Amber

Two weeks later.

It's been two weeks since the whole Devan incident and I'm finally healed, but the scars are still there. Jason's been doing pretty much lately, catering for Amber and me, Amber's relationship with her crush, Jason eventually got stronger, and he's been able to get her out of her shell.

Naomi walked in with a shopping bag in her hand. She raced towards me, arms spread wide, I embraced her when she got to where I sat.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit while you were at the hospital. I figured you'd love some chips and dips, I don't know." She said, taking out a plastic bag from the shopping bag.

She pulled out a pack of chips and a small plate filled with chili sauce.

"Yeah, thanks. Did you get the clothes?" I asked.

«Naomi and I haven't been the very best of friends, in fact, we hardly get along. But I was starting to like her personality though, her company would be cool.» I thought.

She nodded as she handed the shopping bag over to me.

"Shit! You had a bowl of dips sitting on my dress?" I asked wide-eyed.

"Um…it was in a plastic bag, it wasn't really on your clothes. Get over it! I'll grab some juice from the fridge." She attempted to stand up, and I clicked my tongue.

She looked at me for a few minutes, before she recoiled to her seat.

"You've become too fond of us, and this house, of course," I say and she chuckles uneasily.

"I'm kidding," I say, chuckling and she joins me.

"I'll just go grab the juice." She said as she walked away.

I eyed her, smiling for a moment, before focusing on my phone again. I scrolled through for a while before Amber came.

"Elvira, Netflix," Amber says, sitting across from me on the other couch, busy with popcorn.

"You're not gonna invite me, Amy?" I asked.

"Were you gonna invite me for chips?"

I rolled my eyes and told her to keep seeing her movie. Naomi returned to the room with the orange juice and two glass cups.

"So, what's the date gonna be like?" She asked as I poured out a glassful of orange juice for me.

"Date?" I asked as she looked at me quizzically.

She raised a brow at me again, and I kept giving her a puzzled look in return. "Seriously?" She asked and I raised a brow at her. , "Uh…yes?"

"Dresses….shopping bag, your house, Jason, date, stilettos?" She asked.

"There's no date, Naomi," I replied with a hint of laughter in my voice and she looked at me, more seriously.

"You texted to get the clothes, um…hello?" Naomi asked as I diverted my eyes toward Amber but she pretended to not be listening.

"Amber?"

She looked at me with a mouth filled with popcorn as she mumbled an "mm" in reply. "Amber, did you use my phone to text Naomi? Do you have a date with Jason? I'm not gonna be mad." I say to her.

She swallows hard and stays mute for a while. "You being mad depends on the Jason you mean and if it's a yes to the Jason." She replies, stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"You know who I mean," I say to her as Naomi looks at her wide-eyed.

"Sis, I texted Naomi with your phone and yes, I have a date….with Jason. Uh uh…don't be in a hurry to bite. It's either Jason or Jason Jason." She concluded and I looked at her puzzlingly.

"Which is which?" I ask.

"Jason…is….Jason. And Jason Jason…is….also Jason. Jason is your boyfriend." She says and Naomi breathes out a sigh of relief.

"So, Jason Jason is your boyfriend. Doesn't he have another name? This would bring huge confusion….besides, Jason Jason is a sick name for a person."

She scoffed. "Tell his parents that or suck Jason's dick," Amber said and walked away.

I sunk on the cushion, cheeks flushed red, jaws dropping. She had grown so much and she didn't hesitate to show me just how big she's gotten in a few years. I smiled at myself before stuffing a chip in my mouth.

"She just didn't say that," Naomi said amidst bites. "Mmhmmm, she's big now. She's no longer the little Amber I used to know." I sipped my juice.

Naomi and I sat, chattering, eating, drinking, and laughing away our sorrows till Jason came home.

"So, she's going on a date, with my dress?" I asked.

"Yes,"

«I was meant to wear that same dress for the date with Jason, but if she wants it, she gets it. It's the least I can do for not being able to provide her with her basic needs.»

"I'll just get another," I say to Naomi.

Naomi's laughter filled the room as I said something silly.

"You've got this crazy laughter, girl," I say to Naomi. "It's getting late, you should leave, Jason will soon be here," I say to Naomi, and just then Jason walks in…

"This is new…" Jason says after placing a kiss on my lips. "You guys getting along pretty well. I'll just shower." He says as he looks at me seductively and I bite my lower lip.

"Okay, I'll be on my way now," Naomi says and neither of us answers her. "Right, I suppose it's a goodbye."

Naomi walks out the door. Jason sits next to me, we're kissing and his hands are all over my body.

"I fucking missed you." He says. I break the kiss and look away.

"I'm sorry. We can't do this." I say to him.

"This…" He sucked in air with his clenched teeth "Is the part we need to talk. I'll be upstairs." He says placing another kiss on my lip before heading for the elevator.

I sink into the couch, smiling to myself. I was having mixed feelings, this whole thing is meant to be pretend married but here we are….falling for each other when we both know I stand no chance with him in reality.

"You should enjoy it while it lasts, Marv," I say to myself.

No….I'm not supposed to be doing 'enjoy-it-while-it-last' when I should be thinking of how to make it last. I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. I keep eating my chips with my eyes shut when I hear the sound of heels clinking against the tile. I slowly peel open an eye to see Amber and I sit up immediately. She looked beautiful and more elegant than I would've looked in that dress.

"Oh my god," I say as I see her boobs popping out of the chest area of the dress. The contours of her well-rounded shape, are exposed in the dress. Fuck! Her bum even looked bigger.

"Are you wearing a butt pad?" I asked and she nodded in disapproval.

I smiled at her, seeing how big she had become.

"You look great, Amy. But I can't let you wear that out. Your boobs are very much exposed and you're underage." I say to her. She's just 17!

"Oh, so I don't get to expose my boobs on dates but you get to do it? I'm fucking 17 not 6, Marvlyn!" She yelled.

"Yes, 17, which means you've grown a lot and can't show all that! When you were 6, you were flat so wearing v-necks exposes nothing but your ribs showing through your flat chest. Take off the dress or better still, wear a jacket!" I yell.

"You haven't been in my life in ages and now you wanna tell me how to live my damn life? Fuck you! You should've just left me there with Devan!" She yelled angrily.

"Who called for help?!" I yelled even louder.

"It was a mistake, I shouldn't have." She says.

"Wrong. You know what I think was a mistake? Leaving you behind, letting you even have this dress. Your mistakes gave me stab injuries! I could've died back there, trying to save you and your thank you to me is FUCK ME?! That's it. Take off the damn dress. You're not going for any dates." I stormed out of the room angrily.

"You can't just do that!" Amber yelled, sulking to herself as I slammed the door shut against her face.

I grab a bottle of whiskey from the counter and fill two shit glasses with it. I drink it almost immediately, crying and sulking to myself. 'Been a bitch for a while.' I say, taking an extra two shots of whiskey. 'Nothing right or perfect. For fuck sake, where is it wrong to tell your kid sis not to do certain things just to protect her from pervs?' I take another shot and knock a few things down.

I ran my hand through my hair for a while, as I kept taking shots of whiskey. I grabbed my phone from the counter.

"Elvira! Speaker!" I yelled as I turned on my Bluetooth to connect to the speaker. Understand by Tatiana Manaois plays on the speaker as I keep drinking tons of shots. I was very miserable at this point. "Rain stop, go away." I sing along amidst shots.

Jason dased into the room and stopped the music.

"Can't I be miserable in peace with a little music?" I asked as hot tears rolled down my face.

"Keep it together, Marvlyn. You're not doing good by her or yourself by getting drunk. Babe, she's just a minor and she's bound to make mistakes sometimes." Jason held me close to his chest, smoothening out my hair, he placed a kiss on my hair as he hummed soothing songs to calm me down. It very much reminded me of Mum and for some reason, I missed her a lot this time.

"Was I wrong?" I asked, my bubbly eyes peering up at him from where I lay.

"No, and yes. You kind of overdid it. She's 17, she won't always be with you. Teach her to be independent. She knows what's right and wrong. Leave her be, correct her, but don't overdo it, okay?" He says softly.

"Are you saying to let her wear that dress?" I asked and he nodded. I exhaled heavily.

I remained in his arms a little longer till I fell asleep, and he put me to sleep on the bed, the duvet rolled up to cover me just fine.

*Outside the room*

"Hey, Amy. I'm sorry you had to witness that. She's just going through a lot. You were harsh. She's in that condition because of you. Here's my number. You can go on your date with the dress, but be careful and don't hesitate to call me if anything happens, okay? I'm gonna need you to apologize to her later on." I say to her.

"I'm sorry. I was angry. I didn't mean to say all that. I've never seen her like that. Please take care of her, and, thank you. I'll see her when I'm back. And, I promise, I won't drink too much, won't keep late night either." Amber says before walking away. I had already ordered my driver to arrange a car for her, so she was well-guarded. I returned to the room, she was still sleeping, soundly and peacefully.

I returned to the kitchen to clean up the mess she had made.

11:30 pm

<<Door creaks open>>

"Marvlyn?" I call out, rubbing my eyes as I get off the couch. I had sat up all night, waiting for Amber's return, when I eventually fell asleep. I walked over to the door and flung it open.

"Hey," Amber says walking in.

"You're very much lucky she's still asleep. It's pretty late though, you should've slept at his place. It's risky for you to be parading the streets by 11:30." I said.

"She'd just eat me alive if I did. Chill, I'm fine." Amber says, scanning the cupboards and fridge for food.

I stared at her a little longer, wondering if he didn't get her food during the date.

"What are you staring at? Help a hungry Amber, would you?" She asked, still scanning the kitchen and I chuckled.

I leaned against the counter, arms folded as I watched her rummage through cupboards like a hungry mouse. She and Marvlyn had a lot in common.

"It's creepy and weird when you look at me like that. Shouldn't you be cuddling her now?" Amber asked, after giving up her food search. "I'm so hungry, I could eat you right now." She says, frustratedly.

"You bet?" I ask.

She gives me this look right before sticking up her middle finger at me. <<That's pretty offensive, I'm sorry>>, her eyes showed.

I walk over to the other section of the cupboard and take out a pack of cornflakes and then, milk. I hand it over to her.

"Didn't eat at the date?" I asked.

She grabbed a bowl immediately, she poured a huge amount of cornflakes in the bowl and some milk.

"I did, but it wasn't enough. I didn't eat like the normal me either." She managed to get the words out amidst mouthfuls.

I sat across from her on the counter, watching her as she ate.

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" She asked.

"You should get some sleep. It's late already. College tomorrow. Marvlyn will take you to your new school and I need you to be in your best character." I said and jumped down the counter.

"You sound like my old folks." I paused and smirked, before exiting the kitchen.