This chapter is a little heavier, so be aware of that. Please send feedback, and I hope you enjoy! Stay safe, I love you all!

Trigger warning: Mentions of non-con

Melanie

I was fully aware of James's flirtatious intentions towards me, and I could admit I was a little rash when I flirted back, but I shouldn't have.

He was no different than the filthy men that pestered me during my shifts at The Looking Glass, but I wanted to see Roni jealous. I clearly made the wrong decision.

She was glaring at us both dangerously. James was clearly oblivious, more than willing to pay attention to my cleavage rather than my date, but I'm sure Roni couldn't blame him, I've seen her eyes wander a little too far before. She definitely blamed him, and even me, by the way she was watching me while tipping back shots. I wanted to make her squirm, not the other way around.

I stopped him when he leant in to kiss me. I quickly informed him I was seeing Roni, and he looked incredibly confused, but went off to join his friends.

Once he was gone, Roni was directly in front of me, frowning with her arms crossed.

"What the hell was that? Are you going to ditch me now?" she growled. No matter how angry she made her face look, I knew I genuinely hurt her a bit. She knew how to tug on my emotions.

"No, I just…I wanted to-"

"-You think some lame excuse is going to fix this?"

"Roni, stop and listen for a second. I just wanted to make you jealous, that's all. I promise." She rolled her eyes dismissively and left, slinging a dishcloth over her shoulder before leaving for the kitchen, untying the strings of her apron as she rounded the corner. My head fell the table lamely. I looked up after a minute of silently berating myself to catch James smirking at me, before taking a sip of his beer.

Roni slipped out the back door. I stood up too fast for my slightly-muddled head's liking. I rushed to the back, shot a very-confused Riley a shy smile, and pushed open the heavy metal doors. She was leaning against the hood of her car with a cigarette in her fingers. She took delicate puffs of the cigarette before she noticed me.

"Leave. I don't want to talk to you."

"Okay. When?"

"Never."

"Never? Roni, I was trying to get under your skin, in the hopes that you'd invite me to your place to claim what's yours. I didn't mean to make you so upset, and the silly flirting didn't even mean anything."

"You think I'd invite you to my place after that stunt you pulled? I need to stop giving you alcohol, it's clearly messing with your judgement."

"Roni, please, I never meant to anger you. I just wanted you to take me home. I was just having a bit of fun making you jealous, but I realize now that I made a huge mistake. I'm so sorry."

"Fun? Flirting with someone when you are clearly taken is fun? Then I'm just going to assume that breaking this off is fun too."

"Roni. Roni, please!" She didn't listen to me when I called out for her, and just stomped on her cigarette and climbed into her car. It wasn't until the sound of her car engine was out of earshot that I went back into the bar.

Riley was back at the counter where Roni was, and James was at a barstool with a still-full bottle of beer in his fists. I sat down next to him.

"You know what, I'm not dating Roni," I said conversationally. He turned his head towards me and kissed me harshly. I held onto his shoulder and kissed him back.

Roni

That woman didn't know when to quit. She pushed and pushed and pushed, and that was the last straw. It would've ended soon, I told myself. My hate for her would overrule anything I ever thought I felt. The curse made sure that they would find the True Love they always had, and it was sickening to think about. That the universe had more control over my life than I do.

I hurled a throw pillow from the couch across the room. It hit the wall with a thud, and I fell to the couch with my face in my hands. I tried my hardest to expel her from my head, but I couldn't. She was there, all the time, flirting with that sorry excuse for a man.

I stood up from the couch and dug around in my kitchen cupboards for a bottle of vodka. I never went as strong as vodka unless I felt the screaming urge to punch someone in the nose.

I downed shot after shot until I couldn't make the room stop spinning. I smirked to myself and threw myself back on the couch, laying my head down on the armrest and tucking my legs under me.

I could feel the sunlight shining onto my face, but I draped an arm over my eyes and groaned. I tried to pull my blanket up under my chin, but quickly realized that I didn't have a blanket. Someone chuckled and I immediately shot up and looked for the baseball bat I had somewhere.

Riley was in the kitchen, flipping slices of bacon and humming something to herself.

"Good morning," she said politely, once she heard me stir.

"How are you here? Why are you here?" My voice was rough and my words were still slurring together, from a combination of exhaustion and alcohol.

"Well, you were late this morning, and I know you always come in during the mornings to clean until we open, so I just assumed you were blackout-drunk. I came here, and your door was unlocked, a great sign that you were, in fact, passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of vodka beside you. So, being the good employee I am, I'm cooking you breakfast."

"Not that good of an employee, it seems. You broke into my apartment."

"Didn't break in; the door was unlocked."

"Still, I never gave you permission to come inside." She chuckled and brought over a plate of bacon and eggs. The smell made me want to throw up. I sat up and rubbed my eyes with a new wave of nausea hitting me.

"Excuse me for a moment," I said as professionally as I could while hungover. I padded into the bathroom and turned the sink on so she couldn't hear me.

I knelt in front of the toilet and emptied the contents of my stomach. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and brushed my teeth. I could tell Riley heard everything by the way she smiled sympathetically and handed me my plate of breakfast.

I sat down beside her and shovelled down my breakfast. She snickered.

"I can cover your shift until five, then I'm working in the kitchen, whether you want me to or not." I laughed and patted her knee.

"I think I can let it slide. Everyone will miss your curly fries." She blushed and snickered before gathering my dishes and left.

I forced myself to stand up and snatched the bottle of aspirin left on the counter, most likely put there by Riley. I smiled and opened the cap, shaking out two pills and I forced them down my throat. I found my purse on the counter next to the aspirin. It was buzzing, and I could already tell who it was. I pulled out my phone and was met by Melanie's name lighting up the screen. I let it ring, and was notified with a voicemail. I reluctantly listened to it.

Roni, it's Melanie. Please talk to me, I never meant to upset you. Please call me back. Bye. I rolled my eyes and deleted the voicemail, before turning my phone off and slinging my purse over my shoulders, making sure I locked the apartment this time.

Melanie had the audacity to show up at the bar, despite the 'closed' sign hanging loosely on the window. I grumbled.

"Sorry Miss Blanchard, we're closed."

"I'm aware of that. I'm not here for a drink."

"Oh please, I'm done talking to you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy." Melanie didn't leave, or even make I look like she was. Instead, she sat at the barstool nearest to me. I walked around the counter and wiped the booth seats. "If you missed the hint, that means 'get out of my bar.' Now." Melanie sighed, and once more, pursued my attention. She didn't deserve my attention. She's just as bad as Snow White. Maybe even worse.

"I don't want to leave. It was a mistake, flirting with him, leading him on, all of it." Now, she's piqued my interest.

"No, go on, what else? You said 'all of it', so I'm assuming there's something else." Before I could think what else she could mean, she spoke quickly and I nearly missed it.

"I slept with James and I was being stupid and I was way too drunk." My hands involuntarily curled into a fist. I chuckled darkly.

"You what?" My hands were now white as a sheet. She started panicking, and she was as pale as my hands.

"It was a mistake, a big one. I was so drunk I could barely see, and I don't even remember it. As far as I can remember, I didn't even get close before he was climbing off of me and pulled his clothes back on." I felt the familiar urge to stab them both multiple times with a nearby fork.

"Leave before I run you over with my car," I growled.

"Excuse me?"

"You. Heard. Me. I don't ever want to see your face in this bar again." She scrambled away and looked over her shoulder one more time with dread and heartache. That look alone nearly made me jump from my seat and kiss her hard and tell her I forgive her. But I didn't. If there was one thing I was good at, it was holding my ground. That, and acting like everything was okay.

I forced my tears back and got back to scrubbing the seats with a renewed vigor.

Melanie

I lied to Roni. I had a choice to tell her, and I knew she'd feel sympathy for me, but if she were to forgive me, I don't want her to do it because she feels bad for me.

I did remember the encounter, but I didn't want to retell it. I had told him no. But that no turned into an involuntary yes when he pulled me into my room with his fingernails biting into my wrists. I knew I couldn't fight him, so I thought, if he doesn't listen to me, I might as well try and enjoy it.

I didn't enjoy it at all. He was insistent, and yet he didn't pull me over the edge. I took a shower and let the searing water wash away my dried tears.

It could've been worse, though. He wasn't rough with me, but that was probably because I did what he wanted. If I objected further, I feel like I wouldn't get up from my bed for days.

I had trouble walking properly, and I still had finger-shaped bruises from where he pulled me to my room, but I'm fine. I repeated that steady mantra in my head enough times that I started believing it.

I was close to telling Schaffer what he did to me, but I didn't. It wouldn't matter anyway.

I stormed out into the street just as people were starting to flood through the doors of the bar. James was one of them. I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can I talk to you," I asked. He smirked charmingly, but I now know what it meant.

"Sure." I pulled him to an alley between the bar and the pharmacy. He was immediately all over me, face in my neck, kissing down my collarbone.

"James stop." He didn't, he just travelled lower. "Stop," I yelled, loud enough to make anyone walking past turn their attention to us. He caught on and backed away from me. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Why? We had fun last night," he said cockily.

"You had fun. I didn't. I told you to stop and you didn't. I don't want to talk to you about this," I said shakily. If he heard my voice crack, he didn't show it.

"Fine," he said simply, before walking away. I exhaled and closed my eyes. Relief washed over me and I returned to the inn.