Confusion marked my features the moment I opened my eyes. Bright light blinding me from the window, I was slow to recollect my surroundings. When Amelia shifted beside me, forehead brushing my shoulder, clarity returned. My lips were halfway turned into a smile when movement caught my eye. The loud gasp that escaped me startled Amelia awake.

      A few steps away, stood a man, taking pictures of Amelia and I with an outdated phone. My gaze traveled up to his familiar green eyes and I shrank in horror. Oh no...

      "Dad!" Amelia protested, too tired to formulate any other complaint. I swallowed a groan at the confirmation of my suspicions.

      I barely had a chance to panic, my swirling thoughts aimed to defend my intentions paused when Mr. Taylor smirked down at me. I couldn't help but frown a little. That wasn't the reaction I was anticipating.

      "This must be the girl you're always babbling about." He peered down at Amelia, grin only growing.

      Amelia groaned again, covering her face with the comforter that I had stolen from her bed before making the mistake of falling asleep. She was quick to hide, but I swore I saw the tip of her ears turn pink before they disappeared. Was she embarrassed to be seen with me?

      Mr. Taylor ignored his daughter's distress and returned his focus my way. "It's nice to meet you, Addilyn," he said. My heart soared at the idea of Amelia telling her parents about me. "I've been eager to meet you, though I've got to admit I was expecting you to use the front door when you finally paid us a visit."

      I followed his gaze towards the rope ladder and grimaced in silent apology. He waved his arm in dismissal. "I'm sure you had your reasons." His attention flickered to my makeshift unicorn with apparent curiosity, but he shook his head as if deciding against voicing his questions. "We made French toast whenever you're both ready."

      I guess I was staying for breakfast. I would always be willing to spend more time with Amelia, but I didn't want to overstay the welcome I had already overstayed. I was sure she had tired of me by then.

     Coming to a stand, I shuffled from foot to foot, waiting for Amelia to come out of her cocoon.

     "I can tell your dad that I already have plans or that I have a family emergency," I offered.

      My words seemed to snap her out of her stupor. The blanket flew off her face. While I expected relief, I was met with utter confusion. "Huh?" She scrunched her nose.

     "I can try to get out of staying for breakfast."

      Her brows pinched together. "Do you not want to stay? Do you have plans?"

      I shook my head. Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. She studied me curiously for what felt like an eternity. I burned red under her scrutiny.

      "Addie." She spoke softly, regarding me with gentle eyes. "I'd like you to stay. I enjoy spending time with you. I'd make it known if I felt otherwise, and I certainly wouldn't have made a deal that entails one on one time if I didn't like you so much."

      Her words hit me like a truck, startled and touched all at once. It always surprised me when someone choose to spend time with me, when someone chose to care for me. As much as they claimed and showed that they loved and cared for you, there's a certain sense of obligation for your family to love you. Friends didn't have this obligation. The idea that they willingly chose to like me was something I long struggled to wrap my mind around. How could I genuinely believe another cared for me, when I, the one person who knew me best, couldn't?

      I would have stood there forever, waiting for an appropriate response to come to mind. There were no words in my head, just a dry throat and numb tongue. Amelia saved me from an eternity of looking like a fool. Jumping to her feet, she gestured towards the door.

      "Well... now that that's out of the way." She cleared her throat. "Are you ready for the best French toast you'll ever taste? Taj makes up for every burnt and flavorless meal my father has fed me."

      I assumed that Taj was her stepmom. I took a steadying breath, mentally preparing myself to meet the family. I was so nervous that during our walk towards the kitchen, I could only focus on Amelia's feet and making sure I wasn't following too closely. Ideally, I would have paid attention to the décor, to the color of the walls and the pictures displayed: an insight to her family life. Alas, I was a flabbergasted shell of a girl.

      The moment we descended the stairs, my nostrils flared with appreciation. Amelia smirked at me. Her lips parted surely in preparation of the delivery of a snide remark, but she napped them shut with a groan. Her gaze settled a few inches above my head. I turned around and met sparkling hazel eyes. Long brown and purple locks flipped into a bun, the battered apron settled over her swollen belly led me to believe this was Taj.

     "Had to pee again." She shrugged her shoulders in a what can you do about it, manner. "But Tom's setting the table. Everything should be ready. We're thrilled to have you join us, Addilyn."

      "Oh, uh... The pleasure's all mine." That was a reasonable response, right?

      Taj offered me a lopsided grin, studiously searching my face. I tried not to frown, resisting the urge to ask Amelia if something was on my face.

      "Taj you're staring," Amelia complained, tugging my arms towards the kitchen entrance.

      Taj followed us, removing the apron to toss it on the kitchen table "I was just admiring the freckles on her face. They really are painted with an indescribable uniqueness. They do draw attention to the beauty-mark on her cheek."

      I took the seat that Amelia gestured towards, lips tingling with uncertain words. Should I have thanked her for the remark? She spoke as if she agreed with what might have previously been mentioned by Amelia. Surely, I would have noticed such attention placed on my face. Especially from her. Considering the amount of time, I spent looking her way, I couldn't imagine missing her fixing me the same attentiveness.

      "She means that in the best way possible," Tom assured me with a chuckle. "It's like Marilyn Munro's beauty mark; a striking feature. I think that's one of the first things Amelia mentioned."

      With tinted cheeks, I didn't dare turn my head towards Amelia in the seat next to me. Though, I couldn't miss her soft curses. I wiped my hands on my pants before reaching for me fork. Why was I so sweaty?

       Just as I noticed the steaming plate in front of an empty seat, said chair was pulled backwards. Amelia's younger sister. In black leggings and a flowery long sleeve, she sat on Amelia's right, between the age of eight and ten, if I had to guess. I smiled in greeting, pulled to green eyes that seemed to run in the family. Her gaze was nearly identical to Amelia, but where Amelia had long curled lashes, her sister's eyes were bare, along with the top of her head and the skin where her eyebrows would be. I didn't dare ask questions, nodding in salute. I didn't have to ask to know that her condition played a part in Amelia's choice of haircut. My admiration for her grew impossibly deeper. Both Taylor girls were proof that beauty didn't rest in something as trivial as hair.

      "I'm Erika," she introduced.

      "I'm Addilyn, or Addie," I returned.

      Erika nodded as if I confirmed what she already suspected. She faced Amelia. "She's even prettier than you said, Mia."

     I was pink again, and Amelia huffed in exasperation. "Someone put me out of my misery," she mumbled to herself. I chose against lingering on her words, smirking instead at the nickname. Mia. I liked it.

Once we finished eating and helped with the dishes, I decide against pushing my luck. If Amelia was the type to stay true to her words, like I thought her to be, she'd have some stuff to figure out. She had difficult conversations to plan.

     Amelia followed me outside, waiting for Jaxson's arrival. I had called him to my thoughts as he suggested. And though one of the strangest feelings I had experienced, instinctively I knew he was coming. Although... He was taking his sweet time, likely to delay my departure. He was as bad of a meddler as Avi.

      "Thanks for letting me stay for breakfast," I said, out in the front yard. "Your family's great."

      As much as she protested faced to their teasing, it was easy to see how much she loved them. In thought of her family, my gaze travelled to her buzzcut with curiosity. I had always admired her beauty. Somehow knowing part of the story behind the style made her even more beautiful. Once again, she seemed to read my mind.

      "Fortunately, Erika is perfectly healthy," she started. "She was born with alopecia. It hasn't always been easy for her, but she's a Rockstar."

      If Erika was anything like her sister, I didn't doubt it. "You're a great sister."

      Catching the implication in my words, Amelia shook her head. "I used to hate my long hair. It was always full of knots and getting in the way."

      I nodded in agreement, but a knowing smiled ticked at my lips. It was funny how a single gesture could tell you so much about a person. Her protectiveness reminded me of Colby and thinking of him was bittersweet. I felt that he would simultaneously be furious with me and blame himself.I wish I could try to explain it to him, even though I hardly understood it.32 He would love Amelia.

      Like a magnet pulled towards my melancholy, Jaxson chose that moment to arrive. I never heard his car come up the street. I took a step towards the car and then Amelia's voice made me pause. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

      "Nothing yet." I bit a grimace at my eagerness.

      "Care to start our first adventure? I could meet you at your place around 4?"

      "That would be great." I didn't even bother asking what she had in mind. I would be waiting at my door, reader for whatever she desired.

      Grinning, she walked backwards towards her front door. "I'll text you with more information."

      Smiling, I took my own backward steps towards the car. "Amelia..." Her hand rested on the doorknob, I hesitated only a second. "If you need anything, whether it be to talk or just have someone around, you can call me anytime. Day or night."

     She didn't say anything, but I saw the flash of appreciation in green eyes. "See you tomorrow, Addilyn." See her tomorrow I would, and Jaxson wouldn't hear the end of it. He lowered the music as I took my seat, an open ear to my upcoming gushing.

Footnotes

32. It can be difficult to understand something that we don't experience personally.  But we don't need to understand someone's experience to support and validate their feelings. To me, a lacking understanding leaves room for learning. May we continue having open discussions about mental health.