AllFreeNovel
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Amber walked through the door at five o’clock, gorgeously put together as usual. Her mixed Latina, Black, and White heritage gave her a distinctly Americas kind of beauty, a bit like Meghan Markle. Amber was fierce and sharp, which she softened with a great smile and excellent manners. The woman could be commanding armies if she chose to.
We hugged, smiling and laughing. She touched my dark hair, shaking her head. “Um, this look slays, girl.”
“It’s growing on me. Dark-haired Sally wears different clothes too.”
She scanned me. “Love it. Let’s go shopping together.” She gave me another big smile.
“You bet your petunias I’ll shop with you. Let’s get it onthe calendar. Wanna see this empty house after I pour some wine?”
I gave her the tour and introduced her to the people we saw. Antonio gave her a distracted wave in the kitchen. Layla and Forest were eating takeout on their area of the back patio next to her open bedroom door. Dillan was busy inside his room and Kate wasn’t home.
Amber followed me to the far side of the pool, to a little spot I’d just finished setting up earlier with a couple of plastic Adirondack chairs covered in cushions and a side table. I kicked off my shoes and settled in with a sigh.
“Barbecue here on Saturday,” I said. “I’m thinking about wine tasting on Sunday, on a tour bus. Interested?”
“Sure, sounds great. Send me the details.”
“I will. A friend of mine, named Javier, might be in town.”
Her head swiveled toward me. “Oh, really?”
I grinned. “Really.”
“You sure do move fast. How did you meet Javier?”
“At a resort on Lake Tahoe, on the drive up here.” I shrugged. “We hit it off. Really, really hit it off.”
Amber fanned her face. “Girl, you’d screw the devil himself, wouldn’t you?”
“Amber Brown. Do you even need to ask?”
She snorted. “I don’t know if you’re going to be a horrible influence on me or just the wild child I need to help me let loose.”
“You always did work hard. Isn’t Zach any fun?”
Her sigh spoke volumes. She stared at the pool. “We both work a lot. I don’t know—I feel like I hardly know him. Very cute though.”
“Well, cute counts for a lot. Where’s his family from?”
“They’re East Coasters. I said hello during a video chat once but that’s it…”
“Don’t you worry, shug,” I said, patting her hand. “It’ll allsort itself out. You’re a gem. He might not be good enough for you.”
I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. It’s hard to describe how incredible it was for me to be with a friend. I was a little tearful, although I don’t think Amber noticed.
Antonio shouted from the balcony and we went upstairs. He had disappeared so Amber and I ate our chicken and rice together, standing up, talking and laughing the whole time.
She wasn’t clued into my sordid history and I held onto a forlorn hope that her ignorance would last. I hugged her tight before she walked out the door, glad our connection had sparked again after too many years of neglect.
I washed, dried, and put away our plates, glasses, and silverware then wandered downstairs to the big television. Dillan had connected a gaming system. He sat in the middle of the big empty room on the floor. I watched and chatted for a bit then made my way upstairs to my room. My room in my own house. I fell back onto the mattress with my arms spread wide.
My parents and friends flashed through my mind and I hugged myself. I opened my laptop to look at social media, something I hadn’t bothered doing for a while. Between the stalkers and the media attention for the sex video, things weren’t pretty on there for me. When all that garbage had exploded, I’d gone into each account and stripped them down to become as private as possible and not share anything about my location.
I found a generic tropical beach paradise photo and posted that on my Instagram account along with the message:Missing my family and friends. Doing well otherwise. Love ya.
Staring at the screen, I picked up my phone, aching to call my mother and check in. Where were they? Had the house repairs started? Had anything else happened…? I put my phone down. Instead, I wrote a quick email to my lawyer asking for updates. I glanced back at the Instagram post one more time.
There was a comment.I’ll find you, cunt, you miserable bitch. No one will stop me from shoving a gun into your ass while you pant below me, just like Josh was going to do. Think of me while you finger that dirty pussy tonight, you whore. I’m coming for you.
