The Beautiful Monster

Melina gazed at Blair for a few seconds, but she already believed Blair. She really didn't think that Blair did anything vicious to her.

It wouldn't make any sense, and she had known Blair for far longer than she had known Tyler. Plus, she didn't even really know him.

"Right. I know. I trust you," Melina assured her with a small smile. She reached out to give Blair's hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry. I'm just paranoid and confused.

Blair gave Melina a pointed look.

"It's Tyler getting in your head. I'm telling you that he's bad news," she said sternly.

Melina frowned and nodded, figuring that Blair was right. Ever since Tyler popped up, things had gotten even more dangerous and confusing for her. He had to be the underlying factor for all of this. But why was she not convinced of that still?

Deep down, she didn't think that he was the one trying to hurt her. He had the perfect opportunity to kill her or hurt her in the courtyard when they were alone.

She was weak and dizzy, but he just looked over her and tried to comfort her. It just didn't make any sense. How could she be so confused about something that seemed so straightforward?

"I'm keeping my distance," she said. She hadn't seen Tyler since that night. Part of her wanted him to stay away, and part of her wanted to talk to him. She believed that he had more answers than he was letting on.

"Good. You need to," Blair muttered as she tugged Melina off the bed by her hands. "He's a stranger that welcomed himself to your room. At least you know and love me."

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Melina couldn't help but crack a smile as Blair playfully tossed her own hair behind her shoulder, giving Melina a playful pose.

What confused Melina the most was how protective Tyler acted over her. They just met, but it seemed like he was willing to risk a lot to watch over her. She didn't understand his motivation to do that.

"It's nice seeing you. It's been rough lately," Melina told her, giving her a grateful look. She had really been needing some comfort and laughs lately, and Blair came to the rescue like usual.

Even if she was busy with other things a lot, Melina knew that she could count on Blair in her times of need.

"Keep me in the loop, okay? It's easier for me to help you if I know what's going on with you," Blair said.

Melina nodded, promising to tell her. It would be good for her to open up and talk to someone anyway.

It wasn't good for her to go through such stressful events and then just not talk about them. Locking things up never did her any good.

"I will," she said. "Thanks for coming by today."

"Well, I'm not finished with you yet. You should take a break and come grab some dinner with me," Blair invited her with a hopeful look on her face.

Melina checked the time and then nodded, figuring some food would be good for her. She had spent a lot of time working on her room and homework today. If she wanted to finish her room tonight, she needed energy for that.

"Let's go," she said, following Blair out of her room. Before she closed the door, she took one last look around her dorm, taking note of where everything was before shutting and locking the door. If anyone broke in while she was gone and moved things, she would know.

Dinner at the cafeteria was fun for the most part, but Melina couldn't help but feel a little uneasy when people looked at her as they passed by.

Plenty of people had been talking about what happened to her dorm, and plenty of rumors had been sparked too. They believed the same person who attacked that girl had attacked Melina. It wasn't the craziest theory in the world.

However, Melina was worried that the attacker would try to finish the job and come after her again. The other girl had been safe lately, but the dream that she had before she woke up to the fire unsettled her.

Someone talked about finding her no matter what, even if she hadn't even been running or hiding. Did she need to?

"Hello?"

Melina blinked her eyes, snapping out of her thoughts and focusing back on Blair.

"What? Sorry," she said with a sheepish smile. She hadn't meant to space out. There was just so much on her mind.

"Did you finish the homework for Professor Ryan's class?" Blair asked, looking slightly annoyed.

"Not yet. I've been behind lately," Melina said as she pushed away her half-eaten plate of food. She hadn't had much of an appetite lately.

Honestly, she hadn't been all there in most aspects, including schoolwork. She still tried to work on her assignments, but her mind was always somewhere else.

Blair sighed and picked at her pasta, pulling back from the conversation as quickly as she had entered into it. She didn't seem interested in talking anymore, but Melina wasn't exactly in the talking mood either.

Dinner ended soon after that. Melina walked back to her dorm alone, looking over her shoulder and eyeing the shadows in the corners of the hallway warily.

When she got back to her dorm, she felt a little bit of relief, but she knew that being in her dorm didn't mean that she was safe. It could mean that she was trapped like last time.

She paused at the door when she spotted a piece of paper tucked between the door and the doorway.

She looked up and down the hallway, trying to see if anyone looked suspicious or was hurrying off. Maybe it was just from the school. That didn't make sense, though. They always emailed her.

Melina swallowed hard before grabbing the note. She hurried into her dorm and shut her door behind her, pressing her back to it.

She was afraid to see what was written on the note, but she knew that she had to read it. Her curiosity would kill her if she didn't at least take a look at it. After drawing in a steadying breath, she opened it.

I can prove that I didn't do it. Meet me in the courtyard at midnight.

-T