Hello babes!! Sorry, it's been a while, but finallyy, I finished all my exams!! Since the second semester just started, I will have time for more uploads, so stay tuned!

33. A Decision

"Go away," I shouted, turning away from the door and snuggling farther into my pillow. I sniffled, rubbing my nose. It had only been four days since the breakup, but it felt like years.

I had been cooped up in my room for days; I didn't want to leave it.

Dylan's note had said to meet him at the lookout point he took me the night after work to watch the sunrise. I wanted to go, so badly. To apologize, and if he wanted, I would have taken him back in a heartbeat. Instead, I stayed home. I forced myself to. I couldn't be the reason he couldn't have what he wanted most.

The day hadn't even begun yet and my brothers were already trying to get me out of my bed. According to me though, it was only quarter to noon, so the morning hadn't begun yet. Apparently, it was a beautiful day outside and I just had to see it. Although the absence of the annoying chirping that belonged to the birds was telling me otherwise.

Shane was probably still sleeping in his own bed, the treatments really taking its toll on him. I had slept in the twins' room but snuck out earlier in the morning to my room.

Enzo had already tried to get me out of bed, but obviously, he failed. Mama and papa tried to lure me out with the promise of food. I couldn't even think about food without wanting to throw it up. Later on, mama brought a vase filled with water and tired to fit the flowers in them. Eventually, she realised she needed more than one, so she came back with two more vases. They were perched on my dresser. I couldn't look at them without crying.

I didn't hear an answer and the door to my room opened. "I'm not taking no for an answer." I let out a sigh at the sound of Julian's voice, however I remained silent otherwise. "I'm not going to try to get you out of bed," he murmured. I felt the bed behind me dip as he sat on it. "I was there were you were, several weeks back," he reminded softly. "And I'm not going to lie, it still hurts."

I rubbed my eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. Eventually I turned around to face him. I didn't miss the reflection in the mirror on the wall across from the bed. My hair looked like someone mess. My face was blotchy all over with red, the redness sticking out the most in my eyes, puffy all over.

"How did you deal with it?" I barley heard what I said, so I don't know how he heard it.

"I drank," he chuckled humourlessly. "I tried to forget about her. And although it worked in that moment, it came back to bite me in the ass the next morning."

"So then?" I moved my hair out of my face, my fingers getting tangled in the strands. I frowned, tying it up, not wanting to deal with the mess.

He let out a deep breath. "I wallowed in self-pity, which is what you're doing right now." I chose to ignore that. "Enzo dragged me out of the house and kept me busy. He took me to watch and observe from the trails with the firm he was interning at. He took me the boxing ring to let my anger out. He took me to various restaurants the eat me feelings. He kept me busy."

"Well I don't feel like getting out of bed anytime soon," I grumbled, pulling the blanket up higher.

"I know," he replied, shoving a bowl of fruit and vanilla ice cream in front of me. "You didn't eat anything yet, so here's some fruit. And you're upset, so here's some ice cream," he shrugged, digging into his bowl. "I also brought my laptop. Now what movie?"

"The Little Mermaid," I replied without hesitation. He opened his laptop to where the Disney movie was already set up. "Thank you," I mumbled before the opening scene.

The movie kept me entertained for a moment or two before Prince Eric showed up. That caused the waterworks to start again. "D-Dylan dressed up as Eric," I blubbered, feeling silly at how I was acting. My hormones were really playing their part in this breakup.

Julian sighed and shut his laptop. "If not a movie, then you're going out," he demanded. "I'm not going to let you wallow in self-pity or whatever you're doing. Take a shower, because you need it, and get ready in some active wear. Don't take longer than half an hour," he demanded.

"No."

"I'm not giving you a choice." He was persistent and demanding when he wanted to be. "Get up." I slightly flinched at his booming voice.

He opened the blinds, allowing more light to flood into the room. I flinched at the bright light. He pulled the covers off, forcing me to get off.

I sighed, following his orders. When he finally left the room, I made a move to grab my clothes and head for the shower. I'm not going to lose myself because of some boy. He's not just any boy, my subconscious told me.

I met Julian in the foyer not long after. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I gave him a glare. I didn't dress up for him. If he wanted me to drag me across town, I hope he would be embarrassed to do it. I shoved a huge pair of sunglasses on my face, attempting to hide my swollen and red eyes. My hair, although I did try to comb it, it was still a bird nest, now in a messy bun on the top of my head, and my outfit wasn't too far off, consisting of tights and a large top making me look very unattractive. Yeah, he should definitely be embarrassed by the end of today.

"Where are we going?" He didn't give me an answer, instead throwing an apple at me and demanding me to eat. Apple skin stuck in my braces? Now that is just adding to his embarrassment level.

He took me to a gym. He really took me to a gym. But it wasn't the normal gyms. This was filled with hanging punching bags, men working on their anger either on the mats or on other people. I winced as I watched a curly haired man bite the dust as a shorter—well shorter than the huge tower he was facing—, flipped him over his back. I saw his face for a quick second, and my eyes widened from behind my sunglasses. It was Clyde. "I thought you could work on letting your anger." He commented, tearing my attention from Clyde who continued to beat up the other guy, and dragged me to the now empty boxing ring after a women and man had finished.

"I'm not angry," I seethed. "I'm upset." He snorted, strapping my hands in boxing gloves. I cringed. They were a little damp. He put on the focus mitts and led me to the center of the ring.

"Come on then," he challenged. "Show me how angry you are," he taunted, bending his knees and getting into position.

"I am not angry," I growled, driving my left glove into this right pad. He held his stance, beckoning me. "I am not angry," I said through gritted teeth, repeating it with my right fist.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, tilting his head and walking around me. "What are you really angry at?"

I didn't give him an answer as I continued to deliver shot after shot at Julian. I ignored the burning sensations from my non-existent muscles. He took every shot, standing his ground. "Riley," I spat. Punch. "Joshua." Punch. "For making me re-think my outfit when I go out." Punch. "For taking away my confidence and self-worth." Punch. "For taking the choice away from me." Punch. "For taking my future away from me." Punch. "For killing my best friend." Punch. "For taking Dylan away from me!" I gritted out. Punch. Punch. Punch.

I stepped back, my arms falling to my sides due to the weight of the gloves. My chest heaved in and out, my breathing coming out in pants. I looked up and caught the eyes of a certain blond who ditched his partner and was studying me carefully. His eyes didn't glance at another direction. Instead he cocked his head to the left slightly and continued to examine me. I felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned to my brother who was looking at me in a calm and collected manner. I guess he already expected my outburst.

"I-I have to get out of here," I spoke, my voice wavering. I ripped the gloves off and shoved them into Julian's chest before exiting the ring, walking past Clyde.

"Amelia." I halted in my tracks, however I didn't turn around.

"Now you're choosing to speak to me?" I asked calmly. When I had hung out with Dylan's friends, Hunter, Tia and I had gotten close. However, Clyde hadn't peeped a single word to me. Instead, he sent me a glare whenever he could. I turned on my heels to face him.

"Listen," he sighed, running a hand through his sweaty hair. "I'm sorry with the way I've been acting towards you, I'm just uh not the best with new faces."

"Thank you?" I didn't expect an apology from Clyde, but I did appreciate it.

"And, whatever happened between Dylan and you, I hope you two fix it. It's only been four days, but he hasn't left his room since. He hasn't eaten or—"

"Don't try to guilt trip me into this," I interrupted. "He-he's not the only one who's suffering." I was on the edge of bursting into tears.

"That's not what I meant," he replied quickly. "But tell him why you broke up with him, it's been eating him up. That's just cruel." And what that, he stomped off.

I shook my head, blinking furiously. Clyde's emotions were all over the place. I remembered what I was in the middle of, and exited the gym, needing a breath of fresh air.

Moments later, Julian leaned against the wall beside me. "Have you cooled down?"

"Not in the slightest bit." I gritted out, dragging him back into the building. I didn't plan to leave this place until I was drained, both physically and emotionally.

--

I decided to focus all my attention on Mariana and her wedding. It was less then two weeks away, and I obviously hadn't had planned anything yet for the bachelorette party. The bridal party was covered weeks before, so thankfully I didn't have to worry about that. I managed to convince Julian to leave me alone for the rest of the evening. I had finished shopping, and surprisingly found everything that I needed, four hours later. By now, it was already dark.

Mariana liked everything her way, so she had already set the date for the party, which was two days from now. All I had to do was get the food and plan the games and whatnot.

When Julian had dropped me off, I started at the mall, but I managed to find myself walking out of the mall to the stores across from it. Then I walked until I found more and more stores. In the end, I was a few streets away from the mall.

I had no clue what exact street I was on, so I had told Julian to meet me at the mall. I sighed, pulling the weight of the bags. It was getting cold now, and I regretted changing into shorts since the sun was replaced by the moon. I hummed, trying to deter my focus away from my shivering legs.

My musical fiasco was interrupted when I heard some low whistles and a couple pair of footsteps behind me. I picked up my pace. The catcalls didn't stop. I didn't dare turn around. "Where you going, sugar?"

I walked faster. I was almost there. Just had to pass this empty street. Only a little more. The footsteps became louder. They were closer. "What's a pretty thing like you doing here?" This time it was a different voice. "Don't ignore us," he demanded, as I saw a big hand about to grab tightly onto my wrist from my peripheral vision.

I reached into my bag, finding something hard. It was a glasses case. It was Dylan's. That would work. Before I had a chance to grab it and swing around, another voice stopped me. "Babe! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." A body joined my left side, but I didn't dare stop walking.

I heard whispers and grunts from behind me, and eventually, they disappeared all together. "Are you okay?" A deep voice sounded, causing me to look up the at the body beside me. "Amelia?" I found myself looking at Clyde. I guess he couldn't tell who I was before he entered the situation.

"I am. Thank you, Clyde," I spoke, my voice quiet and wavering. I took out my hand from my bag. I rested my shaky hands on my leg, trying to calm it down. It didn't work. I stopped walking, resting against the wall of a store, trying my best to calm my heartbeat down.

I did not want another attack. Not here. Not now.

"Hey, do you want to come over? Tia's home." I didn't miss the sympathy on his face. "I have pizza too," he bribed jokingly, holding up the boxes in his arms. He didn't seem to be bitter towards me as he was this morning, so I took it as a good sign.

I hesitated but agreed at the end. It wasn't the same talking on facetime with Amy, and Amber was still at her parents. I really needed someone, who wasn't my family to talk to.

"The car is this way," he gestured. I followed him quietly. He asked simple questions through out the car ride and I was glad he did. He got me talking, so I could stay out of my thoughts, but not too much, because I don't think I could have handled saying anything more than a few words.

Turns out, he wasn't just working out at the gym, but he was a personal trainer at the gym itself. I was surprised to say the least when he mentioned that he also owned the gym.

He told me how he started working at the place since high school, and the owner was an older man, who had no family. When he died, he handed the place over to Clyde. He mentioned how he turned the place around, and it attracted many more members. Apparently, the gym was constantly busy.

When he was talking, he wasn't talking like he was bragging, but more like he had a passion for it, and wanted to talk more about it.

We reached his apartment in minutes. "This building is nice," I commented quietly as we walked down the halls.

"Tia wouldn't settle for anything less," he chuckled. I was a little surprised but guess I shouldn't have. Seeing how in love they were, and how long together they were, I shouldn't have been surprised they lived together.

He opened the door to his apartment, letting me in first. I muttered a thanks, taking in the cozy and cutely decorated apartment. Around the corner, I heard laugher coming from the living room. I heard voices. Two voices. One which I recognized very, very well.

"What took you so long? I'm fucking starving." Hunter entered the foyer, being the first one to speak. I heard a chuckle from behind him, and I wanted nothing more than to hide behind something.

He followed after Hunter, immediately halting in his tracks when his gorgeous blue eyes landed on me. My heart fluttered, and I rocked back on the heels of my feet slightly, not liking that feeling.

We weren't together anymore, I reminded myself as I stared into his gorgeous eyes.

My eyes scanned his equally gorgeous face, noticing how his eyes sported huge bags underneath, and I didn't miss the newly grown facial hair, creating that ruggedly 5'oclock shadow.

That sneaky bastard. I turned to Clyde, feeling hot under Dylan's gaze. I wanted to run. "Where's Tia? You said she's here."

--

I was done done this chapter a little while ago, but then... my internet started acting up. Finally, I got it up!

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