CHAPTER 5) Forgetting The Past ***MAY TRIGGER***

It was now late September and the leaves from the trees had begun to fall from the trees. There was a slight chill in the air but Amelia had put on a soft, purple, fluffy fleece. She was sat on a blanket under the apple trees, reading a book about neurology that she had loaned from the university library. Amelia had just started working on a neurological ward and wanted to read up on various neurological conditions so she would have knowledge of the conditions and illnesses her patients had developed. No matter how hard she tried, Amelia could just not concentrate on her reading. She got distracted every time there was a gust of wind or heard the leaves rustling on the perfectly mowed lawn.

Amelia began to up at the sky and suddenly became rigid and still. All of a sudden she was back in the field where she was raped four and a half years ago. She could feel Lewis’s breath on her neck and the pain ripping through her body. Then her mind fast forwarded to where she was lying in the field, alone. She was crying and in pain, struggling to stand up. She staggered the entire mile walk home. She knew she had to keep walking so she could get home and clean herself up, even though she was in excruciating pain. The next thing she knew, she was in her bathroom, washing the blood away from her face, hands, genitals and her legs. She had a bruise and cut on her cheek and another on her temple from where Lewis had struck her. She also had a split lip and her body, wrists and legs were covered in large, purple and blue bruises.

Amelia remained rigid while she snapped back into reality. She felt sick. She thought she had moved on from this but while Lewis had returned back into her life, she was living her worst nightmare all over again.  She felt numb. Amelia picked up her book and slowly took a walk back into the house, where she was greeted by her parents and Melanie. “Ams, fancy going into town later for a few bevies?” asked Melanie. Amelia hesitated with her reply but knew she could not disappoint her sister anymore than she had done recently. She managed a smile and replied, “Sure, I think a good night out is what I need. Just the two of us”.

It was early evening and the sky was turning a blood orange colour, so the girls decided it was time to get ready. They both looked in Amelia’s wardrobe to search for a dress to wear for the evening. “Err excuse me madam but you have your own wardrobe”, said Amelia, sarcastically.

“But your clothes are better than mine, please can I borrow a dress, please, please please. I’ll do your hair for you”, pleaded Melanie. Amelia smirked and picked out her favourite dress that she had not worn for over a year. It was a lavender coloured dress with a sweetheart cut over the bust with a ribbon that tied up around the waist. It was also incredibly short but both girls had stunning figures and could pull the look off. Amelia handed it to Melanie. “Oh Ams, but this is your favourite dress!” Melanie exclaimed.
“Just put it on”, Amelia insisted. Amelia then picked out a short, zebra print dress and put it on. The girls then began styling each other’s hair and compared makeup tips. After an hour and a half, the girls were finally ready.

It had been a long time since Amelia had taken her mind off thinking about her past and had been the first time she had genuinely smiled for a month. “It’s time to move on now” she thought to herself. She thought it was silly looking back on the past, especially as Lewis was never around at Tom’s and had not seen him since Tom’s party. Amelia smiled and took her sisters hand and danced. Amelia felt care free while she was twisting and shaking, and taking swigs from her apple vodka. It was definitely the best she had felt in ages. The two sisters flitted between club to club and had a fun filled night. It was three o’clock in the morning when the girls decided their feet hurt too much to party on and called for a taxi to take them home. Amelia grabbed Melanie’s shoulders and pulled her towards her and gave her a drunken sisterly hug. “I’ve been so worried about you sis”, slurred Melanie.
“It’s ok Mel. Trust me, I am fine now. Everything is going to be fine. This night out is what I needed. I had become so engrossed and stressed with my work that I had forgotten how to live”, reassured Amelia.
“Oh sis you fool. I thought it was something serious. I thought something had happened to you at Tom’s party. Remember sis, I am always here for you; don’t keep me in the dark. I love you”, Melanie grabbed Amelia and Amelia shed a tear. They looked at each other in a "don’t be so daft" manner and began to giggle.

CHAPTER 3) A Ghost From The Past

When Amelia arrived at the rugby club where Tom’s birthday party was being held, she was amazed by the amount of people who had turned up for Tom’s party. She knew he was outgoing and rather popular, but this took her by surprise. Amelia smirked and grabbed Tom by the waist, “Happy birthday babe”.

The function room was kitted out with several 21 decorated balloons and each wall had a banner saying Happy 21^st Birthday. There was a buffet table with a selection of sandwiches, crisps, volauvents and sausage rolls. At the end of the table was a selection of jelly, cupcakes and trifle. In the centre of the room was a mini dance floor and the DJ was stationed next to it. There was a warm atmosphere and Amelia knew that this would be a night to remember.

Amelia’s best friends Katie and Sam arrived about half an hour after Amelia. Katie was tall and skinny with long blonde hair and wearing a very noticeable gold sequined dress. Sam was the same height as Amelia and slightly overweight. The girls greeted each other with hugs, shrieking and bombarded Tom with kisses on the cheek. “Watch the lippy. Ewww. I have girl germs.”

“What are you, like four Tom?” joked Katie. The gang erupted with laughter, made worse by Amelia and Mel’s infectious laughter.

“What time will your brother be here babe?” enquired Amelia.

“Errrrr, he said he’d be here about ten as his mate was giving him a lift” answered Tom.

“Ok. I hope I don’t embarrass myself”, Amelia giggled. Tom shot a "don’t be ridiculous" glance at Amelia.

Ten o’clock passed and Amelia and her gang were showing off their dance moves, laughing and taking pictures with their identical pink cameras whilst doing so. At this point Tom had undone some of the buttons on his shirt and his hair was slightly dishevelled. Amelia had begun to feel slightly tipsy but decided to order more vodka and red bulls for everyone. There was a queue at the bar and Amelia was waiting for about fifteen minutes before she eventually got served, much to her annoyance. When she got back from the bar, Amelia noticed that Tom was stood with a rather short but skinny guy with mouse brown hair, dressed in black skinny jeans with a studded belt and a tight tee shirt. She couldn’t see the man’s face as his back was turned to her. Amelia managed to catch a rather drunken Tom’s eye. “Babe, I want you to meet my brother Lewis. Yo Lewis, this is my sexy girlfriend Amelia”. The skinny man with brown hair turned round and greeted Amelia with a smile but when their eyes locked, both of their smiles diminished. Amelia turned a deathly white colour, much paler than usual. “Errr hi”, Lewis mumbled.

“Hi, nice to meet you”, Amelia lied. “Can you just excuse me for a moment I need the little girls’ room”. Tom looked slightly baffled at the obvious awkwardness between the pair of them but continued to take a swig from his bottle of Stella Artois.

Amelia had locked herself in a toilet cubicle for half an hour. She felt nauseous and was in disbelief. How could Lewis be Tom’s older brother? A tear began to roll down Amelia’s delicate face and was in an almost catatonic state. She was disturbed from her daze when she heard a crowd of drunken girls barging into the toilets.

“Amelia. AMELIA!”

“Are you okay Amelia? What’s wrong?”

Amelia quickly wiped the tears from her cheek and opened the door to the cubicle and managed a feeble smile. “Dodgy volauvent I think”, Amelia replied.

“You just sort of weirded out when that Lewis dude joined us”, said Sam who was obviously very concerned.

“I am fine I just came over a bit dizzy and have been a bit sick that’s all”, Amelia reassured the girls.

“Well we will call you a taxi home”, said Katie.

“No it’s okay, I feel better now”, exclaimed Amelia. Melanie however, did not look convinced.

The girls rejoined the party and went to search for Tom, who by 12 o’clock was completely legless. Amelia noticed that Lewis was no longer with him. “Where’s your brother gone?” asked Amelia.

“He went home. Something to do with being up early in the morning”, Tom was slurring his words and Amelia giggled slightly and grabbed hold of Tom tightly and did not loosen her grip for a good few minutes.“You alright babe?”

“I just love you Tom. So much.” Amelia began to choke back the tears and then let go of Tom and joined in with the girls’ questionable dance moves. While the girls were laughing and enjoying themselves, Amelia forced a laugh every now and again for the rest of the evening.

The party ended at 2 o’clock in the morning and Amelia and her gang were very amused by the fact Tom’s parents were carrying him into a taxi.

“Think someone enjoyed themselves a little too much”, Melanie giggled. Eventually Amelia and Melanie’s taxi arrived and both girls slumped into the back seat of the fusty smelling taxi. There was silence for a while until Melanie grabbed Amelia’s hand.

“What really happened tonight Ams. You have not been yourself all evening. I’ve been really worried about you”, said Melanie who was clearly worried.

“Nothing”, Amelia sighed.

“I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you one bit!” snapped Melanie.

“Oh Mel don’t spoil a good night. Nothing’s wrong so just drop it will you?” Amelia rarely lost her temper, but she did not feel like sharing her deepest, darkest secret.

After the ten minute taxi journey the girls were finally home. Melanie paid the taxi driver the fare while Amelia fumbled with her house key trying to open the door. Melanie snatched the key from Amelia’s hand and opened the front door with ease. Amelia barged past her sister, completely blanking her and ran straight upstairs into her bedroom. She threw her clothes off onto her unusually clean, cream carpet and got straight into bed. Tears fell from Amelia’s eyes like raindrops from the sky. She knew that tonight would be a night to remember, but she knew she would remember it for all the wrong reasons.