Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Amelia's p.o.v;

After we came out of the restaurant, I said to mom, "We still have one more thing left to do."

Mom had a surprised expression on her face and asked, "What is it? Did we forget anything? We made sure to buy everything, send out the invitations, and buy the presents, what did we miss out on?"

"It's the wedding!" I smiled at her.

She let out a sigh and said, "For a moment, you got me."

I laughed at her which made Cathy laugh together with me.

Cathy said, "When I first met Amelia, she looked tightlipped and a person of few words but it changed after I got to be friends with her."

Mom said to Cathy, "She only shows her true face to the ones she likes. Not to even the person she knows."

Ash strangled me and said to Cathy, "You still don't know how far she talks to me. She curses and swears at me when she's mad."

I pushed him away and said, "Not every time."

"So you're admitting?"

I stared at him and said, "If it wasn't for me, who would curse my sweet brother?"

Anna said, "I like how you two were close, I wish I could also be close like this with Andrew."

I said, "Andrew said those exact words too. Did something happen between you two that made you distant from him? If it is, I think you two should have a talk with each other."

Anna nodded at me.

Ash smacked my head and asked, "When did you become relationship advisor, huh?"

Cathy questioned me, "Do you intend to travel anywhere after this?"

"No, why," I shook my head in response.

"Anna's friends and I are throwing a pre-wedding party for Anna. Come with us, it'll be fun."

"Us?"

"Yeah, you, me, Anna and her friends."

"Sorry, I can't go. I stopped drinking a long time ago."

"Is she denying again?" Anna queried Cathy as she stood next to me.

Cathy gave her a nod.

"It's my last party where I can still hang out with the girls as a bachelorette, so even if you say no, you're going anyhow, '' Anna stated while pouting her lips, "Actually, we're not inviting you, we're informing you. You should come with us."

"All well, I'll go."

Anna says, "I had no idea it would be different for the sister."

"What?"

Anna chuckled as she said, "I pucker my lips to make your brother agree with me, but you're a little different so I have to use my power here."

Mom said, "Girls, we're taking off here. Me and Laura are going to hit a cafe. Don't stay out long and get home promptly,"

Mrs Campbell asked my mom, "When did I mention coming with you?"

Mom grabbed her hand in hers and said to us, "She is very willing to go."

Mrs. Campbell was dragged by my mom in front of us. They looked happy though. This should have happened a long time ago. Whatever, I'm happy for them to get back to each other like how they were before.

As I grinned at their antics, Anna remarked, "Now, let's leave."

Anna, Cathy, and I eventually made our way to the club.

"Why are we here when we should be at the celebration?" I questioned.

"The party is here," says Anna.

"Let's have fun," said Cathy.

Anna and Cathy dragged me to the nightclub unwillingly.

"You two conned me, aren't you attempting to get me drunk?"

"We're all going to get drunk," said Anna.

We entered the club on foot. We made our way among the strange faces until we reached the table where Anna's pals were seated. Together with them, we took a seat.

The beverages arrived at our table and were served to each of us before we placed our orders.

"You guys are faster than me." Anna told her friends.

I was given a glass of vodka, and I just stood there looking at it strangely.

"What are you staring at? Drink it," Cathy said.

I saw her and she was already intoxicated. It was quicker than I expected.

"If everyone gets drunk, Who's going to take you guys? I'll just go for club soda tonight."

I declined the beverage and began sipping the club soda from the table.

Everyone appeared inebriated when our small party ended. Anna had five friends in total. One of them asked, "Can you stand up?"

She made an attempt to stand but fell back onto the seat.

Looking at them, I enquired, "Everyone's wasted. Who's taking you home now?"

"Why do we have to go home? Let's keep the celebration going," said Cathy.

"Another drink for me!" Anna's friends yelled.

I told the waiter who arrived to serve us at our table, "Thank you, but they have enough. You may go."

I enquired of Anna's pals after he had gone, "I don't know anyone's place. What should I do now?"

Anna's friends said, "Why should we have to go home? We'll have another party."

Anna, "Yeah, let's drink and get wasted."

I asked her, "Aren't you wasted already?"

"No, we'll order more drinks."

I turned away from them and dialled Ash and Andrew's and asked them to get here as soon as possible. I sat with Anna and her pals as I awaited them.

"Thank you for coming to the party, girls; you made it enjoyable," said Anna.

"Amelia, I heard you helped Anna to get with her love. Will you help me too?" asked one of Anna's pals.

"What are you expecting me to do?"

"Let me into your heart."

I grinned to myself as I observed the girls' extreme wasted talk.

"I'm a girl, though."

"Nowadays, nobody seems to care. Gender wasn't a factor in falling in love. We only have to fall in love."

"Well said," I remarked.

Another, "You look too attractive to make a girl fall for you."

"I appreciate the comments, but I think I'm a pretty average-looking girl. I'm not as pretty as you claim."

Anna, "You claimed to be typical. You appear to be more attractive than my partner."

"Oh, really? In what way?"

"I like the way you speak back. It's sarcastic and fun at the same time."

Cathy, "Please stop teasing my girl. She's my own." She gave me a big hug and said, "If I hadn't fallen in love with Andrew, we would already be married by now." Attempting to kiss me.

She attempted to kiss my cheek, but Andrew blocked the kiss with his hand, forced her to stand, and warned Cathy, "Your boyfriend is here. Don't go around and kiss everyone."

"What are you going to do with them?" Andrew questioned after taking a glance at the girls who are wasted.

"I gave my brother a call. He's on the way."

He answered with a nod "Then I'll start moving. Take care of them and return home safe."

I gave him a nod and he went.

After some time, my brother arrived.

I said to Ash, seeing him walking towards me, "Brother, you're here at last."

Mike was with him. Ash came along with Mike.

"He requested my assistance." the man said while avoiding looking at me.

I nodded.

Ash remarked, "I'll get Anna and her companions to their locations," as he led Anna away.

I asked him, "How are you going to take everyone? There are five in number. Can you take everyone with you?"

Ash remarked, "Then, I'll take Anna and Daisy with me. You and Mike bring the other three gals along." And left.

After Mike and I took three girls to Mike's car, I assisted my brother by getting two girls into a taxi.

Ash said to me when I got in Mike's car, "Take care. Drop them and hurry home."

"Don't take too long." Ash warned Mike as he turned to leave and left.

Mike started the vehicle once Ash left. There was awkward silence between us.

Mike questioned me while he was driving, "How are we going to dump them?"

"The addresses of these girls were given to me by my brother." I said while looking outside the window.

"Why didn't you join them for a drink? Why didn't you get wasted?"

"I vowed to my mother that I wouldn't drink ever again."

We got to the first girl's house. We moved on to the second female's home after dropping the first girl off at her residence.

"Do you follow through on all of your promises?"

"If we're not going to keep it that way, it wasn't considered as a promise."

The home of another girl showed up. We moved on to the final female's home after dropping the second girl off there.

Mike said, "You also promised me something."

"What?"

We proceeded to my home after dropping off the final girl.

Finally, it's just us in the car.

"What is the promise you mentioned to me?" I enquired.

"It was made by you. if you don't remember it, it doesn't matter."

"We came," he said as he came to a stop.

When I looked outside, I saw my home. I didn't get down and remained in the car. He didn't utter any word and remained silent.

I broke the silence between us and said, "When did I make you a promise? I'm not asking to upset you, it's just I don't remember things when I was little. I tend to forget things So I don't really remember."

He looked at me and asked, "You don't remember?"

I nodded at him.

He held my hand all of a sudden and said while looking at my hand, "Do you remember this scar?"

I shake my head.

"You got this when you tried to help me with my project. You got cut by the chart cutter when you tried to divide the chart into halves."

I smiled and asked him, "What happened then?"

"Your brother rushed to get the medkit after seeing your hand bleed. He made a huge scene out of it."

I laughed after hearing it from him and asked, "Was there more like this?"

He nodded at me.

"Tell me."

Suddenly, we heard a knock on the window. When Mike brought down the glass, Ash was standing facing us.

Ash asked me, "Why aren't you getting out yet?"

"We were bidding goodbyes, brother."

I got out of the car and when I tried to walk, Ash said, "Wait."

Ash said to Mike, "Even Though you're my friend, hear me out. She got hurt. She's okay now but I can't see her getting hurt again. If you want to be sincere, I'm totally okay but if you're toying with her, I won't be idle and watch. Do you get me?"

Mike nodded at him and looked at me and said, "Let's meet tomorrow at the wedding." he replied with a nod before

driving away.

Mom and Dad were already in bed when I walked in the door. I got to my room and dropped on the bed. Why did Ash speak like that to him?

I got up and walked into Ash's room. He was moving back and forth in his room when I stepped in. Was he on a phone call? Not at all, no. So what is he doing then?

I stepped in and inquired about his well-being.

"Is it okay for me to get married tomorrow?" he asked as he approached me, holding my hand and forcing me to sit on the bed.

"Wow, brother, that's a hard one to answer. By the way, what made you think that way?"

"The wedding."

I gave him a smile.

"What is behind your smile?"

"You have wedding-related anxiety."

"I don't feel anxious. I just think things are moving too quickly. Should I have waited a few more years?"

"There's a girl over there who's stressed out too. You have to be stronger for her, brother. It's completely normal to feel like this since you're taking a pretty big step in your life but don't be."

"Actually, she's wasted."

"She got drunk because she was stressed out, but before she did, she told me something too. Do you want to hear that?" I asked with a smile.

"What did she say?"

"What are you going to give me in return?"

He got up from the bed and asked me, "You're requesting a trade now?"

"After you get married, I can't ask you, am I right?"

"You can ask me after the wedding too, okay, what do you want?" he said as he stroked my hair.

After giving it some thought, I enquired, "A hug."

He grinned at me and hugged me tenderly.

I said while being in his embrace, "I was just kidding. Give me one thousand dollars."

He broke the hug and asked, "Why do you need that much money? What are you going to do with it?"

"Buying myself a house."

"For what?"

"I'm moving away after your marriage. I decided on it a long time ago. I can't be in this house and live on our parents' money forever Even Though they're willing to do it. I saved up three thousand dollars and bought the place but I still need a thousand dollars for the stuff."

"Are you sure about that?"

I nodded at him.

"Okay, if you're sure about it, I'm okay with that too. Take care of yourself and eat properly."

"How are you feeling now?"

"Much better than before."

I hugged him and said, "She's the one, brother. You have to get married to her. You made the right choice. You should be overwhelmed instead of stressing out because you're going to get a lovely wife who loves you very much. I broke the bug and continued, "She said that she's stressed about the wedding for a week. When I asked her why she didn't talk about this to anyone, she said she's staying strong for you so as not to get stressed over the wedding."

"I have a great sister too", he said as he patted my head.

After I talked with my brother, I went to my room. I heard the music coming from Andrew's room as I was lying on my bed. I got out of my bed and walked to the window and opened it to see Andrew playing on his cello.

I asked him, "When did you come?"

He ceased to perform and stated, "A short while ago. What about you?"

"Right now."

"Go to bed. Tomorrow is a crucial day for both of us."

"I can't. Since it's my last night here, I'll listen to your music for a while before going to sleep."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm moving out after the wedding,"

"Where?"

"I rented a home close to the campus."

"Why are you moving away? It's not like our place was farther from the University."

"It is not abrupt. Recently, I gave it some thought, and I also want to try new things. I'm curious as to how I'll manage on my own out there."

He nodded.

I continued, "Also, keep this information to yourself. After the after-party tomorrow, I'm moving out, but I didn't inform anyone except my brother. So don't tell anyone, even to your love interest."

He grinned and nodded as he carried on with his cello playing.

I saw him playing his cello from where I was sitting near the window. I can't believe this will be my last opportunity to hear his music. I didn't anticipate a day like today. So that's how my story ends, I thought as I leaned against the window.