In your Arms

Chapter Five

It was 9 o'clock in the evening when Amity arrived at the condo unit. She was dead tired, but she had to admit her date with Therese was fun. She thought the poetry reading stuff was all too boring, but right after she realized it was quite interesting. Amity even had the thought of doing poetry for some time, if she's not busy with painting. Before the both of them went home they had dinner at a Chinese restaurant nearby since the two of them had no one else to bother having dinner with when they reach home.

Amity didn't bother to turn on the television, instead, she went directly to her room, undressed, and then took a bath. Today was indeed a relaxing day for her. And it was the first time since she lived with Simon that she'd gone out with a girlfriend. She soaked herself in the bath tub, closed her eyes, and lingered for awhile. The water was relaxing since she'd put some lavender oil in it which soothed her muscles and calmed her senses.

Then she remembered, Simon hadn't called or texted her again. Her eyebrows creased and her lips went into a pout. Was he that busy? Why hadn't he contacted her yet? She missed him already even it was only two days since he'd left, and two weeks would seem like forever. Maybe he is busy, she thought. Even so, after this bath she would send him a text message. Even if there's no news from him at least she'll check up on him, and that's all that matters.

After half an hour of soaking in the tub she decided to get up. She wrapped herself in her robe and went in front of the sink to apply her night cream. It was one of her simple beauty regimens. She dried herself when she got into her room and put on her black silk night gown and dried her hair. She typed a text message about how her day went, asked Simon how he's doing and told him to take care of himself and send him the message. Amity wouldn't let a single day pass without her communicating to Simon, he was the only person she has right now. The only person he cared about in this moment of her life.

She was already lying in bed and feeling a little sleepy when she suddenly thought of her parents. It's been a year and she didn't have a single idea what had happened to them since she'd left. She hadn't tried to at least communicate to hear news about her parents' well-being. And it made her awfully guilty.

Amity loved her parents, she really does. She was close to her mother than to her father, but even with differences regarding their ways of raising her, she had always loved them both. Her mother being always gentle and supportive became her best friend and confidante, she always looked out for her best interests and only wished her nothing but happiness. For her, she was not just a perfect mom, but also an ultimate and superb one.

Her father, even though firm and strict, became her source of strength and ambition. He was a noble and knowledgeable man who had taught her many things in life. He was her king and she was her princess. She remembered him also being supportive in her wants when she was young, but all of it changed when Andrei, her older brother, died.

Pain and longing jolted her awake. The memory of Andrei made her nostalgic. She missed her brother so much and it pains her. The car accident that took her brother away always haunts her memory, traumatizing her for years. Amity knew it wouldn't make Andrei at peace but she still couldn't accept that her brother who's also her best friend, adviser, and number one supporter was taken away from her just like that and it was not fair. But since he died, one of the lessons in life Amity had learned is that nothing in life is ever fair.

Life for her since then went bitter and unfair when her father became dominating and wanted to run her own life. He destroyed her dreams of being an artist, of being free to do anything she wants, and even in freely choosing who she should love. Her father wanted her to take Andrei's place as the heir of their family's businesses and become the sole heiress who will carry on the family's legacy. He also made sure that she would be wed to a prominent man, preferably one of his father's wealthy business partners' son with the same interest in running business ventures and in the future, would be helping her to maintain and manage the investments and assets their family have had for centuries.

Those terms made her hate her father so much. She was mad for making her do things she had never dreamt of doing, the things she weren't born to be in the first place, the things she doesn't even have a single passion for. It really wasn't fair. When he had told her he'll be arranging an engagement for her to one of his friend's son, that was the final blow. She wanted out, and so she ran away. Hurting her parents was the last thing she would ever thought of doing but she had no other options does she? She had no choice. The responsibility waiting for her and the sacrifices that she would have to make would be unbearable, and she just couldn't let herself yield.

She would come back home, she thought, and with high hopes that by the time she'll be back her father would stop trying to run things for her. She would come home, but not just yet.

"Not just yet.." she whispered. Her eyes fluttered and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Amity was in deep sleep when she was suddenly jolted by a loud thump from the living room. She sat upright and went on alert as she listened for the occurrence of another sound. She was alone and it was only her and Simon who hold the keys, and since Simon will be gone for two weeks, it would only mean that someone had barged in the condo unit.

She listened at the back of her bedroom door holding a spray paint for God knows how long and when she didn't hear anything anymore she decided to lie down again. Maybe she just thought she heard something. She looked in her side table and saw that it was 3:15 am, Amity had the jitters and the hairs on the back of her neck raised. She covered herself with her blanket and muttered one our father, three hail Mary's, and one glory be. Maybe some ghosts are scaring her because she's alone and she's afraid of such paranormal things. She just kept on repeating praying until she fell back to sleep.