Rearview Mirror

by B L Clark

  “Erik is an EMT.”

  “Oh, okay, I understand.”

  “Do you know anything that has gone on here since you left?” Heather asked.

  “No, I haven’t had any contact with anyone.”

  “Not even your family?”

  “Especially not my family.”

  “Well, a lot has gone on…” Heather started before the door to her office was ripped open and in stormed a redheaded woman. “Shit.”

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” she spat, looking directly at Amber.

  “Nicole, relax. You know it isn’t good for you to get upset.” Heather started to get up from her desk but stopped before moving from behind it.

  “Oh, I’m far from upset.” Nicole looked from Heather to Amber and glared. “What gives you the right to come back here? After all this time.”

  “Nicole, I’m just here to get some signatures and then I’m gone again. I’m not here to cause any trouble. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. I just need signatures from you, Heather, and Erik.”

  “Like hell are you getting anything from me.”

  “Nicole, how did you know Amber was here?”

  “Sidney told me you were meeting in your office with someone named Amber who had the most gorgeous turquoise blue eyes she’d ever seen.” With that, Nicole turned and stormed out of the office and out of the hotel.

  “I’m going to kill Sidney.” Heather pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

  Nicole burst out of the hotel, her anger overtaking her. She needed to get as far away from there as she could and quick.

  She has no right to be back here. She left, she abandoned us and never looked back. No, she cannot have a stupid signature from me. Like I will do anything for her. Who the fuck does she think she is? What gives her the right to come back here? Nicole rushed through the streets toward her home, her sanctuary.

  Nicole opened the door to her house and closed and locked it. There were three locks on the door, three locks that daily reminded her of Amber, of the fallout of her leaving. Staggering, her mind so jumbled, Nicole made her way to the recliner and sat, burying her face in her hands, trying to fend off the memories.

  “Open this door now,” David Knight screamed. “I want in, and I want my wife back.”

  “David, it’s over. You signed the papers, please just go away,” Karen cried.

  “I’ll break down this door if you don’t open it this minute!”

  “I’m calling the police.” Nicole had positioned herself between Karen and the door where on the other side was Karen’s ex-husband. He had beaten Karen almost to death after Amber left, beaten her because she hadn’t tried to stop Amber, beaten her because he felt he had the right to do so. Nicole was sick to her stomach. She could still hear Erik’s voice on the phone when he called and said they had responded to a disturbance at the Knight house and that he was in the ambulance heading to the hospital with Amber’s mom in critical condition, and it didn’t look good.

  Nicole had helped Karen heal. She had taken care of her, made sure she was never lonely, made sure she knew she was loved and needed and wanted somewhere. After Karen was well enough to go home, she moved in with Nicole and had filed for a restraining order and for divorce. The divorce would take three years to get finalized, but it had finally happened. Now here was the maniac pounding on Nicole’s door, trying to get to Karen.

  “911, what is your emergency?” the male voice on the other end of the phone asked.

  “Yes, there’s an angry and violent man pounding on my door and trying to break into my house,” Nicole said.

  “What is your address?”

  “Eleven eighteen seventy-second street,” Nicole said.

  “Police are on the way. Please stay on the line with me until they arrive.”

  Then it happened. The lock gave way on the door, and in came David Knight. He made his way toward Nicole, grabbing the phone out of her hand. He screamed, “Time to pay, bitch,” and tossed the phone aside.

  Karen was cowering in the corner. She knew what he was capable of, knew she was the one who could stop him from hurting Nicole, but she couldn’t move. Fear paralyzed her.

  “The police are on their way,” Nicole said as David reached for her.

  “Like I care. You’ll be dead long before they get here,” he said with a sneer. He reached out and grabbed her forearm and pulled her toward him just as the police arrived.

  “Let her go, sir,” one of the officers said.

  “Fuck you,” David said as he made a fist with his other hand and pulled back, readying to hit Nicole.

  “Sir, let…her…go.” The other officer drew his weapon and aimed it at David.

  “I don’t think so,” he said as his fist moved toward Nicole’s face but never connected.

  Nicole heard the loud noise, felt a warm liquid on her face, felt herself being pulled to the ground, and then she heard Karen scream. It was a piercing scream, one of complete and utter terror. Nicole tried to twist herself so she could see Karen, but she couldn’t. She hit the ground hard, hitting her head and was knocked unconscious.

  After being checked out and cleared by the paramedics, Karen took Nicole and helped her get cleaned up, and they held on to each other that night and several nights after.

  The memory felt like it happened yesterday, though it had been almost seven years earlier. Seeing Amber had brought it all back. Nicole didn’t feel safe, she didn’t know where to go or what to do. She sat in the recliner rocking anxiously.

  “Heather, why is she so upset?” Amber was confused about why Nicole had such a strong reaction to her being there. It had been ten years since they’d last had any contact.

  “Gee, part of it may be because she was your girlfriend for two years and you walked out on her ten years ago without so much as a word or a letter. Anything further is her story to tell.”

  “I had my reasons for going. It isn’t something I want to talk about.”

  “Well, I’ll call Erik and have him stop by the hotel if you’d like. I don’t know if he’ll be willing to sign, but you can talk to him.”

  “That’d be great. Are you willing to sign?”

  “I want to see what photographs we’re talking about. You took a lot of pictures when we were in school.”

  “I have a contact sheet up in my room. It shows all the artwork that’s going in the show. You’re welcome to come and see it, or I can bring it down later…I was going to go for a walk, but after that visit from Nicole, I think I’m going to go lay down for a while.”

  “Okay, I’ll bring Erik up when he gets here.”

  “Thanks again.” Amber rose and left the office and headed toward the elevator.

  “Is everything okay?” Sidney asked as Amber passed the front desk.

  “I’m honestly not sure what’s going on.” Amber continued her way upstairs. Once she arrived in her room, she decided to call Zach. He always made things better.

  Heather waited for the door to click closed before she picked up the phone and dialed.

  “Heather, what’s up?” the voice on the other end said.

  “Hey, Erik, we have a problem,” Heather said.

  “Okay, that sounds serious.”

  “Amber is back in town, staying here at the hotel, and to top it off, Nicole knows.”

  “That’s a big problem! How did Nicole find out?”

  “She stopped by to see me, and Sid told her I was meeting with someone named Amber, then described her. Nicole came bursting into my office. She snapped at Amber and left.”

  “Have you called her yet?”

  “Not yet,” Heather said.

  “I’ll swing by her house in a few minutes, then I’ll come by the hotel. I’d like to have a few choice words with Amber.”

  “She needs to talk to you, as well. She needs you to sign a release form for some photographs she’s going to be putting in an art show.”

  “
Okay, I’ll see you in about fifteen or twenty minutes.” Erik hung up the phone, grabbed his keys, and headed to Nicole’s house.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Zach said when he answered Amber’s call.

  “Hey,” Amber replied, her voice distant.

  “So, how’s it going?”

  “Not well. I’m seriously not sure that using those pictures are worth this.”

  “What happened?”

  Amber told Zach about what had transpired since she arrived in Eagle Peak.

  “Sounds horrible. What would you say if I told you I was on my way there?”

  “I’d say you had better not be lying to me.” Amber felt hopeful for the first time since she arrived in Eagle Peak.

  “I would never lie about that.”

  “How are you on your way?”

  “I figured this was going to be hard on you, and I decided to catch the next plane out. I’ll text you when I get there.”

  “I love you, you know that.”

  “Yeah, I’m a pretty great guy.” They both laughed, then Zach told her to get some rest and hopefully he’d be there soon.

  What could have happened to Nicole for Heather to be so cautious and for her to freak out the way she did? How am I going to convince her to sign the form? That photo of her is one of the most important pictures I’ve ever taken. Amber sat in her room after she hung up with Zach.

  Nicole was pacing the room when she heard the doorbell ring. She froze until she heard Erik call her through the door. She quickly made her way over and opened the door.

  “Hey, Nic.”

  “Hi,” Nicole said softly.

  “I heard you had a little shock today. I wanted to see how you were doing.” Erik moved into the living room and sat.

  “Amber’s in town,” Nicole whispered, staring at the ground.

  “I heard. That doesn’t tell me how you’re doing, though.”

  “I had an episode after I got home.” Nicole started to cry.

  “Come here.” Erik wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

  “I…she…” Nicole stammered.

  “Shh, Heather said she just wants us to sign some stupid form and then she’ll be gone.”

  “I don’t want her gone, I want to know why!” Nicole cried harder.

  “Well, you can ask her that if you want. You just need to calm down and talk to her.”

  “Yeah, that goes so well.” Nicole pulled back and wiped the tears from her face. “I burst into the office and yelled and told her I wasn’t giving her the damn signature.”

  “You were in shock, it was an understandable reaction. Now you need to figure out if you can handle finding out why and being in the same room as her.”

  “Will you and Heather be there with me?” Nicole asked timidly.

  “If you want us there, we’ll do what you want and need.”

  “I need you guys there.” Her tone was desperate. “I don’t think I can be alone with her.”

  “Do you need time, or would you like to come with me now? I’m heading over there to meet with Heather and Amber, but I wanted to check on you first. You take priority in my book.”

  “I don’t know. Do you think it’d be okay?”

  “I don’t care if it’s okay or not. If you want to come with, then you’re coming with.” Erik smiled.

  “And you won’t leave me alone with her?”

  “Nope. Not unless you tell me to.”

  “Then I want to go with,” Nicole said.

  “Great, you go wash your face and get ready, then we’ll leave. I’m going to text Heather to let her know you’re coming with me.”

  Nicole smiled at him and then hurried upstairs to freshen up and prepare herself to see Amber again.

  Erik sent a text to Heather letting her know that Nicole was coming along and they may want to move the meeting to a different place. Heather said she would move it to Amber’s room. She told him to come up to the Bonsai Suite when they got there.

  Nicole came back downstairs, smiled at Erik as he stood, and they made their way to the hotel.

  Chapter Two

  And So It Begins

  Amber heard a knock at her door. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she made her way to answer it.

  “Sorry to be early, but I thought I should warn you that Nicole is coming with Erik to talk to you. She can’t do it alone, so she wants him and me to be here. Are you okay with this?”

  “I guess I have to be. I don’t want to upset anyone. I didn’t come back for that.”

  “I know, but you left and should have suspected that seeing you again might upset people.”

  A knock at the door a few minutes later startled Amber and Heather, who were lost in thought. Amber answered the door, allowing Erik and Nicole to enter. They joined Heather in the pseudo-living room. Erik and Nicole sat next to each other on the couch, and Heather and Amber sat in the chairs. They were all looking at one another wondering who was going to speak first.

  “Well, we all know that Amber is here to get release forms signed. Amber, can you explain why?” Heather got the conversation going.

  “I’ve been offered a spot in an art show coming up at the gallery I work with. The selections they’ve made consist of four paintings and four photographs. Because you three are in those photographs, I need to get a release form signed for them to be shown. I have a copy of the proof if you want to see what will be displayed.” Amber looked each person in the eye.

  “I want to see for certain.” Heather took the proof that Amber was holding. After looking through it, she handed it to Erik, who then passed it to Nicole.

  Amber sat quietly while each person looked at the proof, and she tried to read what they were thinking.

  “These are really good,” Nicole said as Erik and Heather nodded in agreement.

  “Thank you.”

  “You said you work with a gallery. What do you do there?” Erik asked.

  “I work as a replicator. We take paintings that are popular and replicate them for sale in the gift shop. I’m also a freelance artist and photographer.”

  “So, you forge paintings?” Heather asked.

  “No, we have permission from the owners or painters to replicate them for sale.”

  “So, you re-create the paintings?” Erik asked.

  “Yes, and that’s what has helped me improve my painting skills to create a better-rounded portfolio.”

  “So, if we don’t sign the release, you can’t use the photographs?” Nicole asked.

  “Correct.” Amber didn’t like how this was going.

  “Why’d you leave?” Erik blurted out, receiving looks from all three women. “What? We all want to know, why shouldn’t we just ask?”

  “After being my dad and Jeffrey’s punching bag that night, I couldn’t stay there anymore. They had gotten carried away and hit me where the bruises were going to show. Would any of you have let it go had you seen them?” Amber looked at the three. “Nicole, realistically, what would you have done had you seen them or seen me flinch or grimace while we were kissing?” The room was eerily silent. “You all would have acted in a way that would have resulted in my getting beaten to death.” Amber heard a scoffing noise from Nicole’s direction. “I couldn’t continue to be a punching bag for them. Plus, my mother told me to leave for my own safety. So, I packed my bags, waited until everyone was asleep, and left. I didn’t honestly expect to make it out of the house, but I did without anyone hearing me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Heather said.

  “I was scared of what my dad or Jeffrey would do to anyone who helped me. I knew if I stayed here, they would find me, and I’m certain they would have killed me.”

  “We could have helped you,” Nicole said barely above a whisper.

  “I couldn’t risk him hurting any of you because of me. Especially you, Nic. If that happened, I would never have been able to live with myself.”

  “It’s been ten years, Amber. Do you e
ver wonder what happened after you left? Did you ever think about those of us you abandoned and left behind?” Nicole’s anger took over again.

  “Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you, Nicole,” Amber whispered.

  “You wouldn’t know that from here. From here, it looks like you only thought about yourself. Why didn’t you ever try to contact us? In ten years, you couldn’t pick up a fucking phone? Send a fucking letter?” Nicole nearly yelled.

  “I thought about it. I wrote tons of letters to you, Jill, and Heather. I was too afraid to send them. I did pick up the phone on several occasions and call, but I chickened out before saying anything. I wanted to, I tried to speak, but no words or sounds would come out.”

  “Those are excuses, bullshit answers,” Heather said, causing Amber to wince.

  “They may be, but they’re the truth.” Amber tried to contain her defensiveness.

  “Well, I hope you’re enjoying your new life,” Heather said.

  “I know you can’t still be this angry at me for leaving. What happened after I left? Why are you all still so mad?”

  “Do you really want to know? Will it really matter?” Nicole asked, full of anger now.

  “Nicole, you need to calm down,” Erik placed a hand on Nicole’s arm. “You had an episode already today. Getting worked up is just going to make it worse.”

  “You had an episode? Nicole, are you okay? Was it a bad one?” Heather asked in rapid fire as she moved quickly from her chair to kneel in front of Nicole.

  Amber was confused and very concerned. She had no idea what they were talking about, but it seemed serious and it involved Nicole. She had never stopped loving the woman, but she didn’t want to put her in harm’s way, either. Amber had convinced herself that staying away was best.

  “It was after I got home. It was powerful, but I answered the door when Erik knocked.” Nicole wiped a tear from Heather’s cheek. “I’m okay, I promise. You worry too much.”

  “I worry just the right amount. You’re my best friend, Nic,” Heather said. “We don’t have to go through things today, we can wait and do it tomorrow.”