Chapter 7. True identity

SETH'S POV

On Monday morning, I had finally figured out how to tell Melody the news. Soteria helped me figure it out.

I stood, leaning against Melody's locker. Several girls that passed by tried to catch my eye.

"Seth?"

I straightened myself to face her. She was always looking beautiful—even I could see that, with her long blond curls, bright eyes and ready smile, she looked especially happy today. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around my neck, slightly dragging me down to her level.

"You seem happy today, did something good happen?"

She pecked me before letting go.

"I aced my lyric sheet project."

She smiled so much that it reached her eyes.

"I knew you could do it, I'm proud of you."

She seemed satisfied with my remark. I reached into my pocket and held out a large white envelope with gold swirls embedding its edges.

She glanced at me sideways as I nodded for her to take it, she reached out and plucked the envelope from my left hand. One look at the address stamped in the corner and the air emptied from her lungs.

"Are you a fan of Ava Sombrero?"

Her elusive smile reappeared, she stared at the invitation a second too long, excitement growing in her eyes.

When she dragged her gaze back to me, her eye color changed.

"Your eyes are bottle green."

She used her thumbprint to open her locker, I caught a glimpse of a few pics of Ava she'd cut out of magazines and stuck to the side of her locker.

"bottle green?, it means I'm excited."

"The invitation gives you a free pass to the premiere of her latest movie and also to the after-party."

She shrieked and put her arms around me once more.

***

MELODY'S POV

I was heading into the campus when I ran into Kika, my second cousin.

"Hey, it's so nice to see you, it's been a while."

"OMG, cousin you look good today."

Kika was the vibrant type.

She must have noted the troubled looks I gave her when she tried to get in between me and my father's querulous comments. She always made me smile. I wasn't always like this, I used to be very wounded and angry.

I grew up in a violent and angry home, and my entire childhood was filled with fear, embarrassment, and shame. My stepfather physically, verbally, and emotionally abused me from the time I was three until I left home at thirteen. He used anger and intimidation to control other family members and me.

I later moved out when he couldn't stand to have both girls in the house anymore, he needed just one of us and... that wasn't me.

He had made it clear that he couldn't raise kids that weren't his and yet he claimed to love my mother, which was such an irony at that point.

Kika never said anything about them, never winced or stared or became tongue-tied when she wanted to cheer me up. Instead, she gently teased me, tried to make me forget about the torture and smiled at me. I fit the key into the hole and pushed the door open.

"Looks like Kristyn and Felicy aren't here yet."

I said after a quick trip to the fridge, returning with a plate of coconut cookies and a glass of wine. Kika and alcohol always went together. Always. She had helped herself to the comfy bean bag chair.

"Why don't you try out my cookies? coconut, your favorite."

"Sorry, Mel but I can't eat any."

She said to me, reaching for the wine instead.

"And why not?"

"Don't you see those girls on TV with waists as thin as noodles...? I've decided to go on a diet, I've got fierce competition out there," Kika smiled.

Her voice tone made anything she said sound funny, I liked it. I loved her fashion taste too.

Black jean shorts, a red button-down shirt, she'd tied it into a little knot slightly above her belly button. She was a brunette with natural waves falling freely just below her shoulders.

A map of Asgard necklace set loosely at the base of her throat with a pair of coffee brown hiking boots to compliment it.

"So are you still going after Luke?"

I had stuffed my mouth with a cookie. You'd think I'd be awkward talking about Luke like this, but I was really over him.

"Yes, but he's so annoying."

"Obviously. Why do you still insist on going after that jerk?"

"Believe it or not but I can't stop thinking about him."

She said softly making me cringe.

Ding dong.

"Hold that thought for a sec."

I peeped through the door hole, it was the delivery man.

"I'm looking for Miss Melody Campbell."

"That's me."

"Sign here and here."

He held a clipboard and a pen out to me. I signed it. I closed the door behind me, Kika saw me returning with a package and a bouquet of white roses.

"Ooh, what's in the package?"

I shrugged.

"I have no idea."

I opened it. It was a dress. A turtle neck with no sleeves. It had a lot of glimmering stones decorating the upper bodice stopping at the naval position. It was tangerine, it came with a matching pair of shoes and gloves.

"This is beautiful!"

Kika was giving me the look. She'd picked up the card in the dress box before I did, and read it aloud.

BABE, THIS IS FOR THE PARTY TONIGHT.

HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

SETH.

"Who's Seth?"

She raised her eyebrows at me.

"My boyfriend."

Kika looked at the flowers, they were the same Luke had picked up at the florist.

"Did he also send you those flowers?"

"No, he knows orchids are my favorite."

She looked through them. There was no card in it.

"Luke sent them."

Kika concluded, she pressed her lips together.

"Could you help me with my makeup?"

That was my act of dissolving the awkward silence, that had become so tangible you could cut it with a knife.

"Sure."

***

SETH'S POV

I was standing in the parking lot below, the limo behind me and my arms crossed.

Melody was running late.

"I'm here."

I glanced up at her. The dress accentuated her slender waist and flared over the curve of her hips. Her braids were gone, freeing a mane of golden-blond hair that captured the sunlight and danced around her shoulders.

"You look gorgeous," She blushed so hot, she looked feverish.

"We're using a limo?"

"Of course."

***

I'm not gonna lie, I felt nervous as we approached our destination. How shocked will Mel be if she finds out? I studied my chapped hands and swallowed.

As soon as we got out of the limo, the paparazzi swarmed around us on every side, the bodyguards quickly disposed of them, making us a path straight into the building.

As we headed to the red carpet, I felt Mel squeeze my arm gently. I thought wrong, she's more nervous than I am right now.

"Stay here, I'll be back in a bit."

I nodded to Tiger, who stood behind us, to guard her.

I reached the spot where Allegra James, the popular reporter, quickly looped me in for an interview.

"Now, with our next celebrity guest, His royal highness, Prince Seth. Looks like the whole royal family is arriving for the premiere, what do you have to say about that?"

"This is aunt Ava's biggest dream, and what good will the family be if we weren't there to support her every step of the way? We're so glad she's come this far, it wasn't easy starting from scratch but with hard work and determination she's been able to come this far, this is the first movie she's directed throughout her whole acting career, I'm sure you guys will love it."