticket between his fingers, staring at the paper unhappily before looking back at her once more. "Please be careful tonight."

___________

As Melanie walked into the party she could feel the beat pumping through the air so strong it was as if it made her skin pulse along with it. Smoke filled the air accompanied by the strong scent of marijuana. All around the home people's bodies grinded slowly, drunken people using strangers as support systems, and careless couples making their way to bedrooms.

"Melanie!"

She turned at the familiar voice as a friendly smile made its way on to her face. She laughed as Bryan lightly crashed into her as he muttered a soft 'sorry'. She giggled, "It's okay."

She watched as Bryan's eyes traveled down her body and over every curve her dress defined, a look similar to John's in his eyes. “Melanie, you look...wow."

"Thanks," she replied, a small blush on her cheeks.

He smiled confidently and ran his hand through his hair. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Melanie nodded her head as Bryan grabbed her hand, leading her through the maze of people and into the kitchen.

“We’ve got it all here. My cousin is over 21 and he’s got me the hook ups. Honestly to me, you look like a champagne girl but we don’t have that nice of stuff here,” he laughed. He gestured to the counter full of alcohol and smiled at her. “What can I get you, sweet heart?”

“You know, I don’t really drink much,” Melanie said, honestly.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “We really do have anything you could possibly want.”

“No, I’m o-…” Melanie stopped when she heard voices behind her.

“Yeah did you see him today? John looked so hot.”

“Oh my gosh remember that time junior year when him and I, you know!”

Melanie knew who they were. They hooked up with John. They had sex with John. They made the one thing her and John had finally shared that evening before he left less and less special. They were the kind of girls that made her regret everything she had done with him.

Melanie looked at Bryan. “I’ll take one of everything.”

She watched as Bryan pulled a pink strawberry cooler out of his fridge and opened it for her. She let the cool liquid burn her throat and impair her thoughts.

It was only an hour before Melanie was completely drunk. She danced with Bryan for a while before she started losing her judgment. She danced around the room with anyone who was there, grinding her body against whoever they were. She had lost Bryan, and she didn't even care.

She never was the partying type. She only partied when she was with John, and that's when he was still protecting her from the world, but now she was on her own. She didn't need John O'Callaghan to baby sit her anymore; she could do whatever she wanted.

Melanie grinded her hips against the boy behind her as he ran hands all over her body in ways that without the alcohol in her system would have made her feel completely uncomfortable.

Melanie felt his lips against her ear, “Let’s go somewhere, baby.”

She nervously grinned as he grabbed her wrist and led her up the staircase. All the bedroom doors had been locked, and he pulled her into the vacant bathroom instead. He pulled her in quickly, before slamming the door shut and locking it, pushing Melanie's inferior body up against it roughly, banging her head against it along the way.

“Ouch,” She mumbled against him between kisses.

His hands ran up the front of her body as he unzipped the zipper that was on the front of her bustier, exposing her upper body completely. As he ran his hands over her chest and gripped her waist roughly she realized what he wanted, and that she didn't want it.

He began pulling her skirt over her hips when she began pushing against him, "Let's not do this..."

“No, come on baby,” he said pushing her against the glass shower door.

“Stop it!”Melanie yelled, her sober mind slowly coming back to her.

She lifted her knee, raising it to hit the sensitive spot between his legs and she watched as he fell to the floor drunkenly. She began to move for the door but not before he could grab her ankle and pull her onto the floor. She began to yell, but over the volume of the music there was no way she could be heard.

Melanie grunted as he pulled on her waist, picking her back onto her feet his hands and mouth reattaching itself to her exposed top. "Come on, baby," he said drunkenly, pushing her against the shower door once again.

“Stop it!” She yelled pushing him away as hard as she could, but with him doubling her in size it didn’t even matter.

“Don’t be like that baby,” he groaned and she became scared as she heard the anger in his voice. “Baby come on.”

Melanie continued to scream as he pulled her dress off of her body, ripping her tights. She tried to hit against him as he pulled off his jeans, letting them fall to the floor.

He looked into her eyes, his eyes shining the brightest green, "You can't fight fate."

He grabbed her wrists tightly before pushing her into the shower, turning on the hose so that the cascading tears on her cheeks could no longer be deciphered and the sounds of the running water would cover the screams coming from her broken, naked body.