*Peeks out* Hello there. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Shes not dead?" No I am very much still breathing. But I deserve to be dead, abandoning my baby as I have. :( Im a horrible person. Look I even brought stones so you could stone me with. *points at pile of rocks* Now, I could tell you a triage of excuses of how school was a bitch, about how I got major writers block and so on and so forth but in the end it just comes down to I am a degenerate. But enough of my ramblings! You clicked on this story to read and read you shall! So onward! But *twiddles fingers together* I know I don't deserve them but reviews would be nice. :) Anyway Enjoy!
Melanie's POV
Not knowing the world had stopped for Mel, the doctor went on. "Miss Price? Is there a Miss Melanie Price here?", the worn looking doctor repeated, dragging his gaze around the dismal room.
Melanie, pale and trembling, slowly raised her still bloodied hand. "He…here I…I am."
The doctor's eyes settled on the young brunette and sympathy filled his bloodshot brown eyes like a flood. "Ah alright. Well if you would please have a seat.", he said as he walked towards her, gesturing to her seat.
Mel nodded shakily and reaching behind her, collapsed into the cold, unforgiving seat, her mind a whirl of chaotic thoughts. "Oh god. He's dead. They both are! Its my fault! All my fault! I couldn't save them! I couldn't…"
"Miss Price?"
The deep voice, filled with concern, managed to snap Mel from her mental spiral of depression. Her head jerked up, causing unknown tears to spill from her eyes with the spastic movement. "Oh, I'm…I am sorry Doctor. What did you say?", she stuttered as more tears followed the glistening tracks down her cheeks.
The older man sighed and ran a hand through his thinning brown hair. "It's quite alright Miss Price. I was just asking if you would like to um…wash off.", he said, indicating her still dirtied hands and handing her a small towel.
Mel wordlessly took the cloth into her shaking fingers and began to wipe her hands off, smearing the flaked blood across her fingers. Once the blood was partially wiped away, she made to return the towel but the doctor just said to keep it. "Oh…thank….thank you sir.", she said as she laid the towel beside her.
The man smiled. "You're welcome miss. Now, as I was saying my name is Dr. James Williams. I was the surgeon who oversaw the operations of the two John Does who came in this morning. Now…"
"They're dead aren't they?", Mel blurted, more tears falling as she said the words aloud.
Dr. Williams looked slightly surprised at her outburst but his wide eyes soon melted into a tired smile. "No, Miss Price, they are not."
Mel lips trembled and she buried her face in her hands trying to hide her sorrow and dismay. "I knew it. Oh God! It's my fault! It's…" Suddenly, Dr. Williams' words registered and her head shot up, confusion and hope mingling in her sapphire eyes.
"Wait…wh…what?"
"They are not dead Miss Strider. They are still in critical condition but they will recover.", Dr. Williams said, the same wane smile gaining some brilliance as he repeated the spirit lifting news to Mel. A crushing pressure seemed to lift off a Mel's chest and she was able to breath easy once more.
"They're…they're alive. I can't believe it! Oh GOD! Thank God!", was all she could think, her elation making her thoughts a chaotic mess. A wide smiled worked its way on to her face, her lips stretching over her pearly white teeth and her cheeks flushed a rosy red, the sickly pallor she had obtained since walking into the alley way disappearing like smoke. "Really? Oh thank you Dr. Williams! Thank you so so much!", she gushed, tears of joy replacing her tears of sorrow.
Dr. Williams returned her smile and nodded. "You are more that welcome Miss Price. Now, do you have any questions for me?", he asked.
"Can I see them?", she blurted, her relief still keeping her on cloud nine.
Dr. Williams frowned slightly. "Oh, not yet Miss Price. They are still in recovery and unconscious. You will not be able to see them until they are moved into their own rooms."
Melanie blushed and averted her eyes. She knew that. How could she not with both her parents being who they were but her chaotic thoughts and emotions were getting the best of her mouth. "Of…of course. I understand. I'm sorry."
Dr Williams smiled again. "It's understandable Miss Price. You were worried, of course you would want to see them. But other than that, do you have any other questions?"
Melanie shook her head, her embarrassment and relief keeping her thoughts a confusing jumble.
"Ok, well then I have questions of my own. Do you think you could answer them?"
Melanie's heart stuttered and she bit her lip in nervousness. "Oh bugger! I didn't think of this! What the hell am I supposed to say?", she thought frantically. However, she nodded and Dr. Williams made himself comfortable in the unforgiving seat.
"Alright. Now first of all how old are you?", he asked kindly.
Melanie gnawed on her lip. "Six..sixteen.", she stuttered.
The man in front of her nodded but looked a little surprised. "I see. And where are your parents? I think we should give them a call."
Before he could even finish his sentence, she was vehemently shaking her head. "You can't."
Dr. Williams raised an eyebrow. "I know you're scared Miss Price but we have to contact your parents. You are underage and they need to be notified."
"That's not it Dr. Williams.", she responded. "You can't contact them because they are not in England right now. They are…away on business.", she told him.
It was obvious that Dr. Williams was skeptical, but he didn't call her out. "Alright, well do you have any other relative we can call?", he asked.
Melanie once again shook her head. She was telling the truth. All of her relatives were dead. Her parents told her early on that they died in a freak accident before she was born.
If it was possible, Dr. Williams looked even more suspicious.
"Ah ha. Well that is unfortunate. But I still would like some answers. Do you think you can answer them by yourself?" Melanie nodded not trusting herself to speak at the moment.
"Ok. Now, I need to know, do you know the men you rescued today?"
Melanie opened her mouth to answer but abruptly snapped her mouth close, biting her tongue. She wanted to answer but…but then Padfoot's panicked last words rang through her head. He obviously didn't want people to know about him if he didn't want to go to the hospital when he was on the brink of death.
He was afraid of something.
And after everything Mel had seen, he had every right to be. So, Mel couldn't, in good conscious, give Padfoot up. But she knew if she lied, it would spell trouble for her and her friends and family. She remembered those men from the alley and Padfoot beneath her, his blood flowing between her fingers and staining everything a crimson red. That could happen to everyone she cared for.
Lily, Remus, her parents. They could all be hurt because of her actions.
Unexpectedly, Padfoot's faced flashed through her mind, his eyes wide and filled with pain and fear. Her heart clenched in her chest. She couldn't just abandon him, not when he was counting on her.
"I came all this way, and I will see this through.", she thought.
Now, what this was she had absolutely no idea.
Resolved, she turned her attention back to a waiting Dr. Williams. "No sir I do not.", she said firmly, her head held high. Dr. Williams eyebrows shoot up towards his receding hairline.
"Really now? You don't know them at all? Not even as a casual acquaintance?", he asked, suspicion laced through his words. Mel shook her head.
"Nope not at all."
"What about your friends? Do they?", he asked, his gaze flitting to a sleeping Lily and Remus beside her.
"No. They don't either. We only met them when we found them in the alley this morning.", she said, a slight quaver in voice.
"Uh huh. Ok, well did you see who attacked them?", he asked, a slight irritated tone creeping up in his words.
Without warning, the image of the blonde man, pointing a gun at Padfoot ran through her head and she shuddered slightly. "N…no sir. Whoever hurt those men were long gone by the time we showed up." Dr. Williams sighed and sat back, running a hand through his thin hair.
"Miss Price, look. I know for a fact that you are not telling me the truth. So why don't we cut the codswallop and be truthful, yes?", he asked locking her in his brown gaze, all previous sympathy replaced with irritation.
"But I am telling the truth!", Mel insisted, her heart rate increasing. But she didn't even believe herself so how could he?
The doctor shook his head. "Really? Well if you are telling the truth and you don't know these men then why did you come all the way to the hospital to see total strangers?", he asked, a smug lilt to his question because he thought he had caught her.
And in truth, he had. Mel's brain, exhausted and drained, short circuited and she was left gaping, no excuses formulating in her head. On a good day, she was horrible at lying, it was just not in her nature. And now that she was scared, hungry, tired, nervous and many other things there was no chance in hell she was going to be able to fool Dr. Williams.
"Um, well you see…the thing is…", she stuttered out, her face becoming more flushed by the second. The fluorescent lights seemed five times as bright as they had ten minutes ago, beating down on her and making beads of sweat to roll down her face. Her heart was thumping a hundred miles an hour and her breath became shallower. "Oh bugger. I've really done it now.", she thought, fear rising inside of her. All of the sudden, a voice split the silence.
"It's just who she is."
Mel blinked and snapped her head to her right to see Lily sit up in her plastic seat, nudging awake Remus in the process who nearly jerked out of his seat at the unexpected movement.
"Pardon me, what did you say?", Dr. Williams asked, looking at Lily in what Mel thought of as annoyance.
Lily stretched slowly, her red hair shifting and catching the fluorescent lights, and then she sat up fully, turning to face Dr. Williams and locking him in her piercing emerald gaze. "I said that is just who Mel is. To you, it might look suspicious when someone would come see a total stranger in the hospital but with Mel its just another day.", she drawled, her expression neutral.
Dr. Williams scoffed under his breath. "Oh? So am I too assume you and Miss Price find dying people everyday Miss…?"
"Davis. Eleanor Davis. I am a friend of Mel's.", Lily responded, the lies flowing seamlessly from her lips. "And in response to your question, of course we don't. But Mel has a bleeding heart to say the least. Every injured bird, squirrel or stray dog in London has been treated by Mel at one time or another. She's practically a modern day saint."
Dr. Williams still didn't look convinced and he opened his mouth to, probably tell them so but he was suddenly called to the reception desk by the apathetic nurse. "Uh excuse me. I will be back in just a moment.", he said, standing and walking away.
Once he was out of ear shot, Mel spun to face Lily. "Lily! What was that?", she hissed.
Her red headed friend rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Mel, don't act all scandalized. I didn't even lie that much. When we were younger, you did bring home all sorts of injured creatures.", she said, rubbing her eyes to wake up more fully.
"Oh and Eleanor Davis would know?", Mel shot back sarcastically.
"I don't know, would she Miss Price?", Lily responded.
Mel flinched and bit her lip.
"Look, I gave a fake name for the same reason you did. You and I both know this isn't going to be pretty and our names don't need to be involved alright?", Lily said, her emerald eyes hard. Mel nodded and whispered a thanks to Lily.
"Don't mention it. Now, what are we going to do now that we know Padfoot and his friend are alive?"
Mel sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I…I'm not sure. I didn't actually think that far ahead."
"Mel why are we here? Why did we come all this way?", Lily asked, flicking hair out of her face. Although, the words sounded harsh but they were just meant to get Mel thinking, not to offend her.
"I…I just wanted to make sure Padfoot was safe.", Mel answered meekly, averting her gaze to the floor.
"Well, they are safe. Safe and in recovery. So is that all? Can we go home now?", Remus, who had been previously silent, spoke up, a pleading note in his voice, his hazel eyes begging.
Mel gnawed intently on her already raw lips and her brow furrowed in thought. Remus was right. Padfoot was safe but…but his words continued to haunt her. Why had he been so adamant to stay away from the hospital? Mel could just say that he was delusional, not in his right mind but that didn't feel right. Padfoot had genuinely been afraid of this place.
"But why?", Mel thought.
"Melanie?", Remus repeated, pulling her from her thoughts.
Mel looked up at her two best friends and saw them both staring at her, anticipation reflected in green and hazel orbs. Mel sighed and closed her eyes.
"As much as I hate to say it, no Rem we can't. Or at least I can't. I want…I need to speak with him. Just to make sure he is alright. But you two should go. Things are just going to get worse from here on out.", Mel said.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Worse than finding two dying men in an alley? This I just have to see."
Mel grit her teeth. "Rem I'm serious!"
"And so am I. Mel, I told you before, you're stuck with us. Whether you like it or not." he finished, reaching out and squeezing her knee gently.
Once again, Mel was struck by just how amazing her friends were. "Thanks Rem.", she said, a small smile working its way onto her face.
"Yeah don't thank him just yet.", Lily drawled. "Because here comes trouble."
Mel blinked and looked up to see Dr. Williams striding back towards them, his lips set into a thin line. "Oh shite. Here we go.", Melanie thought.
Dr. Williams stopped in front of her and a frown took over his features, an angry glint in his eye. "It seems, Miss Price, that one of the John Does has awaken and is asking for a Melanie which I assume to be you. Care to explain this coincidence? Because I thought you had never met these men."
Mel felt her heart stop.
"Oh bugger, bugger, BUGGER! We are so busted! Oh my God! We are so busted!" These thoughts shot through Mel's mind at lightening speed and then continued to repeat themselves, taunting her. Her heart sped up until she was sure the doctor could hear it attempt to jump out of her ribcage. After about thirty seconds of this terror, Mel opened her mouth to respond.
"Well…you see…the truth is Doctor Williams that…one of them knows my name because I told him!"
The man before her raised an eyebrow in surprise and Mel couldn't help but reciprocate his feelings. Where the hell had that come from? But Mel realized that now that she had said those words, she had to follow through with them.
"What I mean is that when I found him in that alley I was sort of panicked and was rambling nonsense to keep him awake and I told him that my name was Melanie St…Price."", she gasped out, fumbling slightly on her name. Dr. Williams didn't look convinced in the least.
"Ah, well at any rate, he is asking for you and he won't settle until he does. So, if you would please come with me I will take you to see him.", the doctor finished, stiffly gesturing to Mel to get up and follow him.
Mel sent a panicked glance at Lily and Remus but stood and followed Dr. Williams anyway, glancing back at her anxious best friends as she passed through double automatic doors. As she stepped over the threshold, the pungent smell of antiseptic and sickness intensified ten fold and Mel used everything she had not to wrinkle her nose or cough.
Despite the fact that she had grown up around medicine didn't necessarily mean she liked it. On the contrary, she hated it and the only reason she put up with it was to appease her parents. So as she was led further into the bowels of the hospital, she kept her eyes trained on Dr. Williams back, not letting her gaze wander over the reminders of everything she disliked in her life.
After what seemed like miles of endless white tunnels, Dr. Williams stopped at a wooden door, like every other door in the building ,sighed, and quickly grabbing the handle yanking open the door.
At once, a wave of commotion- curses, shouts, crashes, and the wild beeping of monitors- assaulted Mel. The young teen lifted shocked eyes to the irritated face Dr. Williams.
"After you Miss Price.", he told her through gritted teeth, indicating for her to enter with a sweep of his arm.
Mel gulped and timidly stepped through the doorway, her jaw going slack at what she saw.
Padfoot was on his feet, one arm wrapped around his red stained midsection, the other holding an IV stand as a sword, keeping all medical personnel back a good five feet. His face was the same ashen color it had been in the alley but now it was alight with a fierce anger, his mouth a hard slash on his face and his eyes charcoal in color. His hair was a tangled black halo around his head and to Mel, he looked like a fallen angel, fighting for his life.
"WHOA THERE! Stop! I am here to make sure he is okay, not to drool over him again! Damn it Melanie, the guy almost died! Pull it together!"
"Just told him your name to call him down huh?", Dr. Williams muttered sarcastically behind her.
Mel blushed but fought back her guilt. "He's just…really grateful I guess?", she answered, the words coming out more like a question then a statement. "Yeah right. Padfoot will be grateful the day my parents tell me they're spies.", Mel thought sarcastically.
Dr. Williams rolled his eyes at her lame respnse. "Oh of course.", he nearly hissed and then turned his attention back to the catastrophe before him.
"Sir you need to calm down or we will take drastic measures to subdue you!", he shouted at Padfoot.
"If you would just let me and my friend out of here they would be no need for that!", Padfoot shouted back, not taking his eyes of the male nurse in front of him, a wicked looking syringe in the nurses grasp .
Dr. Williams growled in annoyance. "As I am sure you've been told, we can not release you until the police arrive and you give us your name so we can contact your parents."
"And as I have said a million times already, the police do not need to be involved and my friend and I are eighteen!", Padfoot hissed, his eyes still glued on the pissed off and scared looking nurses.
Dr. Williams exhaled in exasperation and turned his brown gaze on Mel as if to say "see what you can do with him."
Mel gulped once more, her throat parched as the desert and step forward slightly. "Umm…ex…excuse me.", she said, but the words were drowned out my the pressing noise in the room. Mel tried again.
"EXCUSE ME!"
The room went still, the only noise left was the bleating of monitors and the harsh pants of patient and staff alike. Slowly, every single eye turned towards her, orbs wide in astonishment and confusion, but Mel only took noticed of one stormy pair.
Padfoot's eyes went wide in recognition and all Mel could do was offer a small smile in return. Silence covered the room for a few beats, a thick stifling blanket, until Dr. Williams cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Here is Miss Melanie Price as you requested. Now, will you please lay back down, you've torn your stitches and we need to attend to them."
At the mention of Mel's faux last name, Padfoot's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't address it. "Actually I would like to talk to Miss Price alone for a moment to properly thank her for saving my life.", he said, the deep baritone of his voice filling her head.
"Then will you let us attend you?", Dr. Williams asked him. Padfoot gave a jerky nod. The doctor sighed. "Fine. Everyone out. You have five minutes sir."
And with that, the staff cleared the room, Dr. Williams sending them a death glare as he shut the door.
Mel expected for an awkward silence to settle once more but Padfoot spoke the moment the door hit the jam. "How did you find us Miss Price?", he asked, not even bothering to lower the IV stand from its hostile position.
Mel felt the familiar pulse of anger that seemed to flow through her every time Padfoot opened his mouth. "Not even a thank you? You disappear from my house, still in disarray thanks, steal my dad's coat and then turn up two weeks later with more holes in you then Swiss cheese and I save you again and I don't even get a….!"
"Look I would love to stand here and shoot the breeze but we are kinda short on time. So if you are done hissing at me like some cat, would you answer my question? Please?", he cut in, adding the last word in afterthought.
Mel blinked in shock at the slight undertone of panic and pleading in his words. She had never heard him say please. "Then again you only met him once so your frame of reference isn't exactly extensive.", her mind supplied.
Mel shook her head and huffed, regaining her composure. "Fine. To answer your question, my friends and I…"
"There are others with you?", he interrupted, his eyes going wide, darting around the room as his hand tightened on the metal bar between his fingers.
"Yes. Now if you would quite interrupting I will explain.", Mel hissed in irritation, her own eyes flashing with steel. She had forgotten how down right irritating he was. Why she dreamt of him was beyond her.
Padfoot pursed his lips and nodded for her to continue.
"As I was saying, my friends and I were walking to a diner for some brunch when we heard a noise and upon further investigation, we found you and your friend….buried under some rubbish, bleeding.", Mel said, faltering slightly as images of Padfoot and his friend dying on cobblestones flooded her mind.
Padfoot instantly narrowed his eyes at her and Mel bristled once again as she realized what he was thinking.
"I'm not lying! I found you bleeding to death in that putrid alleyway and my friend called 911 as I kept you from dying! Again! Look!", she hissed, throwing her hands up in the air, palms facing him.
Padfoot flinched at the sudden movement but when he saw she wasn't advancing, he warily leaned forward and his pupils dilated as he saw the smeared, faded, blood on her hands. After a moment of inspection, Padfoot leaned back and cleared his throat.
"Ok. Well then… next question. Why did you come to the hospital?" Mel eyes widened at the unexpected question and she blushed, averting her eyes to her feet. After a moments silence she murmured her answer to the ground.
"It's because I cared if you lived or died."
Which was the truth. She did care, though reluctant she was to admit it out loud.
When Padfoot didn't respond she looked up through her hair and saw him cock an eyebrow in her direction. Mel flushed darker.
"Isn't there anything else you would like to ask?", she snapped, embarrassment coursing through her veins.
Padfoot blinked and nodded. "Yes. What hospital are we at?", he asked, his gaze returning to her hands once more.
Mel sighed at the once again lack of gratitude and lowered her still raised hands to hang limply at her sides. "Barnet.", she muttered.
What happened next, Mel was defiantly not prepared for.
Once the seemingly innocent word left her mouth, Padfoot's eyes bulged, the air left his lungs as if he'd been kicked, and whatever small amount of blood that was in his face, fled.
"Did…did you just say Barnet?", he asked breathless.
Mel's brow furrowed. "Yes, why? What's wrong?"
Padfoot didn't answer. Instead he spun around and limped across the floor towards his friend's bed. Mel followed his path in confusion and then she saw the thick crimson trail he was leaving in his wake.
"Padfoot! You need to sit down! You're bleeding horribly!", Mel gasped but the man before her ignored her as he set down the IV stand and began to nudge and poke in companion.
"Wake up! Come on Prongs! Bloody hell mate, you need to wake the bugger up!", he muttered as he hovered over the form lying prone on the bed. Mel distantly registered that the man also had an extremely odd name but she shrugged it off as she advanced towards Padfoot.
"Padfoot, he's unconscious! Like you are going to be if you don't sit down!", she huffed as she reached out to lay her hand on his shoulder. But before she could touch him, Padfoot spun and trapped her hand between his own, a wild look in his eye and his hands soaked in his own blood.
"Melanie, you need to listen to me. We can't stay here. We need to get out.", he said, forcing the words through gritted teeth.
Mel opened her mouth to ask where did he get off calling her Melanie but when she looked in his eye she became frightened at what she saw there and tried to pull away but he held her fast in a familiar iron grip.
"Padfoot, are you crazy? You were shot this morning! You nearly died! You can't just leave! And besides the police are going to be here and…."
"Melanie! The police can't see us! We're not supposed to be here!", he hissed, tightening his grip.
"Be where?", Mel asked in bewilderment.
Padfoot growled and opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off as they heard the doorknob jingle. Both Mel and Padfoot had turned at the sound but now Padfoot snapped his face back to Mel and locked his eyes with her own.
"Melanie, please. You said you cared about whether I lived or died."
"Well I just meant in general not you perso…"
"It doesn't matter! Please you have to get us out! It's a matter of life or death. Please!", he whispered. Mel looked deep into his eyes and saw a primal terror, he really believed he was in danger.
Mel bit her lip. "Padfoot I…."
"Alright times up. Miss Price if you would please return to the waiting room, there are some officers who wish to speak to you."
The fear in Padfoot's eye increased exponentially at Dr. Williams' words and his nails dug into the back of her hands.
"Please.", he mouthed but before she could say anything, strong arms pulled her back and she was yanked out of the room, Padfoot's terrified eyes following her out the door.
A harried male nurse pulled her down the twisting halls before she could get her bearings and in recorded time she was shoved out of the automatic doors that lead to the waiting room. She tripped over her feet and reached out to steady herself on the reception desk. Once she had regained her balance and her mind slowed its spinning, she blew a piece of hair from her face and looked up in the direction she had last seen Lily and Remus.
Beside her friends a large, dark, hulking figure sat, talking to them quietly and it was apparent to Mel from Lily's expression that he was ticking her off. Out of the corner of her left eye she saw an almost identical dark figure walk towards her friends and she turned to get a full look at him. In inspecting his profile, Mel furrowed her brow as a trickle of recognition flowed across her mind but not enough for her to place his face. The man took another step and then his head swung to face a nurse that had approached him with a cup of water, giving Mel a full frontal view.
And in finally seeing his face in its entirety, Mel gasped and felt as if she had been it by a train as her lungs shriveled and her heart jerked to a stop. In an instant, she ducked from view and hid behind the fake plant behind her and grasped at her chest as it heaved in fear.
That scar.
The cop had a large scar that cut diagonal across his face from his upper right temple to the left corner of his chin. She could never forget a gruesome sight like that and she hadn't. She could still see it in her minds eye as it twisted as the man smiled as another man beside him shoved a gun in Padfoot's face.
The cop was one of the men that nearly killed him!
"And now he was here to finish the job!", she thought in horror.
She turned to peek out from amongst the leaves and saw the man had joined his partner beside her friends. An image of Remus and Lily bleeding in a cobblestone alley flashed before her eyes and Mel felt as if the world had stopped spinning.
This was her fault. She had put her friends in danger!
Then Padfoot's words echoed through her mind and she realized he hadn't been crazy. He had…known somehow that they would come for him. "So what? He's no one to you! You need to just grab Lily and Rem and get the bugger out of here!", her mind screamed at her.
But then she remember the state she had found Padfoot in, two weeks ago and today and knew she couldn't just leave him to die. Not when she had worked so hard to save him. But…what could she do? These guys were professional…somethings at worst and dirty cops at best! And they were just three teens!
Suddenly, a memory of some murder mystery movie her and Rem had watched a few weeks ago flared in her thoughts and with it an idea of how to get Padfoot and his friend out.
"Are you a nutter? That was a MOVIE! This is real life with real guns! Your going to get yourself killed!"
Mel ignored her screaming thoughts and warily glanced back towards Lily and Rem. They still sat between the two cops and Lily was looking ten times as irritated. How was she going to get their attention without alerting the cops? Mel gnawed on her already abused lip and wrung her hands.
But, the fates seemed to be in a good enough mood to grant her this small mercy, as if on cue Lily glanced away from the cop and saw her. Her brow furrowed and she opened her mouth but Mel swung her hand up and placed her index finger over her lips to silence Lily.
The red heads confusion doubled but she complied. Now that Mel had Lily's attention, she needed to talk to her before the cops noticed her presence. She glanced around in desperation and saw the bathroom not ten feet from her. She flicked her gaze between the door and Lily and her friend instantly got the message as she turned back to the cops, grabbing their attention so Mel could scurry to the bathroom.
Mel slipped through the door and leaned heavily against the sink, the small one stall room seeming to shrink as shock completely faded to be replaced by mind numbing, muscle seizing fear. But before Mel could began to hyperventilate, the door opened and in slinked Lily, her mouth already spouting questions.
"Mel, what the bloody hell…?"
"Lily!", Mel gasped and went to embrace her in relief at being near her but stopped short at her red stained hands. A breathless squeak left Mel and she spun around and slammed open the water, sticking her hands in the freezing stream, scrubbing vigorously.
"Mel? Was that blood? What the hell is going on?", Lily shrieked behind her.
Once the blood was gone, Mel spun around and hugged the red head tightly for a moment before pulling away to grasp her shoulders and look her in the eye. "Lily…oh bloody hell we are arse over heels!", the brunette gasped.
Lily looked confused beyond belief. "Me…"
"No! Just…just shut it and listen for a moment!"
Lily's expression darkened and she opened her mouth to retort but Mel beat her to it. "Lils, we need to get out of here! And we have to take Padfoot and his friend with us! And we need to do it now without anyone noticing! So, do you remember…."
"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold the phone! What the bleeding hell are you talking about? We cant just leave. Those blokes out there want to talk to you. Though the buggers are bloody rude especially the scarred one…"
"Lily! That guy is one of the guys that shot Padfoot!", Mel hissed, shaking her rambling friend.
Lily's emerald eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "What? That…that's codswallop. You're taking the piss outta me.", she exclaimed in disbelief.
"Lils I swear I'm not bloody lying! I saw that guy in the alley when I saved Padfoot two weeks ago! I could never forget that scar!"
"Oh….bloody hell. You're not joking.", Lily muttered as she saw the panic in Mel's visage.
The brunette shook her head in agreement. Lily slumped against the wall and ran a shaky hand through her red mane and then suddenly her eyes went wide.
"Holy…they have Remus!", Lily exclaimed as she spun to burst out of the bathroom.
Mel lunged and grabbed her before she could turn the doorknob. "Don't! We have to do this right! That guy knows me so he can't see me!", Mel grunted as she struggled with Lily.
At Mel's words, her friend went limp and turned to face her, panic, fear, terror, and horror all plain on her face. "So what are we going to do?", she whispered.
Mel straightened up and gnawed once more on her lip. " I don't know! I didn't sign up for this shite! This isn't fair!", she thought.
She was just a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time! She wasn't a hero with super powers to save the day! But fair or not Mel knew that this was her task now, and that she needed to step up or the consequences would be to horrible to imagine. She had gotten them into this mess and she had to get them out.
So, with the knowledge that she had to save her friends and family, and Padfoot as well, she locked eyes with Lily and forced as much courage as she could into her next words.
"Well…I have a plan. And hopefully we can all get out of this alive."
So? How was that? Please feel free to rant and curse me in the review you leave but please leave one. J