Darreanâs expression became one of surprise and genuine flattery when Amelia gave her compliment. âThanks for saying as much, Amelia, but really IâmâŠJust doing what you deserve. Making sure youâre alright, and happy. That you have what you need. Iâm glad you like it, thereâs more where that came from. Two is an incredible brother, nothing could ever replace or over shadow him. But, Iâm glad I could add to that for you. You deserve it.â He nodded, a knowing twinkle in his eye a she admitted that she hadnât eaten. âIs that okay with you, Amelia? Me, taking care of you? You deserve it. I want to make sure youâre okay. I know itâs easy to get lost in a place like this one. To get drowned out by all these personalities and voices that are so loud. ButâŠI wonât let that happen to you. I donât want it to.â His eyes dropped, though a smile formed on his lips when he noticed her hugging the bear to her chest. Darrean felt her weight leaning into him, and he held her tighter then, rubbing circles across her back in a comforting gesture. While she explained what was happening, he kept his eyes on hers, nodding his understanding and continuing his physical comfort. âDo you want to talk about what happened to lead you to that thought? We donât have to, I wonât be the one to push. But you can. Iâll listen to anything you have to say, Amelia. Either way, Iâm sorry thatâs how youâre feeling. I wonât pretend to know what happened, but I can say without a doubt that youâre one of the toughest people Iâve ever met. You get up every day, and you face all this crazy stuff with a smile and the brightest sense of humor. Youâre there for others, even when they arenât there for you. Youâre smart, and youâre kind. And all of that adds up to one tough cookie in my book. ButâŠEven with all of that, Iâm glad youâre back here too. Not because I think you need your brother to protect you. But because itâsâŠGiven us a chance to get to know each other. Iâm glad you arenât lonely anymore. Iâll keep being here, Iâll keep showing up, because I canât stand the thought of you being lonely. ButâŠIf thereâs more youâre feeling, or more you want to say, please say it. Let it out. Donât hold onto it, because thatâll only make things worse. No matter what it is, Iâm here. Iâm here, and Iâll hold you through it all.â
Being a greaser, Amelia wasnât really used to people outside of her little clique wanting anything to do with her. So to have Darrean being so kind to her was so different it softened her and it saddened her a bit too. What had happened to her was vividly recalling itself as the other Switch spoke, imploring her to open up and let him in. As a greaser, opening up was not only soft, it was a means for other people to use that softness against you. âYou ainât like many other people, I reckon. Definitely none Iâve ever met.â Of all the things Amelia thought he was capable of, betraying her wasnât one of them. She didnât know him though, they were still new acquaintances as of a few weeks ago. At the same time, having Two-Bit there to protect her her whole life had made her a little naive too. Besides, this particular information could only hurt her if it got back to her family because then it would hurt them. âI cainât say itâs a huge deal. I told ya as much. I just always had Two there to beat off the boyos and do whatever to keep things smooth for me. I didnât really notice how much he did for me, I guess. He came here first, I spent some time in Tulsa without him and some of the people back home took advantage. On accountâa Two not beinâ there to protect me. Ainât much was physical, but you know how people get sometimes. The bad ones. You tell âem no and they go tellinâ the world ya said yes. Then everyone says ya said yes and then... youâre the town slut.â Deflecting and depersonalizing, the real nasty bits came out less like she was saying they happened and more like they tangibly could or did to other people. The hurt in her eyes and the silent few tears betrayed the attempt to smile through.Â