8| After Effects

Amelia pov

"Mom, can I go?"

"No dear, your dad won't allow it." She gave me a soft smile, a sympathetic one.

"But mom, he never allows me to do anything. Everyone's going. Please mom."

"What is going on?" His thunderous voice boomed as he stepped down the stairs. His face was void of emotions, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Mom replied to him calmly, she never loses her cool around him.

"It didn't sound like nothing. Where do you have to go Amelia?" He asked turning to me.

I wanted to shrink back and disappear. "A-a party."

"What kind of party? A frat party? You enjoy going to those and getting drunk, hmm?  You enjoy showing the boys your wild side?"

I felt my tears prickle, but I didn't let them fall.

"That's enough, Nick."

He turned to look at my mother, a sneer on his face, "Who the fuck are you to tell me what's enough and what's not? It's because of you she's becoming like this."

"She's a teenager Nick." Mom sighed. "She will become like this even if you don't want it. That's how life is."

"That's how your life must have been. I won't let my daughter become a slut like you."

I gasped, but she didn't. She still looked calm and composed. "You do not get to talk to me like that."

"Shut up."

"Amelia, go upstairs." She was looking at him, but I knew she always thought about me first.

"But-"

"Upstairs, now!"

I got off the chair, keeping my eyes down, not wanting to see the hate in my parents' eyes for each other. 

Even when I shut the door to my room I could hear their screams, their cusses, their words full of loathe. I slid down the door onto the floor, pressing my hands in my ears to stop their voice, burying my face in my hands and crying.

"Are you okay?"

I blinked, trying to clear my head. No, I won't think of that. I'd sworn to never remember those things.

"Amelia?"

"Yeah I'm okay." I replied to Uncle Mason.

"You'd zoned out." He pointed out.

Then I was saved by the horn. I grabbed my bag, bidding a rushed goodbye and running outside. I didn't want him to ask questions I didn't know answers of.

"You okay?" Bridget asked me the moment I took a seat. "You seem flustered."

"I'm okay."

We rode in silence. That was the thing I loved about Bridget the most. She knew when I needed the cheering up, and she knew when I needed silence. And she never pushed me, maybe because she knew I would eventually tell her everything myself.

When we reached the campus, she looked me in the eye, conveying to meet her during lunch. Then she gave me a last look, making sure I could handle myself, and sauntered to the opposite side. I sighed, tightening the grip on my bag and walking into the class. 

The moment I entered the class, I knew something was wrong. I felt it in the atmosphere. The air was more charged, electric. I knew what it was before I could see. 

Theo was sitting on the right most last seat, a grin on his very kissable mouth, his left dimple more prominent than ever. His legs were stretched beneath him, his forest green eyes twinkling with amusement. He ran a hand through his hair and threw his head back, laughing.

Then I saw what made him laugh.

And it made my blood boil.

Claire was sitting on his table in front of him, her strawberry blonde hair tied in a low ponytail. Her black dress was tight on her body, her legs were dangling as she placed her hand on Theo's arm and laughed with him.

I wanted to wrench that hand and cut her fingers.

What the hell were they doing in this class anyway? I never thought someone would voluntarily come to a legal reasoning class, especially students who did not even have to study the subject. I wanted to walk over to them, to him, and I took a step in that direction, then stopped abruptly.

You're a slut, I won't let her become like you.

  I blinked, taking in a quick breath, looking around. I saw Ethan sitting on the bench we previously sat on, so I hurriedly made my way over to him. Theo hadn't seen me, and I was glad. I didn't want to talk about yesterday, and for some reason, I knew he was here to do exactly that.

"Hi partner." Ethan beamed at me when I took a seat.

"Hi." I replied back.

Minutes passed but the teacher did not come. The entire class was filled with chatters, students laughing, and throwing paper balls at each other like kids. Ethan was rambling about something I couldn't pay attention to. I was too engrossed in my thoughts.

"Who the fuck are you?" I turned my head around to meet smoldering green eyes, pointed directly at my side. The anger shining in them was so powerful that I had to blink my eyes to make sure it was him, I'd never seen him angry.

"Who are you?" Ethan threw back at him.

"Why are you sitting with him?" Theo asked me with such distaste that I had to take a moment to adjust to this new style.

"What does that mean?" Ethan scowled at him.

"Come with me." Theo said, then turned around. He took a few steps, but stopped and turned around when he realized I wasn't following. He turned back to look at me, "Come with me, Mia."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Ethan said. The entire class had turned deathly silent as everyone watched the scene unfold.

Theo's jaw tightened. "I suggest you stay out of this."

"Shut up."

"You mother-"

"Theo, please. Don't do this." I whispered to him. I knew why he was doing this, he wanted to talk, but I wasn't going to talk. No, I was too much of a coward to talk about what had happened.

"Can we talk?" He asked hesitantly. I saw his Adam's apple bobble.

"I need to study Theo." I said softly.

"Please." His voice pleaded.

"Dude, she said no." Ethan piped up.

His eyes acquired the smoldering once again, his jaw clenching more than ever. "Fuck. Off."

Ethan got up from the seat abruptly, his fists clenching. Theo towered over him, and I knew for sure what would happen if a fight broke out between the two. Theo was way muscular than him. But I didn't want things to escalate to that extent. So I grabbed Ethan's arm before he could take a step further.

Theo's eyes shot to my hand touching Ethan's arm, narrowing to slits, his nostrils flaring. He clenched his fists, then unclenched them, taking in a deep breath as if calming himself, his eyes never leaving my hand touching my partner's. I wanted to shout out to him that it wasn't what he thought like, but I was a coward.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Claire sitting in the same position I'd previously seen her, with her legs dangling down the table. But instead of laughing, she was scowling at me. Then Theo turned around suddenly, his back muscles clenching as he took every step. He got out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him powerfully.

The echo continued to hollow my ears even after it stopped.

Theo

"Are you okay?"

"No."

Claire sighed, "Theo, she's not worth it. Let her go."

I clenched my jaw, taking a deep breath, exhaling through my mouth. I closed my eyes, trying to make everything disappear. Then I saw her face and I opened them again. I put my head in my hands, "I can't."

She sighed again, but didn't say anything. We were sitting outside the class I'd just stormed off. It had been half an hour since then but the wound was still fresh. I heard the sound of the bell ringing distinctly. My head shot up just when I saw her beautiful blonde hair flowing down her back.

I got up abruptly, but Claire grabbed my hand. "Theo, you'll only get hurt. Don't do this."

She cared about me, I knew that. But right now I had to talk to Mia. So I flung my hand from Claire's grasp and turned towards the corridor where I saw her walking. She was alone this time, that piece of scumbag nowhere near her. It made me feel better.

I followed her, keeping my pace normal. Then as if sensing me, she turned her head around, her blue eyes meeting mine. They filled with panic and she whipped her head back, increasing her pace, like she wanted to get away from me.

From some unknown reason, it made me mad.

My mind stopped functioning, the anger I'd felt earlier coming back. I increased my pace as well, her two steps equal to my one. She was going to talk to me, I would make sure of that. If she thought she could escape what happened so easily, she was wrong.

When she was inches away from me, I grabbed her hand, and started walking in the other direction. She struggled, but I didn't budge.

"Theo, let me go."

"No." I replied back. I didn't care if it sounded rude. At that moment all I cared about was getting her to talk to me.

We reached the hallway, and I internally applauded when I saw no one in sight.

"Why are we here?" She sighed. I'd let go of her hand, but she wasn't running away. Good, she was realizing I wasn't going until we talked.

"You know why."

"No, I don't." She raised her chin as if challenging me.

I glared at her, "Are you just going to pretend nothing happened yesterday?"

She sighed, "Can we not talk about it?"

"What? Why the fuck? You can't just ignore the fact that we kissed."

She flinched as if my words hurt her. It made my stomach revolt. My gut told me she was about to say something that would hurt me too bad. "It shouldn't have happened."

"What?"

"It was a mistake, it should have never happened. Look, it was in the spur of the moment. We were both, we both were just-" She closed her eyes. "It was a mistake Theo. But we won't make it again. It'll never happen again."

No.

"It can't happen again."

No.

"I can't let something like this ruin our friendship."

Friendship?

"Please, you have to understand. I don't want any complications in my life right now. I can't do this. This should have never happened."

I couldn't say anything.

"Theo-"

"Do you remember what I said to you?" I asked suddenly. She wasn't looking at me, her head was downcast. "I can't get you out of my head. You're all I think about. Did you not feel it?"

She didn't say anything.

"Look at me."

Her head was still facing the ground. I walked to her, "Look at me, Mia." I raised her chin so that her eyes met mine. Her eyes hid so many things, so many. It made me curious, I wanted to know what she hid behind those blue orbs. Right now, they were filled with so many emotions that it was difficult to separate them. But I saw one straight ahead, pain.

"You don't mean it." I slowly said, realizing. "You don't want to do this, you don't think it was a mistake. You don't mean it."

"I meant every word I said." She said.

No, she didn't. I could see it in her eyes.

"You think about me, don't you? You think about me like I think about you. You want me as I want you. Why are you fighting this? Why are you saying things you don't mean?"

She took a step back, "I meant every single word I said, Theo. The kiss was a mistake, and it can't happen again."

"Why are you lying?"

Her eyes hardened, her posture becoming stiff, "I. Am. Not. Lying. I get it, I'm the first one to say that I didn't want to kiss you. It's hurting your ego, isn't it?"

My fingers burned with anger. I wanted to punch a wall. 

"I'm sorry but every girl in this world does not want you. If you live with that perception, grow up."

"The next time we kiss," I spoke, my voice sounding eerily calm, though my body was raging with fire, "It'll be you who kisses me, and then you won't have an option to back out. I won't touch you without you asking me to do so, Mia." 

Then I took a step in her direction, bending down to whisper in her ear, her shiver not going unnoticed by me, "And it's going to happen very soon."

*