Troubles Piling On (Sequel to Leaving the Past Behind)

Chapter 24

~Amelia's POV~

"Oomph!" I cried as a heavy weight fell on me. A sharp pain shot through my stomach, where the most pressure was applied. I automatically push the person away, double up and rolled over. My back hurt because of sleeping on the floor, and I was shivering from the cold. Nathan immediately woke up when he made contact with the floor. His eyes shot open to see me curled up, clutching my stomach.

"Babe are you okay?" He asked. I pressed my lips in a tight smile and nodded slightly.

"Yeah," was all I managed to let out. My eyes were still shut tight. God, the pain was excruciating. It wasn't even in a 'time of the month' kind of way. It was in a 'I got badly kicked in my stomach' way. I felt someone wrap their arms around me, and eased a little.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He must've figured out he fell on me. He began whispering soothing words in my ear, and I let him distract me from the pain, easing eventually. He gently rocked me back and forth, his head resting on mine. Suddenly my phone rang. I let it be and not long after, a voicemail was heard.

"Hey Amelia. It's Amy here. Just wanna tell you... Thanks for letting me stay at your place. And not socking Reed's face in. And helping him save me from choking. I left a little something at your house, a little thank you. Me and Reed are back together now, and... Reed! Lemme speak!" I heard a giggle.

"So... Thanks! And do stop cutting yourself, you leave your blade every where. Reed wants you to call him, he's convinced you've cut yourself to death. I'm trying to stay upbeat here. Just... Stop cutting yourself. Don't think I don't know you don't just cut your arms," she concluded and it was silence. Nathan had stopped moving and tensed up.

"Where else d'you cut?" He asked, barely whispering. I froze.

"Where?" He asked, his voice shaky. I sighed, and moved my hair off my shoulder and tugged slightly at my shirt, yanking the sleeve down. He gasped. Red angry lines criss-crossed on my shoulder. He gasped softly, running his finger gently over the scars. I couldn't even look at him.

Suddenly I felt his lips brushing my shoulder, before he grinned cheekily at me.

"There. I've kissed it all better," he said in a child's voice. I giggled slightly, and he chuckled along. He began kissing down my face, and neck.

"I'll personally take responsibility of you. I'll make you feel loved, I'll never make you want to cut again. That, Amelia Christie Brown, is my promise to you," he said between soft kisses. His voice was soft, velvety, like honey on a sore throat. It was also slightly rough, seeing as it was morning and he just woke up, and husky. His hair was messed up, he was a cute bed head. He had been working out, his torso was quite well-defined. He had slight outline of abs forming, and the v-bones in his hips almost melted me. His arms were definitely more toned and his hands were soft and smooth.

We sat like that, leaning against each other, eyes closed and enjoying each others. At least, I was. After a while, I realised that Nathan's head was resting on my shoulder and a soft snore slipped his lips. I giggled softly. He must be really drained. It was 7 am, after all. He only had 4 hours of sleep. I moved slightly, adjusting our position slightly so his head was on my lap and he was lying down. I was leaning against my bed. I slowly stroked his hair, fixing his fringe. His face was so peaceful, content. His lips stretched out in a small smile, his eyelids relaxed, his hand rested gently on his bare stomach.

I just sat there, stroking his hair. The gesture soothed me for some reason, like some sort of talisman, reassuring me that Nathan was mine, and was safe. I would do anything to protect him. I wasn't even talking in a cheesy, 'I'd catch a grenade for ya' way. When I say anything, I mean anything. If need be, I would leave him, if it meant he was safe. I've never felt so strongly to someone, except maybe Reed and Amy. But theirs was different. Theirs really was sibling love. With Nathan... It was different.

Whenever he touched me, or vice-versa, I felt this warm feeling. It wasn't fuzzy, it wasn't sharp. It was as if he radiated warmth and happiness from within him. When he talks about me, or to me, I couldn't help but hear it in his voice, that he loved me. He cared for me. When I was with him, in the same room, I always had to restrain myself from going over to him and just hugging him. Whenever he stood next to me, I would subtly inch away. I didn't know what I felt, but it scared me. I didn't want to be too close for fear he may just disappear and I wouldn't know it.

I didn't want to lose him again. I finally got him back, and I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I had a feeling he didn't either.

-Four hours later-

I woke up and stretched, finding Nathan still asleep on my lap. Tom had somehow gotten in my room, and had his jaw dropped while making indistinguishable sounds. My room door was slightly ajar.

"Hush! You're gonna wake him!" I whispered, lightly moving Nathan's hair from his face. He stirred, and glared at Tom. But Tom, being Tom, yelled out instead.

"AMELIA AND NATHAN, SITTING ON A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Tom yelled, attracting the other lads into the room. Nathan curled up, and I put an arm around him protectively. Max ran in and continued where Tom left off.

"FIRST COMES LOVE," he started.

"THEN COMES MARRIAGE," Jay continued, laughing.

"THEN COMES MINI SLOTH IN A BABY CARRIAGE!" Siva yelled, ending off. Nathan's eyes slowly opened, taking in his surroundings. He looked up, directly into my eyes. He sat up.

"Excuse me for a minute, Nath," I muttered to him. He looked confused.

"PARKER, YOU'RE IN SHIT SO DEEP, YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW!" I yelled, getting up and running straight to Tom. He ran off, and Max tried his best to block me. I was much more agile now, I quickly slipped out of his arms and continued chasing the parrot. Sure, I had gotten faster, but I was still chasing a lad, and a fit one at that. But I managed to keep sight of him at all times as we ran along the corridors, and after a while I hid behind a wall. Tom slowed, thinking he had lost me. I quietly snuck up behind him as he gasped for breath, and jumped on his back, causing him to fall forward with a loud 'gah'.

"Get off me!" He yelled, as the other lads came running. At the sight of me sat on Tom's arse, hands on his back, everyone laughed, commenting about how Tom was overpowered by a 'little girl'. I'm still stuck at 5 feet 6 inches, at least I gained two inches in the past two years.

"Woah... What have I gotten myself into?" I heard Nathan mumble, as a joke. I chuckle lightly and faced him.

"Oh, you've gotten yourself in a lot of trouble, mister," I breathed down his neck. He shivered, and I knew I found his weakness. The other lads noticed and their jaws dropped. Nathan flushed pink, his gaze dropped.

"When?" Max asked.

"Last night... This morning," I replied. The lads all smirked suggestively, and Nathan shook his head, trying to defend himself. Note the trying.

"I-It's not like that! We-we just talked!" He insisted. I decided to save him from further embarrassment.

"He had an asthma attack, I saved his life, he helped me, begged for me, I said yes, and he conked out while I was getting changed to go out," I said. The lads grins dropped.

"Going out! Oh, babe, I'm so sorry... I was tired, but that's no excuse," Nathan rambled on.

"Relax. You've given me everything, I don't need to go out," I reassured him. He smiled, a small one, but genuine. The lads all hollered, yelling that they wanted a day out seeing as they had the last day in Philippines off.

"Alright, alright, let's go," I laughed, walking back to my room to change. Wondering what in the world the lads had planned this time.

Author's Note: So... As I have promised, I am back on Troubles Piling On! I hope you've been enjoying this as much as I did writing it. Actually, that's a lie. It was nearly impossible to write this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Bye peeps!

~Sophia