Masuk~Amelia~I was in the kitchen minding my own business, tea, crackers, the baby doing her usual morning gymnastics against my ribs when his mother walked in.My first thought was: so this is how it ends.My second thought was: I should have eaten more of those crackers while I had the chance.
~Amelia~I sat in the circle too. That part mattered.It was quiet for the first minute in the way that things are quiet when everyone is waiting for someone else to start. I let it sit for a second and then I just said: "I know some of you have questions you haven't been able to ask. I figured this was easier than everyone wondering separately."
~Amelia~Serena showed up at the door with a gift bag and the energy of someone who had been dying to talk for three weeks and was finally being allowed to."Okay first of all," She stepped inside without being invited, shoved the bag at my chest, and pulled me into a hug before I could say anything. "You look amazing. You're huge and glowing and I hate you a little bit.""Hi to you too."
~Amelia~And at the edge of the treeline, watching it all unfold like she was supervising, a woman I didn't recognize. Short hair, lifeless eyes that made her scarier than the fighters.And behind her, Blake.He stood with his hands in his pockets. Watching.
~Amelia~I smelled coffee before I even made it downstairs, which was the first good thing about the morning.The second thing was considerably more distracting.Kaden was standing at the counter when I walked in, shirtless, sweatpants sitting low, hair still a mess from sleep, holding a mug like he hadn't just committed a crime against my ability to think clearly. I stopped in the doorway for exactly one second too long.He didn't even turn around. "You're staring like you haven’t seen me before.""No, I’m not." I crossed to the table and sat down. He turned around then, and the look on his face said he'd already figured out exactly what the situation was. He set a mug in front of me, leaned down until his face was level with mine, and said very quietly: "Your heart rate went up the second you walked in."I picked up the mug and looked somewhere else. "That's because I walked down stairs. Cardio.""Sure it is." He pulled out the chair across from me, sat down, and flipped open the n
~Amelia~Caleb called a meeting.He put a single sheet of paper on the table. Three bullet points. I'd learned that if Caleb needed a full page to explain something, the thing was very bad. One page meant it was just bad."Blake has found a partner," he stated.
AMELIA’S P.O.VSerena and I sat alone in the middle of her living room drinking vodka and taking ice cream. To be fair, she did most of the vodka and I stuck with ice cream. I had never truly been a fan of alcohol, the first sip was just out of solidarity for her. Thankfully, she didn’t get drunk see
AMELIA’S P.O.VI was at Caleb’s faster than anyone could have thought humanly possible and the entire way there, my brain conjured all the possible scenarios. He sounded excited over the phone which I chose to interpret as him having good news for me but I couldn’t be sure until I actually saw him.He
AMELIA’S P.O.VAs much as I hated to admit it, Caleb was right and although I wanted nothing more to do with Kaden, I knew I would never be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to him and I could have done something to stop it. All eyes were on me but the room was as quiet as a graveyar
AMELIA’S P.O.VI was released from the hospital after two days. I had a feeling the only reason I stayed that long was because of Kaden. For some reason, he seemed insistent on keeping me away. I knew he was trying to fix what he broke and sometimes, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe we were beyond







