CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

AMBER

 

AFTER EMMETT LEFT, I thought I would cry, but no tears came. I just stared at the door, waiting for what, I wasn’t sure.

The door opened again, and my heart leaped. Was he coming back?

“Amber?” My mother covered her mouth with both her hands, sobbing as she raced to me. She sat on the chair that Emmett had vacated, taking my hand. “Oh, Amber,” She sniveled, her eyes puffy from crying. My father and Luke, who had followed her in, both looked relieved to see me.

“I’m fine, Mum,” I comforted as I squeezed her hand. As I sat there looking at them, I wondered how they had even found out I was here.

She rubbed my forehead. “My baby. When they said you’d been shot…” She started to cry again, and my dad leaned around my mum, hugging her while patting my hand. I frowned, trying to figure out who  my mother was speaking of. Surely, Emmett hadn’t called them.

“We were terrified,” My father said, the pain showing in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” and I was. The gunshot wound had been a clean cut. The surgeon did tell me, though, that I was lucky to be alive. The morphine drip that was in my hand was keeping the pain at bay, and for that I was thankful. I still remembered what it had felt like when I had been shot, and yet the pain from the gunshot wound felt like nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

“Only you could take a bullet and live to tell the tale,” Luke spoke from the door. He hadn’t moved. I knew from the strain in his shoulders that he was keeping it in, all the pain and fear that he would have felt at the thought of losing me. I held out my other hand to him and he came, his eyes tearing up.

“What happened?” It was my father who asked, and I tensed.

“I can’t remember.” I didn’t look at anyone for too long. “Who told you I was here?” I asked Luke; he seemed less emotional.

“Grace rang us, said you were walking along the docks when an arrest with the police and some drug dealers went wrong.” My mother’s sobs had me turning to her. “Drug dealers, Amber. You must have been terrified. And this is a good part of town, but seriously, what were you doing walking down by the docks by yourself no less?” I squeezed my mother’s hand again. Dear God, if she only knew.

“We should let her rest,” My father was always the voice of reason, and for that, in this moment, I was thankful. Exhaustion had me agreeing.

“Close your eyes, sweetheart. We’re here and we aren’t leaving you,” My mother said as she brushed my forehead like she did when I was a child. After bedtime stories, she would rub my forehead with two fingers. It soothed me, and I would fall asleep. Now with the memory, I let myself sink into the warmth that it provided me.

***

Low, whispering voices brought me back from the dead. The pain seemed to be worse today. My hand automatically pressed the clicker that sat in my grip. It was almost instant. The dwindling pain had me opening my eyes.

Grace and my mother, both teary-eyed, smiled at me. Grace’s lip trembled, telling me a hundred things, and I found my eyes welling up. “You scared me half to death,” Grace spoke as she hugged me softly, and the tears spilled down my face.

“How are you feeling this morning?” My mother asked, her voice now controlled. Grace sat back, and my mother handed her a tissue while squeezing her shoulder. She was such an amazing mother. She mothered everyone without thinking about it, it was so natural to her.

“I love you,” I told her, and she welled up again. She was an emotional mother, but I loved her for that, too.

“Oh, Baby. I love you too,” She got herself a tissue, and handed me one, too.

“We’re like a bunch of ninnies,” I said, not really one for crying. A soft laugh was dragged from us all.

“I’m going to get some fresh clothes for you. I won’t be gone too long.” My mother rubbed my forehead now, as she spoke. “Grace is going to sit with you. I know you two have a lot to catch up on.” She smiled softly while looking at Grace, who nodded.

“Of course I will keep her company, Mrs. Green,” Grace said with a nod. Her manners were always better than mine. I rolled my eyes. It was one of the reasons my parents adored her. My mother always told me how much she loved Grace when we were growing up. She always stated how she was such a well-mannered child.

“It’s Betty, Grace. I told you a thousand times,” My mother waved a hand at Grace, who now smiled. But my mother loved being ‘Mrs. Green.’ “I won’t be long,” My mother planted a kiss on my forehead.

“Take your time,” I told her, wanting as much time with Grace as I could have.

The door had barley clicked shut when Grace started. “What were you doing walking out on the docks by yourself? Jesus, Amber. I nearly died when Emmett rang me.” She chewed on her lip, fighting more tears. My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name. ‘Emmett.’ God, I missed him so much already. I had no idea how I was going to survive months without him. From Grace’s statement, I knew instinctively that Grace had no idea what really went on in Emmett’s life, and for some unknown reason I wanted to protect his secret for him. I knew how much he needed Grace in his life.

“I don’t know what I was thinking... It was silly…” I didn’t look at Grace directly. I hated lying to her, but I had no idea what she knew of her brother's world.

“Do you remember anything?” Her brows were pulled down with concern as she looked at me. Memories of the darkness, of the van, Andrei watching me. Seeing Emmett walk into that warehouse for the first time, knowing he had found me. Hiding behind the crates from bullets. Fucking bullets. Tears burned my eyes now.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. You're safe,” Grace sat on the side of the bed, near my head. Moving my head so it rested on her stomach, she rubbed my hair. A tear splashed on my face. “I thought a piece of me died, too, when Emmett rang. I remember turning to Derek and saying it’s over. I can’t deal with this.”

I reached up, taking Grace’s hand. She had lost so much and come so far. I could only imagine how this must have affected her. “I’m fine, Grace. We're still intact, two halves of one soul.” She laughed on a sob at my words. “Yeah…and maybe one day, family.” I looked up at her, and she smiled at me.

“You and my brother?” She questioned. I was glad when she got up to get more tissues. It gave me a moment to compose myself. Once again, I didn’t have a clue what to say.

“Yeah, I know. Weird or what?”

Grace knew me. There was nothing I could hide from her. She paused, looking at me over my shoulder. “Girl, what’s going on with you? I know you have been shot but this...” she waved her hand at me, “isn’t you. Is it because he’s my brother?”

I took the rope she threw me. “Yeah, it’s just I don’t want anything to get weird between us.”

“I promise, it won’t. It just means we will be real sisters now.” I smiled at the goofy smile on Grace’s face. She really was happy about this, and that meant the world to me. But did she know that he was in prison?

“Speaking of Emmett. Where is he?” I asked slyly. Yeah, I was the worst friend ever. I felt like shit, and even worse when Grace narrowed her eyes at me.

“Are you being serious?” she questioned. “Do you not remember that he was here?” Yeah, before he was dragged off to prison.

“I’m sure, Grace,” I held up the morphine stick. “My memory is a bit wishy-washy from this stuff.”

Pity filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, hun. He did come and explain. He had business abroad that he couldn’t cancel. Some construction site that needed him there. He could be gone for weeks.” Grace squeezed my hand. I felt nothing but relief. She had no idea about her brother. I hated knowing the truth about how her family died, and about how little she knew of her brother’s pain. I never kept anything from Grace, but this knowledge would do no good to either of them.

“I miss him,” I said honestly, for the first time.

“Oh. My. God. You love him,” Grace’s face had taken on a red hue, and she covered her cheeks with her hands.

I laughed. “Yeah, I do. Jesus, you look horrified,” I said.

“It’s Emmett.” She leaned in like she was talking about some alien species, like she really couldn’t understand this, and I got that. But I also got to know him. “Geeze, I thought you two were just doing the nasty. I never thought you would actually fall in love with him. Actually, I never thought anyone could fall in love with him. He is just so…cold.”

Pity for Emmett filled my heart. I knew why he was that way, and it hurt me to the core that no-one else got to see the side of him that I knew, especially Grace. It was in that moment that I made it my mission to bring those two closer. “He’s amazing,” I corrected. “I think you guys really need to get to know each other.” 

When she looked at me to see if I was joking, I knew I was smiling like a fool. Grace laughed. “Just… Gross. I can’t,” but her smile told me she would try, for me. Because for her to see me, she had to see him. We talked about our time apart; I really had to cut out eighty percent of my story. So, Grace did most of the talking.