"Then what was it?"
Amelia looks intently in Melody's direction, as if thinking of how to say her words. "I started off thinking of the idea when I was fourteen. My mother had been killed by an unknown assailant. I set out after that day, to get revenge for my mother." There's a pause, she breathes in. "To put the bastard away for a very, very long time."
She did more than that. It was her own gun that shot him dead, her hands that buried him in his own yard. It was wrong to have done it that way, to have killed him. Amelia had shot down the wrong Parker, she knew that well now. If she could go back, handcuffs would have suited the man better.
Both of the homeowners sit in silence as Amelia pulls her hands together, eyes flickering down to them. Rubbing her fingers against the rough patch on her skin, focusing on the slow movement of her own hands.
Amelia chuckles, shaking her head. "I gave the bastard what he had coming to him, for a very long time." Her eyes peer backup at Melody and Leo. "After that, my sole purpose is to help the grieving. Get them the justice they deserve for the people who took their loved ones."
Her sole purpose, the only reason why she lived. Without this, death would surely sound the bells he was arriving. It was only a matter of time before she could hear the ringing. Closer and closer, until he stood right in front of her.
Perhaps once she died, Lucifer would be kind to her. Seeing all of the effort she put to protect the ones she loved, even if she knew the fires below were beckoning her arrival. Fighting hard, tooth and nail to protect the lives of the innocent. Burning for all eternity would be a grace, if the ones she loved could carry on and live.
Live without her, life without worry or care. Without her, blood would cease to spill.
"Wow.." Melody breathes out, taking one of Amelia's hands into her own. "You're an amazing woman, Amelia."
Her words have Amelia's eyes widening in surprise, "You put yourself in danger everyday just because you want to help people who are in pain, I think that's.." Melody pauses, her lips pulling up into a light smile. "I think that's honorable, you're a hero."
A hero, Melody thought she was a hero. She heard it from those she helped, but they didn;t really know her. Nothing further than the agent who helped them put away the bad man who took a piece of their family. Not that she was a bad man herself, not that she was cursed. Even if Amelia didn't hold the gun, her presence somehow pulled the trigger.
Never ending nightmares of the people who died in front of her eyes, died for her. To protect her with every fiber of their being. It was always going to be her fault, their deaths. People's lives were never the same after meeting her, befriending her, loving her. Being called a hero by someone so closely, it stung.
The pressure against her chest was growing, her body was tensing with each passing second. Everything felt tight, it felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Can you believe we're graduating tomorrow?!"
Tighter and tighter, her chest was closing in on itself.
"Happy Halloween Amelia, thanks for being one of my best friends. I love you."
If she was a hero, Melody was blind entirely. In her mind, there was no doubt what her role was: The villain. The killer, the menacing shadow that lurked behind the people who lived their lives with no care. Growing up, becoming the people they wanted to be in life. Amelia stopped that by being near them, by living with them.
Only she got to grow up, only she got to see the sun rising again another day.
"I don't think so, but thank you Melody." It's all she can get out, there was no need to spill her entire thoughts to almost a stranger. Whatever Melody wanted to think of her, it would stay only surface level.
Leo arises from his spot on the couch, groaning as he stands straight. Hands on his hips, he smiles down at the two women. "I think this deserves some wine for the occasion. Don't you think honey?"
"Yes oh my gosh, of course!" Melody gasps, looking at her husband. Then looking back at Amelia as the man goes off to get the wine. "I hope you like red, we're big red wine drinkers."
Amelia chuckles, hearing the sound of glasses being placed on the metal table in front of them. "I only do red, so you're fine."
"Well then," Leo huffs, handing his wife a half filled glass of mine. "This is perfect for you then, it's ripe for this sort of occasion." Next, handing Amelia her glass, she thanks him quickly.
Her nose hovered over the glass, it smelled rich. Something that had sat for many years, yet ripened with the time. Aging wine at the right amount, was the most savory taste anyone's tongue could be graced with. The smell already had her interest. "What's the occasion?" Amelia asks, eyebrow raising.
"To old friends reuniting." Leo says, raising his glass.
His wife squeaks, raising her own glass. "I love that darling, to old friends!"
Amelia pauses for a moment, holding the glass in front of her. Only moment after raising her glass slowly, looking between the two of them. A smile pulled across her lips. It wasn't a real smile, but a forced one. Something she now felt she had to push more than ever.
This was going to be much harder than she had ever anticipated.
"To old friends reuniting."
1:00 A.M (GMT8)
She couldn't sleep, there was nothing that would be more soothing than the drooping of her eyelids. To be able to find peace with her thoughts, her dreams. Amelia would rather have a dark, and black abyss than the raging nightmares that drilled into her mind.
So here she was, outside on her old acquainted back porch, a cigarette between her fingers. Smoke flowing through the air, disappearing as fast as it had begun.The habit of smoking had never been something she indulged in, but stress was building. Sleepless nights, draining missions, the weight of lives on her shoulders.
There was no doubt she was chipping away, beginning to fall apart. All alone, as always.
With the cigarette in her fingers she places it in between her lips, slouched slightly over as she sits on the concrete. Wearing nothing but a tank top, and dark gray sweatpants. Amelia pulls the cigarette away, blowing the smoke from her lips.
Not even the darkening of her lungs could stop the pain she felt inside already, it was only adding another layer. The sky dark, the stars glimmering with bright intentions to be seen. A light wind pulls against the trees, but it doesn't cause a chill to run up her spine. It was calming, it was peaceful.
Only nature could be peaceful like this. Hearing the crickets chirping nearby, watching as the moon was shaded by clouds passing by. Life was not peaceful, but the way nature called to her had her feeling it was.
Everyday should feel like a blessing, yet it felt like a burden. There was no joy in seeing the sun through her windows, or the chirping of birds on the tree branches. It was a constant reminder that she had to live another day with the constant guilt.
Amelia wondered for so many years, why she hadn't died so many hours ago. Living caused pain for not only others, but most of all herself. Having to walk around with her stern and cold demeanor, shutting out anyone who dares get too close to her. It didn't matter if her efforts were fruitful or not: They always ended up the same way.
Their names carved into gravestones, long gone before they ever would have if they had not crossed paths with her.
Wrongful deaths, some more painful than others.
How would they look at her now, after all this time? Still wallowing internally over their deaths. Amelia knew exactly what they would say, the ones closest to her. Tess would tell her that she did nothing wrong, or say something stupid to have her crack a smile. Claire would have been serious about Amelia's health, and tell her to let go of the weight on her shoulders.
Death was not an easy thing to lift off of one's consciousness. Then again, not many had so many topped on one another. A single death is hard enough to burden one's mind. Amelia had eight, eight people who died for her, because of her. She was drowning in their last days, in their dying words.