Here's a brand new chapter.

Chapter 9

The door of the loft opened and Isaac walked in. Melanie and Derek were screaming at the top of their lungs at one another while Cora and Scott stood next to each other, looks of concern deepening their foreheads. Derek and Melanie were standing awfully close to one another. It was unclear if they were going to start throwing punches. Peter stood on the other side of the room watching with much amusement.

"I did what you wanted me to do! What did you expect me to do? Let them torture me for the rest of me high school career?!" Melanie screamed, throwing up her arms. She paced a few steps.

"Laura and I spent both of our college funds for you to go there." Derek said angrily.

"My dorm door got graffitied and then I got cornered by three blonde bitches. I tried not to do anything and ignore it. They nearly got me expelled for 'cheating'." She used air quotes.

"And you didn't tell the headmaster?"

"I did! I started sounding like the girl who cried wolf because he wasn't finding any evidence."

"So they got you expelled?" he asked, his tone softened.

Melanie squeezed her eyes shut as if she'd been pinched really hard. Them getting her expelled would've probably saved her skin.

"Not exactly."

"What?"

"I gave them the three strike policy…then I struck back," she said, shrugging nervously.

"Melanie!"

"I didn't do anything that bad! I just put hair removal lotion into their hair conditioners."

"Oh god,"

"Hey! Neither you nor Laura had written me for three months! I had to defend myself and that was the less violent way. I could've kicked their asses easily and they would've been unrecognizable. I just thought I'd avoid proving the rumors those girls spread about me true." Melanie said.

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. This was too much to deal with at once. The most he expected was for her to go more in depth about her previous relationship that landed her in the hospital. Laura, Paris; what was next? Did she join some screwed up cult too? His thoughts were jumbled, trying to comprehend all of the information she'd laid out. She should've never been sent to boarding school even though it'd seemed like a good idea. This life put her in harm's way no matter where she was. If she would've been kept nearby, none of this would've happened. She would've been under his watch. She wouldn't have even met Seth and Laura might still be alive. Everything would've been different.

"What did you expect Derek? That I'd be a good little girl and somehow I'd forget about everything and live a normal life?"

"Yes," he said quietly without thinking. Laura had been against her being sent away. She said that Melanie was a part of them. She was right. Melanie couldn't take care of herself the way that they could. Derek won in the end, but Laura wasn't happy about it. She even offered to turn Melanie a week before leaving for Paris. Melanie didn't take up the offer. He remembered her answer so clearly. It was among one of the most mature responses he'd ever heard—"Ask me again when I turn sixteen. That's almost two years from now. I'm just not ready for the bite."

Derek pulled his head out of his thoughts and faced the group. Cora still had her calm. Not knowing anything that's happened since the fire gave her the advantage to avoiding all of this drama. She looked like she was taking Melanie's side though. She was just as shocked as her by his response.

"Oh," Melanie mumbled. She looked down at her feet.

"Poor little Melanie. Left out of the adventure," Peter said. His apathy dripped with sarcasm.

"Go eat yourself you ugly mutt," Melanie snapped at him.

She blinked rapidly, angry that she was being such a girl and crying again. Using the back of her hand, she wiped her eyes. Her cheeks stung from the touch. Coming back here to Beacon Hills was a bad idea. She was suddenly wishing that she had followed her first instinct to ignore his pleas to come here.

She crept toward Peter slowly then stopped short of ten feet, clenching her fists. It was so tempting to punch him again.

"It won't be today or tomorrow or anytime soon, but I'm going to kill you. I don't care what it takes or who stands in my way." She yanked away from Derek's attempt to grab her.

"Good luck," Peter said, the grin on his face turning into a grim line.

Melanie turned and looked at Derek just as furious. He flinched from the look, his steel defense crumbling. He hated hurting her. If she looked in a mirror she'd understand.

"You want me out? I'm out. I'm done. I don't even know you anymore," she said at Derek then glanced at Cora. "I'm keeping the car."

"Mel-" Scott started.

She shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Don't Scott," she said barely above a whisper.

She let out a long sigh. It wasn't as relieving as she hoped. Keeping her head down, she moved around Isaac, avoiding his looks just as he had done earlier today. Having dealt with the blow from Derek, she couldn't deal with Isaac. Not right now. His strangeness could wait for now.

Opening the door felt harder than it did when she came here. The knife that had been tucked away in her boot laid by the door. Her ribs ached, shooting pains across her front and back as she bent down and picked it up. The hilt felt so familiar in her hand, so comfortable.

"By the way," she said, not turning to face him. "Watch out for the twins. They're dogs. They might be part of that alpha pack."

She looked at Derek once more then, with all the strength she had left, she threw the knife at Peter. He stuck his hand out to block it and did so only enough to keep it from going into his chest. The knife pierced through his palm. The tip of the blade skimmed the fabric of his t-shirt. Inhaling caused the blade to press into his flesh. He gritted his teeth together lowering his hand. His fingers twitched involuntarily causing painful spasms up through his wrist. In one strong pull, the knife was out of his hand followed only by a grunt of discomfort.

"What the hell just happened?" Isaac exclaimed angrily at Derek, his chest rising and falling as if he just ran a 5k.

"Did you do it?" Derek asked him, ignoring his angry outburst.

Scott took a step forward cautiously. He flexed his fingers as his hands stayed in his pockets. Isaac said,

"Derek-"

"DID you do it?" Derek asked again, cutting him off. His temper was rising.

"Yes," Isaac replied.

"Then go."

Melanie sat in the car, staring up at the house. The swing on the porch was swaying gently from the light breeze of twilight. She'd been sitting there for the last eight minutes. She was told that the house was clean. There wasn't any need to worry that entrails would be decomposing on the linoleum floor.

Melanie closed her eyes, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Seth stop!"

She couldn't stop the horrific memories from pushing through and sending jaw chattering chills down to her toes. You won't control my life, she thought.

She blew out a long breath and got out of the vehicle. She unlocked the door and went inside. Stopping in the living room, she stared at it wide eyed in disbelief. The place looked like nothing happened like there hadn't been a murder here. The coffee table had been replaced with a replica. Same for the broken chair in the dining room.

Melanie's hands trembled. Blinking a few times, she turned and went upstairs. The need for a warm, enriched bath was overwhelming. Everything from the last two hours with Derek and Peter wound tight knots into her shoulders and back.

The whole house was unnervingly quiet. Not even the bath helped. She'd overloaded the tub with salts, bubbles and oil beads. Though the bruising had faded some more from the warmth and her ribs felt much better, the discomforting thought that she'd be attacked at any moment left her vigilant. She dressed in a purple lace tank top and denim shorts then pinned her hair up with a chopstick that was carved at the end with a fox head. She got it a few years back as a gift. She wore almost always. The ends of her hair sprigged out some and hung wildly. She barely used the hair doodad, but she didn't feel like messing with her hair right now.

She went back downstairs and contemplated turning on the TV. After doing so, she went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. It was funny how a person could feel so thirsty after spending a while in water. Dehydration was strange.

The fight with Derek played over and over again in her mind. A few times since she'd gotten home her cell phone had rung. It was probably Derek, but he wanted her to be done. That meant ignoring him and his existence along with anybody else that he was in contact with. Well, not really, but she felt a satisfaction in it. No more bullshit.

Peter was an exception, a target. That's one person she wouldn't let go of. There was a special place in hell for him. And, though he said he'd been there, he was going back. The chance that she'd be dragged down with him was at least a 90% chance, but one she was willing to take.

Taking a sip of water, it slid down her throat coolly. She set the glass aside, emptying it in one drink then leaned against the counter. The TV wasn't filling the silence like she hoped. Some reality show was on. The voice of a screechy chick was starting to give her a headache. The noise wasn't a good enough distraction. It was a terrible one in fact. So terrible that it didn't have an effect. There are going to be nightmares, you know this, she thought. No point in denying it.

Melanie stiffened suddenly. Her chest grew shallow as her heartbeat quickened at a creaking sound. She eyed a steak knife mixed with other silverware in the dish rack. She couldn't stop the flashback of Seth, how she tried to keep Stiles away, how they both nearly died. The horror gripped her tight by the throat. The developing panic attack was causing her airways to close up for only a second. She eyed the knife again and her heart slowed back down. There was another creak. Whoever or whatever was in the house wasn't good at being quiet.

She moved fast, the way Laura and Derek had taught her. The handle of the knife was in her hand and she spun around, jutting the blade out at the invader. The dinner-ware stuck in the shoulder of Isaac who came up behind her. He yelled out and Melanie looked up at him, her jaw dropping and eyes widening in shock.

"Shit, Melanie!" he yelled, looking at the knife in his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry! I thought—" She snorted and began laughing then. Unable to stop the fit, she slapped her hand over her mouth.

Isaac looked at her as if she'd gone mad. His eyebrows rose and he looked down at the handle of the knife sticking out awkwardly. The stab wound was trying to heal making it hurt and tingle simultaneously.

"You're laughing. You stabbed me and you're laughing?" he said, squeaking in between words.

"I thought—" she breathed in, her ribs hurting because she was laughing so hard. "I thought you were a killer or something!"

She held her sides. Isaac chuckled along with her after a few seconds. She was insane, he decided. That smile and laugh though. It was refreshing. The incident had left her broken for a while. He was happy to see that she was doing better. First, today in school and again right now. Granted the enlightenment was from violence, but he was okay with that strangely enough. Allison had said that she was in such a good mood today in school. It was relieving.

Her cheeks had reddened as she tried to breathe. Isaac leaned against the counter watching her. She didn't catch the look he was giving her filled with great intensity.

"I didn't know it was you." Her laughs faded. "Why didn't you knock?"

"I did. Then I texted and you didn't answer that either, so I thought I'd just come in."

"You can't just walk into someone's house," she said.

"Actually—"

"Stay still, I'm going to pull this out," she interrupted, grabbing the knife.

"I live here…no-OW!" he exclaimed as the ridged blade was pulled out aggressively.

"No you don't." she said. She tossed the knife into the sink and leaned back against the counter. Small droplets splattered over the silver metal. Isaac rubbed his shoulder. Only a hole in his hoodie remained, revealing a sliver of his pale skin.

"Yeah, I do," he replied. Melanie crossed her arms over her chest, a cold look crossing over her face. "I found the ad —"

"By Derek?" she asked.

"And, I helped clean the place up, so I copied your key and took the extra bedroom."

"Give me the key and get out," she hissed, holding out her slender hand.

"No can do. My name is on the deed now. I live here. I can't keep staying with my girlfriend's ex anyway. It's awkward."

"And somehow this is better? Don't you know what happened today at the loft?"

"I caught the end of it," Isaac said, frowning.

"Then you know I'm done. That means all of you stay away from me and vice versa."

"Melanie, it was just a bad fight."

"No, it wasn't. Derek made his intentions clear. You need to leave."

"Too bad. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

That's what I was afraid of, she thought. Those last words reverberated down through her stomach. Stuck with him? Melanie bit her lower lip unable to stop the sudden thought of how happy that made her. It was strange to feel happy about her new roommate. Allison couldn't have been okay with this. The happiness she felt was crushed instantly at the thought of her. Ignoring him and the way he was around her, just being him, was going to be harder with him here 24/7.

"No need to look like you've been put to death," he sneered from her disturbed expression. "I thought you'd be happy to have a friend."

"I do have a friend!" she called back angrily. "His name is Danny and he's not a werewolf."

She understood why he was here, but she didn't like it. She felt ecstatic inside and it tore her up to feel that way because it wasn't right. The feeling wasn't friendly. It was more than that. She looked down into the sink. Small water droplets mixed with Isaac's blood from the knife.

"It didn't take long for me to move from one bad situation to another did it?" she whispered to herself.

Melanie went to the living room. Isaac lounged on the couch lazily. He flipped between channels.

"You're already moved in aren't you?"

Isaac kept watching the TV, making no move to acknowledge her. He wanted to, but she was being ridiculous. She was trying to hide the hurt in her voice, but that was the first thing he heard. First Seth and now Derek. Though Isaac was pissed at them, he stayed quiet, ignoring her and the impulses that made his muscles twitch right then. He wasn't them. She didn't need to take her anger towards them out on him. He was starting to wish that he'd have said no to Derek telling him to move in with her.

"You can quit pretending to ignore me. It's childish," she said coldly.

"Yeah, I have. Derek may have suggested it, but I agreed to it. It's a good idea after what happened, and he trusts me more over some person moving in here. He's trying to protect you," he replied, setting the remote aside.

"He's turned into a real dick," she muttered. "He's forgotten about all of my training."

"Training?"

"Laura started training me and then after my parents died Derek helped train me too. Then I was sent to private school. Laura signed me up for gymnastics, track, fencing and martial arts."

"Whoa."

Melanie chuckled. The way his face slackened was adorable.

"She didn't want me getting lazy just because they weren't around."

"So, uh…you've got moves then," he said.

Melanie smirked. In more ways than one, she thought. Her jaw clenched. She resisted the urge to face-palm from the undeniable thought.

"That's a way of putting it, yes. Let's hope you never have to see me on a bad day." It sounded so precise and matter of fact.

"Yeah, I value my luscious hair," he said with feigned seriousness.

"Ha ha," she fought smiling at the stupid joke. "You can make your room as messy as you want, but keep the place decent overall."

Before the conversation could stray too far, she jumped back on subject. He was actually living here. Having a gorgeous guy move in was every girl's dream. The co-ed prospect of it alone left the mind to wander to dangerous places. And, that was the problem. Melanie was finding it hard to fight going there. It felt like there was a rope around her waist pulling her to him. She could claw, kick and scream to get away if she wanted to, but it was futile.

"Yes bossy, I will," he tried to joke again, smirking.

A small smile crossed over her lips, but it didn't clear her face of the shadow that had been there since she left Derek's loft. Of all people, she didn't think she'd lose Derek. She never felt like an orphan because of him. Now she felt like nothing but one.

Too much was happening. Was there a way to fall asleep and skip all of it?

"It was just a fight," Isaac piped up.

"Yeah, sure. I'm going to head to bed," she mumbled, ruffling her hair a little, letting out a yawn.

"Did you know that when another person yawns after you do it's a sign that the person is empathetic?" Isaac said.

"No," Melanie snorted, rolling her eyes.

Isaac yawned, nodding, "Yup. Goodnight."

"Later mutt."

"Hey!"

She waved her hand passively as she made her way up the stairs. Halfway up she stopped and called down the stairs,

"Hey Isaac?"

"What?" he called back. His soft voice echoed up the staircase.

"You're really not going to leave, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

She smiled to herself. She hadn't realized it until now, but the shakiness had gone away as did the deep alertness that caused her such tension. She knew she could take care of herself. Right now she was a little rusty, sure. Getting the shit knocked out of you by your obsessive, werewolf ex-boyfriend who threatened your way life could do that to you. So could getting the boot by the one of the people you trusted with your life. A few more weeks was all she needed. A few more weeks and she'd be training again. Only Derek wouldn't be there to push her to her limits. What did it matter anyway? He hadn't been there for her for the last two and a half years.

Isaac could hear her heartbeat. It was steady except for when he answered with a yes to her question. It skipped then. She was secretly glad. He let out a long breath that he'd been holding back. He was glad too.

Melanie could still hear the faint hum of the TV after she closed her door. She leaned against the door. The lighting was dim from only a single lamp being on. The bed looked so welcoming with its messy blankets and pillows which had her head indent in them. After turning out the light she crawled into the mess of her bed until she comfortably disappeared. Tomorrow couldn't possibly be worse than today was.

"What's wrong with me?" she sobbed, holding her knees to her chest.