Chapter 14- Taunting Regrets

[] A M E L I A []

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.

I took a few steps back, my back hitting the wall in surprise.

"I- uh, I- just c-came..." I stuttered.

The rage in his eyes didn't simmer down, and I found myself shrinking against the wall. He suddenly took a step closer to me and I moved away from the wall, my back now facing his door.

"Do you think you can just fucking stroll into my house and look through my belongings? Who the hell gave you permission to be here Amelia?!" he bellowed.

The force of his yell caused me to stumble back, my lip quivering in fear.

"Just because you fucking started eating with us, doesn't mean you're now my buddy. And it certainly doesn't mean you can go through my belongings like some sort of creep!"

He was breathing heavily, his knuckles turning white. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Get the fuck out of my house," he said in a deadly voice. "Get out right now!"

The rage, the ferocious glint in his eye, and his deathlike grip on the frame, everything was much too familiar for me to handle. Unable to control myself, a small whimper escaped my lips. Something in my voice made Leo snap out of whatever trance he was in. His eyes softened and he took a step closer to me.

However, the moment he took a step forward, I fled.

I stumbled out of his apartment and all the way out of the building. My feet were the only functioning part of me as I somehow made it out into the cold night. To my utter lack of luck, just as I took a few steps outside, I managed to bump into someone's hard chest. I gasped and took a step back. I muttered an apology and started making my way around them, not even bothering to see who I had bumped into. However, before I could walk away, a hand shot out and grabbed my elbow.

"Amelia?" I heard a familiar voice say.

I looked up in surprise, only to see Andre gaping down at me.

"Shit, little one. What happened?" he asked, staring intently at my face.

I frowned at him, unsure of how he knew something was wrong. As if sensing the confusion in my voice, he pointed to my face. I slowly brought my hand up to my cheek and was surprised to feel the wetness there.

Before I could say anything, Jamal came running up to us with a grin on his face. However, his grin faded as he got closer. When he came to a stop in front of me, his eyes held a worried look.

"Whoa, what happened Amelia?" Jamal asked.

I shook my head at him and wiped the remaining tears away from my face.

"Nothing," I murmured.

Andre tugged at my arm a little harder, causing me to look at him.

"What did he say Amelia?" Andre asked, a little angrily.

I shook my head, not wanting to get between them.

"It was n-nothing. All my fault," I said looking down. "I just didn't want him to step on it and hurt himself."

To my utter disbelief, a few traitorous tears continued to roll down my cheeks. I wiped them away furiously and pulled out of Andre's grasp.

"I have to go," I said, turning away from the two.

As soon as I started walking away from them, I felt someone fall into step beside me. I sighed and continued walking, already recognizing Andre's signature white sneakers follwing beside me.

I didn't say anything, and neither did he ask. We simply walked, with me sniffling every now and then, and Andre walking me home silently. Once I neared my dorm, I simply walked inside, without so much as a goodbye. When I turned back to see him from behind the glass door, I saw Andre walking in the direction he came from.

* * *

[] J A M A L []

I parked my car and swiftly got out. Andre had been coming from the college, while I just came from my practice. We had plans to meet for dinner at Leo's place and it seemed like Amelia would be joining us too today, since she needed Leo's help on an assignment. I didn't mind this, since she was a pretty chill girl.

She definitely wasn't like any of the girls Andre had dated in the past, and neither was she like any of my exes. Neither did we have any friends like her. Come to think of it, I hadn't come across someone like her in my lifetime. She was a confusing girl, mellow and sweet, but strong at the same time. More importantly, she was understanding. She knew what to say and when to stay silent. It was a nice change to have her around, and as weird as it sounds, we had gotten pretty used to her.

Her friend Gemma wasn't all that bad either. She was definitely the more open and talkative of the two, which was also a nice change. The two girls just seemed to spice up our lives a bit and it was kind of fun. More importantly, Amelia seemed to have brought out Leo's true personality just a little bit. I remembered the way he was teasing her as they walked into Coffee Rush, and a smile graced my lips. I hadn't seen Leo look so carefree in a long time.

I slowly jogged up to Leo's apartment building and looked up to his window. To my surprise, he was already standing there, peering down at something below. I followed his gaze and my eyes landed on Andre, who was standing in front of a girl.

When I got closer, I noticed that it was Amelia. I grinned at her, however, it soon vanished when I saw the look on her face. I came to stop beside Andre and saw that he was holding Amelia's arm for support.

Amelia herself looked like a mess. Her hood was off, giving us a view of her wild hair, which seemed as if she just survived a hurricane. She had tears running down her cheeks, making her face all red in most places.

"Whoa, what happened Amelia?" I asked, taking a step closer to her.

She shook her head at me and brought her sleeve up to her face to wipe away at her cheeks. I frowned at this, wondering what she was hiding from us. Leo's face instantly flashed in my mind, and my frown deepened.

"Nothing," Amelia said.

"What did he say Amelia?" Andre asked, tugging her a little.

She shook her head again.

"It was n-nothing. All my fault," she timidly said.

I scoffed, knowing that that wasn't possible. And then, she said something that touched me in ways I can't explain. Her eyes were downcast, her lips trembling, as she uttered the words:

"I just didn't want him to step on it and hurt himself."

Amelia looked down, hiding her face from us, and a few droplets of water poured out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

"I have to go," she suddenly said.

She suddenly pulled out of Andre's grasp, and made her way to leave. Andre and I quickly shared a look. Andre nudged me toward Leo's apartment and I nodded. He himself started following after Amelia. Without wasting time, I ran over to the building door, opened the door using my extra key, and made my way to his apartment.

His door was slightly ajar, showing that Amelia left in a rush. I made it inside and noticed that the apartment had an eerie silence to it. I've never heard it before, and it simply sounded odd. I made my way to Leo's room and saw that his door was also open. I walked further inside and saw Leo sitting on his bed, with his feet dangling over the edge. He was holding his head in hands and his breathing came out in short angry puffs. I stayed silent, waiting for him to say something.

He stayed quiet for a few minutes, and then he pulled his head up to stare at the wall ahead. It was then I noticed that he had been holding something in his hands this whole time. It was a picture frame. The same one that usually sat on his bedside table. Putting Amelia's words and Leo's stance together, I finally saw the problem.

"She saw her. She saw her, Jamal," he breathed out.

I pursed my lips.

"She didn't mean to," I replied.

Suddenly, Leo stood up angrily and started pacing back and forth across the room.

"She still did," he muttered angrily.

I sighed and moved toward him. I came to a stop in front of him and grabbed his shoulder to make him face me.

"Calm down man. You know it wasn't her fault," I said, giving him a little nudge to get him to snap out out of it.

To my surprise, Leo pulled out of my grasp and turned around with his back facing me. I sighed once more.

"She came here because Andre told her you were home. She was probably looking for you when she saw the frame on the ground. She only picked it up because she didn't want you to step on it and get hurt," I explained.

As I was speaking, Leo's shoulders tensed further and further. His knuckles had turned white by fisting them for so long. I continued speaking, hoping to get across to him.

"Leo, Amelia isn't someone who's going to ask for you to explain all this. To her, it was just a boy and a girl having fun. She doesn't know the truth behind it, nor will she ask for it. I thought you knew this much about her by now," I said.

Surprising me once more, Leo sighed heavily and sat down on the bed with his head in hands.

"She isn't going to ask Leo. She isn't nosy, and she isn't pushy. Amelia is probably more worried about the fact that she hurt you more anything else. Not the other way around."

To my utter disbelief, Leo pulled his head up to look at  me.

"You think I don't know that? I do. Which makes this situation even worse."

And that was the first time in a long while that I saw my best friend feel something more than annoyance toward Amelia.

He felt regret.

* * *

[] L E O []

I woke with a start.

The room was spinning and I couldn't get my eyes to adjust to the brightness outside. I slowly laid back down and rubbed my forehead.

I had a horrible dream. All I heard was piercing screams, the sound of someone sobbing, and an earth-shattering boom. What I saw was even more terrifying.

Blood.

I saw blood everywhere.

But what was even scarier, was that it wasn't just a dream. It was a real day.

And as much as I wanted, I couldn't go back in time to fix that day. As much as I wanted, I couldn't fix what happened.

I looked over to my side table to see the picture of the two of us, I couldn't help the lone tear that escaped my eye.

However, something was different today. Today, amidst the horrific nightmare I had, I saw glimpses of dull brown eyes. But this time, instead of their usual calm look, they were filled with sadness. Of fear. Of hurt.

All things that I had caused Amelia to feel.

* * *

As I left my room to head to class, I realized that I didn't eat anything last night. Starving, I dropped my bag onto the dining table chair and headed to the fridge. I scavenged for food and finally landed on a banana in the far corner of the fruit drawer. I pulled it out and ripped it open to start eating. Then I went back to my bag and decided to head out before I was late.

Just as I was pulling my bag up, the edge of it caught onto something, making it fall to the ground. Sighing, I bent down to pick up what I had dropped. To my surprise, it was a notebook. However, I knew for a fact that I didn't own any bright blue journals that looked like they came out of a Chapters store. Mine were simply black ones from the Walmart nearby.

Curiously, I flipped to the first few pages to see whose it was. Surprisingly, the writing seemed vaguely familiar. It took me a few minutes to realize that the notebook belonged to Amelia. I frowned and wondered what it was doing here, when I suddenly had a flashback of last night.

It took me another few moments to realize that this is probably what Amelia was here for yesterday. She most likely came for help in English. Seeing as she wasn't the type to ask for help just casually, I realized it must've taken her a lot of courage to be here.

And I crushed it.

I frowned, clutching the notebook tighter. I got up and stared making my way to class.

All I had to do now was see her in class, and apologize to her.