Falling For Amelia Manning - 22 Here We Go Again

James hasn’t talked to Phoebe all day and it made her sick with guilt.

They arrived at the dilapidated house, that was getting better by the day, where James was starting on the floor in the living room. When the two of them walked into the house, James was not only shocked to see Amelia with her, she was even more shocked that her best friend hadn’t told her a damn thing about her staying the night at her house the last couple of days. This led to a bitter whispered fight between them where neither of them conceded and they went their separate ways to work on the house.

Amelia stayed out of it, she grabbed a hammer and started on the bathroom floor where one of the guys walking around told her to go. She would let them handle things; it wasn’t her fault James didn’t know anything about the situation. She just pulled up the old floor and kept herself busy thinking about their first day back to school when Monday comes around. It wasn’t hard thinking about everything that’s happened in the last few years, up until this point. It actually helped the time go faster while she pulled up the floor.

She wasn’t sure how it would feel, she knew it would be different, it had to be different. The feeling in her gut told her that everything changed with that one little kiss, and she wasn’t going to complain. It had been a dream of hers since she was twelve years old even after the rumor was spread. She didn’t want to hate Phoebe, but she had it in her head that she should have been there for her. That she could have solved the issues in her family. She wanted her to be this magical little fairy that went around solving things for her, but that was an impossible request, so she turned to anger.

Part of Amelia knew that Josie had been bullshitting her back then. She could remember the look on Phoebe’s face when she accused her of starting the rumor. The tears that ran down her face, the look in her eyes that told her the world around her was breaking and crumbling. Being angry was easier than admitting to herself that her family was broken, and she couldn’t have Phoebe looking at her any differently.

So, Amelia made an enemy out of Phoebe instead. It was harder, but she learned to love seeing the fire in her eyes. This made it easier for Amelia to throw pranks her way. She liked seeing her get upset and fired up about getting revenge, and she loved the ways she tried to take that revenge, but this year was too far. They were seniors and she shouldn’t have kept with traditions getting them in this situation. She knew it was mostly her fault, but she couldn’t help the feeling of giddiness come over her when she thought about the kiss that was a result of everything that’s happened over the last few weeks.

“You’re good,” a voice spoke up behind her, making a strip of wood split down the middle as she pulled it up too quickly. “Sorry?” She asked the guy once she twisted around to see who was in the doorway. His shoulders were broad, they met the sides of the doorway and the plaid shirt he wore made them seem bigger. He stared at the floor she was nearly done with and she realized he was talking about the debris around her.

“Oh, the floor, I guess it was just easy. Breaking things is always easier than putting them back together,” Amelia pointed out before turning back to the floor only to see she had finished. “When you’re done here, the kitchen is ready to be pulled up. Grab some gloves,” he reached out with a pair of soft gloves in his hand. “The floor in there is much rougher.”

Nodding his head, the man left her alone in the bathroom. Pulling the gloves on her hands, she pushed herself up from the floor and grabbed a broom sitting against another wall. Peeking around the corner she could still see Phoebe and James not talking to each other, and even worse, mumbling things under their breath that they thought no one could hear.

Rolling her eyes, she started back for the bathroom and swept up the broken wood and dust. She could feel someone walking up to the wall just next to the room she was sweeping and when she looked up it was the same man as before.

“I don’t think I introduced myself earlier, Hank Groff, co-owner of the guys around here, along with James’ dad, but you know him.” He held his gloved hand out to shake and Amelia made sure to square up to her shoulders when shaking his hand. A weak handshake is something she would never be known for.

“Got any plans after high school?” He asked her casually.

“If I graduate, then no, not really. Just going to work and not much else, I suppose.” Amelia shrugged and kept sweeping out the debris.

“What if I told you there was room for one more on this crew? You would need to do a few safety training classes, but we hire at eighteen, given that they look ready for the job.” Hank went on to tell her more about it, but she stopped him. “You’re just offering me a job after seeing me break up a wood floor? That’s a little weird, I must say. Plus, I never thought about construction, I never really thought about much after high school.” Hank would have said they he could tell, but something in the back of his mind told him that was too mean to say.

“You’re quick and with the right amount of training, I think you’ll do fine. What most high schools fail to tell their kids is that trade schools and jobs like this are just as important as going to a big college. Even getting a secondary education at the local community college is just as good with a smaller price tag. Plus, you’ll have a well-paying job right after that last bell rings, and security for as long as you keep up the good work along with insurance and other benefits. Think it over, here’s my card.”

He pulled a white card from his shirt pocket and handed it over to her. Taking it, she watched him walk away to bicker at the girls who were starting to shout back and forth at each other. Saying something along the lines of calling their parents if they don’t stop being so childish.

She ignored everything around her when she saw the writing on the back of the card. He put down her starting salary which was double what she would be making at the fast food shop she got hired at the other day. Gulping back her nerves, she put the broom up and headed to the kitchen to start on the floor.

When the shouting match started again, she didn’t want Hank to come in and have to break them up – as if he could – so she put the hammer and gloves down she was using and headed to the front room.

“Enough, both of you,” she shouted, making a few guys turn around that looked the most annoyed. When silence rang out, they seemed to get back to work a little quicker after passing thankful glances her way.

“What is this really about?” She turned to James and then to Phoebe, both holding stern, impassible faces.

“She used to tell me everything and now I find out that she was hiding you in her room! You’re supposed to be the bad guy, not me!” James shouted making the rest of the guys break for an early lunch, not wanting to be around the fighting anymore.

“I couldn’t tell you!” Phoebe shouted back. “She apologized that night on the field and when I found out she was sleeping in the locker rooms the offer just fell out of my mouth,” Phoebe yelled at the top of her lungs and kept her pointed look on James across from her, only she didn’t notice that James was looking at Amelia until it was too late to take the words back.

“Amelia, I – ”

“Don’t. It’s already been said. I think it’s best if you two go home. You’re making it unsafe and impossible for other people to get any work done here.” She looked to the floor, unable to watch Phoebe’s face. She knew all of this was too good to be true. She knew the other shoe would drop and she’d see the truth. She was a burden on everyone around her, but the card sitting in her front pocket told her differently. She could be of use around here.

“You can’t just tell us to leave, this is our punishment, if we leave, we’ll get in trouble,” Phoebe told her, careful to avoid the subject she blurted out seconds before.

“I’ll handle this,” Hank spoke up from the doorway, surprising James and Phoebe.

“Girls, head out front,” he jabbed his thumb behind his shoulder. “Mrs. Edan is pulling up to the curb now.” Defeated, Phoebe put the tools in her hand down and watched James head for the door first.

“I didn’t mean what I said, you have to believe me,” Phoebe started but Amelia held her hand up first. Finally looking up at her, she saw the same look of hurt in her eyes from before. Every fiber of her heart told her to forgive her, to not make this like last time, but her brain shouted louder. Telling her to throw whatever this was in the trash and start over.

“Just go,” Amelia croaked out before turning for the kitchen again. Phoebe didn’t hear it from her mouth, but she knew things were different again, or rather the same as before, only worse.

Phoebe’s mouth went dry just before she turned for the door. Looking out, she saw her mom’s car with James in the front seat, she looked back for a second, but Amelia had left the room.

Knowing she would probably get punched in the face if she followed her, Phoebe left the house and ran to the car without another word. While they drove, she listened to her mom telling both of them off and then switching to talking about Amelia but when James mentioned that it wasn’t a good idea to bring that up, her mom switched to talking about her garden instead.

All Phoebe could do was press her head up against the window and painfully take each bump as it came. Tears silently fell down her face while she thought about what an idiot she had been. She didn’t want to say those words. Amelia wasn’t a burden on her, and she wasn’t a charity case but the look on her face said everything opposing those ideas in her head. She wanted to feel bad for her, she wanted to scream at her face that she didn’t care about the fighting and the stupid drama of it, that she just wanted to be with her.

That’s different now. The little voice inside her head that told her to run back there and apologize on her hands and knees was now telling her to retaliate. Telling her that if Amelia wasn’t ready, she never would be. That it was pointless to pine after something you know you’ll never have. Unfortunately, that voice started to win her over and a furious calm came over her. She wiped the tears from her face and vowed to never fall for Amelia Manning again.