Turning to the door, she presses her ear against it. There's silence, nothing to tell if Leo had stayed around his own home to see his somewhat doting wife sleeping in her bed. He had not caught her, the silence spoke of it. No noticing of the marks on her neck, or the clothing ripped off of her body. Amelia wasn't going to get caught by him, not this early.
Quickly she moves to her suitcase on the floor, opening it up to pick out clothing to dress herself into. She pulls out a gray button up shift, complemented by stretchy black pants. Tossing them onto the bed, she pulls out a matching pair of undergarments– Dark black. Lastly grabbing ankle height white socks, before closing the suitcase in front of her. Amelia begins to strip out of her underwear from the previous night, unhooking her bra to then place on the new clothing.
The shirt is pulled over her head, slipping into her hourglass figure with ease. Buttoning the metal buttons together, pulling the shirt done to have it fully over her stomach. Grabbing onto her pants, she slips them on her legs with ease. Jumping to get them over her figure, before zipping and buttoning them.
Amelia turns the mirror near her bed, emerald hues meeting to her bare skin. Trailing up her own neck, the hickeys are completely noticeable to the naked eye. Anyone would be able to see them from a mile away. Yet, a part of her didn't care. Leo had not seen anything on his wife, there was no need to hide if there was no established connection.
Her fingers fiddle with the clips of her hair, pulling them out for her layered locks to fall. Ruffling her hands through her hair, fixing the messy locks to look presentable at the very least. Fiddling with her bangs over her forehead, making sure they were perfect. Bare faced, she could see all the freckles that scattered across her skin.
From her nose, to her cheeks, down to her shoulders. Scattered across her body as if it was the night sky, beautiful in all of its glory. Others would think so, yet Amelia felt the exact opposite. Staring into the mirror, at her reflection. After all this time, under all the makeup and layers of clothing– She still looked exactly as she had before.
It made her sick to see that same girl in the mirror. Trying so hard to erase her existence from the world, from her own eyes each time she looked at herself. It failed, each night she caught a glimpse of that image.
Behind her eyes, it manifested. The locks of bright pink hair, the lively and confident eyes. The brazen snarl that spread across her natural lips. A bare face that had eyes of wisdom, of intelligence, of ambitions. A young woman who yet to experience what the world was truly about, how awful the world had become. Sheltered by the love of her father, blinded by the revenge for her mother.
If there ever had been a chance to go back, to warn her younger self of what was to come: she would have. To spare her the heartache, the torture of the unknown, the pain of the discovered. Give her the chance to change things, be smarter than her enemies. Let her heart stay tucked away, rather than letting it wander freely to its desire.
All her fault, every last part of it. Changing the course of time if she had chosen to take a ride from her father that school morning, rather than walking down that dimly lit alleyway. Where she met Jake, where she started the cycle of pain by catching his eyes. Unable to shake him, until he swooned his way into her heart.
She let him in with open arms, only for his true colors to show.
Amelia breathes in deeply, letting out a long sigh. Putting her hands down on the nightstand, sterding herself with her eyes glaring at her own reflection.
Had she made the same mistake again with Dallas? Letting a man into her heart so carelessly after the first time, beginning to share a life with him. There was never talk of marriage nor children, yet she had felt their life together would always be fruitful. Having one another, being by each other's sides. Now everything had gone awry, things felt wrong on both sides.
Was love not in her deck of cards? Not able to find a love so pure, so true: Unable to find the love that young woman fawn over, dreamed of in their little beds. Her life was dangerous, and yet a part of her yearned for the forever feeling of companionship. Amelia had thought she found it this time, but it seemed to be falling apart under her shoes.
Letting in people only leads to the ending. Amelia hated endings, she hated the things that would come before the closing of a chapter, of a page. Letting in Jake lead to the deaths of countless loved ones, what did letting Dallas in unearth?
For once in her life, she didn't want to find out.
She didn't want to look at herself anymore, pulling herself away from the mirror and heading for her bedroom door. Opening it with ease, stepping out and closing it behind her. Met with the sight of Leo on the couch, with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand.
Leo catches her appearance, shuffling to place his cup of coffee down on the table in front of him. "Ah, Amelia. I knew you'd be awake, come sit down with me." He gestures next to him, "I can fetch you a coffee if you'd like."
He had threatened her only a day ago and here he was, acting as if they were lifelong friends coming in to chat. She would play along, even if she couldn't stand the bastard.
Making her way to the couch, she has a seat next to him. "I had a coffee this morning, thank you." A lie through her teeth as she leans back into the cushines. "Is your wife not going to join us?" Amelia asks, watching intensely as Leo picks up his mug once more.
"She's asleep, her shift must have taken a lot out of her." Leo sighs, taking a sip of his coffee. A satisfied sigh leaves his lips as he leans forward. "They always work her to the bone, I don't see it as fair. I worry for her."
He wouldn't be too worried if he knew his wife was exhausted from being pleased all night long, not her work shirt.
Amelia nods, placing her hands together. "I'm sure, being a nurse must be tiresome. A noble profession, yet it takes a lot of patience."
"Like yours," Leo looks towards Amelia, a smile pulling on his lips. "I remember you talked about being a police officer but I never thought you'd go higher than that. I mean– An F.B.I agent, what are the odds?"
Some form of flattery, Leo always had a charm about him. Even now, if she had not known any better she would have fallen into his sweet words.
"The last time we spoke I was not in the right mindset, I was training for the exact opposite." Her leg crossed over the other, "My objective for becoming an officer of the law was simple: Revenge for my late mother."
"Did you ever catch the guy, get revenge on him?"
A brief pause falls between the two, before Amelia's lips curl into a smirk. Chuckling to herself, she looks towards Leo.
If only he had known what she had done, even if wasn't her fully pulling the trigger on her ex's father. Losing control was not something she did often, even then. However for Zayn, she chose the world would be better without such scum in the world. An eye for an eye: Her mother's life for his own.
Jake had the same effect. Like father, like son.
"Many, many years ago." Amelia retorts, "He's long gone now, exactly where he should be."
Leo takes another sip from his coffee, "Well for what it's worth, you were always a strong woman, capable. Whether you had gone the good route or the bad one: You would've been in control of the entire thing."
He was right, she hated to have to admit that to his face. A pathway was only the structure, the beginning of a journey. Once a oth was chosen, it was her job to mold it into whatever she wanted it to be. A criminal or an agent, she would have devoured the people around her. Kept herself at the top.
Thankfully, she chose the good route. Never falling to temptation of money, power, sex. Having a heart that strived for justice, helping the innocent people in this world. That was her only motive, her own purpose on this Earth. No one had to go through what she had, and if they did–She would ease their pain.
Ease it when no one else would. When no one was there to ease the pain for her, help her through the toughest times of her life.
It made her strong and yet she wished just one person was there. Someone to truly have her back, be a shoulder to sob on when things got rough. Jake had faked that position, he never truly cared about anything that was happening to her. Happily being the root cause.