THOMAS
Thomas looks at Melina as she stares at the ground, oblivious to what's happening around her. This is how she has been for the past three days. She no longer speaks, eats, or displays any emotion. Thomas roughly passes his hands through his head, cursing loudly as he paces the room.
"Maledetto!" ("Fuck!")
He knows it's because of what he did. He didn't mean to hurt her in this way. He just wanted to fucking scare her, but it blew up in his face. Thomas didn't like Melina like this; he fucking hated it. He approaches her by the couch she is sitting on near the bed and takes her hand in his.
"Melina," he says softly. She doesn't say anything and simply turns to face him with that blank look she's had for the past three days.
"Are you hungry?" Thomas asks. She shakes her head.
"You haven't eaten in days; you need to fucking eat something." His grip on her hand tightens. He quickly let's go of her hand as she winces slightly. "I didn't mean to hold on too tight."
Melina pulls her hand back to her body and wraps it around her knees, which are pulled up to her chest. She rests her head on them and stares at Thomas.
"How do I undo this damage I have done?" He softly strokes her hair. Melina closes her eyes, smiling a little. For the first time in three days, she shows emotion.
"You fucking smiled, you fucking did!" Thomas exclaims, his eyes lighting up. Melina opens her eyes, and the happy glint Thomas expects to see isn't there. He sighs and looks at her, unsure what to do. Suddenly, an idea pops up; remembering his touch made her smile, Thomas takes Melina's hands and pulls her to her feet.
"I hope this works," Thomas says, sealing his lips with Melina's. She remains stiff against him, but he doesn't give up. He bites her bottom lip, forcing her mouth open, and wraps his arms around her waist.
The ice around Thomas' heart cracks in two as Melina suddenly moves her mouth against his. He pulls her closer to him and deepens the kiss. The taste of her drives him nuts as it fills his mouth. He only pulls away when he notices she's out of breath. Thomas releases a sigh of relief as he looks into her eyes, seeing life in them again, but she still doesn't speak. She walks back to the couch and takes her old position.
MELINA
Melina rests her head on her knees and stares out the window. She licks her lips, trying to get the taste of Thomas. The tang of cigarette and alcohol lingers on her tongue. She recalls how her soul came alive as his taste blinded her senses moments ago. She didn't plan to become numb to everything. It just happened, and she had no idea a kiss from him would get her out of it. Even though Thomas seems more annoyed by her unresponsiveness, Melina can tell he's actually worried about her, which is surprising since he's the reason for what she's going through.
Melina knows she can't be like this forever as Thomas would lose his mind and a Thomas without his senses is a monster that shouldn't be unleashed into this world.
"I will be back soon with food for you to eat," Thomas says, turning to walk out, but Melina grabs his hand, stopping him.
"I want to go back to the hotel." This place is a constant reminder of what happened. She needed to forget. Melina wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"You're speaking." His eyes light up, but he quickly masks it away. It's like he wants to show he isn't interested but finds it hard to.
"Yes. Will it be possible?"
"Yes, of course, I will have Leo bring the car around," he says as he fetches his phone from his pants pocket and dials Leo's number.
"Thank you." She couldn't wait to leave this place. She's hoping as she leaves, the memories of what happened will also leave.
***
Melina opens her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit room. She looks around the room, saying "Hello," but no one responds. She's not sure how she got there. Melina takes a step forward but quickly comes to a halt when someone appears from the shadow. Her eyes widen, surprised to see him again.
"It's you," Melina says, pointing to the man Thomas murdered because of her. He stands before her, his body covered in wounds. His blood drips onto the floor, painting it crimson.
"Save me," the man cries out, reaching for Melina. She put her hand forward, but before she can reach him, a knife appears and chops his hand off. Melina screams as the man's warm blood splashes on her face. As he collapses to the ground, screaming in agony, she tastes metal on her tongue. He clutches his amputated hand with his good hand as blood pours from it and wails loudly into the room's walls. Melina gags as she tastes more of his blood. Thomas appears from the shadow, torso bare and covered in blood Melina bets doesn't belong to him. He holds a blade in his hand as he approaches the man on the floor.
"You can never save him." He grabs the man's neck, and Melina sees him take the blade to it.
"Stop!" she screams for Thomas not to slit his throat, but he does anyway. More of the man's blood stains her porcelain skin.
"No," Melina cries, falling to the ground, staining and painting her white dress crimson. The man's head rolls over to her, and his lifeless eyes stares at her. She throws up her dinner all over the bloody floor.
"I killed him," she repeatedly says as tears stream down her cheeks.
"I didn't save him," she continues, looking at his lifeless eyes staring back at her. Melina's heart tightens in her chest as guilt spreads through it. She wishes she could be immune to emotions right now as her guilt is slowly killing her.
"I killed you. I am sorry," Melina sobs, pleading with the dead man, who will never respond.
She cries and begs until her tears dry up, and she loses her voice. She closes her eyes as fatigue overtakes her, wishing she could join the man because she is tired of being unable to save him.
Melina is startled awake when the nightmare ends. She closes her eyes and tries to calm her racing heart. Melina just had the same nightmare again. It's the same one she has been having for three weeks. Opening her eyes, she runs her hand through her hair and drops her legs to the side of the bed. Melina can't believe she really thought if she left that house, the memories of what happened would vanish. She sighs and places her hands on her temple. These past three weeks have been hell. She even wishes she hadn't come out of numbness.
Melina gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom to take a shower. Her body is sticky from sweating all night. While taking off her clothes, she recalls something that may help to alleviate her guilt. She noticed his chest move slightly before she left that day. Melina knows she might just be making things up to feel better, so she will ask Leo tomorrow if he's dead or not. The man's chances of survival are slim, but she remains hopeful. She knows it's wishful thinking, but she would like to believe he's still alive until she hears otherwise.
Later in the day, Melina paces the hotel suite's living room, waiting for Leo to arrive. She's a little worried he might avoid talking to her because of Thomas. The bags under her eyes show how little sleep she is getting these days. She needs to hear that the man is alive to relieve some of the guilt that is weighing on her heart.
Hearing the door open, she snaps out of her thoughts. She rushes to Leo the moment he walks into the suite. Thomas looks at her, puzzled, but says nothing. Thankfully, he didn't ask or prevent her from approaching Leo.
"Do you have time to spare? There's something important I'd like to discuss with you."
"Really, with me?" Leo asks, surprised.
"Yes."
"Alright, no problem; what do you want to discuss?"
"Let's go to the terrace and talk."
"Okay," Leo says, and Melina leads them there. She doesn't want Thomas to overhear their conversation. She knows Leo would tell him, but she still wishes for some privacy while asking him about the man.
"What would you like to discuss with me?"
"I wanted to ask you about the man I watched Thomas beat last time."
"What about him?"
"Is he dead?" Her heart rate increases, waiting for his answer.
"The answer is none of your concern," Thomas says from the terrace doorway. She turns around and faces him. His face holds no emotion as he leans by the door with his arms crossed over his chest. His tattoos are visible since his sleeves are rolled up. His first two buttons are undone, and his hair appears to have been ruffled with his hands a lot today. They haven't really spoken since they kissed, and if she didn't know better, she'd say he's avoiding her.
Melina only sought out Leo, so she didn't notice him when he walked in. He appears tired but still sexy. Only Thomas can pull off that look. She wonders if work is becoming too stressful these days. Pushing off the doorway, he walks toward her.
"Please, I need to know if he's dead or not." Why wouldn't Thomas tell her if he's dead or alive? It's not something he needs to hide from her.
"Trust me, it's better you don't know, Melina." Thomas wraps a strand of her hair around his finger. His scent hugs her like a warm blanket. Memories of how she would bury her nose in his scent flood her mind. Tears sting the back of her eyes, as she recalls how those days are gone forever.
"He's dead, isn't he?" she asks, her eyes searching for an answer in Thomas' eyes. His eyes remain emotionless, giving off nothing.
He puts his mouth to her ear and whispers. "No, and yes." All the baby hair on her back gets in a standing ovation.
"Please tell me, I really need to know." Could no or yes mean the man isn't dead but is as good as dead? If that's what Thomas meant, she prays he lives.
"Don't worry about it. All you should worry yourself about is looking pretty tonight." Thomas doesn't seem like he wants to tell her if the man survived his beating or not, so she decides to forego finding out for the time being.
"Tonight, are we going somewhere?"
"Yes, I'm opening a new club tonight. You're coming with me."
"Really?" she asks, excited to finally be able to step out of the hotel suite after three weeks.
"Yes, but if you act foolishly while we are in the club, I don't need to tell you what will happen."
"I promise you I won't." A small smile appears on her face for the first time in weeks. Melina has been praying for some fresh air; even though a club is the least close to that, she will take it. She's so happy Thomas is letting her go out with him tonight.
Melina rushes to her room to start getting ready. She's about to hop into the shower when she notices the time on her bedside table clock. It's only seven p.m. Thomas would probably want them to leave for the club around nine. It's too early to start getting ready. She won't wear makeup since she doesn't have any, so she doesn't need to start getting ready immediately. Thinking about makeup has made her realize she doesn't even have anything to wear tonight. Linda never gave her a club outfit. She walks out of her room to tell Thomas.