The Beautiful Monster

277  Stronger

Tyler cried out in pain, gripping his head as a loud ringing noise filled it. He was distracted from the fight, only able to focus on the pain that gripped him.

Blair punched him in the cheek to knock him off her. She rolled on top of him, securing her hands around his throat and pumping him full of shocks.

Melina stared at Tyler on the ground as he seized, his eyes starting to roll back. She couldn't stand there and let another person that she loved die. She had to do something.

Anything! With a shout, she ran at Blair, knocking her off Tyler and absorbing some of the shocks herself. She gritted her teeth through them before slamming Blair's head down against the floor.

Blair cried out in pain, trying to fight her way out from under Melina, who refused to budge.

Melina grabbed the sides of Blair's head and shot electricity into her.

"Give up! Promise to not hurt anyone else!" she shouted at her former friend.

Blair's body jerked and shook under Melina as she absorbed the shocks. She glared at Melina.

"I'll kill every single person you love!" Blair screamed.

Melina increased the voltage with a shout, watching Blair's eyes go lifeless. She released Blair and stumbled to her feet, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

She couldn't believe that she actually killed Blair, essentially frying her brain, but Blair would've never stopped trying to hurt people. She was too brainwashed and threatened by Alaric to stop.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked as he joined her side, blood dripping down his face from various wounds. He put his arm around her, holding her close to him as they leaned on each other for support.

"She's dead. He's dead," Melina breathed out shakily, feeling scarred by the entire experience. She couldn't believe that just happened. The guilt made her want to throw up, but she swallowed hard, zoning back in on Alaric as he gazed at her. "I'm done."

Alaric smirked and put his hands up innocently.

"You've shown me that you could be a fun challenge for me one day. Until then, stay out of my way, or I'll snap your boyfriend's neck too," he said before disappearing.

Tyler's eyes widened in shock as he turned to look at Melina.

"Mel," he breathed out, feeling her legs give out. He sank down to the floor with her, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her in any way that he could.

Melina couldn't stop crying. She couldn't believe that Benjamin was dead. She came here to save him, and Alaric crushed his neck like he was swatting a bug.

It gripped her to her core how powerful Alaric was, how he could take things and people away from her so easily. She felt like anything could be ripped from her at any second.

"What if I see him again? What if he kills someone else that I love?" Melina sobbed, holding her stomach as her entire body ached from crying so hard.

The fear that she felt was torturous. She didn't think that she would ever be able to escape it.

"Then, we'll kill him. We'll keep each other safe," Tyler told her as he brushed his fingers through her hair, holding her shuddering body against his.

Melina shook her head as tears coursed down her face. She pictured that in her head, and all she could see was them getting demolished and slaughtered. She didn't want to die by Alaric's hand. That sounded like an awful, painful death.

"We'll die. He'll get what he wants," she murmured. All of these evil, terrible people loved to play games, to toy with their victims until they broke down. She didn't want to be shattered, but her pieces were already starting to fall away. It wouldn't be so easy this time to put them back together.

Tyler cupped her face and dragged her eyes to his.

"We'll get stronger. We won't let this happen again," he promised her. "If he sees you as a threat, be a threat."

Tyler's words resonated with Melina as she stared at him with wide eyes. One day, Alaric would probably try to come for her, to play his game. When that time came, she had to be stronger than she was now. She had to be a match, a threat. That was the only way that she could protect the people that she loved and herself.

"I don't know what to do right now. I feel… frozen," Melina admitted, her body stiff in his hands. She knew that she needed to call the police so that Benjamin's body was taken away, but the thought of having to do that threatened to shatter her even more. She didn't think that she could handle it.

"Why don't you go lay down somewhere while I take care of everything? I'll come get you when everything is done and take you back to campus if you want," Tyler suggested as he looked at the body and the damage that he had to deal with.

"Yeah, I want to go back," Melina said with a nod. There was no other place for her right now, and she had a graduation to get to. She couldn't let Alaric derail every single part of her life. She had to become stronger, to become brave enough to face him and fight when the time came.

"Okay, go rest for a minute. I'll come get you soon and we can go," Tyler replied softly before gently coaxing her to her feet. He purposely angled them so that he stood in front of Benjamin, hiding his body from her sight. He pressed a comforting kiss to her forehead before letting go of her.

Melina felt numb all over as she went down the hall to her bedroom. She opened the door and felt her breath hitch at the sight of everything being exactly how she had left it at the beginning of the school year when she left. Her bed was covered with white and lilac sheets. She had a closet full of black clothes, her bookshelf was full of books, and her desk had jars of ingredients and hastily written sticky notes stuck to it. This was her, but she had to become a totally different person before she saw Alaric again.

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