Darkness Will Come to Light [1]

IX. Grenade

When Melaina came to, she shifted uncomfortably on the lumpy surface under her aching frame. She breathed in deeply and knew by the sharp smell of cleaning products that she was somewhere sanitary. When she opened her emerald-grey eyes, the room around her clued her in to her location: the school nurse's office. There were a lot of detailed posters on the reproduction system and steps for safe sex. Her eyes quickly turned away from the images that were sure to haunt her dreams now.

The kind and nearly blind school nurse, Mrs. Sanders, noticed Mel moving around on the bed and hurried over.

"How are you feeling, dear?" She peered at her patient over her thick wire-rimmed glasses.

It took a moment for Mel's dry mouth to form words. "I-I...what happened?" She pushed herself into a sitting position. The hard square pillow by the head of the medical bed poked at her back.

"You don't remember?"

No, that was why she asked.

"A nice girl helped you in this morning. You passed out on the front lawn before class. Did you eat this morning?"

Mel pressed a finger into her throbbing temple as she thought back. "No, I didn't have time. I don't remember passing out." She suddenly remembered the bus, though. The bus that was supposed to hit her, but never made contact. Had she imagined the whole scene?

"Well, if you're feeling better, you can go to class. It's the middle of fourth period. I'd advise you to drink a lot of fluids throughout the day, and don't skip out on lunch."

Mel nodded as she swung her legs off the side of the bed. She wanted to leave the white-walled room as soon as possible.

The scratchy cotton made her uncomfortable. The Clorox smell worsened the pain in her head and made her nose burn and twitch. Even the soft jazz playing on the radio in the connected waiting room grated at Mel's nerves.

The nurse turned away and missed Melaina nearly falling on her face as her legs gave out when she stood. Mel caught herself on the mattress and waited a moment for the head-rush to clear.

When the black spots in her vision receded, she followed Mrs. Sanders through the door and towards the lobby of the nurse's office.

The nurse wrote Mel a late note for her fourth period teacher, Ms. Perkins. Making the girl promise that she wouldn't skip breakfast again, Mrs. Sanders finally released Mel from her care.

Mel took her time crossing campus. She stopped at her locker to stash her soaked hoodie and extra books before she walked slowly towards her Honors English class.

~*~

Edward and Melaina sat on opposite sides of the room in English. They shared two classes together, but he only seemed to acknowledge Mel when they were partnered in gym. Mel didn't mind. She knew that he liked to keep to himself as much as she did.

She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand as she filled in her exam review for the upcoming test.

Mel reached down into her bag to grab her emergency granola bar. Her stomach was starting to sound like a rumbling thunderstorm. She noticed a dark stain on her grey sweater sleeve and brought her arm closer to her face for a better look.

With a sudden realization, Mel launched out of her seat and grabbed the hall pass. The uncovered cuts on her arm were bleeding again. She left the classroom while twenty-three pairs of curious eyes stared at her retreating form.

She had thought her day couldn't get any worse after the incident that morning, but alas, the world was cruel.

Edward made an excuse to the teacher about checking on her, which was not a lie. He followed her into the hallway. He knew of her self-harming habits from Alice, and her thoughts solidified what his sister had seen.

The vampire side of him knew how easy it would be to lure her into a dark corner of the hall and drink the bleeding human's blood without being caught.

The Carlisle-respecting side of him chose not to give into his monstrous needs. He swore to be better than his younger, less disciplined self.

He would trust Alice's vision about Melaina being an important part of their future. Alice would tell him no more on the subject, and her repetition of an undesirable Bruno Mars song kept him from probing her mind more thoroughly.

Edward noticed from his time spent with Mel in gym class that Melaina was different than the other humans. Her thoughts were dark, but he never picked up any negative comments about him or his family. She kept her distance--for their protection rather than hers. She was selfless. And as of this morning, suicidal.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse?" Edward Cullen's soft, melodic voice had Mel glancing up. Melaina looked terrified for a moment as she imagined returning to Mrs. Sanders' office and having her discover Mel's habits, then her face cleared, although her mind didn't.

"No. I'm fine, thanks."

I deserve it. Edward heard the words like a mantra in her dark mind. I deserve it.

"I'm fine," she repeated, almost to herself, and sped off towards the ladies' room.

It's all my fault. I did this. I deserve it.

~*~ ♡ ~*~ ♡ ~*~ ♡ ~*~

A/N:

Hi, lovelies. I hope that you are doing well! I'm not really sure what exactly to say, but I wanted to talk with you all.

Thank you so much for reading my story! I appreciate every read, favorite, and comment. I have big plans for Darkness Will Come to Light, so I'm pretty excited.

Let me know what you think of it so far or if you have any ideas for me! I have the general plotline planned out from pre-Twilight to post-Breaking Dawn Part 2, but inspiration is always welcome.

WithLoveAndCupcakes,
A.Rose