Bad Boy Brady

Little Thing Called Guilt

"Mom," Amelia began just after sipping her espresso at the breakfast table, "Have you ever done something that you thought was right but deep down you felt the opposite?"

Her mother dropped her fork and eyed her daughter curiously. "What have you done?"

"That's offensive." Amelia stated. "How can you just assume I did something wrong when I merely asked a simple question?"

"I'm your mother Amelia, I know you better than anyone else." Her mother answered as she picked up her fork and began eating again.

She does have a point, thought Amelia but she wasn't going to admit that, because her mother might've known her a little better than anyone else but she didn't really know Amelia.

"So how much do I have to pay to clean up your mess?" Chantelle - her mother - asked.

"Have you ever had to clean up any of my so-called mess's mom?" Amelia asked.

Chantelle opened her mouth then closed it again and Amelia smugly grinned. "Thought so."

"Just because I haven't had to clean up after you it doesn't necessarily mean you're a saint.

Chantelle pointed out.

"Anyway," Amelia said, "You haven't answered my question as yet."

"Why are you bothering yourself over something that's already done, you can't undo anything so the best advice I can give is forget about it move on." Chantelle said.

"But-"

"But nothing." Chantelle cut her off. "I don't see the point in pondering over something that can't be changed. Just turn the page already, as long as you didn't do anything to jeopardize your family and its name, then I don't want to hear anything about it."

"What if it jeopardizes someone's life?" Amelia questioned.

"Is it anyone's life that will affect anyone of us? Perhaps a relative of one of your father's business associates or someone with a significant influence?" Chantelle asked.

Amelia took a moment before she shook her head. "No."

"Then end of discussion." Chantelle curtly closed the topic. "On to other important matters, have you decided what you're going to do this year?"

Amelia couldn't help but feel a tad bit disheartened about her mother's curt closure of a topic that's been bothering her ever since Hillary's party.

"I was hoping the three of us - dad, you and I - could go on a family world tour... you know visit many different countries together and make memories together and then I could spend the remaining months at home making a scrapbook."

Chantelle stared at her daughter for a long moment before she laughed. "Good joke honey."

Amelia looked at her mother pokerfaced. Of course she'd take it as a joke, thought Amelia.

"Seriously though," Chantelle said after taking a bite of her breakfast, "you're a Stanton; the world is your oyster. Wherever you want to go just say it and you'll be there with no questions asked."

"Anyway I've got to go." Chantelle excused herself from the table and stood up. She walked around to Amelia's seat and placed a kiss on top of her daughter's head. "Be good." And she left.

"Thanks," Amelia mumbled as she dropped her fork on the table, "for nothing."

The remainder of the day dragged on, Hillary and Hugh were in Chicago in college, Amelia thought about calling Hillary to see how her fist day was going so far but she assumed Hillary would be busy with college freshman stuff so she decided to rather call at the end of the week.