I dropped Lydia at her place, and drove back home in blissful silence. I caught myself remembering the way Amelia looked when she said we were girlfriends, and it brought a smile to my lips again. When I walked into the apartment, I found my mom watching sports on the TV and my dad on the kitchen cooking something that strongly smelled of oregano. I sat on the couch with her. Mom looked frustrated. Her soccer team was losing yet another game.

“So, Hannah, tell me more about that Amelia friend of yours,” she asked, to my surprise. “How long have you two known each other?”

I shifted in my seat. “Ah... a little while,” I said. Would it be strange to admit we’d only just met a few days ago? Particularly given the whole story with the cellphone and all. We were a little too intimate for people who’ve only known each other for about a week. “We study together,” I explained, trying to dodge the focus of the question. “Well, not like, in the same class. She’s majoring in pharmaceutics. And she’s close to graduating, I think.”

“Promising,” said mom. “Quite a catch, wouldn’t you say, sweetheart?”

Dad, who had just now come into the living room, agreed with her. “I suppose so.”

I furrowed my brow. Were they really suggesting what I thought they were?

“And does she treat you well?” mom asked.

“I... guess?” Okay, there was definitely something suspicious about this whole conversation. They couldn’t have noticed anything, right? My parents never noticed these sorts of things. It was years before they realized my brother’s “best friend” was a little more than a friend. Surely they couldn’t be on to Mel and I having only just met her briefly that evening.

“I just want you to know...” said mom, “...that we love you no matter what.”

Nah, forget that. They figured it out.

“How?” I asked, baffled.

“We’re not quite as oblivious as you think we are,” said mom.

To my own surprise, I actually began to cry. Dad came over and hugged me, and mom sat by my side and placed her hand on my shoulder, to comfort me.

“Shhh... it’s okay, sweetie,” said dad.

“We loved meeting her,” said mom. “Amelia looks like an earnest and thoughtful girl.”

“Thanks, mom,” I said, wiping my tears. “Thank you too, dad. But how did you two figure it out? I didn’t... I mean, I never told you I liked girls, right?”

Dad cleared his throat. “About that, well...” he hesitated.

“What is it?” I asked, confused.

“Your father looked at your browsing history, once,” said mom.

My jaw dropped. I stared at him in disbelief. “Dad!” I protested.

“It was an accident,” he argued, backing off a little. “I swear, I was only trying to find a fish casserole recipe I had looked up earlier that week. I didn’t know.”

I sighed. Yep, that sounded like dad, all right. I could tell he was being honest.

“I want you to know,” I said, “that I consider this an invasion of my privacy.” Dad nodded, apologetic. Well, at least he didn’t do it on purpose. But this raised a question of... “What did you see in that browsing history, by the way?”

“Well, there was a website on advice for bisexual girls,” said dad, “and also some videos of—”

“Never mind, I don’t wanna know,” I sad, waving it off.

“While we’re on the subject,” said mom, “I always wanted to know what happened to that girlfriend you had in middle school.”

I turned to look at her, completely befuddled. “I... didn’t have a girlfriend in middle school. What are you talking about?”

“What was her name, dear?” mom asked.

“Rafaela Dias,” said dad.

I scowled. “What?! Why does everyone think there was something going on between Rafa Dias and I? We were just friends, you guys.”

“Really?” mom asked, surprised. “I mean... you used to talk about her all the time, at home. So you father and I, we just assumed that—”

“There was never anything between Rafaela Dias and myself,” I explained, emphatically. “We really were just friends and nothing else. And Amelia is my first ever girlfriend, in case you’re wondering.”

Mom smiled at me, and gave me a warm hug. “Oh, dear. I hope she makes you really happy.”

Dad approached me again, as well. “We’ll be here for you, no matter what, all right?”

I nodded. “I know. Thank you both.”

---

I got home from college on Tuesday feeling absolutely exhausted. Classes were starting to get a little out of hand, which always happened at some point toward the end of the semester. I was never one for slacking off on my studies, and I usually kept up with coursework and assignment deadlines, but there was always this feeling I got that I’m... not studying enough, you know? Besides, I still hadn’t given any more thought to that idea of changing majors, and the deadline for transfers were coming up. I couldn’t miss those, lest I wanted to wait another six months to make a choice.

I hadn’t seen Amelia at all for the past three days. Several times I’d considered turning my phone on again, to message her, but the idea of Michael calling me during that time made me give it up. I didn’t want to use the emergency phone either. Because it’s for, you know, emergencies.

I heard the crunch of paper as soon as I took the first step inside my apartment. Looking down, I found I had stepped on an envelope. Unusual. It had been a while since the last time I’d gotten physical, actually-made-of-paper mail.

There was nothing written on the front or back, and no stamp either. I shrugged, and ripped the envelope open to read the letter inside.

Dearest Hannah,

I miss you so much. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I can’t imagine myself living without you. This has—

I froze in place. The letter slipped through my trembling fingers and fell on the floor. Then I started feeling dizzy, and I actually had to go sit down on the couch so as not to pass out.

Hell.

Okay, okay, so I should have foreseen this. Michael was a clingy bastard who’d never accepted a break-up before. And of course he knew where I lived, he’d been to that apartment a couple of times after I got into university. So it stood to reason that he would show up there eventually. Thankfully, it was just a letter this time. But who knows when he would decide to come in person?

I silently thanked my past self for never having given the man a key to that place. But maybe mom and dad were right, and I would better move back in with them, even if the distance from campus was a bit of a problem. Or find another place to live in a different neighborhood.

I wanted to cry. It seemed that whenever I was beginning to forget about him, Michael found a way to remind me of his presence. Like a ghost, maybe, haunting me each and every day. I wondered when it would end.

The pressure that started to build inside my chest then was something new to me. I had felt it before, but never this intense. I didn’t know what it was, or what was happening to me. It scared me. I reached inside my purse, and, this time, didn’t hesitate to use Amelia’s phone.

It rang for a few seconds.

“Honey?” I heard Amelia say, and was immediately flooded with relief. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Ah... hey, Mel... are you... are you busy right now?” my voice was beginning to crack as I said it.

“I’m not,” said Amelia, urgently. “What’s going on?”

“Well, if you’re not doing anything right now... could you... I’m sorry, could you please come over? Michael sent me a letter and I’m—”

I couldn’t finish the sentence. If I tried, I would probably burst into tears, and I really wanted to remain calm. I took a deep breath, let it out, slowly, then sighed. I couldn’t do this to Amelia. I had to be able to stand on my own two feet.

“Sorry,” I said. “Forget about that. I’ll be...” fine, I wanted to say, but I’d be lying if I did. “I’ll just see you one of these days in uni, okay?”

“Honey...” said Amelia, tenderly. I could tell she was worried.

“I’m going to hang up now,” I told her. And I didn’t wait for her to reply, before pressing the button to end the call. Then I leaned back against the couch, with eyes closed.

“Fuck,” I told the empty room.

I started to cry, and remained there on the couch, motionless. Minutes passed without me realizing it. Eventually, though, I heard a ringing sound somewhere next to me, and it was enough to snap me out of that weird state of mind. I searched under the pillows to find Amelia’s phone ringing. My girlfriend was calling me back.

“Hello?” I said, awkwardly, after I picked up the call.

“Honey, you there?” I heard Amelia say. “Do you still need to see me, tonight? Because I got worried and... well, I’m outside your door right now.”

It took me a moment to realize what she was saying. “Wait, you mean, for real? Like, on the corridor outside?”

“Yep,” said Amelia. “I was worried, so I kinda wanted to check in on you. But I can go if you want me to.”

“No, no!” I hurried to say. “Hold on, I’ll be right there!”

I got on my feet and hurried over to the bathroom, to quickly wash my face. The makeup was all ruined from the tears and I did not want Amelia to see me like that. Then I rushed back to the living room, and opened the door.

Mel was outside, smiling at me. Just the sight of her was enough to send me crying again. I jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly, and sobbing.

“Shhh...” she said, caressing my back. “Everything will be all right.”

I pulled back, nodded, and allowed her to lead me by the hand inside the apartment. Once there, I made sure to lock the door, and went to sit on the couch, with Amelia by my side. We remained there together, cuddling in silence, for the better part of an hour. I must have cried at least three more times, in that period, but Amelia just remained there with me, comforting me.

“I’m sorry you had to come tonight,” I told her, after I’d managed to calm myself down enough to have a proper conversation.

“I am exactly where I want to be, right now,” she retorted.

“And where is that?”

“Beside you,” Amelia told me, before giving me a kiss on the forehead.

I chuckled. “You’re perfect, did you know that?”

“I’m far from perfect,” she replied. “I have a lot of flaws, just like everyone else. It’s just that you haven’t been with me long enough to find out what those are.”

I nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

“I even bet each one of us has habits that will be a problem for the other to deal with,” she told me.

“Such as?”

“Gee, I don’t know... like, sometimes I leave a wet towel on the bed after I get off the shower.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, you should work on that,” I told her. “But I can live with it, I guess.”

“And I write on my books,” she continued. “I underline a lot of stuff, and then I put down my thoughts on the edges of the pages.”

“What?!” I exclaimed. My outrage then was fake, but only partly so. “No, no, no, that’s a deal-breaker for me. I hate to say this, Amelia, but I think this is it for us.”

“Whoa, that was fast,” she said, raising her eyebrows. It made me giggle. We locked eyes, both smiling, before I gave her a kiss.

“I’m not gonna break up with you over books,” I whispered, as we touched foreheads together. “However...” I pulled back to stare at her face. “If you ever write on my books, I’m gonna get really mad at you. Capisce?”

Amelia raised one hand, and rested the other on her chest.

“I hereby promise to never approach my girlfriend’s books with a pen, pencil, or any other type of writing implement.”

“Ever,” I added.

“Ever,” she repeated.

I sighed, and leaned on her shoulder, feeling tired.

“I’m worried,” I told her.

“About what?”

I pointed at the piece of paper that had fallen on the floor. “Michael left that here for me, today. Slipped it under the door. I didn’t read through the whole thing, but it sounds like he’s trying to talk me into getting back together. Again. And the worst part is that we were together for four years, so he knows everything about me. He knows where I study, he has my schedule, my home address, my parents’ address... And he can’t get a clue that things are already over for good. So I’m really worried because don’t know what he’s going to try next.”

“Do you mind if I read the letter?” Amelia asked.

“You can, later,” I told her. “Right now, could you please just stay here with me?”

Amelia smiled, and kissed my cheek. “Of course.”