In The Dark

73 - November 17th (continued)

Melanie looked at her mum with perplexity as she tried to work out the information she'd been given. Finally, she smiled and looked at Joan and shook her head.

"Get away," she chuckled, assuming her mum was joking with her. Her smile quickly faded as she took in the serious expression on her mum's face. "I don't understand," she squeaked.

"Melanie, I promise you're completely fine," Joan assured her, wanting to keep Melanie from panicking. "There's absolutely nothing for you to worry about, all right?" Melanie nodded, eying her mum warily. Joan breathed deeply, deciding how much information to give her daughter. She told Melanie about the bus collision and how she and the two boys had gone missing, how each of them were retrieved from the woods, and about Melanie's following recovery.

She purposely excluded everything involving Otis, the cult, and Melanie's time in the cabin, not wanting her to have to relive her nightmare over again. Melanie had just been gifted with the opportunity to have that entire memory erased and Joan was going keep it that way.

"Everyone else is ok though?" Melanie asked, scanning the room for all of her friends and looking back at her mum.

"Perfectly fine, darling," Joan replied. She watched as Melanie dropped her gaze, taking a moment to try to sort the information in her mind. She looked up finally, meeting her mum's eye once again.

"It's November?" Melanie asked, her brows furrowing. Joan nodded apologetically. "Weren't we supposed to be back in England by now?"

"Once you'd recovered you still seemed really keen on performing, so we figured we'd finish the tour, but on a bit of a more relaxed schedule" Victoria quipped. "We're nearly done now. We've only got a few shows left."

"I missed the whole tour?" Melanie asked, gutted.

"No, you performed throughout," Joan replied calmly. "You didn't miss a single show and you did brilliantly."

"But I don't remember any of it," Melanie choked.

"It might come back," Joan encouraged. "We honestly didn't think you'd get back the information you have now, so you're doing much better than expected. We'll just have to give it time and see." Melanie shook her head, looking completely dumbfounded.

"Are you all right?" Joan asked seriously.

"Yeah," Melanie quipped, forcing a weak smile. "I'm just really tired and this is a lot to think about. Maybe we can talk in the morning?" She pushed herself away from the table, still smiling as she said goodnight to everyone in the room and walked toward the door.

"Melanie," said Joan seriously.

Melanie froze with her back to her mum. She clenched her teeth and inhaled deeply before turning back to face the group.

"It's ok if this is all a bit much, but I want you to come talk to me if you're not all right," Joan warned. "Don't go off and try to deal with this on your own."

Melanie nodded, smiling once more as she assured her mum she was fine.

Joan watched her daughter disappear into the hallway, the door swinging closed behind her. She sighed and stared at the door, mentally willing her daughter to come back and talk to her.

"You don't want her to know about the cabin?" Simon asked, pulling Joan's attention away from the door.

"I think this is enough for now," Joan replied. "Honestly, I'd love if that memory was completely gone." She sighed and looked at the group. They were all looking at her with concern, knowing they wouldn't be able to keep Melanie's time with Otis a secret from her for long. "We'll at least give her a few days," Joan added, feeling the tension in the room.