In The Dark

48 - August 26th (Continued)

Emma pushed Victoria away and stormed angrily through the emergency department, not heading in any particular directions, but wanting to get as far away from the room as possible. Victoria shook her head sadly and tried to keep up with Emma whilst in heels.

"I told you lot this was going to happen!" Emma snapped tearfully, pulling her arm away from Victoria. "I've been telling you all along, but nobody listened! Everyone keeps forcing her to do things!" She broke down into fits of sobs and finally allowed Victoria to stop her from walking and hold her.

"I know you did," Victoria said softly, gently stroking Emma's back and letting her cry. She glanced up at the few people in the waiting room and noticed a few paparazzi standing outside the glass doors snapping photos of the two of them. She sighed and pulled Emma around a corner to get them out of sight.

"All this time and she still doesn't like us," Emma sobbed.

"Yes, she does, Em," Victoria replied calmly as she led Emma over to a row of chairs lined up along the wall. The two of them sat down and Victoria rubbed Emma's back. "She didn't mean what she said. She's really scared and confused right now is all."

"Because of us," Emma wept.

"Because of Otis and his lot," Victoria clarified. "We're nothing like them and Melanie is going to understand that eventually. We've done nothing to hurt her. The only things we've forced on her were because it was the best for her and she's been figuring that along the way. This is just a really tough moment for her is all, having to see those tossers after what they put her through. That was incredibly traumatizing for her."

"I just want her back," Emma whimpered. "I wish none of this had ever happened." She sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to Victoria with her face buried into her shoulder. A few people walking past in the hallway looked at Victoria apologetically before quickly moving along to give the girls some privacy. Victoria sighed and cuddled with Emma, wanting to give her a moment to get her emotions out. Once the sobs subsided, Victoria leaned back and looked at Emma seriously.

"I think it's time we start giving up on the idea the Melanie's going to be herself again," she stated seriously. "But we haven't lost her altogether, right? You need to start realizing that this is Melanie now. She's not exactly the same, but she's not completely different either. She's been loads of fun lately, in time she's going to become more talkative and independent, and she still adores you. That hasn't changed.."

"So, stop being selfish?" Emma sighed.

"You're not," Victoria clarified. "Just let her be who she is now and enjoy her, all right?" Emma nodded sadly and looked back at the door of the room they had come from. Victoria smiled sympathetically and took Emma by the hand, leading her away from the room and the paparazzi out front and over to a quieter area of the hospital where Emma could take a break. She could tell Emma didn't want to watch while Melanie fought against the doctors and their friends and she didn't particularly want to watch either. She knew what they were doing for Melanie would be good for her in the end, but she couldn't take the accusatory looks as her best friend was being held down and forced to accept the treatment any more than Emma did.

They walked outside to a quiet garden, cut off from the public streets and walkways to allow hospital patients some peace and quiet. There were a few people sitting on a bench near a copse of trees and a senior gentleman was pushing his wife along the path in her wheelchair. Emma and Victoria stood atop a little bridge over a fish pond and watched the koi and goldfish in relative silence, both lost in their thoughts about the trial and their current situation with Melanie.

"I want to make sure she's ok," Emma stated, breaking the silence. She looked at Victoria tiredly and began walking back to the door. The two of them walked back through the corridor, ignoring the camera flashes from outside the front windows as they walked back into the room Melanie was being treated in.