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  Amelia's legs burned as they took her to the nearest bus stop. She had been running for what seemed like forever and the faster she went, the less she felt everything else. Upon finally hearing the engine of the shitty public transpo bus, a sigh of relief passed over her lips.

She fell asleep with her head against the window as it rattled over every rock and bump in the road. Her eyes only fluttered open when a booming voice called out from the front of the bus to her.

  "Ya gotta get off, girl! You're the only one left and my route stops here."

  The haze of sleep was clouding Amelia's every thought but she managed to give a small nod and quickly skittered down the three steps and out into the street. Nothing looked familiar as her eyes scanned everything in sight. This was until she saw the small red post stuck in the ground. She remembers giving it a glance when the man had driven her to his place that night.

  It had just seemed so out of place that she couldn't help but muster a pitiful laugh. Even then, she knew the man beside her was nothing short of dangerous and the bright red starkly contrasted everything she had assumed up until that point. So, she walked past it for a little less than ten minutes before looking up from the ground to see her destination towering over her.

                                  ••••

Her hand went into a fist, halfway to the wooden door before she stopped herself. Amelia forced a few deep breaths in and out and found that her heart was racing. The doorbell seemed to be the better option now as she finally gathered herself up to ring it.

What seemed like many excruciating seconds ticked by as she waited. She had turned her back to the house and started to walk away when the door opened.

The man was leaning against the door frame, hair a mess and red rimmed eyes completed his look as he took in the moment. "You came back?" He questioned after wracking his brain of what to say and failing to come up with something better.

Amelia spun around to meet his gaze; she looked him over before finding herself comfortable enough to answer. "I, uh, yeah. I did."

  "Knew you would," He mumbled while stepping back to widen the opening.

  She shuffled past him a bit awkwardly before he closed the door. The two of them stood in a suspended tension until he cleared his throat while staring intently at the floor. "Kid's here...upstairs. Didn't wanna surprise you."

  Amelia couldn't help herself when a quiet chuckle escaped her lips. He snapped his head up to look at her now as she covered her parted lips with a small hand.

  "Sorry, it's just that of course she'd be here. She's kinda your kid."

  He nodded slowly and started toward the kitchen. "I just didn't know if you-,"

  "I don't have any problem with children," Amelia cut him off easily as she started for the living room couch.

  "Fine. Drink?"

  "Just water." She responded after getting herself comfortable and waiting for his entrance into the space.

  The man strode from one space to another and handed Amelia a bottled water before sitting across from her. They sat in silence a while as he nursed his bourbon, but she found it hard to ignore when his eyes began scanning her body.

  She had the bottle pressed to her lips just as the water escaped to dance across them when she caught his gaze somewhere in the middle. He quickly averted and finished the glass in his hand, setting it down and slouching into the deep cushions. Amelia was just about to ask him what his problem was when she saw his own lips part.

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