In The Dark

75 - November 19th

Geri sat with her back against the headboard as she watched Melanie sleep. She'd been woken up a few minutes earlier when Melanie had started talking in her sleep. The words weren't intelligible, but they were laced with fear and panic. Geri had tried to make sense of what she was saying, but couldn't make anything out.

She considered waking her, but she didn't know if she was simply having a nightmare and would slip back into a deep sleep on her own, or if she was about to be afflicted by a night terror. Instead, she decided to wait and see if something Melanie said would give her some indication of the inner turmoil the girl was going through. She had covered it well, but Geri could tell Melanie was bothered by not knowing what had happened over the past few months. She clearly knew there was more than what everyone was telling her, and Geri wondered if keeping the truth from her was doing more harm than good. She didn't dare go behind Joan's back and tell Melanie though. Joan simply wanted the best for her daughter, and truthfully, Geri wished she could erase the past, too.

Melanie whimpered suddenly and curled herself into a ball. Geri quickly put her hand on Melanie's shoulder, gently trying to wake her before she could escalate, but it was too late. Melanie began panting and thrashing, her panic building until she woke herself screaming. Geri quickly pulled her close, assuring her that she was safe until Melanie fully woke up and realized where she was.

"You ok?" Geri asked softly as Melanie pulled away and looked around the room, disoriented.

"What happened?" Melanie asked, looking back at Geri with shock.

"Night terror," Geri replied. "You used to have them loads right after the accident. What were you dreaming about?"

Melanie sat quietly, looking at Geri with confusion. She shook her head, unable to retrieve any memory of the nightmare that had woken her.

"I don't remember," she confessed finally. She looked over at the clock next to the bed, reading 4am, and she looked back at Geri apologetically. "I'm really sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No," Geri lied.

"Liar," Melanie snorted. Geri smirked and shrugged, letting Melanie know she wasn't bothered. She sank back beneath the blankets, letting her head rest back agains her pillow as she settled in to go back to sleep. Melanie did the same, turning to face Geri

"Geri?" she asked softly as Geri closed her eyes and pulled the comforter under her chin. Geri hummed a response, encouraging Melanie to continue. "Do you know what happened to me before I was found?"

Geri stiffened, but kept her eyes closed, attempting to look nonchalant to keep Melanie from worrying. She yawned and stretched herself out beneath the covers, adjusting herself until she had was comfortable.

"Let's talk about it in the morning," she mumbled, attempting to sound too tired to keep the conversation going. She rolled onto her side, turning her back to Melanie, and she squeezed her eyes closed, internally begging Melanie to let the conversation go. She could hear Melanie sigh and turn away, and she allowed herself to open her eyes. She stared at the wall, anxiously trying to figure out how she was going to keep Melanie from questioning her further in the morning. She had to somehow convince Joan to tell Melanie about the cabin.

---

"All right, you lot," said Simon as he hurriedly gathered his itinerary, planner, and phone into his bag. "Is everyone ready to go?"

All of the musicians had gathered into the suite to wait for their bus to arrive. They had stayed at the hotel to get their hair and makeup done, and were performance-ready for when they arrived at the venue. With Melanie back in nearly full form, they had decided to complete the remainder of the tour as scheduled. They had three gigs left in America and a number of TV and radio interviews to do to wrap up the tour. Having missed nearly the entire tour, Melanie was eager to get back up on stage. Her mum had wanted her to take things slow, but Melanie had managed to convince her to let her do everything as planned. Wanting to give Melanie a bit of space to feel some sense of normality, Joan decided to do a bit of touring with Andrea and Pauline, agreeing they would meet up with everyone in the next state in a few days.