Paper Thin

• 117: Rose's Plan •

Melody

I'm home. Sorry I worried everyone.

I just had to get out of there.

I'll call you soon.

Melody Reese; 3:26pm

After getting home and changing into sweats and a baggy shirt, I sent Carson the text message. Thankfully, no one was home, so I didn't have to creep pass anyone as I headed down to the basement. I put my cellphone down and stepped onto the treadmill.

Slowly, my feet began to move, and my blood began pumping, as I started to jog. I pushed myself a little harder as I watched the calories count moving one by one. I was panting as my lungs felt like they could burst with how hard I was running, but it was the only way I felt in control; the only way I could stop thinking. All I had to focus on was putting one foot in front of the other I sprinted until the basement looked blurry, forcing me to slow down to a jog. I jogged lightly until the room looked normal again. Then I picked the pace up. Once I was sprinting again, dark spots began to cloud my vision and I quickly got off the treadmill.

Sitting on the floor, I could feel how drenched with sweat my body was, but I decided to keep going. I started with sit-ups and continued until my spine felt like it was bruising against the tiled floor. I then did v-sits and leg-raises before rolling over and adding push-ups to the mix. My arms gave out as the doorbell rang upstairs, and I flopped onto my knees.

Slowly, I got up, blinking off the dizziness as I walked upstairs to answer the door. When I opened the front door, my eyes widened in surprise to see Carson standing on the other side. I felt a mixture of mortification and guilt, like Carson had caught me red-handed in exercising, and my sweaty, repulsive appearance was the evidence.

"Hi," I said, not meeting his eyes. "Um, come in."

"Melody," Carson started as he stepped into my foyer. "Jesus, I've been worried sick. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said staring down at the ground. I swallowed hard. "Uh, I've got to, um, shower... you can wait here or in my room. I'm not sure when Margot will be home so you might be safer in my room."

"Sure, I'll walk with you," Carson said quietly. I could tell he was a little frustrated, but I couldn't think straight while I looked so horrible in front of him.

As we walked up the stairs, I felt like the room was spinning around me, and I tried really hard to focus on walking straight. Though my hands were gripping the banister, I still stumbled when a new wave of dizziness hit me. Carson quickly caught me, but I shifted away from him, not wanting him to feel any part of my body in this state. I steadied myself, before swiftly trotting up the last couple steps.

"Um, okay, I'll be fast," I said as we got to my room.

I rushed around my room, grabbing my underwear, a baggy knit sweater and leggings and disappeared into my bathroom. Though I was attempting to be as fast as possible, I still washed my hair and scrubbed off whatever makeup was left on my face after my workout. I towel dried my hair, pulled on my clothes and tied my damp hair up in a messy bun before going back to my room.

"Hey," Carson said with a wide smile on his face as he saw me. He was sitting with his back resting against my headboard.

"Hi," I said shyly, sitting down next to him. His smile faltered as his eyes looked down to my cheek. Carson raised his hand and held my chin tenderly, looking at the mark. With my hair up and makeup off, my bruise was in its full effect. "It doesn't hurt that much anymore... I bruise easy."

"I wish I could take all of this away from you," Carson whispered. I gently took his hand off of my chin and pressed my lips to the heel of his palm. It was the best response I could give him. The fact that he felt that way made my heart melt, but I was glad that he couldn't. I would never wish it on anyone.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked after a moment.

"Okay," I said, playing with his fingers.

"What happened today? Why'd you leave school?"

"So..." I mused, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "I ran into Diesel."

"What?" Carson's eyes widened.

"It was right after second period... I just – I know he was making excuses for what happened, but he said something, and it threw me." I shifted in my spot. "Basically, he said it was kind of part of Rose's plan... like I guess she didn't mean for it to go the way it did. She told him I'd be in the bathroom, which means she purposely threw her drink on me to get me there. And she told him I liked him... like I was supposed to be waiting there to hook up with him." I took half a breath before more words tumbled out of my mouth. "I guess she wanted you to catch us in the act? Have you break up with me? Or to prove that I'm the whore she's convinced everyone I am? I mean, I can handle the rumours and the teasing, and sharing embarrassing points of my life with the whole school, but this? This crossed the line! She's such a– an evil scheming bitch!"

Carson's eyes widened in surprise, and he pressed his lips together.

"What?" I asked, feeling my cheeks heat involuntarily.

"Tell me how you really feel," he smirked, making most of my anger evaporate. Humour danced on his lips though I could see a little worry left in his eyes.

"I think I'm more surprised than you are," I giggled.

"'Evil scheming bitch.' You really went all the way in on that one," Carson teased. I laughed again and took my hair out of my bun, so I could hide behind it. "I'm glad you told me though," he added seriously. "We should report her."

"What's the point? There's no proof. There wasn't any with Diesel and look what happened! Besides, what's to say he's not lying?" Carson opened his mouth to answer, but I continued. "It's okay... I mean it's not, but it is... I just– that's why I left. There's just too much going on. It's suffocating."

"You should have told me right away," Carson said.

"I know," I said with a small sigh. I ran my hand through my damp hair.

"So, Project Runway?" Carson offered. I nodded, before grabbing my laptop from my bedside table. I sat next to him, back against the headboard and opened it up, ready to relax for the first time all day.

***

After a couple episodes, I heard a crash downstairs. I glanced over at Carson, already feeling stressed about what was happening. I glanced at the time and noticed it was a little after eight o'clock. It felt a bit early for anyone to already be drunk, but then again, it was Margot and February. A guilty conscience doesn't rest.

"Melooooodyyyyyyyy!" Margot's obnoxious voice travelled through the floorboards.

"I'm so sorry," I sighed as I crawled out of my bed.

"Don't apologize. I can help you," Carson said, getting up too.

"No, no. It's okay," I said quickly, as I stood up. I blinked away the slight dizziness and headed for the door.

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Author's Note: (lol I almost forgot this) helloooo! Most of this chapter has been written for a lil while but it's been so hectic that I forgot to post and couldn't figure out if I wanted to end it there or not! So I'm def sorry about that... But I hope you'd like it! 💕 happy spooky month!