Sufferable Acceptance

Thirty-Nine

Theo

I sat there with Amelia in the garden happy to be near her again. I know her coming back was dangerous for her. The next month would be hell for her, and I wanted to enjoy this moment with her before we had to go back to the real world. I never wanted her to get involved with her father again, but she was right. It's time for her to stop running.

We sat there for so long it got dark, and around six Mom called us in for dinner. We walked to the dining room, and sat in our usual spots next to each other. This was my first time at the dinner table since she'd left. I couldn't stand sitting at the table with her not there. In fact, since she left I'd hardly left my room.

Everything felt like it was returning to normal. Amelia sat next to me laughing with the twins and their silly jokes. Sophia caught her up on all the friends' drama and school. Mom was smiling again, and everything felt like it was going to be ok. During dinner I would sneak glances at Amelia just to make sure she was really sitting next to me, and it wasn't a dream. I kept getting lost in her smile. Staring at Amelia I heard someone calling my name, and Amelia looking at me like I wasn't paying attention.

"Theo.." Charlie said again.

"Hmm." I said turning to face him.

"I was asking if you remember that winter in Vail when you ate shit on that mountain, and had to get stitches!" Charlie laughed.

"Language!" Mom yelled.

"Sorry" Charlie mumbled.

"Yeah I had to get stitches because someone lied about the jump!" I said to him, "I remember you promising me that I could get over that ledge and it wouldn't even feel like a drop you asshole! And it wasn't a drop into powder, it was literally a pile of rocks at the bottom idiot!"

Charlie and I got into an argument over who remembered that trip correctly, and in the background I could hear Amelia laughing hysterically at the stories we spilled.

She looked happy to be back, and a part of the dinner table again.

After dinner I took Amelia up to her room. I left everything the same since she left. Dad tried having people pack up her stuff in case she came back to get it, but I wouldn't let them. I knew that if she came back she would want it to be there waiting for her.

She slowly turned the lights on and made her way to the bed. She sat down and stared at her feet.

"God, I missed this bed. The bed at the cabin was closer to a block of wood than a mattress." she said.

She jumped back and laid on her back.

"I'll give you a few minutes to yourself, to get settled in again. If you need me I'll be in my room." I told her. I didn't want to leave her, but she'd had a long day, and I can imagine she needed a few minutes to herself.

I headed to my room to take a quick shower, and attempted to start cleaning. Most of my dressers and belongings were lying broken all over my room. It would take awhile to clean up. I'd let myself go when Amelia left. Now that she was back I didn't want her to see all this. It would only make her feel bad to know how much of a mess I was. After quickly cleaning I left to take a shower. When I walked back into my room I found Amelia standing near a shelf holding one of my pictures. It was a picture of me and my dad when I was younger.

"How old were you?" She asked.

"Sixteen. The car in the photo was a gift from my parents. It rode like shit, but it was a classic." I told her.

She looked at me, and stared me up and down. I saw a small smirk on her face start to form. My cheeks got red from her staring, and I walked to my closet before I lost control and threw her on the bed.