A Fresh Start

Chapter 3

Amelia turned around to see her best friends Mark and Cara. She had known Mark since they were in their nappies and Cara since middle school. The three of them were still the best of friends but Cara and Mark were eyeing each other for so long that it was only a matter of time before they both realised they were head over heels for each other. Though they realised it a bit late but better late than never, she thought.

She was ecstatic to see for them. It had been a while. "Hey, Mark and Cara! You both are soo late. Where have you been?"

Both of them blushed the moment she said that. She knew what kept them so long and now she had no interest in knowing the details. Before they could say anything, Amelia stopped them.

"Oh no no no no... Don't tell me. I know why you both are late and I hate you both for it but alas, you are here."

"B*tch, come here! It has been a while!!" Mark pulled Amelia into a nice, long hug. She then gave a hug to Cara. They then started walking towards the bar and little did she know that Jayden was watching her the whole time during their exchange. The moment she reached the bar, she could feel the hair at the back stand up. She knew who it was and it was so confusing for her because Amelia had no idea what she was feeling.

Though Amelia didn't acknowledge Jayden, Mark did. "Oh hey, Jayden! Fancy seeing you here. How have you been, man?"

Mark clapped Jayden on his shoulder and gave him a bro handshake. Amelia averted her eyes and called out to the bartender while she absent-mindedly listened to Jayden's response.

"I have been doing good, dude. Work has been a little crazy to balance though. There's a major client we need to get for a partnership and things need to be in place before that."

Mark nodded his head at Jayden in understanding and wished him good luck!

Amelia interrupted this little meet and greet. "Cars, Mars! What will you both have?"

Cara made a scowling face at her best friend. "Oh stop calling me that already. All my friends used to call me that in college because of YOU!!"

Mark and Amelia immediately burst into laughter at that. Cara joined them as well while Jayden stood there awkwardly.

"I'll just have a beer. I'm the designated driver." Mark replied.

Cara laughed at that answer. "Babe, you will always be the designated driver unless we have someone else. Though Mia, we should go out clubbing since you're back. It's been a while."

Nodding at Cara, Mia replied. "Yeah, that would be great! Maybe Aaron and his friends would like to join too."

"Jayden, you should join us as well for a round of drinks. It would be fun."

Amelia hadn't seen that coming. She didn't want Jayden to join them on the plan. She did not know where things stood and definitely didn't want to make things awkward.

"Uh, yeah. I guess but partying isn't really my scene."

Amelia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding the moment Jayden answered.

The party continued in a full swing. Amelia was having fun with her friends while Jayden didn't really interact much unless he was probed to. It was like old times when she used to hang out with her friends at parties like these that her parents and their friends threw. Coming from a certain section of society, everybody knew each other. Even before she realised it was past midnight when they realised that almost everyone had left except for Mark, Cara, Jayden and his mom. From the other side, she saw Merinda call Jayden asking him to take her back home.

Jayden turned towards Amelia, Mark and Cara. "Alright guys, it was nice meeting you all. I will see you soon. Bye Amelia and welcome back. Please thank your mom for hosting such a nice party."

Amelia gave Jayden a tight-lipped smile and a nod. Jayden turned and started walking towards where his mother was waiting for him.

"Mia, things have changed you know. While you were not here."

"I know, Mark. Everyone keeps telling me that but it's difficult you know. Aaron told me a gist of what happened with Jayden's dad and what followed after. I didn't know any of it. I feel bad that he had to go through stuff like that at such a young age."

Mark and Cara nodded their heads at what Amelia just said agreeing to it.

"Maybe you should talk to him sometime. It will be good for you to clear things out. I know it still troubles you but this might help you get past that, babe."

Thinking over what Cara just said, Amelia nodded. "Yeah, I think so too. Aaron said the same. I need to sleep on it and then maybe I will be able to come to a decision."

"That would be good. Anyway, it's getting late. We have quite a drive back home. Now that you are back for good, we'll see you soon."

Mia didn't know how to respond to Mark's words. She hadn't told anybody about the proposal. If she did say yes, she'd have to move halfway across the world away from her family and friends. Trying to keep her lips shut from spilling her guts out, she gave both of her friends a tight hug.

"I will see you both very soon. We should catch up over lunch sometime. Maybe get me up-to-date with all the latest gossip." Amelia said.

Cara immediately gave her a mischievous smile while Mark tried to suppress it while he looked at his girlfriend.

Feeling giddy, Cara replied. "Girllll, I have so much to tell you that you'll probably need a whole day. Also, we should have a girls' day and not include this boy right here. It's not his cup of tea."

Laughing at Cara and Mark's expressions, she waved goodbye to both her friends before she made her way to her room. She had just opened the door when her mom called out to her from the other side of the corridor.

"Mia darling, I just wanted to check up on you before you went off to sleep. Looks like I caught you at the right time. I hope you had fun tonight. We are so delighted to have you back. Don't leave your mama and papa once again, okay? It was difficult enough to stay away from you all these years."

Amelia sighed. "Mama, you all came to visit me every few months supporting my decision to not come here since I needed the time."

"It's not the same darling. But that's a talk for a different time. You should head to bead. You must be tired. Good night, baby."

Tania hugged her and gave her a kiss on the forehead before she made her way back to her room.

"Goodnight, mama!"

Mia made her way into the walk-in closet to change out of her dress. She stood in front of her mirror and looked at her reflection. She noticed the little changes. For the past 5 years, she kept working on herself and the personality she has today didn't come overnight. She felt more confident about the person staring back at her through the mirror.

Feeling tired from the whole day, she headed to bed and the moment her head hit the follow she slipped into a deep slumber.

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Author's note!

How are you all liking it? Leave a comment! I'd love to know what you all think.

Love,
VK