Someone Willing to Stay

Fun

"Mel, you have to talk to me." Mason says quietly, using one hand to cup my cheek, "you have to tell me the truth."
I hold his wrist in my hand, wanting nothing more than to lean in his embrace. But I step back.
"I can't."
He frowns, "Are you scared of him? Mel, we can go to the police, he'll be locked up and away from you forever."
Mason confirmed my worst fear.
"You can't! Mason, you can't tell anyone about what you think you saw!"
"How can you still deny it," He grabs my arm, "the evidence is all over you. I see it. There's no way anyone will doubt you."
"You don't understand!" I yell at him.
       Everything he's saying, it's terrifying. I can't be alone. He can't leave me, I've been good. For years I listened, and I followed my rules, I never broke my curfew. Not until Mason showed up. Mason ruined everything.
      "Then make me understand!"
"How can I, Mason," I ask, "Adam is the only one I have! He's the only one that's stayed with me when everyone else has left. You can't possibly understand, all you do is walk out on everyone in your life!"
I know it's a low blow, especially after he had confided in me about Dylan, but anything to make him leave me alone. To make him shut up.
My life was so much better before he came back. I had Riley and Claire, we didn't go to parties, I didn't ditch class.
Mason wants to take Adam away from me. He wants me to be alone. He just doesn't get it, how could he possibly understand that Adam was just doing what was best for me? He is helping me.
Mason frowns, "Mel I didn't leave you."
"You did! You left me alone with him! And you just- you can't try to fix it now. I'm stuck, and I- Adam is my brother. If you tell anyone, I will never forgive you. I'll hate you for the rest of my life."
"If I don't, you might not even have a life, Mel."
"Stop calling me that! Leave me alone! I wish you had stayed in Florida, I wish- I wish you had just stayed there and died along with your stupid friend! You're ruining my life just like you ruined his."
Any expression of anger or sadness that Mason had been displaying is now gone. He stares at me, his eyes empty. It's more infuriating than his smirk, or his laugh.
"Fine." It's all he says as he drops the jacket.
He doesn't even look at me as he briskly storms out of the room, leaving the door wide open.
I scramble for the jacket.
Get home. Adam never has to know. You can make those sundaes he likes and eat them in his room, he likes when you do that. No punishments, nothing different. You and Adam. Because Adam isn't leaving.
I pull the jacket on, doing a quick check to make sure my arms are covered and I zip it up to make sure no more incidents occur.
I've never moved through a crowd faster. My head is still pounding from my fall downstairs, but I've had plenty of concussions before. They all go away within a week.
I push myself through the party, sighing a breath of relief once I reach the front door, the fresh air from outside filling my lungs.
      It's quiet out here, and dark. It's peaceful. I decide to walk home, dragging my feet down David's driveway, past all the empty cars that were parked crookedly in a rush to get inside, sending a quick text to Riley to tell her that I'm getting myself home.
       While I'm walking, I'm just thinking about how hard it could be to understand something so simple. Adam has a right to be angry with me, even Mason knows this. And even though Adam could and should hate me, he doesn't.
       He only punishes me when necessary, to correct my behavior, if he didn't, Mom would have left a long time ago.
      How can you explain that to someone so perfect? Someone who doesn't have to work to be good enough? Mason could never get it.
      And it's not like Adam is all bad. He takes me out to eat or to the mall, he helps me with homework. And when I'm good, I get rewards. He's forgiving and caring.
       I nod to myself, although no one can see me.
      I've never had someone figure out my secret before. Since I was five years old, I've been able to rattle off thousands of different excuses to cover up the random bruises on my body. No one has ever questioned it before. It's petrifying to think that the confrontation came so easily.
      It only takes about twenty minutes to get home, I smile at the familiar broken shudders. Some familiarity is just what I need right now to shake off tonight.
I walk into the house and my happiness is short lived.
There are three voices coming from the living room.
I creep into the room to see Adam and Logan's older brother, and someone I don't recognize.
There are empty beer bottles on the table, and foreign smells coming from cigars in the three boy's mouths.
Adam has never been drunk and high at the same time.
He looks over at me with a dopey yet sinister smile.
"Melanie! Guys, this is my baby sister, she just got home from a party. Did you have fun?"
I nod my head quietly.
"That's good. So you're already ready for more fun, right?" Adam grins.
I nod again.
"Alright boys, our fun is over," Adam tells them with a fake sigh, "I have to spend some time with this one."
The boys cheer and say their goodbyes.
An eerie feeling crawls across my skin as Adam shuts the door and turns the lock.
He turns back towards me, his clothes are disheveled, his eyes are red, and his speech is slurred.
Suddenly, I'm much more scared than I had been only moments before.
"Let's have some fun."

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I tried to really explain Melanie's sort of "on and off" attachment to Adam. Just to make things clearer as to why Melanie won't tell anyone.
Hope you guys enjoyed.