A/N: Hey guys! So I know it's been a while since I updated but my life is getting all the more stressful and hectic with each and every passing day! It's crazy and believe me – it's weeks like last week that make me miss summer like there was no tomorrow! Now, I have some pretty good news though! One – Christmas Break started for me on the 21st! And two - I cannot wait for Christmas! Anyways I want to give a super big shout out to my three most loyal reviewers for this story: Avril Lambert, Ribbon95, and my best friend Demi Brackensick! You guy's the absolute best! Where would this story be without you guys reviewing it? Anyways enjoy chapter 7 everyone…
Melody's eyes fluttered open and she was slightly surprised to see that she was in the basement of her house. She then remembered all the events that had taken place the day before and suddenly she wasn't as surprised anymore.
She tightly hugged her knees in front of her chest as she began to rock back and forth. A shiver shot up her spine as she inhaled and exhaled deeply. To her surprise however, it was so cold that her breathe actually condensed in the frigid air, "Where's mother when you need her?"
Suddenly, almost as if it were on cue Vanessa came running down the staircase in a hurry. Once she reached the bottom, she threw her hair back and crouched down to her daughter's level "Oh my goodness are you okay dear? I'm so sorry I didn't come fetch you last night, I feel just awful about it!"
There wasn't a single bruise or cut on her face and she couldn't have looked more beautiful. She was wearing a lovely dark blue dress and around her body was a thin, matching colored shawl. In fact there was an actual smile on Vanessa's face, and it was obvious that she was wearing makeup.
Melody tilted her head to the side in pure and utter confusion, "M-mother is everything alright? You seem so…so… satisfied! You never looked this pleased after being forced to spend a night with father. D-did something happen?"
Her mother's face simply lit up with joy and merriment. A certain sparkle filled her eyes as she began to nod excitedly, "I'm pregnant! I'm finally pregnant! And you do know what this means, don't you?"
"Wait what?" The young girl questioned as she felt her jaw drop in disbelief. She honestly did not expect this one bit!
Vanessa beamed as she took off her shawl and draped it around her cold daughter. She then half-hugged Melody and continued talking, "Now, your father thinks that it's a boy so when addressing the baby, make sure you say he or him. That way your father won't have reason to believe otherwise."
"Mother do you hear yourself? You just told me that you're carrying a monster's baby and you look like someone just offered you a chance of a lifetime!" Melody snapped with a bit of an angered and confused look. She did not see how on Earth this could be a good thing!
The older brunette simply smiled as she rested her head on her daughter's shoulder, "Sweetie what does your father want more than anything in the world?"
"A son…"
"And what does he think I'm carrying?"
"His son, I guess? But I don't see how the benefits you or me in any way possible. I mean he's still going to be the same violent, conceited, perverted man he's always been," she sighed at the thought of having to spend another night in the basement. She looked up at the window and faintly smiled in remembrance – Jim was going to take her away from here.
"Melody dear, your father has wanted a son more than anything. He won't him me because he doesn't want to endanger his son lives. Believe it or not, your father turns into a completely different man when I'm pregnant. He becomes," Vanessa took a pause between words as she tried to think of the right term "caring."
"Impossible," Melody thought to herself but on the outside she simply nodded. What more could she do? What's done is done, her mother was pregnant and there was no changing that. Although it still hadn't hit her that this meant she had a new brother or sister on the way, she wasn't sure how she felt about it.
After all one more child meant one more punching bag for her father…
OoooooooooooooooooooooooO
Meg's instantly popped wide open the second she heard the sound of rushing water. She sat up and began rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had no idea what time it was or how long she had slept, "What the hell happened?"
Once she was done rubbing her eyes, she looked around and that's when she realized she was still in the woods. She then looked to her side and saw a rather large river filled with rushing water "Oh that's right – I decided to spend the night in the woods."
She stood up and looked around. Although she had a feeling the wolf was long gone, you could never be too sure, right?
She brushed the feeling off as she made her way over to the river, bended down, and then cupped her hands together. She then placed her cupped hands into the water, and then took them out. Meg immediately gulped down all the water, her throat was burning "I really should have drunken something before going to bed last night."
"Help me! Somebody! Anybody! Help me, please?!"
Meg felt herself stiffen a bit but she forced herself to turn around as she began to look for the direction in which the scream had come from. It took a few minutes to realize that the screams had come from somewhere downstream, and this would also explain why the person sounded like they were drowning.
She began to hurriedly dart downstream and once she felt as if she had ran enough, she began to look around for a figure in the water "H-hello? Is anybody there? Does anyone need help?"
"Over here! Help me, please?"
Meg began to frantically look around and that's when she noticed where the shouting was coming from. Only a few feet up ahead from where she was standing there was a waterfall, and as she approached the waterfall, she noticed how there was a man trapped underneath the rushing water.
He was obviously drowning and he looked so disoriented, it was almost as if he didn't even know what it was he was drowning in, "Help me! Please, someone help me!"
She held her breath and without any hesitation, she jumped into the water without a single care in the world. Once she was underneath, she swam over to the man who had been drowning but by the time she got to him he was already unconscious.
Meg tilted her head to the side a bit in confusion; the man looked rather familiar. It was almost as if she had seen him somewhere before? She pushed these thoughts aside as she wrapped her arms around his torso and started swimming up to the surface with great haste.
Once she resurfaced she led him over to the shore, and began to check for a pulse "Come on, don't die on me now."
To Meg's surprise there was a pulse and this made a faint smile grace her features. Right away, she started performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The mysterious man was handsome, with long auburn hair, and clear baby blue colored eyes. He was shirtless and it was obvious that he was rather muscular. He wore torn black colored pants, and he was also barefoot.
After a few more minutes of giving him mouth-to-mouth, just about when Meg was going to give up, the man simultaneously woke up from his slumber.
The second he sat up he started spitting out water as he tried his best to realize where he was. At first his vision was blurry so he started rubbing his eyes, but once he could see again – he couldn't help but smile at the woman who had save her. He cleared his throat and then spoke up, "Um, I'm assuming you're the girl who saved me?"
"Woman," Meg corrected with a bit of a smirk on her face "and yes – that would be me."
"Thanks. My name is Adam by the way?" Adam smiled as he put his hand out for her to shake. Something about her was recognizable, something that he couldn't quite figure out.
She faintly smiled at the name, something about it was memorable but it was probably just nothing. After all, they were just strangers, right? She shook his hand and then introduced herself "Name's Megara. My friends call me Meg; at least they would if I had any friends."
Adam couldn't help but laugh and suddenly it hit him. He remembered absolutely everything and almost as if it were on instinct, he pulled her into a warm hug "Meg! Oh my God – you're alive, Meg you're alive!"
At first Meg wanted nothing more but to pull away from the creep, considering that he had caught her off guard – who wouldn't? But then she replayed his words in her head and a raised eyebrow look formed on her face, "What are you talking about? Better question – who are you and why are you surprised I'm alive?"
He pulled away from the hug and the smile on his face faltered a bit, "Meg, how can you not remember me? We used to do everything together! It's me Adam – we lived in the same village together, remember?"
Suddenly her face lit up like a Christmas tree, she did remember! Meg really did remember and before she knew it, her arms were draped around him. It was almost as if she was afraid she was going to lose him, "I remember you. I loved you…"
"I loved you too…" Adam whispered as he hugged her back. He didn't think he had the power to let go, he didn't want to let go – no – he wasn't going to let her go this time, he wasn't going to be the loyal boyfriend she always wanted.
Little did he know Meg already had a loyal boyfriend? Sure, they had their disagreements but they still loved each other, right?
OoooooooooooooooooooooooO
Ariel took in a deep breath; she was trying her best to make sure she enjoyed the fresh ocean air "If only I could go swimming. If only I could-"
"Get out of here?"
The sweet red-head looked to her side and she couldn't help but smile at the prince. Why was it that they both went to the ocean at the same time? The funny thing – both of them went to the ocean for comfort – and yet neither of them went for a swim, "You could say that again."
Eugene beamed down at the princess as he picked up a sea shell from the ground, and then threw it back into the sea "So how did you get out of princess duty with Rapunzel?"
"She's having breakfast with the Queen right now. I decided that she needed to spend some quality time with her mother, and I needed some time to myself. She's a wonderful person by the way! Even though we've only known each other for a short amount of time – I already consider her a close friend," Ariel explained as she let out a bit of a sad sigh. The sound of the majestic ocean waves haunted her – oh what she wouldn't give to go for a sea.
She gracefully fell to her knees, and decided to take advantage of the moment "What would I give, to live where you are? What would I pay, to stay here beside you? What would I do to see you, smiling at me? Where would we walk? Where would we run? If we could, stay all day in the sun? Just you and me! And I could be part of your world!"
"You have an amazing voice," he interrupted as he sat down on his knees next to her. He looked up at the sea, and that's when it hit him why they both kept coming to the ocean to comfort.
Ariel looked up at the waves, and then it hit her as well why they both came to the sea. There was something the sea had that they didn't, "Thank you."
What they hadn't expected however is to both utter the word simultaneously.
"Freedom…"
OoooooooooooooooooooooooO
"Melody, please eat your breakfast dear?" Vanessa begged in a bit of worried tone. For half an hour her daughter had just stared down at the food and picked at it, she hadn't had a single bite of anything.
Melody nodded her head as she tried her best to lie convincingly. Her stomach protested as it grumbled with hunger but there were far too many things in her mind. Although her body told her to eat, her heart and mind said the exact opposite, "I'm fine."
Her mother only sighed as she placed her hand on her stomach protectively. She smiled at the thought of actually giving her husband what he wanted for a change, "You can't just act like I'm not carrying your baby brother. I'm pregnant Melody and there's no changing that."
"She isn't my baby sister and I'm not acting like she doesn't exist. I'm very much aware that you're pregnant. I just hate the fact that it's his baby!" The young girl screamed as her eyes began to fill with anger. She clenched her fists as she bit down on the clip; her words were filled with pure and utter hatred.
Vanessa immediately sat up from where she was sitting and she instantly slapped her daughter across the face, "Don't you dare ever talk like that about your father again! Now, I will admit that your father isn't the best of people when it comes to his tendencies but he isn't the monster you make him out to be! And now that we have finally been blessed with a son, I am not going to let you ruin this for me Melody. I finally have a son – I finally did something right as a wife! Do you understand what that means?"
Melody placed her hand on her red cheek as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes, "Yes – it means that I was a mistake! It means that father and you would've been happier if I were born a male! Well you know what? I don't need to put up with this, I'm leaving!"
"Melody, don't be ridiculous, you are just a child," Vanessa protested in a motherly tone. She didn't take her daughter seriously one bit.
She stood up from where she was sitting and immediately ran into her room. She turned around and narrowed her eyes on her mother, "Am I really? Honestly mother, after all we've been through can you still call me a child? Because I can't and the moment you realize I'm not a child – maybe, just maybe we'll get somewhere!"
Melody then slammed the door closed; haste fully locked it and then darted on to her bed. She stood up on her knees and opened the window, almost as if she were never going to see the light of day again. Once the window was open, she jumped out and started heading towards Jim's house.
"He needs to get me out of here! I-I can't stay here anymore."
A/N: Well guys this chapter was just filled with cliff-hangers, wasn't it? Don't worry, I promise I'll write a lot more A-SAP! Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this – you guys are the best readers/reviewers ever! Happy Holidays! Until next chapter everyone…
