Secrets

Chapter 5

Luke

I saw Amelia in the kitchen doing something. She was wearing grey sweatpants and I think my black shirt, which obviously was too big for her. I smiled and approached her.

"Hey, what're you doing?" She turned to me to show me she was doing some sandwiches and tea.

"Tea. Do you want one too? And a toast?"

"Yes, please"

It was late afternoon and I was going to leave later with Calum. I didn't know where guys were but I was glad I had some time with my sister. It was my chance to honestly talk to her.

She said recently she changed because she just grew up, but it wasn't that. She was still smiling, joking and laughing but sometimes she would spaced out. I could cought her worried expression at least once a day, she also would clenched her fists or played with her fingers and it wasn't normal. She started avoiding some questions and after the accident with her almost passing out I was very alert with everything she was doing. I knew she didn't want me to worry about her and she tried to act like she used to.

But I was her brother. Even after those years apart I knew her well. I could read her easily. Call me an overprotective brother but I just didn't want anything bad happened to her.

I could see how skinny she was, even with all of those oversized clothes. She had dark circles under her eyes so I could tell she was always tired. She was biting her nails, not in front of us, when she was alone, and she didn't do it as a child. I tried to consult Ashton about all of this. I knew Amelia would be mad at me once she found out I talked to a doctor about her. She hated when people payed attention to her.

Ash told me that the best thing I could do is having a small conversation with her, so she wouldn't freak out. But of course, knowing her, she would start to get defensive really quickly. If she knew she had a problem, maybe after our talk, she would ask for help.

Oh boy, was I wrong about that.

Amelia finished making our food and we sat together at a table.

"You're living tonight, right?" She asked.

"Yeah and we're going back in 9 days."

She just nodded and went back to eating.

It was the right time for my little investigation.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked slowly and immediately could see how her happy face went to anxious expression.

She straighten up in her chair and put the toast down on a plate.

"Sure."

And she started playing with her fingers.

"It's nothing bad, I promise." I laughed to lighten the mood a little. "I want you to remember I'm just worried about you and I'm on your side always." I reassured her.

"Alright."

"Are you honestly okay? Like really honestly. Think about it."

She didn't give me an answer right away. She looked at her plane and took some deep breaths. I knew she probably was thinking about what should she tell me and what should be kept as a secret. And I didn't want her to think that way. I wanted to help her with every single problem she had.

"I think I'm okay." While saying that she wasn't looking at me and right after she bit her lip and she did that usually when she lied or was really anxious.

"You see, I know my baby sister very well and I know when she lies." She looked at me immediately and it told me I'm right. "I don't know what's happened. You were a verbal kid, you used to tell me about your every single problem. I know we haven't spoken as often as we used to for the past few years but still, I'm your big brother, I want to take care of you and it hurts me to see you hurting." I literally was about to cry.

"Luke, I promised you last time that I would come to you if something was wrong. I'm okay, really. I know I can talk with you about anything. And you also can to talk to me as well." She was back to her lying.

It was frustrating.

"Amelia, I can see something's wrong. You're fucking tired all the time and you're skinny as hell. I can tell you're underweight, which is not healthy!" And I lost it.

"Don't even start with that! You know what? I'm fucking done with all of your accusations! How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?!"

She stood up and tried to leave the room but I caught her wrist as we could hear front door closing. Soon boys entered the room. And they were shocked seeing as like that. We probably looked like we were about to fist fight.

"What about we make a deal?" That caught her attention. "You will let Ash and Mike examine you and check your health and if everything's okay, I'll back off and chill out."

I looked at their confused faces but it only took a second for Ashton to realise what I was doing.

"I'm not a child, I don't need a parent to tell me to go see a doctor." She argued. I could tell she was really angry at me.

"You decide. Either seeing a doctor or me harassing you every single day."

"What if I don't want either?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Well, it's not really your choice what I'm gonna be doing and you're living with me."

She bit her lips as she was thinking.

"Okay. I'll let Ash and Mike check my health BUT after that you'll leave me alone."

"Deal."

She turned around and left just like that. I could heard her slamming the front door. She probably went for a walk, she did that often. I guess it helped her calm down.

"That was... weird." Calum was the first one to speak. He didn't really realise what was going on. I didn't want to bother him with all of this until I figured that out.

"Yeah, she just needs to spend some time alone now." I rubbed my growing beard and looked at Ash and Mike. "You heard our conversation?"

"Yeah"

"What do you think about that? I'm not sure if I should put so much pressure on her. Maybe I'm really overreacting and should let it go?" I asked guys.

"Well, I think it wouldn't hurt to check her health. When was the last time she visited a doctor?"

"I've no idea. We never really talked about those things."

"I believe we'll see tomorrow then."

***** ***

Amelia

"I'll see you next week. I'll try to call you everyday" Luke said while I hugged him.

It was late afternoon and Calum and Luke were living. I couldn't stay mad at my brother forever and I really wanted to say goodbye to him.

"If anything happens, ask guys for help and call me, okay?" And overprotective brother was back again.

I smiled and nodded.

"Alright, my turn." Calum pushed Luke on side. "I'm gonna miss you."

It was first time when I hugged him and it was a really good feeling. I liked that.

"We all going to miss you both too."

They took their suitcases and opened the front door. Before leaving Luke looked at me and my heart literally stopped.

"Love you, Lia."

It was the first time in years when he used that nickname. I actually forgot about that.

Hearing this, it brought memories of when we were kids. And tears started filling my eyes.

I wish I could come back to these times.