Generation 3, Chapter 10: "Change" could either be good or bad

Adapting to a new life was proving to be easier than I had expected.

I didn't feel helpless without my memories, without anyone to support me through tough times. In fact, I quickly gained someone that was there for me all the way. And she didn't even care whether or not I had my old memories. She was content with the fact that I was still alive.

"So you're saying you just dropped him on his skinny ass? Nice! I wish I had the guts to do that," Jaylynn laughed as I told her the story of my departure from Richard's house. Jaylynn had been a colleague of mine at the university I was working at, and also acted as a friend. The only friend I had currently. It seemed that almost everyone already knew of my amnesia, including her. However, instead of shying away from me and leaving me live alone, she was the only one to come forward and try to get to know me yet again.

"You could always fake amnesia and dump your own boyfriend," I giggled. "How long have you two been dating, anyways?"

"Four years," she grumbled, throwing her head back against the pillow, a sigh of defeat escaping her fair lips. "And there's no sign that he's thinking of proposing anytime soon. I might as well face the fact that he and I are never getting married. Which suits me fine, I have to say. I mean, he's not drop-dead gorgeous or anything. There's this new guy at work that I would totally go for... Lia, are you still listening?"

"What?" I frowned as she grew silent. I hadn't paid attention to her last sentence. My mind was beginning to wander, specifically to a certain someone. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just...thinking. Of my own love life, you know. I'm not getting any younger!"

"Luckily you're not getting any older, either..." When someone brought up that little fact in a conversation, it always scared me. My age was stuck at 34. All because of some family tradition that at some age, we drink this weird concoction that keeps us young forever. Just because my ancestors were afraid of dying. "What can I say? I've just hit 30, and I don't even have a husband yet. Speaking of which... Are you thinking of hooking up with someone new?"

"How the hell did you know I was thinking that?" I nearly fell off of the bed. It occurred to me that Jay was just poking at my thoughts, trying to see if she could guess what I was thinking. She had guessed right on her first try. "Um...kind of, yeah."

"Damn, I'm good at figuring you out!" she poked at my arm playfully, giving me a quick wink. "Might I inquire if your thoughts are wandering to a certain doctor, say, a very attractive doctor? Whose name begins with an 'L' and ends with 'iam'?"

"Have you I ever mentioned that I hate you...," my hands automatically moved to my face, covering my eyes, almost as if I was ashamed. In a small way, I was. "There's something about him, something that Richard could never have... I can't explain it, but damn, I can't stop thinking about him. We've stayed in contact with each other throughout the last couple of weeks. He calls me at times, I call him... I think I was given a second chance to see the error of my ways, to see that Liam and I...could perhaps have something special together."

"That's...pretty deep. You sound serious about this guy. Are you one hundred percent sure what you're feeling isn't going to pass after one night of intimacy? Romance flames out easily, but real love... Jesus. I'm becoming serious as well, aren't I?"

"You definitely are. You worry me, Jaylynn Oakley. This behavior is highly unlike you."

"What can I say, you've changed me!" It was the second time I had heard those words. The first was when Chambray said goodbye to me. It was hard, having to convince myself that she wasn't real. The friendship had seemed so real. "And by some kind of madness, you've also changed yourself. How are you gonna break the news to Ric and the kids." Jay paused, whipping her head in the door's direction. "Especially now that one has showed up at your door."

I didn't want to believe Jaylynn, but there, right in front of us, stood Darcy, looking completely confused and outside of her comfort zone. "Seems she doesn't know where the front door is... I'll probably have to open it up and tell her that."

Darcy turned around, as if she heard my words. For one small moment, she smiled timidly at me. It all faded as soon as she saw Jaylynn in the room, though she recovered well, slightly waving at my best friend.

Jaylynn sighed. "Teenagers these days. They're not the best communicators, especially when it comes to adults. I'll leave you two alone. Something tells me you have a lot of catching up to do."

"Thanks, Jay," I smiled as she grudgingly got off of the bed. "I'll repay this favor someday."

"Along with the other dozen favors you still owe me...," she muttered as she walked to the front door of the house. As soon as I heard the door close, I motioned for Darcy to enter.

She hesitated coming through the door, and stood stiff in front of me, as if waiting for me to say something. The only response I had was folding my legs in under me. To tell the truth, even I felt out of my comfort zone.

Two awkward people, alone in a room together. That only meant bad things would follow.

The "new" me, the person that I had become, wasn't usually awkward, but as soon as I was reminded of my old life, I seemed to clam up like a shell.

What was the point of a new personality when it was faulty around things that was a part of my old life?

Mustering every ounce of courage that I still contained, I forced myself to be confident, to start a conversation with my daughter. "I had thought that Daniel would be the first to come visit me. That was in the message Richard forwarded me. Did you guys swap or something?" The coolness of my voice shocked me, but it shouldn't have.

"No, we didn't... Daniel is still, technically, going to come by first... I came here of my own accord, mom...I mean, Amelia. Dad, nor Daniel, knows where I am. I asked Liam to drop me off here," Darcy explained, her eyes observing the room, never looking me straight in the face.

Hearing Liam's name made my stomach flutter, but I tried to ignore it. Something wasn't right with Darcy, and I was going to find out what.

"Tell you what," I stretched out of my sitting position, sliding off of the bed. "There's an extra bikini in my cupboard. Put it on and meet me outside."

"Why?" she frowned. "It's pretty chilly today. I think we could catch a cold by swimming."

"No, silly. You might not know this, but I have a hot tub, installed especially for weather that we're experiencing today."

Eleven minutes later, Darcy tiptoes outside, her arms the top part of her body. "This is ridiculous. I like bikinis, but this one shows a bit too much. And it's in a color that I particularly despise. Red or green suits me much better."

"You sound like a very artistic person...," I admitted as we walked towards the hot tub. "I like artistic people. They're extremely interesting to look at."

"You really think so?" she raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side.

"Of course. What, you don't think you're an artistic person?"

"No, it's not that. I do believe that I'm somewhat of an artist. It's just...you never said that to me before. Everyone always said I was...weird. Including you. It's nice hearing something positive for once."

Before climbing in, or jumping in like many other crazy people would do, Darcy tested out the water, dipping a toe into the water. "Yeouch. It's really hot. Hotter than the water I tap into the bathtub."

"There's a reason people call it a 'hot tub', Darcy! Now climb in before I throw you in myself," I ushered her down the steps. Her face contorted into a wince each time she took a step to lower herself into the water. But after a few minutes, we both got settled, used to the heat of the tub.

"So, why did you decide to run away from home and come crash at my place? Don't take this the wrong way, but I hadn't expected you'd want to hide out here, with me."

"It's pretty complicated," she shook her head. "Okay, that's a lie. It's really not. Simply put, Daniel and dad were criticizing my choice of style. They told me my outfits weren't made for wearing to school, or in the general public, for that matter. They're keeping me from being my true self. I hate them for doing that."

"Oh, I agree. I would have thought those moral bastards would know by know that you don't judge other people by their appearance alone. You judge them by their sense of character, by their actions. Honestly, it's why I moved away from the in the first place. They wanted to turn me into someone that I used to be. It never occurred to them that I might have wanted to stay like this."

"You're kind of saying I'm a moral bastard, mom," Darcy chuckled. "I also wanted you to become your old self...but not anymore."

"Oh?" my curiosity peaked. "What changed your mind?"

"The new you, I guess. You're great. You're easy to talk to, open minded... You act so casual about everything, not afraid to speak your mind. You're a lot more confident now than you used to be. You've changed into the mom I always wanted, but the sad part is...now you don't want to be a mother."

"I never said that...," it was a lame defense, but true, nonetheless. "And if you must know, I have no quarrel with you staying here, or coming to hide out here when things turn bad. So in a way, I'm still your mom, and I can boss you around all I want to."

"Oh dear God, I've created a monster," she threw her head back and laughed, almost sinking down into the water after accidentally slipping. That small accident made us both erupt into laughter. "Thanks for that, though. It's great knowing that I have someone to turn to, especially if that person is the awesomest adult I've ever met in my life."

Her words stunned me. I had previously deduced that Darcy and I were never on good terms, and here we were, casually spouting nonsense and laughing together, and most of all, becoming good friends.

Perhaps this amnesia was a blessing in disguise. The more I looked at it, the more it transformed into the idea.

So far, things were only becoming better.

Amnesia didn't give me the time to stop time, unfortunately, and soon the sun was setting behind the mountains of Lucky Palms. With a sigh, Darcy recognized it as the time she had to skedaddle. That thought was fueled as we heard the horn sound from a car parked outside.

"Liam's here to pick me up again," she bit her lip, deliberating whether or not she should get out. "I'm not sure whether or not I want to go back."

"Go back, if only for tonight. You can talk things over with your dad and decide if you want to come stay with me. Go get dressed as quickly as possible, before your ride leaves without you."

She was a quick dresser, even though the clothing she wore seemed like it could be hard to fit in. In half of the time it took her to get into a bikini, she came outside and stood before me, fully clothed, her sad eyes burrowing holes into mine.

"This isn't goodbye forever, you know...," I pointed out.

"It might be," she sighed. "I don't know if dad will prohibit me from coming here again. It'll suck if he does."

"If he does, I'm going to have a chat with him, and I can assure you that most of the threats made in that conversation will be coming from me."

"You would do that for me?" she asked in a small voice.

"I would," I confirmed. As I was smiling, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to set up another plan I had in mind. "But in return, I need you to do me a favor. It's nothing, really. Could you just tell Liam to swing by my place again after he's dropped you off? I think I need another talking session. A lot of things are still haunting me."

She nodded, and we parted with a hug. As she skipped away through the gate, I could see that she was happy, just as I was. It looked as if she had been unhappy for a very long time, and my new personality changed that.

Another score for amnesia being a good thing.

There was a slight chance that Liam would not accept my request to come by, but I knew that if he were a true gentleman, and I believed that he was, he would not keep me waiting.

I didn't have to wait long.

After about five minutes, I heard his car pull up in the driveway. I knew it had to be his. The purr of the engine could easily be distinguished as his car.

A bit of anxiousness crept into my stomach as I heard his footsteps approach the house, tying it in knots. Tonight was going to be an important night, though he didn't know it yet.

He knocked precisely four times, before I saw the handle of the door turn, and him peeking inside. "Amelia, you in here? The door was unlocked, and I was getting worried..."

"I'm here," I waved at him, trying my best to act calm. "You got here quickly, I must admit."

"Oh, hi there...," he smiled awkwardly at me, his one hand idly ruffling through his hair. "Darcy told me you wanted to talk again? Have you been experiencing trouble sleeping? I can prescribe you some medicine for that."

"I do have trouble sleeping at night," my lips turned into a smile, "but only because I keep thinking of you at night."

In my mind, I had it all planned out. He would take me into his arms, caress me, tickle me, whatever. But it didn't play out like that.

He was too much of a gentleman.

"Amelia...no. This...everything here is unacceptable. I refuse to get any closer to you. You and I are only friends, Amelia. You're married, you have kids. I'm not going to destroy that."

"It's already been destroyed, Liam!" I nearly cried out. "I'm not who I used to be. I destroyed it all. There's nothing to be saved, so you shouldn't object. Unless...unless you really don't like me."

"I do like you, Amelia," he grumbled, his head lightly resting against his right palm. He was fighting his feelings, that much was clear. "It's just that...you're not the same Amelia anymore, not the same Amelia I fell in love with all those years ago."

"So what if I'm not the same person anymore! I'm still Amelia on the outside... That has to count for something," I started to argue, but the full force of his words hit me hard. "Wait...you said you loved me?"

"Ugh," he turned his face away from me. "I can't keep my mouth shut when I'm around you.

"So it's true!" my face brightened, the feeling of victory pulsing through my body. "Then why deny your feelings, Liam? You and I can be together now, because finally, my eyes have been opened, and I see you for what a fantastic person you are. Someone that I should have married."

"But you didn't marry me," he corrected, "you married my friend, and that's what's stopping me."

"Liam. Screw other people's feelings. All that matters right now is what's going on in this house, between you and me."

"God...," he muttered under his breath, but finally turned his face back to look at me. Those eyes of his were so hypnotizing, it made my knees feel weak. It might be clichéd to feel and think that way, but I couldn't help myself.

"You have no idea how long I was waiting for you... I always hoped you'd choose me one day. That hope was slowly dying, but now..." His hand reached out to my face, caressing my cheek. I couldn't stop my own hand from covering his. "It's been rejuvenated."

One of us became extremely impatient. Which of us exactly, I couldn't figure. At the time it didn't seem important. The next moment that followed, I was caught in the embrace of his arms, my lips strongly pressed again his.

"I have a suggestion...," I said breathless, trying hard to gulp enough air down my windpipe back into my lungs. "It might sound crazy, though."

"I'm open to any suggestions," he replied, his lips finding its way down my neck. The feeling was ticklish, and eerily familiar. As if I've done it before, but...with someone else.

Nope. Definitely not. I couldn't think of him at this very moment.

"If you'll follow me, please," I smiled, catching him by the hand and leading him down the corridor to my bedroom. "

I had a hunch that I had never been good at seduction.

That had definitely changed.

~♥~

...

Fans of Amelia and Richard, please don't kill me.

Like, I swear, there are still a lot of chapters to be written. Stuff can still change. ^_^

So yeah...thanks for reading!