MEL
Needless to say it was a long and restless night, full of dreams of losing my friends, even my family. I woke up many times wondering if I should find a way to turn myself over to whoever was after me. It would be the easiest and fastest way to end all of this. I knew my family would never let me get away with it, though. If they weren't all vampires, I might have been able to come up with a plan to get away from them. Unfortunately, Aunt Alice and Uncle Damon would see me before I even made a move. Then Mom and Dad would probably forbid me from leaving the house. I knew they were all right, of course, but I hated it. I wanted to save my friends, but not at the risk of losing my family or them losing me.
I knew that was incredibly selfish, and I hated myself for it. Guilt consumed me during those long moments lying awake. It followed me through the hours spent getting ready for Laura's funeral, right up until the moment we entered the funeral home.
The moment we stepped through the doors all of the guilt and fear was replaced with a crushing sadness I had to fight to control. I was about to lay one of my closest friends to rest and I couldn't even let those emotions out.
"I don't think I can do this." I whispered as we made our way to our seats. Uncle Damon, who was right beside me, squeezed my hand.
"I know you can." He whispered. "Just think of what you've already overcome. You can do anything."
I bit my lip and swallowed hard. He was right, after the Volturi, this should be easy, and it would've been if I wasn't carrying this huge secret. I could handle it if I could tell my friends that Melanie Callahan had returned. If I could assure them that they would not lose any more people they cared about. I knew I couldn't, though. It would put not only me, but Cassie and my family in danger.
"We will be right here with you." Aunt Roxanne whispered. "You will not be alone."
I nodded. We had decided it would be best to arrive just before the service started to avoid any potentially awkward questions. Cassie, Nathan, and the rest of our friends had taken seats in the last two rows. I caught Cassie's eyes as we made our way up the aisle and she patted the seat beside her.
I looked at my family questioningly. I knew they were there for me, but I really needed to be with the circle through this. I didn't want to offend any of them, though.
"Go ahead, sweetheart." Dad said, "You need your friends right now. Will be in the back." He kissed my forehead and shooed me toward Cassie.
"How are you holding up?" Cassie whispered as I slid into the seat beside her.
"As well as can be expected. I'll be better when this is all over." I answered.
"Me too. We will find whoever is behind this, and we will destroy them." Cassie squeezed my hand.
"I have no doubt. I just..." Miranda Lambert's Over You cut off my fearfilled speech of how many friends we would lose. I fell silent as we all stared right in front of us. I tuned out as the song ended. If I paid to much attention to what was being said, the facade would break. I couldn't let that happen.
It wasn't until Laura's mother rose and stepped up to the podium that I tuned back in.
"I had a whole speech planned about what a wonderful person my daughter was and all the amazing things that she did. Now that I'm up here though, none of that seems like enough to say about her. She was m-m-my..." She broke off into sobs, and then he stood up.
I hadn't expected that Mike would be here. Yes, I knew that he would want the chance to survey the damage he had done. I just figured he was too young a vampire to be able to control his thirst around this many people. I swallowed hard trying desperately to keep it together as he wrapped his arms around his wife.
"I think what my wife is trying to is that Laura was a beautiful girl who was taken away from us too soon. She was..."
He spoke like a loving stepfather with no hint of what he had done to her or that he had been the one to kill her. He spoke like he truly lost someone he cared about.
"I can't do this." I said shaking my head. I got up and quickly exited the room. I found myself leaning over the rail of the garden just outside the building, puking up what little I had been able to get down for breakfast.
As I continued to heave over the railing, I was vaguely aware of someone holding my hair back. When it finally stopped, I slid to the ground and turn to face the person who had followed me outside. It was Uncle Damon. He sat down beside me at I pulled my knees to my chest.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"No." I swiped at the tears that were streaming down my face. "I couldn't handle him standing up there talking about Laura like a beloved daughter. Not knowing what I know. He killed her, and now he is in there acting like he just lost his world. It makes me sick."
"I know, Mel. I know." Uncle Damon wrapped his arm around me.
"No, you don't, Uncle Damon." I shook my head. "You had no idea what it was like after she joined the circle. You didn't have to see how broken she was after he hurt her. You didn't have to hold her as she cried. You didn't go to bed every night wondering if you would ever see her again. You didn't have to see the shame of her face every single day. All because of that man in there who is acting like he did nothing wrong."
"I know better than you think, Mel." He pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head. "I've spent the last five years with my own Laura." He gave me a pointed look, and I realized he was talking about me.
"That's different."
"How? The brothers raped you and Mike raped Laura. It doesn't matter how many times. It still broke you, and we had to put you back together. It is the same thing you tried to do with Laura every single day. I know what you went through because me and your father went through the same thing. We were lucky enough to be able to destroy the people who hurt you before they could completely destroy you. I wish we had been able to do the same for Laura, but I promise she will have justice. My friends practically guaruntee it. You just need to give us time to figure it out."
I was starting to understand what he meant. I knew I wasn't the happiest of a person after my experience with the Volturi. It took a long time before I would let any male other than Carlisle, Edward, or Damon come near me. I spent most of my days in my room crying my eyes out. It wasn't until Roxanne and Bella came to me with there stories that I was able to start coming out of my shell. I shared my story first with them then with the others. I couldn't imagine seeing me like that was easy for them.
And I would forever be grateful that I never had to look at the men who hurt me ever again. I would never have to deal with them standing over my casket talking about what a wonderful person I was. I couldn't wait for the moment that my family destroyed Mike and the people responsible for what he was doing now.
"Thank you, Uncle Damon. For everything you've ever done for me." I said wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back as tightly as he could without hurting me.
"We should probably get back inside. The service will be ending soon." He said as we pulled apart.
"Can I ask a question first?"
"Of course."
"How is this going to end?" I bit my lip knowing I probably wasn't going to like the answer, but I had to try. "How many more friends am I going to lose? Am I going to die?"
I knew that was more than one, but I didn't realize how scared I was until that moment. For my friends and for myself. I didn't want anymore of them to die for me, but I didn't want to die either. Why did this have to happen like this?
"That's more than one question, and unfortunately, I can't answer any of them?" Damon answered in the detached tone he always used when discussing his gift.
"Can't or won't?" I pressed. I knew there were a lot of rules that came along with a gift like his. It was dangerous for someone to know as much as Damon knew. No one should have all that knowledge. Damon understood this, and he was careful to make sure no one shared his burden. Yet, sometimes I felt he used it as an excuse to keep things from his family. I hated being cruel, but I wondered if he hid behind his gift at times.
"I can't. As you know, the future is always changing. Alice and I have both seen many possibilities for how this could end. Each one has its own circumstances attached to it. You have no idea how badly I wish I could give you a definite answer, but I can't. All I can say is that, just like with the Volturi, you will not have to go through it alone. We will all be here.
I supposed that was the best I could hope for from him. I took a moment to pray that I would not lose any more of my friends before standing up and dusting my butt off.
"You're right we should get back inside."
Uncle Damon stood and together we headed back into the funeral home.
"The family has asked for privacy when putting their daughter to rest, so there will be no procession." The director was saying as I slid back into my seat beside Cassie. "You are all invited to pay your final respects before you go, though."
"Are you alright?" Cassie asked as the director began to dismiss us row by row.
"I'm better now." I whispered. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't handle listening to that man talk."
"Believe me, even I almost lost my breakfast." Nathan, who had the strongest stomach of the circle, stated. "I really wanted nothing more than to tear his head off."
"A sentiment that I'm sure we can all agree with."Andy whispered from beside Nathan. "If I ever see his face again, it'll be too soon."
I wanted to tell him that my family would be making it so that no one would ever have to see his face again, but I held my tongue. All too soon, it was our turn to make our way up the aisle toward Laura's casket. Me and the rest of the circle approached at the same time. I knew none of us would've been able to handle it on our own.
People always say the deceased looked like they were just sleeping. It was true. Laura looked almost peaceful as she laid there. I shivered as thoughts of how violently she was killed flooded my mind. This was a lie. I swiped the tears that had started leaking down my face. God, I really hope Mike paid for this.
None of us had wanted to see Mike or Laura's mother after paying our respects. We knew we wouldn't be able to handle being near them without one of us stating what we really thought. Instead, we walked over to join my family who was standing in a back corner.
"Guys, I would like to introduce you to Mel's family. This is her mother and father, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. And these are her brothers and sisters, Bella, Alice, Roxanne, Edward, Jasper, and Damon." Cassie pointed everyone out respectively. "They, like Mel, wanted to offer their condolences."
"We are truly sorry for the loss of your friend." Carlisle said smiling at all of my friends. "Mel speaks highly of Cassie and has wanted to meet all of you for a long time. She just wishes it could've been under better circumstances."
"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." Andy said. "While we were surprised to be introduced to your daughter, we were pleased to make her aquaintance." What was he up to? I wouldn't say the group was necessarily pleased, but he was more than a little put out last night. "She seems like a wonderful young lady."
"You obviously don't know her very well." Dad said with the air of a brother teasing his little sister.
"Well, I was actually hoping to get to know her a little better actually." Andy continued. He seemed a little uncertain, probably because of my intimidating big "brothers." I still wondered what he was up to, this was a bit different that what I got from him yesterday. "I was wondering if I might have the pleasure of walking her back to where you're staying?" He was looking at Carlisle, but I was still trying to figure out what he was doing.
"I think that's up to Mel." Carlisle stated, giving me a questioning look. I knew it was probably a bad idea, but I had to know what Andy was up to. Did he suspect something? Or was he just trying to be nice? I had to know.
"I would actually like that very much."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I know things have been a bit slow, but I promise they are about to pick up. Also, Mel and Damon's conversation does have some significance. **Wink Wink** I'm hoping to have another chapter out tomorrow. Enjoy!
