In The Dark

47 - August 26th (Continued)

"We're just going to hold you for a bit," Sandra instructed calmly. "We want to keep you from hurting yourself." AJ nodded, holding Melanie firmly around the waist as she continued to kick and squirm to get away from him. The group waited in silence as Melanie slowly began to wear herself out. She clutched AJ's arms tightly, still trying to pull them away as she panted tiredly.

Sandra collected a wet cloth from the cupboard and kneeled by AJ's side to keep from getting kicked by Melanie. She gently dabbed the cloth along Melanie's cheeks, neck, and forehead, attempting to keep her from overheating. Melanie protested and tried to pull her face away, but her movements were limited as her body began to shut down. Her eyes widened as she looked up at Mary, who had wheeled an IV drip next to her, and she shook her head urgently.

"She doesn't want it and we're scaring her," Emma cried, attempting to step in to get everyone to leave Melanie alone, but Simon pulled her back. She tried to push him away, but he held her tightly and quietly explained the necessity of Melanie's treatment. "She's going to think we're just like Otis." she sobbed.

"You've done this before," Sandra explained, looking from Emma to Melanie as she took the IV Mary was offering to her. "It's not going to hurt. We need to give you a little something to get you hydrated and feeling better." She pulled Melanie's left arm toward herself, eliciting a panicked cry from the girl. Sandra allowed Melanie to pull away and looked at her sadly while trying to explain the repercussions of her condition, but Melanie wouldn't listen. She eyed Sandra worriedly and tried to shrink away as Sandra unwrapped the needle from its packaging.

"Please, don't," she begged tearfully, fighting against her unwilling muscles to get out of AJ's grip once more. Sandra looked at her regretfully, shocked to hear Melanie speak for the first time.

"Melanie, with your fever as high as it is, I'm really concerned you're to the point now where we have to worry about seizures or a coma," Sandra explained honestly. "There's a very real possibility that you could die from this if we don't step in." Melanie looked at her intensely, seeming to consider what she was saying before nodding defiantly. Sandra froze and looked at Melanie with shock, her expression mirroring everyone else's. An uncomfortable silence washed over the room as Melanie held Sandra's gaze, suddenly emotionless.

"You're trying to kill yourself?" Lucy asked calmly. Melanie shrugged, ducking her head as she fought to keep from crying. "Why do you want to kill yourself, sweetheart?"

"Not his way," Melanie choked, hugging her arms tightly against her body. Sandra looked at Lucy with awe as they let the information sink in.

"Not Otis's way?" Lucy confirmed finally. "You want it to be on your terms?" Melanie choked back a sob and arched her back away from AJ, desperately wanting everyone to leave her alone. "Melanie, Otis isn't going to kill you."

"That's what they said!" Melanie sobbed angrily. "They still did it!" Everyone held on to her words, not fully understanding what she was talking about. She took a few deep breaths before looking up and making eye contact with everyone in the room. "I hate you," she muttered. Emma's face instantly fell and she pushed Simon away from her.

"Emma," Simon warned, not wanting her to get upset over Melanie's outburst, but was too late.

"I told you!" she sobbed, turning away from everyone and running to the door. She was immediately enveloped in Victoria's arms and guided out of the room.

"That's all right," said Lucy to Melanie. "You have every right to be angry with us right now. There's nothing wrong with that." Melanie pulled her legs up and buried her face into her knees, keeping her arms tight against her chest as she cried.