Merely Mortals Chapter 6, a covenant fanfic

Original characters from the covenant do not belong to me. Amelia does.

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All Amelia could do was stare in dumbfounded shock as Lucy leaned on Reid's shoulder while he and another bar patron shot pool.

"Just stop looking at them," Sarah said quietly, trying to soothe her. "if you stop looking at them it won't hurt as much."

Sarah guided Amelia into the bathroom, in a bid for privacy. Amelia felt herself starting to tear up and tried to laugh it off. "You know, this rejection thing really sucks."

"Do you want Caleb to drive you home?" Sarah asked. She sniffed, "I don't really feel like company so I'll just call a cab."

"He really seemed to like you," Sarah said sadly.

"Yeah, well he seemed like a lot of things," she muttered, digging through her purse for her cell phone as they emerged from the bathroom through the tacky curtain of beads hanging in the doorway. "I think I forgot it."

When Sarah didn't answer her, she looked up. Reid was leaning against the table and Lucy was leaning against him and they were kissing.

"Ames," Sarah whispered. Amelia knew what the expression on her face must have looked like. She could feel everything shatter, but she wouldn't let him see it. I'm cold, I don't feel, I'm not hurt. I'll never hurt. She held her chin up high as she walked out of the bar. When Lucy called after her, "Night, Amelia" she waved her off dismissively.

She didn't leave her dorm room until she got the call. Amelia was sure that soon she wouldn't be able to feel anything at all.

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"What's wrong, sweetheart," her mother, Aurore, asked. Her eyes, though dim were still full of fire and vitality. They were the only part of her that even remotely resembled what she had looked like before the cancer had begun to eat away at her.

Amelia set her acoustic guitar down and smiled at her. "Absolutely nothing."

"I can tell when you're lying, Amelia," her mother scolded lightly.

And so she told her everything. She told her about meeting Reid, about Nathan and his death, and Reid and Lucy. Her mother listened without a word and when Amelia finished she finally spoke.

"Do you remember that boy who lived across the street from us when we live in Maryland?" she asked gently. Amelia's brow furrowed. "Bobby Andrews?"

She nodded. "That boy was crazy about you."

"That boy hated me," she corrected. "He was always saying 'Amelia I wanna feel ya' and making fun of me."

"But do you remember what happened before we moved?"

She shook her head. Her mother smiled. "He kissed you."

Amelia shook her head. The medication had to be kicking in. "Mom, Bobby Andrews never kissed me, and I don't see what this story has to do with what's going on now."

Her mother sighed and patted her hand. "That boy you're dealing with right now has never had feelings for someone, Amelia, and he doesn't know how to handle them. He may not even realize he has them, but he does.

"He hurts you to distance himself, sweetheart, it's how men work." She pushed Amelia's hair back. "Oh my girl, there has always been something about you that just made the world turn, made people fall in love with you."

"No offense, but I think you're a bit biased," Amelia said, causing her mother to slap her half-heartedly on the knee.

"I'm serious, you're different, Amelia Aurore Thorne. You're different in a way that stops men dead in their tracks, whether you notice or not."

Amelia felt herself blush and stood. "If I'm going to stay over night, I should probably get some coffee. Do you want me to see if I can bribe one of the male orderlies to give me a cookie for you?"

Her mother smiled, her eyes laughing, "No, I'll be fine." Her eyes shifted to the door and Amelia finally felt someone watching them. Reid stood in the doorway, uncertain of whether to say anything.

"I'll be back," she whispered to her mother, never taking her eyes of Reid.

Once out in the hall, she stared up at Reid blankly, forcing the hurt from her eyes. Reid shifted from foot to foot. "When you didn't show up for class the last couple of days we all started to worry. Then Sarah went to the Provost's and he told her that you'd gotten the call that your mom….."

"Was about to die?" she finished for him. He nodded, sympathy in his eyes. "Why are you here, Garwin?" she asked stonily. He shrugged, but didn't answer. "Sarah's coming by later."

"I need to go get coffee," she muttered, stepping around him, and leaving Reid to stand alone in the hallway staring after her.

"You must be that boy," came a raspy voice from inside the room. He walked a little ways in and Amelia's mother gestured towards the chair Amelia had been sitting in. He took it hesitantly and she began to speak.

"I know you heard what I said to her and I'm not going to make you talk to me about it," she said bluntly. She stared off at the doorway. "When Amelia was born, it was as if the world sighed. There's something about her that makes you want to be better, especially when you're not.

"I know she thinks she's at fault for my being ill, but i don't think she'll ever know how everyone who has ever known her and loved her as lived for her." Her eyes focused and she pointed to the guitar. "Do you play?"

Reid shook his head. She snickered, "I didn't think so."

Aurore smiled. "Amelia comes here once a week, sometimes twice, and plays for me: sings too. She used to play and sing all the time, but something happened to her when I got sick. She just started back up not to long ago."

She glanced at him sideways. "Why are you here?"

Before he could answer, Amelia returned, followed by Sarah. Amelia was carrying a guitar case and Sarah was carrying a small portable stereo. An orderly was standing behind them with a wheelchair.

"I had to bribe the whole staff to let me do this, but I knew you wanted me to play more," she jerked her head in the direction of the door, "they said since it's not that late yet, we can go out to the courtyard."

Aurore smiled up at her daughter, "Of course."

An amp was already set up and several patients and their families along with some of the staff were waiting out in the courtyard. Amelia looked around nervously, before saying in a loud, yet wavering voice, "My mom had me when she was sixteen and so, instead of being just mother and daughter we are also best friends. Mom, I know you miss being able to listen to your music as loud as possible and since your music isn't exactly embraced by all I figured it was high time you got to hear it just once more, and luckily, I was able to find a collection of your favorite songs minus the electric guitar and I'm making sure it's turned all the way up to awesome."

Sam had hooked up the stereo while Amelia plugged in her guitar and tuned it quickly. All of the songs were punk rock and Amelia's mother knew every word, singing along with her as best she could. Near the end, she stopped the stereo and an orderly handed Amelia her acoustic guitar. Addressing her mom and no one else she said quietly. "Mom, after Dad died you sat in the bedroom with his old shirts surrounded by pictures and I finally found one for you to keep here with you." She handed her a crumpled picture. "That's the only picture I have of all three of us," to which her mother replied, "it's the only one."

Amelia tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes and Reid felt for her. She finally added, "And I found a song to fit you both and possibly anyone else listening."

She laughed nervously. "And there sure are a lot of you." Some of the people laughed and she began to tune the acoustic and addressed the crowd. "My Dad die a few months after I was born and my grandmother would tell me all of the romantic stories she could about them and about how heartbroken my mom was. I'm sure some of you have heard this song and if you have, you've probably listened to it for hours after having your own hearts broken so, I hope it helps those who need it."

She shut her eyes tightly and tried to forget all the people. She really needed to sing for her mother on this one. She really needed to sing for herself.

I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you

I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were, yeah
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah

It wasn't until the end of the song, when she looked down at the ground that she realized she had been staring at Reid the whole time, but she knew it couldn't have been helped because she truly felt that way.

Her mother smiled at her lovingly and hugged her before saying in a small, tired voice. "I think it's time for a nap."

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okay so, I had to add the song, when you're gone by Avril Lavigne because it's so pretty and listening to it really helped me figure out how I wanted the relationship to play out