Page 60 of Rewriting the Story

“What else do you need from me, Mills? Do you want me to stay over tonight?” He wipes my tears with a tissue.

“Just don’t let me go,” I say into his arms.

And he doesn't.

Myphonealarmjoltsme awake, and when I look around and see Oliver missing, clearly not watching for whoever broke in earlier, I panic.

My feet are moving before I can even stop them, and as I swing open Amelia’s door, scared she’s not going to be on the other side of it, I’m met with something being thrown at me.

One of her favorite pens sits at my feet as I see her body relax when she realizes it's me.

“I didn't mean to scare you.”

“Entering my room like that after the day I had was certainly a choice, Hen.”

Guilt races down my body. “I’m sorry. I wasn't thinking. I—”

She shuffles over to the side of her bed, her long legs swinging over. “Let me guess: you saw Oliver was gone and got nervous that whoever broke in earlier somehow got past you while you were sleeping and came for us all?”

“W-Well, yes, actually.”

She smirks to herself, but I can tell she’s still shaken up. Obviously, she is. It happened only hours ago.

“Paige was having a nightmare a few hours ago. I wanted to handle it like I always do, but Oliver,” she rolls her eyes at his name, “beat me to it.”

“And he’s still in Paige’s room?” I had the weirdest conversation of my entire life with him earlier. Not only did I get the feeling he hates small talk, but we also said a lot of things without really saying anything. He told me I was a good friend for speeding over here for Amelia. I said he would do the same thing if it were Paige, and then we fought over the air mattress until the girls came out and we pretended we didn't know one another.

Today has been one of the most bizarre days of my entire life, one of the scariest too. The fear I felt racing over here rivaled the emotions I felt when I found out my dad had been hit by a drunk driver. Terror, pure terror is all I have felt in both times, and I hate it. I’m not built for these kinds of situations, and I hate that it’s happened to two people I couldn't live without.

I’ve never been so out of control. Paige didn't even tell me what happened, but in my gut, I knew it was bad. When she said something happened to Amelia, I could barely think. I grabbed my keys and threw my shoes on, driving way too fast to get to her.

“Yes, I would assume so,” Amelia says as she picks up her favorite book from her bed, returning to what she was doing before I got here.

I pick her pen up off the floor and hand it to her. “Here.”

“Thanks, Hen.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’ll be in the living room if you—”

“Would you stay with me?” Her sentence surprises me. “I know most of the time, I prefer being alone, but I don’t want to be alone tonight. At least, not now that you’re awake.”

“Of course, I’ll stay with you, Mills,” I say as I try to hide my smile, knowing I’m failing miserably. Honestly, I’m happy she asked me to stay. I feel much better actually being able to see her and know she’s alright.

Well, as alright as she can be after what happened.

“Thanks,” she says as she shifts on her bed, making just enough room for me to slide in next to her.

“You know I’d do anything for you, don’t you?”

“I always thought you were joking when you said that before,” she whispers, closing her favorite book. “But now, I know you’re being serious.”

“Why did you think I was joking?”

She simply shrugs, and before I change the subject onto something else, Amelia surprises me by elaborating.

“I’ve never felt like a person someone would drop everything for. I’m pretty solidified in who I am, so I guess I always thought you were kidding.” She fiddles with one of her pens as she locks eyes with me. “Tonight made me think differently about that.”

I shift closer to her, needing to be more in her orbit. I know she hates physical touch, and we are just friends, but I can’t help this pull I feel.

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