Lonely Castle

11 years prior

"So, are they both escorting you tonight or just Dru?" Asked Layla as she helped Melly pin her long, thick, curly hair to the side, creating a waterfall effect. Raising her eyebrows, Melly's face broke into the biggest smile.

"Both, what about you? Is Emit still on this whole public official boyfriend thing?"

Biting her lip, Layla nodded; she'd often wondered why they couldn't be like the others.

She was sometimes jealous that they, touched, kissed or hell just interacted with each other in non-friend ways…. They were cautiously free.

"He'll come around, once he realises none of our parents even care," said Melly as she helped Layla into a red, thigh-length, one-sleeved dress.

Pleased with her look, Layla studied herself in the mirror, making sure her arse looked grabbable.

She watched as Melly put on a similar dress, though a deeper red and the sleeves were sheer and studded with tiny crystals.

Standing side by side, they giggled. "We look hot," announced Layla. "If this doesn't get Emit to throw caution to the wind, then I have no hope," she said as they slipped on their heels and made their way downstairs.

*

Walking into the Foyer of the Royal Exchange, Melly was awed by what her mother and friends had achieved: there were two bars and tables dotted around the room. Pieces were being auctioned off on a makeshift stage.

"This is amazing, Mum," she gushed, kissing her mother's cheek. Smiling, Rae hugged her tightly. "It's not too much… you know what Auntie Nora's like," she chuckled.

Standing on the steps outside of the exchange building, Melly peered out over the steady stream of arrivals. "Are you coming in?" Asked Layla. "No, go ahead; they said they'd be here," replied Melly as the others went inside. She'd waited five more minutes before giving up and heading inside.

Standing on the steps outside the London exchange, Melly gazed out hopefully at the growing line of arrivals, her heart a flutter with anticipation.

"Are you coming in?" asked Layla. Melly shook her head, her voice tinged with hope as she replied, "No, go ahead. They said they'd be here."

Watching her friend disappear inside, Melly anxiously waited, clinging to the belief they'd appear any moment.

Five more minutes passed, each passing second felt like hours, before Melly finally relent and step inside?

*

Rounding the bar, Melly's eyes zeroed in on Dru and Garrick, their hands shamelessly roaming the waist of the girl everyone in their circle referred to as 'the local bike.' How dare they? What in the actual f**k? She thought, disbelief colouring her mind.

"What in the actual f**k! are you doing?" Seethed Layla as she walked past them, shielding Melly behind her. "What the f**k are you doing, shoving your tongue down her throat in front of everyone when Melly's been looking for you all night?" she spat, venom dripping from every word as Emit and Shane physically restrained her before she could do any damage.

"Stay in your lane, Lay," Rick growled, his cold, unflinching glare trained on Melly, twisting the knife. He locked eyes with Melly as he tauntingly slid his hand up Laura's chest.

"Excuse us," Dru snapped, tone cold as ice, moving their show somewhere less visible, leaving behind a trail of speculative whispers in their wake.

Melly could already feel people stealing glances at her very public rejection; squaring her shoulders, she turned to face Layla, Emit, and Shane. "Shall we?" Shane asked, offering her his arm as they headed for their table.

*

Sometime between the main course and dessert, Melly excused herself, seeking solace; she slipped into the cloakroom to escape the ache in her chest.

Only for her refuge to be shattered as the door creaked open. Pressed up against the wall and hidden in shadow, Melly's breath caught as she watched Dru and Rick enter, arm in arm with Laura. It wasn't the scene itself—their hands roaming, their lips and bodies tangled with Laura—that cut deepest.

It was their intimacy, laughter and careless passion, that once belonged to her and her only, was now shared with someone else. Rick, catching Melly's eye in the half-light, wore a smirk that twisted her heart further.

As the trio lost themselves to each other, Melly's own sense of belonging unravelled. Tears threatened, but anger burned stronger—at the betrayal, at realisation that Dru and Rick's loyalty was nothing more than a flimsy veil that left her hollow and adrift.

Swallowing her hurt, Melly forced herself to stand tall, locking eyes with Rick in one final, defiant act before rushing out into the night.

She didn't look back until the city lights had faded behind the black cab, carrying her far from the fragments of her former life.

*

In the days that followed, Melly contacted her parents and Layla to let them know she was safe and had decided to head to the family's private island located somewhere off the coast of Antigua.

She promised to check in every few days and that she'd return in time to start school. Her whole summer was spent enrolled in pre- university summer courses, not that she needed it, but a sharp mind is a powerful weapon.