Verboten

Chapter 18: Hell Broke Loose

Amelia's POV:

I padded my way downstairs clad in a pair of mismatched pyjamas. I felt the carpeted floor tickle the bare soles of my feet, as I tried to be as meek and quiet as possible.

It was becoming more and more arduous to dodge the typical 'what has gotten into you' conversation whenever my parents - or more particularly - my mother lays an eye on me; I never have a proper reply to offer them.

Every word that tumbles past my lips is an unbacked jittery lie, something that my parents didn't believe, and I couldn't blame them for thinking of me as a liar because my faux act was way too unconvincing, even for myself.

I was almost at the kitchen's doorway when I heard my parents speaking, and my motion came to an abrupt halt.

"I don't know what could've possibly happened to our girl, Noah. Do you think she's doing drugs?" I heard mom's worried frantic voice. My lips pursed into a thin line as I rested against the nearby wall. I could already imagine the creases in mom's forehead as she runs her hands exaggeratedly through her hair.

I heard dad's heavy sigh, as he assured her that I wasn't doing drugs. "I know an addict when I see one, Laura."

I felt confused, unable to pinpoint how to exactly feel because I never thought that I've changed to that extent. I knew I looked different; more pliant, pale and distraught with dark purplish prominent bags under my eyes, but it was all due to lack of sleep and appetite. My brain was working on overdrive every single minute of the day, it wasn't even giving me a breathing break.

"I'm just worried about her, and I'm so scared of letting her travel away for college alone, I-I don't know, Noah, I think we did something wrong in her parenting." Mom's voice was quivering, and as much as I wanted to rush into the kitchen, hug her and assure her that she's a great mother, I couldn't. Perhaps because a part of me blamed them for the way I turned up. I was always around them, asking for their permission and approval before I took any remote step in my life. I became this shy backed up against the wall girl right under their noses, but they never acted up to help me open up to people, as long as I was the good, academically scoring girl, it was all fine. I wasn't, it wasn't fine.

"Laura, calm down, I think we should give her some space." Dad murmured, rubbing her shoulders, "she's not a child anymore."

I smiled. For the first time in the past couple of days, I smiled genuinely because my father was finally levelling himself with me and my thinking.

"I-I don't know, Noah. Can I tell you something? It's - it's a bit absurd, but I can't help but think it." Mom's voice was shaky, uncertain.

I stood up straighter, my attention drawn closer to their conversation, I felt a nervousness bubble at the pit of my stomach as I eavesdropped, but nothing could've prepared me for the next words that tumbled past my mother's lips, and I wasn't sure whether I should be thankful that I went downstairs right on time to become aware of what was really going on, or whether I was desperate for the bliss of oblivion to cast itself on me again.

"I think Amelia started changing ever since Damien came here."

My breath hitched in my throat, the bubbling nervousness in my stomach somehow propagated through every fibre of my being as I placed a grappling hand to my lips to silence my startled gasp.

"I don't get what you're saying, Laura?" Dad asked, his voice an octave louder, "What does this have to do with Amelia?" I could hear his pacing footsteps because mom just threw him a time ticking bomb, something he was unprepared to deal with in any sense.

"I-I don't know, Noah, that's why I said it was absurd, but they've grown very close, a bit closer than they're suppose to be considering the generation gap between them." She wafted in a deep wavering breath, "they're both always off mood at the same time, I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but Amelia's not acting like herself ever since Damien traveled to Seattle."