It had been a while since Melanie had been in a hospital.
The feeling of sitting, waiting, worrying was all too familiar, and because of that, oddly comforting, not unlike an uncomfortable hug. Sitting there in the hall, thinking about everything that Lisa had said before Darren arrived, she couldn't help but feel even more confused now than she had before. She heard a chair scrape beside her, and saw Gus seating himself, unwrapping a candy bar and handing her one. "Thanks," she said solemnly, taking it and unwrapping it as he bit into his own. "What a night, huh," Gus said. "...was I wrong?" Melanie asked, "I mean, to feel, you know, the way I did about her?" "Just because she turned out to be a liar doesn't mean you're lying to yourself," Gus said, "Seriously, you have to look at the silver lining to this whole ordeal, and that silver lining is that she may have helped you discover a part of yourself that was previously unknown. That's a positive, at the very least." "Perhaps," Melanie said, biting into her Milky Way and chewing; after she swallowed, she said, "...I think I'm the worst thing to happen to Darren and Emma, and they'd be better off without me in their lives." "Please, those two have plenty of problems without you, you aren't the issue, trust me," Gus said. Melanie smiled best she could, if only because Gus was at least trying to make her feel better, and she did appreciate that. She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, resting her eyes as they continued eating their candy bars in silence. It had been a while since any news had come to Melanie about Darren, and she was beginning to worry, despite trying not to show it. "You know," Mel said, "...maybe you're right. Maybe this whole thing is just a lesson in how much better I'm doing than her. I know who I am, I know that taking my medication is a good thing, I know that trying to get better is the right path to be on. I'm everything she wishes she could be." "That's the spirit," Gus said, smiling. "...i thought she really liked me," Mel whispered, starting to cry onto his shoulder. Gus sighed and rubbed her back, pulling her close. "It's okay your highness, you'll find someone who does," he said. *** Emma and Shane were on the couch, their mouths wrapped around one anothers, their hands reaching to the most tender places, when Emma started to push him off her a bit. He pulled back and exhaled as she sat up on her elbows and straightened her glasses. "It's just so....so much harder, you know? To let it end, I mean. It's easier to simply give in and stay with someone, even if you don't want what they want, because what are the odds you'll find someone else who understands you the way they do?" Emma said, and Shane nodded. "I totally get what you're saying," he said, "and I don't even know if I'm capable of being in a relationship at the moment, honestly. That was partially what ended things with my ex, besides her own abhorrent behavior. I really need to be there for my family right now, especially my sister." "I don't know if you've noticed, but she seems to have a pretty solid support system, between my boyfriend and her neighbor," Emma said, and Shane sighed. "Yeah, she always finds people who will put up with her, for a while at least, but..." Shane sat on the couch now, Emma sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest, resting her head on them and watching him, one eyebrow raised as he sighed and continued. "Eventually," he added, "they get tired of it, they leave, they push her away and I'm the one who's left to pick her back up. It's happened so many times at this point that it's pointless to ever believe it won't happen. And please, don't think I'm complaining, I mean I love my sister to death, but it's a bit exhausting having to clean up her life in addition to managing my own." "Gus isn't going to leave her, and at this point I'm pretty sure Darren likes your sister more than he likes me," Emma said quietly, "but she's going to be fine, trust me, that's not going to happen this time, you just have to-" But before she could finish that sentence, the house phone rang, and Emma excused herself to answer it. After a brief, tension filled phone call, Shane and Emma were on their way to the hospital. *** Gus and Melanie were asleep in their chairs when someone gently shook them awake. Gus grumbled and opened his eyes, putting his glasses back on to see a woman in a coat holding a clipboard standing in front of them. He gently roused Melanie, who wiped the sleep from her eyes and yawned as they both sat up. "I'm Dr. Barnes," the woman said, "I'm the one who's been overseeing your friend, Darren." "Is he okay?" Melanie asked. "Well, we think he'll be fine, but he got stabbed pretty deeply. There's a bit of deep tissue damage, and he's going to require serious stitches, but we think overall it's certainly something he can recover from with the right amount of time and rest and care. Now, which one of you was with him when he was attacked?" "I was," Melanie said, "Do I need to do anything?" "Not at all, we're just getting information," Dr. Barnes said, "He isn't extremely conscious at the moment, but he has said he'd like to speak to you while he has a moment of strength, if you'll just follow me please." Melanie glanced at Gus, who just nodded. She followed Dr. Barnes down the hall, around the corner, into an elevator and up to the next floor. They continued down another hall, and finally to a small room where she stopped Melanie outside of it. "I must warn you, he...may not make a whole lot of sense," she said, "He's on some fairly heavy medication, and he's about to undergo surgery. Try not to read too deeply into anything he says." "Okay, thank you," Melanie replied, heading into the room, shutting the door behind her. As she approached the bed, she could see Darren lying there, tubes in his nose, buzzing machines littered around him. She wanted to cry. She'd put him here. She'd done this to him. He rolled his head towards her as she approached and sat down in the chair by his bed. Darren smiled, best he could anyway, and tried to keep his eyes open. "Hey princess," he said. "Hello," she said. "I guess I'll be okay," he said, "how about you? Are you okay?" "I don't know," Melanie said, "I feel responsible." "You didn't stab me." "No, but I made you come there. This is all my fault," Melanie said. "Like hell it is," Darren said, groaning, "Melanie...please don't blame yourself. And I'm going to be fine, so it's nothing to feel guilty about, alright? You were in need of help, and I'm glad I was able to help. Nobody could've expected what she would do, okay?" Another beep came from somewhere in the room, and a few nurses, along with Dr. Barnes entered the room, prepared to wheel Darren out to surgery. He grabbed Melanie's hands and squeezed, smiling at her, even though his eyes were shut. "I'll be fine, okay? Just try and relax, Sam." Sam? As they pushed Darren out of the room, Melanie was standing there, even more confused now than ever. A few minutes passed, Melanie still standing in that room, unsure of why he'd called her that. Maybe when he was better, she thought, she'd ask him about it. But for right now, what really mattered was Darren getting healed. *** In the parking lot, Emma zipped up her jacket and exhaled deeply, then looked at Shane. He shrugged and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as Emma put her hand on the door handle. "Thanks for driving me," she said. But before she could open the door, she turned back to face him. "I'm sorry," she said. "For what?" Shane asked, almost laughing. "I don't know...for making you think something would come from any of this," Emma said, "I don't know. Things have just been so super fucked up lately, and Darren and I have been drifting and I just needed someone to be nice to me in ways he couldn't be. To not pressure me. To just...fucking...be there, you know?" "I know what you mean, yeah," Shane said, "Look, you don't have to apologize for shit, Emma, I totally get what you're going through and what's happening. I'm always around if you want someone to talk to. It's not every day that your boyfriend gets stabbed for another girl, there's probably a lot to unpack there, so if you ever wanna talk, then I'm-" "It was my sister," Emma said, and Shane glanced at her, confused. "What?" he asked as he lit a cigarette. "My sister," Emma said, "I had a sister growing up. I told Darren about it, and how I regretted I was never there for her when she needed help, and because of my inaction, she took her own life. I think Darren's taken that to heart, trying to protect any women he meets, especially because of what his father did to his mother." "Christ." "...he's a good man, and a better person than I could ever be, which is why I can't help but wonder if he's only with me because he feels this need to protect me as well," Emma said, "Does he really love me, or is it simply an obligation? Sometimes I just want someone who sees me as a person, not a project." She looked at Shane, who put his cigarette down and kissed her cheek. "I'll be around, okay, call me if you need anything," Shane said quietly as Emma climbed out of the car. She watched him back out and drive away, waving at her. Emma entered the hospital, and was eventually led to the room where Darren had been, finding Melanie still sitting there. Mel looked up at Emma, her eyes widening in fear, but Emma simply smiled as she walked in and sat down beside Melanie. "Are you okay?" Emma asked, and Melanie shrugged. "I...I really don't know," Mel said, "Do you hate me?" "Of course not," Emma said. "He called me Sam." "...that was my sisters name," Emma said, "Melanie, are you sure everything is alright?" "...if she lied about liking me, how can I be sure that anyone really does? I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I mean, Darren got stabbed for me, but...but how can I really trust that anyone actually likes me now? I trusted her, and she hurt me so deeply. She made me feel like maybe I wasn't alone, like maybe I wasn't so mentally unsound, or that how I was wasn't so bad in actuality, but now-" "Melanie, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're all all kinds of fucked up," Emma said, interrupting her, "I mean, I lost a sister, Darren's parents had a super unhealthy relationship, Gus was an alcoholic. We're all just messes, trying to be there for one another. A community of sickness can foster wellness if they all just work together to do so. So she was a liar. You'll meet someone who isn't. But you of all people should know that romance isn't what's going to fix your problems right now. That's all on you, and how you approach your recovery." "Yeah, I guess you're right," Melanie said, after a moment of pause, then added, "I'm sorry for ever being mean to you, or causing any trouble." "I'm sorry too," Emma said, pulling Melanie close and hugging her, surprising her by this sudden act of genuine compassion. The two women sat there, holding one another, for god knows how long until Gus finally emerged and found them. He offered to drive Emma home, but she insisted on staying there until Darren woke up, so instead he and Melanie took off. On the way home, Mel couldn't help but think about what Emma had said, about having a sister named Sam, and reminded herself to ask Emma about it sometime. As Gus parked, and the two of them got out - the sun coming up behind them - Mel couldn't help but think nothing would be the same after all this. And how, somehow, she was actually excited for a change for once. *** "Darren?" Emma asked, his eyes fluttering open slowly. He smiled at the sight of her, and gripped her hand firmly, feeling her rub his hand with her thumb. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this," Darren said, and Emma smiled, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm just glad you're okay," she said softly, leaning in and kissing his cheek, "Just don't ever scare me like this again." "I'll do my best," Darren said, trying to laugh but still in too much pain to do so. "You don't have to protect everyone," Emma whispered, hugging him, "You don't. I'm sorry people made you feel like you have to, but you really don't." Darren tried not to cry, but he couldn't keep it inside. He buried his face in her chest and let her stroke his hair as he wept. "I hate my father," he said. "I know baby, I know," Emma replied.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About
Royally Screwed follows 24 year old Melanie Irres, an average young woman...who legitimately believes she's a princess. Archives
July 2023
|