Turn Scars to Stars [2]

Girls' Night

In the last update, there were four chapters posted, make sure you've read those first! <3

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It didn't take long for the word to get to Sam that Mel had been dishonest and careless the night before.

Emily reminded him to keep his emotions in check when he stormed into the house after searching Paul's mind. "Mel may be in our care, but she is not our daughter. You can't ground her or take her to a therapist. It doesn't work like that, love. She has parents who have the final say."

"We are protectors. Her protector. She could have died under our roof while we slept."

"But I didn't," Mel piped up as she entered the kitchen in yoga pants and a grey Mayday Parade t-shirt. "I was anxious, and I made a mistake. I'm sorry," she said in earnest.

The youngest Cullen knew that Sam was bound to find out, and Mel spent the morning of clarity in a cloud of regret. She had to talk herself into going to face him several times before actually leaving her bedroom.

"It was stupid and honestly didn't make me feel much better."

"What made you do it?"

Seth.

No, she could hardly blame him. Her emotions were her own to figure out and control.

The friendly aura that Seth exuded happened to set her off, but he wasn't at fault for being himself. The interest that he took in her wouldn't last, and neither would the emotions that his presence caused her.

A silly crush on a boy that she met only once would not be the death of her. Her irrational response was further proof of her incapacity to function with reason during an anxiety attack.

"I lost control of myself," Mel admitted shamefully. She bit her lip and furrowed her brows.

He didn't want to condone what she had done, but those words hit Sam hard. I lost control. He had been the one to have a lapse in control-- that split second when he was more wolf than man nearly took the life of his imprint.

Control was the top tier of reality in Mel's world. Jeremy lived for control of his wife and daughter. Mel longed for control of her own emotions and life. Sam learned strict control of his wolf to teach the others of his pack. Jasper lived daily fighting the controlling urge to drink human blood. Her family controlled their bloodlust to live peacefully amongst humans.

Control, control, control.

So easy to lose, so hard to contain.

I lost control.

Sam closed his eyes when he sighed. "What pushed you over the edge? You left dinner early. Did someone say something?"

Explaining her feelings was never something that Mel felt capable of doing without spewing out gibberish, so she shrugged and made up an excuse. "I haven't heard from my family. It's been weeks already. They've been on my mind every day, and I'm worried." It was true, but that was only one layer of the cake that triggered her impulsive decision.

There wasn't anything Sam or Emily could do to solve that problem. Mel was not able to contact her family first, not if she wanted to remain safe from the Volturi.

She would have to be strong and smart to make it out alive.

~*~

Melaina couldn't help it. After her irrational reaction to realizing that she had some kind of feelings for him, Mel avoided Seth as if he would give her the bubonic plague.

The boy made her feel anxious or something that had her breath quicken and her heart racing. She didn't need more reasons to wish that she was normal. She struggled enough as it was.

It oddly hurt her heart every time his sad eyes reached her face. Seth knew what she was doing and decided to give her space for the time being, even though the thought of rejection brought him down.

She spent a lot of time around Paul-- more so than usual. He kept her distracted. Seth tried not to feel jealous of their friendship.

For the first time that Tuesday, Mel was alone since Paul had left for the mid-shift patrol. "Hey, Mel. Do you have a minute?" Emily asked, knocking on the guest bedroom door. She poked her head inside when Mel mumbled a response.

The Cullen girl had closed into herself after her risky intake of meds, and the people protecting her were starting to notice. She clung to Paul like a lifeline. Emily was worried.

"I wanted to check in on you, see if everything is okay."

Emily closed the door behind her and took a seat beside Mel on the bed. Mel bookmarked her page in Ink Exchange with her finger and half-closed the book around it.

"I'm okay." Contrary to her words, Mel's voice was lifeless. She cleared her throat and tried to sound more convincing. "I'm okay, really. I miss my family a lot is all."

"I know that having no contact with your family has been hard." Emily placed a gentle hand on Mel's knee. "Is there anything I can do? Girls' night or dinner at the diner, maybe?"

Mel gave her a wry smile. "Won't the boys starve without you?"

Emily laughed warmly. "They'll manage. Quil works at local pizza shop, so I'm not worried. So girls' night it is?"

Mel nodded. "Sure, I would love that."

"I'll let Sam know to keep our boys away for the evening. Why don't you get dressed and ready for the day, and we'll start with breakfast at the diner?"

"Sounds good," Mel agreed. "Should we invite Jared's girlfriend?"

"Kim would be happy that you considered her. I'll call her."

"And Leah?" Although the vibes from Seth's sister were still bitter and distant, the shifter girl had been making an effort to at least not be unfriendly towards Mel.

Emily hesitated that time, then said, "I'll ask her too."

Sam's girlfriend made the phone calls with expected results: Leah was a no-go, but Kim was happy to come over to spend the night with Mel and Emily.

"I come bearing snacks! Chips, Chex Mix, candy, popcorn-- you name it," Kim announced as she swung two full cloth bags at her sides. "Drinks include Dunkin Donuts mochas, Monster energy drinks, a case of Mr. Pibb...."

That was the start of a sleepless sleepover.

~*~

Since the purple in Mel's hair had faded, so Emily offered to redo the color or cut the ends off when they were doing hair and makeup on each other the next morning.

Deciding that she was due for a change in style, Mel gave Emily permission to cut her brunette hair to shoulder-length.

After the three girls were dressed fancier than necessary for a breakfast at home, Emily and Mel made omelets while Kim set the table and supervised.

The boys wasted no time making themselves at home as soon as Emily told Sam that they were welcome to return for food.

"So, what do you think?" Melaina ran her fingers through the short strands as she showed off her new hair to the pack.

Seth didn't realize that it was possible to fall even more in love with the Cullen girl.

She was beautiful.