Written And Composed

26 / girls only

SURPRISINGLY, JACKSON WAS the first one to talk to her. He offered to drive her home but she refused. She needed some time to think and she'd preferably do it alone. Jackson walked her to the bus stop instead. "I don't think we are close enough for me to get offended over you keeping secrets. But that doesn't mean you mean less to me. You are family, Mel. You will always be. I am sure you didn't lose any of them. They are still processing it. Give them a few days to wrap their minds around it and realise they'd fucked up. They'll come running back to you. And I mean Jake too. He might take a longer time but he'll come back," he'd said, wrapping his arms around her. "I mean, have you seen the guy? He worships you."

"Not anymore," I mumbled, accepting his hug with teary eyes.

"He still does. He is lost in his anger but he'll find his way back to you," Jackson said, squeezing her shoulders. "Text me once you reach, okay? I'm going to miss having you around."

Melannie hugged him tighter and then with a forced smile, she boarded the bus.

Ash was out when she reached home. When he returned back, he freaked out thinking someone had broken into their house until he saw his sister curled up on the couch, her eyes red. "Where were you?" she asked as soon as she saw him.

"Shouldn't you be explaining your presence here first?" he said, removing his baseball cap and sitting next to her.

"I missed you," Melannie said. Ash glanced at her for a second and then took her in his arms. As soon as her face hit his shoulders, she let out a shuddering breath and clutched his shirt tighter. "Please don't leave me. Promise me you'll never leave me."

"Hey, hey." Worry took over Ash. He knew that Melannie had a fear of being alone in her life. She hadn't talked to him about it but he knew. And he understood. When your father kissed you goodnight one day and left you the next day and when your mother died a year later, the feeling of loneliness was inevitable. Ash had made sure she never felt alone but he couldn't be the only one to fill the hole in her heart. He had one in his heart too. It was never enough. Ash pushed her to make friends and give in to her desire to love again. He had been happy when she had called him the first week of college, gushing about how amazing her friends were. When she was with Jake, Ash saw the rare glint in her eyes. She was happy. No longer pretending to be for his sake.

His heart broke for her when he saw her this way.

"I'll never leave you, okay? Whatever happens, I'll never leave you. We are family, Mel," he whispered, carding her hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Melannie cried harder. "They know."

"Who?"

"My friends. They—"

The doorbell rang. Ash didn't want to leave his sister. But he had to. He slowly untangled her from him and went to answer the door. "Surprise!" Leah shouted. Before he could stop her, she entered the room but caught herself when she noticed Melannie give her a weak smile.

She turned around to face Ash. "This is a bad time, isn't it?"

"'I'm so sorry, baby," he said, brushing the skin underneath her eyes.

"Ash," Melannie croaked. "Leah can stay. I'll just stay in my room."

"No, you're not moving from there," Ash said immediately. He turned to her girlfriend. "Hey, can you wait in my room until I talk to her? I don't know what's wrong. She's been bawling her eyes out, saying scary things. I need to be there for her."

Leah smiled. "I understand. And remember, I care for Mel too. You don't have to apologise to me. I want to help her too. I'll check in with you tomorrow, okay?"