Time: Present Day

Location : HereAfter

Carter and his Mum watched as the young Amelia opened the envelope. She rushed upstairs with the letter to read it in her room. As she entered the room Carter felt the wave of emotion engulf Amelia. His Mum turned to him and said, "I remember that day so well. It was the first time back in my room since that night with Peter and the onset of my illness." They watched as the young Amelia silently read the letter. They watched her burst into tears. They felt her disappointment and anguish. They watched as she dejectedly returned downstairs.

She rushed over to Monique and burst into tears again as she hugged her Mum and wailed, "How could he do this to me Mum, he told me he loved me. I didn't say it back, but he was so insistent. Now he has moved in with another girl in Melbourne. He lied to me Mum, he said his friend he was staying with in Melbourne was a Michael not Michaela!"

"Yes I know honey, it's awful. I am very disappointed in Peter for a number of reasons. Apparently it was the girl's drugs that Uncle Tony found in Peter's car. That's why Tony thought the worst when he found you. He thought Peter had drugged you and maybe even raped you. He was very angry with Peter you know," Monique was amazed how well the lie was going but now came the hardest bit, the truth.

"Are you going to tell her, Monique or do you want me to?" Michelle asked.

"Tell me what?" Amelia sobbed.

"There's something else we've been delaying telling you until you were better able to deal with it," Monique started to open the cat's bag.

Carter heard his Mum say in unison with the young Amelia, "I'm pregnant too aren't I Mum?"

Amanda dropped her glass of lemonade, it smashed to smithereens on the kitchen tiles.

"How long have you known darling?" Monique cried with concern.

"Well, I should have had my period last week I thought it might be that I was sick, then yesterday morning I began throwing up. I told Dr Margate, he said not to worry about it and that I was still able to go home. That's when I knew, and I thought I was the girl, Amanda told me she heard you and Dad talking about. But I wasn't was I? It was the Melbourne girl you were talking about. How long have you known about me? Does Daddy know?" Amelia asked rather matter of factly.

Monique was dumbfounded. "We've known a couple of weeks now, since it showed up in one of your blood tests, and yes, your father knows," Michelle replied for her.

"Does Peter know about me?" Amelia asked.

"Not about the pregnancy, everything else though. I'm sure his Dad has kept him up to date. Your father didn't want any of us contacting him. Don and Vera think his life is out of control enough already without complicating it further," Monique continued the lie.

"I want to speak to him, tell him myself!" Amelia started to say.

Monique said, "That's not a great idea darling, why don't you write to him. We don't have his address but I can send it on to Don and Vera. If I address it next door it will be redirected to the Margates .They said they'd be moving around a fair bit before making up their mind what suburb they will be settling on in Melbourne."

"Why have they all gone to Melbourne? It doesn't make sense," Amelia rightly asked.

"After what happened to you Don put an article in a local medical magazine. The Reyes Disease Association saw it and offered him a job promoting awareness. We didn't know that Don and Vera lost a son to the disease, that's how Don picked it up so quickly, that probably saved your life. Anyway the job is in Melbourne, He has signed a three year contract and they've rented out their house. A lot's happened since you've been in hospital, darling."

"Oh Mum, what am I going to do. What will my friends think, everyone at school! I can't have a baby. I won't have a baby. I'm too young. I've got too much to do yet before I settle down. I want to travel, see the world."

"That's exactly how we feel as parents too, so, this is what we'll do, we'll tackle this together as a family. You are going to travel the world, starting next week. You are going to Paris with Michelle. You will stay with Aunty Margot and when and if a baby comes then we'll adopt it out in France and you can come back home. While you are over there Aunty Margot has arranged for you to take up the offered place at the Music Academy. I know it's a lot to take in, but Michelle and I have been going over all the options for weeks now and this is the best solution for everyone."

"Except me!" It was Amanda that said it not Amelia. "You're taking my sister away from me, she's part of me, you two should know that more than anyone."

"I know Amanda darling, it will be hard, but you can go over and stay during all the school holidays. It'll cost a bit but Jean and I have discussed it and we think we'll be able to manage it."

Amanda was shocked yet again as Amelia capitulated meekly and simply said "okay".

Chapter 25 - A Stab In The Heart.

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