Secrets

21

Warning: It's short

"So," a familiar sinister voice interrupted Amelia's sobs, "he lied. That's just so sad."

Amelia looked over at Atticus, glaring into his soul (if he had one), "what do you want?"

"Nothing, just find it funny that you trusted that guy like a father; only to find out that he basically betrayed you."

Amelia sat up and continued to glare daggers. She stood up, her face still blotchy and red. She went to her door and opened it before walking out. Atticus just smirked as he watched her go back into the fray.

"So," Amelia announced herself, "who wants to be a punching bag?"

"Ksikkihkíni," Saiska scolded her daughter, "what did I just say about violence?"

"But none of you have to deal with an asshole who knows how to push your buttons!"

A wave of realization came upon the nations faces. How did they not notice that Atticus would show up when Amelia was down or mad?

"Are you alright, lass?" Iona asked, concern marring her face.

"I- I," Amelia couldn't speak, she was choking on her words. Her knees gave out under her and she collapsed into a heap on the ground. She started sobbing again. She buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to seem weak, but she knew she looked weak in this moment.

Ivan approached the crying nation after everyone seemingly didn't know what to do. He knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up for a brief second before letting herself fall into his arms.

Toris felt a little jealous, but he knew Amelia saw Ivan as just a friend. They had talked about it a lot.

The rest of the nations, especially Arthur and Matthew, somehow felt at a loss of what to do.

"You need to drink something, comrade," Ivan eventually said. He easily picked the sobbing nation up and carried her to the kitchen.

Ivan set Amelia down in a chair and went to get her a glass of water. She was shaking so much, he refused to hand her the glass. Instead, he just held it up to her lips. After a few seconds, she took a sip.

After a while Amelia seemed to calm down a bit, she was still shaking a bit, however. She pushed Ivan away and stood up, looking at the crowd of nations.

"Who-" she took a steadying breath, "who wants to continue?"

Nobody spoke up, so Amelia pushed through the crowd and into the living room, grabbing the book in the process and sitting down in her seat. She bent down slightly to pet Emma, who was seemingly waiting for her. Everybody else followed, slowly but surely.

Saiska didn't know how to help her daughter, but she knew she was in good hands, so she vanished from sight. Luckily Amelia didn't notice, but Matthew did and felt a twang of pain in his chest.

"Okay," Amelia took count that everybody was sitting down, "Am I going to read or is someone else gonna?"