MELODY (Rewritten #1)

The Shelter

Everyone was on their toes when I walked inside to check-in at the front desk. Checking in and out was mandatory, and despite my shakiness, I wanted to keep a clean record.

The receptionist mentioned that cops were sticking around, investigating. It must've been worse than I'd thought. Were they suspecting a criminal act? Was Vivian involved in what had happened to Tina? I wouldn't be surprised.

I hesitated for a moment in front of the stairs, unsure if I should walk up to my dorm. The thought of the police searching the room made me uneasy. It was the only place that offered me some privacy around here.

A creak echoed at the end of the hallway. One of the residents flung herself out of the TV room and swung the door shut behind her. I'd seen her around a few times, but the name hadn't stuck.

She crossed the hall in my direction, shaking her head, her lips twisted in displeasure, and her shoes squeaking against the linoleum floor.

"You've gotta check this out." The girl snorted, pointing at the door she'd just exited. "Vivian's giving one of her best dramatic scenes in there."

Vivian! Her name alone made my skin crawl.

"W-what's going on?" I asked, my eyes darting towards the room she'd just come from. There was a commotion boiling inside.

"Cops questioning everyone," the girl brows furrowed. "The girl obviously got the hell beaten out of her before she cut herself."

"Oh God!" I inhaled a sharp breath, my chest tightening. "Is she... going to be okay?"

The nameless girl shrugged.

"Did they know who did it?"

"I guess the cops'll find out."

Vivian! It was her! I could swear she did this!

"What about… Vivian?" I asked the girl cautiously. She didn't seem to be Vivian's fan, but I didn't want to risk revealing my feelings.

The girl uttered a short, sarcastic laugh.

"Vivian? Poor thing! She's damn cut up about her bestie right now!" She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go crash. You better get in there and see for yourself. The cop will ask you a few questions and let you go."

She waved quickly, and walked away.

I froze in the middle of the empty hallway, my breath getting shallow.

Vivian! Always Vivian!

At times, it felt like she was the demon that fate had assigned to haunt me.

Everything about her was oozing with creepy vibes. Her suspicious job. Her sly remarks. Her mysterious disappearances for days without so much as getting a warning. And the way everyone seemed to be wrapped around her little finger. Including Tina, who bore the brunt of her twistedness.

My mind started playing flashbacks of how Vivian had treated Tina, bossing her around, using her like property. Like a slave. How she'd tried the same with me and failed.

Another self-centered thought bombarded me. Could this be my fault for defying Vivian? For not wanting to be her slave too, despite her hounding, so she'd taken it on Tina instead?

A bitter lump blocked my throat as I stared at the closed door at the end of the hallway.

I wished I could do something. But it was easier said than done. Vivian was popular. Everyone knew she was the directors' pet. If I tried to report my suspicions, even the things I'd seen with my own eyes, nobody would believe me. It would be my word against hers.