Quin’s POV


“Honey, I’m home!” I yelled as I walked into the dorm room Melody and I shared. Just as Mitchell was walking out, I noticed Melody sitting at her desk, looking straight down at her books. “What are you doing here?”

“I just got back from my mom’s place. The week there seems to drag—“

“I don’t really care.” I rolled my eyes and shut the door behind him. “Hey, Mels. Are you okay?” She nodded, her curly red hair bouncing as she turned a page in her book very carefully. “I don’t think you are.” Not a word left her mouth, but there was a tiny drop of water on her book that wasn’t there two seconds before. She was crying. That bastard made my best friend cry. “Melody what happened?”

“Nothing.” Her voice cracked as she reached up to wipe under her eyes. Her sleeve fell as she tucked her hair behind her ear and her wrist was covered in bruises while her cheek had a big red handprint that was slowly beginning to fade.

“I knew it.” Melody quickly covered her arm and let her hair fall back in front of her face. “No, Melody, I knew something was going on! I knew he was hitting you! I knew it! Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“Quin, you don’t understand.” She shook her head and closed her book.

“Don’t understand, what?! Melody, this is bullshit!” I yelled. I couldn’t believe my best friend would even want to stay in something so destructive to herself! “Why would you do this to yourself? You are worth so much more than him, Mels! And believe me, guys would love to get the chance to be your boyfriend and they would treat you much better than Mitchell!”

“What do you want me to do!?”

“Leave him!”

“What makes you think I can? I can’t just pack up and leave! He loves me and—“

“Fucking bullshit, Mels. If he loved you, then he wouldn’t be doing this to you and that’s a fact.”

“This happened because I said ‘no’ to going to dinner! What do you think will happen if I break up with him, huh!? I’ll end up in a ditch somewhere!” Melody’s voice was getting thicker with every word she spoke, and I instantly regretted asking. “Do you think I want to end up like that?! In the hospital hooked up to machines?! It’s harder than it looks, Quin.” I stood in silence as she wiped the tears from under her eyes.

“Fine, don’t leave him… but if you end up marrying him, don’t expect me to support you.” I shook my head and looked down at the floor. “I love you, but I can’t stand by and watch you hurt yourself like this.” I sighed and climbed up on my bed, grabbing my phone.

Quin: I’m kinda worried about Mels. She’s been acting strange… can you help me keep an eye on her to make sure she’s okay?

Liam: Yeah, of course. What’s she been doing?

Quin: She’s just acting funny. It may just be me, but really keep an eye on her for me… a really close eye.

Liam: No problem :)

I sighed and looked over at Melody who was sitting back down at her desk, taking notes out of her science book. I crawled under the covers and grabbed a book off of my shelf before taking one last glance at my best friend and opened my book, going into a new fantasy world.

Melody’s POV

I looked up at Quin who was lying in bed with a book and her headphones in. How long had she known about Mitchell? Why didn’t she say anything before? Would I have listened if she had said something before? Probably not. I’ve got a hard head on my shoulders that I got from my dad. I couldn’t tell her how long it had been going on, but by the way she was accusing me, I could tell she knew it had been for a while. My mobile buzzed, pulling my attention away from my thoughts.

Liam: Hey, are you alright?

Melody: Yeah, why?

Did Quin text him and tell him what was going on? If she did, she won’t live to see another day.

Liam: Nothing, you’ve just been acting kinda different lately. Just worried about you is all.
I breathed a sigh of relief.

Melody: No, I’m fine. School’s just stressful right now.

Liam: You sure?

Melody: Yep! All good.

Liam: I'm free tomorrow and Nialler wants to see the new action movie. Want to join?

Melody: I don't know.

Liam: Come on. Quin can come too.

Melody: Okay.

Hesitantly I accepted his offer. Surely Mitchell couldn't get too mad if I went with Quin. It wasn't like I was going to be alone with Liam. I pondered the situation after I ended the conversation promising to talk to him tomorrow. Quietly I walked to the mirror on the back of our door to check out my reflection. The handprint on my face was fading but there was still a noticeable mark on my cheek. My wrists were completely bruised and I wondered if my sides were as well from the painful grip Mitchell had held onto me. One thing was for certain, I would have to invest in some make up to cover these. Usually the marks either faded within hours or were in places that couldn't be seen. Like when he punched my chest once when I supposedly tried to burn him with his own tea. Lately the bruises were darker and harder to hide. It was like his anger was increasing and I couldn't pinpoint why exactly. Of course majority of the problem was me. Mitchell was passing up ample opportunity to be girls who actually deserved him to stay faithful to, and yet I didn't appreciate it. I got smart with him. I rejected him. I even lied all for my own selfish desires.

I wondered if was how a relationship worked, like my boyfriend claimed, then why did Quin seem to think I could do better? She had been in a relationship before and I never did see marks like mine on her. Plus she told me everything and I knew that any time her boyfriend touched her it was wanted. Perhaps Mitchell wasn't right.

Who was I kidding? He was right about me at least. No one could love me. I was hideous. My eyes were too far apart and my hair too wild. I wasn't the type of girl that guys are supposed to be with. I didn't have potential to be a model. I just had to suck it up. Mitchell only did this because he loves me and he wants me to succeed in life. I love him too.

~*~

“Hey, Q.” I looked over at my best friend who was fixing her hair for the day. “Liam wants me to go to lunch with him and his friend ‘Nialler’ later today. He said you could come too if you’d like.”

“Is this a set up? Because if it is, Melody, I swear to God! I told you I want to focus on my studies right now and I’m not ready for another boyfriend just yet and—“

“I’m not setting you up!” I laughed. “I was just passing along a message.”

“Oh… well then yeah. What kind of name is ‘Nialler’?”

“I don’t even know.” I chuckled as I finished covering up the bruises on my wrists.

“Is this what you always do?” Quin asked, leaning against the wall next to my bed. I nodded and put my makeup away. I didn’t want to talk about this right now. I grabbed the lighter shade of foundation from my bag and lifted my shirt to check my sides. The bruises were fading, but were definitely still there. “Here, use this shirt. It’s longer and you won’t have to worry about it riding up and showing your sides.”

“So you’re helping me with this now?”

“I know I said I wouldn’t stand by and watch it, but you’re my best friend. I have to do something and I know you don’t want Liam to see.” I nodded and quickly changed my shirt. I heard Quin take in a sharp breath before I pulled the second shirt over my torso, hiding the ugly marks. “Your back is pretty bad, too.” I nodded, knowing.

“Those are from a few days back.”

“Oh.”

~*~

About an hour before lunch rolled around, I had told Mitchell I would be going to lunch and a movie with Quin and he was perfectly fine with it as long as it was just Quin. “Of course it’s just gonna be me and Quin. Other than you, I wouldn’t go with anyone else.” I was lying through my teeth, and I was terrified Mitchell would find out. When he gave me the O.K., I went back to the room and got ready before he changed his mind.

“Ready?” Quin asked as she walked up behind me wearing her favorite pair of floral print skinny jeans and bright pink crop top with her favorite white Vans for her choice of shoe.

“Damn. You make it look like I didn’t even try.” I joked, motioning towards my boot cut blue jeans, black and white striped t-shirt, and black Converse.

“You still look sexy.” She rolled her eyes and linked arms with me. “Liam will love it, I promise.” Would he really?

“You promised you wouldn’t push this.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Force of habit.” She shrugged as we walked out to the parking garage. As soon as we arrived, Liam and his friend walked up to my car and greeted Quin and I.

“Hey,” Liam smiled and wrapped me in a hug. “Glad you guys could make it. This is Niall, and I’m guessing this is Quin.” Liam held his hand out to shake Quin’s.

“Niall! Oh! That’s a much more normal name than ‘Nialler’.” Quin sighed. “I was afraid I was going to be meeting some freak.”

“You used ‘Nialler’?” Niall looked at Liam with pure anger in his eyes before punching his shoulder.

“Dude, it’s habit.” Liam rubbed his arm as we walked into the restaurant. “Party of four.”

“Right this way.” Liam grabbed my hand as we followed the hostess to our table. I awkwardly slid my hand out of his, crossing my arms over my torso.

“Sorry,” Liam apologized, burying his hands in his pockets. I took my seat between Liam and Quin at the round table we were sat at.

After finally getting our food nearly an hour and a half later, everyone seemed a bit more relaxed and making small talk about the weather and anything else that would cut out the silence. “No, I swear!” Niall laughed as he ate his chicken. “Some girl tried to hide in a bin to get to us. It was insane! Anyway…” Niall’s voice trailed off as I looked down at my mobile as it buzzed in my hand.

Mitchell: I miss you ): can we do something tonight, love?

Melody: I’m out with Quin right now… when I get back? Love you (:

Mitchell: Sounds great. Love you, too.

I took a deep breath in before letting a shaky breath out. I wasn’t technically telling a lie… I was with Quin. “Mels, you okay?” I looked up at Quin as Liam asked the question.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I lied, facing Liam. “Just being checked up on.” I shrugged. “Anyway… fan in the bin.” I smiled, urging them to continue their story.

~*~

“That movie was wicked!” Niall yelled as the four of us walked out of the theater. “Did you see the way that guy beat the shit out of him!? Man, that was some awesome shit.”

“We were there, Ni.” I chuckled as we made our way out to my car. “We saw.”

“It was wicked, wasn’t it!?” I shook my head, laughing as Niall went on about the movie.

“Hey, guys… I have to go.” I said, looking down at my phone. “Mitch.” I shrugged as Quin rolled her eyes. “We should do this again, though!” Liam smiled at me, nodding in agreement. “Do you wanna stay, Quin?” I looked over at her with pleading eyes. Please come with me just in case.

“Nah, I’ve got a test to study for.” Quin shrugged, replying to my thoughts. “But she’s right. We should do this again. See you guys!”

“See ya!” Niall smiled, hugging us both before climbing into Liam’s car.

“Bye, Li.” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug.

“Text me later, okay?” I nodded, breaking the hug and climbing into the car while he moved on to Quin.

Liam’s POV

“I didn’t notice her acting any different.” I said to Quin after Melody’s car door was shut. “Maybe a bit more reserved than most people and very careful about her words, but that’s normal for her.” Quin’s eyes lowered as she let out a deep sigh. “Is there something going on I need to know about?”

“Yes, but I’ll let her tell you when it’s the right time.”

“Oh my god, is she pregnant?”

“What?! No!” Her eyes widened. “No, no, no. Just… it’s nothing. You’ll find out when she tells you. I’ll text you later.” She quickly hugged me and climbed into the car. I watched Mels drive off and back to her boyfriend.

Notes

Please let me know what you guys think :D hope you guys like it so far!
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