The Cabin

Chapter 19

Melanie sat on the edge of Geri's bed, staring out of the window as she waited for Geri to return. Darkness had enveloped the cabin, the stars the only visible sign that the world outside was still there. They twinkled brightly, unhindered by artificial light. The only source of light within kilometres of the cabin came from the cabin itself.

Melanie watched Geri's reflection appear in the window as she returned to her bedroom. She was in her pyjamas and had just taken off her makeup in the loo. Melanie shifted her body on the bed, pulling her legs up and crossing them on the mattress.

After Melanie's episode in the basement that evening, Geri decided Melanie would spend the night with her, hoping having someone nearby would make Melanie feel comfortable enough to let herself sleep.

Geri pulled back the comforter and crawled into bed, quickly tucking her feet under the blanket to warm them up. She looked Melanie over and smiled sympathetically. Melanie was quiet, which usually meant she was anxious. Melanie sighed and crawled to the head of the bed, sliding under the blanket and allowing herself to be pulled close to Geri's side.

"You all right?" Geri asked seriously.

"I don't know," Melanie replied quietly. Geri waited silently. It didn't come naturally to her. She was inquisitive and bubbly and always had something to say. However, having lived with Melanie for years, she knew the best way to get her to open up was to wait. Melanie was very private and wasn't overly keen on sharing her problems. Pressing her would only cause her to shut down.

Melanie bit her lip, watching as Emma walked passed Geri's room to go to the loo. She stepped back and smiled at the two of them, bidding them goodnight.

"Geri?" Melanie asked suddenly. Geri hummed a response. "What do you know about sleepwalking?"

Geri frowned, surprised, and sat back.

"About as much as anyone, I suppose," she replied honestly. "What do you want to know?" Melanie shrugged and slid away from Geri, sinking back against her own pillow. "Well, I know it only happens during a certain period of the sleep cycle, so it doesn't last long. I think it happens more if the person is stressed out or eats certain things."

"What do people do when they're doing it?" Melanie asked softly. She was curious, but didn't want to give away too much of what had happened the night before.

"You in particular," Geri began, "All you do is wander around for a bit. You don't even talk or anything."

Melanie bit her lip and picked at her fingernail, not meeting Geri's eye. Geri pondered for a moment, then slid out of bed, garnering Melanie's attention. Finding her way using the light from the hallway, Geri found her phone, then sat back next to Melanie. She unlocked the screen with a swipe of her finger and opened the internet app, then began tapping the keyboard, bringing up search results for sleepwalking.

They watched a few videos of people sleepwalking and read through a few articles together. While Geri thought she was helping to alleviate any concerns Melanie had about her night time ventures, Melanie's fears had been confirmed. While scrolling through the search engine for something interesting to read, Melanie's eye had been drawn to a news headline of a sleepwalker who had killed his entire family. She wasn't able to catch the whole story, only managing to read a few key words as Geri scrolled past the article, but the man had no history of violence and had loved his family. He'd had no control over his actions, nor any memory of killing the ones he loved most.

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Sam herded the musicians out of the kitchen and into the living room to leave for rehearsals. The kitchen looked like it had been hit by a tornado. There were dishes, clean and dirty, all over the cupboards and table. There was an open bag of bread on the cupboard, along with boxes of cereal, condiments, fruit, and a few half eaten pots of yogurt. The catering staff hadn't been booked that morning, so the musicians had been left to their own devices. Normally, Melanie would have stepped in to clean the mess, being the most fastidious of the group. The other girls weren't the most tidy, so she had often taken it upon herself to clean up after them when they had lived together. If she hadn't, their little house would have been unliveable. Back then, Geri would often put together a cleaning schedule to get everyone to contribute to the housecleaning, but Melanie was really the only one who would do her part regularly. This particular day, however, she was so exhausted that she didn't have it in her. The mess would have to be taken care of by the cleaners.