Forbidden Love

Chapter 39

Amy lay her little brother on the bed and tucked him in properly. After that, she went into her closet to get a pyjamas to change into. She decided not to shower and just wipe off her makeup, go into the bathroom to brush her teeth and put on her pyjamas. When she was done, she dropped  her dress in the laundry basket and joined Carl on the bed.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Amy asked her little brother while bringing him close to herself, so they would cuddle up together. Carl shook his head in reply, wrapping his small arms around his big sister.

"Why were you scared, then?" She enquired.

"You and mom were fighting." He mumbled.

Amy was taken aback by his reply. She didn't know they were that loud.

"What did you hear, baby?" She softly asked to know if he heard everything or most of the argument.

"Not much. Just heard you two yelling at each other."

Amy breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he couldn't make out anything. That is quite a relief because he was still too young to be exposed to such conversations.

"Why were you two fighting? Don't you wanna stay anymore?" Carl's adorable voice asked, surprising Amy even more. How did he come up with such assumption? She wondered.

"Of course not, baby. I love it here. Mom and I just had a little disagreement."

"But, she looked really mad... Is she upset that I had too much candy?" There was sadness in Carl's eyes, making Amy feel guilty. She kissed her brother's head and hugged him tightly.

"Don't say that, buddy. Mom can never be mad at you. You can have all the candy in the world, okay?... Mom was mad at me cos I did something wrong. Don't pay any attention to us." Amy assured Carl with a warm smile, which he returned with a nod.

"Now, let's go to sleep." She then said, with her arms wrapped securely around him.

"Goodnight, Amy. I love you."

"I love you too, buddy. Goodnight." She placed another kiss on his head and within a few minutes, she heard soft snores indicating that he was asleep. She decided to do the same, as she was exhausted.

So, she closed her eyes and concluded that she would try talking to her mom in the morning.

  Amy's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the alarm. She immediately turned it off when she noticed that Carl was still sound asleep. After staring at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, Amy gently climbed out of bed, careful not to wake her little brother in the process. She got into her bathroom to freshen up, before quietly leaving her bedroom for her mom's room.

Amy gently knocked on her mom's bedroom door before opening it. On opening the door, she found her mom sitting on the bed with both her hands covering her face, like she was deep in thought.

"Mom?" She quietly called to get her mom's attention.

Paula slowly lifted her face from her hands and turned towards Amy. From the black circles under her mom's eyes, Amy could tell she didn't have a wink of sleep.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Amy apologized in a small voice, feeling responsible for her mom's current state.

Paula didn't say anything. She just tapped on the empty space beside her. Amy quietly walked towards her mom and sat beside her.

Paula looked at her daughter, like she was trying to study her, to get something from her, something she must be hiding. When she couldn't make out anything, she gave up, letting out a deep sigh.

"I want you to be honest with me, Amy.." she finally spoke up, breaking the intense silence.

"Did Bryan force you to be with him? I mean... Did he threaten you in some way? Please be honest with me." There was desperation in Paula's eyes, like she wanted that assurance that none of the things Amy said was true.

Amy was dumbstruck by her mom's question. Why would her mom think so low of Bryan? After knowing him for so many years. She couldn't believe her mom would come up with such outrageous accusation.

"How can you say that, mom?" She eventually said when she recovered from her shock.

"How can you come up with such sickening accusation? You know Bryan, mom... You've known him long before me."

"That's the point, Amy. From what I saw... I don't think I know him anymore."

"Why can't you just accept that I love him?!" Amy angrily exclaimed.

When she realized that Carl was still asleep, she took some deep breaths to control her anger.

"Stop saying that, Amy. You don't love him, you're only being manipulated." Paula retorted through clenched teeth.

"That's not true, mom!" Amy countered, standing up from the bed.

"Stop saying such things about Bryan. I love him... I've loved him for a long time now."

"What?!" Paula exclaimed in shock.

"How can you harbour such unholy feelings?"

"I can't help it, mom. It's how I feel... And just so you know, I brought Bryan into this mess."

Paula stared at her daughter in disbelief.

"Yes, mom. I made this decision myself. I chose to be with Bryan, to be his secret... You know why? Because I'm madly in love with him." Amy declared, sobbing at the end. She hated the fact that her mom couldn't understand her.

Paula's heart ached when she saw her daughter sobbing uncontrollably. She stood up from the bed and embraced Amy, soothing her as she sobbed. This is more complicated than she thought.

"Shh, baby. Don't cry. I'm right here." Paula said in a hushed whisper, gently stroking Amy's hair.

When Amy's sobs turned into sniffles, Paula guided her back to the bed, so they would both sit down.

"I'm just worried about you, Amy." She began

"I'm worried about what will happen if this gets out... I don't want you getting hurt in all this."

Amy took her mom's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'll be alright... I promise." She assured her mom.

Paula didn't feel right making this decision, but she needed to support her daughter. If Amy is happy with Bryan, she has no choice but to accept her daughter's decision.

"I only hope you know what you're doing." Paula said in conclusion.