Amelia's POV

Ezra Miller.

Six months wasn't a long time, but he looked strikingly different. I couldn't tell if it was because of how long it had been or because of how much I had missed him.

His ebony black hair was longer and messier, and his cheekbones and jawline were sharper and more defined. His once lean build was broader, and I could see his chest and biceps straining against the material of his long sleeve t-shirt. His almost black eyes were crinkled at the sides, as though he was unsure if it was really me.

Memories flooded my mind and flashed before my eyes.

Ezra, picking up my things for me when we bumped into each other in our high school corridor on the day we first met.

Ezra, David, Naomi, and I huddled together in front of the television, fighting over what movie we were going to watch.

Ezra, staying during my swim practice and getting me lunch afterwards.

Ezra teaching me how to play basketball.

Me and Ezra celebrating the day we got accepted at NYU.

Ezra giving me a piggyback ride when my heel broke on the night of prom.

Ezra wiping away my tears and holding my hand and telling me that everything would be alright.

My emotions overwhelmed me to the point I felt my heart would burst out of my chest, and seeing him in the flesh only made me realise how much I had missed him and our friends. Without hesitating, I flung myself at him and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

I felt him go rigid under me, and for a second I thought I might have made a mistake in assuming he was as happy to see me as I was him. But then, his muscles slowly relaxed and his arms snaked around my waist to hug me back with just as much force.

He's here, I told myself, he's here and he doesn't completely hate me.

I had no idea how long we stayed like that, locked in each other's arms, but he was the one that pulled away first.

"Amelia, it's really you," he beamed at me in a way that made the last of my worries evaporate. Then, his expression became more solemn. "God Amelia, how are you? Where have you been? Where did you go? It's like one day you just fell off the face of the Earth. We've all called and texted you a billion times, but they never went through. What happened?"

I tried my hardest not to let my smile falter, I really did, but I felt it drop at his questions as the guilt of what I had done blossomed in me. I thought my old friends would be angry that I had just up and left without a word, but I never stopped to think that maybe they would be worried, and the thought only made me feel worse.

I was an awful friend.

I tried to lighten up. "Ez, I think we might have to sit down for this," I suggested, "because it's a long story."

I knew I was going to tell Ezra the truth the second I saw him. I never thought I would see him or any of my other friends again, and after realising how worried they had all been, I knew that I owed it to him to tell him the truth.

Ezra studied me for a moment, and I watched his eyes dart across my face. I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he eventually nodded at me. "I'm sitting over there, join me?" he raised his hand in the direction of a table on the far end of the room, and I followed him as he led me to it.

Once we were seated, Ezra looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to explain everything. I blew out a quiet breath, unsure of where to start. My friends in New York knew nothing about my life at home, and I didn't want to overwhelm him with information.

But at the same time, I knew that I didn't have the luxury of picking some things and leaving out others in my explanation. I owed him the complete truth. So, I steeled my nerves and began, deciding that the best place to start was the beginning.

"My mom and dad are divorced," I started, unable to meet his gaze, "and after they got divorced, my mom moved us to New York. My dad..." I paused to think of what to say. "He ah, he's not exactly on the right side of the law. He's constantly going in and out of prison for committing some really messed up crimes. His record is tainted, and his mental health isn't stable, so my mom got full custody of me."

"My mom didn't tell me any of these things about my dad, and she said it was to protect me. She told me that he had walked out of our lives, which in truth wasn't even a total lie, you know?" I flicked my eyes up to Ezra, but I wasn't brave enough to hold eye contact and quickly went back to staring at the tabletop.

"My dad contacted me when we were sophomores in NYU, and because I didn't know anything about his background, I started staying in touch with him. I thought-" I cleared my throat. "I thought that maybe he regretted leaving me and Mum, and he wanted another chance. That's what he said."

I could feel tears forming in the back of eyes, and I tried to blink them away. "He asked to come over once, to the house, and I let him. I waited for Mom to leave for work, and I let him come. He barely stayed for two minutes before leaving, saying that he suddenly remembered a job that he had to do. After that, he stopped calling and messaging. I thought it was really weird, but I couldn't explain why he had cut contact out of nowhere. A week later me and Mum were at home getting ready to go to the gym together when the doorbell rang. There were four huge men with guns outside the door, and they pointed them at me when I opened it. They kept asking for my dad and screaming to make him give them what was theirs. Turned out, he worked for them and then stole a hell load of money. He told them that our house was his residential address."

"One of the neighbours had noticed the men and their guns, and they called the police straight away. That's the only reason Mum and I weren't hurt that day, because the men kept threatening to kill us if we didn't tell them where my dad was."

Silent tears slid down my cheek and dripped onto my lap, but I didn't wipe them. "I told my mom and the police what had happened, and the next thing I knew, we were packing up and moving before the end of the day. My mom wanted us to move to England, but I convinced her to let me stay in America, and that if I moved states I would hopefully be fine. I was wrong." I sniffled.

"My dad's been seen by the police in an area near my new uni. I'll be in England when this semester ends."

When I looked to Ezra, his mouth was slightly ajar, and his fist was clenched so tightly his knuckles has turned white. I straightened up immediately, worried that this newfound anger was aimed at me. But, when his eyes met mine, they softened.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Mia," he said quietly. "But you could have told us, you know. You didn't have to go through it all alone. Yeah, we would have been sad about you leaving, but we would have been there for you as well, helped you and supported you in any way we could."

"I thought you would hate me for leaving without saying goodbye," I whispered.

"We could never hate you Amelia, don't be ridiculous. Even when you didn't text us or call us, we didn't hate you. We missed you; we were worried about you. But we could never hate you." Ezra told me, the earnestness in his voice firm. He reached over and squeezed my hand, and I almost started sobbing.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking Ezra straight in the eye. I wanted him to know that my apology was genuine, that I meant it.

"It's alright Mia," he told me and gave my hand a squeeze. "I love you too much to be anything but happy to see you."

I felt an invisible burden lift off my chest and shoulders. I hadn't realised that it was even there, but I suddenly felt like I could breathe again. I felt like things would be alright again, that I had my friends again.

"Now come one, let's get some food," Ezra was practically pulling me out of my seat, and I laughed. He was always a food lover, so I knew I shouldn't be surprised.

We both piled all sorts of food onto our plates and sat back down so that Ezra could catch me up with his life. He told me about how basketball was going and this new girl he was seeing, Linda. He filled me in on what Naomi and David were doing and how everything was going back in New York. He even gave me some juicy gossip from NYU.

I listened and I laughed, and I almost cried, and I couldn't help being grateful for having one of my best friends back.