Hey guys! I decided to ring in the New Year with a new chapter! Maybe this is a sign that this will be a good year. I sure hope so. Well, before I begin, I have two new stories posted. Go on my profile and check them out. Also, read 'NeoFlock' and 'Deadline' by Talon666 and 'Dark Blue' and 'Maximum Ride: Wings vs. Wands' by Madeline Cullen. Okay, let's see what's going on with Mel.

It was freezing cold. I was huddled up, shivering, on the cold, hard ground. Skye was on watch and I had pretended to fall asleep so that he wouldn't bother me. Jewel was sleeping a little way away from me, shivering as well. I was so tired, but I couldn't go to sleep.

Why couldn't I get some shut eye? I didn't trust Skye as far as I could throw him. I had to stay awake to make sure nothing happened in the middle of the night. No one was getting shoved in a sack while I was around.

So, I stayed awake, listening to every move Skye made. Every breath he took. Every word he muttered to himself although I couldn't make out what he had said. Never mind that the coldness was making me numb. Never mind that I was dead tired.

After an hour that felt more like forty years, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me. Crap. Skye. I didn't move a single, solitary muscle. I'd get him in a sneak attack.

I felt him close to me and heard him crouch down beside me. "I know you're awake Mel so you can stop the charade." he whispered gently. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I continued to say nothing. I knew he was telling the truth. A fight with me would not be a good idea without backup. Sure, he was an Eraser, but I had Jewel, brains, and a very pointy spear. I'd love to see him try anything.

He took in an angry breath. "Dammit Melody, listen to me. I just want to talk to you. Why are you being so stubborn? Don't you love me?"

I was not going to grace him with a response. I had nothing to say to him and he had nothing to say to me. It was over. That was all there was to the matter. My heart had been broken beyond repair.

"What do you want me to do to prove that I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the whole world?" he asked me, his voice shaking.

"You already hurt me." I muttered darkly.

"What?" he asked, not having heard me. A breeze had carried away my words.

"You already hurt me." I told him, louder this time. "I trusted you. I loved you. You betrayed me. You hurt me."

God how he had hurt me. Not just physically, but emotionally. I was forever damaged. There was no fixing me. I was like a vase that had been shattered.

"I told you." he whispered angrily. "It wasn't my fault. Every night I would dream about you. You're perfect face haunted me. I saw you, fierce, powerful, graceful, magnificent, streak through the sky like a bullet. Every time I saw you, hurt and in pain, my heart ached. I wanted to forget you. I tried. But Mel, it's impossible to just forget you."

That was the single most beautiful thing I had ever heard in my life. Too bad it was also the biggest lie I had ever heard. "I gave you everything." I told him. "I gave you my whole heart. I spilled all my doubts and fears to you. I trusted you with my most precious secrets."

Why did you do it? I thought. Why did you say it?

Tear spilled and I decided to give him some pain. I sat up and stared him directly in the eyes. "When I looked at you, I used to see everything I had ever dreamed about. I saw someone who could love me even with my wings. I saw someone I could be myself around."

He stared back at me hard, trying to not show weakness. "What do you see now? Huh Princess? Tell me what you see."

I pursed my lips together. White hot tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was so angry that I couldn't see straight. "Now? I see a monster. I hate you. I hate what you've done to me." I cried harder, losing control.

I hated crying. Not only because it was weak, but because it meant that Skye had control of me. He could make me feel these awful things. He could still hurt me.

I buried my face in my hands. I didn't want him to see my face. I knew I shouldn't have let him in my heart in the first place. Didn't I tell myself I would get hurt? Didn't I know it would end badly? Why didn't I listen?

The pain was unbearable. I wanted my mommy. She was supposed to help me through heart break. But she wasn't here, so I had to get over it on my own.

"Shh, shh." he whispered soothingly as if everything was okay. I felt him wrap his arms around me. He kissed my cheek and I tried to wriggle free of his grip.

"Don't touch me." I ordered, my voice thick with tears. "Let go of me. Let go you ass."

I continued to struggle. It hurt me more that he was touching me. Wasn't talking to me enough? Wasn't lying to me enough? Why did he have to break me even more?

He let go of me and stared into my face. "You can't want this." he whispered in disbelief. He closed his eyes and banged his fist on the ground. "You can't want this. I refuse to believe it."

"You think I wanted this?" I asked incredulously. "You brought this upon yourself. I can't trust you anymore."

Skye actually looked on the verge of tears. "There has to be something I can do." He looked to the sky. "God, please no. Not this." He turned back to me in hopes of getting me to listen to his pleas. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it."

I stood up, slowly and looked down at him. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever loved you in the first place."

His face crumpled when I said that. It was so sad and I almost broke down and sat in his lap and cried and made up with him like a stupid sap. Almost. Not quite. I hadn't completely lost my ever loving mind.

I took a step forward and wobbled a little. I had been sitting down for far too long that day. This was the first time I had moved since I had been falling to my death.

Why did he have to save me? I thought. I had deluded myself into thinking that was the only reason I had allowed him to stay. I felt obligated. That was all.

Things would be much easier if he had just let me die. Maybe that way I would've been able to love him. Now I can't.

I was slowly making my way over to the backpack. I needed to let my parents know that I wasn't dead. Jewel had told me she had updated the blog before we tried to rescue Skye.

I felt Skye grab my arm and I turned around. "Didn't I tell you not to touch me?" I asked. "Let go."

"What Mel?" he asked angrily. "You gonna blog about this to the whole world? You gonna make me look like the bad guy again? You gonna whine about this to your family?"

I glared hard at him. I didn't know him anymore. Had I really known him in the first place? I mean, Skye had proved to me that he was a great actor once. What if that's actually what he had been doing all along?

"It's my business what I write. That's none of your concern." I growled at him. "I will do whatever I want. You don't order me around."

Skye looked like he was about to say something, but he quickly shut his mouth. He must have thought better of it. However, he still hadn't let go of my arm.

I tried to pull free. "I told you to let go."

"Shh." he ordered.

"Not until you let go."

"Would you shut up?" he told me. "I hear something coming. Maybe if you kept your mouth shut, you'd hear it too."

I did hear it. There was a rustling in the trees. Either Skye was a better actor than I thought or this had not been his doing.

"Who's out there?" I called out.

Skye put his hand over my mouth. "What are you doing? We don't want them to find us."

I bit his hand and he jerked it off my mouth. That ought to teach him to tell me what to do.

We continued to stare in the direction of the noise. The rustling was getting louder and, suddenly, someone came through the trees. I could actually see who it was and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Right in front of me was a boy with dark hair that had recently been cut. He had dark eyes and kept his hand in his pocket. The thing that shocked me the most was the wings. They were huge, cream colored with tan and chocolate brown streaks.

"Cory Reynolds?" I asked, thunderstruck.

No, this made no sense. Cory was normal. He did not have wings. He was not standing in the middle of a forest, staring at me and Skye. This was all stress. Or maybe I was dreaming. Or maybe I had finally gone crazy. Cory was not a bird kid. No way.

"This is freaky." Skye whispered, staring at Cory.

Cory grinned at me. "Hey Mel." he said as casually as if we were standing in the school hallway at our lockers.

I shook my head and blinked rapidly. Cory didn't go away. This was all real. Skye could see him too. He had just spoken to me.

"Cory?" I asked again. "What are you doing here? Why are you here? How did you find me?"

He continued to grin as he said, "I'm here to kill you Melody."

Cliffy. Sorry guys. I listened to a lot of depressing music to help with this chapter. Clearly. Anyway, I will update as soon as I can. School's about to start again, so I have no idea how frequent the updates on any of my stories will be. See ya.