In The Dark

43 - August 10th

Melanie sat on one of the couches in the suite, quietly watching the boys as they played a rowdy game of air hockey. It was the middle of the afternoon and the girls had gone off to do some shopping after a busy morning of interviews. Melanie had opted to stay back at the hotel, not comfortable with the idea of going out in a public space and the girls knew Melanie would probably kip after lunch, so they left her with the boys.

There was an eruption of cheers and groans as the game came to an end. Melanie grinned, watching as AJ did a happy dance, rubbing his victory in Nick's face. Nick playfully threw his paddle at AJ, hitting him square in the chest.

"Who's my next victim?" AJ laughed, tossing the paddle back at Nick to return to the table. "Melanie, you wanna try this one?" Her smile quickly faded and she looked at him nervously. "No pressure," he chuckled. "You stay there if you don't want to or come on up and we'll show you how to play if you do."

She dropped her gaze, glancing apprehensively up at AJ once more. He smiled kindly and nodded, ensuring her he wasn't going to get mad.

"That's totally fine," he said. "You come up and join us any time you want, ok?" Melanie nodded, playing nervously with the ring on her finger.

Simon entered the suite, fully engrossed in his phone conversation, and he gave the suite's occupants a quick nod of acknowledgement as he disappeared into the hallway.

"All right, Kev," said AJ as Kevin approached the other side of the table. "Prepare to get your ass beat."

"Don't get too cocky, little man," Kevin humoured. "Shut up and play." AJ laughed and gripped his paddle, eyeing Kevin competitively as they waited for the game to start.

Melanie stifled a yawn and looked from the boys to the hallway. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, but none of the boys had noticed or had given her permission to go to bed. She thought about asking, quickly reconsidering as the boys started their game. Gathering up her courage, she set her jaw and stood up shakily, avoiding making eye contact with anyone as she limped slowly away from the couch and toward the hallway. Brian stopped what he was doing and moved to call out to her, but Howie quickly grabbed his shoulder and shook his head, a silent warning to let her go. They quickly looked away as she stopped and looked back to ensure she wasn't being followed. Her entire body was shaking violently as she slipped into the hallway and walked toward the bedroom.

She gasped and froze as Simon stepped out of the washroom and smiled at her. Her eyes were wide as she backed herself against the wall and locked her gaze on him.

"All right, love?" he asked, his smile fading to a look of concern. She nodded, not daring to move or take her eyes off of him. "Is the ankle bothering you? I can get you some painkillers." She shook her head again, remaining tense with her back to the wall. Not wanting to frighten her, Simon smiled once more and walked past her to join the boys in the main area of the suite. She stood frozen for a moment before apprehensively making her way into one of the bedrooms.

She looked around to make sure no one was in the room before taking one of the pillows off of the bed and making her way over to the corner. She looked back at the door curiously, then looked from the bed to the corner she was planning on sleeping in. She thought intensely for a moment before approaching the bed and setting the pillow back where she'd gotten it from. She pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the door expectantly.

After waiting a few minutes, she kicked off her shoes and slid her legs under the blankets, resting back against the pillow and rolling onto her side to face the door. She continued to watch the door for a moment, her eyelids growing heavy as her body tried to seek some reprieve from the stress of the day. She kept her eyes locked on the door, waiting for someone to come in and get cross with her, but no one came. Finally, she allowed her eyes to close and her body relaxed against the mattress.