Hey everyone! Sorry again for the long wait! (That goes double for Peanut-4ever!). I'm going to try to wrap this fanfic up soon. It's been about 8 years in the making, and it's time you all got to see how this trilogy wraps up!
One side note: Melinda's middle name is Penelope, after Grams. It would normally be Prudence, but keep in mind Prue passed away after Melinda was born.
So, without further adieu:
Shaking, Melinda ran frantically around her room, grabbing towels, gauze, medical tape, and antiseptic. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she was surprised no one downstairs could hear it. She had to clean up, she had to cover up – her mind was racing, a thousand thoughts at once.
In the rush back to her bed, Melinda's foot caught on her bed sheets, which had come half off her bed. She yelped and went down, dropping everything.
Shit, she cursed herself, eyeing her door tentatively, gasping. Blood oozed from her arms, cascading to the floor and staining her clothing and sheets.
One minute passed. Then another. Then two more. When no knock sounded, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Melinda, is everything okay in there?"
Melinda tensed, eyes going wide. "I-I'm fine!" she called back to Piper, moving swiftly but silently as she gathered everything up, set it gently on her bed, and set to work, using a damp towel to wash off the blood on her arms. She hissed at the sting, unable to help herself.
"Mel, you know how I feel about you keeping your door closed," Piper scolded, the doorknob twisting.
Melinda stood so quickly, she fell again, in her rush to block the door.
"Can't I have some privacy?" She snapped, leaning her weight against the door. "I just showered! I'm... I'm naked! Go away!"
There was a long moment of silence; so long, Melinda was positive Piper had left. She relaxed her stance, and backed off the door.
Suddenly, the doorknob turned again. Cursing, Melinda turned the lock. The doorknob rattled.
"Melinda Penelope Halliwell!" Piper snapped. "You open this door right this instant!"
Melinda winced at the use of her full name, but she couldn't let Piper in. Not until she had cleaned up. She wasn't sure why she felt compelled to hide this; it had been a demon's doing, not her own. But for some reason, she had convinced herself that her mom wouldn't believe her, and that hiding it was for the best.
With the blood mopped up, Melinda went on to using antiseptic. She could hear Piper pounding on the door, then frantic yelling as she told Paige, Phoebe, and Leo what was going on.
"Melinda."
Melinda paused. Because this time, the voice was in her room. And this time, the voice was not yelling, accusing, or demanding. This voice was not Piper's, nor Leo's. It wasn't Piper or Phoebe either – they were all still on the other side, yelling at each other about the best way to handle the situation.
Melinda turned, tears already in her eyes. When she spotted the speaker, the tears poured free.
"Aunt Prue."
Prue smiled. Her long black hair fell almost mid-back. She wore a white funeral dress that touched the floor, and her feet were bare.
"H-How?" Melinda gasped, running and hugging her so tightly, the cuts on her arms ached, but she didn't care.
"They let me come see you," Prue explained, then paused. "Well.. 'let' might be the wrong word..." She chuckled, and Melinda couldn't help but laugh, too.
"MELINDA! OPEN THE DOOR!"
Prue glanced up at Piper's shriek. She lifted her hand, and waved it at the door. The door was encased in blue light, and suddenly, silence.
"That's better. No interruptions." Prue smiled, guiding Melinda to her bed to sit. "They can't hear us, and they can't use magic to get in."
"Aunt Prue, I've missed you so much. You have no idea."
Prue frowned. "Actually, I do. I've been watching over you, Mels. I'm the one who let on to Piper that you might be hurting yourself. I thought you were getting better, too. I don't understand."
"I didn't do this!" Melinda argued. "You've got to believe me, Aunt Prue! This was... this was a demon or something. I fell asleep and I was dreaming of this place. It looked like a hospital or something, but it wasn't. And this man attacked me. He cut me, and told me he was going to finish what he started. I swear I didn't do this! Please, please believe me!"
As Melinda spoke, the expression on Prue's face grew more and more grave. She squeezed Melinda's hand.
"I believe you, Mels," Piper said firmly. "I think I know who did this to you, but you've got to tell Piper. I think it's the demon who attacked her and Paige in that asylum all those years ago."
Melinda shook her head. "No. No, I can't tell them. They won't believe me! They'll just think I relapsed. Please, Aunt Prue, don't make me tell them."
Prue's expression softened and she hugged Melinda. "Sweetie, she's your mom. I know she can be tough on you sometimes, but she'll believe you. I promise you. And if you don't tell her, this demon will only get stronger, and you could get hurt. Seriously hurt."
Melinda sobered at this. She sighed and sat straight. "Fine, but does it have to be right now? Can't I do it on my own terms? I mean, what if it was just a vivid dream?"
Prue pursed her lips and frowned. She didn't like the idea, but Melinda had the Halliwell stubbornness. You couldn't force her to do something she didn't want to do.
"Fine. But promise you'll tell them, or I will." Prue stood, tucking Melinda's hair behind her ear.
Melinda nodded, standing and hugging Prue fiercely. "Will I get to see you again?"
"Of course, when the time is right," Prue assured her. She hugged her back, then stepped away. "I love you, Mels." She disappeared in a swirl of white lights, just as the door glowed blue again.
As if someone turned the dial up on a radio, Melinda could hear the chaos outside her room again; loud, panicked voices.
Quickly, she wrapped her arms in gauze and tape, hide the supplies, and yanked on a bathrobe. She had just finished wrapping her hair in a towel and hiding the blood-splattered sheets when blue light filled her room, and Piper and Leo orbed in together, Paige and Phoebe next to them.
"Melinda! What the hell!" Piper demanded.
"I told you," Melinda huffed. "I was showering! How dare you try to invade my privacy!"
"You lost the right to privacy when you started cutting and tried to hide it from us!" Piper snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at her daughter.
"Piper," Paige reprimanded.
Phoebe frowned. "What she means, Melinda, is – I'm sorry, but we are going to be more worried about you now, and we are going to need you to keep your door open more, and tell us what you're doing more. When you lock the door and don't let us in, well, it makes us suspicious."
"So I've lost your trust?" Melinda demanded to know. "I'm hurt and – if you ask Dr. Kayne – clinically depressed, and that means I lose your trust and my right to privacy?"
"We're worried about you, Mel," Leo insisted. "We just want you to be okay."
Melinda scowled, shaking. She kept waiting for them to grab the robe and yank up the sleeves, or to grab the towel off and see her hair wasn't even wet. Worse, she kept waiting for them to spot the bloody sheets and clothing – some of which was not tucked under the bed well.
"Well I'm fine," Melinda insisted. "Can I please go to bed now? Or do you want to yell at me some more?"
Phoebe and Paige exchanged worried glances, but went to the door, unlocked it, and stepped out.
Leo tugged on Piper's arm and, reluctantly, Piper let him lead her out. Leo pointedly left the door open.
Melinda waited until they were gone before closing the door and slumping against it. Shaken, she dropped the towel and robe, and rubbed her bandaged wrists. She was starting to think Aunt Prue was right. Maybe she should have just come clean.
Now, it was too late.