His Little Amelia

|12| • Everest

The new owners of Sapphire's house said a man came with hospital clothes to their home, asking for his girlfriend. It was an old man and woman so they fed him and gave him a change of clothes as well as some money but no Sapphire. We were an hour too late.

The next stop was his house, it had been idle for over eight months now, and I wasn't sure his parent's still paid for the upkeep. While trying to calm Penelope, my mind kept going back to Amelia. Goodness, I messed up. "Here, turn here!" Penelope commanded, her arms eagerly pointed towards the road which led to his house. Nodding, I shake off the thought of Amelia --for now, focusing on the task at hand.

His neighbourhood was serene, there were almost identical houses lined up opposite each other, and a small park at the strip. From what she said, he was in plot thirty-two. I wondered how she hadn't gotten frustrated and walked for the remaining journey as the suspense rose when we rolled into his street. Slowly, I checked the sign on the post of the houses, house thirty-two...where are you, Gabe?

"There! Look!" Before my eyes finished surveying the area, Penelope had done that and more; she pointed to a man leaning against his door with a downcast countenance. With his denim jacket, his hands were fisted by his side, his head repeatedly hitting the door frame. She didn't let me park, and as soon as the car slowed down, the woman rushed out.

"Gabe?!" Penelope yelled out, overpowering the slight mutter under my breath. What was he doing here, did he not remember the pin to his house? As I got down from the car, she had already engulfed him in a hug, the equally shocked man stared into his arms like he didn't know who she was.

"P-Pen...you're here," He breathed out in disbelief, after some time, his hands went to snake around her waist, pulling her into a familiar hug. At least if not me, one person remained in his life. If not for me...he'd probably be married now, not dumped by his girlfriend just because he was in a coma.

"How do you wake from the dead and not call me? Do you know how long I waited for you?!" Penelope began, hitting his chest which earned a grown from it. Their relationship was just as I imagined, he had described it to be playful and free. At this point, tears flowed relentlessly down her cheeks, they hugged for a good one minute before he acknowledged my presence.

As our eyes met, my stomach dropped.

Shit.

How could I think I could face him? It was my fault. I was the one who put him in this coma. It took all in me not to swerve my heel and take for the heel. Chuckling nervously, my wet palms went to cup the back of my neck. What could I say to a man I hadn't seen in over six months? It felt unbelievable, seeing him without the oxygen man, seeming almost lifeless in bed. Here he was, towering over Penelope, and why the hell did he look happy to see me? If he cussed out and blamed me for everything, I'd feel much better.

He was hugging me now, I didn't deserve his hug. Why was he doing this to me? Not knowing what to do, I stood as still as a log, "Simon! It's so good to see you, man. You came looking for me?" Gave sounded almost in shock. How wouldn't I? Tears brimmed my eyes and shaking my head, I hugged him back. Feeling his body against mine was so calming, what would I have done if he kicked the bucket? Crud, I didn't realize I was crying until his thumb wiped my tears. "Man, why are you crying?"

"I...Gabe, I'm sorry." Goodness, was that my voice? I cupped his cheeks, pulling on them to see if it wasn't just my hallucination. "I'm sorry I had f get my damn leg stuck. I'm sorry you had to take the hit for me. I should have been..." Gabe just smiled, hugging me once more.

"I'd I didn't want to, I wouldn't have. And I got hit because my legs didn't run fast enough." That was the thing about his man called Gabe. He was so kind, it hurt even more, "Gabe..."

"Simon." He deadpanned, glancing pointedly at me.

"Are you going to keep crying or help me get into my home?"

"What?" I croaked with tears still in my eyes, Gabe chuckled nervously, his hand going to ruffle his unkempt hair.

"I forgot my home code."

Staring back at Penelope, I wondered if she was going to tell him everything he had missed for the past eight months. His parents didn't even know he had woken up, his girlfriend had left him, and he was bothered about a home code. She stared back, equally as concerned. "H-how about you stay at mine for the time being? You know, to get familiar again." She peeped out, unsure.

Gabe hummed, staring back at his building before shrugging.

"I guess I can do that. I'm guessing I have a lot to catch up on?" He squinted his eyes expectantly. Penelope chuckled, skipping towards him. "That's one way to put it,"

I knew it was selfish to think, but I wondered if I'd still be able to make it to Amelia's home, knowing she wouldn't be there anymore. Pursing my lips, I debated on whether to text her; would she even reply to my text? I know her being confused and offended would be inevitable, but I also knew she was a considerate lady. She'd hear me out, right?

"Everest?" Pen called out, pulling me from my thoughts.

Right, I still had places to be. "Alright, let's go. I have someplace important to be after this." They nodded, going into the car. As they caught upon Penelope's life, seeing as he was more of darkness and dreams, my mind went back to Amelia. Dammit. I should have acted better, but what good was it beating myself up?

It took nearly an hour to reach Pen's apartment, when they had settled down, I hugged Gabe. I would be coming to visit more frequently, if not for Amelia, I'd have stayed a bit longer, As I got into the car, a shaky breath left my lips.

He was actually alive.

He had woken up and he forgave me,

That lifted a ton from my chest, although a bit of guilt still nibbled on my conscience. Even if he didn't think it was my fault, it was going to take a while to start thinking like that as well.

It was already getting dark by the time I drove out of the apartment, still wearing the outfit I prepared for the day. Gripping the steering wheel, I thought back to how I told Amelia that if wait. How was she going to trust me now,

"Enough, Everest." I scolded myself.

After an hour plus, I drove into Amelia's neighbourhood. The eager children had gone in, the area looking more serene, which made me feel even worse. I knew I screwed up, but Gabe...I had to go to him. I just had to. "Alright." Heaving out a big sigh, I climbed out of the car, straightened my outfit and ran my hands over my face. Hopefully, tears had not stained my cheeks or the redness that came with them.

I quietly pushed the white gate, closing it after me. I was nervous, there were no two ways about it. The lights were peaking out of the curtain, so thankfully, someone was around. With a deep breath, I pressed the doorbell, the echo being heard from inside. This was it, I was finally here.

Rubbing my hands together I waited patiently for someone to answer,

Perhaps no one was around?

Just then, heavy footsteps were heard coming towards the entrance before the door creaked open. From the bare feet, I saw that it was a man, the veins stuck out from the dark-skinned wide feet. "Who are you?" He asked at the same time I looked up, eyes widening.

"Abel?"

"Hey aren't you that Everest guy?" We said in unison.

Don't tell me my Amelia and Abel were related, crud. This just got a little bit harder.