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Melanie's always hated funerals.
She and her sister didn't attend Allison's, and god—she could hardly hold herself together during Belle's.
Now, Melanie stood in Derek Hale's living room, the home filled with his loved ones as Scott stood in front of them, speaking to the group about Derek.
Melanie could tell Scott was struggling speaking, but she was struggling even just being there. She stood in the back of the room with Liam and Theo, her eyes staying mainly on the coca-cola in her hand, too worried she'd burst into tears if she looked up to the front of the room at the big photo of Derek smiling.
"The first night I met Derek Hale, he saved my life. Then he said we were brothers, and I thought that he was crazy." Scott said, laughing at his memory.
Melanie giggled as well, remembering when Scott had used those same words on Liam. Although she wasn't there, she remembered Liam telling her and Belle about it and then immediately calling Scott a weirdo.
Feeling Liam laugh beside her, she turned her to look up at him. When their eyes met, they smiled at each other since they couldn't laugh at the memory in that moment. Liam reached over and grabbed Melanie's hand; he gave it a small squeeze before turning to look back at Scott.
Melanie followed his action, watching as Scott looked down at Eli, who sat beside Malia on the couch. "He was right. Eli, from that moment on, we were brothers." Scott said before he made the horrible decision of turning his head to look at Derek's portrait.
Scott swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down at his feet. Melanie could see, even from across the room, the shaky breath he took. "And, uh... Derek Hale was the first person to teach me that you don't just get the family that you were born with. You get the family that you find."
Melanie took in a sharp breath at Scott's words.
She started to think of Belle.
Melanie felt tears forming in her eyes. She licked her lips and pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on, leaving her cup on the counter beside her and walking out of the house.
Theo and Liam watched Melanie leave before they turned back to each other. Theo nodded his head after Melanie, signaling that Liam should go after her and Liam gave Theo a grateful nod, following after her.
For such a nice house, Derek's home was oddly close to cemetery.
Even after not visiting for a while, Melanie still knew where Belle's grave was.
She took slow steps up to the girls grave, careful not to step on anyone else's grave and disturb them. The gravestone looked fresh, like if someone had just cleaned it. Melanie figured Mason, Derek, or Melissa were probably the ones to thank for that.
Arabella Parker November 1, 1996 — October 31, 2013
Melanie's chest tightened reading the stone. Guilt started to course through her body as she recalled the night of Belle's death. How she didn't make it in time.
