Turn Scars to Stars [2]

Gone

The next night of training, Mel joined her family at the field in the middle of the Olympic forest.

Watching the vampires in practice combat was almost too much for Mel's human eyes. Their movements were graceful and blurred, like the wings of a hummingbird.

It was mesmerizing and deadly.

To avoid being trampled by their intense display of martial arts, Mel hung back by the wolves in the tree line. She leaned against Seth's sandy fur to keep warm in her thin hoodie.

After practice, Seth walked back to the Cullen house with Melaina along the muddy trail. He had phased so that he could fill her in on the game plan for the fast approaching war.

"I'll be on the mountain with Edward and Bella. I'm the liaison of sorts between the two groups." There was a hint of disappointment in his tone, but Mel only felt relief that he would be left out of the fight.

"Please be careful. Edward's going to be focused on Bella. Who will have your back?" Mel worried.

"I'll still be connected to the pack. I know Jake won't be far."

"I hope the false trail works..." The shaking in Mel's hands intensified. "Gah, I feel so useless! My family will be fighting for their lives while I'm at a freaking slumber party." Her fists clenched, causing her nails to dig into her skin.

"Hey, hey." Seth stepped in front of Mel to stop her from walking on. He took her cold clenched hands in his. With warm fingers, he gently rubbed the crescent marks embedded into her pale palms. "Look at me."

Her eyes stared at their connected hands, unseeing. She was useless.

"Look at me," Seth said again, his voice gentle but firm in his demand.

Mel lifted her stinging grey-green eyes to meet his.

"You are not useless, Melaina. You're going to Em's so you will be safe. All of the imprints will be protected there. Your safety is my top priority." He cupped her hands in his palms and held them against his chest. "My heart beats for you. Promise me you will keep yourself safe. No marks against yourself."

The demon in her mind wouldn't be put to rest. Useless. But still she said, "Okay."

"No, say it. I want to hear you promise me."

"I won't," Mel insisted. He waited. She huffed. "I promise, okay? But in exchange, promise me that you'll come home to me."

He wasn't supposed to be involved in the fight anyways. "I promise."

~*~

Melaina slept in late after staying up with her family last night for fight training. She woke up around noon when Emmett came bounding into her room singing the theme song from Footloose that was now stuck in everyone's head.

He was eager to take Mel's new Corvette for a spin. Mel groaned and grumbled, but eventually tossed the keys from her nightstand at his face. She was serious about only allowing Carlisle or Jasper to teach her how to drive.

"One scratch, and I'll--" Mel left her threat hanging and fell back asleep until her alarm clock played the radio about an hour later.

As she raced around getting ready for an outing with Seth, the sound of Avril Lavigne filled Melaina's bedroom.

"Sav, hey," Melaina answered her phone that was still connected to the charger in the wall. Her words were garbled around the toothbrush in her mouth.

A sob reached her ears.

"Savannah?" Mel was now on high alert. "What's wrong?" She rinsed in the sink quickly.

"I'm scared," whimpered Sav. "It hurts." She was alone and frightened.

"Where are you? What hurts?"

"I was shopping with my mom, but she wanted to go to the candle store, which you know always takes her ten years, so I walked off to the art store by myself and-and--"

Another sob escaped Sav's lips.

"I was supposed to meet my mom at the car, but she wasn't there yet. I was in the parking lot, then I suddenly wasn't, and I swear something bit me. A rabid dog or - or something."

Mel gasped, her stomach knotting in fear. A chill ran up her spine. Words caught in her throat.

"Please don't think I'm crazy believing in horror stories, but it seriously looks like human teeth marks. It burns like poison or - or venom," Savannah rambled, clutching her hand to her chest in pain. The blood dripping from the wound soaked into her colored blouse.

"No! No, no," Melaina panicked as pieces started to click into place in her groggy mind. "You aren't in Seattle, are you? Please tell me you're not--"

There was a thunderous crash. "What did I say about a low profile?" a man snarled in the background on Sav's end of the line.

"Savannah," Melaina said desperately.

Her best friend screamed. A crunch of metal screeched in Mel's ear before there was silence.

~*~

There was only radio silence from Savannah for days after the call.

Sav's mother was panicked, calling the sheriff's station daily for any news on her oldest daughter. Melaina cried every time that Carlisle would come home and say that her best friend still hadn't been found.

With the army looming in Seattle, Sav's odds of surviving out there alone were terrifyingly low. Mel's family couldn't search the city, only the surrounding areas, for fear of initiating an early war.

On the morning of the anticipated war, Mel was shuffled out of her warm bed and herded into Jacob's Rabbit. The owner of the vehicle was nowhere to be found as Seth greeted Mel from the driver's seat. She mumbled a response as she tossed her duffel bag in the backseat.

Seth worried about her. Puffy eyes were a clear indication that she spent another night crying. He took her hand in his. "Did you get any sleep?"

Mel shook her head. "No. I was too anxious. You're going to war, and Sav is gone." Her voice broke. "What if I lose you too? Or my family? I couldn't-- I can't--" She broke down in sobs. Her head hurt; her heart hurt.

"Oh, my sweet Melaina." Seth didn't start the car right away. Instead, he brought his imprint close as she cried.

She was scared and anxious. Seth hated that he couldn't make any promises to ease her fears.