Love buried in silence

Amanda had always believed that some people were born knowing exactly what they wanted from life. She wasn't one of them. At twenty years old, Amanda was still trying to understand where she belonged in the world. She lived with her grandmother in a modest little house at the end of a quiet street. The house wasn't large, but Amanda loved it. The faded curtains, the old wooden furniture, the tiny garden her grandmother carefully tended every morning—all of it felt like home. Her grandmother had raised her since she was a child. She was strict when she needed to be, gentle when Amanda was hurting, and protective almost to a fault. Amanda, on the other hand, was quiet. She was the kind of girl who apologized when someone bumped into her. She preferred books to crowded parties and quiet evenings to noisy gatherings. She wasn't the sort of person who attracted attention deliberately. But somehow, she had attracted his. Collins. She still remembered the first day she saw him. It had been raining. Amanda had been standing outside a small grocery store, holding a plastic bag over her head because she had forgotten her umbrella. She was already soaked. "You're going to get sick." She turned. A young man was standing beside a black car. He was tall, neatly dressed, and holding an umbrella. Amanda looked behind herself. "Are you talking to me?" He smiled. "Unless there's another girl standing in the rain pretending a plastic bag is an umbrella." Amanda looked down at the bag. Her cheeks became warm. He walked toward her and held the umbrella over her head. "Thank you." Amanda stared at him. "You're welcome." "I can manage." She said moving away slightly from him. "I can see that." He look at her slightly wet clothes She gave him a shy look. He smiled again. There was something warm about his smile. Something that made her forget the rain. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Home." "Do you live nearby?" She nodded. "Two streets from here." "I'll take you." "No, thank you." Amanda immediately shook her head. "Why?" He asked "I don't know you." "That's fair." Collins laughed and stepped back a little facing her "I'm Collins." He held his hand out for her Amanda hesitated. "I'm Amanda." She said shyly "Nice to meet you, Amanda." "Nice to meet you too." He pointed toward the road. "At least let me walk you." Amanda looked at the rain, then at the umbrella, then at him. "Okay." She said and they walked together. It took less than ten minutes. But Amanda remembered every second. The way Collins made jokes to make her laugh. The way he walked on the side closest to the road. The way he never allowed the umbrella to cover him completely because he kept tilting it toward her. When they reached her street, Amanda stopped. "This is my house." "Nice." Collins said, looking at the little house. "Thank you." She smiled "Will I see you again?" Amanda didn't know what to say. "Maybe." "That's not an answer." She smiled shyly. "It is for now." Collins laughed. "Then I'll take my chances." He handed her the umbrella. Amanda looked at it. "But you'll get wet." "I have a car." She laughed. "Goodbye, Collins." "Goodbye, Amanda." She walked toward the gate. After a few steps, she turned. He was still watching her. Their eyes met. Collins smiled. Amanda quickly looked away. She didn't know it then, but that moment would become the beginning of the most beautiful and painful chapter of her life. --- Weeks passed. Amanda began seeing Collins more often. Sometimes he appeared at the grocery store. Sometimes he waited near the street. Sometimes he simply sent her a message asking how her day was. At first, Amanda was suspicious. Why would someone like Collins be interested in her? He had money. She knew that much. His clothes are expensive. His car is expensive. He spoke confidently. Yet he never made her feel small. That was what Amanda liked about him. One afternoon, he picked her up after she finished helping her grandmother at the market. "Where are we going?" Amanda asked. "Somewhere." He replied "That's not an answer." He grinned. "You've been spending too much time with me." She smiled.l "You haven't answered me." Amanda looked at him. "Trust me." He said smiling. Eventually, he drove her to a quiet park overlooking the city. They sat beneath a large tree. Amanda looked around. "It's beautiful." "I know you'd like it." They talked for hours. Amanda told him about her dream of going to university. "I want to study business." "Why business?" He asked curiously "Because I want to build something." "What?" "I don't know yet." She smiled. "Then I'll wait until you figure it out." She looked at him. "You'll wait?" "For as long as it takes." Amanda laughed softly. "You say things like that too easily." "I'm serious." He looked into her eyes. "I want to know everything about you." Amanda's smile faded slightly. "Why?" "Because I like you." Her heart began beating faster. She looked away. "I like you too." Collins reached for her hand. Amanda hesitated before letting him hold it. His fingers closed gently around hers. --- When Amanda returned home that evening, her grandmother was sitting on the porch. "You are late." Grandma said looking angry. “ Where were you?” "I'm sorry” Amanda put down her bag. "With a friend." "A boy?" Her grandmother studied her face. Amanda's face turned pink. "Grandma." She said looking away "That means yes." She smiled "His name is Collins." Her grandmother's smile disappeared. "Collins?" Amanda noticed. "Yes." "Who is he?" "He's just a friend." "Does he come from around here?" "I think so." Her grandmother became quiet. Amanda frowned. "Why?" "No reason." But there was something in her grandmother's expression that Amanda didn't understand. "Grandma?" "I'm only telling you to be careful." "I will" She looked at her grandma "Good." Amanda went inside. Her grandmother watched her disappear. She had seen the car before. She knew who Collins's family is and she knew that Amanda had no idea what kind of world she was stepping into. --- That night, Amanda lay in bed staring at her phone. A message appeared. Collins: Are you awake? She smiled. Amanda: Yes. Collins: Good. I wanted to hear your voice. Immediately her phone ringd "Hello?" His voice was soft. "Hi." She hesitated before talking "Did I wake you?" He asked "No." "Are you smiling?" Amanda laughed. "Why would I be smiling?" "Because you're talking to me." "You are very confident." "I have reasons." He said "What reasons?" She rolled onto her side and asked Amanda became quiet. “I will tell you later” He said There was silence. "I think I'm falling in love with you." Then Collins said Amanda's heart stopped. "Collins..." She didn't know what to say. "I'm not asking you to say anything." His voice softened. "I just wanted you to know." Amanda closed her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to imagine a future that included someone besides herself. Someone who made her feel safe. Someone who made her smile. Someone who might actually love her. She whispered: "I think I'm falling in love with you too." —----- Neither of them knew that their love had already been noticed by someone else. Across the city, Collins's mother sat in her elegant living room, looking at a photograph someone had just placed in front of her. It was a photograph of Collins. And beside him was Amanda. Her expression hardened. "Who is this girl?" The man standing before her answered quietly. "Her name is Amanda." Collins's mother picked up the photograph. She stared at it for a long moment. Then she asked: "How long has this been going on?" The man hesitated. "Long enough." His answer made her expression change. She looked toward the staircase. Her son was upstairs. Completely unaware. His mother slowly placed the photograph on the table. "We need to find out everything about her." Neither of them knew that someone had begun planning how to end the love story they had only just begun.