Only a little bit over a week since my last update :) I'm getting better at this! haha
First of all, thank you to everyone that has favorited/alerted/reviewed this story and especially the last chapter. I honestly am amazed that you all like this story. I am so glad I'm not just doing this for my own personal enjoyment but for yours as well. That is so awesome! (omg...can't stop saying awesome lately. I have problems -_-)
So I just want to say this chapter turned out to be pretty close to every original idea i had for it. The ending might be a little lack luster (possibly its up to you though) I did write the end at 3 in the morning (time it is now uggghh) If I wake up tomorrow and read over and don't like it i might edit it a bit. Who knows though.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the others! And again thank you for your dedication! :) you are all amazing! (didn't use the word awesome HA :D)
Song for this Chapter- Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars ( I know its from the Hunger Games but it fit so well with the chapter and I've fallen in love with this song! even though i highly dislike every other song Taylor Swift has ever written...)
Chapter 23
Love Knows No Boundaries
Noah put himself right in front of me. His hands were balled up into fists, ready to defend himself like always. He was taking the beating for me, being the protective brother that I loved and hated all at the same time. Hated because I didn't like seeing him with bruises all over him, bruises that were way worse than the ones I got.
"Where were you all weekend? You let the house become a goddamn mess. It looks like a complete dump in here all because you had to run off!" he shouted and made his liquor fly out of the cup it was previously sitting in.
"Noah," I whispered, grabbing his arm, wanting to get us both out of here.
"Don't worry about me Mel. Just go upstairs."
"Shut your trap you son of a bitch," he swatted Noah right across the face. Noah tried to act like he was unaffected by it just for my sake. He knew I hated seeing this happen to him, but I wasn't about to be a coward and leave him here to deal with it on his own. I was going to stick it out right beside him.
"You could've easily cleaned this shit up yourself!" I winced as my brother screamed right back at him. The backlash was only going to make it worse, but he was getting sick of taking his crap so I could understand where he was coming from, "I'm done being your slave," I could see the anger in his eyes, "because you and I both know I'm not your son."
A punch right in Noah's gut caused him to fall to the ground. I felt tears silently spilling out of my eyes, and just as I was about to help him up his own fist went flying right back at our father, making contact with his left cheek. One more punch to the same spot and he turned towards me.
"Melody go upstairs. Now," he demanded.
I shook my head, "You can't do this on your own."
Before he could respond, the monster completely rammed into him, causing him to end up on the ground again.
"Get," Noah coughed, "out of here."
I felt my face sting when his hand finally hit my face. It made me wobbly and I didn't even have time to catch myself before he punched me right in my side.
When I fell to the floor I stared at my brother's face, filled with hurt and rage. I knew part of that rage was geared towards me since I didn't listen to him, but I could take it. I could get through it knowing that I didn't act like a weakling and leave him to deal with this by himself.
Noah got the rest of the beating. He was kicked and hit until our father got sick of it, and once it was all over and we were alone, he said something I never expected him to say, "I'm sorry."
It made me hurt worse. I knew that none of it was his fault and yet he was willing to put the blame on himself because I was hit too. He thought he was the one responsible for me getting hurt, when all I could think about right now was how much I had to thank him for always protecting me.
I got up from the ground as gracefully as I could when I was sure he had gone into the woods to hunt down the wolf that howled. Blood stained my new clothes and my vision was beginning to blur because of how dizzy I felt. It took me a minute to catch myself so I wouldn't fall over. I stood for a moment to be sure I was balanced, and I managed to carefully walk my way out of the garage in one piece. I had my unscathed left hand on the cut in order to make the bleeding stop, but it was hopeless. The bleeding was never going to stop unless I got it stitched up. It was way too deep.
Rustling in the trees forced me to look towards them, and I heard a low grumbling noise. I was hoping it was my wolf, and then I felt stupid for even thinking about that right now when my blood was painting the grass red.
As I headed for the back door, I heard the rustling again and looked back at the black forest. I could see the wolf's eyes, only slightly noticing its fur was grey. It was so close to the house and he didn't even notice it. He didn't even catch the wolf this time. And by the way its ears are standing up, alert and focused, I could only believe it knew that my dad was out there. Did it howl because of me?
I couldn't answer the question, because I practically heard the blood drip its way out of my body, which only made me feel queasy. It watched me with careful eyes as I hurried my way into the house. I only looked away from it when my dizziness started getting worse.
I grabbed the nearest towel I could find in the kitchen and ran up to my room, locking the door behind me. The window was still open and the rain was now dropping on my window seat, soaking the fabric.
I took a single step forward so I could close the window when I suddenly saw black dots impair my vision. There was a ringing in my ears and my whole body felt like it was ready to shut down on itself. I was convinced it did when I suddenly collapsed to the floor.
"Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes," I kept chanting this to myself, knowing things would only get worse if I were to pass out. It helped me focused though, "Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes," I made them stay open the whole time I laid there.
I took a glance at my arm, seeing the towel was soaked in red. The gash in my skin was deep enough to see some tissue, and I knew by how much blood was pouring out of me that I needed to get to a hospital fast. Who knew he was capable of cutting me so bad. I guess I should've expected it though.
It didn't take long for my arm to feel like pins and needles were digging into my skin. I put some more pressure on the cut, feeling completely helpless and just…so damn tired-
No! Keep your eyes open. No no no. You're not doing this.
Ugh, it hurts so bad. If I just close my eyes for a little while-
"Melody!" I heard a panicked voice fill my ears instead of my own voice, causing the ringing to get louder. It made my eyes go wider and I was able to focus on staying awake better.
Brady rushed over to me, water dripping off of his body. His chest was bare and his feet were caked in mud, only visible because he had no shoes on.
He took my arm in his hands, taking the towel off of it to see the damage that was done. I heard him curse above me and all I could do was keep chanting over and over again.
He stood up for a moment and went to my closet. I only stared out at the moon that hung in the sky, my window now closed. A ripping noise and more angry curse words made me hiss in pain. Soon enough my arm was being wrapped in my old Seattle t-shirt, and I looked up at his face to keep me calm.
"Stay awake Mel," he murmured softly to me, "I'm gonna take you to the hospital ok?"
I nodded, feeling every part of me stop shivering as soon as he picked me up in his arms. I buried my face into his chest, wanting to get completely lost in him so I could forget about what was happening. I wished this never had to happen at all. I could be snuggling up to him in bed instead of clutching onto him to save my life, "I'm s-s-sorry."
"Don't ever say that," his voice had a slight edge to it, indicating that he was trying to put aside his anger towards what happened for me, "I shouldn't have left you alone here," he hurriedly headed out of my room, and I kept my eyes on his skin, concentrating on that instead of the pain and dizziness.
"Be careful, h-he's outside," I mumbled into him.
"I don't care," the seriousness in his tone made me flinch a little. I restrained myself from looking up at his face. I don't think I could bear seeing it. I knew he was worried about me, but the hate he felt for my father was overpowering that right now and it made my arm hurt more knowing that.
My eyes felt like weights the longer I was in his arms, and I couldn't ignore the fact that unconsciousness was getting closer to taking me over. It would be so much better if I could go into the darkness. At least it would be painless there.
"Brady, I-I ca-," I couldn't get the word out because I didn't have the strength to move my lips anymore.
"Hold on, stay with me Melody please?" he begged desperately, "We're at the car ok? Just keep your eyes open. Can you do that for me?"
I shook my head and was about to say something when someone else beat me to the punch, "You have to give me directions, Sam. I barely know where the hell I'm going from here!" I recognized that pissed off voice and my eyelids lifted almost instantly.
"Paul?" my voice sounded weak and it scared the hell out of me. Things were getting bad, and they were getting bad extremely fast. I took in my surroundings, feeling dumbfounded when I realized we were in Brady's car and I was still sitting in his warm lap. I don't even remember us getting in here, "He knows?"
It was so hard to sound like I was freaked out when passing out was the top priority on my mind at the moment.
"It doesn't matter, just focus on staying awake. Are you in a lot of pain?"
I moaned, looking into his eyes, finding comfort in how they were the perfect shade of brown. I wanted to keep them in my head and never forget them. I wanted to take a mental picture of their perfection and hold onto their beauty for as long as I live.
"A left or a right? Damn it why don't you just make it simple?" Paul's voice only made me wince. The sound of it reminded me that my secret was now exposed to him too.
I tried to concentrate on what I was being asked before and not think about that, "It stings," I heard the drumming of my pulse in my ears and I could feel my heart pumping my blood out of my body and onto my new shirt and Brady's stomach.
"The blood is," the metallic scent hit me like a ton of bricks, "it's making it hard to…stay…awake."
"She's losing a lot of blood Paul," Brady's gaze travelled away from me and I wanted to protest and tell him to look at me again, but I didn't even have the energy to do it.
"I'm going as fast as I can! We're almost there just keep pressure on her arm."
"Calm down or else there'll be more than just one accident happening tonight."
"Asshole," he snarled at Brady.
In spite of all the crapiness I felt, I managed to let out a strained laugh. Was it weird that I felt like laughing now out of all times? Maybe I was just getting loopy from the blood loss.
Brady didn't seem to notice it at all though. I was thinking that his mind was somewhere completely different than mine, and I didn't even have to guess to know where that was. He was probably picturing beating up my father, teaching him a lesson of his own. He wanted to make him feel the same pain I felt. He's wanted to do it for a while, and tonight pushed him right over the edge.
"Bray," I have no idea where the'd' in his name went. I was too weak to even try and fix my small mistake.
"What's wrong?"
My lips twitched up into a slight grin so he could see that I was alright, "Don't be mad," I muttered.
"Sam you better get your shit together because she's not going to hold on if you don't tell me exactly where to go next! Do I take a left at the next street or the one after?"
I ignored Paul's shouting, focusing solely on how much I loved the shape of Brady's chin. I know, it's probably the stupidest body part I could point out and admire. I just couldn't stop staring at that small crease that was indented into his skin. It gave him character. It made him look more mature. That chin made me feel glad to know that he was mine. Every single part of him was mine.
"I'm not mad," his jaw clenched, revealing that he wasn't telling me the truth.
"Liar," my voice was hoarse and my eyes were now closed to slits, just barely allowing me to see a small portion of him, "You're mad about w-what's happen-,"
Then I couldn't take the weight on any longer, and I let my view of him leave me completely.
"Melody," Brady shook me in his arms as his voice got farther and farther away, "Melody don't do this! We're so close just open your eyes!"
I wanted to listen to him, but my body told me differently. My body wanted some peace.
"Paul hurry up she's losing consciousness!"
"It's just up here calm down," his voice sounded slightly less irritated than it did before.
"Hear that? We're right here," the feeling of his breath prickled my skin, "Open your eyes Mel."
I did as I was told, trying my hardest to push the darkness away, "It…h-hurts," I was only able to see a bit of light above me. It was all I could manage to do at this point.
"I know," I felt his lips against my skin and it completely soothed every part of me. I kept my good hand on his chest, feeling the thudding of his heart against my palm, "Stop here!" he screamed.
I winced as the car came to a screeching halt. I had no time to calm myself down before I was being carried out of the car and into the hospital. The brightness of the whole place made my eyes close again and everything that happened next was one messed up blur.
I remember seeing nurses and a doctor standing over me. They said my name a few times, trying to get me to respond, but I didn't want to. I wanted to sleep. I needed to be left alone right now and no one would do that for me.
They poked my arm with something sharp and all I wanted to do was shout for them to leave me alone to rest. It didn't take long for more sharp pains to pinch my skin which ticked me off even more. It was cold and I prayed that I would feel Brady's warmth at some point, or maybe I would hear his voice. To my extreme disappointment it didn't happen.
I waited and waited to feel some part of him, but there was nothing, and it only made me feel hollow inside. It felt as if portions of me were missing all because he wasn't here.
Did he leave? Is he freaked out by me? Does he hate me?
I needed Brady. I needed to hear him again, to feel him again. I couldn't sit here blind and on the brink of passing out alone. I had to have him here…with…me. I…I…love…
The darkness finally grabbed a hold of me and pulled me down deeper into its bottomless pit. I felt every one of my thoughts leave me and all of the pain suddenly washed away, making me wonder why I couldn't just let this happen before when it felt so good and serene right now.
The first thing that I heard was the distinct beeping noise that made itself known every couple of seconds. It slightly sounded
muffled, like it was in a completely other room and was so loud that I could hear it all the way over here. I stayed focused on it though, breathing in and out to its steady rhythm and finding comfort in the fact that I wasn't dead, or so I hoped.
Shuffling to my right caught my attention and I tried my best to open my eyes to see him. It was a feeling inside of me, like a force tugging on me that gave me the strength to look. I tried not to think about how I could've possibly known it was Brady even though I didn't actually see him. It was just like I somehow knew it would be him and not a doctor or a nurse.
Even though I could make out his tall frame and his eyes it was a little foggy. The noise from earlier was now loud and clear, and I looked up only to find the source. A green squiggly line moved up and down on the screen, recording each beat my heart would make.
My gaze travelled down to my arm which was now all stitched and bandaged up. An IV was sticking out of the top of my hand while my index finger was telling the heart rate monitor everything it needed to know.
"You freaked the hell out of me," I looked at him, leaning up against the wall right across from my bed, bags residing underneath his eyes.
"What time is it?" It must've been late since I was here in a hospital bed looking like I wasn't going to get out of here anytime soon. I assumed I would be staying overnight since I was hooked up to all this crap.
"Almost midnight," he barely smiled, "I forced them to let me stay past visiting hours. They were so scared and had no idea what to do so they just gave up eventually. I'm sure they were thinking I was psychotic from how angry I got. They even tried to call security to get me out."
I chuckled, feeling disappointed that I missed all of that. It didn't take long for me to realize that I still felt tired even though I was knocked out for a couple of hours, "Did they give me some pain meds?"
He nodded and walked over to the bed, grabbing my hand, "Yeah. You were out like a light as soon as they did."
"And why do I have an IV in me right now?"
His eyes suddenly got darker when I asked the question. It was like I was bringing up something he didn't want to talk about. I had a feeling I would feel the same way once I got the answer, "They said you were malnourished. They wanted to know what your diet was like."
Oh yeah, I definitely regret ever asking, "What did you," I gulped the saliva that was stuck in the back of my throat, ready to try to say that again, "what did you tell them?"
He shrugged, brushing away every piece of hair that was on my forehead, "I said I didn't know."
I nodded, breathing easy…for now…
"You don't eat much do you?"
This was definitely going to tear open a couple of holes. I knew that this would lead into some other subject. A subject I really do not want to get caught up in right now.
How could all of this have happened so fast? I had no idea that this night would be ending with me tiptoeing around talking about how I'm abused by my father.
Just hours ago I was having fun. I was finally having a normal moment, but as soon as I was given that moment it was ripped away from me. My dad snatched it right out of my hands and crushed it. And now I had to worry about having my fears come to surface.
"I eat what I can when I can," I made sure to keep my eyes off of him, "it's difficult when you're trying to avoid getting hurt-,"
"Was tonight one of the first full meals you've had in a while?"
I cringed, trying to ignore the fact that the tempo of the heart rate monitor sped up a bit, "Yeah," I whispered, hiding my face but keeping my hand tangled with his, "School is kind of up and down. I try my best though."
He nodded, clearly not happy with my answers. I found myself desperately wanting to go back to when we were in my room, kissing each other like there was no tomorrow. It was all so perfect. It was just me and him and we were completely content.
But now, you could practically cut the tension with a knife.
"I'm sorry any of this had to happen," I closed my eyes and listened, "If I would've gotten there sooner," he paused and I could feel the slight tremble of his hand as he got angrier, "Damn it! Why the hell am I so stupid?"
Suddenly, he shot up from beside me and started pacing back and forth to my right. I sighed and let a single tear travel its way down my cheek. It was starting. All of the hell I wanted to avoid was taking over.
"You didn't tell them what really happened did you?" I focused on the green line going up and down on the monitor, wanting to force my heart to slow down. Ripping the band aid off of this wound would make it all go by faster though. The sooner I got it out the sooner it would be over.
"No," he said sharply, "I didn't, but believe me it took everything in me to not tell them the truth."
And as if I needed anything else to happen right now, a nurse came into the room. Her smile barely even managed to lighten up the tensed atmosphere I was suffocating in. From the times I've been in here before for other injuries I've never seen her. That was good for me since it would be easier to lie to someone who hasn't seen me before.
"It's glad to see you awake Melody," her dark brown hair stopped just at her shoulders and her hazel eyes were lit up with joy. I don't even know how she didn't notice Brady shaking over in the corner. When she came up to me she didn't even acknowledge him and I wondered how far he flew off the handle in order for her to act this way.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, adjusting the IV bag.
"I-I'm ok," I looked at Brady out of the corner of my eye, "No pain right now."
"That's good. The meds must still be in your system then," she kept recording stuff on her little clipboard, walking around me and taking a peak at my bandages, "heart rates a little high," yeah no kidding.
Once she was finished scribbling down her notes she sat on the bed next to me, her smile getting slightly wider, "You had a pretty big cut there. It took us fifteen stitches to fix it all up," ugh, it made me sick just thinking about it, "If you don't mind me asking you I would like to know what exactly happened."
And here we go. The lying was about to start. Every happy moment I had before was going to be washed away by my pathetic response, "Someone threw a glass through our garage window," I was amazed by how smoothly all of that was rolling off my tongue, "I went in to clean it up and tripped. I completely wiped out and ended up on the ground. The next thing I know blood is everywhere and I find this on my arm," I pointed to the cut, ignoring the snarl that I heard come out of Brady.
The nurse looked straight into my eyes, and I tried to make myself look as convincing as possible. She kept staring and staring, trying to get me to crack. I kept my face blank, waiting for it all to be over. It went on like this for a couple of minutes, and I thanked my heart for staying steady throughout the whole thing.
Finally, she nodded and patted my knee lightly, "Alright. Remember to be careful next time though ok?"
"Ok," I forced myself to look at him and saw what I fully expected to see. He was staring right back at me, looking completely disappointed. I tried to apologize to him with my eyes.
"I wanted to ask you about your diet too. When you came in we noticed you were severely malnourished. We wanted to keep you overnight on an IV to try and get you some more nutrients into your system," she looked right at me again with that same hard expression, "You can tell me anything," No I'm sure that's not true, "it'll all be between just you and me," for a second she looked back at Brady warily, "are you trying to lose weight?"
I wanted so badly to roll my eyes at her. I wanted to slap her and make her get the hell out of the room because of how dumb she was sounding. But she brought up the idea, so I just decided to roll with it, "Yeah, I kind of haven't eaten much lately."
She nodded, "Well in your file it says you're already seeing a therapist. Maybe you could bring it up with her sometime?" when I didn't respond she kept going on, "from now on you have to eat normally. Three meals a day with a snack or two in between," ok mom, "you're hurting yourself by not eating right."
"Yeah, I'll have to pay more attention to food I guess."
Again, the idiot smiled, believing my lies like a child believing in the Easter bunny, "I'll be back in a couple of hours to check up on you," her gaze went down to the folder in her hands as she stood up. When she didn't immediately walk out of the room I started to get ticked off, "Melody Owens?" No, it's Britney Spears….
These meds are messing up my head.
"You're Mary's daughter?" oh no. That's exactly what you shouldn't say. You should've walked out of the room right after you checked on me. Why did you have to point out that one dumb fact? Why did you just doom me forever?
"Yeah, I am," I said, noticing how Brady's head shot up when I spoke.
"I had no idea, stupid me," yeah stupid you, "I'll tell her you're here. She must be so worried about you," highly doubt it, "Sit tight I'll bring her right in to see you," does it look like I'm going anywhere?
Damn it I'm acting like such a jerk right now…
As soon as she left the room I was reminded of what was interrupted before when Brady started walking over to the bed, "Your mom works here?"
I sighed, looking down at the blanket I was covered with, "She's a nurse."
"Why didn't you tell me?" he sounded so hurt. Like I just punched him in the face, and it made me feel like the shittiest person in the world.
"I didn't think it mattered. She's not exactly a part of my life Brady," I winced at his expression, "This hospital is her life. Her patients are more of a family to her than I will ever be."
He shook his head, "Are you going to lie to her too?"
I'm so sorry. I know you'll never understand why I'm doing all of this. It's just something I have to do. It's the only way.
I wanted to say all of it to him, and I wanted to let him know that I felt just as bad as him about lying to everyone. But this was me keeping him in my life. This was me protecting everything we had as best as I could.
A knock on the door brought me out of my own thoughts. My mom stood in the doorway, her lips formed into a stern line. Her dark scrubs matched her dark and unloving personality. It suited her so well that I wanted to scowl at her.
I knew what was coming. Brady didn't. It was going to be the first time he experienced one of the lovely conversations of Melody and Mary Owens.
She didn't even attempt to move any closer to me. She just kept analyzing every single part of me, trying to understand what the hell was wrong with me. I wanted to tell her there was nothing wrong with me, there was something wrong with her dumb ass of a husband.
"You can't keep doing this Melody," she started, her tone harsh. I sat there silently, wishing it would go by fast, "All of these accidents are getting a bit ridiculous. The bills are piling up and I'm trying my best to pay for all of your mistakes," she hissed out the last word like it was poison and finally stepped into the room with her hands on her hips. I took note of the fact that she ignored Brady's presence just like the nurse did, "I can't keep giving away money left and right to pay for your clumsiness."
No mom, it was him. Dad did it to me. Yell at him not me.
"Mom, I'm sorry-,"
"Sorry just won't cut it this time Melody," her eyes narrowed at me and I shut my mouth, absorbing every word she spat at me, "I work so hard to provide for us," you work to keep a house you barely live in. You provide for a child you probably want to disown, "and you take complete advantage of that. Do you care at all about how much this is costing me?"
Do you ever stop and think that I'm in the hospital way too frequently? That these accidents happen way more than they should?
"I'll pay for all of it if you want."
Any other mother would've been crying. A mom who loved their child would have asked me if I was alright first. That wasn't my mom. My mom's job trumped me any day, "No, I'll do it," she sounded defeated, like she was already giving up on me, and I knew she was. She wasn't going to sit in here and talk to me while so many other people out there needed her more, "just don't let accidents like this happen again."
Accident? It wasn't an accident. He wanted to hurt me.
I noticed the look of disgust on her face when she finally saw Brady. There was nothing in her features that told me that she wanted me to introduce them. She didn't want anything to do with the boyfriend she knew nothing about. She couldn't face the fact that she knew as much about her daughter as she knew about this boy standing in front of her.
Without saying another word she walked right out of the room and continued on with what she did best, ignoring my existence.
"Cheerful isn't she?" I asked sarcastically, hoping Brady understood exactly how things were with my parents. I wanted him to understand why I don't want him to ever formally meet them.
He started shaking more after she was completely out of sight, "That's the way she acts towards you all the time?"
I grimaced, "That's probably the most I've ever really talked to her to be honest."
A growl came out of his mouth, "Why do you let it go on?"
I felt a chill run through my veins. Here we go. Here come the accusations. He's going to tell me everything I should've done and everything I didn't do. He's going to point out how wrong I was.
"Brady-,"
"You had so many opportunities to let the truth come out and you lied straight to everyone's faces. This could've ended tonight. Tomorrow you could wake up knowing that you never have to be hurt again if you would just tell someone what really happened!" He shouted it all at me, letting his anger take over for him. I felt my eyes start to get damp as soon as I knew that every perfect moment we had together before was completely forgotten about at this very moment.
"I can't do that," I whispered.
"You can, but you won't!" I let a small sob come out of me, immediately covering it up with a cough when I noticed him freeze, "Melody," he took one deep breath before continuing, "You're suffering when you don't need to be. If you let this go on then he's going to," his eyelids closed, "he's going to end up killing you, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let that happen."
"I'm not going to do it," I grazed my finger lightly back and forth on my wrist, trying to keep myself composed, "You don't get it Brady."
"I don't?" his tone was fiercer now, "What's there not to get? He's deliberately hurting you. He's putting you into the hospital! What else is there to understand?"
"How about what will happen to me if I do tell someone," I shot back at him. He shut up immediately, looking completely confused. I was ready to clear it all up for him, "Let's say I tell the nurse what really happened. Let's say the police get involved and put him in jail. They'll take me out of my home and then what? What will happen to me?"
His eyes were now focusing on the floor, avoiding any sort of eye contact with me.
"I'm not eighteen yet. I'm still a minor," fat tears started streaming down my face, "Child Protective services will get involved. How will I know where I end up then?" I regained my breath and tried to keep my composure as I went on, "They'll put me in a foster home or send me away to some other family member of mine that lives halfway across the country. They'll take me away from La Push," I used my finger to wipe away the tears, "away from you," I said softly.
He finally sat down in the chair that was right next to my bed, grabbing my hand in his again.
"My brother and I had a plan. We would wait until I was eighteen and escape. All I had to wait was a year and I could be free," I laid my cheek down onto my pillow and stared at his bloodshot eyes. I couldn't tell you I've ever seen Brady get emotional, but I guess I was actually getting to him, "Those plans changed when I met you. Suddenly I wasn't hanging on for my brother so we could stay together through all of this. I was hanging on to you, because you became the one person I could rely on. You became my personal savior, and I can't let him be the reason why I have all of that taken away from me."
His eyebrows furrowed and he brought my hand up to his face, placing a light kiss on my skin before letting out something that sounded like a whimper, "If your safety means possibly being apart from each other, then I'm willing to take that risk."
I felt like he just stabbed me right in the heart. It hurt to hear all of that come out of his mouth. Maybe he really didn't feel as much for me as I did for him, "I'm not," I replied, clutching onto his hand like I would die if I didn't feel his touch.
"Melody," he whispered, "maybe that's what's supposed to happen. Maybe we need to be apart in order for you to completely heal."
"You're healing me," I shook my head, "I don't need anything but you."
"Tell the nurse the truth."
"No," it was like he didn't even hear everything I just confessed to him, "I'm not going to do it and you can't make me."
"You have to!" he shouted at me yet again.
And that was it for me. I was done trying to tell him how deeply I felt for him. None of it was getting through to him obviously. He didn't care that I chose him over everything else, "Get out," I took my fingers out of his, "just leave me alone."
"What?" he sounded more surprised than I thought he would.
Good. I wanted him to feel horrible right now. He wasn't going to try to look at things from my perspective so I'm going to kick him out, "I said get out and don't come back!" It was my turn to scream, "You won't even try to think about me. All you care about is how this affects you! You just want these problems off of your plate because it's too much for you to handle!"
"That's not true," he murmured.
"This is why I never should've told you about my dad, because you try to act like you get it but you never will. If you think this is some simple choice between right and wrong then you're delusional. This is so much more than that. This is me having to choose between never seeing you again or being with you and sticking it out until I can leave. I want to be in control of my own life. I'm not about to let everything go up in flames because of my parents."
Silence. It filled up the room like helium filling up a balloon. I wanted to keep it with me. I couldn't stand hearing him talk anymore.
"Leave," I demanded, trying to hold in the tears as best as I could while trying to sound like I was angry at the same time.
He shook his head at me with a solemn look on his face. A part of me wanted to kiss him and try to relive part of what happened earlier today, while every other part was telling me I needed to think things through on my own without him here. So I kept quiet and stared at the ceiling, listening to the beeping noise like it was a sweet song playing on in the background.
Nothing else was said when he stood up and finally listened to me. While he was walking out I kept my eyes on his back, wishing things were different. Why couldn't anything be easy? Why couldn't I just have him without these complications causing conflict? Why did I always ruin everything?
When he was finally gone I pulled the blanket over my head and cried to myself, letting out all of the pain that was building up inside of me. I curled myself up into a ball and wept while I waited for sleep to overcome me.
There was so much that I wished was different, me being the top thing on the list. I wished that I could go back to being the girl I was earlier. I wanted to be the girl that Brady enjoyed being around, because that girl felt more alive than she ever has before. She was fully content with where she was in her life.
I guess what happened was all just a reminder that I couldn't get too comfortable with everything being perfect. Something bad was going to happen sooner or later. I couldn't avoid the pain. I could run from it, but I couldn't hide. Even though that was all I really felt like doing at the moment.
I woke up the next morning to my arm throbbing in pain. It stung so bad that I had no choice but to call the annoying nurse back into my room to bring me some more pain meds, the kind that didn't make me drowsy of course, along with a full plate of breakfast that she insisted I eat. It was the most awkward experience in the world too. She stood right at the foot of my bed, watching me like a hawk stalking its prey. I ate the disgusting oatmeal and the sour orange just to please her, and when I finished she told me she would get the doctor to come in and make sure I could go home today, that cheesy smile plastered on her face the whole freaking time.
I guess you could say I was a mix of joy and fear when I heard her say that. It would be great to get out of here, and yet I didn't know if I wanted to even go home. It didn't really even feel like a home to me anyways. Plus, now that I was injured I had to stay home from school for a few days to heal. It would be terrible if I had to stay at that hell hole while I tried to recover.
I really had no choice when the doctor took the IV out of my arm in the late afternoon. Since my mom had yet another shift today –shocker- they told me I needed to call someone else to take me home. I didn't want to call Brady really. I didn't need to face him after everything that happened, but who else would I call? I didn't have anyone else. He was already involved in this whole mess, and I didn't want to worry Connor and get him caught up in it too, so I had to. Damn it, why couldn't I have been done with this paperwork earlier? Then he would still be in school. Now I really had no excuses.
When I finally did call him I kept the conversation as short as I could, only asking him if he could come and take me home and waiting to hear his reply. When he answered yes I hung up immediately just because I didn't want to get into a conversation about last night.
My mom and I met up again when she had to help me fill out the discharge paperwork. The air was quiet and stale, and I felt like if I ever did say anything then she would just get pissed off at me, so I let the silence stay the way it was.
She put on a happy façade when the doctor suddenly came into the room. I wanted to take the damn mask off of her face and reveal her for who she truly was, because all of that was a bunch of bullshit. It made me feel like she truly did hate me, and this was all just proof that she's led everyone in this hospital to think that she was the most loving mother in the world.
When the agonizing hour of paperwork was done, she didn't even have the decency to say goodbye to me. And do you think the doctor was in the room then? Hell no.
I stared down at the bandage that covered up the disgusting stitches that were protruding from my skin as I waited for Brady to get here. It felt like I had huge needles sticking out of me, minus the annoying pain, and I had my wonderful father to blame for all of this.
After a few minutes of me waiting, a jolt of…something made me sit up straight. Suddenly, I could feel Brady in the hospital with me. Weird. Very weird.
When his figure appeared in the doorway I was glad to see Collin and Seth trailing along right behind him. It made me feel better to know that we weren't going to be alone.
"Hey guys," I grinned, standing up from the bed and trying really hard to not look at Brady.
"Look at her! She's tough as nails!" Seth came up to me and picked me up, hugging the air right out of my lungs.
My feet were now flailing in the air, and he didn't even leave me enough room to hug him back, but I did get a good feel for his six pack. Geez did all of them really have to have those?
I winced when my stitches started digging into his chest. The only one that seemed to hear my little cry of pain was Brady since he snarled at Seth who was still suffocating me, not on purpose of course.
"Let her go," he said, venom lining his words.
"Someone's uptight," Collin laughed, "You really need to calm down before you do something else you'll regret."
I wanted to ask him what he could possibly mean by that, but was rudely interrupted when Brady decided to speak up, "Can you guys please leave us alone? I need to talk to her."
"No, you don't have to go," I didn't want to talk to him. It would be better if I could just avoid another argument today. We could pick up where we left off after my stitches are out.
"Yeah, we really can't go anywhere. Sam doesn't want you anywhere alone after that little stunt you pulled last night."
Stunt? What stunt did he pull? "What happened last night?"
All three of them got tense when I said it, "Seth I'm going to beat the shit out of you if you don't shut up!" Brady started shaking, just like last night. He sure does get angry a lot.
"Fine, we'll leave the room, but we're staying down the hall just in case you try to escape," Collin glared at Brady, staying cautious just in case he actually did try to beat one of them up, "Glad to see you doing ok Melody," he winked and smiled at me.
"Yeah, you're pretty tough if you ask me," Seth threw that out just as the two of them left the room. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face, even though they did leave us alone now.
I sighed and stared at the doorway, wanting to call them back in here immediately. I didn't want to go back to feeling miserable. It took me hours just to stop crying last night, and I had no intention of letting another tear come out of me. Getting into this again in less than twenty four hours was not good for my health.
Ha.
I make myself laugh sometimes. Really, when has anything in my life ever been good for my health?
I guess that was the wrong way to put it.
"Melody," he sounded like he was in pain, like last night affected him exactly the way I intended it to, "I'm sorry for pushing you to do something you didn't want to do. You're right; I really don't understand what it's like to be in your shoes. And I'm sure if I was I wouldn't be able to handle it half as good as you do."
I kept a stern look on my face, letting him know that I still wasn't completely sold yet. He had to do better than that.
I crossed my arms over my chest, letting my gaze stay focused on his huge biceps even though it made me want to drool all over the floor. When he took a step towards me I stood steady, only noticing a huge vein making itself known when he closed his hands into fists.
"If I could take every beating for you then I would do it in a heartbeat," my eyes finally flickered up to his face, and I cursed myself for giving up on ignoring him so quickly. I figured I would just listen to him since he was starting to spark my interest, "and I promise that I will do everything I can to make sure you never have to feel pain again. I'm going to actually keep that promise too, since I've now broken the other one," he grimaced.
Another long stride forward and we were now only inches apart. I let my hands fall to my sides, realizing that I was completely intrigued by his every word. I was weak at the knees just because of the heat I felt coming off of him.
His eyes were burning through mine while his fingers looped around both of my wrists. I knew that I was a goner as soon as he did that because it was the gentlest touch I've ever felt in my life. It was like I was so fragile that if he squeezed me too hard I would completely shatter into a million tiny pieces. It made me feel like I meant everything to him.
"but if I break that promise too, which I'm really praying I won't, I want you to really think about letting the truth come out, because you need to be able to live the life you deserve," it seemed like his face got even closer to mine, "and don't doubt for a second that it's the right choice. Don't think about where you'll end up or if we'll be split up. If it comes to that, we'll deal with it. We will make it through every obstacle together," he exhaled the breath he had been holding in and I found myself enjoying the way his breath hit my face, "because love knows no boundaries. Love doesn't let an abusive father get in its way. Love kicks him in the ass and tells him that it's stronger than he will ever be."
Oh god. What did he just-
"What we have can't be broken by distance Mel," he grinned.
Wait. Hold on a second. He really said all of that? To me? To Melody Owens the basket case? I really just got the cheesiest explanation thrown at me? I really just loved every part of that cheesy explanation too? Am I turning into a puddle of goo yet?
"So I guess I'll just come right out and say it then," he kept that smile on his face when he brought our lips together for one short and sweet kiss. Our foreheads were glued together after our mouths parted. I found myself forgetting about why we were here when I looked at his face. I wrapped my arms around his waist, enjoying that every moment I lost yesterday was now being relived today.
Just so I could stay in this beautiful moment for as long as possible I closed my eyes, shivering every time his breath touched my cheeks.
"I love you Melody."
My heart stopped. I felt like at any given moment doctors would come into the room with a crash cart screaming code blue because I was no longer breathing.
So that's what he's been thinking about saying to me all night? He was planning on saying that one thing to me in hopes that this argument could magically blow over? Well, its magic was working pretty quickly…I actually did want to scream and jump up and down like an excited little school girl.
"Y-y-you," I felt my arms begin to shake, "what?"
He chuckled, "I said I love you," he whispered.
Please tell me I'm not dreaming. Someone pinch me to make sure I'm actually awake. Pour some water over my head, slap me in the face, anything. Just so that I know that this isn't some sort of figment of my imagination.
"You love me?"
"No, I actually said I hated you," he gave me a crazy look, "how could you make such a bad mistake? Hate doesn't sound anything like love. Geez getting a little ahead of yourself don't you think?"
I pulled my face back, my expression now one of pure shock and amusement, "I guess I am, because really why would you love me? It's not like I'm anything special. What the hell was I thinking? Someone as hot as you would never love a waste of space like this."
"Alright, you caught me I actually did say I love you," he chuckled only slightly sounding like he wanted this joke to go on longer, "and you're not a waste of space. You're actually pretty worthy of all the space you take up. If I had to guess I'd say you're probably worthy of more than just that."
I rolled my eyes, "You're a dork."
"A dork that is admitting he loves you, and is losing all faith in the fact that he decided to say it to you now when it doesn't seem like you feel the same way."
I really took all of that in. Did I love him too?
I mean we haven't known each other for that long and yet I feel like I've known him my whole life. I feel like this is right where I'm supposed to be. Brady and I fit perfectly together even though we would seem like a couple that just wouldn't work out. Our relationship had a rocky start at the beginning, and slowly and steadily it began to bloom into something beautiful. It has become something that I used to feel like I could only dream about. It is exactly everything I never thought I would be able to have. I thought I would've died before I got the chance to actually love someone, and now that I do have all of that it's no longer a fantasy I made up in my head. It's reality. It's our reality. Our own personal love story.
"I love you too Brady," and I truly meant it. Every part of me felt satisfied with my response.
I was finally able to feel love and be loved in return.
Wooooo for love!
I have to admit this chapter was just as long as my last. It is officially 9,037 words long (not including my obnoxious author's notes) that is a little over 17 pages of written text. Does it even seem that long to you? It doesn't ever feel like I write that much to me to be honest... you all said you liked the long chapters so I gave you another one ;)
So did anyone expect THAT to happen in this chapter? DID YOU? DID YOU?
I know her mom is a bitch...I want to slap her face...
And what DID Brady do last night? YOU WILL FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! That's right the next chapter will be in Brady's POV. You will see what he was thinking after he left the hospital and everything that happened after that. Can you take any guesses as to what he did? Write it in your review :)
So how was it? I know the end is all cheesy hehehehehe cheeese
Again, next chapter = Brady's POV. It won't be every single thing that happened here trust me. There is so much stuff I have in my head that I want to write out. I'm excited about it.
yes, the dramatic fighting has been in my head since the beginning. Not the annoying nurse though. She just popped in my head last night. What an idiot.
Until the next chapter I will have to say goodbye