Chapter 7

Nate lightly knocked on the door.

“Hold on!” Amelia said from the other side, so he waited quietly.

The door opened, and there stood Amelia. She was wearing a cropped t-shirt with a pair of Victoria’s Secret shorts. Her hair was messy like she had been lying down for a while.

She looks adorable. The thought flashed in his mind before he could stop it.

Her eyes turned huge with surprise when she saw him standing there.

“Nate? What are you doing here?” she asked.

He didn’t know what to say at first and stared at her. He was just about to open his mouth to say something but stopped when her facial expression suddenly changed.

Her face turned pale. She grabbed the side of her stomach, and her facial expression contorted as if she was in pain. She looked like she was struggling to stay on her feet and was about to lose her balance.

“Amelia?” Nate gave her a confused look.

“I um…I need to lie down…ugh…” she tried to move but started to fall forward.

“What the fuck?” Nate frowned and quickly grabbed her before she lost her balance completely. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, and put her down gently.

“Shit…what the hell is wrong with you? Do I need to call the ambulance?” he asked.

“No…I’ll be fine in a minute, don’t worry,” Amelia said, her face still twisted in pain.

“I’ll go get you some water,” he said quietly.

Amelia gulped down the water Nate brought. She was starting to feel better.

“So…what are you doing in my house, Nate?” She asked.

“You have been absent a lot, so I thought I would come to check on you,” he said quietly.

Her eyes lit up. So Mr. Grumpy does care, she thought.

“I’ve been sick. As you can see, I can hardly stand straight. Hah, I’m such a clumsy idiot, right?” Amelia smiled.

Nate didn’t smile back. He could tell she was still in pain but was trying to cover it up under that cheerful smile.

“Why are you in so much pain?” he asked, his piercing blue eyes bored into hers.

Amelia twirled her hair nervously. “It’s nothing. My stomach hurts sometimes. I took some medication, so I’ll be fine by tomorrow. I promise,” she said and avoided his eyes.

Nate knew something was definitely wrong, but he didn’t want to press her any farther.

“Okay, well, I guess I should leave now since you are feeling better,” he said and tried to stand up, but Amelia grabbed his hand.

“Wait…don’t leave. Please? Why did you come here?” she pleaded.

“Like I said, I came to check on you,” he said.

“But why? I thought you hated me,” she whispered.

Nate’s eyes turned dark with emotions. He didn’t think Amelia would take his words so seriously.

“I don’t hate you. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I do. I didn’t mean anything I said to you, okay?” he said softly.

“Does that mean we can be friends again?” she asked, smiling again.

This time Nate returned her smile. “Yes, even though you annoyed the shit out of me, you are the only friend I got so…”

“Yay! I knew you’d come around,” she yelled and threw her arms around him, and they almost fell on the bed together.

“Jesus, I said we could be friends. I didn’t permit you to attack me in this bed. Stop being so grabby!” he laughed. This chick is going to be a handful. He could already tell.

“You know, the first time I was here, you told me your mom didn’t let boys go upstairs to your room. So how come she just let me come up here?” Nate asked.

“I just made that up for precaution,” Amelia said shyly.

“What…do I look like some rapist to you?” Nate asked pointedly.

“No…it was for your protection, against me!” she grinned.

“Haha, very funny little girl. I can flick you off like a bug if I wanted to,” Nate said and flexed his muscles.

“Whatever, do you want to watch a movie with me?” Amelia said and patted on the spot next to her.

“You just invite any dude to get in bed with you?” Nate asked, his eyes twinkling.

“Nope, just my new best friend Nate. Now can you please stop arguing with me and sit next to me?” Amelia pouted.

Nate sighed and plopped down next to her. He can’t win with this girl. Her bed was much softer than his at home.

She put on a horror movie, so he raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t peg you as a horror fan,” he said.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, buddy,” she said and poked him on the ribs.

The movie started, so they started to watch quietly. He could feel her body heat as she was sitting extremely close, her arm almost touching his. Suddenly, there was a jump scare scene, and she squealed and grabbed his waist. Her eyes were tightly shut.

“Why did you put this movie on if you can’t handle it, you crazy?” Nate said in annoyance and tried to push her off.

“I’m not scared. I just rather not watch this scene,” she said and tightened her grip on him even more.

Jeez…he sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

“The scenes over, you can open your eyes now,” he said after a few moments. She didn’t speak or let go.

“Amelia?” he said and looked down. She was snoring lightly. Her head rested on his chest.

Seriously? Nate thought. How did she fall asleep so fast? Her arms were still wrapped around him. He wanted to get up and leave, but she looked so peaceful he felt bad.

He looked down and brushed some of her hair away from her face. She is quite beautiful when she was not talking his ears off. He thought and smiled.

He carefully removed her arms from his waist and got up. She shifted slightly but didn’t wake up. He covered her with a blanket and left the house.

He went back to his house. His mind was filled with thoughts of her. Why was she in so much pain?

He pulled into the driveway and saw another car sitting there.

What the hell? He thought. He wasn’t expecting a company. He didn’t recognize the car either. Who could it be?

“Hello?” he called out as soon as he went inside. “Who’s here?”

He turned around as he heard a pair of footsteps behind him and became face to face with one person he hated the most in this world.