Paper Thin

• 99: Red •

Carson

Red. The colour of passion. Red. The colour of heat. Flames, burning. Red. The colour of anger. Fury. Rage. I saw nothing but red when I stepped into the bathroom and saw Diesel looming over Melody in the bathroom.

I had initially come to check on her, with Emma and Harvey, after Emma told us that Rose had tossed her drink on Melody's dress. A stream of profanities passed through my mind as I saw the way Diesel surrounded her, blocking every means of escape, his large body threatening to consume her when it was evident on her face that she wanted nothing more than to get away from him.

"What the hell?" I snapped from the doorway. My legs carried me towards the meathead standing next to Melody and Harvey and I grabbed him by the clothes and yanked him off of her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I snarled. Rage bubbling beneath my skin like lava threatening to spill out of a volcano.

"She wanted me," Diesel slurred. The smug look on his face made the lava bubble over and I reached out to wipe the smirk off. A hard punch. Skin against skin, fist against face. Diesel moaned in pain.

"Dude? What's your problem?" he groaned, stepping towards me. Harvey held him back and I stood tall.

"When a girl says stop. You better damn well stop," I hissed, punching his jaw once again. "If she says no. She means no." I threw a punch into his stomach. "If she's trying to get away from you. Let her go." I placed another punch into his gut.

"Okay, I think he's had enough," Harvey said. "I'll deal with this douchebag. You take care of Mel." I sighed; feeling as if nothing I did would be enough to rectify the situation.

"If you even look in her direction again, I will kill you myself," I said. I punched him once again before Harvey pulled him away from me. I hurried over to Melody, who was curled into a defensive ball on the floor. Her body quivered with tears, and panicked breaths. I touched her arm softly. She jumped at the contact, prompting me to pull my hand back. I sat down on the floor and face her.

"You're okay now," I said quietly. "Do you want to leave?" she nodded, finally looking up at me. Her cheeks were stained with tears, her nose pink as she sniffled. "Can I help you up?" She nodded again and I stretched my hands out to her.

"I'll go get our stuff and meet you at the front," Emma said, leaving the bathroom.

Melody took my hands and I gently pulled her up onto her feet. I noticed her knees wobbled with every shaky breath she took. Most people had moved to the dance floor, so we had a fairly clear path to the front door where Emma and Harvey were waiting with our coats.

I helped Melody put her jacket on as we stepped outside, into the frigid night. We walked down the steps and Melody peeled away from us and hurried over to the edge of the driveway. She knelt down and heaved into the snow. When she threw up, I frowned and hurried over to her as she did it again.

She took a deep breath and I helped her stand up, holding her as we walked to the car. I opened her door, and she slid into the car seat. The rest of us filed into the car quietly, escaping the cold.

I turned on the car and blasted the heat before reaching for the sound system to find a song that would make Melody feel relaxed. I settled on a Bon Iver playlist and drove off slowly, heading towards our houses.

As I drove, I glanced cautiously at Melody every so often. She was still crying but it was now silent, and she was shaking slightly. As I headed in the direction of her house, she shook her head.

"Not my house," she mumbled.

"Do you want to go to like a Denny's and we can sit with you for a bit?" Emma asked leaning towards the front. It was a good idea, as I didn't think that it was a good idea for Melody to be alone and going to her house would make her feel worse. Melody nodded and I pulled into the road, heading for Denny's.