haunted , jeremiah fisher ²

four

"hi, susannah." amelia smiled as she hugged the older woman. she hadn't seen her since the summer, and she could tell the cancer was taking its toll.

"mel, my darling." she smiled fondly, patting the girls back as she hugged her. "how have you been?" the blonde woman asked once she pulled back.

"i've been okay. how about you? how are you feeling?" amelia stared at susannah with sad eyes.

the older woman smiled sadly, "some days are better than others. but i'm pushing through."

amelia felt jeremiah grab her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. it was probably something he needed more than she did, but both appreciated it.

"that's good to hear. so... you won't be telling laurel about this?"

susannah laughed softly, "no. it means everything in the world to me that you guys are happy. just as long as you promise to keep the door open, and keep things PG." she pointed with a wink.

jeremiah grimaced, "gross, mom. as if i would do anything remotely sexual with her." he chuckled. amelia rolled her eyes with a smile, "yeah. never in my wildest dreams."

"oh, so you dream about me? good to know." jeremiah smirked, knocking amelia's shoulder with his own. susannah couldn't help the smile on her face at the interaction. it brought her contentment to see the people she loved the most find happiness in one another.

"you two are so cute." susannah beamed. "don't lose that spark. you two are gonna need each other when..."

amelia stepped forward, wrapping her arms around susannah again. "don't say it." she mumbled into her shoulder. jeremiah then also joined in on the hug. he felt really lucky to have amelia in his life, he just hoped nothing would ever change that.

on the other hand amelia couldn't help but feel like she was haunted or cursed even. this would be the second parent figure she lost to cancer. losing one isn't irregular, but two?

and it's not like she had a dad either. all she had left was laurel. of course she also had her cousins and the fishers as well. amelia didn't know what she would do if she lost any of them.

•

amelia fell asleep shortly after they pulled away from the gas station. she made belly trade seats with her so she could sleep comfortably without the occasional side eyes jeremiah kept giving her. not rude side eyes, but more like stolen glances.

she wasn't sure how long she had been asleep before she heard the distant talking of jeremiah and belly. she kept her eyes closed however, not really wanting to be blinded by the sunlight.

"we actually haven't talked since the funeral." she heard her cousin say from her spot beside jeremiah.

"what the hell happened with you guys?" jeremiah asked, eyes focused on the road ahead.

belly turned to face him, "he never said anything?"

the blonde boy turned to glance at her for a split second before turning his head to the front again, "we don't talk about you. or her." he said bluntly, momentarily turning his head to signify that he was talking about amelia.

"oh." belly spoke quietly. "so what happened between you and mel?"

"she didn't tell you?"

belly smiled to herself, "we don't talk about you." she repeated. amelia and belly both knew that was a lie. they talked about jeremiah and conrad more than they'd like to admit.