One Fall Too Many

Naomi had never run faster in her entire life.

There wasn't any need to--there was plenty of time between now and this "party" that Jerod was throwing--but Naomi's heart was already beating so fast once she heard his last words. 'Amelia Kane will be yours.'

It was everything that Naomi had feared, except worse; it was Mia's own boyfriend. A boyfriend that had a terrible, hypnotizing hold over Amelia. Naomi would be lucky if Amelia even listened to her, much less didn't roll her eyes at her.

But, Naomi had never felt more urgent in her entire life. Even the night her parents had been arrested felt trivia compared to this; then, there was nothing she could do... Now, everything rested on her.

When she practically crashed through the door into their apartment, Naomi ran in with painting breaths and her legs quaking from the unnecessary run across town back to their building. "Amelia," she wheezed, doing her best to remain upright. "Amelia, there's something I need to tell you... Please, just listen."

"There's something you need to tell me, hmm?" Amelia turned off the television, but still didn't turn to face the 'traitor' on the other side of the room. "I'm afraid it's a bit too late, Naomi. I already know."

"Already... already know--what do you--"

"I know, Naomi! I know everything!" Amelia finally turned to face Naomi, which also ended up being a release of all the venemous feelings she'd been trying to contain for several days. "Don't play stupid, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Unfortunately, Naomi didn't. With her mind so focused on what was at stake, and her muscles weak from her breaking run, she was having a really hard time putting it together. "Wh-what?" she panted. "No, I... Honestly don't."

"You're such-" Amelia growled. "A dirty. Rotten. LIAR!"

"Please, Amelia, calm down! I haven't lied to you, ever! I don't understand what you're--"

"You're in love with me, that's what! And it's some sort of funny joke to you, isn't it? Telling everyone I know except for me? Keeping me in the dark so that no matter what, you don't ''lose'' me? Is that it, making sure that I'm never out of your reach? Or is it because you don't trust me, Naomi?"

Naomi was left speechless. Everything that she had worked to hide was suddenly gone. Evaporated before her very eyes as Amelia continued to scream about Naomi's betrayal of her trust.

But what was worse, wasn't that she had found out. It was that this was how her love for her had made Mia feel; Naomi could feel her heart withering away with every word.

"Please, Mia, let me explain--" Naomi tried to butt in, but Amelia wouldn't have it.

"You know what, Naomi, I don't care anymore. I don't care what 'reasons' you had for lying to me. You didn't want me to know, and that's enough for me to not want to know. Even if you tried to tell me, there's no way I could trust you anymore."

"Amelia... Amelia please. Please look aside this for one second, okay?" Naomi was about ready to collapse on her knees, but even with her legs shaking and heart throbbing painfully in her chest, she used what dignity she had left to remain standing. "There is something much, much more important you need to know," she said, more pain ensuing with every word. "Your life... Your life is in danger. I need you to just listen, okay?"

Amelia scowled, but she twatted her fingers in receival. "Alright. What could possibly be so life threatening it's more important than this?"

"Mia... Jerod, Jerod's not what he seems. You can't trust him. I don't know who he's working for, or why, but he's going to betray you far worse than I ever could. You can't go to that party. You can't. I beg you not to, if you ever do anything else I ever ask of you."

"You know what?" Amelia shook her head, outraged. "This is the last thing I expected from you, Naomi. Instead of just explaining the truth to me, you come up with some sort of wretched plan, concocted out of jealousy, to keep me away from my boyfriend. You just want me all to yourself! That's all this is about!"

"No, it's not," Naomi was beginning to grow angry, herself. "This has nothing to do with me, anymore. This is about you, Amelia. Your safety."

"I can't believe this." Amelia was beside herself with rage. Here she was giving Naomi a chance to prove herself, and instead she was trying to fill her head with lies about Jerod. It was far, far too much for her to handle.

So that's what she said. "You know what, I can't take this. I just can't. I can't handle your lies or your stupid mind-tricks anymore. You're just as bad as my father." If anything, that made Naomi all the more angry.

But she didn't have time to be angry--or to respond. Amelia quickly stopped clutching her forehead in rage, and moved her hands to shoo Naomi away from her.

"I want you gone, alright? I want you OUT of my life. Out of this apartment, out of this city, out of my mind, alright? I'm through with you, and I never. EVER. Want to see you again."

There was a brief moment when Naomi was tempted to chase after Amelia as she saw her friend--or, former friend--run from the room and slam the door to their bedroom, but she couldn't.

Instead, Naomi was frozen as cold as a stone. Any composure that had been left within her washed away as the sand in a growing tide; she could try to hold it back, try to save herself the indignity of suffering at the hands of her emotions, but it wasn't possible, now. She'd made a promise, and now everything was at stake because of her mistakes.

She had failed.

---

"You look so... beautiful... under this light," Jerod said quietly as they stopped along their walk under a blood-red lamppost at the corner of a nearby club. "To frame you forever under such a glow would be to frame loveliness itself."

It had been a long week, but Saturday had finally arrived, and Jerod and Amelia were finally on the way to their party. Things had been rough; Amelia had woken up one day to a majority of Naomi's things missing, leaving her apartment feeling more barren and empty than ever. She tried to tell herself she'd done the right thing, but in a way, Amelia hated herself; she knew she'd made a terrible mistake. She just didn't know what else she could do, now.

But Jerod took away all those painful thoughts. His words were poison, but man--they were delicious poison. Amelia drank up every word without hesitation, and was still left begging for more. He always said he wasn't a romantic. She didn't believe him.

"I'm a little nervous," he willingly admitted before the continued onwards. "I just want everything to go right, you know?"

"Of course I do," Amelia said with a bit of a wiggle of her nose. "You want the best for me. But don't worry, I'm sure I won't be disappointed--and hopefully, neither will your friends."

"Yeah," he muttered thoughtfully under his breath. "Hopefully."

She was left a little curious, but Jerod quickly dissolved her curiousity once a gentle finger was raised to brush a piece of hair away from her cheek.

"I'm sure it will all be perfect," he whispered so quietly that it meshed perfectly with the sound of a car honking in the distance. Amelia smiled. She believed him, implicitly.

They hadn't much further to walk, so Amelia was starting to feel nervous herself as Jerod gracefully opened the front door to the club for her, and then pressed the number to the correct floor they were travelling to.

But she didn't have to fidget in her boots for long; when Jerod led her inwards, she found herself in one of the ritziest club rooms she'd ever seen.

"Wow," she gasped, looking upwards, where the cieling exposed several floors above that spiraled upwards towards various levels of the lounge. This place could've given even the Prosper Room a run for it's money; she was surprised that she'd never heard of it.

Jerod was visibly glad to see she was impressed, but he ushered her onwards. She continued to walk, looking around the place with continued curiousity, and continued confusion. ''Why did he never show me this place before?' she wondered. 'We've been practically everywhere together.'

As she continued to explore, he continued to follow... Watchful, patient.

Once she'd paused again, Jerod quickly reached out to grasp her hands into his. "I'm so glad you approve," he offered with a light twist of his lip. "I would've brought you here sooner, but I was saving it for something... special."

'Well, that explains that,' she thought to herself. Aloud, she responded, "I'm glad you did. It's amazing."

"Well, I'm going to go get us some drinks, and go find my friends, alright?" Jerod said with a squeeze of her hand. "Just stay here and relax, listen to the music.. Alright, sweet pea?"

"Alright." Amelia weakly smiled in response. She didn't much like being left alone, but she'd manage.

She found herself a nice sofa to crash on, and quickly let herself get entrapped by the music...

... as Jerod smiled, and disappeared up the stairs.

Amelia didn't have to wait long. As the music lulled her, she felt her eyelids close over and her breathing go heavy. She wasn't tired, but she was relaxed; more relaxed than she expected she would be. After everything that had happened with Naomi, it had been hard to let go, lately.

It was in this blissful stupor that she finally heard the sound of feet approaching. A lot of feet. 'Those must be his friends,' she mused as she began to open her now-blurry eyes, and focus on the people that were standing before her.

But something wasn't right. No one said a word; she expected Jerod to begin introducing them, but it was as if they were all staring at her, observing her like she was some sort of piece of art. It was eerie.

"Um... Hello," she said awkwardly, her eyes still trying to come to focus on the people surrounding her.

Still, silence. They just stood there. They just watched.

And that's when she started to feel it; the unmeasurable feeling of fear starting to slowly ripple up her spine. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and her hands began to shake.

This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all.

And she suddenly knew why.

"You're--you're all--!" The air flooded from her lungs; she couldn't scream. It was already too late to scream.

But it wasn't too late to run.

She bolted from the couch, wholeheartedly trying to believe that she could escape. They simply watched as she ran past them. Amelia didn't have time to care, though... She had to get out of here. If she had to fly down 26 flights of stairs to get to the bottom, she would.

But she'd never get that opportunity.

"After her!" she heard as a hiss from behind her; if there was any more room in her mind to be afraid, it was now completely gone. There was no way she could escape six people while in heels.

'Dratted shoe choice!' was her last waking thought as she tripped...

... and she fell...

... to the ground.

"No... No, this can't be happening," she spoke to the floor, as if pleading to it to save her--but it probably wouldn't even if it could.

Amelia didn't even bother trying to escape, now; her fall had cost her everything, and no speed or strength could help her get away. She only tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, as her gaze borred into the floor, and the sound of footsteps drawing towards her drowned her ears.

Amelia felt hands reaching to pull her up, and she didn't resist.
There was no hope, now...
She was alone.