Chapter 24- Taunting Acceptances

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A blinding light filled my vision and I groaned, turning over in my bed. Ever so slowly, I sighed and peeled my eyes open. My eyes automatically fell on my dull white roof that looked brighter due to the sunlight seeping through. Before I knew it, a slow lazy grin formed on my face.

'Amelia. Amelia, Amelia, Amelia.'

My grin got wider.

My mind drifted off to last night, when after Amelia's breakdown, I told her that she wasn't like her brother. Then realizing how awkward that sounded, I did a complete 180 in the conversation and asked her if she was hungry. I remember it all so clearly.

"You're nothing like anything in this world, Moonie. You're you. Absolutely out of this world. "

Her eyes widened at my words, then she scrunched up her face into another sad look. Unable to handle the intensity between us, I awkwardly rubbed my hands against my thighs and started walking backwards toward the kitchen.

"Hungry?" I asked Amelia, knowing full well that she barely had dinner at Andre's place.

She slowly nodded at my question, her eyes softening. I turned around and started walking to the kitchen.

There was so many unanswered questions in my head, such as, 'Where was her brother now? When did all this happen?' And most importantly: 'Did she have to face this alone?'

But I didn't need the answers then and there. For now, I wanted to comfort her.

What hurt the most about her story, was the fact that she felt so terrified to tell me all this, as if I would tell her to leave right away. As if I would stop whatever friendship had ignited between us.

And maybe, if I hadn't gone through the things I had, I would be terrified of her. But my own life has taught me not to judge others based on mistakes someone they knew had committed.

Why should one have to bear the consequences of others? Especially when it comes to people like Amelia.

She didn't deserve it.

People like her deserve everything good in the world.

As I scavenged my kitchen for food, I felt like a complete idiot. More than that, I felt like a complete coward. I had the perfect chance to share a part of me with Amelia, just like she did with me, but I couldn't. I couldn't tell her that she's not alone. That I do understand.

But then I realized that maybe, it wasn't time for all that now. She had only mustered up enough courage to tell me about herself, and it was too early for me to open up to her. All in all, this moment was enough.

After a little while, I heard her footsteps making their way into the kitchen. I didn't turn around and continued stirring the soup mix I had found in the back of a cabinet. It was only when she cleared her throat, I looked up.

She was standing by the small dining table, tugging at her sleeve nervously.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly mumbled. "I shouldn't have blown up on you like that..."

I simply watched her as she spoke.

Why was she apologizing for telling me about herself? Heck, I wish she told me more.

"Was I the first person you told?" I simply asked.

She slowly looked up, her mouth set in a frown.

"Everyone knows Leo. I was called the murderer's sister for the longest time."

Now, it was my turn to frown.

"I don't care what others say or think. Was I the first person you shared this with?"

Her mouth parted at my words, and then she closed it again, thinking my words through. She thought about my question for a moment and nodded.

A slow smile made its way onto my lips.

"Good."

After that, we both had soup at the table. Most of the time went by in comfortable silence, and afterwards, I drove Amelia to her dorm. It wasn't that far off, but it was pretty late into the night, and she was exhausted. I had offered for her to take the extra room at my place, but she had declined, and I didn't pressure her further.

After I came back home from dropping her off, that's when the reality of what she told me settled in.

Her brother assaulted and killed her best friend.

I sat at the edge of my bed for hours on end, only trying to decipher how I felt about this. No matter how I looked at it, I only came up with two outcomes. The first, was that I was absolutely apalled at the fact that her brother could do something like that.

That someone related to Amelia could do something like that.

Secondly, I thought about Amelia. There was no question in my mind that I thought of Amelia as an innocent. She was simply caught up in a bad situation that she had no control over, no matter what she thought of herself.

On top of that, she never explained who wrote the note to her. As much as I wanted, I couldn't ask her about it again since she was so worn out after telling me about her brother and best friend.

What scared me the most, was that all this time, she blamed herself more than she needed to. It was obvious that she was hurting herself by thinking this way. It was obvious in the way she hid her smiles and in the way she stifled her laughs, as if she didn't think of herself as deserving of happiness anymore. And that was wrong. She did deserve happiness.

Because Amelia Harrison was a beautiful person.

* * *

[] A M E L I A []

I had to drag myself to class. Gemma was already seated when I entered and Andre had texted me this morning that he wouldn't make it. If only I wasn't so behind in class, I would've stayed in my room too.

I had tossed and turned in bed all night. Nightmares plagued my every move, and I couldn't escape from them even if I tried. All I heard were voices, all taunting and unnerving.

"Look at her, she's walking around as if nothing is wrong. What a dumb bitch."

"Isn't that the girl who's brother is a murderer?"

"How can she live with herself, knowing that her brother was about to kill her best friend?"

"Hey," someone said, breaking me out of my reverie.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and turned around to see who had called my name. When I twisted in my seat, I caught Gemma's worried gaze trained on me. I blinked at her and her brows furrowed deeper.

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I licked my dry lips and gave her a shrug.

"What's wrong Amelia? You left so suddenly last night too. Everything good?"

She tried to sound casual, but the underlying curiosity in her voice couldn't be hidden.

I contemplated whether or not I should tell her. For some reason, I wanted to share this with her. She was the one person who already knew everything beforehand, all the while, she showed me that she still cared.

So I took a deep breath and blurted out, "I told Leo about what happened."

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"About what?"

I let out a breath.

"About Levi."

Her mouth fell agape at my words and I looked away from her gaze.

"You did?" she asked.

I nodded and nervously wrung my fingers together.

"Amelia, that's great," she suddenly said.

I frowned at her words and looked up to see her smiling down at me.

"That means it's getting better Amelia. You're getting better at handling this. This is great."

My frown deppened at her words and I took a moment to think about what she said.

It's no secret that I haven't been handling the incident well. Ever since it happened, I just wanted to go away into hiding. I bought all sorts of hoods to keep me gaurded, spent most of my time away from crowds, and completely isolated myself.

I had become a shell of a person.

But coming here changed many things. For the first time in four years, I wore something besides my hoodie, I conjured up enough courage to make friends, and I found myself sharing my past with someone. However, my only worry was that the latter part might change many things.

I didn't start on the best foot with Leo, nor did I even have a stable friendship with him afterwards. Then what made me pour out the worst moment of my life to him?

What made him listen to me in the first place?

And despite all my insecurities, why did I trust Leo to not use my past against me?

Sadly, I will never know the answer to any of these questions.

* * *

Today, Gemma and I decided to have lunch on our own. Gemma had suggested it, probably after seeing me fidget so much in class. I had offered to just go home so she could have lunch with the boys, but she waved me off, saying that wasn't possible.

As we made our way to one of the restaurants on campus, the same one I had met up with John in, Gemma texted Andre to let him know we'll be having lunch by ourseleves today, so he doesn't wait up for us. Then we made our way there, mostly talking about the upcoming Sociology essay. We were discussing our ideas as we made our way inside, and just as the door shut behind us, we heard a loud, "Hey guys," from our right.

Both Gemma and I snapped our heads to where the greeting came from in confusion, and were even more confused when we saw the trio already seated at a table. I turned to face Gemma, but she shrugged, indicating she had no idea why they were here either.

Andre was the one who had hollered for us, and beside him sat Jamal, looking over to us with a grin. In front of them sat a figure who like me, had their hood down today. I recognized Leo's brown hair and contemplated whether or not I should just run.

Before I could think too much into it, Leo turned in his seat, his gaze landing on mine right away.

For a moment, everything else seemed to vanish into thin air. All I could focus on was Leo's pentrating gaze. There was a glint in them today, something I noticed before as well. This time however, it was a knowing one, because unlike before when he didn't know anything about me, he did now. I stared at him for the longest time, and ever so slowly, his lips lifted up into his classic lazy grin.

Before I could react, I was suddenly pushed forward. A squeak escaped my lips and I turned around to face Gemma with a glare. She chuckled at me and then nodded her head towards the table. I took one last look at Leo, who still had his gaze on me, and nodded to Gemma.

We made our way to the table and sat down. Unlike Coffee Rush, which had rectangular tables, this one had circular ones scattered everywhere. It was more of the studying type of restaurant in the campus and that's probably why we didn't come here often. We simply had our own designated studying spots. However, why they were here now was the question.

Sadly enough, the only spots that were left were on either side of Leo. I slowly pulled out a chair to sit between him and Jamal, leaving Gemma to sit by Andre.

"What a coincidence!" Andre said. "We were already on our way here when you texted me Gemma."

Unwillingly, I looked up to Leo to see if that was true. To my surprise, he was already looking down at me. When he caught my gaze, he me gave another lazy grin and shook his head. Ever so slowly, he leaned towards me, making me hold my breath.

"So predictable Moonie. So predictable," he said in a voice that only I could hear.

My eyes widened at his words and I looked up to him with wide eyes.

I was caught red-handed.

How he managed to know that I was trying to avoid him was beyond me.

Seeing my surprised reaction, he chuckled at me. I sighed and simply shrunk down further in my chair in embarassment.

After feeling someone's gaze on me, I slowly looked up, only to see three very confused gazes focused on us. I awkwardly cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the very interesting circular table.

However, nothing I did stopped Leo from grinning at me, and the others to gawk at us in surprise.

"What the hell is a Moonie?" Andre suddenly asked.

Leo just glared at him.

"Eat your food, Perez," Leo said with a scowl.

Gemma and Jamal laughed at Andre's dispense, and Leo just turned back to face me. A small smile graced his lips before he turned to his food.

It was in that moment I knew that Leo Kennedy was not a fleeting moment in my life. He was here to stay. And I didn't know how to feel about that.