Chapter 50: Chapter 50

/Mike's pov/

"Are you saying that you want to share a bed with my daughter, Mike?"

"Is that 'yes, I may share a bed with your daughter'?" I tried to lighten the atmosphere by cracking jokes. She chuckled when she realized it had worked.

"All right, that's OK." She sniffed loudly as she nodded, rolled her eyes, and sniffed.

I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. I'm certain that everything will turn out alright. I assured them, "Jake and I will keep an eye out for you both." I wrapped my arms around her.

She smiled and nodded. That is without a doubt in my mind. Just keep an eye out for Jake on my behalf. With a grimace on her face, she remarked, "I have a feeling he's going to do something stupid and get himself into trouble."

"I'll keep an eye on him." Don't be concerned about anything." I caressed her back softly as I smiled at her. "I'm going to go get some clothes and other belongings from my room. "I won't be long," I say. When I turned around, I virtually raced to my home, attempting to be as swift as possible.

In the living room, my mother was ironing. "Hey, Mom," I call out. "I'm going to be staying with Angel tonight," I told her. I walked by her without waiting for an acknowledgment. Before walking back to meet my mother for the second time, I threw some clean clothes and my schoolbooks into a bag.

When I walked out of my room on Friday morning, claiming I'd spent the night here like I always did, I hadn't seen her since then.

"How are things going between you and Amber?" she asked, smiling.

I couldn't help but smile after all of this transpired an hour ago, thinking about how well we were getting along. awesome. I confessed, "It was very wonderful."

She looked at me with a grin on her face. You two are taking precautions, aren't you? She had a wary expression on her face, she said.

I gave a kind grin and nodded. "Yeah, Mom, Angel's on the pill," I said, sighing and rolling my eyes. she had never inquired about my sex life before, and now she seemed really interested? "Listen, I'm sorry, but I have to go. Sarah has returned, and she is preparing for supper. "I'd just returned to get my clothes," I explained. I shifted the bag over my shoulder, my gaze fixed on the open door; all I wanted to do was get back over there as soon as possible in case she woke.

My mother stared at me with a puzzling expression. She was taken aback by the fact that Sarah was home and allowed you to stay with her. It made me grin to think that Sarah would have kicked my ass just for asking to remain, but with all that was going on, she didn't seem to mind at all.

"Yeah, she said everything was fine," I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow night at about nine o'clock when Jake comes home from work, K?" As I proceeded towards the front entrance, I yelled over my shoulder.

She let out a big sigh. "It was wonderful to see you again, I love you, Mike," she said, a cynical tone in the voice.

I burst out laughing. "I love you, Mom," I say.

"I love you, more," she added as I was about to shut the door.

It didn't take long for me to fall back asleep with mber, who was still snoozing in the same position. It was just 7:30 p.m.; maybe she'd be able to sleep all night. I sat down next to her once more, just staring at her. In an instant, she cuddled closer to me, just like she did every night before bed. I held her close in my arms and closed my eyes, trying to think of anything other than the worst memory I could recall from my childhood.

The memory of walking in on her father attempting to force himself on her as she lay beaten and bleeding on their living room couch is still fresh in her mind. She knew her father had been groping her since she was about five years old, and she confessed to him as he left the room. It was after that conversation that she didn't bring it up again. I believe she buried it so deep inside herself that she pretended it didn't happen or something along those lines — kind of like a denial, I suppose. The only time you ever saw any repercussions from it was when other people touched her and she became scared and worried.

Jake then came in with two plates of food, which I appreciated very much. The sorrow on his face when he stared Amber in the eyes was palpable. "Do you think we should wake her up and bring her something to eat?" he said in hushed tones.

I made a shaky motion with my head. "No, please let her to sleep. "If she wakes up hungry, I'll make her something," I said quietly, as I began savoring my pasta with a hungry grin on my face. His only intention was to sit at the foot of her bed and watch her sleep for a little period. "I'll make sure she's okay, Jake," I assured.

He gave a sigh and a nod. "Yeah, I understand. Mike, good night." He slipped out of Amber's room, taking my empty plate and Amber's untouched plate with him. He had a sad smile on his face. I re-wrapped myself around her and sat there watching her sleep until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

****

/Amber's pov/

In the morning, my head was throbbing and I couldn't concentrate. I let out a moan. In the midst of everything else that was going wrong today, I definitely didn't need a headache to add to the list. Mike was still sleeping when I got out of bed, so I moved slowly to avoid waking him. It was time for a shower, so I went to my bathroom. As I thought of my father and his 'new family,' I stood in the mist, fighting the urge to weep despite my best efforts. What was I going to say to this Josh dude? I had no idea what to say. I groaned and stepped out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel to keep myself warm.

I tried to tell myself that this guy Josh was probably not even interested in talking to me today and that I was getting myself all worked up about nothing in the background of my mind. It was not this boy's fault that my father married his mother and forced him to go to this area of the country. To be honest, he probably needed a buddy right now since he would have just uprooted himself from everything and everyone he knows.

Mike was looking down at me as I made my way to the bed. I almost didn't want to wake him up since he seemed to be in such a deep sleep. I sat on the side of the bed and held his hand in mine, knowing that we had to get ready for school right then and there. “Mike?” I spoke in hushed tones. He woke up practically right away, which was unlike him, he typically took ages to wake up in the morning.

“Hey.” He sat up and looked at me regretfully.

I gave him a comforting grin; I could see he was concerned about me. "Hi," I said as I climbed onto the bed next to him and dragged him back down to the floor with me. "I'm in good health. When I smoothed away the frown lines on his forehead, I told him he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. "I'm available if you need to speak with me. "You are aware of this, aren't you?" he inquired, his eyes riveted on me.

At times, he was simply too lovely for me to bear, and I knew I didn't deserve it at all. "I'm sorry, Mike, but I'm all right. Allow me to advise that we just get this over with and see what this man has to say today," I said, shrugging. I laughed as he lowered his head and kissed every inch of my face, making me laugh until he pulled away to go into the shower with me.

An hour later, as we drove into the school parking lot, Kate jumped out of the car and ran up to the side of the vehicle with a large smile on her face. She yanked the door open with her bare hands. "I'm officially in love!" she said with delight as she saw me.

I burst out laughing. “Really? Congrats," I said sarcastically while rolling my eyes. "OK, well.... congratulations," I answered.

She burst out laughing. "I'm serious about this. A new man has joined the team today, and he is really attractive!" She made a theatrical gesture with her hands, fanning her face. I came to a complete halt; I knew it had to be him, my new stepbrother, standing there. Well, that's fantastic; now Kate is going to be all over him, and I'm going to feel compelled to hang out with him. Fantastic, just fantastic.