Chapter Eight

It is futile trying to hide a crime or your past. The truth will one day come out as nothing stays hidden forever.

- Grace Chanbee

[Author’s POV]

Gilbert Sanders stared at his missing daughter’s picture with tears in his eyes, feeling the picture frame and rubbing it all over like it was his daughter in flesh and blood.

“Your insensitivity stinks,” His wife, Eunice said, looking away from him.

She sat on their large comfy bed, her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and an evidence of her daily tears. She was a pretty woman and her daughter was the splitting resemblance of her kind nature and lovely petite appearance.

On the other hand, Gilbert, Amber’s father was a lanky built man with a 5’8 height. The only resemblance Amber owed to him apart from her blunt honesty was her high cheekbones. He had no patience neither did he have the courage to inform the world of his daughter’s disappearance.

“Insensitivity, how?” Gilbert asked, getting up from his kneeling position and staring at his wife who was the shadow of her former self.

“You have the intention of running as a candidate for the gubernatorial election and because of that, you want to live the life of a perfect family man because if you can manage and oversee the affairs of your family exceptionally well, how then won’t you be able to govern the whole state of Los Angeles? Do not stare at me like that. Isn’t that the honest truth?” Eunice asked, anger seeping through her veins.

Gilbert swallowed, trying to choose his words correctly, but at the end of the day, nothing came out of his mouth.

Eunice stood up from the bed and turned to her husband, facing him squarely.

“Answer me, Gilly. If you can boldly leave your only child to suffer without hearing anything from her for close to a month just for electoral purposes, you should also be brave enough to beat your chest and admit it. The people do not want a coward as their leader or do they?” Eunice hollered.

“Darling!” Gilbert yelled.

Tears flowed in torrents from Eunice’s eyes, down to her cheeks and unto her neck.

“I am sorry, darling,” Her husband said, attempting to touch her arms to draw her in and console her.

Eunice flinched and said with clenched teeth in a low voice, “Don’t you dare touch me,” She warned.

“So who else am I supposed to touch? Amber is probably never coming back and I have you at least by my side but you also want to hide from me. If I don’t have you, who do I have?” He asked, blinking back tears.

“It hurts when you speak without faith. All I want is to get my daughter back and hold her in my arms. We all know it was an auto crash but I’m certain my baby survived it. Perhaps, a good Samaritan saw her wounded and helped her. All I know is our baby is going to come back to me and you,” Eunice said, refusing to let her hope get quenched.

Gilbert shook his head in disbelief assuming that his wife was probably going crazy because of her blind faith.

“Do not shake your head in pity for me, I know exactly what I’m saying. I was blessed with only one child and the doctors have made it clear that I’d never have another child. That’s how I’m sure my baby won’t just leave me like that, knowing fully well her poor mother has no other offspring but she alone,” Eunice said, standing her ground.

“What do you mean by you have no one else? How about Daisy?” Gilbert asked.

“I love Daisy and I treat her right. That does not make her my daughter. Amber will come back and when she does, I will remind you of this day,” She said, turning back to the bed which she collapsed on heavily.

“I have been thinking,” Gilbert said, calmly.

“About what?” Eunice asked, staring at Amber’s picture enclosed in a frame on her bedside table.

“Calling the lawyer.”

“For?” Eunice asked, slightly interested.

“I want the name changed on my will,” Gilbert said, dropping the bombshell.

Eunice’s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets upon hearing what her husband claimed to have been thinking about.

“Have you lost it?” She yelled.

“Should anything happen to me and in case Amber is never found, I want Daisy to inherit everything I own,” He said.

Eunice scoffed. “Do whatever you want, it’s your choice. I can confidently say now that you are not the man I got married to. You searched for your only child for a few weeks and now, you want to give her birthright to someone who may even be behind all these? You’re pathetic,” She hissed.

“That’s enough. I have absolute trust in Daisy and I know she will never ever do anything to hurt Amber,” Gilbert said.

“The same way you had absolute trust in her father till he attempted to kill me, an act that sent me to the hospital for weeks,” Eunice mocked.

The sound of something clattering to the floor just outside their bedroom interrupted Gilbert from uttering a counter sentence.

“Who is there?” Eunice asked, sitting up at alert.

They heard footsteps scamper away hurriedly.

“Guards! Guards!!” Eunice hollered.

“Sshhhh!” Her husband said, placing his index finger on his lips.

“What is it?” Eunice asked, more like whispered.

“You don’t need to call on the guards,” Gilbert said.

“But why?” She asked, puzzled.

“The person who had been eavesdropping on our conversation and who scurried away immediately you found out someone was there is Daisy,” Gilbert said.

His wife stared at him feeling confused and dumbfounded.

“How do you know it was Daisy?” Eunice asked.

Gilbert smirked. “I had already seen Daisy hiding by the window and listening to our conversation without her knowing, and so, I wanted her to believe I was going to make her my new heir,” Gilbert said.

“But why did you do that?” Eunice asked, still not getting what the whole fuss had been about.

“I’m aware that you do not trust Daisy and I’ve also been wondering why Amber left the prom early without her escort, Richard and her beloved cousin although I did not say a word,” Gilbert said.

“So?”

“I have been secretly keeping an eye on her and you won’t believe it if I told you Daisy was caught making out with Richard on the prom night. Amber was the one who had seen them and had left the school in anger and probably because she felt betrayed,” Gilbert explained.

“What?!! But how do you know all these?” Eunice asked in shock.

“I overheard her telling someone on the phone that we’ll kick her out if we ever found out the truth,” Gilbert said.

Eunice’s mouth flew agape. “My goodness!” She said, rising to her feet.

“I have a weird feeling that there’s more to this than meets the eye,” Gilbert said.

“Do you think Daisy may have a hand in this?” Eunice asked.

“I’m not sure, darling, but we have to keep an eye on her without her knowing,” He said.

Eunice smiled, staring at her husband in admiration.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Don’t I have a right to look at my own husband?” She asked.

He ran his hands through his hair. “Well, it’s not bad. I’m just surprised because you were yelling at me a few minutes ago and now, you’re all lovey-dovey,” He said.

“I am sorry, I just misunderstood you,” Eunice apologized.

“It’s fine. You had every right to. I promise you that if Amber isn’t found by the end of this month, I’ll make sure every media house carries the news and my daughter is found,” Gilbert said.

“And the election?” Eunice asked.

“Darn the election!” He said, drawing her into his arms.

Eunice chuckled.

“What is it?” Gilbert asked.

“It’s just so funny that Daisy may be sipping wine now celebrating her win without knowing we’re unto her,” Eunice said.

Her husband snickered. “She’s never going to know what is coming for her,” Gilbert said, stroking his wife’s hair.

“I can’t wait to see my baby once again,” Eunice said.

“And me too,” Her husband said.

***********

Justin watched as Amber opened the door of the van, stepping into the passenger seat beside him. To him, she looked the prettiest when she was asleep with her hair all messy and tangled up, but that didn’t change the fact that she looked stunning in the matching t-shirt he had gotten for both of them.

“This is so comfortable,” Amber said.

“What is so comfortable?” He asked.

“This t-shirt. Where did you get it?” Amber asked.

“When someone gifts you something, it’s bad to ask them where they got it from or how much they purchased it,” Justin cautioned.

“But why is that so?” Amber asked.

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just bad manners,” He replied.

“Okay then, I won’t ask again,” Amber said.

Justin turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life as he drove with so much speed.

“Didn’t know you were so much of a reckless driver,” Amber hissed, struggling to put on her seatbelt.

“Well, now you know,” Justin shrugged.

“Is something bothering you?” Amber asked,

“Just wondering what Grams was telling you so discreetly a few minutes ago,” Justin said.

“She was just advising me not to get on your nerves and do whatever you ask me to do, except for sex,” Amber disclosed.

Justin tried to process the information he had just been told then let out a boisterous laughter, trying hard not to swerve the van off the road.

“What’s so funny?”

“Don’t pay any attention to Grams. I will never even ask for that, I’m too broke to put anyone’s daughter in the family way. I barely have enough to feed, how then will I take care of a little baby should you get knocked up?” Justin retorted.

Amber giggled. “It just feels so weird listening to this kind of talk,” She said.

“Do you want me to play some music?” He asked.

She nodded in the affirmative, “Yeah, definitely. I’ve actually been composing in my head how to ask you to play some music,” She said.

“Really? If you wanted to listen to music, why didn’t you just ask me?” He asked, feeling surprised.

She shrugged. “Well, I didn’t want you to get mad at me.”

“Get mad? Listen, babe, I know I was a jerk to you in the past, but I have already apologized for all my misdemeanour and so, you can feel free to tell me anything or ask me for anything at all,” He said.

Amber stared at him smiling sheepishly. “You just called me babe.”

“Did I?” He asked, feigning innocence.

She gave a small laugh and bopped his arm, “You sure did.”

He joined her in laughing.

“You look more handsome when you laugh like that, it’s such a pity you only get to do that once in a blue moon,” Amber said.

“You always bring out the best in me,” Justin said.

“So when are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?” Amber asked.

“Wait, what?” Justin was puzzled, hearing her suddenly ask that.

“Since you kissed me two days ago, we have been inseparable. I help you out in the garden, I cook for you, I take care of Sally, we practically do everything together, you just called me babe, but you’ve still not asked me formally to be your girlfriend,” Amber said, folding her arms and pouting like a child.

“I thought that by doing all those things you mentioned, we are in a relationship,” Justin said, quite alarmed at her outburst.

“No, we are not. It doesn’t work that way, you have to ask me and I have to give you a positive reply before we can ascertain to the fact that we are in a relationship,” Amber said.

Justin heaved a sigh. “Listen, all that’s so freaking cliché. You like me, I like you too, why must I still then ask you to be my girlfriend? That’s not how love works,” Justin argued.

“That is exactly how love works,” Amber countered.

“And what would you know about love? You don’t even have an inkling about who you are talk more of an abstract entity,” Justin said, slightly raising his voice.

“And are you now the best person to know what love entails? Oh, please, you’re the most selfish person in the world and if you can’t even care about others' feelings, how can you know about love?” Amber retorted at the very top of her voice.

“You know what? Screw you!” Justin said and turned on the music to its loudest volume, deciding to ignore Amber for the remaining hours that was left of their journey from Arroyo Grande to Los Angeles.

Amber also ignored him and stared out the window, observing and taking note of all the places they passed through.

Post Malone’s Goodbyes wafted through the van, disturbing Amber’s fragile ears and she tried to block the music out by placing her hands on her ears but soon gave way to sleep, resting her head on the window.

Justin knew Amber had fallen asleep as her soft snores clung to his eardrums. He was mad at her for what she had said but he could not ignore his emotions and took a second off the road to admire the sleeping beauty beside him, taking in all of her awesomeness.

He put his eyes back on the road, ignoring the soft tinge in his heart and the urge to take her into his arms and kiss her till she begged him to stop.

He knew he had never felt so in love or so loved in his entire lifetime and he could hardly stay mad at Amber despite what she had said to him, which had aroused anger and rage in him. He also knew it hadn’t been her fault as he had provoked her and he felt the need to apologise to her whenever she opened her eyes.

He had ran out of clothing materials and had decided to go to his customer in Los Angeles for a restock of the silk and cotton materials he sold.

Nelly was still at home with her children as the fair was not over yet. Ever since the day he had kissed Amber and had encountered the psychopath who had tried to kill Amber, he had refused to go back there with Amber although he didn’t inform his grandmother and Nelly of the real reason behind him staying back at home with Amber.

Everyone knew he enjoyed attending the fair every year so he had lied that he wanted to spend more time with Amber at home and Grams and Nelly had actually bought his story.

Since he was going to the big city, he decided to take Amber along with him on a date and had even bought them matching blue couple t-shirts.

They had both worn it with a blue pair of jeans and white sneakers. In fact, the clothes had been purchased at a hand-me-down store but it wasn’t obvious after Justin ironed them and made them look neat.

He did not want to take Amber to one of the local eateries around and wanted their first date to be something chic and memorable and going to restock his goods in the big city was an opportunity for him to kill two birds with one stone.

Despite the oohs and ahhs Nelly had thrown in his direction, he remained unperturbed and not shy in screaming to whoever cared to listen that he was in love with Amber and no one else.

********

Barely three hours later, Justin was putting the goods that he had bought in the trunk of his van when Amber alighted from it, looking around in surprise.

“Hey, you’re awake. Thought you’re never going to wake up,” Justin grimaced.

“Where the hell are we?” Amber asked.

“Los Angeles,” Justin responded.

“That name sounds familiar,” Amber said.

“It has to, everyone has heard of the name of such a big city one way or the other,” Justin shrugged, closing the trunk.

“Is this where you said you found me?” Amber asked, pointing at the trunk.

Justin simply nodded his head in the affirmative.

“Why didn’t you take the matter to the police station?” Amber asked.

Justin was extremely flabbergasted at what Amber had just said. “Why are you asking that out of the blue?” He asked.

She shrugged. “You said I could ask you questions concerning anything at all.”

Justin locked the van and draped his hand around Amber’s waist as he led her to an exquisite eatery he could only afford after winning a free coupon via Instagram giveaway.

“I’m scared, Amber,” Justin said.

“Why? I don’t understand,” She said.

“Wealthy people caused my parents to die at an early age. I have this feeling that you are from a very rich home and I do not want to cause any problem for myself. If I were to go to the police, what proof do I have to show that I had found you almost dead in my van and I have no involvement in what had happened to you?” Justin asked.

“It’s fine. I’m scared as well,” She said.

“Why?”

“What if the people who wanted me dead are my family members and they try to kill me again? Besides, I really love staying with you and I don't know what life will be like if I'm not with you," Amber said.

"I'm sorry for making fun of your predicament earlier on," Justin apologised.

"Me too. It's fine if you don't ask me to be your girlfriend, take your time," Amber said.

Justin chortled. "We just had our first couple's quarrel, right?"

"We're still not a couple," She said.

"Fine then. Amber.... whatever your last name is.... Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked.

"I'll have to think about it," Amber responded, grinning.

Justin stopped in his tracks, taking Amber by surprise as he stood in front of her, cupping her face in between his palms.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"You're so pretty and cute," He said.

She smiled.

He brought out a black beaded bracelet and wore it around Amber's wrist.

"What's this?" She asked, staring at it in wonder.

"It belonged to my mum. I don't know what the future holds for us but I want you to promise me that nothing will change between us irrespective of what happens," Justin said in a low tone.

"Nothing will ever change, I promise. And yes, I'll be your girlfriend," Amber said.

Justin looked at her in admiration and gave her a kiss on her forehead, then brought her close to his chest, hugging her tightly.

"Go get a room!" A male voice yelled close by, startling Amber and making her jolt out of Justin's embrace reflexively.

Amber looked towards the direction where the voice came from and saw a girl grinning with a boy by her side.

They suddenly looked scared upon seeing her stare calmly at them.

The boy recoiled as he staggered backwards while the girl's teeth chattered against each other as she shivered like a drenched homeless dog.

"What now? Cat got your tongue?" Justin asked, moving close to them.

"What's.... She..... Who....?" The girl stuttered, unable to make a sensible statement.

"You were just laughing and making remarks about my girlfriend and I. Can't you speak anymore?" Justin asked.

"Your girlfriend?" The boy asked in shock and disbelief.

"Yes, my girlfriend. I know her beauty's made you speechless but stick to your own girlfriend and let us express our love for each other the way we want to and anywhere we want to," Justin yelled at him.

"It's okay, Justin, ignore them," Amber said.

"This is why I hate big cities. In Arroyo Grande, I'd have punched you so hard without going to jail for it. I'm letting you go cause this is L.A but if you want a fight, come to Castillo, Arroyo Grande and ask for the guy who leaves in a stick house with his grandmother. I'm well known cause I deal in silk and cotton business and I don't go around sticking my nose in other people's businesses," Justin said.

"That's enough, okay?" Amber said, pulling him away.

She flipped her hair to the back and looked back at the boy and girl whose hearts nearly jumped out of their mouth in shock.

She faced the forward direction and went into the eatery with Justin whose temper was still high which was obvious because of his clenched fists, wondering why they had looked really shocked upon seeing her.

The boy and the girl stood transfixed in the same spot, contemplating if what they had seen was real or a figment of their imagination.

If she was alive, why had she disappeared into thin air without any trace?

And if she was truly alive, that spelled doom for both of them.