*this chapter may contain triggers for readers; please read with caution*

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As soon as Janiah woke up the following day, she wished she didn't. The physical pain and soreness reminded her that everything she went through yesterday was real and not just a bad dream. Once her eyesight adjusted, she looked around, wondering where she was, and remembered Amethyst and her kindness.

Then she heard voices; she glanced around and saw her phone was on the floor but connected to the charger plugged into the wall. She woke up the screen and saw that it was almost 10 am. The voices were muffled, but she could tell that Amethyst and her boyfriend were up. She heard a door open and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She didn't need anyone to think she was eavesdropping or anything.

Rafael had come out of his room and walked to Amethyst's bedroom. He was about to knock, but he put his ear to the door when he heard voices. 

Wow, nosey much?

Soon the voices got louder, and she was able to hear. Rafael had opened the door just enough, and they must not have heard it because they continued their conversation. Wow.

"I just don't understand how and why you snuck a stranger into our home and let them stay the night?" Henri said. Janiah sighed inwardly; she hoped her boyfriend wouldn't get upset about her staying over, but that was wishful thinking.

"I didn't sneak her in. You and Rafael were too busy with your video games to notice. Then you decided to leave and go halfway across the Earth just to get some beer."

"What are you talking about?"

"She and I kicked it in the living room for a while, and you had ample time to come back and meet her."

"I can meet her another time. We already met at the shop, remember?"

"Look, she was hurt and going through something. I couldn't just leave her alone."

"What happened that was so bad that she had to stay here?"

"She wouldn't tell me, which means it has to be bad. She barely knows me. Why would she?"

"Just like you barely know her, why would you let a complete stranger stay with us? Especially with you being by yourself."

"First of all, I'm grown; I can care for myself. Second, I wouldn't have been alone if you had come home, and you would know more about her, too, if you did. She's a nice person-"

"I don't care how nice she is, and she's very talented, I remember that, but she's a complete stranger, and you didn't ask me. Our drunk asses were shocked when we returned to see a stranger sleeping on our couch."

"I've never had to ask your permission for anything regarding this apartment. It was mine and mine alone first, and then I let you move in and added you to the lease. Mind you, you didn't ask me about Rafael, but since he was in such dire straits, I didn't say anything."

"That's different, and we also need the money."

"It's not different, and you just wanna be mad about something. It's too early."

"Wow, really? My feelings are valid, Amethyst."

"So are mine. What time did you come home last night? Did you even bother to bring me back some beer?"

"We went to the bar for beer instead of the store."

"Ok, and what time did you come back?"

"Had to be around midnight. I'm sorry, babe. I should have at least let you know that."

"I would accept that as an answer if I didn't know the truth. Janiah and I were up way past midnight, and it must have been 2 or 3 when you two snuck back in."

Oop. He was caught. 

Janiah heard Rafael sigh and then pretend that he hadn't been listening all along. He peeked his head in, "Morning, roomies, what's happening?" he asked as he walked in and closed the door behind him.

Listening to that conversation was all the awkwardness Janiah could handle. She apparently had overstayed her welcome. It was time to go.

Amethyst sighed. "Fine, whatever, but she's still out there sleeping, and we're gonna wake her up," she said, accepting defeat after Rafael distracted them and started a different conversation. She walked past the two and opened her bedroom door. She peeked out to see if Janiah was still asleep, but she found she wasn't there. "She's gone."

"Huh? She was just here when I walked in," Rafael said as he looked at the spot on the couch Janiah was passed out on. The blanket Amethyst let her borrow was folded neatly where she had laid. 

"I hope she didn't hear our conversation," Amethyst said as she sighed with disappointment. It saddened her that Janiah's first instinct was to run instead of getting rest. Guess she didn't trust them just like Henri did her.

"Don't worry. Maybe she went to get some real help," Henri said, and Amethyst snapped her head back to look at him. "Like a doctor or something," he corrected himself, and once Amethyst turned back around, he looked around the room. He then sighed with relief.

*

There are 2 types of Aquarius: the suave and the messy.

*

"Whose turn is it to cook breakfast again?" Amethyst said once it registered that Janiah left on her own accord and didn't hear their conversation about her. 

She hoped. She hoped that she did go to the doctor as Henri assumed. 

If she heard anything, she hoped she listened to the part where she stuck up for her. She'll contact her some other way, somehow. She could only hope.

She looked back at Henri and Rafael, and they looked back at her with the same expression. "What? It's not me, is it?" She felt like she had done it recently. 

"Yeah," they both said, and she laughed.

"Damn, my bad," Amethyst said. "Lemme take a quick shower and pop out. Or do you guys just want some omelets?"

"We love your omelets, babe," Henri said as he walked toward her. "We don't have anything too spicy, though-"

"Because you hate seasoned food," Amethyst said with a cute smile and then laughed. "I'm sorry, I meant spicy-"

"I wanted to try the jalapenos in the omelets, just to see. Rafael was telling me about them," Henri said, ignoring her teasing comment.

Amethyst looked at him, surprised, "Oh wow. Really?"

Rafael smiled. "Yeah, all you need is jalapeno, sweet peppers-"

"I know how to make spicy omelets. I'm glad you finally came around," she said to Henri with a smile, not listening to Rafael. "I'm gonna take a quick shower."

Half an hour later, she arrived at the local farmer's market and looked around for ingredients. Henri was hilariously strict about how spicy his food was. He had a very sensitive palate. He also had IBS—irritable bowel syndrome. So even the mildest stuff could make his stomach go the wrong way. He had a very embarrassing incident once, and he's been scared to try anything spicy ever since.

Being White must be exhausting.

She saw some fresh limes and walked over to the booth. She looked through them, picking each one up to inspect them and then putting two in her basket. Maybe they could have a Mexican breakfast, complete with margaritas. Henri seemed upset this morning about Janiah, so she wanted to cheer him up as an apology. 

Damn her people-pleasing ways.

What he said was true. He did mention getting a roommate several times before Rafael showed up. Amethyst just didn't remember. That was her fault, not his. She never mentioned Janiah at all, even in the shower. She could have easily told them instead of waiting in their bedroom for her to finish. She just wanted to make sure she was ok. She thought she heard Janiah crying. She almost knocked and asked if she was ok, but she stayed where she was. She didn't want to force help on her. She wanted Janiah to know she was safe but wouldn't ask any questions unless she volunteered the information.

She learned this careful approach while growing up. She also knew that it worked for her as well. Keep your distance until you're told otherwise. No one could process anything while being barged in on, having millions of questions thrown at them, or being interrupted every 5 seconds. Unfortunately, only a few special people knew how to do that.

She was one of them, but that only happened because of therapy.

And boy, did she need it. 

When people look at her, sometimes they think everything was handed to her. She knew why but mentioning her theories would snowball into several sensitive topics that she didn't have time to think about right now. But that was why no one believed her.

No one would believe that she was molested by her favorite cousin years and years ago, and she was too young to understand or know what was happening. She witnessed things that were shocking to the adult eye, let alone a child's. That she was forced into situations that ended up causing her harm, and sometimes stupidly thinking certain situations wouldn't harm her and finding out too late that the worst result would be the result.

Amethyst Levine was born in Canada and then transported to Bermuda once her father had enough funds to house her and her mother. Her mother was an archaeologist and into everything plant and earth-based, while her father worked with the most advanced technologies...or at least the most up-to-date. She didn't remember any of that, everyone that actually witnessed it told her the same story, so it must be true.

There was only one airport in Bermuda at the time, and her father worked there. He was an air traffic controller. He worked in the Air Force before that, and while on vacation on leave was what led to him working at the airport. There was a bad storm, and he was supposed to land in New York, but the flight instead landed in Quebec. The next day, when he was preparing to make his flight back to New York, another surprise snowstorm kept him there for days. He had planned to see Broadway shows, walk around Times Square and Central Park, and all the touristy things you do in New York but was instead stuck in a hotel that luckily had a bar and a restaurant inside and a gift shop. He found himself frequenting all three during the day, every day for 13 days. 

They called the storm, The Snow-Pocalypse; there were record numbers of snow in Quebec and Ontario. Feet upon feet of snow. He was snowed in, and after watching everything he could manage on tv, he wandered into the gift shop and met the most beautiful woman. Who later became Amethyst's mother; she was named after her mother and father's birthstone. Her father got to talking to the woman and learned his birthstone was Amethyst, too. They had a whole conversation, and for 13 days, he would stop in the gift shop to buy something to have an excuse to talk to her. At the end of it all, he felt he had every amethyst made from the mines of Canada, but he won the heart of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

And she won his. He ended up staying in Quebec with her. Oddly enough, he got redirected to the woman he was meant for while traveling to meet a potential girlfriend of his and some old college friends in New York. His potential girlfriend was upset, to say the least, about this last-minute love affair, but hey, that's how love and fate work, right? And Amethyst was conceived on their first night together in his hotel room. 

Her parents were so in love. She still wonders what happened. The Air Force called her father back, and he saved up as much as he could to have his wife and daughter fly to Bermuda. 

Bermuda was paradise but not for her mother. She was practically allergic to the sun, and snowy and dark Quebec was the only place she could handle. While everyone wore almost nothing, her mother had to cover up. She would carry an umbrella around with her everywhere, and it later turned into a cane after an almost fatal fall that would have taken her from Amethyst and her father too soon.

She somehow survived but was different after. She broke both hips and other bones but came out fine...a few years later. She just had a limp. 

Her father had worked hard almost every day to afford his wife and daughter a place to stay and had to work every day to care for them both. One day, he could finally afford to take his wife on a proper honeymoon. He took her to Alaska and then went on a cruise from Alaska. The cold cruise docked in Vancouver, and they planned to fly back to Bermuda.

However, their plane crashed. There were no casualties. With the help of her father, and the pilot, they were able to land on a secluded island. They were stuck on the island for months. Their life turned into a tv script that no one could believe. 

However, Amethyst's aunt and uncle weren't prepared to care for another child for months with no word from her parents. They thought they were dead and Amethyst was inconsolable. They couldn't afford therapy, and instead of easing her into society due to her depression and grief, she was forced into kindergarten a year earlier than she was ready for so they didn't have to bother with her. Her cousin would pick her up from school, bring her home, and...until his parents came home from work, which varied. Sometimes her aunt would go out to a happy hour, and sometimes, her uncle would cheat on her aunt by visiting the many women he dated.

Hours alone with her cousin was torture, and she couldn't tell anyone. 

Then, shockingly, her parents and the rest of the survivors were rescued and sent home. Her parents became overnight celebrities from having to survive such an ordeal. Her father was a hero since he helped the pilot land the plane safely. He had a job waiting for him at all the major airports in the UK. Her parents were the only couple from Bermuda involved in the crash, so journalists, news stations, and reporters were always outside their house, hoping for a story.

Amethyst thought she finally had an escape from the hell she had been put through, and she was going to tell her mother what had happened to her, but her mother wasn't the same when she came back, nor was her father. Her father suffered from depression, and months and months without his medication turned him into a different person. His warped mind decided he didn't need them, and he was just fine.

The problem was, being without his medication for so long, quitting cold turkey made him suicidal. There were countless occasions when he tried to, and he would fail because she or her mother would have to talk him off the ledge. Literally. Isn't that fucked up? The medicine you take to stop you from being suicidal made you even more suicidal if you didn't take them. 

Until one day, he succeeded. Instead of jumping off a building, he took every pill in the house, which would have been a lot. Her parents were psychologically impaired after living on a desert island for months. They were given the most potent medication when they finally accepted invitations to talk to reporters and news outlets. Money from donations poured in, and her parents cashed in on the wrong things.

Her father was on the wrong meds, while her mother was on entirely too strong medication. 

Amethyst goes back and forth between hating him for abandoning them and being thankful that he wasn't hurting anymore—every suicidal attempt of his killed her inside. Talking about him still killed her inside.

So she dropped her middle name so she wouldn't be reminded of him. Amethyst Bailey Levine.

Her father's name was Bailey.

Her husband dying after being stranded on a desert island for months sent her mother into a downward spiral. Luckily, she found God and was able to get her act together. But the woman she was before that fateful trip was long gone. During her downward spiral, she lets Amethyst do whatever she wanted. Despite her father's death, she excelled in school and the arts, especially in writing, singing in the choir, and playing her guitar, bass, and violin since age 5. Concentrating so hard on her studies kept her mind off of her depression until she had a breakdown from overworking herself. 

She was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, just like her father, and her mother demanded she go to therapy and with her to church once she found God again. 

However, by that time, Amethyst was 15, and one party reminded her about everything she missed out on while trying to be Miss Perfect. She worked hard and partied harder the last 2 1/2 years of high school. Her mother threatened to send her away but constantly changed her mind. 

When she graduated, her mother gave her a check. It wasn't much, but it was enough to add to the savings that Amethyst had already saved up. She worked hard and partied harder all summer; in September, she moved out. She had enough money to get a very cheap apartment and pay rent and the deposits. She got a job in housekeeping at the same hotel that Nadia's father once managed, The Palace. Once Amethyst moved out, her mother decided she had enough of Bermuda and returned to Quebec. Amethyst tried to visit her on holidays. 

After a wild party, she met Henri while cleaning up his trashed hotel room. He ran into her when he came back to find his phone. Without meaning to, she took her anger out on him. She was stressed out. Being single, living alone, her mother unknowingly abandoning her, her father's death, and her depression would make her feel lonely. He felt really guilty, apologized profusely, and helped her clean up. They got drinks after, and the rest was history.

They dreamed about being the next Sonny and Cher and would perform together. They quit their jobs when they befriended Vinny and started helping him at the record store. He then changed his mind, wanting to focus on the business aspect of the music industry; that's where the money was. Amethyst was so shy, and not having Henri perform with her made her lose confidence. He would find auditions for her and urge her to go, and one day, she actually listened. 

A few months later, Christopher Westwood came to town, and like every other creative on the island, she thought she might have a chance. 

Now she was back to square one, back on the grind, back on the audition circuit, but she felt stuck. Her mother wanted her to get a respectable job, like a teacher, doctor, or lawyer, but Amethyst never felt that way. She wanted a band, any band, to take a chance on her, and she wanted to tour the world.

But she wondered if her dream could ever be achieved. She was her own worst critic, but a little voice in her head called hope would have her trying yet again and again.

*

Aquarians typically have a harmonious and amicable relationship when they are married.

*

https://youtu.be/gRYZijLZR-Q