I knock on the door with my stomach threatening to throw back the dinner I had. It's 11:55 pm, and I wait for Amelia to open the door. It's her birthday, and I have a hand-sized box in my hand wrapped with golden gift paper.
The door opens slightly only to let Amelia's eyes be seen through the gap.
A moment of silence before she smacks the door closed again, and I hear rushing noises, some drawers opening and shutting in haste. Another silence and the door finally opens completely.
I give a soft smile, and Amelia returns it with her kind but awkward smile.
"Hi." She says, breaking the awkward silence that is slowly wrapping around us.
"Hi." Never have I ever felt like a stranger around her, but here we are, I look at my phone to see the time, and it's exactly midnight. "Happy birthday!" I say excitedly, trying to bury all the tension from before.
Amelia's eyes skim through the present as she hesitantly takes it and gives me a genuine smile. One that confirms that she has forgiven me."I'm sorry." I finally muster up the courage.
"About what?" Her eyes narrow in question.
"For what I said that day. I didn't mean any of it, I don't know what took over me." I am desperate for her to tell me that it did not hurt her, but there stands no chance of it being true.
"What are you talking about? I don't remember anything." She chuckles to hide it. I know her too well. She wishes to forget it and act like nothing ever happened. Something inside my stomach twists.
"Tell me it did not hurt you." My smile has long faded, but Amelia's stays right there as if it's stuck there.
"It did not hurt me." She says without a pause.
"Be honest and tell me it didn't hurt." A seconds of silence that felt like hours.
"I can't do both." She shrugs and steps aside to make way for me to enter.
The message was clear; it hurt her, but she forgave me and wished to move on. Got it. I was about to step inside when she stopped me with her hands.
"You know the rules." She arcs her eyebrows at me, and I let loose a small laugh in relief to see things being normal.
"When we enter the house of Amelia Vance..." I move my hands along my body as if I am collecting some invisible energy and close it within my fist. " bringing negative emotions in, stands no chance." I act as if throwing that energy somewhere far.
We both laugh at the cringe.
I enter the house finally, with my mood uplifted. We sit at our common place, that is, the sofa in front of the television. The tension of a few minutes ago is now gone.
"So, let's see what you have got me!" Amelia doesn't bother to remove each tape systematically, but instead, she rips the wrapper open, revealing the navy blue colour hand-sized box. "What is this, Sil? Are you proposing to me?! I don't mind, but your guy would feel bad!" Her tone is dramatic at which we both chuckle.
Her pupil grows as she analyzes what's inside the box, I can hear my unsteady breath, which is surely the result of the suspense in her expression.
"How is it?" I asked when the suspense was too much to take.
Amelia's gaze meets mine, and the biggest smile I have ever seen forms on her face. Which I mirror when she jumps to hug me. Her arms tightly wrapped around me, knocking my breath out.
"I LOVE THIS!!!" She shouts, her voice muffled in this hug.
"I bought myself a matching one." I manage to say, Amelia pushes back, and I take out another box from my pocket identical to hers but in red colour.
I take out the silver chain necklace with a butterfly pendant. The butterfly is made of raisen and is half the size of a thumb. My butterfly is half crystal clear and half white, while Amelia's is half crystal clear and half black.
I remember her telling me, wanting to buy a black butterfly accessory, I couldn't find a full black in stock, so I went for these.
We both wear our necklaces, which is then followed by a small photo session filled with giggles and laughs.
"Aesterope suggested me to buy this..." I say as when Amelia brings us coffee and falls on the couch.
No matter what, Aesterope and Amelia would never be options for me, I need to have them both in my life, and I want Amelia's approval for this relationship. That's how it should've been. That's how it should be.
Amelia's soft gulp is visible, and her lips lift to a soft smile.
"Well, he does have a great choice, doesn't he?" Her eyes shine with a mischievous glow, clearly indicating me.
I smile with relief at her response, the stone on my heart falls and eases my heart.
Though Amelia's sudden change of heart does feel a bit suspicious, and I am too selfish and scared to find out why and ruin this. Whatever it is, however, it is, it is what I wanted to have.
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
And it just grows when I tell her about my concern about him being in some dangerous work, and she says I just trust him, and it'll be fine.
Amelia's sudden change has me standing at the edge.
I wanted to ask her what it was in the first place for which she was concerned. What is that thing that she and him know but I don't? What are the secrets she and him are hiding from me? But I refrain from doing so. I know I would not like the answer. I don't want to ruin it now that everything is perfect. It's a bit too perfect.
But I have this urge to find it and I think...
I will.
CITEȘTI
Mirage.
RomanceA secret he hides, Known to all.......except her. An author. Tired of life. Finds hope, A hope she never expected and he says "If I must leave myself on the way to find you, I am more than willing to give all that I ever had just to find all that I...
