The stories that killed their writer

Chapter 33: She changed

Lana's POV

We both looked at the door and saw Melody. I gulped as my eyes were widened. Melody didn't say anything but she was looking at us, at how we were seated. And I couldn't help but wonder: Did she see the kiss?

I gulped again. "Hey, Melody." In the corner of my eyes, I saw how Stephanie was also clearly feeling busted. I wondered if Melody would be able to read our faces.

It took her a bit but eventually, Melody smiled at us. "Hey," She looked from me to Steph and back. "What are you two doing?"

Before I could reply, Steph answered: "Well, I came up here after we heard this door shut," She then looked at me. "When I saw Lana here, I said hi."

I gulped, I felt myself getting more anxious. I hated this, all of this. I hated having them both here, I hated having to lie, I hated myself for how I was feeling. "Yeah," But I had no choice... "I didn't expect a visitor though..."

Melody smiled yet again. "Well, it was a surprise for you," She walked a bit closer to me. "I figured you'd be happy seeing Dr.Hansen again. I know you have a lot of support from her," She then looked at the way we were sitting again, probably at how close we were sitting to each other. "It's good to see how close you are." She then looked up at us and I could tell she had a suspicion of something, though I doubt she knew what was really going on.

I breathed in deeply before getting up. "Well, I'm going to get changed for dinner. I don't want to appear in these clothes."

Melody nodded. "I'll continue preparing dinner then."

Stephanie seemed to get the hint and got up too. "Let me help you, Melody." After that, they both left and I could finally breathe again.

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Third person's POV

Melody and Stephanie were busy preparing dinner. Melody was cooking the meat and potatoes while Stephanie was mainly cooking vegetables.

Melody was glancing at Stephanie from time to time. She was so curious to learn more about Lana, about therapy, and about the relationship between Lana and Stephanie. She didn't know why but she had a feeling there was something they were keeping from her. And she wondered: was it that bad? What could possibly be that bad? What had Lana said in therapy?

Stephanie felt Melody's eyes on her, she knew Melody was trying to figure something out, but she didn't know what. She knew she'd have to watch every move she would be doing here tonight. The last thing she wanted was to expose Lana, in any way.

"So," Melody finally broke the silence. "Is Lana a good patient?"

Stephanie eyed Melody. What a weird question, she thought. "I don't have bad patients." She replied shortly.

"Oh, right..." Melody cleared her throat. "I mean..." She paused, looking for the right words. "Do you like her as a patient?"

Stephanie gulped as she realized where Melody was heading. "Sure, I love to help all my patients."

Melody nodded, she realized she wouldn't get through to Stephanie that easy. Perhaps she should simply ask her straight away... Melody looked at Stephanie. "What's your relationship to Lana?"

Stephanie stopped cutting the vegetables, she raised her head, shocked to hear this question. Did Melody really notice something? Stephanie turned around to face Melody, who was clearly eyeing Stephanie's every move. "She's my patient, we get along well," She said calmly. "Why?"

Melody shrugged. "I was just wondering..."

Stephanie nodded before going back to her task.

"Lana has a lot of issues." Melody suddenly said, gaining Stephanie's attention immediately. Stephanie was eager to hear Melody's point of view on Lana's 'issues'.

"How so?" Stephanie asked, drying off her hands.

Melody leaned against the counter. "She loves to write, I'm sure she talked about that," Melody said, gaining a nod from Stephanie. "But that hobby has caused so many troubles," Melody let out a deep sigh. "It ruined her, it really did."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. "In what way?"

Melody let out a breath. "So many ways..." She sighed. "You should've seen her before she became a writer," Melody looked away. "She was so different, she was..." Melody sighed. "She was happy, she was ambitious, she was outgoing, she was brave..."

Stephanie frowned when she heard those things. To her, Lana was still all those things. She could recognize those things in Lana's personality still.

"And we used to be so close," Melody looked away, she always felt embarrassed to talk about private matters like that. "We used to be intimate so often, and she'd make love to me like a wife is supposed to," Melody looked at Stephanie. "Nowadays she's like a blob: she wakes up, eats breakfast, goes to work, has dinner, and goes to bed," Melody sighed deeply. "This isn't the Lana I fell in love with."

While Melody was letting her heart speak, Stephanie felt something inside her. It grew during Melody's explanation... She felt guilty. Here she was: in the house of the woman she's having an affair with, talking to the wife, listening to how the wife is struggling... What does this say about her? What on earth is she doing here?

Melody looked at Stephanie and noticed she seemed to be thinking about something. "Did Lana say anything in therapy?"

Stephanie looked at Melody. "What do you mean?"

Melody gulped. "Does she still love me?"

Stephanie opened her mouth but, before she could say anything, they both looked up as they heard Lana scream.

"Lana!" They both said and rushed upstairs.