Chapter 82: Chapter 82
Amelia's POV
I went downstairs the next day when everyone left. I made some coffee and sandwiches and sat alone at the table eating and contemplating what to do. I did my laundry and cleaned my room. I started studying for the term exams coming up. Worked on my creative writing project. By lunchtime, I made some spaghetti for myself and went up to my room with my food, carrying some cookies and cakes along with lots of water. I locked my door and stayed in. Caleb came home by 2 pm followed by Brandon. I could hear them downstairs, but no one disturbed me, and I didn't bother with them. This continued for nearly a week. I didn't see my family members and avoided them. They were least bothered about me not having dinner with them, and I was grateful to God that he helped me pass through this difficult phase. I was disappointed that Nicky didn't come to meet me.
By evening, mom knocked on my door. Dad wanted to talk to me, so I went to his study where everyone was present.
"Sit," dad said and I sat down like a robot, ready to face the punishment he wanted to give me.
"I have collected your transfer certificate from your school. We have been lucky to get you admission in the middle of the term at St. Stephen's Girls Convent and Boarding School in London. Start packing, Leo will settle you there and your classes start on Monday," he said looking at me for my reaction. His words broke me and devastated my soul but I didn't react. It was useless to do so since he wouldn't change his mind. I hadn't expected such a severe punishment from him and I sat dazed, unable to think straight.
"Alright," I said without any expression and got up and walked out to my room. I didn't look at anyone else for sympathy, although I could see that they were as surprised as I was. Maybe they too hadn't expected such a harsh punishment for me. I accepted my fate and didn't respond when Leo called me. They weren't worth it. I was the youngest and no one had the backbone to stand up for me and protest against Dad's harsh punishment. My whole world crashed, there was no hope of ever meeting Tristan in this life. My heart broke even thinking about it. I received a punishment that was worse than death.
I cried my heart out the whole night. My sobs racked my body till there were no more tears left in me. I didn't open my door when my family members knocked since I didn't wish to see them at all after what they had done to me. I just lay down looking blindly at the ceiling. Was loving someone truly, with my whole heart and soul, so wrong that I had to be thrown so far away? Like a piece of trash whom no one cared about! How would I live without Tristan? I thought of escaping away to him, but my father's angry face crept into my mind. He and my brothers would turn our lives into a nightmare. We could never survive their wrath. They never cared about my happiness, only their big fat egos. I would miss Nicky too, but I couldn't argue with my dad. I promised myself that I would never come back home to my family, even during vacations. If they wanted me away I would really stay away and never return. I would break all my ties with this family for punishing me in this harsh manner for something which wasn't a crime.
I arrived in London on a very wet, drizzly, dismal Sunday afternoon. I didn't speak to Leo the whole journey, although he tried to talk to me many times. The huge black gates of the boarding school didn't look cheerful in any way and neither did the sprawling campus with all its gray textured buildings. It seemed as if it was the perfect school for my gray and colorless life. Leo tried to cheer me up with his words but my heart was crushed and I didn't feel like uttering a single word to him. If he was okay with this harsh punishment that I received, then he wasn't my brother at all. I decided to think of myself as an orphan with no one to call my own!
Leo completed all formalities while I checked my room which I had to share with another girl. That was how I met Brittany Summers, my roommate, vivacious, outgoing, cheerful, and lively. She was everything that I wasn't. We were polar opposites but we instantly clicked.
Leo left for New York realizing that I wasn't even talking to him.
Brittany was in the same class as I was. Her jovial, cheerful personality instantly drew me to her and we became friends. I liked Brittany and she always looked out for me. It took me a few weeks to open up to her. She understood me so well that I was glad to have met someone like her.
"It's not the end of the world, Amy. When you grow up, if you're destined for him, you will surely meet him again," said Brittany. Her words gave me hope and every day I prayed that I meet Tristan again. I didn't have Tristan's number as my dad never gave me back my old phone. So as the days passed by, I gave up all hopes of Tristan. He couldn't find me ever. The same with Nicky. She too seemed to have disappeared from my life. I started living my life without a mobile phone all through my school life! The school wasn't bad, most of the girls were nice and helpful. Being away from our families, we all bonded with each other well. Brittany stood by me like a pillar and I soon overcame the heartbreak that I had been subjected to. The semesters flew by and I started accepting my fate.