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CHAPTER FIFTEEN. HOMECOMING HERO
THE dance was in full swing even before they arrived. The booming music ricocheted off the gym walls as Gemma pulled both Monika and Amelia by their arms to the center of the floor. Just as the chorus hit, everyone threw their arms up, screaming to the lyrics. "Tonight! I want all of you tonight!" Amelia put her arms around both her girls. "Give me everything tonight!" The three of them leaned closer, shouting the lyrics with their full chest in each other's face. "For all we know, we might not get tomorrow! Let's do it tonight!"
Dancing and singing was cathartic and for a few moments, Amelia almost forgot about the nightmare. All she could think about was Peter that night by the Willow Lake, drenched in moonlight. Of a time where she wasn't afraid of what would happen but was just a teenage girl realizing her crush on a boy. A shy smile eclipsed her face and she glanced at the floor. She looked at her dancing classmates again when she raised her camera and brought it closer to her eyes. They seemed so joyful, not a care in the world. God, they looked so happy.
Amelia sighed as the camera clicked a picture of pure happiness. Bubbling joy. It terrified her. She had never known what to make of Peter. Not since the day they met. This fear of losing people, she knew in her head, originated on the road beside the car crash that had killed Constance. Peter terrified her in ways only Constance had. Every smile she received came with a written warning: REMEMBER THIS, it said. Because the idea of him walking away, vanishing from her life, that terrified her most of all.
But then she blinked and saw this party. Gosh, this party. And her heart filled until it was overflowing. That's when she heard Constance's voice. Remember this feeling, it said. Live your life, not being afraid of the end but enjoying the journey. She looked at her friends again, all her friends, slow dancing to the sweetest song with their arms around each other. If you had no one to wrap their arms around you when you were sad, were you really happy?
Gemma, escaping out of Monika's hold, shuffled closer to Amelia when she saw her face. After a moment, she said, "Are you crying?"
Amelia wiped under her eyes with the pad of her fingers and chuckled in absurdity. She sniffled, "Only a little."
"Why?" Gemma pouted.
Amelia looked at her. She really looked at her. Her pale blonde hair hung straight down to her shoulders and she was wearing a wrap dress in a subtle silver. Monika, who joined her in feeling sad for Amelia, albeit in a more mocking way, was dressed in a suit and tie, making the both of them look beautiful. And as the strobing lights shone upon them, Amelia said, "I'm just . . . happy."
