Happier than Ever

Chapter 2

 She chose to drive around town a bit before going home. Part of her was just buying herself time just in case Eleanor or her mother wanted to call when she got home, but the other part of her wanted to take a good look around. It was fall, and she always loved looking at the trees that time of year. It served as a wonderful distraction from the lingering worry that sat uncomfortably in the back of her mind - the worry that should have dissipated the moment she left that parking lot.

She was tired still, and she suspected her worry was just emotional exhaustion.

Her apartment was dark and cluttered at the moment. She often kept the blinds closed for both privacy reasons and because she liked it better when it was dark, though with the changing of the seasons and the weather cooling off, she knew she'd start opening her windows again to let in the fresh air. The boring, off-white walls of her apartment were covered in framed pictures of bats; both educational posters and pictures she'd taken on expeditions. On her kitchen table were several months worth of mail collected by her sister at her request, and a few bills that were left over for her to pay when she got home.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once they did she felt at home. The only thing she wanted to do was get comfortable and watch TV. Next to her kitchen table was her answering machine, and at the moment the blinking red light caught her eye. She knew exactly what this was, and with a groan she shuffled over to it, pressing a few buttons to get the old thing to work.

It crackled as it let out a high pitched tone, as usual. Amelie let her hair down, shaking the locks loose as she slipped her scrunchie onto her wrist while she waited for the messages to come pouring in.

"Amelie, you didn't tell me you were coming home! Come over for dinner tonight, me and your father would love to see you again! Call us back." A message from her mother that brought a small smile onto her face. She didn't think she'd take her up on that offer just yet, but she'd definitely have to call her back. She pressed a button and the machine moved onto the next message.

"Amie! It's Veronica! You should come out tonight, me and Charlie are going out for drinks and I think it'd be nice for you to come out, live a little, you know? I mean, we know you just got back but... anyway, I know you probably won't. We should hang out some other time though, whenever you want. Call me back?" She pressed the next button a bit too quickly for her liking, but she couldn't help it. Veronica hardly ever had the money to pay for herself, so hanging out with her would turn into her wanting to do things then sulking when no one wanted to pay for her. Charlie was more than willing to help out, but Veronica liked to say she felt bad about having him pay. It pained her to think this way, considering the fact that Veronica had been her friend for such a long time. Needless to say, she wasn't going out with them anytime soon, especially when she just got back from a long trip for work.

"Hey Amie, it's Ellie." Eleanor's quiet voice came over the old speaker, and for some strange reason her tone seemed to alarm Amelie. " I just wanted to talk about this afternoon cause uh... I don't want to assume anything. I love you, you know that, but... who was that guy? He looked familiar and I just couldn't shake this feeling I got when I looked at him, like, he just had bad vibes. I swear I've seen him in the news and I saw he followed you into the bathroom and I'm just... nevermind, this is stupid. Forget I called you. It's fine." The message ended abruptly.

Amelie stared at the machine for a moment, unsure of what to think of her sister's message. Everything Eleanor says makes her wish she never left home in the first place, or it made her wish she moved away when she had the chance. Clearly a lot had happened since she left, and for some strange reason her sister seemed more and more paranoid. Maybe it was just that restaurant, but Amelie wasn't completely sure.