In The Dark

52 - September 4th

Emma, Brian, and AJ instantly looked relieved and attempted to get to Melanie, but Victoria turned the lot of them around and persuaded them all to go downstairs for breakfast. She closed the door behind them and raised her eyebrow at Geri with amusement.

"Did I come off as being that mad?" Geri asked seriously, colour rising to her cheeks.

"I'd say that was a pretty accurate representation of what you looked like," Victoria chuckled, as she walked over to the kitchen cupboard to pour herself some tea. "Go get something to eat. I'll have a chat with Melanie in a bit and find out what's going on. You lot are far too mental right now, you'll just make it worse."

Geri stood by the doors, torn between wanting to check on Melanie and knowing Victoria was right. After a moment of deliberation, she finally nodded and left the room. Victoria smiled with amusement and shook her head before excusing herself and going out to the balcony with her cup of tea.

She said nothing, but sat next to Melanie and looked out at the view as she quietly sipped her tea. Melanie glanced at her momentarily before returning her gaze to the water, doing nothing more to acknowledge Victoria's presence. Victoria finished her tea and stood back up, disappearing back into the suite without a word and returning soon after with a blanket in hand. She sat next to Melanie once more and draped the blanket over both of their shoulders to cut out the chill in the air. She could feel Melanie trembling next to her and she wrapped her arm around her waist to share some of her body heat.

"It's kinda cold out here," Victoria mused, resting her head on Melanie's shoulder. "Do you want me to get you some tea?" Melanie shook her head and pulled the blanket tight.

Victoria waited, hoping Melanie would open up on her own, but it was clear the girl had no interest in talking about what was going through her mind.

"Did something happen last night?" Victoria asked finally.

Melanie shook her head, giving Victoria nothing to work with. Victoria sat up and pulled Melanie close, looking the girl over for any clues she could work with, but Melanie refused to look at her.

"Did somebody say something to you or do something that made you uncomfortable?" Victoria queried. Melanie shook her head once more and looked like she was holding back tears. Her chin wobbled slightly, but she quickly pulled herself together. Victoria watched her sadly. Melanie had always been quite sensitive and wore her heart on her sleeve, but since her time with the cult, she'd learned how to suppress her emotions for the most part. The fans and the media all thought Melanie was hard, having no idea what a softy she was, but lately she'd taken on more of the personality the public had portrayed her as having.

"Sweetheart, we're all worried about you," said Victoria, finally getting Melanie's attention. Melanie looked at her worriedly, immediately becoming anxious.

"Why?" she squeaked.

"Because we know you're upset," Victoria replied, taking Melanie's hand. "You're not yourself right now."

The tension left Melanie's body and she turned to look back at the landscape. She sighed and shrugged, pulling her legs in close and resting her chin on her knees.

"I don't know how to be her," Melanie replied apologetically.

Victoria looked at Melanie sadly and pulled her close once more, kissing the side of Melanie's head and pulling the blanket taught around her.

"I don't mean the old you," Victoria explained. "I mean who you are now. There's a clear change between yesterday and today. We're not upset, we just want to make sure you're all right."

"I'm fine," Melanie replied softly.

"You're not," Victoria interjected. "I wish you felt like you could talk to us about it. Whatever it is, we can help."

Melanie's chin wobbled once more and she shook her head, knowing there was nothing Victoria or any of her friends could do to help her. She buried her head into her knees and fought to keep from breaking down as Victoria hugged her tightly. Desperately needing to be comforted, she sat up and wrapped her arms around Victoria, clenching her jaw tightly to keep from crying. Victoria pulled the blanket around the two of them and held Melanie tightly, feeling how badly the girl was shaking and knowing it wasn't from the cold.

"I want you to tell me one thing," said Victoria, pulling back to look Melanie in the eye. "We can all wait until you're ready to talk, but if you're feeling sick then I need you to tell me right now so we can do something before it gets worse, all right?" Melanie looked at her and seemed to be considering how to respond. She opened her mouth to speak, then dropped her gaze.

"Melanie, are you not feeling well?" Victoria asked with concern.

"I feel fine," Melanie squeaked, looking back up at Victoria tearfully.

Victoria tried to read Melanie's expression, not wanting to push the girl any more than she already had, but there was something seriously troubling about Melanie's answer. She considered trying to press for more answers, but she had already told Melanie they would wait for her to come to them. She sighed and pulled Melanie close once more, hugging her tightly and mentally willing her to open up and tell her what was wrong.

"We've got sound check in an hour," Victoria explained. "Are you up for it or do you want to skip it today?"

"I want to go," Melanie replied, pulling away from Victoria and looking at her with desperation. Victoria nodded, pulling the blanket off of her shoulder and wrapping it around Melanie. She made sure Melanie had eaten and gave her the option to stay outside until it was time to go or join with her mates in the suite. Melanie opted to stay outside, giving Victoria no choice but to leave her alone on the balcony.

Victoria stepped back into the suite and closed the balcony door behind her. She looked at Kevin and Howie sadly and poured herself another cup of tea.

"Everything better?" Howie asked curiously. Victoria shook her head and leaned back against the kitchen island.

"I got nothing out of her," Victoria replied tiredly. "There's definitely something wrong, but she's not ready to talk yet."

"Something happened after the dinner," Kevin concluded. "She was still fine when she was at the table with us, so something happened between then and when she asked to leave."

"Brian said he was with her that whole time and he can't think of anything that happened that would have upset her," Howie added. "Anyone that spoke to Melanie did so when he was with her and he said everyone was nice with her."

"She wasn't approached by anyone on her own?" Victoria asked. "Did she go to the toilet by herself at any point?"

"No," Kevin replied. "Brian said he was with her the entire time."

Victoria stood and racked her brain, trying to think of who was at the benefit that might have said something to upset Melanie or that might have looked like one of the cult members and set her off, but nothing came to mind. She poured the remainder of her tea in the sink and went downstairs to talk to Brian, hoping he could come up with an answer that would explain Melanie's sudden change.