In The Dark

76 - November 20th

The musicians and their crew were scattered around the hotel pool, which had been closed off to the general public to allow them some privacy. They had arrived at the hotel early that morning and had spent the day exploring the city and taking time to relax. They had an event booked for later in the evening, but otherwise had a day to rest up before their concert the following evening.

All of the dancers and majority of the band members were in the pools, while Victoria and Geri soaked in the hot tub with their drummer and bass player, watching the chaos of their friends playing around in the main pool. Emma was leaning against the edge of the pool next to Melanie, who was sitting on the edge with her legs dangling in the water. Emma giggled as she watched Mel struggle against AJ as the two of them fought to dunk each other under the water. Melanie's gaze was focused on Brian and Nick, who were dodging each other on the other side of the pool. They both had their towels in hand, twisting them up and attempting to whip them at each other. Brian howled in pain as Nick managed to hit him with the tip of his towel with enough speed to sting and leave a mark. Determined to get him back, he twisted his towel loosely and ran toward him, snapping it in the air and hitting Nick in the shoulder.

Melanie flinched every time the towels snapped through the air. Her eyes were completely focused on the towels and her knuckles turned white as she tightly gripped the edge of the pool. She'd seen towel fights before, had even participated in a few, but something about the snapping of the material against skin in this moment made her uneasy.

A few feet away, two of the dancers sneaked up behind Mel while she was distracted with AJ. They lifted her in the air, working together to toss her a few feet away into the water as she screamed. Emma giggled and looked back at Melanie, her smile immediately fading as she took in the look on Melanie's face. She followed the girl's gaze to Nick and Brian and cringed at the thought of what Melanie could subconsciously be connecting their actions to.

"Hey," Emma said, forcing herself to sound cheerful so Melanie wouldn't know she'd been watching her. Melanie startled and looked at Emma with shock before quickly composing herself and looking around to see if she'd missed anything. "I was thinking of going back to my room to watch a bit of telly before we have to go. Wanna come?"

"Yeah," Melanie replied, her voice strained. She glanced back at the boys as she pulled her feet out of the pool and pushed herself to her feet. Emma pressed her palms against the tile floor and boosted her body out of the pool. She swung one leg out of the pool and shuffled on her knees before pushing herself to her feet, then followed Melanie over to the beach chairs where they'd left their towels and shoes.

The girls showered in the ladies room, rinsing off the salt and chlorine from their hair and bodies, then wrapped themselves in their towels and headed back into the pool area.

Geri called to the girls, catching sight of them as she moved from the hot tub to the pool. She gasped as she lowered herself into the pool, the temperature of the water a stark contrast from the hot tub.

"Where are you lot going?" she asked, hugging her arms to herself in a vain attempt to keep some of the warmth in her torso.

"To chill and watch telly for a bit," Emma replied, smiling at Nick and Brian as they approached them.

"You're not leaving already?" Brian asked, sliding his arm around Melanie's waist and cuddling next to her. With his hand resting on her stomach, something snapped in Melanie's mind. The colour drained from Melanie's face and she froze as an intense phantom pain ripped through her abdomen. Without thinking, she screamed and tore Brian's hand away from her stomach, twisting herself out from under his arm to get away from him. She stepped away from the three of her friends and stared at them with shock, not knowing why she reacted the way she had.