Chapter 16
Amber had been very sick but she was recovering. She was at home recuperating when Tavia and I stopped by with flowers, movies and cupcakes. Amber lit up when we entered the room. I bent down to hug her and ended up climbing in bed with her where we interlocked our arms. Tavia looked down at us, smiling tenderly.
“I have something for you Amber,” she said, extending a small box.
“Tavia!” she cried. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Girl, just open it,” Tavia laughed.
We watched as Amber opened the small white box to find a smaller gray box inside. When she opened it we gasped as light reflected off the pretty charm, which was shaped like an Eagle.
“To add to your bracelet,” Tavia said. “Consider it an early Christmas present.”
“Thank you!” Amber exclaimed.
“You see things more clearly than a lot of us do, hence the Eagle,” Tavia explained.
I attached the charm for her and then we all gathered on the bed, gossiped, and playfully argued over what movie to watch. A few hours later, while Tavia and I were preparing to leave, Amber reached out to me.
“It’s true,” she whispered. “What Reece said is true. He told me he talked to you.”
Surprised, I hesitated. “What...does everyone know but me?”
Amber looked from me to Tavia and cleared her throat.
“Tavia, would you mind waiting in the living room for a minute?”
Tavia raised her hands and said “No problem.” Turning to me she said, “See you in a bit. I’m going to go say hi to Miss Stacey.”
Sensing the seriousness of Amber’s request Tavia closed the door behind her. In the silence that followed I could see that Amber looked uncomfortable so I adjusted a pillow behind her head and sat down next to her.
“We were scared for you,” she began. “We didn’t know who had you. Reece was afraid to stop too suddenly, not knowing what was taking place in the bed of his truck. I kid you not Willow, we saw what they really are. We saw them fight. Lacey ripped that man, the one they called Justin, to pieces! I couldn’t stand to watch. Reece was holding me and I just wanted it to stop. A motorcycle drove up behind us. The driver tapped his lights. Reece was sweating by then and put his head on the steering wheel but he was still holding me. For once I didn’t know what to say to him…”
Amber’s voice trailed off briefly as she readjusted herself in her bed. “Lacey ran up to our window and she looked monstrous, but at least she looked human. She was naked. I was so scared of her! She asked if we were alright. Reece said he wanted to know where you were. She said we could follow her dad home and that you would be there.”
“Her dad?” I asked.
“Levi,” Amber said.
It was too weird. Levi didn’t look old enough to be Lacey’s father.
“What about the blonde she was with earlier?”
Amber motioned to her water bottle and after I handed it to her she took a sip, and then another.
“He came for her and they were going to dispose of Justin’s body.”
I stayed quiet, knowing Amber had more to tell.
“While we were following Levi, Reece and I didn’t talk about what happened. I have never seen him so concentrated before. Believe it or not, I was afraid to talk to him. I was afraid of many things that night...”
“I’m glad you came for me,” I said. I reached for Amber’s hand and held it.
“I know it happened but sometimes it doesn’t feel real at all,” I added. “What do you suppose happened to the one they called Darius? He seemed to be the leader.”
“I don’t know…” Amber murmured. “They said he was taken care of, whatever that means. Willow…there must be a reason for your involvement.”
“Me...But I haven’t done anything!” I stated with alarm.
“I know…none of this makes any sense.”
Amber looked down at the water bottle in her hands and sighed.
I looked at her, so frail, so sweet, and wondered how someone like her could be so calm about everything that had happened. I thought of Haven and what he had said the last time we were together. Then the image of Lacey fighting on top of Reece’s truck came into vision. That beautiful girl was a killer and her father didn’t look much older than her. What about Lauren? She was his sister but she was old enough to be everyone’s grandmother. It was too much, too implausible. I didn’t want any of it to be true, I just wanted things to go back to the way they were.