Chapter Text
“Don’t worry. Mom and dad will get over it. They’ll forget all about it when you come home for break.”
Amelie nodded, though she stared down at her lap and away from Edward. There was a dull ache in her chest as she remembered their parents’ stern words the months leading up to this.
“You can’t keep clinging onto your brother like this! You have to be independent. We’ll pay for your own dorm, whatever it costs. You’ll never learn that if you move in with Edward.”
They were probably right, but their words ultimately fell on deaf ears. They didn’t come with her to move in, just Amelie, Edward, and her luggages piled in the backseat. She looked up from her lap to Edward in the driver’s seat. He glanced over to the side at her, a small smile forming.
“The graduate dorms aren’t much bigger than the freshman ones would be. But at least it’s more like an apartment. Won’t have to have a communal bathroom or rely on dining hall food,” Edward said with a chuckle. “We’ll have to figure out who gets the bedroom and who sleeps in the living room, though.”
“You can take the bedroom. It’s your dorm,” Amelie said, with a laugh of her own. She shifted in her seat for a moment before turning to him. “We could always share a bed, if anything.”
Edward didn’t say anything, and his expression was unreadable to her. He just drove on in silence for several minutes. Amelie stared at him the entire time, looking for an answer. She eventually let out a small breath through her nose, turning to the other side to look out the window as they drove over the bridge, the clear sky making the river below glisten.
“We should probably hold off on that,” Edward said finally, his tone even. He didn’t elaborate further, and Amelie didn’t turn her head so he could see the flash of pain that crossed over her face at his denial. She just put on her headphones and closed her eyes as she leaned her temple against the cool glass.
Edward had left home about 6 years ago. Despite Amelie’s begging for him to go to college nearby, Edward had chosen to go upstate. He suddenly went from being a couple steps away to being a six hour drive away. She gave him the silent treatment on the drive up, as they unloaded all his belongings, and the weeks that followed. Eventually she caved and returned his calls and texts, but not without demanding he allocate time every week to call her. He kept up his end of the deal, as often as he could. The weeks he was too busy to do so were some of the worst days of her life.
(She felt guilty for thinking that, like her birth parents would smite her for not thinking the day she lost them was the worst. But it was true.)
Eventually, though, Edward graduated and got accepted into an English Literature PhD program in the city. She was disappointed that he wouldn’t be moving back home, given that the university was providing him housing, but she’d made it her ultimate goal to get into the same university. She took a year out to work, volunteer, anything that would boost her chances of getting into the school. All so she could make the case of moving in with Edward under the guise of convenience. Edward caved and agreed to let her stay once she’d gotten the acceptance, but they never managed to quite get their parents on board with the idea. Eventually, however, they dropped the issue so long as Amelie agreed to keep a job while doing classes and helping Edward with housework. She agreed without any further argument, it was hardly a price to pay to be closer to Edward.
A hand reaching out to ruffle her hair took her out of her reminiscing. She frowned and swatted Edward’s hand away, taking off her headphones to look at him.
“Don’t get so grumpy. I didn’t say we couldn’t share a bed sometimes. It’s just good to have your own space. You’ll find out when you actually start your classes,” he said, his hand lingering in her hair for a moment before pulling away. She looked over at him, before her lips quirked into a small smile.
“I’m not being grumpy,” she said, but Edward just laughed, not looking convinced.
The rest of the ride was normal, the tension she felt slowly melting away. Edward asked her what classes she was taking. She answered that it was mostly intro to biology, chemistry, labs, and a couple general education courses she had to take. Edward seemed to turn his nose up at that, which earned a jab in the elbow from her. She learned that Edward was a teaching assistant for a class on Victorian era gothic literature, introduction to American lit, and taking a few seminar classes. He sounded a bit tired when he mentioned the seminars, but perked up once he spoke about the classes he was helping teach.
Edward frowned after hearing her schedule. “Sounds busy. And working on top of that? You’ll burn out. I’ll tell mom and dad to drop that condition. I’m sure they’ll come around if they know you’re busy.”
Amelie shook her head. “No, don’t do that. They’ll just nag me about getting my own place. It’s way too much of a hassle. I can handle it. Besides, it’s on campus anyway. Part time at the health center. Just restocking condoms and fent kits and making flyers and stuff,” she assured him.
Edward still looked a bit concerned, but didn’t push the issue in the end. “Well. You know. Can always talk to me if it gets to a point,” he said, a bit awkwardly. Amelie just nodded.
The traffic as they drove off the bridge and into the city slowed them down and Amelie put her headphones on to drown out the noises of cars and the subway. Loud music blared in her ears for the rest of the ride, until they arrived at the student parking garage, next to a large brick apartment complex. Students mingled at the steps, the benches in the surrounding area. The plaque on the side of the building read “Broome Hall.”
“Home sweet home,” Edward said as he moved to park in the garage. “Haven’t seen a lot of undergrads hanging around here, but those dorms aren’t too far anyway. In case you want to visit… friends from classes and stuff.”
Amelie tried not to laugh at the notion, instead nodding. “I’m sure I’ll figure out where everything is.”
She climbed out of the car, opening up the backseat to take out one of her luggages and her backpack. Edward handled her other luggage and a large duffel bag she had. They double checked that they had everything before heading up to the entrance. Edward scanned his ID to let them in. The ground floor had a common area and a hallway that led down to the laundry rooms, office spaces, and study spaces for the hall. The two of them took the elevator up to the third floor, passing through a dimly lit hallway to a door marked 3-13. Edward took out his key to unlock the front door, leading to a living room.
“Well, here’s your room,” Edward said, placing the keys on the coffee table. “We’ll pick up your key from the office after unloading a bit of stuff.”
Amelie took in the layout of the room. It was furnished oddly, a mix of a living space and a bedroom. To one side, there was a small kitchenette and a desk and chair tucked against the opposite wall. The other side consisted of a pullout couch, the bed portion tucked away now, a coffee table with the keys and a couple books atop it, and a small TV hung up on the opposite wall. There was a hallway presumably leading to the bedroom and the bathroom.
“Cozy,” Amelie said with a chuckle, though she was grinning from ear to ear as she looked around. “Storage might be a problem, though.”
Edward shook his head, leading her to his bedroom. “Plenty of space in my closet.” He opened the door to his room, revealing his very plain room. His bed was neat and made, but his desk and bedside table were a mess of books, notepads, pens, and sheets of paper. Amelie couldn’t help but laugh at how little his room had changed from when he was living at home.
Opening his closet did, in fact, reveal that it was mostly empty. Hung up were two suits, a winter jacket, two knit sweaters, and a multiple of the same shirt. On a shelf below, a few black pants were folded up on top of it, and a pair of boots and a pair of sneakers were tucked below that.
“I’ll leave some space so you don’t accidentally grab some of my clothes,” she said with a grin, and it earned a huff of laughter from Edward. She brought over the luggage with all her clothes in it, beginning to unload it. It was clear that her wardrobe was much fuller than Edward’s, pulling out band tees, blouses, several jeans, skirts, and a few pairs of shoes.
Edward helped her unload, hang up, and refold clothes. He picked out a couple pieces of pink and frilly items, holding them out and raising a brow. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear stuff like this before.”
She looked over at the pieces in question and shrugged. “Mom got me those. I feel bad about throwing them out and she’d packed them in my luggage for me so I didn’t make a fuss about it. I’ll wear it when visiting home, probably.”
Edward frowned. “If you're not going to wear it, it's just taking up space.” Amelie just shrugged.
Their mom always wanted a daughter. After having Edward, she had trouble conceiving and the couple decided to adopt. She talked about how lucky she was to find “the cutest and sweetest doll” at the adoption agency, referring to Amelie. Her doting on Amelie often consisted of playing dress up with her. Amelie thought it was fun when she was little, going shopping and twirling around for her parents to take pictures and praise how pretty she looked. Sometimes she even got Edward to look up from his book and make a comment and it would make her heart flutter.
Eventually, she had become a teenager and decided she wanted to dress herself. Her mother never stopped her from wearing her baggy tees and jeans but Amelie could feel the disappointment whenever she left the house, and sense the hope whenever she'd be gifted an article of clothing “she was sure to love.” When Amelie brought up the idea of getting a lobe piercing, it caused their first ever screaming match and Amelie never brought it up again.
Unpacking the clothes took up the most time, and it was smooth after that. The toiletries were tucked under the sink cabinet and she placed her duvet, pillow, and two stuffed animals—a rabbit and a dog—on top of the pullout couch. It still left enough space for the two of them to sit there, if a bit snugly. After placing her various knicknacks and laptop on her desk, they were finished with unpacking. It was around mid-afternoon at that point.
Edward glanced at the time on his phone. “Should be able to make it to the office if we head out now. And pick up a late lunch on the way back. There's a good Chinese takeout spot nearby.”
Amelie stretched out, sat on the floor. “Sounds good. I'm starving.” Her hair was tied into a ponytail and she'd changed into a black tanktop after growing sweaty from all the moving. Her bangs stuck to her face and she wiped them with a wet paper towel.
There was a buzz from the coffee table. Amelie went to grab her phone and look, seeing a text from her dad.
Sorry we didn't come with you. We'll come visit this weekend, if you'd like. You know we just worry. Call us, when you're free. Love you Mimi.
She smiled ever so slightly at the text, replying back that she'd like if they visited and that she loved them too.
“That dad? Told you they'd get over it,” Edward said. Amelie scrunched her nose at him.
“You don't even know what he said.”
“It was him, though, right?
“...Yeah.”
“And he apologized?”
“...Yeah…”
Edward chuckled dryly, grabbing his keys. “See, I'm psychic. Now come on, remember your ID.”
Amelie put on a light sweater, grabbed her wallet, and followed Edward out of the dorm.