Twenty-five

Mr. Abernathy was standing by his open door, one of his vein-covered hands on the door knob, the other held out to welcome me inside. I hesitated when I got near him, still thinking about what Dylan had said about not trusting him and not wanting me near him alone. I thought about how he'd known Keith Summers. Against everything that I knew was right, I went into his room.

It was neat and looked like no one had been in there. I looked over the entire place, searching for an escape route in case the door was blocked. Other than the small window in the bathroom that didn't open, there was no other possible way out. I could feel my lungs contract at the thought that I was going to be trapped, but Abernathy didn't lock his door when he closed it. Why was I in here with him? What was I thinking? I'd left my phone in my truck, too, so, if something went wrong, I was screwed.

Abernathy slowly walked towards me, his eyebrows raised like he was surprised. I guessed that was how his face permanently was because I hadn't seen him with any other expression since I'd known him. He stopped when his chest was mere inches from mine, and I held my breath when I looked up to his face. "What was your brother's name?"

"If you knew him then you can tell me."

"Mm." He nodded and pursed his lips, watching me. I could see the distaste he felt in looking at me in his eyes. "Well, I'm sure that there can't be many other Fitzgerald's in this town. Since I know your brother, I'm guessing you know who I am."

"Somewhat." I said, my voice low. I tried to look intimidating, but I didn't know if it was working or not. My hair was wet and I was almost positive that my eyeliner was either smudged off or running in places; I probably didn't look intimidating, just like a mess. Abernathy was still standing way too close to me to be scared of me, and his expression didn't change to one of fear. He'd seen my knife, though. What was he planning to do if I pulled it on him?

"Then you must know what I do for a living."

I paused and stared at him. His voice didn't sound angry, he just sounded like he was informing me of something. I nodded, not sure if I should say something or not. My voice came out weak, and I cleared my throat after a syllable left my mouth. "Y-yeah. I think you're a real douchebag too. Selling girls like that…that's not right."

Well, acting like an innocent motel employee was out. Why had I told him all of that?! I wanted to hit myself, but I couldn't take my eyes away from Abernathy's face. His eyes didn't leave mine, and they were searching me, looking for things he could use against me. I stood taller. When someone tried to intimidate me, I refused to let them know that they were. I clinched my shaking hands into fists so he wouldn't see their quaking and continued to stare at him defiantly.

"Well, I guess I should warn you then." His hands clamped around my wrists and he lowered his mouth to my ear, his voice sharp. I could feel his warm breath on my neck and I tried to twist away from him, scared of being this close, but he plowed on with what he was saying as his fingers dug further into my skin to keep me near him. "If you mention anything about my business to the owner of this motel, I will hurt you. First, I'll get your boyfriend. Then I'll get his brother. Then I'll get whatever friends you may have in this town. I will ruin your life if you decide to try and ruin mine." He pulled back from me and seemed pleased with my horrified expression. His voice went back to the pleasant one that was scarily emotionless. "Do you understand, Ms. Fitzgerald?"

"Yeah," I breathed, fumbling with the door knob. "Yeah I understand."

"Good. By the way, I need new bed sheets." Abernathy yelled as I ran back towards the house. I ignored him and sprinted up the stairs, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. I stopped once I got to the front porch and I clung to one of the support beams, that being the only thing keeping me standing. He'd threatened everyone that mattered to me, and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't get his smell—something sickly sweet that I was sure covered up something else—out of my nose for some reason, and that made me dizzy.

Sitting down on the stone that made up the porch, I buried my nose in the arm of the sweater I was wearing and tried to breathe in Dylan's smell. I felt calmer with the wool I knew belonged to him pressed up against my nose, but it was hard to draw his scent from it because I had gotten used to it. I started to panic, but I forced myself to calm down. Now was not the time to have an anxiety attack. I needed to do something about Abernathy. I needed a plan on how to get rid of him. I needed to think.

Well I obviously couldn't go to the police, he'd find out. Or would he? No, the police would need solid evidence that he'd threatened me and other people, and I had none. I sighed into my arm and looked up at the sky, feeling raindrops on my face. What had I gotten myself into?

XXX-Dylan's POV

I pulled up to the motel parking lot when I got home from work, pulling the keys out of the ignition of my truck as soon as I parked. The motel looked gloomy as ever, but it was starting to come together bit by bit. There was now a sign pointing to the office and the concrete in front of the motel doors looked cleaner and everything looked more organized. I noticed a small bowl sitting outside the office, but I didn't dwell on it. I wanted to get inside and see Melanie because I was missing her today more than usual.

I jumped out of the cab of my truck and started up the slippery stairs, passing the blood stain that had still not fully come out of the stone. I took my eyes off of it so I wouldn't stare too long and cause myself to remember too much of the details of how it got there. I saw someone small sitting on the porch and a smile stretched across my face at the instantly recognizable black hair and red sweater that had previously been worn by me. I was glad to know that she still liked being seen in it.

"Mel," I called, my voice echoing. Her head snapped up from her arms and she got to her feet, her hand gripping the railing tightly. I could see the glint of her teeth in the dark, and I smiled. Even from far away the sight of her made me weak in the knees. I skipped a couple of stairs and was at the bottom of the porch in a short moment, and I took those stairs two at a time, sweeping Melanie up in my arms when I got to her. I kissed her and she smiled at me, her arms wound around my neck.

"You seem awfully happy to see me," she said. I grinned and nodded, pecking her lips again.

"I am. I missed you today."

"Well I missed you too. I'm telling you," she kissed me and I tightened my arms around her, pressing her body more firmly to mine. She pulled away after a second and her eyelashes brushed against mine. "You spend way too much time at work."

"I do not! I just have stuff I have to do. Not all of us are still in school," I winked playfully and Melanie rolled her eyes, laughing lightly. I studied her, sensing that something was off. She didn't seem to be as into our greetings as she usually was. Hell, she was usually more energetic when she'd wake up in the middle of the night and decide that she needed to kiss me. I set her down on her feet and bent my knees so I could see into her eyes easier. She put her lip between her lips and glanced away from me, a blush forming over her cheekbones. "Mel, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she sighed. "Finals, I guess. The stress that comes with them, you know. That's all."

I tilted her face up to mine and looked in her eyes. "You don't have to lie to me. What's really wrong?"

"I…" she buried her face in my chest and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. I put my arms around her and held her close to me, worried about her. There was so much stress in her life and I hated that she had to go through it mostly alone because she wouldn't tell me about any of it or let me help her. I felt her fingers curl around the fabric of my jacket, bringing me closer. I tightened my arms around her to let her know that I was there for her. "I need a way to protect myself…something other than the knife…." She took a shaky breath and looked up at me, her lip still in-between her teeth out of unease. "I think I need to learn how to use a gun."

"A gun?" I asked, not understanding why in the world Melanie would need a gun. "What do you need that for?"

"Dylan, that guy in room nine…he's trouble. I know it. I just don't feel safe with not having anything to really defend myself with."

I lowered my eyebrows at her. "Did you go and see him again?"

"No!" her voice was too high to be convincing. I broke our hold on each other and went to stand behind the railing, my fingers wrapping around it. I didn't want to look at her. Not now, at least. She'd gone and intentionally put herself in danger for the second time. I'd even warned her about that guy, and she'd ignored it all. Did she want him to hurt her? "Okay, I did. But I was walking to my truck and he called for me and said he needed to talk to me, so I just thought it was going to be something about the motel or something he needed so I went over to his room and he took me in and—"

"You went in his room?!"

"Oh shit I didn't mean to say that." Melanie put fist against her forehead and rubbed a knuckle on the skin between her eyebrows. She took a deep breath and looked at me. "Yes, I went in his room. But nothing happened. He needed to talk to me. He…he threatened you, Dylan." Her voice cracked and she started to cry. I stood taller and reached for her, but she waved me off. "No! Dylan, he threatened to kill you! He said that if I tell Norma anything about his business and get him kicked out of the motel then he'd kill you and Norman and everyone I care about! I need to do something about this! I can't just stand by and let him do something! I have to be able to stop him!"

"Having a gun won't do anything!" I yelled. "What're you gonna do, shoot him if he gets close?"

"If he tries to hurt you then I want to be able to help! Dylan, listen to me," Melanie came over and grabbed my jacket sleeve, turning me around so I'd look at her. "You got lucky when you had that showdown with Shelby. This Abernathy guy…he's dangerous. More dangerous than Shelby. If you get in trouble, then I don't want to have to sit and not be able to do anything like I had to do with Shelby. I need to be able to help. If you get hurt and it's my fault…I don't know what I'd do."

I looked at her from the side, a scowl dominating my face. Tears were making tracks down her cheeks and she was wiping them away from her eyes with her fingers; at that sight, I felt my anger start to fade. She was just trying to do what she thought was right. I went over to her and grabbed her, bringing her close to me again. I had my arms wrapped around her neck and she had hers around my torso and we stood together where the rain was slipping on our side closest to the side of the porch, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry Dylan." Melanie whispered. I shook my head and shushed her.

"Don't be. Melanie…" I steeled myself to say the words I knew I needed to, almost scared for her reaction. "I love you."

I could feel her chest expand underneath my arms and I felt her pull herself even closer to me. Her hair brushed against my chin, and I waited with baited breath, not sure what to do if she said anything differently. Maybe I shouldn't have told her. Maybe I should've waited. I closed my eyes and felt her look up at me. I opened my eyes and looked down at her, my breath being taken away by just how stunning she was. Her full lips formed the words that I'd been waiting to hear her say ever since I'd first seen her. "I love you too, Dylan."

A/N: The season finale was last night and all I have to say is...wow. I gained so much respect for Emma when she went off on Norman at the dance, that girl needed to set his head straight! My mom said that she can no longer watch Bates Motel in the same room with me because when Norman was (SPOILER ALERT) at his teacher's house and she was undressing and he started to see Norma I decided to scream what I thought was going to happen, which turned out to be right! Then I proceeded to freak out because I was correct. And every time Bradley came on-screen I screamed about how she couldn't have Dylan because he was too good for her. I'm a mess because of this show, guys.

Well, they finally said the three magic words! I hope I did the scene glory (though I'm sure I probably didn't). Please review and leave your thoughts on this chapter! Good or bad, I'll take it all! Thank you all so much for being awesome and reading/reviewing/favoriting/following! I've got over 20,000 views, which is mind-blowing. So, a huge thank you to everyone that reads this story! xxx