Shewolf

Remembrance

Hi everyone, I hope you all are doing fantastic!
*
"There's sand in my mouth!" Melanie screamed, giggling and making poor attempts to rid the grain from her mouth.

She glanced up at Issac from her position on the sandy ground, and smiled. She was happy-happy in the way that she forgot the troubles in her real life.

It was the same for Issac, their vacation had made them memory blind to every bad thing that happened to them.

They were thankful for it.

"Don't take pictures!" Melanie squealed, hiding her face behind her hands. But it was too late for that, Issac had already taken dozens of pictures of Melanie.

Some weren't from her best angles-at least that's what Melanie thought. But Issac thought differently-he thought that Melanie was undeniably the most perfect girl he'd laid his eyes on.

"You're so beautiful," He whispered. He placed a kiss on her forehead, pulling her in close as her laughter was filling the ocean air.

They were the only people on the beach at the time. They had been there since the sun had risen, goofing off and embracing. They wanted to enjoy their last day on vacation because tomorrow they had to be to the airport before the sun was even up.

"You excited to go home tomorrow?" Issac questioned, pulling Melanie down to sit next to him. Melanie barely even glanced at him, before looking back to the ocean.

"Not really, I mean what is there to go back to?"

Issac knew what Melanie meant, but then at the same time he didn't agree.

"Well there's Nutmeg and Jess, and then Knoll-"

Mel cut Issac off.

"But there's no Payton."

Melanie's elated state of mind had diminished-so did Issac's.

"Can we not talk about this?"

Issac's tone sounded strained-a lot more so than he'd meant to. He realized this, but didn't get the chance to correct himself before Melanie responded.

"I didn't realize talking about this had become a problem." She snapped, shooting a glare at Issac. She didn't know if she was overthinking it or not, but she'd really taken what he said personally.

She stood up quickly, and so did Issac. He could sense her irritation, and he didn't expect anything less. He said something hurtful, of course she would lash out.

"Baby, I'm sorry." Issac said, but he was met with silence from Melanie. He watched her grab her stuff and begin to walk back in the direction of the hotel, and Issac began to become puzzled.

"Melanie, wait!" He yelled, scrambling after her. He reached the petite girl in a matter of seconds, attempting to grab at her hand. Melanie ripped it away though, still not turning to look back at him.

Melanie didn't want to look at him, she didn't want him to see her glossy eyes or puffy cheeks.  She wasn't completely upset over the comment he'd just made. It was rather a bunch of things all piling up that she forgot existed on vacation.

Finally, Issac grabbed Melanie's shoulders and spun her around. That's when he saw her face-her crumpling face. And that's when Melanie broke.

Issac quickly pulled her into him, hugging her. He could hear her thoughts now. This was only because she wasn't trying to hide them from him. She didn't have the strength to hide them.

"Melanie, it's not your fault."

It was like Melanie's mind was screaming. Shouting out insults and jabs at Melanie over Payton's death. Her mind told her that it was still her fault, that Payton was dead because of her.

Something that Melanie had been able to ignore this entire vacation was now coming out. The same blaring thought wasn't leaving her alone.

"I want it to stop!" Melanie whimpered, pressing her face into Issac's chest.

Issac stood there holding her and not knowing what to say. He felt like anything that he wanted to say would just come out insensitive and make him sound like an ass. Nevertheless, he still wanted to comfort her.

"Melanie, until you believe that it's not your fault, I'm going to keep saying it."

She looked up at Issac with watery eyes.

"You did not kill Payton. The Chimera killed Payton, and he is dead now. He is rotting in the ground for what he did. And that's because of Payton. She sacrificed herself for you. You did not sacrifice her."

Another sniffle came from Melanie, and her quivering lips made Issac restless. He hated seeing her sad, and despite the fact that she was almost always sad, he still wasn't used to it.

He kissed her softly.

While one of his hands was tucked on her back, the other one was busy wiping away tears. He continued to kiss his girlfriend until the tears were all wiped away, and then some. The kiss was short lived, but it was magical. Like every other kiss Issac gave her, this one warmed Melanie's tired heart. It encased it like a child in a blanket.

"It doesn't feel the same," Melanie whispered, "...Without Payton. I feel like everyone there tries to be my friend, but it just feels off. When they comfort me, they don't sound the same as she did. And when one of them tries to hug me, it feels like their arms don't belong anywhere on me."

Melanie felt guilty when she admitted this. Those people back home were her pack members. Wasn't she supposed to love them the same way she loved Payton?

"You're not ready for someone to fill Payton's spot. And maybe you never will be, maybe there will never be someone ever again to fix what Payton left. But we'll still be there. Me, Nut and Jess, Knoll, Zeus and Peter. We're all going to be there for you, no matter what."

"I don't want that," Melanie paused, "I don't want anyone else to die for me or because of me."

"You don't always get that choice, sweetheart," Issac said, "And if push came to show, I'd lay down my life for you a million times over. I'd do that for you because I love you, Melanie Mayor."

Melanie released another painful sob, and she wrapped her arms back around Issac. They stood there like that, sad and lost.

Melanie had never thought that she'd be so afraid of losing someone, until she actually did lose them. And now she was afraid of losing someone else.

She wanted to not be so scared, to just be the brave girl she was for that one day after she was bitten. But she didn't think that that girl would ever be back. She didn't think she had it in herself to be strong, to move on or to even be able to look herself in the mirror and say she was okay.

And Issac stood there, eyes staring off into the distance. He wondered when or if Melanie would feel better, and how she would get there. Would she ever realize that Payton didn't die because of her? Maybe she would or maybe she wouldn't. Only time would tell the pair.

But Issac knew one thing was for certain. He knew that he really would die for Melanie. He knew why Payton stepped in front of the Chimera's claws and took the hit. It was because she loved Melanie. She was willing to do anything for her.

Issac had never related to someone on such a deep level.

And while Issac thought about the trouble in Melanie's mind, he didn't happen to think about the trouble that was brewing back at home. He didn't stop to think that the hunted was now becoming the hunter, and that a girl who Payton so absentmindedly shot had come back for vengeance.

This time, the damage would be worse than the Chimera.

Short and crappy chapter, but I had to give you a filler before more drama starts up.