Chapter 3
“Melody Young.”
Melody slowly rose from the holding bench after hearing the bailiff call her name.
The handcuffs around her wrists sounded loudly as she followed behind him and walked into the courtroom.
The second she stepped inside, her eyes immediately searched until they landed on her family sitting together a few rows back.
Harmony sat beside their mother, while Major chilled in the seat closest to the aisle. All three of them looked stressed, especially Cady, and for the first time in her life, Melody felt bad. She noticed Lyric was missing, but she understood why.
Melody finally looked away from her family and walked over to the defense table. She then took a seat beside the public defender. The man introduced himself quickly while shuffling through paperwork, barely looking at her for more than a second.
At the front of the room, Judge Wallace sat waiting with a frown on his face while reviewing paperwork in front of him.
“Miss Young, you are currently before this court on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.”
The judge briefly went over the police report and allegations against her, explaining that the victim suffered serious injuries during the altercation. Then Judge Wallace paused while flipping through another page in the file.
“And if I remember correctly, the last time you stood before me, I gave you a very clear warning regarding your behavior and the direction your choices were taking you.” He paused and went on.
“At some point, this pattern of violence becomes more than youthful mistakes. It becomes dangerous behavior.”
Melody clenched her jaw tightly but stayed quiet. She already knew better than to interrupt him, especially with the relationship they had. Still, she wished he would hurry up and get to the most important part.
“Due to the severity of the charge, your prior history, and concerns regarding public safety, this court is setting bond at one hundred thousand dollars.”
The number made everybody in the courtroom gasp. Harmony immediately looked over at her mother while Major leaned back in his seat staring in her direction. Even the public defender sitting beside Melody looked like he already knew nobody connected to her had that type of money just sitting around.
Melody, however, barely reacted. She sat there with the same calm expression on her face while Judge Wallace continued talking. Truthfully, she already expected the bond to be high the second she heard the charge.
Judge Wallace went over her next court date, reminded her she was not to have any contact with the victim if released, then asked if she understood the conditions.
“Yes, sir,” Melody answered.
A few moments later, the bailiff instructed her to stand. Melody got up and was escorted back through the side door and downstairs toward the holding area.
Once they placed her back inside the cell, Melody sat down against the wall quietly while waiting for transport. Around her, other women paced, cried, and complained about their bonds.
One by one, other inmates were called upstairs for their hearings before eventually returning with different reactions. Some came back smiling after getting low bonds. Others came back crying after hearing they were being denied.
Melody just sat there watching all of it with a blank expression while leaning her head back against the wall.
Another hour and a half passed before deputies finally started moving everybody back out for transport. After going through processing again, a correctional officer finally led her down another hallway before stopping in front of a cell.
“Inside,” the officer ordered.
Melody stepped in without a word. The second she turned around, the heavy door slammed shut behind her with a loud bang that echoed through the pod.
She stood there for a second before walking over to the bed attached to the wall, lowering herself onto it. The mattress felt thin and uncomfortable beneath her, but she had already learned that comfort was not something jail cared much about.
After sitting there for a while, she eventually lay back and stared up at the ceiling.
Her mind drifted through the last few months. A lot had happened in a short amount of time. There had been moments she enjoyed, moments she wished she could take back, and moments she still didn’t know how she felt about.
Eventually, Melody’s thoughts landed on Major. She loved him, and that hadn’t changed. At the same time, she had been hurt by him in a way she still hadn’t gotten over.
From the outside looking in, it seemed as if she crashed out over a nigga, but it was deeper than that. No, Patty did not owe her loyalty. No, they weren’t friends, but they got money together, and in Melody’s eyes, they both played in her face.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she wasn’t. But Melody had never been the type to let disrespect slide. Even then, lying on a hard steel bed with a six-figure bond attached to her name, she still didn’t regret what she did. If given the chance, she would have done it all over again.
Melody’s thoughts continued drifting until the sound of somebody banging against the cell door pulled her out of them. She turned her head and saw a correctional officer standing outside holding paperwork. A second later, the lock buzzed, and the officer opened the door.
“Young, you made bail. Go ahead and gather your stuff.”
Melody sat up and looked at him for a moment without moving. She then stood and followed the officer out of the cell.
They walked her back through processing, where she waited while officers confirmed paperwork and finalized everything on their end.
Eventually, they called her up to a counter and had her sign several forms acknowledging her release and confirming receipt of her property.
One of the officers returned the bag she had arrived with, and Melody quietly checked through her belongings before putting everything away.
After another officer verified her information and removed her release band, then she was directed toward the exit.
Outside, the evening air hit her face, and immediately she spotted her mother’s car waiting near the curb. Melody climbed into the backseat while Harmony sat up front. Neither of them said a word. Instead, Cady pulled away from the curb and started driving.
The entire ride home stayed quiet, and Melody didn’t take it personal. By the time they pulled up front, nobody still had said a word. The three of them walked in and she couldn’t have been more relieved to be home.
Melody kicked off her shoes near the door and immediately headed toward Lyric’s room and knocked once before stepping inside.
She was lying in bed with pillows behind her back. She looked tired and sore, but seeing her at home made Melody relax a little.
“What happened?” she leaned down and kissed her sister on the forehead.
“No, what happened with you?” Lyric shot back.
“Aw, nun for real, for real…. I just pistol whipped a bitch, but fuck all that….Who did this to you?”
“That’s yo fucking problem right there. You don’t take shit seriously,” Cady snapped.
“I do take it serious.”
“No, you don’t. That girl pressing charges and…”
“No, she not,” Melody cut her off confidently.
“And how the fuck you know that?”
“Ma, trust me.”
“Nah, for real, sis. Mommie right. You need to take this seriously and get a good lawyer. The judge was not playing with you at all. You heard how high he set that bond,” Harmony chimed in.
“Yeah, and you saw how fast we was able to post it,” Melody shrugged.
“Yeah… thanks to Major’s black ass,” Cady shook her head before going on.
“And I’m still trying to figure out how he came up with ten thousand dollars that fast.”
Before anybody could respond, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house.
“I’ll get it,” Harmony quickly said.
The conversation paused after she left. Melody leaned back against the wall beside Lyric’s bed while Cady stood in the doorway.
A few seconds later, Harmony walked back into the room.
“Major at the door.”
Melody rolled her eyes so hard it made Lyric laugh. Without saying anything else, she walked out of the room toward the living room. The second she stepped inside, her eyes landed on him standing near the front door.
For a few seconds, neither one of them said anything. They just stared at each other. They weren’t on good terms before she went to jail, and just because he bonded her out didn’t mean they were automatically back cool.
“You good?” Major finally broke the silence.
“I’m straight.” Melody crossed her arms.
Major looked at her for another second before glancing toward the hallway.
“Can we go somewhere private and talk?”
Melody hesitated briefly before turning around and walking off without answering him directly. Major followed behind her down the hallway and into her room. Once they stepped inside, he quietly shut the door behind them.
Melody stood near the middle of the room with her hands on her hips while he stared at her. After a second, he walked over and tried to pull her into a hug, but she pushed him back.
“Damn! Why you still on that?”
“Why I’m still on that? Nigga, I caught a charge fucking with you.”
“Man, I ain’t tell you to pistol whip that bitch,” Major rubbed the back of his neck and replied.
“Nah, nigga, you didn’t, but I wouldn’t have if you wasn’t fucking the bitch.”
“I apologized for that shit. I thought you was going to forgive me.”
“I’ll forgive you when that hoe drop them charges. But until then, stay the fuck out my face.”