A Fresh Start

Chapter 5

After the weekend Amelia had, on Monday her dad and brother were back to work and her mother had an appointment with her patient. Being alone at home with not much to do, she started thinking about what the past 5 years of her life consisted of.

After transferring to Harvard in her Sophomore year, she kept to herself and became engaged in everything available to her so that she could stop thinking about the past few months in LA. If she wasn't attending classes, she would either be found in the library or running around campus looking for articles to write for the school paper. Not once was she found at a party. It was something she steered clear of other than boys.

By the time she became a Junior at Harvard, she had built connections that would help her get great jobs after she graduated and even make her travel across the world for work. With a perfect academic score, she was practically a nerd, only socializing when in need. Her outgoing personality took a backseat making her become an introvert and build walls around herself.

Whenever Amelia's parents and brother visited her, she pretended to be her old self, going out with them, attending theatre, and family vacations but never once gave them the hint that she wasn't herself after leaving LA. Cara and Mark had seen her go from being popular and a social butterfly to someone who keeps to themselves in those two years. They initially thought it was a phase and she would soon get back to her old self but when they did not see that happening they flew to Boston one morning surprising her at her doorstep and giving her an ultimatum. If she didn't find a person that could help her, they would tell her parents the truth. That was something Amelia feared. She then looked for a therapist and started going to sessions every week where she slowly let everything out. She finally felt free, free of all the emotions she was carrying and holding back in the past 2 years. It took her almost a year to bring her groove back and she suddenly felt that she missed out on a lot during her college years.

By the time she graduated, she started going out on dates her friends set her up with and even got a job at the New York Times which she loved! There were times she felt lonely from being away from her home in LA but at times like those she'd call up Aaron, Cara or Mark and catch up with them. Working as a writer, she got to travel around the country for work, covering events, going to new places each time and letting her hair down.

During one of those events, she attended for work, Amelia met Adam Leroy, a 26-year-old French-American at an Art Exhibition in upstate New York. Adam was an Art Curator with an American mother and a French father. She and Adam had a blast while they were together. They started as acquaintances and even though Amelia tried her best not to get into a relationship, Adam charmed her so much that she couldn't refuse. She knew being with Adam was temporary but she didn't want to miss out on life because of the one incident that caused her the trauma. She kept it hidden from Adam and even ensured that Cara and Mark would never bring it up in a conversation whenever they met or spoke to him. It was a secret that was pushed and locked away in a part of her brain.

But somewhere along the way, she fell in love with Adam and could even imagine a future with him in it. There were times when Adam would wait for her outside her office to take her out on a date during lunch hours or after work to an art exhibition or just to walk along Central Park, holding hands. They spent every living and breathing moment together. Her family and friends were happy to see her in a relationship and adored Adam for her quirky personality which matched perfectly with Amelia's. She was giddy again which felt so good to her, being in someone's arms and loving them.

After a year of being together, Adam got an opportunity to work with a famous artist in France and even asked Amelia to go with him. She loved her job in New York and did not want to move halfway across the world and much farther away from her family with her boyfriend, so she refused to tag along. Though Adam was heartbroken, he promised her to make it work with long distance. Amelia wasn't a fan of long-distance as she knew the stats of them not working out for most couples, initially being in touch with each other constantly and slowly starting to move away from each other, but because of her love for Adam, she decided to give it a chance.

The initial 6-8 months of them being away from each other were great. Regular virtual date nights, sending each other gifts and flowers, Adam coming to New York and her going to France whenever it worked out during their hectic schedules but it just didn't feel right to her. She wanted to raise her concern to Adam, telling him how she cannot seem to make this work for a longer period, and that was exactly when Adam proposed to her. It was exactly what she feared might happen considering she wasn't ready to take that step with him yet. She couldn't say yes to him because of the lingering thoughts she was having ever since he moved back to France.

Amelia helped him understand how she wanted some time apart to process her thoughts to which Adam reluctantly agreed to give her some space. Wanting to be closer to her family and friends for a while, took all her courage to book tickets to LA and not New York. Her family and friends knew she was going consistent with Adam for more than a year and a half but she didn't tell a soul about the proposal and her having to move to France if she accepts it.

She wanted to get some perspective on life and wanted to speak to her parents and express what she felt, but before she could even think of saying anything, her mom sprang a surprise upon her with the welcome back party right after she reached home from the airport. And that's exactly how she found herself alone at home two days after the party figuring out what to do.