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They alternated between making love, soaking in the tub, and sitting curled together in blankets on the sofa, staring at the lake beyond the glass.
“I’m at peace for the first time in a long time,” she told him in the late afternoon.
“You’re going to be so sore, honey. I shouldn’t be taking you so much.” He played with her hair and she leaned into it.
“I wish we could stay like this, just like this, Leo. Naked and fucking for the rest of our lives. Reality will intrude all too soon.” Swallowing hard, she said, “We’re going to be grounded from one another for a while. I want to overdose on you...the soreness is worth it.”
“Alright.” He stroked his fingertip from her temple to her chin. “Soon, we’ll have Jamaica.”
“A little time apart and then I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Leo asked carefully, “What about college?” She shook her head. “You’re so smart, Amelia. Why?”
“I wouldn’t even be graduating high school without the constant help you’ve given me since freshman year. I’m done using you like that. I don’t have the attention span for reading anymore, or writing anything longer than a paragraph.”
He hugged her closer. “Amelia...why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged. “I have a few ideas...things I’d like to do. We can talk about all of that during the summer, when we’re away from my mother, my life here.”
“If you want to go to college, I’ll help you.”
“No, Leo. You’ve worried about my work as well as your own for too long. I know you put off college for me.”
“Amelia…”
“Don’t lie. I saw the letter on your kitchen table. I know what you’ve sacrificed.” She turned in his arms and he pulled her up on his lap. When he would have tried to explain, she placed her fingers over his lips. “It-it makes me sad to know you could have been in college two years ago but put it off to take care of me. It’s not right, Leo.”
“It isn’t a sacrifice to care for you, Amelia. Leaving you would have made it almost impossible to focus on school.”
“You’ve done enough and it’s your turn to take for a while. I’ll take care of everything while you go to college.”
Choosing his words carefully, he asked, “What about modeling and all of that?”
“I’m done with it once I’m out of the house.”
He stared at her in silence for a long moment. Then he asked, “What happened, Amelia? When you were in New York?” She blinked against tears. “Something did happen because I’ve never seen you so anxious to run from your house. Tell me so I can help.”
“There was an executive who got sort of fixated on me. During the fashion show, I was coming out of the dressing room, heading for the stage, when he cornered me.” She stared at the lake, remembering. “He had...dead eyes. He groped me, said things to me that made my skin crawl. Said I would be a pretty addition to his collection.”
“Amelia. You were assaulted. Oh my god.” He cupped the back of her head. “Did you report him?”
She shook her head slowly. “My mother said he was one of the wealthiest men in the country. A widower. She told me I must have misunderstood, that it wasn’t as bad as I was making it out to be.” Finding Leo’s hand, she gripped it tightly. “She said that in the modeling and acting world, things like that happen but you brush them off and keep going.” Meeting Leo’s eyes, she whispered, “She said she was sure you had done worse and I wasn’t crying about that.”
“That fucking sociopath…”
“I-I started smoking on the third day and doing energy shots to get through sixteen-hour days because all I wanted to do was sleep. I went through the motions, performed like a circus monkey, and hated every second.” She closed her eyes. “Right now, it’s energy drinks and cigarettes. How long before it’s prescription uppers or cocaine? I can’t do this, Leo. I won’t do it anymore.”
Holding her face, he said, “First, you being a model or actress doesn’t give any fucking animal the right to paw you without your consent. Your profession, how you were fucking dressed or not dressed, or how rich that fuck is doesn’t make what he did to you right or acceptable. Not ever, Amelia.”
She collapsed against him sobbing and he held her through it.
“Second, you can do whatever you want in your life. Whatever fulfills you as a person, that brings you joy. It doesn’t have to earn a cent. I don’t care about anything but your happiness. I’ll support any and all decisions you make.”
Sitting up, she said brokenly, “Thank you, Leo.” She kissed him with urgency and murmured against his lips, “Love me through it and I’ll come out whole on the other side.”
Carrying her back to the bed, he loved her until they couldn’t think. As the afternoon began to fade, they fell hard into an exhausted sleep with Leo’s body curled protectively around Amelia’s.
* * *
