"You look very pretty Miss Stanton." Stan complimented as Amelia got into the back seat of the black Mercedes.
"Thank you Stan." Amelia smiled politely before Stan shut the door and walked around to the driver's seat.
Amelia grinned to herself as the car drove out of her long driveway and onto the road towards the highway.
"You look pretty excited." Stan grinned as he noticed Amelia's wide smile.
"Well I haven't seen my dad in quite some time so you can say that I am." He answered cheerily.
"Does Mr. Stanton know you're coming?" Stan asked.
Amelia shook her head. "It's a surprise."
Stan simply nodded and the rest of the journey was quiet apart from the soft music playing. Amelia truly was happy to see her father; she was headed to his penthouse in the city – where her father spent his week days. She was attached to her father and being an only child she was also the apple of her father's eye. He gave her everything she desired without any questions and unlike Chantel her mother, Mr. Stanton barely ever yelled or scolded Amelia, she could get away with murder with him.
"Here we are." Stan said when they arrived. "What time shall I collect you?"
"You can go back, I'll try and get my dad to come back home with me or I'll just stay here and you can collect me in the morning." Amelia answered. "Thank you Stan, have a good evening." She smiled and got out of the car.
"Goodnight Miss Stanton." Stan said and drove off.
Amelia walked through the plush building doors and towards the elevator. With no time she was at the penthouse and rang the doorbell.
After two rings the housekeeper, Theresa opened the door with a pleasant smile. "Miss Stanton, it's been a while."
Amelia grinned at the plump lady in maybe her mid-fifties and walked in pass her.
"Is my dad home?" Amelia asked.
"Not yet dear, he should be back by nine the latest I assume." Theresa replied. "May I get you something in the meantime?"
Amelia shook her head. "No thanks."
"Call if you need anything." Theresa said and left the entrance room.
Amelia looked at her watch and saw it was only seven thirty, it might've been early but it was late for her dad to still be at the office, he normally arrived back around six thirty. Maybe he has a business meeting.
Not exactly knowing what to do with her free time, Amelia decided to go to the spare bedroom – namely hers and maybe watch TV to pass her time.
While watching TV time passed and when Amelia noticed the time it was after nine and her father still wasn't back home, she wondered where he could be. She doubted that a business meeting went on for so long unless it was with someone quite close, like Hugh's dad.
"Perhaps that idiot would know." Amelia murmured to herself and grabbed her phone off the bedside pedestal.
After a few rings Hugh answered. "Amelia, for what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Are our fathers together by any chance?" Amelia asked, getting straight to the point.
"The last I checked both of them were straight men and if we're wrong about that, I know for certain that my dad doesn't like mixing business with pleasure." Hugh teased.
"I'm serious Hugh." Amelia said.
"So am I Amelia." Hugh retorted.
Amelia huffed in annoyance. "Calling you was a waste of time; you're of no help – as usual!"
"Wow, you really are serious." Hugh said.
"Isn't that what I told you?" Amelia snapped.
"You always say you're serious but I can tell that you're my definition of serious this time and not yours." Hugh answered.
"Hugh." Amelia said exasperated.
"I love it when you call my name." he cooed.
"I'm hanging up!"
"I'm sorry." He chuckled. "Now I'm serious."
Amelia sighed. "So do you know if they had a meeting or whatever?"
"Sweetheart I'm at college I don't keep track of my father's itinerary for the day." Hugh answered.
"Yeah, you're right. I just thought that maybe you'd know something." Amelia murmured, feeling quite anxious about her father's whereabouts.
"What's the matter Amelia?" Hugh asked sincerely. "You don't normally inquire about your father's whereabouts."
"Nothing, goodnight Hugh." Amelia said.
"Hey, it's me, come on tell me what's wrong." Hugh insisted.
Amelia took in a breath. "It's just I came to the city to surprise my dad but it's way after nine and he's not even back yet, I don't know if I should be worried or not."
"Don't worry, he's a businessman, they tend to come back home late from meetings and whatnot sometimes. If you're worried, call him and ask where he is." Hugh suggested.
"No, you're right. I'm just overthinking things." Amelia said. "Thanks Hugh."
"Always here for you." He said.
"Don't start now." Amelia rolled her eyes. "You know it's never going to get you what you want."
"And what do you think it is that I want?" Hugh asked.
"What you want from every other girl." Amelia answered.
"Now don't be silly sweetheart, you know you're not just any other girl to me." Hugh said.
"And I know you use that line with every girl."
"Yeah but I mean it with you." Hugh stated.
"I don't care. It's never going to happen." Amelia said confidently, knowing she could never see Hugh as anything other than a friend.
"You really know how to wound a man Amelia." Hugh said.
"Goodnight Hugh." Amelia laughed at her weirdo friend.
"Sweetdreams gorgeous." He said and she hung up.
The clock ticked and Amelia's father still didn't return, Amelia wanted to call but time seemed to fly by and by the time it was around eleven pm, Amelia's eyes were droopy and she fell asleep, forgetting about her surroundings and drifting off into her dream world.
Amelia's sleep was shortly ruined when she heard some muffled sounds coming downstairs, she grabbed a pillow and covered her ears with it but that didn't help because the noise seemed to be getting louder and nearer.
"What does a girlhave to do to get some sleep around here?" she grumpily mumbled to herself asshe got out of bed to shut whatever it it was that was ruining her beauty sleep.
Running a hand thought her hair she slipped on her shoes she headed towards the bedroom door and exited her room. She listened attentively to see which direction the sounds were coming from and she figured it was from the staircase so she lazily dragged her feet towards that direction.
What were incoherent muffled sounds a minute ago turned to audible voices, one belonging to Amelia's father Richard and another was to a voice she didn't recognize. She quickened her steps and rounded a corner before she reached the staircase and the sight in front of her left her speechless.
Amelia stared at her father with his hand around the waist of a woman in maybe her mid-twenties; she was tall, blonde and very attractive. Richard was whispering something in her ear and she was giggling.
Amelia didn't know what to think or do, she just stood in her spot frozen watching her father shower affection to another woman who was half his age and wasn't his wife.
As they reached the end of the staircase, the woman stopped laughing and elbowed Richard lightly in the stomach.
"What happened babe?" he asked softly and the woman gestured towards Amelia with her eyes.
"What are yo-" Richard began but drifted off when he saw his daughter standing in front of him looking utterly shocked.
"Amelia." He began and took his hands off the woman before taking a step towards his daughter.
Amelia flinched away from him and with one last disgusted look she walked past him, down the staircase.
She heard her father's footsteps behind her but she ignored it, she needed to get out of this place as soon as possible.
"Amelia, darling." Richard called after her. "Listen to me sweetie."
Amelia didn't want to hear a word; all she wanted to do was get away from that apartment and her father.
"Sweetheart listen to me." her father caught onto her arm and stopped her from walking out the front door.
Amelia turned around and looked at her father squarely, not letting any emotion show. "Let go of me."
"Not until you listen to what I have to say." Her father said softly.
"No." Amelia stated and pulled her arm out of her father's grip. "I don't want to talk to you!"
"Alright, at least go back upstairs." He reasoned.
"Why? So I can hear you and your whore?" she said, her voice still calm.
"Amelia." Richard said. "Since when do you use that kind of language?"
"Maybe if you weren't cheating on my mother and were around more often you'd realize I'm no longer a little girl!"
"I don't appreciate your tone Amelia." Richard said sternly.
"I don't care Richard." Amelia retorted and headed for the front door.
"Where do you think you're going?" he called after her.
She ignored him and stepped out of the door but he caught up with her in no time.
"Listen Amelia, let me explain everything before you go to your mother, I-" he began but Amelia cut him off.
"Is that what you're mostly worried about that I'll go tattle tale to mom?" she asked between narrowed eyes. "Why should you care what happens? You're obviously tired of her, so if I tell her I'll be doing you a favor right?"
"It's not like that honey." Richard said.
"I don't care!" Amelia yelled. "Just let me go, I want to be as far away from you as possible!"
"It's late Lia; you go back inside and I'll leave if it makes you happy." Her father said.
"Why?" she asked. "So you can be alone with the slut?"
Richard took in a breath. "No, so you can be by yourself. I don't want you leaving this late and in this state."
"I don't care what you want, I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself. Now either you let me go or I pull a stunt that will not only hurt you but also make you regret holding me here against my will." Amelia threatened.
"What will you do?" her father asked.
"You know I can go to any extent to get whatever I want; don't challenge me Daddy." He said in utter seriousness.
"Amelia, please darling, be reasonable." Her father softly reasoned.
"No!" she yelled. "I don't want to be reasonable, I want you to let me go and be by myself!"
"Amelia, please my angel." Richard literally pleaded.
"You only have one child Dad, don't push me!" he threatened.
"Amelia, you can't always get your way, especially when it comes to your wellbeing."
"Let. Me. Go!" She said each word slowly
Richard knew his daughter very well and knew she loved getting her way more than anything else and one of his biggest weaknesses was never being able to deny her anything so he let go of her and sighed.
"At least let me drive you back home." He said. "I swear, I won't utter a word, you can even sit in the back. Just let me get you home safely."
"No." Amelia obstinately said and walked away, not wanting to hear another word her father had to say.
"At least tell me you're going to call Stan." Richard called after her as she waited for the elevator to arrive.
"Amelia." He pressed when she didn't answer him and just in time the elevator arrived and she got in.
"I'll be fine, I'm sorry for interrupting you." She said nonchalantly just before the elevator door closed and as soon as her father's face was out of view she let out a breath and played back what she just witnessed.
She couldn't believe that her Daddy could do that, he was perfect in her eyes and just like most girls, her father was her hero. He was her favorite parent, she was a daddy's girl and he was always right in her eyes. Moreover she always thought that her parents loved each other, she never in her wildest dreams imagined that her father would cheat on her mother, after all Chantel was beautiful and a perfect wife, she did everything and more Richard expected of her, she always did everything to make sure their family name was never in the mud but little did she know that her own husband was defaming their family.
Amelia heard the ding from the elevator and walked out onto the lobby; she glanced at her watch and saw it was after midnight, she didn't want to call Stan and bother him but mostly she didn't want to answer his questions, sure she wasn't obligated to answer him but she felt closer to him than she did to anyone and he knew her better than anyone else did too so he'd see through her distress.
Hugh. I can call Hugh and he can pick me up.
She wanted to pull out her phone but she realized that her phone was in her purse which was in her father's penthouse, on top of that she didn't even have a cent on her to use a payphone, Amelia Stanton was officially stranded.
"Great. Just great!" she exclaimed in frustration.
I'll just find a cab and pay the cabby when I reach home; yeah that's the best option. She glanced at the road once she left the building and noticed that it was pretty empty, there wasn't one cab in sight.
Sighing she decided to walk down the sidewalk until she spotted a cab, a part of her was glad that she couldn't find a ride home straight away, she didn't feel like going home, she wanted to just be by herself and walking seemed to be just the right thing.
She rubbed her arms as the cold night air brushed against her bare arms, with her purse and phone she left her coat back at the penthouse too. But her mind was too busy to even bother about the cold; all she could think of was her father and that woman he brought home with him. Thinking back to that made Amelia angry, how could someone allow herself to be involved with a married man? How could one woman be okay with a man betraying another woman? But mostly how could her dad do that to her mother?
The anger was then replaced with uncalled for tears; Amelia found herself crying as she replayed the picture of her father and the woman over and over in her head. The tears fell freely as she thought about how oblivious she was of her surroundings; she always belittled other people because she thought she was perfect Amelia from a perfect family.
I was so wrong, while picking at others dirty linen I didn't know what kind of filth rested in my home. What I thought was perfect turned out to be the total opposite, my complete family is about to be broken. She sobbed as she quickened her steps, in the process nearly tripping over but she caught her step and carried on walking.
"Mia." She heard a masculine voice call from behind her but she didn't pay any attention to anyone or anything in her surroundings.
"Amelia." She heard again and this time she stopped in her tracks.
With tears still in her eyes she turned around to see who called her name and she was surprised to see a pair of bright blue eyes frowning, eyes that belonged to Brady.
"Are you deaf?" he asked. "I've called your name at least twice but like always you seem to be on a mission."
She didn't say anything, she wasn't in any mood to argue or deal with Brady or anyone for that matter.
"Sorry." She murmured and turned to walk away but Brady stopped her.
"What are you doing out here on the streets this late?" he asked.
"Home." She answered.
Brady frowned. "Are you drunk?"
Amelia sniffed and shook her head in response; she was so upset that she was actually answering Brady's questions without any argument.
When she sniffed that's when Brady noticed the tears in her eyes, he subconsciously took a small step back and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Er, did I say something to upset you?" he asked awkwardly. "Because I don't recall saying anything rude."
She shook her head and dropped her gaze to her feet.
"Then, um, why are you crying?" he asked in a soft voice, looking down to meet her gaze.
"It's not you." She mumbled.
"I'm glad." Brady said with relief, for once he wasn't the reason for her tears. He then realized that he sounded a little insensitive, as if he was happy she was crying. "I mean, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Amelia answered. "I'm going to find a cab and go home."
She started walking again but Brady quickly caught up with her. "I'm headed home, I can drop you off?"
"I mean if you want." He quickly added.
Without even thinking over the fact that she was talking to Brady Ryland, the guy who was nothing but rude to her she looked up at him through tear stained eyes. "You don't mind?"
"It is late and you're alone on this street, so no I don't mind." He answered honestly. "I mean it's the least I can do after all you do tutor Lily."
"Thanks." Amelia murmured and wiped her eyes as she followed Brady in silence to his truck.
Brady walked to the driver's seat and Amelia stood outside the passenger door. Brady got in and looked at her like she was crazy, he leaned over and opened the door. "You can get in you know." He said.
She nodded and got in before closing the door.
"Sorry, I'm used to having the door opened for me." she said softly once Brady took off.
"Of course." Brady muttered silently as he rolled his eyes. "Well I'm sorry this isn't your big Mercedes or whatever luxury car that takes you around and I'm not Stan who's paid to be of your service. If you get in my vehicle, you open the fucking door yourself."
Under normal circumstances Amelia would've argued but this time she simply nodded.
Brady was a little confused with her behavior, he expected some sort of remark at least.
Amelia rested her head against the window and shut her eyes as Brady drove in silence. She felt more tears roll down her cheeks as she wondered how her mother would react when she found out about her father's affair, she wondered if she should tell her mother what she saw. If she did, she knew it would ruin her family but if she didn't it would kill her every time she saw her parents together.
Brady glanced at Amelia and saw her wet cheeks; he wondered what happened for her to be that upset. Did she lose a diamond earring or perhaps her father didn't buy her a car of her choice? A small part of him wondered, maybe someone did something to her, that stirred something inside of him and made him step on the gas a little harder.
He wanted to ask but decided against it, it was her problem and the last thing he wanted was to have a heart to heart with Amelia, he didn't want to grow close to her at all.
"Why do you hate us?" Amelia asked after a short while of silence.
"Us?" Brady questioned, a little confused by her spontaneous question.
"The wealthy." She answered. "Why do you hate us?"
Brady had many answers in his head but he voiced none of them. "Why are you asking me this?"
Amelia shrugged. "Just curious I suppose."
"Why do you hate those that aren't as wealthy as you?" he asked.
"I don't hate them." She said honestly. "I've just always thought of myself superior and them inferior."
"Typical." Brady remarked. "Just because you have more money than someone you think you shit ice cream."
"A person is a person irrelevant of their bank balance, people shouldn't be respected by how much they earn but by the amount of good they do – they should be given superiority not by the wealth in their bank account but rather by the wealth in their hearts." Brady said earnestly.
Amelia was left speechless; she didn't know Brady had such thoughts. He always seemed so arrogant and rude, he seemed to care about no one else but himself and here she was seeing a totally different side of him and dare she say it, but she was impressed.
"But you won't understand right?" he asked. "I mean you've been brought up to see riches and those with riches only."
"People can change you know, yes I was perhaps brought up that way but children aren't copies of their parents, we might have what they thought us instilled in us but as we grow we develop our own minds and perspective and once we have a different opinion it doesn't stop us from looking at things contrarily compared to them." Amelia said.
Brady glanced at her. "So are you saying you've changed your perspective?"
"Right now I don't know anything." She admitted honestly. "I just find it strange how one incident can change everything." As she said that a tear escaped from her eye.
Brady noticed that and it made him uncomfortable, a part of him really wanted to know why she was this upset.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked unsurely.
Amelia wiped her cheeks. "About what?"
"About those tears." He said.
"I don't know." She hesitated. "I mean you literally hate me, why would you want to listen to my woes? Unless you want to have a good laugh, then I'll understand."
Brady sighed. "I don't hate you, I thought I've told you that before. And I'm not one to laugh at someone else's woes."
"You really mean that don't you?" she asked looking at the side of his face.
"Yeah." He said.
"If I said I didn't want to go home, would you force me?" she asked him spontaneously.
He frowned at her before turning his attention back to the road. "Then where do you want to go?"
"Believe it or not but your rusty old truck seems more comforting than home right now." She admitted through a strained chuckle.
"My truck isn't old and rusty." He pointed out sternly. "And neither is it a place to crash."
"You're right." She said. "You can just take me home."
Silence lingered in the air for the remaining of the trip, Brady didn't say anything and neither did Amelia. Amelia closed her eyes, trying to block out any thoughts of her father and his mistress, she thought about the new Louis Vuitton coat she wanted and the Chanel purse she saw a week ago that she thought she'd spoil herself to when she went back to the city.
But none of thosethings brought a smile to her face, those were the things she loved then whywasn't she happy knowing she was going to get them, why didn't it made her excited?
The answer was simple, it was because a deep part of her knew that material goods didn't make one truly happy when ones family was falling apart, material things will always remain but relationships won't.
She opened her eyes and noticed that she was in the country side and out of the city but the truck wasn't headed on the route to her home.
"This isn't the way to my house." She pointed out.
"I know." Was Brady's simple response.
"But I thought-" she began but Brady cut her off.
"You said you didn't want to go home right?"
She nodded.
"So shut up and sit quietly." He said and she surprisingly did as she was told.
The truck shortly stopped at a tranquil place; since it was dark Amelia couldn't see much other than knowing she was surrounded by only grass and hills.
"You can get out." Brady said and she got out of the truck.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"Just some land that's been vacant for as long as I remember." He answered.
Amelia could only see hills of grass for what seemed like acres. There was something about this empty place that felt so tranquil and peaceful.
They walked up a hill until they reached the top that had a beautiful view of the starlit sky. Even though it was a chill autumn evening, the sky was clear and Amelia had to admit that wherever she stood it was indeed stunning.
"How do you know such a beautiful place?" she asked Brady.
"Ever heard of the saying never judge a book by its cover?" he asked.
Amelia raised an amused brow. "Are you saying under your cold, tough, arrogant, rude shell is a soft guy?"
"I certainly did not say that." He stated. "I just meant that like most humans I appreciate beautiful things, like nature for example."
Amelia faintly grinned at him in response, liking this different side of him.
Brady sat down on the grass and Amelia followed shortly. There was a brief silence between them until Amelia broke it. "Do you come here often?"
"Not really." Brady answered truthfully. "I don't have lots of time to spare but when I do and I want to be alone I do."
"Why are you sharing your place with me of all people?" Amelia asked curiously.
Brady didn't make eye contact with her but instead looked ahead at the sky. "I thought it might make you forget whatever upset you so much."
"That was awfully thoughtful of you." She smiled. "Thank you Brady."
Brady shifted a little uncomfortably, he wasn't used to being so... nice but after seeing how much she cried he couldn't be that inhuman and be his usual rude self.
Brady turned to look at her. "You still don't want to talk about it?"
She shrugged. "I don't think talking about it will change anything."
Brady cleared his throat. "Um, I must ask, did someone hurt you?"
She just stared at his bright blue eyes for a second before tears began to pool in her eyes again. "You can say that."
Brady watched as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You know talking about it might not change anything but it can lighten the load and make you feel just a little better."
Amelia blinked the tears out of her eyes and agreed with what he said. "You know I never talk about my problems with anyone."
"Is that partially because you never really had any problems?" Brady asked.
"Not partially, it's entirely true. I've always thought I was perfect Amelia with a perfect life and a perfect family to match."
"But?" Brady asked.
"But I was wrong." Her voice broke. "I was so wrong, all my life I've lived a delusional life, a life where I thought I was a princess and my parents were the perfect in love king and queen. I always thought I was above everyone else because that's the impression I was brought up to give and believe."
She was sobbing by the time she finished her sentence, everything closed in on her at that moment, she knew in her heart that her perfect family was going to fall apart and even though she was almost nineteen it still broke her heart to think about it.
Brady felt uncomfortable but he also felt sort of bad for her, he never saw Amelia look so, well human. She always gave off such confidence but now she looked broken. He didn't quite know what to do other than give her something to wipe away her tears so he reached into his pocket and handed her yet another handkerchief. "Here, to um, wipe your tears."
Amelia stared at it for a moment before she took it and wiped away her tears, not really worrying about the smudged mascara. "Thanks." She mumbled.
"No worries." Brady awkwardly replied.
"You're not really used to this are you?" Amelia couldn't help but ask.
"What?" Brady asked.
"Dealing with emotional girls."
"Not at all." Brady admitted honestly. "When I get the hint that my aunt of Lily is emotional, I'm out the door before they can even breathe my name."
Amelia found it quite amusing and giggled at that. "Sorry you have to deal with me."
"It's ok." He said. "I did ask you what's wrong didn't I?"
"And I still haven't told you." She said.
"No. Although I think I can sort of guess." He said. "You family is falling apart."
That statement of his brought tears to her eyes again. "Yes it is and the worst part is I'm probably going to have a hand in doing it."
Brady couldn't understand what she meant. "How?"
"If I tell you what I saw tonight will you swear to keep it to yourself?" she asked through a sniffle.
"Who could I possibly tell? I'm not exactly the best of friends with the people you associate yourself with." Brady said.
"Still, there's Lily and she goes to the same school as Aaron and things could slip." She pointed out.
"Alright, I won't utter a word." He promised.
She took in a breath. "Tonight I went into the city to visit my dad – it was a surprise and..." she trailed off as tears clouded her sight and her voice broke.
Brady really didn't know what to do, he offered his hanky and he thought that might help but he was wrong. He thought about what girls liked and the only thing that came to mind was that they liked being held so he reached out and placed a hand over hers in a comforting manner.
"It's ok if you don't want to say it." He said softly, hoping it would stop those damn sobs and tears.
Amelia liked the comforting gesture from him and it helped a fraction so she continued. "And I saw him with another woman, a much younger woman than him and they were..." she broke off again.
"They were?" Brady questioned. "Like an affair?"
She nodded and wiped her nose.
"Rich fucking folks." Brady muttered under his breath. "Why am I not surprised?"
"I am surprised because I thought my parents would be together forever." She cried.
"Nothing lasts forever." Brady said nonchalantly.
This made Amelia cry even more. "You're not really helping, put yourself in my shoes, how would you react if you found out your father was cheating on your mother?"
"No clue." Brady answered honestly.
"I think telling you was a mistake, how can I expect you to understand?"
"Exactly." Brady said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, exactly." Amelia said slightly raising her voice. "I don't even know where your parents are so how can I expect you to understand what I'm feeling?"
"I can't believe for a minute I thought you could have a heart." She added bitterly and stood up.
Brady stood up too. "Dead." He said with almost no emotion.
Amelia let his words sink in for a minute. "What?" she breathed.
"My parents are dead." He said casually. "I thought you'd have figured that out, since it's just me, Lily and my aunt."
Remorse immediately filled Amelia. "I didn't." she said softly. "I'm sorry."
Brady shrugged. "I never really know them so it doesn't bother me much."
"But still, I mean you must sometimes wonder what it would've been like to know them and grow up with them, you and Lily must've felt that void of not having your parents." Amelia said earnestly.
"I'm sorry for saying all those things." She said softly, taking a step closer to him. She placed a hand on his arm in a comforting manner.
Brady didn't like sympathy at all so he slowly shrugged her off. "We were talking about you not me."
"But-" Amelia began but Brady cut her off.
"Are you going to tell your mother?"
"I don't know." She answered. "I don't want to even go home; I wouldn't mind just settling here, the land's big enough."
"Running away never solves any problem. You need to face it to overcome it." He said.
"And hiding your sadness doesn't make you better, it just kills you inside very slowly." She said looking him dead straight in the eye.
Brady knew what she meant but he pretended not to. "I agree which is why I told you to share your problem with me."
"And now I'm telling you Brady." She said gently. "If you want to talk about anything, it's ok to share it with me you know."
"I'll keep that in mind." He said detached.
"Brady." Amelia said softly walking closer to him. "Talking to you hasn't exactly made me feel better but it felt good to share my feelings with someone."
She was face to face with Brady, their chests almost touching. Brady looked down at her grey eyes and noticed how blood shot they were from all the crying. He subconsciously brought his hand up to her face and his thumb caressed her cheekbone. "Does your father know how many tears he brought to your eyes?" he asked in an almost whisper.
Amelia didn't know if the goosebumps on her skin was from the cold or from Brady's touch. "No, I refused to cry in front of him." she answered back in the same tone.
"I think he ought to know how much grief his actions have caused you." Brady said. "And if he cared he would've fixed it instead of letting you run off alone in the streets that late."
"I didn't give him the choice." She admitted. "I just wanted to get away from him."
"And what would he do if he knew you were with someone like me right now?" Brady asked.
"I don't give a damn about what he thinks." Amelia said.
"Why are you with me right now?" Brady asked inching closer to her.
"I don't know." She whispered.
"Do you regret being here at this moment?" he asked.
She shook her head in response.
"Would you regret it if did this again?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.
"Did what?" she asked, her voice failing her.
"This." He said in abreath and brushed his lips over hers.
He didn't give her a chance to reply because he fully claimed her lips; she kissed him back and tangled her hands in his soft hair. His hands left her cheek and dropped to her waist, pulling her closer as he quite expertly kissed her.
Amelia didn't know why but she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach, something that never happened before with anyone else. As Brady kissed her she forgot all about the night's happenings and kissed him back with the similar amount of force he was using.
Brady pulled away and Amelia took in a deep breath. She never thought she'd kiss Brady again and she never thought she'd ever like it. Brady let go of her and took a step backwards. "I should get you back home." He muttered. "It's late."
Amelia didn't know what to say so she just nodded. Did he just disregard the fact that he just kissed me?
Brady made his way to his truck with her close behind on his trail. He didn't know why he kissed her again but he did, maybe it was in the moment, maybe it was because he pitied her for crying so much or maybe it was because... well he didn't know at all. All he knew was the this time it felt a little different compared to their first kiss, this time it felt a little more intimate.
Brady got in the driving side and Amelia opened her own door this time and got in the passenger seat before Brady started the engine. They sat in utter silence throughout the fifteen minute ride, both lost in their own thoughts. Brady thought over the bit of information he shared about himself to her and Amelia thought over the entire night's events.
Brady pulled up outside her front gate and switched off the engine. Amelia was about to open the door to get out but Brady spoke. "Are you sure you're ok with being at home now?"
"Like you even care." She answered bitterly.
Brady was perplexed by her curt tone. "Forgive me for fucking asking."
"Forgive me for answering honestly." She shot back.
"Are you pms'ing or some shit like that?" Brady asked.
"No." she answered. "Thank you for the ride, I should be off."
"Mia." He stopped her.
"What?" she asked.
He just looked at her for a long moment and she looked at him with an annoyed expression.
"Well?" Amelia asked when he didn't say anything.
"Just...Just remember what I said about running away from your problems." He eventually said.
Amelia felt more annoyed. "Is that all you have to say?"
"Yeah." He simply answered.
"Nothing else?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I'm no good at giving advice and whatnot, I'll just say think properly before you do anything and remember that it's your parents problem before it's yours so maybe let them sort it out first because no matter what happens to their relationship, you're still their child at the end of the day and nothing can change that."
"And talk to your dad once you calm down, let him explain himself and get the whole story." He added.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She said nonchalantly.
"Ok." He said.
"Is that it?" she asked.
"I guess." He answered.
"Then goodbye I guess." She said and opened the door to get off but just as she put one foot out she brought it back in and felt more annoyed at him.
She faced him. "Are you honestly going to ignore what happened and pretend it didn't ha-"
She couldn't finish her sentence when Brady leaned over the seat and pulled her closer to him and kissed her again, this time with more force. She took a moment before she kissed him back, feeling a 'fire' in the pit of her stomach.
"No." he said after breaking the kiss. "I'm not going to just ignore what happened." He said with a smirk.
Amelia caught her breath. "'You've got to stop catching me off guard like that."
Brady simply widened his smirk. "Annoyance gone?"
She nodded with a small smile.
"I guess I should go now." She said but didn't move.
"Unless you want to go back home with me?" he suggested with a grin.
"What?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly. "I clearly remember you telling me to stay away and now you're inviting me?"
Brady dropped his grin and reality dawned over him, he realized that Amelia Stanton was sitting across him. "It was just a joke."
"I thought so." Amelia nervously chuckled.
"Amelia." Brady began. "I guess I got a little carried away tonight... maybe the both of us did but I meant what I said before, you should stay away from me."
"Not again." She sighed. "I was just starting to like this different side of you."
"I mean it." He said seriously. "The side you saw of me today wasn't me, I mean it is me but I'm not like this at all."
"I think this is you, you just like giving the world a different impression." She said.
"No, I'm..." he trailed off and let out a breath. "You should go, it's late."
She nodded but asked before she left. "Do you now regret kissing me?"
He looked at her for a moment before answering. "No but I still stand by what I said."
She smiled at him. "Goodnight Brady."
He shook his head. "Bye Mia."
"See you soon." She said before getting out of the truck and he watched her walk through the gate the guard opened and down the long driveway.
"I really wouldn't recommend it." He said to himself before reversing out.