"Amelia"

Chapter 2: Red Stains

It was such an innocent question really.

"Amelia, I thought you stopped." Arizona whispered nearly in tears.

"I'm sorry Arizona." Amelia apologized.

She felt horrible. The cutting wasn't the problem, she was. Amelia hated making Arizona worry so much. She hated the feeling that rose in her stomach every time Arizona caught her cutting, buying supplies, or even cleaning up after the mess.

Amelia feared that every time she cut, Arizona got closer to giving up on her. She wanted to stop with every fiber of her being, but she couldn't explain how relaxing it was. Not exactly to cut, but to heal.

"Come here." Arizona whispered as she pulled Amelia closer to her.

"I'm sorry." Amelia apologized again, hoping that Arizona would say the three magic words.

"How long were you clean before?" Arizona questioned.

"Almost three months." Amelia confided as the tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.

Arizona held Amelia tighter and whispered Amelia's favorite three word phrase, "You'll be okay."

Just seconds after Arizona uttered those three magic words, the front door slammed open. Arizona jolted upright and rolled her legs off the side of the bed. Amelia grabbed for her arm. Something wasn't right. Amelia's eyes pleaded Arizona to stay. Arizona kissed her on the forehead and whispered,

"It's probably just one of the kids or Rachel attempting to sneak out. It's fine. Don't panic, Amelia. You are safe."

Amelia shook her head as the feeling in her stomach got worse.

Arizona looked at her and smiled before unclasping the chain from her wrist and slipping it onto Amelia's wrapped wrist. She hugged Amelia tight and comforted her,

"This will protect you. I'll only be gone for a minute. Nothing bad will happen. Just hide under the covers until I get back."

Amelia nodded as Arizona slowly left the room.

"Rachel? Is that you?"

That was the last thing Amelia heard before the chaos began.

Screaming and shouting and gunfire, but all Amelia could do was hide under the covers. She felt the tears stream down her face and through her wrapped wrist. She heard the gunfire move closer and closer to Arizona's bedroom. She heard the bedroom door being pushed open and saw the light against the opposite wall. Amelia felt her heart slow and everything inside her froze. She stopped breathing, she stopped crying. Amelia just stopped. Everything ran through her brain. All her doubts and fears intensified the panic that she felt. She watched the shadow against the opposite wall grow closer. Amelia grabbed onto her wrist and Arizona's bracelet and silently chanted, "You'll be okay." She prepared herself for the end.

Death wasn't something that Amelia was particularly afraid of, but in those few moments, Amelia didn't want to know what was waiting for her after she died. She didn't want to see the light or God, or her own personal heaven. She wanted to see Arizona and her graduation, and her life after she left this town. She wanted to get better. Although she was addicted to the healing, she began to realize that to heal, you must first be broken. So Amelia waited for the stranger to lift the sheets and end her life.

"Duke. Let's go!" A man shouted from the other end of the house.

Amelia watched as the shadow in the doorway disappeared. She counted the footsteps the stranger took to get to the front door. She listened as the front door closed gently shut and the men left bickering. Amelia waited for the door to click before she slowly removed the covers.