Amber nodded her head. “Oh, you would! The shopping is amazing!”
“Now you say that!” Lucy exclaimed at her best friend. “I remember a time you used to complain about not having money to buy the amazing outfits you used to put together.”
“Ah, that’s because I now have a job that loves my bank account instead of abuses me,” Amber joked and took a sip of her drink. “I say tomorrow we go and blow some money. My last client gave me a lush tip so I’ve been waiting on spending it.”
“Oh sweet Jesus,” Ethan muttered, “I’m going to have to build new wardrobe at this rate.”
“Or buy the flat next door,” Amber gave him a playful week.
Ethan chuckled. “You’d love that. I preferred the window shopper you. Now I fear the takeover of clothes.”
“But I have to look hot, and now I can actually keep myself happy by doing so,” Amber teased, her eyes firmly stuck on watching Ethan as he fought himself for a perfect response.
“Don’t I keep you happy?” Ethan asked, pulling her flush against his body. “You’re hot with or without clothes on, Amber.”
Lucy threw her hands up into the air at that comment, “Whoa, whoa, stop that right there! I am in no way near in the mood for this! So slow your roll, keep your clothes on and separate before I witness something I’ll need years of therapy for.”
Ethan laughed and did as she asked, “I’m going to go and see where Rob is.”
“Great,” Lucy chirped with a sarcastic humour.
“Lighten up, when I said Rob is a great guy, he really is,” Amber tried to calm her best friend, but she could see it was a losing feat. “He’s not just any old work colleague of Ethan’s. He’s our age, hot, friendly, funny.”
“I heard you the first time,” Lucy mumbled nonchalantly.
“Stop being a grump. You’re just unhappy because for once I’m setting you up and not vice versa,” Amber teased and Lucy stuck her tongue out at her.
“Rob’s on his way,” Ethan said finishing up the call quickly.
“Friendly face on!” Amber continued to tease Lucy relentlessly. Amber looked to Lucy who once again paled and looked distraught. Smiling evilly, Amber knew she would actually enjoy seeing Lucy squirm for once. “Now what to do to pass the time?”
“Shots!” Lucy quickly changed the game plan.
Opening cupboard after cupboard Lucy stopped when she found the one that hid the liquor. "Jackpot!" she yelled, shaking the orange looking liquid. "Where are the glasses?" Amber pointed to the top cupboard and Lucy pulled down 4 shot glasses. Unscrewing the cap, she poured each one and necked one straight away.
"Um, Luce. I'm pretty sure that's not how you do shots."
Lucy stuck her tongue out at her and smiled, pouring another glass. "I gotta loosen up right? If this stupid blind date is going to work I need this."
Laughing Amber followed Ethan towards the front door. "Baby?" she whispered desperate to taste him.
Ethan turned and took in the view before him. She was fucking beautiful. It was different now, he saw every curve defined and stuck to his memory, the way she bit her lip when he made her cum and the way she reacted to his touch. Before he could respond Amber pinned him against the wall and kissed him. Hard. She let her tongue fight his and the desperation was fierce. Ethan lifted her slightly and ran his fingers through the gap in the back of her tight black dress so he could touch her pale skin.
"You're so beautiful, my beautiful girl."
"Shut up," Amber whispered against his mouth and continued to kiss the man she loved.
They were interrupted by the doorbell, but Amber didn't let go.
"Baby," Ethan muffled though her kisses. "Door."
Smiling beneath him she kissed the side of his neck causing a deep groan to flow through Ethan's body.
Pointing a finger at her he laughed. "You will be the death of me lady."
Shrugging Amber returned to the shots awaiting her in the kitchen. Sitting on a barstool she picked up a small glass of the alcoholic liquid and tipped it back. The heat burned her throat and settled in the pit of her stomach. Warm arms circled her waist.
"Where's Lucy, baby?" Ethan asked kissing her neck. "Robs here, he's in the lounge."
Groaning under his kisses she relaxed her body. She wanted him, even now when they had company. She didn't care she just wanted to jump him. "Don't do that." Amber warned through a whisper. "Otherwise I might take advantage."
"I like the sound of that," Ethan whispered into her ear, causing deep pools of desire to form inside her. He gently pushed her hair from her shoulder to gain access to the flawless skin on her neck. Kissing softly up and down to and from her ear, he let his hand spew across her stomach and he could feel her body heat rise.
"Seriously, Ethan," Amber warned, humour on her lips. "We have guests."
Laughing, he released her and Amber stood to her feet. As she walked toward the lounge Ethan slapped her arse and Amber turned back to scowl at him, receiving a wink back. She was happy. This was it. Reaching the room, she found Lucy enthralled by the six foot five God that stood looking slick in a loose shirt, the top button open, the arms rolled up in a causal manner much like Ethan’s.
“Well this seems to be going well,” Amber muttered sarcastically to her boyfriend as they approached the pair. “I guess introductions are off the agenda now.”
“Oh,” Lucy said, noticing her best friends. “Rob was telling me how he’s been looking forward to seeing the girl from Amber’s Facebook, and how he’s heard things about me.” She smirked excitedly, “Good things.”
“I had a whole bunch of other things to say, but Ambi stopped me,” Ethan joked, Amber hitting him playfully, Lucy glaring at him playfully.
“I’ll go and grab Rob a drink before we head out,” Amber excused herself, heading into the kitchen to fetch Rob and Ethan a beer each.
Lucy allowed the two men to fall into an easy conversation, discussing the latest British win at the Ashes and was more than thankful when the doorbell sounded. “I’ll get it,” Lucy elected, knowing that when Ethan starting discussing cricket there was no hope of distracting him. She went to the door, trying to work out who this could be, but she hadn’t a clue. Everyone else was meeting them at the bar. The moment she opened the door her heart physically shuddered. “Ehhh, guys,” Lucy stopped them leaving the flat and opened the door wider, the shock and horror literally meddling with every cell of her body. “We have a problem.”
“What’s that?” Ethan called out as he stood with Amber now pulled into his side, her body fitting against his like the final piece of the puzzle.
“This,” Lucy moved to the side to reveal a nervous look Eva.
“We need to talk,” Eva spoke up, stepping forward from the darkness shrouding her in the hallway and into the light of the flat.
The moment Amber set her gaze on Eva, she felt the air literally disappear from her lungs and her heart ceased its beatings. If this was what your world felt like to shatter down around you, then Amber had no control over stopping it from happening again.
She just had to watch as Eva stole her happily ever after without even saying a single word.
All she had to do was run her hand over her bulging stomach and Amber knew hell was a place on earth - Eva was pregnant.
The End... for now.
Bonus Material
Your Killer Secret
-Part two of the story-
Chapter One
(Subject to change)
"How can this happen?" Amber asked into the darkened room, her broken heart was in her throat, struggling to stay alive.
Lucy came and sat beside her best friend. "I don't know, Amber, but you need to speak to Ethan. He's a mess too."
"But it's his baby," Amber whispered out, her throat beginning to close on her as she admitted the harsh reality of the truth. She closed her eyes as her heart released a flurry of pain through her body, her chest taking the majority of its impact. “The whole time w
e were creating our life together, she was waiting to ruin it.”
“She’s scared,” Lucy tried to justify a reason that Eva would wait until judgement day to tell the world that she was carrying Ethan Mitchell’s baby. “She said so herself. She tried multiple times to get in contact, but couldn’t and, well, Ethan needs you now more than ever.”
“I can’t,” Amber turned to her best friends, the tears constantly streaming down her face. “He will never be mine now. She will use that baby against me every single day, and even though I know I love with him with everything I have, I can’t live like that. I barely made it out the last time; I don’t have the strength to do it again.”
“It won’t be like that,” Lucy pushed back the concern Amber had over this.
“Did you not see the look in her eyes?” Amber asked Lucy outright. “I know she’s scared, but I also saw the look in her eyes that told me I had lost.”
“You’re reading into this far too much right now,” Lucy countered, not believing that Eva would be that conniving. “She wouldn’t do that.”
Amber gave Lucy a look of pure sarcasm, “Wouldn’t she? When I went back to Leeds and found Ethan gone, she rang me to goad. She posted on Facebook knowing I would read it. She knows how much I can’t live without him and this is her perfect excuse now to keep her claws in him. This is her way to keep us apart, and get what she wants. We know that’s how she works.” Amber dropped her gaze as she spoke her final peace, “And we all know that Ethan will do right by Eva regardless. He’s a good man, and he’s going to be an even better father. He will do everything for that child.” She dropped her gaze to her lap and felt the tears beckon again. “I’ll be forgotten by the time that baby’s born.”
Giving up on trying to find sense or question the future right now, Amber curled up onto her side. She tried her hardest to disappear, but only managed to break down in a foetal position, clinging on to the hotel pillow for dear life.
Lucy looked to Amber as she lay sobbing into pillow, and reached over to grab her phone. She didn't care what Amber said she needed, she needed Ethan and that was it. Dropping the man in question a text, Lucy then curled up with Amber, pulling her into her arms.
"Why does everything happen to me?" Amber asked. "Why does life keep testing me like this?"
Lucy lay down next to her best friend and pulled her against her. Amber's back was to her front, and she just held her while the pain rippled through her body. Stroking her hair away from her tear stained face, Lucy couldn't believe she was in this position again. Not just with the men in her life, but from ten years ago when this moment happened in the middle of their sleepover. Amber's mum and dad were arguing, screaming at each other. Amber was hidden under her covers and made Lucy hide with her. They snuggled together, with eyes squeezed tightly shut until the shouting stopped.
"I think it's over," Amber had whispered to Lucy and had pushed the cover away slowly. It was then her dad came in and dragged her from the bed by her ponytail, and threw her against the hard wood floor.
Lucy closed her eyes as the memory hit her hard and fast. She remembered how Amber’s father had leered at her, screaming, "It's all your fault you little piece of shit!" Lucy would never forget how Amber cowered away. His long fingers pointed at her, and Lucy was so scared that she had hid under the duvet again. "If it wasn't for you, me and your fucking mother would be fine, I wouldn't have to worry about drinking or fucking her when and how I please! Now! Fucking now, it's over and it's your fault, neither of us love you, you were a mistake!" Lucy had heard him lift her from the ground and slap her around the face, then the door slammed and Amber burst into sobs. She was fourteen years old, and already made to believe her existence was a mistake.
Suddenly the fresher cries brought Lucy back from the past, reminding her that present was no better. Here she was, in a darkened hotel room, her best friend distraught and Lucy had no idea how to promise it would get better.
"Shhh, Ambi, it'll be okay. I promise." Lucy rocked her gently and stood up from the bed. "I'm going to get you a glass of water, okay?"
Amber nodded, and sat up with the pillow on her lap. "Sorry, Luce."
"Don't be silly, it's fine. You know I'm here for you babe. Always." Smiling, Lucy left to get a glass of water.
Distracting her, Amber's phone buzzed next to her. She looked but the emotions seemed to have vanished, replaced with numbness. Suddenly her brow furrowed, her thoughts darkened and she could only remember how life had failed her again - He got her pregnant. Her Ethan had got another woman - who she loathed, despised - pregnant. Eva had one over her, yet again. With numb fingers, Amber picked up the vibrating iPhone. Swiping the green bar on the bottom she held it to her ear. Ethan's deep voice filled her ears and she breathed in a shuddering breath.
"Baby? Amber, please talk to me. Are you okay? Where are you? Please, Amber." A long pause filled the silence and Amber watched Lucy come back in and place her water on the side next to her.
"Amber? Are you okay? Who's on the phone?" Amber matched Lucy's gaze and held the phone out to Lucy.
Grabbing it she held it to her ear. "Ethan, hey." Lucy listened as he explained this complicated situation to her. "Okay, she's a mess, babe. This will do her no good. I'm worried for her as it is, Ethan. She was so happy earlier this week, now everything’s in ruins."
Amber laid back gently and hugged the pillow to her chest as she imagined a happier place. But darkness seemed to overcome her and cover her with a blanket, engulfing her in its warmth. She remembered how Ethan had caught her that fateful day, how her life finally made sense, how she went from losing it all, to loving it all.
Now everything was in tatters, each piece lying strategically around her, mocking her at things lost.
She could hear Lucy haggling down the phone, fighting with Ethan over not seeing her, over Eva, over everything that had transpired. Suddenly she watched as Lucy stand up, going over to the door. The panic rose in her and she sat up, about to beg Lucy not to leave her, but the moment the door opened, her heart plummeted to the ground all over again.
Ethan shot into the room, putting his phone down and looking to Lucy before making a beeline straight for Amber. The moment the light caught her tear struck face, he paused, his face falling. “What have I done?” he asked himself out loud, seeing the distress he had caused the woman he loved more than life itself. “Ambi,” he said, putting his hand out as he went towards her.
“No,” Amber whispered at him. “Don’t touch me.” She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to help herself. “Please, Ethan. I don’t want you here!”
Feeling like he had been slapped, Ethan took a tumble backwards at her distance she thrust between them. She didn’t want him, and he felt his heart physically falter in its beating. His eyes watered, and the soreness in them rose. He hadn’t slept in days, cried over how messed up his life was becoming and how lost he felt without Amber sleeping beside him.
“Amber, I didn’t want this to happen. I swear to you we were safe,” he tried to bargain with her. He knew it sounded like idle words, but he was prepared to try anything. “It’s you I love, it’s you I want and it’s you I need!”
“She’s pregnant with your child, Ethan!” Amber bellowed, the words spewing from her at a tremendous speed, each syllable stinging her.
“I know, I know, but we live in the fucking twenty-first century, Amber. I don’t have to give you up to be a good father!” he shouted at her, trying to make her see how desperate he was to have her back.
“You’ll be an amazing father whatever,” Amber whispered dreamily, she had dreamt about their family multiple times. She hadn’t meant to, but the idea of a life with Ethan was a dream come true. “But I can’t be there to watch that life happen. I love you, Ethan, but the moment I saw her hand on her stomach, my life fell apart. She took everything from me all over again.”
“You think your life fell apart when Eva turned up?” Ethan asked, his tone becoming tight with his emotional
downfall. “I haven’t slept since you packed a bag and walked out of the door, Amber! She ruined my birthday, and you killed it completely!”
Amber’s jaw slackened on her, and she allowed her mouth to just fall open. Her eyes watered and she just dissolved in front of him and Lucy. She covered her face with her hands and just cried at the utter desolation taking her body over. Heaving on her breathing, Amber tried to calm herself enough to speak. She removed her hands and looked to him, her eyes meeting his, and she suddenly began to speak.
“I-If that’s wha-what you thi-think,” she cried, trying in vain to control herself. “I fucking love you, an-and th-the only reason I l-left that day wa-was because I-I was selfish! I wa-was selfish and petty, an-and,” she took a struggling breath to steady herself and looked up to Lucy before looking back at Ethan, “I always thought I’d be the one that ga-gave your fir-first child.”
At hearing that admittance, Ethan felt his knees weaken and he slumped onto the edge of the bed. “I wanted that too.”
“It’s too late now,” Amber whispered at him.
Ethan's gaze became dark toward her. "Too late? It's never too late, Amber, not for us, not ever!"
Amber stood to her feet, as a fragile Ethan sat from the end. Amber dragged her suitcase from the wardrobe, and slammed the wardrobe door, hard, causing it to shake. She threw the case on the bed, unzipped it, and started to throw clothes in from all directions. Walking over to the wardrobe she ripped her clothes from the hangers and held the clothing in a heap. Placing it in the suitcase, she tried to zip it up and pulled the heavy weight from the bed.
"Amber, just stop!" Ethan begged, standing to his feet. "Please can we talk about this?"
Amber turned, her face drained of colour. "What is there to talk about? You won't want me now. You'll want your family with Eva. I can't know you whilst she has a part of you inside her. That little bit of you and her, together? It's making me feel sick. I don't deserve this. Enjoy your life, Ethan."
Your Little Secret Page 24