She was safe, but how was her father involvedin this?
Kyle rested his hands against the thickglass. He doubted he would be able to break through it, but he beathis fists against it until his hands were bruised and his armsached. When he acknowledged that it was useless to keep trying, andhe was probably only entertaining his captors, he backed away topress his back against the opposite wall.
As he slid back to the floor, he recalled allthe times Melanie avoided talking about her past. Her mother wasmurdered when she was four; she’d told him that much, and sittinghere, he’d bet her killer was a vampire.
As his brain cleared further and more of thedrug released its hold on him, some of the puzzle pieces of Melaniefell into place. But as those holes filled and some of hisquestions were answered, more questions arose.
He needed to speak with her, but would shetalk to him?
***
Melanie spent most of the next week on thefourth floor, in what could best be described as an interrogationroom. She wasn’t allowed to see Lucy or Kyle. She was barelyallowed to leave.
She got a break for breakfast, lunch, anddinner, as well as a bathroom break every couple of hours. Atnight, they brought in a cot. Too exhausted to do anything morethan collapse onto it, she’d sleep until they woke her again.
They gave her drugs. She wasn’t entirely surewhat those drugs were, but they left her fuzzy and barely able tohold her head up while her father asked her question afterquestion. The answers to those questions always remained the same…or at least she believed they did.
She wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
After the first week passed, some of theinterrogation eased up a little, but she wasn’t allowed to returnto the second floor and her old room until the second week.
Feeling like a deflated pincushion, shecollapsed on the bed she’d hoped never to see again and passed out.She didn’t know how long she slept, but a hand shaking her shoulderwoke her.
“Melanie?” Lucy whispered.
Melanie cracked her eyes open. She blinked asshe tried to bring her friend into focus, but the light behind Lucymade it difficult to see her. Closing her eyes, she draped her armover her head as she tried not to whimper.
“Hold on a second,” Lucy said.
The mattress squeaked as her friend rose andwalked across the room. A few seconds passed before the bed sankagain and a cool hand rested against Melanie’s forehead.
“It’s better now,” Lucy said.
Melanie cracked open an eye to discovernothing more than a gentle glow illuminating the room from herbarely open door. She blinked against the light as she tried to gether bearings. She felt like she’d been chewing on cotton, andsomething stunk. It took her a couple of seconds to realize thestink washer.
“How are you feeling?” Lucy asked.
Melanie didn’t reply; she couldn’t formwords, and she had no idea how she felt. Nausea twisted herstomach, and her head felt like the seven dwarves were working atthe mine in there.
“You look like shit,” Lucy said.
Melanie choked out a laugh and then wincedwhen fireworks went off inside her head and something burnedthroughout her system.
She didn’t reply to Lucy as unconsciousnessdragged her into oblivion again. She welcomed it.
CHAPTER 22
When she woke again,she had no idea how much time had passed. Lucy wasn’t there, but atray laden with soup, coffee, and water sat beside her bed. Shestared at the tray as her stomach rumbled loudly.
Finally confident she could move, Melanieswung her feet down and braced herself for the wave of dizzinesssure to follow. It never came.
Unexpected tears burned her eyes, and shestarted sobbing. Melanie couldn’t recall the last time she didn’tfeel dizzy, drugged, or exhausted, but though she was still tired,she felt far better than she had for the past….
She gave up trying to figure it out as shedidn’t know how much time had passed anymore. How long had it beensince she last saw Kyle? Was he okay?
No, she already knew the answer to that. Hewasnotokay. The hell they put her through was nothingcompared to what they’d do to him.
And why did she care what they did to him? Hewas a monster.
