by Jamie Pope
“Your mother is in the kitchen just about to start dinner.”
“I hope she didn’t get too far. I brought you guys something to eat.”
“I hope it’s shrimp and grits.”
“Yes, sir. Today is your lucky day.”
“You don’t have to bring anything when you come over. We’re just happy to see you.”
“I know, but I like to do something nice for you two sometimes.”
He nodded. “Go on and see your mother. I’m going to get changed out of my work clothes.”
She found her mother with her head in the freezer. “Don’t take anything out,” Amber called out to her mother. “I made dinner for you.”
“Oh.” She shut the freezer door. “Hello, baby girl. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I wanted to see you. I wanted to apologize.”
“You don’t have to. I never wanted to end up like my mother. Of course you don’t want to end up like me. Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m ashamed of you though. I’m not. That’s not what I meant. You had a good life with Daddy. A good marriage. So many people wish they could have what you have. I wish I could have what you have.”
“Don’t you think you could have had that with Chase?”
“Our lives are so different. I’m not sure I would fit into his world.”
“How is it when it’s just the two of you and there’s no one else around?”
“Perfect,” she said without hesitation. “Everything feels perfect.”
“Then what’s the problem?
“I can’t be sure of his feelings. I can’t be sure that he won’t look at me one day and decide that I’m not good enough to be with him long-term. That the novelty of having a broke artsy girlfriend won’t wear off.”
“I could choke that Steven. He did a number on you.”
Amber’s cellphone went off. She was tempted to ignore it, but she glanced at her caller ID to see that it was Jackson calling. He never called her. “Hello?”
“There’s been an accident involving Chase.”
“What?” It felt as if the world stopped spinning in that moment. As if the floor had dropped from beneath her feet.
“I need you to come down to the hospital immediately.”
Chapter 15
“This is ridiculous,” Chase said, struggling to sit up. “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
“You can’t go home.” Jackson pushed him back down on the bed. “The doctors want to keep you overnight. And knowing you, you won’t rest even if you do go home. You’ll create expense reports or something else stupid that doesn’t need to be done.”
“Expense reports aren’t stupid! Ouch.” His head throbbed. His whole body throbbed, but that’s what happened when a sixteen-year-old on a bike hit you at full speed.
He had gone out for a run in the park just to clear his head. He was listening to music, trying not to think about Amber, and the last thing he remembered was seeing the kid’s scared face and then waking up in the hospital with his brother standing over him. “Just relax, Chase. The more you fight it, the worse you’ll feel.”
“Chase...” He looked up to see Amber standing just inside of his room. Her eyes filled with tears immediately. He was surprised to see her there. He had told Jackson not to call anyone because he didn’t want his family to worry, but Amber was there, looking terrified. “What happened?”
“It looks worse than it is.”
She pushed past Jackson and gingerly placed her hand on his cheek. “It looks like you’re a mummy.” She kissed the small piece of his forehead that wasn’t covered by a bandage.
“I just had a little run-in with a kid on a bike when I was in the park.”
“A witness said he flew five feet in the air and skidded across the ground,” Jackson said. “If he’d hit his head a little harder, he wouldn’t be talking to us now.”
Amber gasped as the tears started to roll down her face.
“Jackson!” He barked and then winced as his stiches pulled.
“Honey.” Amber lightly kissed his lips a half dozen times. “I’m so sorry.”
“He’s got fifteen stitches in his head and a dislocated shoulder and he won’t take his pain medication.”
“Why not?” Amber looked into his eyes, hers still filled with tears.
“I don’t need it.”
“But you’re in pain.”
“I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
“They want to keep him overnight,” Jackson supplied.
“Will you shut up!” he barked at his brother, wanting to smack him.
“She needed to know.” He shrugged.
“The only thing you succeeded in doing was making her cry.”
“I’m fine. Stop arguing with your brother. Jackson, I know you’re trying to help, but go do something with yourself. You’re annoying the injured man.”
“Okay.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I’m going to go out and get some food. I’ll bring you something back.”
“Thanks for calling me, Jackson.”
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for him. He needs you,” he said as he walked out.
He wanted to protest Jackson’s last comment. He wanted to think that he didn’t need her, but even he had to admit that he felt better now that she was here, calmer. It had only been a couple of days since he had last seen her, but he missed her. He missed her to the point that it was painful. “Can I get you anything?” Amber asked as she pulled his blanket up over him. “You want me to go home and get your pajamas and a change of clothes for tomorrow?”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. And anything else that you want or need. You just tell me and I’ll make it happen.”
“Will you stay here with me tonight?”
She looked him in the eye. “Of course I will. I wasn’t planning on leaving.”
“But you left me before.”
She looked pained by his words, but she nodded. “Just because I broke up with you doesn’t mean I’m not in love with you.”
She told him she loved him so easily, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And he believed her. He knew he was loved when he looked into her eyes, but it wasn’t as easy for him to say. He had never been in love before. He had never said those words to a woman. His whole life he had been saving up those words. He wanted to say them when the time was right, when he really meant them. He didn’t want to tell her when she had one foot out the door. He didn’t want those words to go to waste.
“Come here.” She leaned closer, allowing him to cup her face in his hands and kiss her. He ignored the twinges of pain in his head and the ache that shot up his arm when he moved it. Kissing her right then, feeling her soft sweet mouth open beneath his was more important. It made him forget where he was, forget the pain he was in, the pain he had been in the past few days without her.
“I’m assuming, since you can make out, that we shouldn’t be too worried about your health.”
Chase heard his mother’s voice penetrate his fog, but he didn’t pull away from Amber immediately, not wanting the moment to end.
But Amber turned away from him, her hands over her mouth, clearly embarrassed about being caught. “Mrs. Drayson. Hello again. I’m sorry. I’m just glad Chase is okay.”
“I’m sure you are, dear. Amber, I would like for you to meet my husband, Graham.”
“Hello, Mr. Drayson. I wish I could be meeting you under better circumstances.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Amber. Chase has only wonderful things to say about you.”
“Oh.” She glanced back at him. “That’s nice to hear.”
“How are you, son?” His father walked o
ver and touched the shoulder he’d dislocated, causing Chase to flinch.
“I’m sorry.” He stepped away from him.
“I’ve got some road rash. Don’t worry about it. I told Jackson not to call you. But he seems hell bent on worrying everyone that I love.”
“He told us you were okay, but you can’t expect us not to come,” his mother said as she kissed his cheek. “We’re your parents. How are you feeling?”
“He’s in a lot of pain,” Amber answered for him. “But he’s too macho to admit it. And he won’t take the medicine that was offered to him.”
“He’s just like his father. The man broke his wrist once. Refused to go to the doctor. Refused to admit it was hurting. We only found out it was broken when it swelled to three times its normal size.” Nadia paused and studied Amber for a moment. “That is a beautiful hair clip you’re wearing. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it.”
Amber touched her hair as if she were trying to remember what she had in it. “Oh, this?” She slipped it out and handed it to Nadia who studied it closer. “I made that. You can keep it. I have a bunch of them.”
“You made this?” She blinked at Amber.
“Yes. The blue stone is lapis lazuli. But if you prefer a more precious stone, I could do that, too.”
“This work is exquisite. It’s so detailed. I can’t believe you made this by hand. The work must be painstaking.”
“I love it, Mrs. Drayson. Designing jewelry is what I wanted to do since I was a little girl.”
Chase could hear the love for it in her voice. He knew that she did. He knew that growing her business was why she broke up with him. She loved him, but she needed to make a name for herself even more.
* * *
“You didn’t have to come home with me,” Chase said to Amber the next day as she was unlocking his front door.
“Yes, I did.” She didn’t feel right leaving him just yet. She wasn’t sure she was going to feel right leaving him ever, but right now she knew her conscience wouldn’t let her walk away from him. Not now that he was hurt. She had stayed by his side in the hospital all night, watching him sleep in fits because he was in pain.
She could have lost him. The kid could have been going a little faster. Chase could have landed a little harder, could have landed a little differently and broken his neck. She tried not to think of all of the could-haves. He was here now and she was grateful for it.
As soon as they both stepped inside, she kissed him as deeply as she could manage without hurting him.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he told her when she broke the kiss, and she wasn’t sure if he was asking her to stay the night or stay forever. So she just nodded. “The doctor said you could take a hot bath tonight. It’ll ease your aches and pains.”
He grasped her chin between his fingers and kissed her, sucking her lower lip into her mouth, which turned her on immediately. “You can ease my aches and pains.”
“You can’t possibly be thinking about sex right now. You were in a horrible accident. You dislocated your shoulder.”
“You make me forget the pain,” he said, kissing the side of her neck.
Her eyes closed unwillingly as she fell under his spell. “I look awful and I need to shower.”
“You smell good to me.” He wrapped his good arm around her waist. “But if you’re worried about it. I’m sure you’ll get plenty clean in the bathtub with me.”
“You need to rest. You need to heal. You need to stop kissing me!”
“I can’t help myself. I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” She never wanted to have to miss him again, but she wondered if after he healed, after they had been together for a while, would he still feel the way he did right now? She must have told him that she loved him a dozen times since she first saw him yesterday, but she couldn’t help but note that he hadn’t once said that he loved her back.
* * *
There was a knock at Chase’s door two days later and he eased himself off the couch to answer it. It was one of the few times he’d had to get up to do anything for himself since he’d returned home from the hospital. Amber had been by his side for the past three days. He’d thought he would have returned to work by now, but as all the adrenaline had worn off, the soreness had kicked in and he could barely move without discomfort or outright pain. But Amber had been there, making life easier for him, taking care of him when normally he would have suffered through this himself.
She was taking care of him. He wasn’t used to anyone taking care of him. He was the one who made sure everyone was all right, that he was there when anyone else needed something. It was out of his comfort zone to be on the receiving end, and there had been more than a few times when he’d tried to do things for himself, just to spare her the trouble, but she hadn’t let him.
For once let me do something for you.
Those words struck him. Throughout their relationship he had wanted to do things for her. He wanted to be the one who took care of her, who bought her things, who supported her, and she had been uncomfortable about it.
Now he could see why. Now he understood a little more about her. They were more similar than they were different. And it made him love her even more.
He finally made his way to the door, expecting to see one of his family members, but instead he saw a woman he recognized but had never met. “Mrs. Bernard.”
“Oh! You know who I am?”
“Yes, come in.” She looked like Amber. That kind of sweet, earthy beauty that was achieved only by good genetics. “I recognize you from your picture.”
“How are you feeling? Amber was incredibly concerned about you.”
“I’m sore, but I’ll be fine. She isn’t here. She went out to buy me a new heating pad.”
She nodded. “She’s a good girl. I just stopped by to bring you some of my world famous banana pudding and to wish you a speedy recovery.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Mrs. Bernard opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she shut it.
“What is it?” Chase prompted.
“I know it’s not my place to ask, but are you and Amber back together again?”
“That’s a good question. I don’t know. I’m not sure that anything has changed for her.”
“Can we sit down for a minute? I need to tell you something about Amber.”
“Of course.” He motioned to his couch the best he could with his stiff, sore body. “Please, tell me.”
“Did she ever tell you what happened between her and Steven?”
“No. I just know that it didn’t end well.”
“He’s older than she is, by quite a lot. And when she first met him, he was successful. He dazzled her. She looked up to him for advice and guidance and pretty soon her entire world revolved around him. Out of all my children, Amber was my dreamer. She had all these huge plans for herself. These big goals and dreams, but when she was with him, they all sort of faded away and the only dreams she had left were Steven’s. Little by little he started to control her. Who she could be friends with. Where she worked. It got to the point where she would only wear things that he liked to see her in. He made her feel like nothing she had ever done was good enough. My strong-willed little girl was living her life for this idiot of a man. He would talk down to her, manipulate her. I was worried about her. But then something switched on for her, and she was able to see Steven as the petty, self-centered ass he was. She grew up and when she left him she swore that she would never let another man have that much control over her life. She never wanted to fall in love again. Because to her, love made her weak. Love and marriage meant sacrifice to her.”
“Oh.” He wasn’t sure what to say to that. It all made so much sense now. She was afraid he was going to disappoin
t her. “I’m not him.”
“I know you aren’t.”
“I’m in love with your daughter.”
“I know that. But I’m not sure she does.”
“How can I prove it?”
“Hmm. Point in the direction of your kitchen.”
“It’s over there. Why do you need to know?”
“So I can grab some spoons. Banana pudding is brain food, my boy, and we need to think.”
Chapter 16
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay alone until I get home later tonight?” Amber looked at Chase, who was standing behind her as she opened his front door. She had to leave him tonight to go teach her class at the community center. She hadn’t been to work all week so she could take care of Chase, but she didn’t want to miss class with her girls unless it was absolutely necessary. She had missed her meeting with the owner of that jewelry store, but she didn’t feel bad about it because Chase was more important. She had formed a picture in her mind of what her life might be like in thirty years. In that picture she saw a husband, a happy family, a home filled with love. Her jewelry would always be important to her, but opportunities would come and go. Another Chase wouldn’t walk into her life. The thought of walking out that door and leaving him had her stomach in knots. Chase seemed to be feeling better physically. He promised her he was fine, but he had been extremely quiet all day. Not distant, just quiet. Almost thoughtful...and she’d wanted to ask him a dozen times what was running through his head.
“Don’t worry.”
“You had Jackson take you to the doctor instead of me this morning. It makes me wonder if there is something wrong that you are not telling me.”
“I’m fine.” He pulled her into him and gave her a long, deep kiss. “I’m going to show you how fine I am as soon as you get home.”
Home. They both kept using the word this week. And when she was with him it felt like home, but she didn’t live here. She had a life on hold. Her jewelry that was sitting unfinished with clients waiting for it. She had to get back to that life, but she didn’t want to leave him. “I love you,” she said one more time.