Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

Ten

"So," Maya broke the silence as she, Mallie, Vic and Andy worked out the next day. "Are we talking about the elephant in the room?" she said.

"If by elephant, you mean my twin sister I never told anybody about, no," Mallie said, taking a sip of her water as she jogged on the treadmill. "Because we're avoiding it right now," she said.

"Think out loud. Helps me," Vic suggested.

"My mom is gonna die in less than a month and we have to decide whether or not to go and say goodbye. I hate my mom, she hates me, I haven't spoken to my sister in four years and now she's moving here and living in my apartment. Everything is happening at once and I don't want to talk about it because the more I talk about it, the more I want there to be a fire just so I can have a distraction," Mallie said, increasing the speed on the treadmill.

"That's a lot," Andy said.

"What did Amelia say about it all? She turned up here yesterday looking for you," Maya said.

"Amelia said it's my decision. Whatever I do, she has my back. So, now I know she won't leave me if I don't go, I'm finding it really hard to find any reason to go," Mallie said.

"Well, she's sick. She's going to die soon. Would saying goodbye give you closure or something?" Vic said.

"Closure? Probably not," Mallie scoffed. "It gives my mom one more chance to put me down and ruin my life. I have Amelia now and if I see my mom, that ruins everything that I've worked for since we decided to try things. If I go back, I'm eighteen again, still struggling to find a way out," she said.

"That's a lot of feelings to have," a voice came. Mallie looked up, frowning when she saw Sullivan looking at them. "I called your father, like you said," he said.

"So, you know everything?" Mallie said, not slowing her running.

"I know. If you want to go, you can take bereavement leave," he said.

"I don't want to go. That's the point," Mallie said, jumping onto the sides of the treadmill and turning it off. "I don't want to go and see her so she can feel good about herself before she dies. I don't give a fuck what happens to her and I haven't since she cut me off. If she dies, that's my dad's problem. But if she dies, it's Saffie's problem too, and if she needs me, I'll go," Mallie said.

"So, you're going?" Sullivan asked.

"Are you going?" Mallie raised her eyebrows.

"I will be for the funeral," he said. Mallie laughed emptily.

"Just like old times, hey? Some things never change," she muttered. She left the gym, brushing past him as she headed to get a shower.

"Honey, I'm home!" Amelia called teasingly, walking into Mallie's apartment while Mallie cooked breakfast for her and Saffie the next day.

"Buenos días, mi corazón," Mallie kissed her cheek, shaking the pan before flipping the pancake she was making.

"So, I got the day off, which is very lucky because Bailey's been on a rampage but we've got that competition coming up so she's been distracted. I was thinking we eat, take a nap and then maybe we could pick the kids up from school and take them somewhere. Zola was crying this morning because she hasn't seen you in a while and Mer said we could if we wanted," Amelia said.

"Sounds good to me," Mallie agreed.

"What does?" Saffie walked into the kitchen in a pencil skirt and a shirt, blazer over her arms as she carried her briefcase.

"We're seeing the kids today," Amelia smiled at Saffie, sitting at the table.

"Who's kids?" Saffie asked.