Finding Her Joy

Forever With You

*A/N- You can all thank my new friend Liv for the second chapter today. She convinced me to release it early. Check out her stuff on here, too LivWrites00. She also gave me an idea for a cute moment in the chapter towards the middle. ALSO! Um, not sure what TW to put here for the beginning, but I think it needs one, so you have been warned. Happy reading! Enjoy!

(MIA POV)
I made my way up the stairs very carefully to go to my room. I'd told Char I needed a shower before I could be social with our friends or the girls. I had to be strong for the girls. They didn't need to see me upset or hurt about any of this.

I felt like my emotions just kept flipping around, and I was hoping that by forcing myself clean, it would somehow clean my mind, too.

When I'd gotten to the bedroom, I made sure to close the door behind me. As soon as the door clicked, I felt myself start to collapse.

My head started to spin. My legs were wobbling. My chest started to tighten, so I felt like I couldn't breathe.

The thoughts in my mind were all of my mother. The more she popped up in my head, the harder it became to hold everything in. She was gone. She wouldn't be waking up and calling me after her midday sleep. There would be no more birthday wishes, visits with her, holiday traditions, or advice from her if I'd had a bad day.

There was no air left in my lungs, and there wasn't in hers either.

I fumbled to the bathtub, turning the water on and over to the hottest setting. The only thing that would make me breathe again. The only thing that could reset my body and mind.

Everyone was downstairs waiting for me, and the girls would be wondering where I'd gone. I had to get over it all quickly, or I needed to be able to fake it.

The steam from the water engulfed my view of the room. It looked like something out of a horror film. One of the scenes where the main character is walking through a graveyard, but she can't see more than her feet in front of her from the thick fog surrounding her.

I took off my clothes, throwing them to the other side of the room before climbing in the water slowly. I felt myself flinch when I made contact with the water, but I kept going until I was covered completely.

My skin started to turn red from the heat, but the pain was calming the rest of me. I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around my legs, and rested my head down to let out any more tears I had to shed.

And that's when she walked in.

Feeling the heat hit her as she opened the door, she rushed over to me to get me out. Her hand felt the water, pulling it back quickly once she'd realized how hot it was.

"Amelia! That is scaulding!" She grabbed a towel for me and pulled me up and out. She dried me off, checking every inch of my skin for any serious damage.

"You won't find anything," I told her.

She was angry with me. "Why on earth would you make it that hot? You could've hurt yourself."

"That was the point," I said under my breath.

Charlotte looked up at me, but I couldn't look back at her. She'd finished drying me off and stood back up to wrap the towel around me.

"Amelia?" She asked, gently turning my face back to her. "Amelia, look at me."

"I can't," I muttered. "I don't want to see you pitying me again. I'm supposed to be the strong one..."

"It's not pity. I'm just concerned about you, and I can't just shut it off." I felt her hands in mine. "You don't need to hide how you're feeling to prove you're strong."