Rearview Mirror

Chapter 8

Chapter Four

Processing

The room was eerily silent as the group processed Amber’s revelation. Amber spent her time in the awkward silence staring at the ground, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. She was ashamed of what she had just revealed. Ashamed of what had happened to her. She could feel their gazes on her. After several minutes of silence, Amber abruptly stood and announced that she needed to get some air. When Nicole and Zach offered to go with her, she told them she needed to be alone, she needed time to process things, as well. She promised to be back before it was dark, and she grabbed her cellphone and headed out the door.

After Amber left the room, everyone looked at one another. Zach felt the most awkward since he had no clue who these people were outside of what Amber had told him. The others were simply in shock.

“Did any of you have any idea or suspect anything about Amber’s past?” Heather looked between Jill and Nicole.

“In the ten years I’ve known her, she has told me about you all and that she was in a car accident. I don’t even know what to say after what she revealed today,” Zach said, his mind spinning.

“Jill, we’ve known Amber since kindergarten. How could we have not known that they were hurting her?” Nicole tried to hold back the tears, her heart breaking for the woman she loved so much.

“As she said, they hit her where the bruises wouldn’t show.” Jill replayed their childhood to see if there were signs they missed.

“She always claimed to be clumsy,” Heather said quietly as another tear slid down her cheek.

“Um, Jill, not to add to this upsetting situation, but are any of Amber’s family members around? Or people that could see and hurt her while she’s out there alone and distracted?” Zach asked.

“Her dad is in prison for life, and her brother, damn it, I think he got out a week or two ago,” Jill said. “I think I should follow her and make sure she isn’t alone and that she’s safe.”

“Why do you have to do it?” Heather said.

“Hello, the little badge with the title sheriff.” Jill pointed to the badge on her shirt.

“I’m going with you.” Nicole stood.

“No, you’re staying put. All we need is for Jeffrey Knight to see either you or Amber and it’ll be all over.”

“May I come with you?” Zach asked.

“No, you three please stay here and wait for us. I think I owe Amber some privacy and apologies.”

“Fine,” the three said as they sat in defeat as they were all lost in their own thoughts.

Jill grabbed her coat and headed downstairs. When she reached the lobby, she saw Sidney at the desk.

“Hey, Sid.” Jill walked up to the desk.

“Hi, Jill. How are you today?”

“I’ve had better days. Did you happen to see Amber leave?”

“Yeah, she seemed really out of it. I tried to talk to her, but it was like she was in a fog. She didn’t even acknowledge that I was talking to her.”

“She’s had a rough day, and I made it harder on her. I really want to talk to her and apologize. Do you know which way she went?”

“Um, she looked to be headed to the town square,” Sidney said, concern etched in her voice.

“Great, thank you.” Jill rushed out of the building and headed toward the town square.

Amber took the elevator to the lobby and walked out, not noticing that Sidney was talking to her. She needed to get out of there, get some air, to be able to breathe.

Nice job there, Amber. You revealed all your well-kept secrets. Now every time they look at you, it will be with pity for what you endured. Pity for what your father and brother put you through. Why did Nicole and Zach have to stay? That makes this whole thing even worse. What are you going to do? How are you ever going to face them again? And why does Nicole still have to look so damn amazing? You have all these scars, and she’s still a flawless beauty. She’ll never want you. Why would she? What could you offer her? You screwed up with her by trying to protect her. I bet now that you’re here, she’ll have closure and will never want to see you again.

Amber’s mind had become a bit unstable since that night all those years ago that she left home. The night she left everyone she loved and everyone she hated behind. The doctors and therapists she had seen over the years had told her it was post-traumatic stress disorder from what she endured. This was one of the reasons she had never dated after leaving Nicole. That and she loved the woman to this day, and it wouldn’t be fair to lead someone to believe she could have her heart. Amber knew she would never subject Nicole to whatever was wrong inside her mind.

Amber neared the town square. She was in awe of its beauty. There were four small white gazebos placed at each corner and one large white one in the center. The pathways connecting the gazebos were lined with flowers and outdoor lights. It was nice to see that the town cared about its appearance.

Moving into the square, Amber spotted a bench that was empty and out of the way, hidden by some trees. She made her way over to the bench and sat. She was able to see the full square from there. As she scanned the square, she saw two familiar faces, one she wasn’t surprised to see. Jill had followed her. In the back of her mind, she had expected someone to follow her, to come talk to her. The second face, that one disturbed her, and sent an ice-cold chill down her spine. Standing not forty feet from her was her tormentor, the star of her nightmares—her brother, Jeffrey. Amber watched him, saw him scanning the area and the people. She suspected it was to find someone to rob; he had that look about him. As she watched him, Jill came and sat next to her.

“You know, if you keep staring at him, he’s going to notice you,” Jill said nonchalantly.

“I can’t help but stare. His face has haunted me for so many years. Years growing up, years as an adult. He and my father robbed me of so much.”

“I wish we would have known. I know they threatened our safety, but I still wish we would have known.”

“How did you know where to find me? Or did you follow me out the door?” Amber still watched Jeffrey out of the corner of her eye.

“Zach asked if Jeffrey or your father were out and if you would run the risk of running into them. He’s a pretty smart guy. I realized Jeffrey was let out of jail a couple of weeks ago, so I decided I would follow you or just walk next to you as protection, and I wanted to talk with you alone. When I got downstairs, Sidney told me what direction you went in. I guessed that you were in Zombieland, and you would probably end up here.”

“I think Sidney was trying to talk to me as I left,” Amber said with a small laugh.

“She seems to have taken an interest in you. And yes, she was trying to talk to you. She better watch it, though. I don’t believe she’s the only person that has taken an interest in you,” Jill said with a smile.

“Zach and I are just friends. He dates women, so do I. It wouldn’t work between us.”

“He wasn’t who I was referring to, but yeah, I can see he cares very deeply for you.”

“Then who were you talking about?”

“Duh, Nicole.”

“That wasn’t interest you saw from her, that was pity. I hurt her so badly, I don’t deserve the time of day from her.”

“And yet here you are. What made you come back here anyway?”

“I’ve been given the opportunity to have several pieces of artwork and photographs shown in an art show, but for me to show the photographs, I need to get release forms signed by Heather, Erik, and Nicole. I knew if I mailed them that they would just toss them, so I came here to beg and plead with them in person. I wasn’t sure I was going to find anyone still here, but I knew I had to try.”

“Congratulations,” Jill said. “How many pieces are you showing?”

“I have four paintings and four photographs. The photograph of Nicole is Lucinda’s favorite.”

“Who’s Lucinda?” Jill raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, she’s the curator of the gallery Zach and I work with, and she’s the one sponsoring me in the showing.”

“Wow, a gallery curator sponsoring you, not too shabby.” Jill laughed. “Listen, I want to say I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have slapped you.”

“I deserved it. I didn’t expect it from you, but I deserved it.” Amber could still feel a slight burn on her cheek.

“No, you didn’t. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, though.”

“So, how long have you been the sheriff?”

“About three years. After what went on with your mom and Nicole, I wanted to make a difference and keep scum from hurting innocent people.”

“That’s awesome. I’m certain you’ll help a lot of people.”

Jeffrey moved closer to where Jill and Amber were sitting. Jill noticed and hoped he would see her uniform and leave. Amber was looking at the ground when Jeffrey looked over and saw Jill watching him. He knew if he got caught again, he was facing the three-strikes law and he was going to jail for life. He wasn’t willing to let that happen over some petty theft. Jeffrey quickly left the square.

“She never stopped loving you,” Jill said, turning to face Amber.

“I never stopped loving her,” Amber admitted, looking at her hands in her lap.

“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, c*****g 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.