Rearview Mirror Read online

  Amber Knight grows up in an abusive home in Eagle Peak. Circumstances cause her to leave in the middle of the night and leave behind everyone she was close to, including her mother and friends. And most importantly, the love of her life, Nicole Brooks. Ten years later, Amber is offered a place in an art show. Unfortunately for Amber, two of the pictures chosen are from her time in Eagle Peak. Amber must return to get release forms signed to show the photos. While back in Eagle Peak, Amber must face her past and those she left behind. Will they accept her reasons for leaving? Will they still be friends? What will happen when the past meets the present?

  SAPPHIRE BOOKS

  SALINAS, CALIFORNIA

  Rearview Mirror

  Copyright © 2019 by BL Clark. All rights reserved.

  ISBN EPUB - 978-1-948232-76-0

  This is a work of fiction - names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without written permission of the publisher.

  Editor - Tara Young

  Book Design - LJ Reynolds

  Cover Design - Fineline Cover Design

  Sapphire Books Publishing, LLC

  P.O. Box 8142

  Salinas, CA 93912

  www.sapphirebooks.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Edition – August 2019

  This and other Sapphire Books titles can be found at

  www.sapphirebooks.com

  To my family for their love and support.

  Sapphire Books – Chris and Schileen, thank you for taking another chance on me and allowing me to yet again make a dream come true.

  Carter Steele – Thank you for being a fantastic beta reader. Your input helped make this a stronger story.

  Tara Wentz – Thank you for always being a great friend and supporter. I truly appreciate you beta reading for me and all your suggestions to make this a better story.

  Tara Young – Thank you for your edits and suggestions. You helped make this a stronger story.

  Chris Slipper – Thank you for the years of friendship and support. You have no idea what it has meant to me.

  Mom & Dad – Thank you for loving me and always standing behind my decisions (even when you didn’t fully agree with them). I love you both!

  Prologue

  David and Jeffrey Knight didn’t care much for women. No, they thought women should be in the background of life. David Knight was going to make sure his daughter knew her place if it killed her.

  “You best respect your brother and me. Unless you like the pain,” David yelled at his eighteen-year-old daughter lying sprawled out on the kitchen floor bleeding. Her brown hair matted to her head with blood. He raised his large fist and swung it down, connecting with her left forearm as she raised it to try to hold off the blow. She heard the bone break from the force of his movement.

  “David, stop,” cried Karen Knight, his wife. “She’s just a young girl.”

  “No, she isn’t. She’s a woman and old enough to know her place.”

  “Yeah,” Jeffrey Knight yelled. “Don’t forget about those losers she hangs out with, Dad. Make her pay for them, especially her ‘friendship’ with that Nicole chick. Something isn’t right between them.”

  “Jeffrey, you stay out of this.” Karen glared at her twenty-two-year-old son.

  “Woman, you will not speak to him that way.” David reached back and slapped his wife with an open hand. “I run this house, and you will do as I say.”

  “M-mama, please, stay out of this,” Amber pleaded from the floor. “I’ll b-be okay. I can’t handle you being hurt because of me.”

  Oh, baby girl, you are so brave. “David, please stop this now. She’s paid enough.” Karen again tried to put herself between her husband and her daughter but was shoved aside.

  “I’ll say when she’s paid enough. Jeffrey, go get the belt.”

  “Yes, sir!” Jeffrey left the room almost skipping he was so happy that his little sister was getting the beating she deserved. He’d prefer to be the one giving it, but if she was getting one, he was pacified.

  David and Jeffrey took turns swinging and hitting Amber with the belt. David enjoyed the sound of the leather hitting her skin, while Jeffrey loved to make the buckle hit her instead. He hated Amber and loved it when his father gave him the opportunity to beat on her. Jeffrey was ruthless in his hits and kicks.

  “E-enough,” whispered Amber, hoping for the pain and beating to stop.

  “You think you’ve had enough?” David asked as he took the belt from Jeffrey. “Where is your place, girl?”

  “N-nowhere, sir. I’m not to be seen or heard.” Amber spit out blood as she coughed out the words.

  “Clean yourself up, then clean up this mess you left on the floor.” With that, David roughly grabbed Jeffrey by the collar and dragged him out of the room, leaving Amber and Karen alone.

  “Baby girl, why do you push him? You know how they are.”

  “I w-wasn’t pushing. I was late by accident. I was with Nicole…”

  “You need to leave here. You need to run away and never return.”

  “Mama? Y-you, don’t want me here?”

  “Baby, I love you and there’s nothing more than I want for you to be safe. Here isn’t safe. You need to pack a bag and run away. Run far away. I can’t save you if this keeps up.”

  “I d-don’t want to leave you here. You know he’s going to take it out on you.”

  “Yes, but it’s better than me watching him and Jeffrey take it out on you. Now go clean yourself up, pack a bag, and get ready to sneak out tonight after they fall asleep.”

  Amber nodded her understanding and made her way into her room. Where would she go? Where would she be safe? What damage did they do to her tonight that she was going to have to live with? So many questions, so few answers.

  Amber boarded the train, one bag on her shoulder, the other in her good hand. Because it was late, there weren’t many people getting on, for which she was grateful. Amber found a seat in the back row and rested her head on the window.

  Chapter One

  Ten Years Later

  “Zach, your stroke is all wrong for this painting,” Amber said as she tried to help her fellow painter and best friend.

  “It’s an original work. How can the stroke be wrong?”

  “The aesthetics are off. Here, let me show you.” Amber took the brush he was using and with a few strokes changed the whole scope of the painting. “There, how’s that?”

  “How is it that you aren’t a famous painter yet? How is it you’re still a grunt painter like me? I can’t create anything original like you can.”

  “Lucky for you, I guess,” Amber said, laughing.

  The pair were still laughing when the gallery curator came by. “Amber, I’d like to see you in my office when you’re done today.”

  “Yes, Ms. Baer.”

  Amber looked at Zach, trying to gauge if he had any idea.

  “Do you want me to wait for you after work?”

  “Please! I feel like I’m being called to the principal’s office, and I have no clue what I did wrong.”

  “Well, you kinda are,” Zach said, amused. “Seriously, though, I’m sure it’s nothing bad. You and Lucinda have a good relationship. She probably just wants to talk about your art or the job you’re doing here in the gallery.”

  “I hope so. I just don’t know what I’d do if I lost this job.”

  “You aren�
��t losing your job. They’ll get rid of me long before they get rid of you.”

  “Well, I’m done with my painting. I’m going to go check with the supervisor and see if I can clean up and head to Lucinda’s office.”

  “Good luck! I’ll be waiting out back for you,” Zach said as Amber walked away.

  Amber cleaned up her paint station, grabbed a clean coat, and headed upstairs to the management offices to speak with Lucinda. Amber took the stairs to give herself a few minutes to compose herself. Once she reached the office, she knocked on the door and heard a muffled “come in” from the other side of the door.

  Amber opened the door and started to walk in. “Y-you wanted to see me, Ms. Baer?”

  “Yes, Amber, please, have a seat.” Lucinda motioned to the chairs in front of her desk. Amber grabbed one and sat, placing her hands in her lap. “You’ve been working here for what—ten years now?” Amber nodded her agreement. “And we’ve talked about your portfolio before, and your artwork is really coming along. The work you’ve done in the past couple of months has been some of the best I’ve ever seen out of you. I’d like to put you into our next ‘Up and Coming Artists’ show.”

  “Wow,” Amber replied, stunned. “I don’t know what to say. It means a lot that you’ve even looked at my work.”

  “Well, you’re one of the few female artists we have, and that alone made me keep a close eye on you. But your work has really been improving. Your portfolio is well rounded between paintings and photographs. I’ve seen some of the freelance work you’ve been doing.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Baer. I’ve been working hard on my portfolio.”

  “Well, I’ve chosen four photographs and four paintings that I’d like to use in your show. There’s just one problem.”

  “What’s that?” Amber asked, her heart sinking a little.

  “We need to get release forms signed by the people in the pictures. Now, two of the four are older, but I still need you to get the forms signed. I know this could pose an issue, but I have faith that you’ll make it happen.”

  “Which pictures?”

  Lucinda pulled out a contact sheet and showed the pictures to Amber. What she thankfully didn’t hear was the internal groan that Amber let out seeing that two of the pictures were more than ten years earlier.

  “I’m going to need to take some time off to get these signed. Two of the pictures are from my high school years, and I’ll have to go out of town for those.”

  “Do what you need to, just make it happen,” Lucinda said, not realizing the hardship she was putting Amber in.

  “Thank you. Was there anything else?”

  “Nope. Oh, here’s a copy of the contact sheet for you. I’m certain you’ll want to show Zach which pieces of your portfolio I’ve chosen.”

  “Thank you again. I really appreciate the opportunity.” Amber grabbed the contact sheet and made her way out of the office and back down to the painting area. It was after hours now, so there was nobody around. Amber placed her coat at her station, then made her way to the employee exit to meet Zach.

  As Amber walked out, she could see Zach pacing.

  “Well?” Zach asked eagerly.

  “She wants to put me in the next ‘Up and Coming Artists’ show.” The disbelief in her voice was evident, but so was the excitement.

  “Oh, my god, that’s amazing,” Zach gushed as he picked her up and swung her around. “Why aren’t you happier?”

  “Part of it is because I’m in shock. Part of it is because she chose two photos from my youth, and I have to get release forms signed.”

  “Oh, are these people you’ve kept in touch with?”

  “Not in the past ten years. I don’t even know if they still live in the area I grew up in.”

  “We’ll figure it out. Come on, let’s get a cab and go to your place and see if we can track any of the people down. Then, you’ll at least have a starting point.”

  “Thank you for being the voice of reason.” Amber wasn’t sure what to do. She couldn’t go back to her old town, could she? It’d been ten years since she up and disappeared one night. Were her parents still around? What about Jeffrey? Could she risk seeing them? Risk being seen by them?

  Zach and Amber took a cab to the brownstone she was renting an apartment in. They ordered a pizza and camped out on the couch in Amber’s living room.

  “Okay, who’s the first person we need to look up?” Zach took Amber’s laptop from her.

  Amber let out a loud sigh before responding. “Heather Woods.”

  “Okay, so, let’s see here.” Zach started surfing the internet. “And Google says…we have a winner. There is a Heather Woods in Eagle Peak. Next…”

  “Erik Harrison.”

  “Google says…we don’t have anyone with that name there. Maybe he’s listed under his wife’s name. Or maybe one of the others knows where to find him. Who’s the last one we need to find?”

  Amber took a deep breath as she looked at the contact sheet in her hand and at the picture of the third and final person. “Nicole Brooks.”

  “Is this the Nicole?”

  “Yes, that Nicole.”

  “We have another winner. So, now what do you need to do? Do you call them, or do you have to go there?”

  “I have to go there to get the forms signed.”

  “Should you call and warn them that you’re on your way?”

  “I don’t even know what I’d say. ‘Hey, remember me? Yeah, ten years ago, we used to be friends until I left’ or…”

  “Or you just show up on their doorstep and hope the element of surprise works to your advantage.”

  “Let’s just schedule the flight and call it a night,” Amber suggested. The fear of going back to that place overwhelmed her.

  Amber pulled into Eagle Peak and headed down Main Street. The smell of the old tire factory made her sick to her stomach. She could remember her father and Jeffrey coming home smelling like rubber. Amber gave a full-body shiver at the thought. She had reserved a room at the one hotel in town. As she drove along, she was reminded of her time here and the fear she felt.

  Amber parked her car in front of the hotel, grabbed her bags, and went to check in.

  “Welcome to the Woods Retreat. My name is Sidney. How can I help you?” the front desk clerk said.

  “I have a room reserved. Amber Pellot.”

  Sidney played around with the computer and got the room and the keycards settled. “You’re in our Bonsai Suite on the fourth floor.”

  “I didn’t reserve a suite…”

  “No, but it’s available, and I hate to see it just sitting there, so I upgraded your room for you, but the cost is still the same. Plus, you have the most unique eye color I’ve ever seen. It’s captivating.”

  “Thank you, but I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

  “The manager and I go way back from school, don’t worry about it. Enjoy your stay.”

  “Thank you again.” Amber smiled and walked toward the glass elevator. Once she reached the fourth floor, she turned left out of the elevator, and straight ahead was the Bonsai Suite. Amber smiled as she opened the door. The suite did its name justice. It was decorated in an Asian flair, right down to the platform bed and bonsai tree decorations.

  Well, at least it’s a nice room. Amber set her bags on the bed.

  After settling in, Amber decided to go for a walk. After being cooped up on the plane and then in the car, the last thing she wanted was to just sit in the hotel room. Amber grabbed the keycard and put it in her back pocket and headed out the door. When she got to the lobby, she saw Sidney talking to a tall slender brunette. As the elevator dinged and announced its arrival, both women looked toward Amber.

  “Amber?” the brunette asked. “Amber Knight?” The woman walked toward her, and as she got closer, Amber thought she looked familiar, but she didn’t know how she was recognized. She’d changed her hair color, her hairstyle was different, she now wore glasses, even her body shape was diff
erent.

  “Do I know you?” Amber asked hesitantly.

  “Oh, my god, it is you.” The woman raced over and engulfed Amber in a hug.

  Amber felt very awkward and just patted the woman on the back. She had no clue who this was, but apparently, she knew her. “Do I know you?” she asked again.

  “I suppose it has been a while and everything. It’s me, Heather Woods.”

  “Heather? Wow, you grew up,” Amber said, laughing at the stupidity of her statement. “I don’t know what to say. How did you recognize me?”

  “You never forget the first crush you ever had…”

  “I was your first crush? Wow.”

  “What are you doing back here? Where’ve you been for the last ten years? Hasn’t Nicole been through enough?”

  “I’m only back to get some release forms signed, then I’m out of here again. I’m not here to cause any trouble. I wouldn’t be here if this wasn’t important.”

  “What kind of release forms?”

  “I’m going to be in an art show in a couple of months at the gallery I work with, and in order to use the photographs in my portfolio, I need to get permission from the people in the pictures. Two of the pictures include people from here.”

  “Who are you here to see?” Heather’s tone became serious. “Wait, let’s go into my office.” Heather led them to the manager’s office. “Now who exactly are you here to see?”

  “Well, you, actually. And Nicole Brooks and Erik Harrison. Although when I was looking up people, I couldn’t find Erik.”

  “He’s still around. He lives mostly at the firehouse now.”

  “The firehouse?”