****
Lance held his head down to the ground as he made his way down the hospital corridor. It had been an hour since Dani and Bobbie went in to see Melanie, only to say that Twin wanted to see him-and to say he was scared spineless at the moment would be an understatement.
Dani had assured him that Melanie looked okay; there were no wires sticking out of her, sans her IV, and that she had even laughed at some of the corny jokes Bobbie had told her, but Lance wasn't reassured by that.
He didn't think he could ever look at Melanie the same way after seeing her passed out on the ground with tears running down her face. So, with that thought in mind, as he stood in front of her room, he wondered if he really wanted to do this. Wondered if he should go in and face his fears or go back to the waiting room, and procrastinate for a few more minutes..even a few more hours, maybe.
But just as he began to turn around and go back, the thought of what Melanie would probably think if she didn't see him-and see how he was doing-popped into his head. And he knew his decision was already made for him.
Letting out the deep breath he hadn't known he had been holding, he said a quick prayer before taking a step foreword; opening the door in front of him.
Here goes nothing.
As Lance stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, he was greeted by darkness--only being able to see the little bit of light on the other side of the room if he squinted hard enough.
Hesitantly, he took a few steps foreword until he could see the outline of Melanie's body lying down on the hospital bed--through the curtains. He didn't know if she was awake or asleep behind them, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out or not; but he soon knew, anyway.
"You know you can come in, Lance."
Startled, Lance slightly jumped as Melanie's, now hoarse, voice echoed throughout the room.
Jesus...how does she do that?
Pushing his fears aside, he reached out a hand to grab the curtain that was separating him from his friend, and pulled it back; exposing Melanie to his eyes.
"Melz...." He began, studying the woman in front of him; the once strong woman who now looked more frailer than he ever could imagine. "I.."
Seeing the tired expression on Lance's face, Melanie opened her arms; silently telling Lance that no words were necessary. And as he nodded before stepping closer; closing the distance in between the two, she wrapped her arms around him; telling him it was okay for him to lean on her for support.
After what felt like hours, but was just a few minutes, Lance moved his head from Melanie's shoulder; one which he unfortunately had left tear stains on.
"Sorry.." Throwing her a sheepish grin, he began wiping away the tears that were quickly sliding down his face, "God, I'm such a sap."
Slightly laughing, Melanie nodded; mentally telling him he was indeed so. But the short laugh was ended as her own set of small tears came around, "I'm so glad you're here."
Embracing her in a slight hug, which was kind've awkward since she had her IV in on that side, Lance tried to comfort her as best as he could, "It's okay, Mel. We're all here for you, just let it all out."
The tears that took over Melanie soon took over him, once again, and as he felt his best friend cry on his shoulder, he realized he was helpless to stop it; not exactly knowing the problem.
"Lance..he-he.."
Seeing that she was trying to tell him something, Lance pulled back a little; letting Melanie have air enough to breathe. "He what...what is it, honey? What happened?"
At the sound of the name, that usually only Joey used for her, a new batch of tears came falling down Melanie's face; ones that didn't bother to stop coming as she told Lance what had, indeed, happened:
"He left me, Lance....Joe left me."
***Next part soon...but sorry this one was so short. It was supposed to be in the last chapter.
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