AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And that Daniel doesn’t know?”
Amelia looked down at her coffee. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Why doesn’t he?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Because of Andrew?”
Amelia pressed her lips together and gazed out into the distance. She could see waves crashing on the shore. She could hear people talking on their walks.
“Amelia,” her mother started, “all I want is for you to be happy. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
“And if anyone ever makes you feel unsafe, then you don’t have to be with them.”
She clenched her jaw. She wasn’t with Daniel—not really. But she was starting to realize that lying about a relationship was worse than being pressured into one.
“I know,” she replied. “I’m fine, Mom. I promise.”
“You deserve the world. I mean it.”
Amelia nodded, but she knew the only good part of the world was her family. The rest was a dark and cold place where she would get judged for things that were outside of her control.
She’d learned her lesson. Never trust other people. It had served her well.
But she didn’t expect anyone else to understand.
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
Her mother nodded. “Now, I promised your dad that I would at least try to get out of the condo today. Do you want to join us this evening? There’s a live band playing at one of the taco shops.”
“I’ll try,” she replied.
“That’s all I ask.”
After her mother went back inside, Amelia let out a long breath. She felt off, and the day had barely begun. She probably needed to take it easy, but it was hard to when she knew Daniel wouldn’t understand why.
“Hey,” a deep voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned, seeing the very man she’d been thinking of peering from the doorway.
“Morning,” she greeted.
“Good morning,” he replied. “I was thinking about running to Target on the mainland. I need stronger sunscreen. Do you want to come? I’ll get us breakfast.”
The thing was, she did want to go. There was nothing better than a Target run when she was in the mood for it.
“Sure,” she said. “Let me just get dressed.”
She got up, ignoring the red flags in her mind. Going shopping was not a huge deal. If she could handle getting to work every day, then she could go get some sunscreen.
What was the worst that could happen?
***
As it turned out, the worst thing that could have happened was being followed by a screaming child.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like kids, but she didn’t like loud noises. Her eyes nearly watered at the high-pitched screaming. That, plus the fact that it was packed to the brim with people, had Amelia regretting everything.
