Rearview Mirror Page 5

  “Here’s an idea. Feel free to say no, but how about we go back to the hotel because everyone is probably freaking out worrying about you. I thought I was going to have to fight Nicole and Zach when I told them I was coming alone to talk to you. Once we get back, I’ll call Erik and we can all go out to eat. Or if you would rather stay in, we can do what we did as teens and order pizza and have a slumber party in my living room.”

  “Really? You want to have a slumber party?”

  “Why not? Are you too good to do that now?”

  “No, not at all. Let’s go see what the others have to say. I think after how the day has gone, I would prefer to stay in,” Amber said as they got up from the bench and headed back to the hotel.

  Once they made it back, Jill called the station to have someone find Jeffrey Knight and keep tabs on him. She said he was acting suspiciously. What she didn’t say was that she wanted him watched in case he found out Amber was in town. She wanted to be sure Amber was safe.

  While Jill was on the phone, Sidney came over to flirt with Amber. Jill noticed and sent a text to Heather to send Nicole down.

  “You seem to have caused quite a stir here.” Sidney moved closer to Amber.

  “It wasn’t intentional.” Amber looked toward Jill and saw she was still on the phone.

  “I’m sure it’s all very overwhelming! Would you like to go out for a drink later? I’m a great listener. I get done here around eight. There are some nice bars in the area. Or we could go back to my place.” Sidney reached for Amber’s hand.

  Amber felt very uncomfortable and was trying to come up with a way to say no when she felt arms wrapping around her waist from behind. Amber knew instantly who it was from the feel of the arms and the breath on her neck. Amber leaned into the embrace; she had missed being held. Most of all, though, she had missed being held by Nicole.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” Nicole held Amber close and rested her chin on Amber’s shoulder. “I was starting to worry about you. Do you feel better now that you got some air?”

  Amber couldn’t answer, she was afraid she would cry if she tried. She nodded her reply. The feeling of Nicole’s breath on her neck was overwhelming.

  Sidney looked between the two women before making her way back to the front desk.

  Jill strolled over and leaned in, smiling toward Sidney. “They go way back. Just some friendly advice; you might not want to hit on Amber. Nicole is the jealous type.”

  “I didn’t know. Plus, everyone has always said Nicole was single,” Sidney said softly.

  “She was or is, but that’s because Amber left.” A smile grew on Jill’s face as she watched the two enjoying the closeness.

  “I didn’t know.” Sidney said again, watching Jill walk back over to the other two women.

  “Jealous much there, Nic?” Jill said, quietly giggling at them.

  “Shush.” Nicole tried to scowl and not laugh at Jill.

  Jill glanced over and saw a smile on Sidney’s face as she shook her head and watched them. This was a side of Nicole that Sidney had never seen, but Nicole seemed very natural with Amber.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” Nicole whispered into Amber’s ear.

  “I’ve missed you, too,” Amber said, feeling Nicole pull her even closer.

  “All right, enough sappy stuff. Let’s go back upstairs.” Jill interrupted the moment between Nicole and Amber.

  The two women pulled apart but stayed close.

  They walked back into the room, and Amber saw Zach physically let out a breath as soon as he saw her.

  “Feel better?” Heather asked, relieved to have Amber back at the hotel.

  “Much,” Amber said, a smile growing across her face. “Although I think Nicole may have broken Sidney.”

  “What did you do? I just got her broken in,” Heather whined, looking at Nicole, who was wearing a sheepish grin.

  “Sidney was hitting on Amber, which is why I had you send Nicole down. Well, Nicole came in and got all cuddly with Amber, squashing Sid’s dreams of ever getting a date.” Jill giggled, causing Nicole and Amber to blush a deep shade of red while Heather and Zach had to laugh.

  “Gee, Nic, I never knew you were so territorial,” Heather teased.

  “Hey, technically, Amber and I never broke up, so really, she’s still mine, and Sid needed to be shown that.” Nicole stuck her tongue out at Heather, which caused Amber to blush an even deeper shade of red.

  “Gee, Amber, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn that shade of red before.” Zach laughed as he snapped a picture of her with his phone.

  “Delete that picture, Pellot,” Amber said sternly, looking at Zach, who was shaking his head.

  “Never, and I emailed it to work, so if you delete it from my phone, I still have a copy.”

  “Ass,” Amber mumbled, causing Nicole to laugh.

  “What are you laughing at?” Amber asked Nicole, cocking an eyebrow.

  “I’m sorry, but the last time I saw you that shade of red wa—” Amber put her hand over Nicole’s mouth before she could continue.

  “I know when, and you will not mention that.” Amber knew Nicole was thinking about the time they went skinny dipping at Old Miller’s Pond and were making out in the middle of the pond when Old Man Miller came up and talked to them.

  “Nicole, I’d be happy to protect you if you want to divulge the story,” Heather said, and Zach nodded his agreement.

  Looking deep into Amber’s eyes, Nicole felt her heart race. “Sorry, guys, I have to respect Amber’s wishes and keep this just between her and me.” Nicole winked at Amber, causing Amber to give her the patented lopsided smile.

  “Okay, now that we’re done embarrassing Nicole and Amber… While Amber and I were out, I suggested that we call Erik and all of us go over to my house and have one of our slumber parties. Pizza, movies, pool…”

  “Are you sure?” Nicole looked at Jill.

  “Yep, now, Amber and Zach, grab what you’re going to need for tonight and let’s go,” Jill said. “Nic, I still have your spare bag at the house unless you want to stop by your place.”

  “Nah, I’ll just use what I have there.” Nicole watched as Amber and Zach grabbed a couple of things. Nicole saw Amber pack the letter she had given her earlier. After they had their stuff together, the group headed out for Jill’s house.

  Chapter Five

  Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

  Once the group arrived at Jill’s house, Jill called Erik, who said he’d be right over. He was never one to pass up free pizza. While Jill was calling Erik and ordering the pizzas, the rest of the group adjusted in the living room, so they were all going to have a spot for everyone.

  “Hey, Amber…um…are you sure you’ll be okay sitting and/or laying on the floor? What about your back and ribs?” Zach asked quietly, but not quiet enough, and Nicole overheard him.

  “What does he mean about your back and ribs?” Nicole asked, concern etched on her face.

  “I’ll be fine,” Amber said to Zach, then turned to Nicole and took her hand. “I sometimes have a problem with hard floors, beds, and chairs. It’s from the way my ribs healed and my back starts to hurt from compensating at times. I’ll be fine, though. Please, trust me. Both of you.”

  Nicole’s eyes filled with tears, but she fought to keep them from spilling over. What this woman had overcome, and still, she was reminded of the bad.

  “Nic, this is why I wanted you and Zach to leave before I told Jill anything. I didn’t want you guys looking at me with pity. I don’t want you to treat me differently.” Amber looked at Nicole and Zach. She was fighting the tears. She knew this would happen if they found out the truth. Why hadn’t she been more insistent on them leaving?

  “Hey, there’s no pity here. I’ve known you since we were five. I still remember in school Erik stealing and breaking my new blue crayon and you giving me yours to use. We go back too far for there to be pity,” Nicole said.

  “I agree with Nicole. Honestly, A
mber. Why would I pity you if you don’t pity me for what I’ve been through in the ten years you’ve known me? Or for what I wanted to do when Travis died? I love you. You’re my best friend, and I just don’t like to see you hurting. I will never pity you or think less of you for what you’ve gone through because you had no control over it,” Zach said.

  “Fine. How about this? I’ll let you both know if it gets to be too much. How is that? Fair?”

  “Fair,” Nicole and Zach said in unison. They each were planning to be extra attentive to Amber to make sure she didn’t put herself in pain.

  “All right, dinner will be here in thirty minutes or less. Well, that’s what they said at least.” Jill entered the room followed by Erik. “Everyone, find a seat.”

  Nicole grabbed two large floor pillows and a comforter. “Wanna share?” Nicole asked Amber.

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to make things harder for you or cause you to have another episode.”

  “Telling you about things earlier actually helped me like Dr. Scott said it would. I’m hoping that maybe this will help me some more.” Nicole offered a hesitant smile.

  “Then who am I to say no to sharing with you?” Amber gave Nicole another lopsided smile.

  Nicole placed the pillows and took a seat on Amber’s left. Zach took a seat on the right. Amber felt safe, secure. Seeing Jeffrey earlier had caused her anxiety to spike and her fear and panic to become more pronounced. This, though, was nice and would help.

  Just as everyone got situated, the doorbell rang, and Jill jumped up to get the pizzas. Heather went with her to help. Once they returned, Nicole put in the movie. They had decided on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for the first movie while they ate. Once the movie started, they passed the pizzas around, and everybody chose what they wanted.

  “All right, now someone is going to have to explain this movie to me,” Jill said, even though the movie was two minutes in.

  “None of us has seen it,” Nicole said. “Unless, Amber, have you two seen it?”

  “Zach and I rented it twice, and we both fell asleep about fifteen minutes in,” Amber said.

  “I blame you for that.” Zach chuckled.

  “Me? What the hell did I do?”

  “I seem to recall you had spiked the drinks both times.”

  “Oh, yeah, oops.” Amber giggled and gave him a sheepish look as the others laughed.

  “Where did you learn to mix drinks anyway?” Zach asked.

  “Jill.” Amber pointed at the woman seated across the room from them.

  “Hey! We learned together.” Jill stuck her tongue out at Amber.

  Nicole was watching the interaction between Amber and Zach, and it pulled at something deep inside her. She missed that connection with Amber, she missed feeling the closeness. She had been back in her life for less than four hours, and Nicole could feel her insides craving more time and closeness with this amazing woman. If she leaves in a couple of days, I don’t know what I’ll do. She’s still my everything.

  As the movie progressed, Nicole and Amber had stretched out on the floor pillows. Shortly after lying down, they found themselves under the comforter that Nicole had snagged before anyone else could get it. What they didn’t seem to notice were the quick glances that the others were giving them. Especially the looks from Zach.

  Zach couldn’t help but notice how relaxed Amber was when Nicole was close to her. He was seeing a side of her he had never seen before but always hoped to see. Amber was relaxed, happy, and in love. It was something that made him truly happy for her and angry at her father and brother for robbing Nicole and Amber of their serenity.

  Jill, Erik, and Heather were also watching the two women, hoping that Amber could help Nicole begin to heal. And from what they learned about Amber and her past, they were hopeful that Nicole could help Amber heal, as well.

  As the movie ended, Nicole called for a bathroom break. She bounced over the bodies littering the floor. Amber was right behind her followed by Erik and Heather. Jill and Zach took the opportunity to clean up the living room from dinner.

  “Jill, I want to thank you for including me,” Zach said while they were in the kitchen.

  “Even though I didn’t show it initially, Amber is very important to me and, well, us. And since you are important to Amber, we want to get to know you. Amber was never one to choose her friends lightly or at least not without serious thought. Even when we were in grade school, she was very particular about who she was friends with.”

  “Well, I appreciate it. And you’re right, Amber is very important to me. I’m wondering one thing, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “When Nicole is around, Amber seems…”

  “More at ease? More serene?” Jill finished.

  “Yeah, exactly.”

  “They’ve always been like that. We all noticed it even before they were a couple. They always managed to calm each other down.”

  “I thought maybe I was just reading into things.”

  “No, you weren’t.”

  With the cleanup completed and the bathroom breaks done, they settled back into their spots. Heather had turned the lights down, and they were ready for the next movie.

  “All right, Amber’s choice,” Erik said. “The Avengers or Justice League?”

  “There’s no contest. They’re both awesome, but it has to be The Avengers.”

  “You just want to gawk over the redhead,” Zach teased.

  “What can I say? I have a weakness for hot redheads.” Amber involuntarily glanced at Nicole and caused the room to erupt into laughter. Nicole was glad the lights were turned down so nobody could see her deep blush.

  “There are so many comments that come to mind.” Erik laughed.

  “Shut it,” Nicole said, mock glaring at Erik.

  “Movie time.” Amber was still blushing as her mind quickly came up with some of those comments that Erik was holding back.

  As the movie started, Nicole and Amber got comfortable. They subconsciously moved closer to each other. Amber could smell the faint scent of strawberries coming from Nicole. She had missed that smell over the years.

  “You okay?” Nicole whispered, noticing that Amber wasn’t watching the movie.

  “Yeah, I just never thought I’d be here with any of you. Most of all, I never thought I’d be near you again.”

  “I never thought I’d see or be near you again, either.” A tear rolled down Nicole’s face, and she quickly wiped it away.

  “Let’s watch the movie, but maybe tomorrow we can spend some time together,” Amber said.

  “Just us?”

  “I’d like that a lot.”

  They went back to watching the movie, both smiling inside. When the movie ended, Erik announced he was exhausted and went to sleep on the couch in the den. Zach was shown to one of the guest bedrooms upstairs. Heather took the other guestroom.

  “We’re going to watch another movie. We’ll crash down here.” Nicole received a nod from Amber.

  “Fine, but you at least have to use the air mattress,” Jill said.

  “I don’t want to be any trouble. Really, it isn’t necessary,” Amber said.

  “You aren’t. Now shush and let me do this. Please?”

  Jill went downstairs and got the air mattress and pump, then she blew the mattress up in the living room and put some sheets and blankets on it for Amber while Nicole made a bed on the couch.

  “All right, good night, you two,” Jill said, smiling to herself as she started up the stairs.

  “Night, Jill,” they responded.

  “Hey, Nicole, would you still sit by me until we’re ready to sleep? I really think it helps me,” Amber said.

  “I think it helps me, too.” Nicole smiled.

  They were sitting on the air mattress watching the movie, but as it got later and their eyes started to droop, they lay down and continued to try to watch the movie. Neither noticed that the other was falling asleep. As they slept,
out of instinct, their bodies were drawn together, and Nicole ended up behind Amber, her body pressed against Amber’s. One arm draped over Amber’s waist, holding her close.

  “Girl, where the hell have you been?” David asked, anger oozing from his voice.

  “I was out with my friends,” seven-year-old Amber said as she cautiously entered the house.

  “Did you get your chores done?”

  “No, sir. I came home to do them now.”

  “Well, now is too late. I’m already home, and you know that chores are always to be done before I get home,” he said, his voice rising.

  “I’m sorry, sir, it won’t happen again,” Amber cried, fearing her father’s anger.

  “You’re right, it won’t happen again. We’re going to have to punish you for this. After you complete your chores.”

  “Yes, sir,” Amber said.

  “Well, go get your chores done. And be quick about it,” her father yelled.

  Amber ran off and cleaned the bathroom. She scrubbed the toilet, the tub, the sink, the floors. She polished the mirror, making sure every smudge was removed. After that, she moved to the laundry and started her father and brother’s clothes as they were not allowed to be washed with hers and her mother’s. While the laundry was washing, she ironed her father’s shirts and hung them with the proper spacing. Two of her fingers in between each hanger. She remembered the one time she didn’t space them properly and her father told her he would use the belt to make sure she would never forget and be more careful going forward. Dread set in as she feared he would use the belt again today. The belt marks were always the hardest to hide. Amber heard the washer finish and moved the clothes to the dryer. She knew her mother would fold them after she got home. Then she remembered that she wasn’t going to be home tonight, and Amber was going to have to fold them herself. She would have to remember the exact steps her mother had taught her in folding.

  “Sir, I’ve finished my set chores and will complete Mama’s folding once the clothes in the dryer are done. Is there anything else you want me to take care of?” Amber asked timidly, hoping for more to prolong her punishment.