Meluna → Kai Parker

[ CHAPTER EIGHT ]

May 11, 1994

"He's not coming back." Josette stood calmly behind Meluna, whom sat in the dirt. Meluna had no thoughts running through her mind and it scared her. Usually, she could talk about anything, but she was just so utterly shocked.

"You did this to him," she could only rasp out and even so, that was barely above a whisper. "You sent him away from me."

"He's away from all of us. For good." At the last two words, Meluna's chest stopped and her breath hitched. She could feel tears brimming her eyes as she turned her head to look at the familiar face.

"For good? He's not coming back?"

"It was for the best Meluna-"

"He was my only friend!" Meluna tried not to be so loud, but she couldn't express how much anger she'd felt. "Kai was the only one who understood me, the only one who understood what it was like to be an outcast. And you just sent him away."

Meluna pulled her knees to her chest. She didn't understand at that moment, it all just happened so fast, what was she supposed to do? She didn't mean to be so dramatic. But this was someone who was just like her. Someone she found an outcast, just like her, someone who made her feel wanted. And for once in her life, she had felt like she belonged somewhere.

"Kai's a sociopath, May. He only understood you because of the way he was, you really think you could have lived a healthy life with him?" Josette furrowed her eyebrows, taking a step toward the girl.

"Yeah Jo, I really did because once again, you misunderstood him. He was fine when he was with me, he was happy because I cherished him. You were the favorite twin, he was the dysfunctional, unwanted, mistake of a child that you didn't want." Meluna stood, a few inches away from Josette Parker. Her chest heaved as she breathed heavily because of her sobbing. "Just because you didn't want him, doesn't mean that I didn't."

And Josette finally understood. As the years went by when Meluna would come to see Kai, Meluna had fallen in love. Meluna was in love with her brother. They'd grown so close and now he was gone.

"I'm sorry May," Jo gave Meluna sad eyes. "For you. Not for Kai, but for you."

Jo couldn't feel remorse for Kai. He'd shoved a knife in her stomach the day before. Sure they were family, but did he even think that before he massacred their family?

"I can't be here anymore," Meluna shuttered, going to step to the side, but Jo stopped her. "I can't be here Josette because — " she stopped, gritting her teeth and running her hands through her hair, tugging at her scalp. "I have to go." her breath hitched as she hiccuped do to her frequent crying. "I have to get out of here, I need to go." Josette could see Meluna unwind and come undone as she mumbled incompleteness sentences that made her sound like she should be in a psych ward.

"Need to get out of town. Start a new. Without Kai, no. Get him back, I have to. I need — " grumble. "Witches." she stopped, panting heavily, running her fingers through her hair.

"Leave town? Meluna, you can't possibly leave Portland, this is your home!" Jo loved Meluna. Despite the fact that she was in love with a sociopath, Jo's brother, Josette always found Meluna to be a great friend. Meluna shot her head towards Josette.

"Don't."

"'Don't', what?" Josette tilted her head.

"You can't pretend you're still my friend after this. Malachai was my home." Meluna had made it clear earlier, so she didn't want to explain it again. "And — " Meluna whimpered, sniffling as she felt the water works come again. She felt weak and heartbroken. Like Malachai had taken her heart with him. "And when I — " she felt loosen up, shoulders slouched as she squeaked, sobbing again. Meluna's sniffles interrupted any kind of sentence she was trying to get out, her chest had felt like weights and she couldn't breathe. "When I look at you and I — I see him. I see your matching eyes and nose and I — " she tilted her head back and clenched her jaw. "I feel so weak because I can't be here without seeing you because if I see you, I think of him. And when I think of him I — " she couldn't even finish a thought. She was so torn up that she didn't have the coordination to put sentences together.

"Meluna... I don't know what to tell you." Jo was in complete shock.

Maybe she thought Meluna was in love with him, but after this it was clear that her love for Malachai was unconditional. Nothing could stop this girl from loving a monster, she'd seen him even before he was a monster and watched him slowly turn into one. Meluna was the only person who gave Malachai love and attention, and he returned it, and to have that ripped away from her? She'd become so dependent on his love, she hadn't even even thought about life without him.

"I'm leaving Oregon. For good."

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