The Beautiful Monster

The entire school was put on lockdown the next day. An exact reason wasn\'t announced over the intercom, but Melina had a feeling that it had something to do with what happened at the party last night.

All students were instructed to stay in their rooms. Food and drinks would be brought by at mealtimes.

Melina wondered why they were taking such an extreme approach, but she had a feeling that it was for good reason.

Maybe they were sweeping the halls and rooms for whoever attacked that girl last night. She hoped that they found whoever did it because they were brutal and dangerous.

The last thing that this school needed was a psycho disrupting everything and hurting people.

She sat up in her bed, stretching her arms above her head as she peered around her dorm room. A small amount of sunlight streamed in through the tiny window behind her desk.

Even if she wanted to open the window and get some fresh air, she couldn\'t. All of the windows were warded shut so that no one could sneak in or fall out.

Part of her almost wanted to check that it was stuck shut, but she shook her head at herself. The school officials would take care of the situation.

For today, she was stuck in her room, so that didn\'t leave her much to do. She could clean her room, take a bath, or study.

She had the entire day. She could do all three if she wanted to. Not feeling like doing any of it right now, Melina grabbed her phone off her nightstand and turned it on.

There were some emails from the school and her professors about classes being canceled today and the lockdown. Nothing caught her eye.

She decided a phone call to her dad could help pass the time. Plus, he would want to know about what happened last night.

He was incredibly protective of her, which she assumed was because of her mother passing. She was the only thing that her dad had left that was a reminder of her mother.

Melina didn\'t know much about her mother. She had only seen a few pictures and heard a few stories, but her dad didn\'t open up about much else.

She guessed that he was closed off out of pain, which she respected. She didn\'t pry, even if she really wanted to.

She hated seeing him sad. She didn\'t like making him worried either, but she had a feeling that the news about the attacker would reach him eventually. It was better if it came from her.

"Hey, Mel. Everything okay?" her dad\'s voice sounded after the third ring. He was always quick about picking up.

"Yeah, I just wanted to check in. It\'s been a minute since I\'ve called," Melina replied as she leaned back against her pillows, gazing up at the ceiling as she held her phone against her ear.

It was nice talking to her dad. She missed him when she was here, but she knew that being here was the best thing for her, and she loved to learn.

"Well, I\'m glad you called. I miss you," her dad said.

Melina could hear the sad smile in his voice. It made her heart ache. It had just been the two of them for so long.

Now, they were miles apart, only connected by phone calls until she went back home at the end of the semester.

It was an adjustment for both of them, but Melina knew that she was an adult now. She had to start acting like one.

"I miss you too, Dad," she replied.

"How\'s school been? Anything going on?" her dad asked.

Melina brushed her fingers through her hair nervously, trying to find the best words to explain to him what all had been going on.

She didn\'t want to worry him, but she did want to be honest. Everything that had been going on was pretty concerning. It would be nice to talk to someone about it.

"Things have been a little weird at school lately," she admitted to him.

"How so?" her dad asked, already sounding concerned.

"There\'s been break-ins… damage to the property," Melina started off by saying. Maybe they were little things, but it was strange that they kept happening. It didn\'t seem to be another student behind all of this.

After seeing how damaged the girl had been left last night, it really seemed like it was unlikely that a student was behind all of this. "A girl was attacked last night."

"Attacked? How long has this been going on for?" her dad asked, his voice rising slightly out of worry.

"A few weeks," Melina replied quietly. She hadn\'t thought to say anything until what happened last night. 

"And you didn\'t think to say anything? Mel, this sounds dangerous!" her dad sighed.

Melina frowned as she huddled under her dark green covers. At least she was telling him now.

"I know. It just didn\'t seem so bad until last night," she explained to him. "They have us on lockdown for the day."

"Is your room secure?" her dad asked. His voice was firm, down to business.

"Yes, the window is warded shut, and the door is locked. I\'m safe here," Melina assured him. She had been worried that this would happen if she told him what had been going on.

He worried about her so much, protecting her in any way that he possibly could. However, he was miles away. He couldn\'t protect her when he was so far away from her, which stressed him out.

"Good. You need to watch your back, Mel," her replied.

Melina narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering why he was being so overly paranoid. She had seen him act protective before, but this was a whole new level to that.

"I have been. Nothing bad is going to happen to me," she told him. She said that to put her own mind at ease too.

It was a bit unnerving hearing the school security patrol the halls today. It made what happened last night feel all that more real. She didn\'t want to relive it all over again.

For a few moments, her dad didn\'t speak. There was a faint scribbling noise in the background until he finally spoke.

"I just want you to be safe. If I can keep you safe, I\'m going to do it," her dad reminded her in a gentle voice.

Melina\'s expression softened as her shoulders relaxed. He was just being her dad, looking out for her and being overly protective.

She missed her mother so much, but she was so grateful for her dad too. He did everything for her, and no one cared about her as much as he did.

"I know. I know," Melina murmured as she crossed her legs together at the ankle.

She wanted to put his mind at ease, and she wanted to look out for herself too. She was determined to make it to graduation, which meant staying alive until then.

"Just keep your eyes open. I have to make call," her said.

"Okay. Bye, Dad," I said, wondering who he was calling. I didn\'t bother to ask, though. I doubted that he would tell me.

"Bye, Mel.. I love you," her dad replied, sounding incredibly sincere as he spoke.