Rearview Mirror

Chapter 9

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, Amber. 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.

“No, now it’s time for your punishment. Afterward, you will still complete the folding,” he said with a smile. “Jeffrey, come in here.”