by W. A. R.
When he arrived at the houses, he was surprised to see smoke billowing from behind one of them. He furrowed his brow in confusion, his focus trailing from the roof of the house and following the smoke into the sky. It was then he realized that the sun was setting. He groaned, his mind foggy at best. How in the world had so much time gone by? Had he been that distracted? That much was obvious, he noted before continuing his way towards the houses, only this time he had a different destination in mind. Loud voices were heard from behind the house to the left where the smoke was coming from and he would be a liar if he said his interest wasn’t piqued. He was curious what they were up to, but then again he had some idea at the very least and he was late to their little impromptu meeting. He quickened his pace and felt his anticipation heighten as he rounded the corner of the house. He wished he knew what was going on with him, wished he could express it in words but he couldn’t. It was as if his exhausted mind wouldn’t allow him to dwell on it too long without his emotional state being questioned. Still, he surged forward.
When he rounded the corner, he saw a large fire with his family and friends surrounding it. They all sat on large logs, almost whole trees. Michael sat between Lacy and Riley, Chloe beside Lacy, and beside Chloe was Cassie. George was between Cassie and Rusty, who sat beside Amber. On the other side of her was Buddy and Riley, followed by Jacob, Derek, and Rick. And lastly, between Rick and Lacy was Ryder. They all held jars in their hands, or there were jars at their feet. They were all laughing…well, most of them. Everyone except Amber. George tilted his jar to his mouth and drained what was left of the liquid that had been in the glass. Amber shook her head and shot Michael a look that said, ‘I’m going to kill you for this’.
“So, then she cut off his…Miles!” Buddy exclaimed then, standing and stumbling a little. He opened his arms wide in invitation. “Come join us! We shall regale you with stories of our battles!” he exclaimed before stumbling again. Amber reached up and pulled him back down to his seat on the log next to her. He grumbled and Miles turned his attention from Buddy to Michael, who had scooted over to make room for him between himself and Lacy. Miles groaned inwardly before advancing towards them, every pair of eyes on him except for Amber’s. Her eyes remained on the fire before her, and when he sat down, he was across from her. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees and her eyes riveted to the flame. The emotion that was on her face as the orange flickered across her skin was disturbing and he mirrored her actions, placing his own elbows on his knees.
“Where are the others?” he asked slowly, choosing his words wisely.
Michael clapped him on the back and Lacy nudged him. “Shelly just left after telling y’all’s story, with Lacy’s help of course.” Michael told him and he felt his stomach tighten. No, that wasn’t his story. His story had different details. They didn’t mention how he had cried over Kyle’s loss, or how he had struggled to find Amber again, only to have her withdrawn from him in that very moment. They didn’t express how afraid he was that he would fail, and they didn’t explain the devastation he had felt when Brian ran back into the wolf den. He sighed. It was close enough. Amber probably didn’t want to hear it anyways. “We have already discussed Brian’s situation as well.”
“And the verdict is?” he asked and Michael looked over at Amber.
He cleared his throat. “Brian will be safe for now. He won’t reach the compound for another week. Ryder is leaving out tomorrow to join them and he can ensure his safety until…I…return to the compound. Ryder can keep him safe while we come up with a plan.” At this Miles’s gut twisted in irrevocable pain and he grimaced before nodding. There was nothing they could do then, but wait.
“And you are sure that he is safe until then?” he asked and Michael nodded before taking a drink.
“On my life.” His son replied and Miles once again nodded, accepting the shorthand version. He knew there was something that Michael wasn’t telling him but he didn’t push, didn’t force him to express the secret. Instead, he changed the subject to a lighter one.
“So now we are sharing stories?”
“And Buddy just reached the part where Amber is interrogating Damien.” Derek hiccupped roughly and he felt his eyes drawn to Amber who looked so profoundly regretful that it hurt even him.
“Can we please discuss something else? We still need to talk about what we are going to do about Adrian.”
“In due time, love, in due time.” Rusty told her in assurance before throwing an arm across her shoulder. She seemed to sag with the weight of it and Buddy shifted, leaning against her easily. She closed her eyes tightly, and though she was in pain, Miles had to admit that he wanted to hear all of this, even though it wasn’t her story either. Just like his, it was someone else’s perspective on her story.
“So…where was I? Oh right! After she talks to Ryder and Miles there…” he pointed at Ryder and Miles with a sheepish grin on his face. “She becomes irate and starts looking for tools…”
“You were at the part where she cut off…” Rick interrupted but Buddy shushed him loudly. Cassie and Chloe giggled as they whispered to one another. Miles watched as Amber shook her head, running her hands along the length of her face.
“So, she asks him questions and he doesn’t want to talk…so she cuts his ear and his tongue off.” Buddy begins and Miles felt his eyes widen involuntarily. Amber continued to stare down at the fire. “She asks him again and he doesn’t answer so she snaps off his finger at the first knuckle. This goes on until the guy finally talks…or, well, writes.” Amber looks as if her fingernails are trying to dig into her flesh through the fabric of her shirt, but her face is expressionless. “So, we make a plan with information he gave us and we go to meet you guys.” He pointed between Michael and the three brothers.
“Yeah, we were going to capture you and take you as prisoners…” Rick began and Jacob intervened, his voice calm and steady.
“But that went to shit when Amber sent us away.”
Buddy laughed loudly. “Right! So apparently, she made this plan with them, and we had no idea…well, George had some idea…”
“So even though we were curious we didn’t push it, but we noticed she started spending more time with Damien…tended to his wounds, fed him…and soon George was involved…” Derek stated before taking a long drink of liquid from the jar. Michael chuckled and handed his jar to Miles. Miles took it gratefully, his mind reeling and soaking in any information that he could. He took a long drink then, coughing involuntarily as the liquid hit his tongue. Moonshine. They were drunk on moonshine.
“Oh, and then the day before you guys come up Katie decides to leave!” Rick shared excitedly and Derek decides to jump on this as well. Amber is uncomfortable, it is painfully obvious. Katie. It was hard to believe that she had just left and yet…not so much so. “She wanted to go because she couldn’t handle what we were doing. I don’t know…either way, before she left she poisoned the broth.”
“She poisoned the broth?” Rusty asked curiously, looking at Rick from across the fire before taking a drink. George began laughing hoarsely at this.
“Yes. She needed a distraction to get away and she poisoned the broth and gave it to Buddy and Derek who were on watch.”
Miles lifted a brow silently at them before taking another drink, the liquid burning all the way down his chest. “I see they survived?”
Amber’s eyes darted to his hands then before quickly looking back to the fire. Derek began laughing. “Yes, we survived but not before some embarrassment. We were hallucinating. We chopped down a tree and were convinced that we had killed Adrian. Then I thought George and Rick were the enemies.”
“He tried to kill us!” Rick intervened then, laughing hysterically.
George then jerked a thumb at Buddy, who had gone relatively silent. “He did too.” He offered roughly before coughing and clearing his throat. “Tried to kill Amber.”
Miles tensed at this and Amber straightened. Buddy jerked upright from
leaning against her, glaring at George. “I wasn’t going to kill her!” Every eye fell on him and Cassie scoffed.
“It sure looked like it to me.”
“No! You have it all wrong…I was only going to hurt her…disable her. If she was damaged the enemy wouldn’t take her.” Rick began laughing even harder. Cassie leveled her gaze at him, a small smile on her face.
“You were swinging an ax at her!”
George started laughing again. “He told Amber he killed Adrian just before he forced himself on her too.” He laughed. Miles felt everything inside of him grow white hot and he jerked his gaze to Amber. Buddy groaned and leaned against her once again but she didn’t move. Her eyes were on his. He had gotten his wish, for her to finally acknowledge him, to finally look at him but it was the wrong timing. Her eyes were nervous, scared even. It was painful. He had forced himself on her? He felt his hands clench into fists around the glass and his eyes flicked to Buddy who laid his head against her shoulder haphazardly. Amber kept her eyes on him and visibly swallowed.
“He did what?” Rusty asked then, laughing incredibly hard.
George straightened and cleared his throat. “He did! When I walked into the barn to help her knock him out he had her pressed against the table, hand gripping her waist and he was kissing her!” Everyone roared with laughter. Everyone but Amber, Buddy, and Miles. Amber looked across at Miles, and though Miles wanted to move, to act, he couldn’t. He was livid, furious. He had touched her that way? Was that why she was being so distant from him? His eased the glass back down to the ground and rubbed his palms across his legs. He needed to calm down…He really needed to calm down. “So, I knocked him out and we tied them up.”
“Yeah and the next morning was horrible.” Derek shuddered. “I think I threw up an organ.” He cast his eyes over to Michael. “Not to mention you came and took us all away.”
“Speaking of…we told you what happened while we were captured…What happened with you?” George then asked Amber. Michael looked at her, as did Miles. He wanted to ask her something…a million things…but he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to move his lips, to form even a coherent thought.
Amber finally, finally, tore her gaze from Miles and released a shuddering breath before shrugging. She obviously wanted to forget it. “Nothing.”
“What happened with Damien, then? I saw his name on the cross.” Miles felt the words come from his mouth bitterly, laced with anger and frustration. Amber snapped her eyes back to him and he could practically hear her pounding heartbeat. He never took his focus from her as she rubbed her hands across her legs.
“OOO Yes! Good one!” Buddy countered.
“I agree. What happened there?” Rick then asked and Rusty shifted a little, tightening his hold her shoulders. Miles gathered that Rusty knew what had happened in that time period, that he knew what happened between Amber and Damien. She looked over to Michael desperately, begging him to help her get out of answering it.
“I think we should talk about what we are going to do about…” She began but Miles interrupted her. He wasn’t going to let her get away from this. His anger was palpable and she was going to answer him.
“I think you should answer the question.” He said and the lightheartedness of the conversation left. He didn’t care that he felt all eyes on them and he didn’t care that Amber was nervous. She bit her bottom lip and though he felt angered he couldn’t deny that the image was enticing. It was just a flash, but her vulnerability was there, reminding him of who she was at heart. She thought for a long moment, bringing her left arm around to scratch her right side. Finally, she shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.
“I prepared to die. He prepared to die.”
“And the cross? Why does he deserve one?” Miles then asked and she remained calm. He felt as if he were on edge, however. His hands were trembling. She brought her knees together, her palms cupping them.
“Because there are things you don’t understand…”
“Then enlighten me.” He told her and she studied him…and really studied him. Her eyes skimmed over his face, his posture and his reaction before answering.
“That isn’t the question you want to ask and I certainly don’t want to give you the answer to it.” She told him sadly and he watched her, feeling his anger growing. This was beginning to become too much.
Rusty spoke next after taking a long drink. “She told me that the things he told her will save more people than he ever killed, that he saved her, and that she forgave…OW!” he exclaimed as Amber hit him on his tender head. “What in the hell was that for?”
“That wasn’t your story to tell, asshole.” She told him and Miles felt something else come over him. He watched her…watched as she, in response of hitting him, nudged him with her shoulder, watched as she looked uneasy because her forgiveness of this man was not going to be taken lightly. There was more to the story than what Rusty had said, he knew it.
“Same old Sweetness.” Buddy chuckled and Amber sighed. He was right though…Amber was still there…the same compassionate, understanding woman was there. She had never left. Still, even though Buddy was right, he wanted to knock his teeth in for hurting her like he had. Buddy took another drink. “And that is why I love…” Miles stood then, consumed by fury, staring down at the man as Amber interrupted them. Was he just about to admit that he loved her?
“Okay!” Amber said standing quickly, Riley doing the same. “I think it is time we all go in and get some rest.” She and Riley stepped over to Buddy and helped him stand. “I think you need to come on in.”
“But it just got dark and we just started talking!” he exclaimed, protesting as Amber took his jar away from him and set it on the ground. “Please?! I’ll be good!”
“You’re drunk. Everyone is tired and we are done talking. We have had a very long couple of weeks.” Riley told the man. Miles stepped forward then, sighing, and ushered Riley out of the way. Riley gave him a confused look before Miles spoke. “I don’t think…you were just about to…” he began but Miles cut him off. Yes, he had been about to hit the drunkard, but he had stopped himself.
“I’ll take him in. You relax.” He told Riley, who looked from Michael to Amber, who in turn nodded at him in assurance before he finally relinquished control to Miles and sat down. Miles took one of Buddy’s arms and threw it over his shoulders before Amber did the same on the opposite side and without a word they began trudging forward towards the house.
It was silent, the beginning of their trek, apart from Buddy’s incoherent ramblings or Amber’s apologies whenever her hand or arm would brush his own against Buddy’s back. He reigned in the urge to throw Buddy down the stairs as they made their way up them. He wanted nothing more than to talk to Amber, to listen to her as she expressed her own account of what had happened. Still, Buddy’s ramblings were beginning to grate on his nerves and he needed to talk to her. This anxiousness was about to do him in.
“So he kissed you, huh?” he finally asked and he sensed the slightest hesitation from her as they rounded the top of the stairs. He wondered what whipped through her mind then, if she recalled how it had felt, how he had touched her. Jealousy was again becoming Miles’s friend. Amber sighed and opened her mouth to speak when Buddy answered for her.
“Yes I did! Though…I don’t think she liked it as much as I did.” This confession from the man brought a sense of satisfaction to Miles, easing the tight hold it held on his gut.
“No,” Amber grunted as she reached for the doorknob of one of the bedrooms where Buddy would be sleeping. “I didn’t.”
Buddy shrugged. “Oh well…I can always try again and make up for it.”
Miles sighed and helped Amber ease him into the room. “You have no idea how badly I want break your nose again right now.” He growled at the man before both he and Amber deposited him on the bed. Buddy chuckled as Amber began to remove his boots. Miles watched her, noting how she bent over, her hips curving and moving with every a
ction. His desire was growing, his possessiveness, and again, yes, his fury. Finally, she stood and turned to face him, keeping her eyes downcast as she moved towards the door.
“At least he should sleep good tonight.” She said absently as Miles followed her out. She reached back to close the door behind them. “They all should. No one has to be on watch. The moonshine helps.” She continued speaking. Miles stared down at her as she turned her head away, looking at a wall where laughter from outside echoed through. He studied her, studied the curve of her neck and her jaw, and how her eyes were so inherently saddened. She shifted the weight of the swords on her back before turning to go down the stairs. Miles quickly followed.
“Amber?” he asked her and he caught the brief stumble in her step as she hurried away from him. It would just seem as if she were hurrying down the stairs, not necessarily away from him but he knew better. Her lack of a response irritated him. He only wanted to talk to her. “Amber!” he damn near shouted and she waited until she reached the front door to answer him.
“Hmm?” she asked casually as she opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Voices of the others were slowly reaching their ears and Miles knew that they were all readying themselves to go in to their respective houses, their respective rooms, for the night.
“Stop running from me!” he called out to her, and his words caused her to falter, stumble. She stopped short and turned slowly to him. Oh, there she was; the uncertain young woman that had given him faith and assurance. He wanted to touch her, to feel her but he feared she would pull away and if she did it would tear him to shreds. She looked everywhere but at his eyes as she placed her hands on her hips, shifting on her feet. He ran a hand through his now short and clean hair. “What is going on here?” was all he could ask because if he were honest he wasn’t sure how to phrase what he really wanted to ask. “You have been avoiding me since this morning…why?”