Is anyone out there? x

JP

Amelia was nestled up in my arms on the couch, looking up at me every now and then just to make sure I was awake. When she did this a wave of guilt washed over me, worrying that she was afraid of me falling asleep after my nightmare.

Wrapping my arms even tighter around her frame, I brought her closer and placed a kiss on her lips. She blinked up at me, flashing a gentle smile. My lips met up with hers a second time, then moving to her jawline. I left a trail of airy kisses down to her neck, and Amelia buried her fingers in my hair at the feeling.

She sighed out with ease, bringing me closer and lowering her hands down to my waistline. Dragging her fingers along the top of my jeans, I groaned quietly against her mouth at the feeling. A loud noise was what finally broke us apart, Amelia sitting upright in a haste and adjusting her shirt. While combing her hair down, she got up onto her knees and peered out the window.

"What's wrong, babe?" I asked, my voice husky from the moment we shared.

Amelia's eyes widened as she looked out the window, blinking rapidly at the sight. Turning to join her, my brows furrowed together at the sight of a man lingering across the street. He knocked over a trash can while trying to hide behind it, cueing the loud sound we both heard.

"Shit," Amelia cursed, standing up and grabbing my arm to take me with her. "JP, we gotta go upstairs."

"Who is that?" I demanded, tugging away slightly though I enjoyed the feeling of her hands wrapped around my bicep.

My mind was still in the gutter, so I shook my head to steer it straight. Amelia bit her lip, not wanting to answer my question. She looked extremely nervous, cursing under her breath.

"I-I'm gonna have a panic attack," she confessed, throwing herself backwards and into the wall. Clutching her chest, I took the opportunity to sneak another glance out the window. I pulled the curtains forward discreetly so he could not get a good look inside the house.

"Amel, we should call the police. He's some sort of stalker," I said, patting my pockets for my cell phone.

Still struggling to breathe, hot tears flowed down Amelia's rosy cheeks. My heart broke at the sight, bringing a single arm around her cautiously so she did not feel crowded. She luckily buried her face right into my side, feeling her salty tears soak my shirt. Not minding at all, I rubbed her back in small circles as I cooed.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay."

Once Amelia's breathing slowed by a great deal, she looked up at me with her lip jutted outwards. She looked defeated, and that made me want to go outside and show that guy who he was messing with. Clenching my jaw, I spoke in a low voice to Amelia.

"Can I kick his ass?"

"No!" Amelia yelled. "And you're not calling the cops either, those are the last people I need on my case right now..."

"What?" I asked, confused at her words.

This time not pulling back, Amelia led me up the stairs carefully and sat me down on her bed. She shut the door behind herself, walking to her window and closing those curtains as well. When she joined me on the bed, I realized she was trembling.

I carefully guided her onto my lap, turning her around to face me. Instead of trying to coax what was wrong out of her, I took a different approach and spoke first. I hoped she would follow my lead.

"My Mom committed suicide when I was ten years old," I said, shuddering slightly at my own words. Swallowing, I continued on. "I saw her body. I walked into her room where she did it, with my Father's gun."

Amelia's mouth was agape, but she soon closed it and replied. "I...I heard you talking during your nightmare. I understood...but with your Father's gun?" she asked in disbelief. "And you saw her?"

"Yeah," I croaked weakly, bringing her body closer to mine. "I saw everything. I can still see it clearly in my head to this day."

"Do you blame your Father? Is that why he beat you?"

"No," I answered with complete transparency. "I never blamed anyone. He blamed himself though, and he took that anger he had towards himself and let it all out on me. I said some bad shit to him, but I never blamed him."

"I bet he deserved it. You told me that he used to say your Mother just wanted attention," Amelia pointed out, laying her head down in the crook of my neck.

I chuckled sarcastically, gritting my teeth at the thought of my Father's pure ignorance. "How stupid is that? He crucified a dead woman. The Mother of his only child."

"He never remarried or anything?"

"No, I wasn't going to allow that. Every bimbo he tried to waltz in the house I chased away," I admitted, laying my head down on top of Amelia's and listening to her breathing. "I was a little punk, but it was justified."

"Did she ever try and get treatment?" she asked, rubbing her hand up and down my chest affectionately to remind me that she was there for me.

"My grandma said she went to therapy for about a year, but my Dad stopped paying for it because he 'wasn't seeing any progress'," I spat, disgusted at my empty-headed Father.

"Prick," Amelia remarked under her breath.

"I left my home to escape my Father, just to come and be greeted by a town full of Paul Becketts!" I massaged my temples in agony, trying to fight off the memories that knocked at the door begging for entry.

"You're not wrong about that," Amelia said, pulling herself up and staring deep into my eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, JP. You didn't deserve any of it, and you're an amazing person. You're strong."

A subtle smile spread across my face at her kind words. "You're strong too, Amelia."

She looked unsure, gulping and shutting her eyes for a moment before speaking once more. "Are you sure you want to be with me? You know what I did..."

"Amelia," I warned, cupping her silky cheeks in my palms. "I want to be with you, no matter what."

"After that night, I thought about everything. My attempt, it was a mistake. I know my depression caused it, and I need to get myself the help I need once this is all over...but, you opened my eyes to a lot of things, JP. You made me see things in a way I didn't know I could."

"Really?"

It warmed my heart to know that I had impacted another person. My Mother's story touched Amelia's heart and got her thinking, and this to me gave her death and my life purpose.

"Yeah, I'm lucky to be alive. I'm lucky to be sitting here right now with you," Amelia said, wrapping her arms around my neck and pecking my lips.

"I'm grateful for you, Amel. I just...the memories, they're so difficult to get rid of. I don't know what to do. I can't live like this," I vented, pressing my forehead against hers as I spoke against her sweet lips.

"Have you forgiven your Mother?"

"What?" I whispered, unsure what she was asking.

"Have you forgiven her for what she did?" Amelia asked a second time, lowering her hand down to my jaw and stroking it with her thumb.

In ten years of dealing with all the pain, I never thought about it that way. Forgiveness never crossed my mind, and I never really realized that I held a bit of a grudge against my deceased Mother for ending her life. The trauma it brought upon me was unexplainable, and my life would never be the same. Everything changed.

Was I just as bad as my Father?

"I guess I...never really thought about it," I said, lifting my forehead from Amelia's and staring off into a different direction.

"I'm not saying you should, it's just something to try," Amelia added quickly, making it clear that she was not trying to pressure me into anything I felt uncomfortable with.

Nodding curtly, I pressed my lips against Amelia's temples. She then spoke, leaving me speechless at what she had to say.

"I just hope you forgive me."

"Forgive you for what, baby?" I tried, my voice crackly and filled with emotion. Leaning back to get a good look at her, I noticed a glimmer in her emerald eyes. "You did nothing wrong."

Amelia began rolling up the sleeve on her navy blue and white striped t-shirt. She grazed her fingers over what looked to be a black circle on her upper arm, but the closer I looked the more I noticed the silver lining around it.

Since when did Amelia have a tattoo? I thought to myself, reaching up and pressing my own cold fingers against it. Amelia shuddered slightly, peeking over her shoulder for a moment before continuing on.

"This tattoo sets me apart from most everyone else," she explained, tears burning in the corners of her eyes. I reached up and wiped them, which did not allow them to trickle down her cheeks. She looked grateful for that, looking down at her lap and sniffling. "It represents me being marked."

"Marked?" I repeated out loud, unknowing of what the word meant there in Moonstone. "What-"

Amelia beat me to it. "It means that I'm an outsider. They...they put me at marked status after I was released from jail the second time, the most recent. I got out a couple days before I met you."

A cloud of anger accumulated in my chest at the fucked up system Moonstone had in place. Amelia was a victim to it, and she was suffering as a result of the naïve behavior displayed in Moonstone. I was forced to take several deep breaths to try and get myself to calm down, gripping Amelia tighter while shaking my head at the entire situation.

"They marked you because-"

"Yes. And...I'm not supposed to date anyone. I can't date, I can't get married, have or adopt children, or even travel outside Moonstone because of all this," Amelia laid out for me, sounding tired and over it all. My body immediately tensed up, especially at the first part.

What?

"You can't date?" I questioned. "Amel, why didn't you tell me?"

"JP, I'm so sorry," Amelia apologized, her cheeks now sporting a plethora of clear tears. She tried frantically to wipe them away, looking utterly broken. "I'm so fucking sorry. I should've been honest with you the night we kissed."

"I liked you before then," I commented, stroking down Amelia's hair to calm her. "But what are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Amelia exhaled, shifting herself from my lap to the space beside me on the bed.

Amelia and I had a connection, something that I felt could not go to waste. She was forbidden from dating me, and we just so happened to meet by accident, but maybe it wasn't an accident at all. Maybe it was fate bringing us together, right when we needed each other most. Amelia needed someone to help her realize that life was worth living, and I needed someone to stop me from looking back on my past.

It could not end like this.

"I wanna be with you, Amelia."

"You do? Even if I could end up back in jail because of it?" she cocked her head to the side curiously, blinking her damp eyelashes in my direction.

"That's your call to make," I said gently, reaching over and placing a hand on her thigh.

Amelia shivered, staring down at my hand while biting down on her bottom lip. Blood pricked at the surface, and I knew what her answer would be before she even said it. "I'm willing to risk getting caught, but only for you."

"Nobody else?" I winked to soften the mood, rubbing my hand against Amelia's leg fondly.

She halted my limb by seizing it and shoving it off. "I have to go to work." she snickered, standing up from the bed and throwing open her closet doors.

Amelia pulled out a plain white tee and some black work pants. She turned around to face me, leaving the room in an instant to change elsewhere. I chuckled to myself, running a hand through my slightly unkept hair in thought.

There was a lot I needed to process, though I was sure of my decision to stay with Amelia and not treat her the way Moonstone had for so long. She deserved so much better, and I planned on giving that to her instead of running off in fear. Fear would not win this round, not when it had to do with Amelia Bridges.

Though part of me still worried I'd be doing her more harm than good.

-

authors note: WELCOME BACK MY ANGELS!

First off, i'd like to apologize for my absence. Things have been pretty crazy for me. I started college, I started a new job.

thank you all for reading. thank you from the bottom of my heart.

xx.