Someone Like Hugh -Draft Complete And EDITING-

Chapter Nineteen

Amelia's POV:

I finished the little sandwich my step father had brought me and tucked the book protectively between my mattress and box spring.

I went into the bathroom and carefully stripped from my clothes and slid into the tub before turning on the water. I opted for a room temp bath, something to soothe the bruises on my body.

I scrolled through the pictures on my phone as the tub filled. As I did, I landed on the selfie of Hugh and I that I had taken to send my mother. His piercing green eyes stared into me. I felt a warmth spread through me as I thought of the way he pressed me against the wall in the alley.

It may seem stupid, but his urgency was alluring. It reminded me of the men in the romance novels I read on my phone. These powerful protective men always had a way of swooping in to save their women from a world of hurt.

They protected them and cared for them. I had always dreamed of finding love. Every person has a person out there that's just right for them. I always dreamed of finding mine.

He would be the sort of man that understood my brothers and I were a package deal. He would love and protect us anyway he could. My dream man would make the romantic little gestures that meant a world of promise.

I'm not looking for impossible grand gestures like running to an airport to stop your true love from getting on a flight. I'm looking for a love that would hold me on my roughest days and stroke my hair, or someone that would sing to me at random moments, and let me sleep on his chest.

But that was all off the table now. It would be a miracle for a new liver to come in with such short notice. I was never meant to live the life I wanted, this was just a final middle finger from the universe.

Just then, my phone rang. I reached out to answer it. "Meet ne in the garden in ten," Hugh's raspy voice came over the phone.

"I'm stuck in my room, remember? Besides, I'm in the bath," I spoke with a laugh.

"I forgot about lockdown. I'll come to you, so finish up quickly," he teased.

I stood and rinsed the soap from my body and quickly washed my hair. I dried off and slid on leggings, a band tshirt, and a red flannel shirt. I quickly applied some eyeliner and red eyeshadow before emerging from the bathroom.

The balcony door was open and Hugh sat perched on the edge of my bed. "Suprise!" He called out, holding up a few bags.

"Did you really just Spiderman your way over here again?" I laughed.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Also, this is from James too, not just me," he laughed nervously.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I smiled. "Did you actually get the things you were supposed to get while you were out?"

"Yes M'am. Mrs. Mason stole my bags and took them off to the laundry room," he laughed. Now stop trying to take care of me and come here."

I slowly walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed. He handed me a small box. "This one is from James."

I slowly opened it and there was a little bracelet that said "Sister: The only person who can protect you and kick your ass at the same time." I burst out laughing, a few little tears spilling from my eyes. Hugh took my wrist and clasped the bracelet on for me.

"This one is from me, though that's a hard act to follow," he laughed handing me another small box.

I slowly opened it, and inside was a charm bracelet. It had a small charm shaped like a wine bottle, one shaped like a sword, and another shaped like a book.

"The wine bottle because of how we met, the sword for the woman with the fiercest heart I've ever seen, and your brother expressed your love of books, which leads us to the final little gift." He smiled handing me a gift bag. Inside was an anthology of several different Jane Austen books in a hardbound collector's edition. "We just figured that everyone deserved to celebrate their birthday, and we wanted to show you we were thinking of you on yours."