"let's go inside. We can talk there" he said calmly and Amelia withdrew her hand that was wrapped around his arm. She was so completed distracted to realize they shared such closeness and when she did, her cheek flushed in embarrassment.
She nodded in response, pressing her lips nervously as she tried to smile, but she just couldn't.
He stepped back a little, signaling her to go first. She complied while he trialed from behind. She walked slowly as though Hardin was going to get to her if she walked too fast. It wasn't going to happen, she knew, but she couldn't help but feel fear inside of her.
She entered the sitting room and sat on one of the couches while Xavier sat next to her. Nothing was said as silence followed and she couldn't tell the cause. She wasn't staring at him, but one thing was sure, he was gazing intently at her.
It was something she had known him for and he normally did that when he examined her to get the truth. That was the reason Amelia found it quite hard to lie in his face. One look in his burning, green eyes and she was already melting.
"Can we talk" he called out to her and his voice still had the concern in it and just hearing it alone, made her feel slight comforted
"I don't want to talk," she said. If she involved Xavier, it could make things worse. If she was the only one involved, Hardin might have only her and leave Xavier out of it.
It was called protection, she knew, but she wasn't ready to involve Xavier in anything that concerned dangerous Hardin. It wasn't her duty, but she felt obliged to it.
"You don't look too good, concealing it will make you worse," he said once more and Amelia still had her face turned away from him, avoiding anything that would make her have eye contact with him.
"We don't share the kind of relationship that warrants me telling you my secret," she said and this time she was facing him. She didn't care, she wanted him to know the emotion she was hiding on the inside.
"You are my wife"
"And is that a newly adopted coping mechanism? We are not married as far as I'm concerned. We aren't supposed to be close to each other. We are not even supposed to be having this conversation" she shot out and noticed how his face changed. His eyes softened and hurt clouded them.
Amelia wasn't sure why she flared up like that, but one thing was sure, she didn't enjoy it a bit. She had to do it though, Xavier was bent on finding out what was wrong with her and she wasn't ready to tell him everything.
She abruptly stood up from where she sat, glanced at Xavier briefly, and walked towards the stair with distress and turmoil inside of her. It was hurtful, how she spoke to him, but that was the only way to get him out of it.
She abruptly stood up from where she sat, glimpsed at the Xavier briefly, and walked towards the stairs.
Truth be told, she didn't like the way, she stormed off, but she had to if she wanted her secret safe.
Dragging her feet up the stairs, the frustration that swept through her was terrific and it deterred her from thinking and acting properly.
The sudden feeling of going over to Xavier and telling him how sorry she was, overtook her, but she resisted the feeling and walked towards her room instead. She grabbed the door, knob, twisted it, and walked into it.
She tossed her phone on the bed and ran her hands through her hair, breathing out sharply as uproar flooded her.
Her eyes drifted to her phone and the shiver that ran down her spine was great just by the sight alone. The thought of the messages coursed though she and she shuddered. It was still on her phone and she knew she needed to delete it, but the thought of going over to her phone and seeing those messages once more made her slightly scared.
Her phone beeped just when she was still gaping at it and her spirit almost hopped out of her body. She stayed at her spot with widened, fearful eyes, too terrified to check who was calling.
After some time, she stealthily began to walk towards the phone and when she saw Wendy on the screen, her troubled heart de-stressed a bit as she picked up the phone.
She answered the call and placed the phone in her ear, trying her best to restrain her breathing.
"Wendy" she called out
"Hey girl" Wendy voiced out quite cheerful.
"And what is the mood all about?"
"Nothing just felt a little bit hyped"
"And you have been drinking," Amelia said and Wendy chuckled
"Do I need to be drunk to get happy, Amelia?"
"I know, you just seem more weird than usual," she said and she could vouch Wendy rolled her eyes at her.
"So what's the secret"
"Xavier called" she finally blurted out and Amelia's eyes widened in shock. "He said I should confirm if you are okay"
"Oh" was the only thing Amelia could say. She had not realized he was that worried about her to the extent of calling Daphne. It baffled her a lot.
"Are you guys okay, uh... Like no quarrels right?" Wendy asked and Amelia smiled slightly although, Wendy wasn't seeing her.
"We are okay Wendy" she persuaded
"So what's up with you then?"
"Nothing.. just feel a little bit under the weather"
"And Xavier called me? I'm sure it's more than that"
"Wendy trust me, I'm fine. If at all I wanna talk, I will tell you everything" she said and afterward hated the way she had to lie to Wendy.
They were close and shared almost everything's something that wasn't easy to share. It was the dark part of her, that couldn't be lightened, no matter how she tried. It stuck with her and the scar on her thigh served as a persistent indication
"so you are saying you are okay?" Wendy asked once more and that was just typical Wendy. Caring, loving, and at the same time nosey. Always tends to have the urge to know more and when she isn't properly informed, she strives to get to know more. It was tiresome to Amelia, but she still loved how Wendy felt so involved in her problems.
"Yes, Wendy I already told you" she reassured. "Have you been speaking to peter lately?" she asked because she was quite concerned about how peter became so unresponsive to her calls and it induced her concern
"Yeah. He plans on starting his pub, still on the planning phase though" she said and Amelia felt the need to exclaim out of surprise.
"He what?" She said amidst laughter. "That is so not Peter"
"I know right, he's just changed, and it's surprising. Doesn't even give more than one syllabic answer when asked a question. He has lost his enthusiasm and its kind of sad"
"That's strange, did you bother asking him what he was on about"
"Did, a hundred times. Nothing. He might tell what the problem is when it's the right time though" Wendy said, but Amelia wasn't convinced.
She was going to find out herself and not wait for him. If at all he had something depressing and doesn't want to talk about it. She was bound on making him talk.
"I will speak to him then. Peter can't just change out of nowhere" she stated with a shrugs
They talked for a while and when tired, they abruptly ended the call.
Amelia stretched her arm as she yawned tiredly. She peeked through the curtain. The day was still quite early and that means her curfew had not been surpassed. That was a silly gesticulation, she concluded when she finally thought of it. Rather than looking out her window, she could have just checked the time.
Signing in regards to her absurdity, she walked towards her bed and grabbed her phone she had earlier tossed aside. "3:10". She frowned abruptly. Her curfew was by 4:00 and there was no way she was going to meet up with Peter.
Not If she was fast enough. Her naughty self tried to convince her, and she was beginning to fall for it. Peter's house wasn't too distant from here and she could make it over in 10minutes, spend not more than 30minutes and return in 10 minutes. With all things being equal of course.
Not wanting to waste any more time. She stood up from her bed, adjusted her hair without even bothering to look at the mirror. She made her way to the sitting room and met Xavier who was sitting on one of the couches with his eyes closed and his finger placed as support to his head.
He flicked his eyes open as soon as he heard footsteps and met a rather a hasty Amelia. He was partly stunned at how fast her mood had changed
He sat up and looked at her and watched as she bit her lips nervously and he knew she was about to ask for a favor.
"I'm guessing you are alright now?"
"Yeah much better than before" she stated and Xavier nodded incessantly and closed his eyes again. One thing was sure, he wasn't cut out for any of her problems and the reason was clear. She made the reason clear to him. He was disgruntled and she was the cause.
"I'm going out" she blurted out and watched as his eyes flicked open. He didn't say a word at first as he bent his wrist to check the time.
"My curfew isn't heee yet" she assured him and he crunched his eyes brow as he looked at the time. One thing was sure, he wasn't loving the idea.
"3:15" he called out, looking at her. "Where are you off to that can't wait till morrow"
"I'm going off to see peter," she said and silence followed. The look in his eyes could not be deciphered as he stared at her intently for almost a minute.
"Why?" he asked and Amelia sighed. Why does she have to give a reason to see her friend?
"I haven't heard from him in a long time. You can't stop me from going" she said, informing him ahead of that he couldn't stop her from going out as long as it wasn't her curfew.
"I wasn't going to stop you" he stated. "But that doesn't mean, I love the idea"
"Well" she shrugged
"Cosmos will be taking you" he spoke. "And a guard" he added and her mouth dropped. Why was he being paranoid at the fact she was just going to visit a friend.
"I don't need them"
"You do"
"For what?"
"The guard for protection and Cosmos to make sure you make it before your curfew"
"You are so unbelievable" she exclaimed in disbelief.
"It's for your own good miss Wilson"
"Well I don't need that, I will be fine on my own and would most definitely not need one of your staff to get me anywhere" she stated, standing her ground.
Peter would freak out if she showed up with a guard. What was she being protected from, peter, who had been her friend for over 7 years? It was absurd and she didn't know how to make him see it
"Well I guess you won't be leaving then" he stated firmly and Amelia sighed in exasperation. The fact that he could always be so difficult and make things quite tough for her.
He always seemed to have a way of bossing her around and the fact that she was too lenient when it came to that, baffled her.
She knew exactly what he wanted her to do, succumb to his will, and the more they bickered about it, the closer her curfew was getting. She hated the idea, but she wanted to see peter, so going with his order would be better if at all she wanted to get out that day