Chapter 62: Chapter 62

/Amber's pov/

"Josh has a cold as well? "I'm hoping there isn't anything spreading." When I thought about becoming ill, I cringed since I hate vomiting up.

"It's the same for me. Kate urged me forward, hooking her arm through mine and tugging me towards the building. "Come on, let's get to class," she said.

Because I didn't have the prospect of seeing Mike at lunch to look forward to, school seemed to drag on interminably. On top of that, I was beginning to feel a bit queasy as the morning and afternoon passed by without Mike present in any way. My stomach was churning, and I couldn't even force down anything for lunch since I was so sick.

I'm becoming ill as a result of this!

I attempted to contact Jake to find out how he was doing but received no response. He was most likely sleeping or doing anything else. Because the boys weren't here today, Kate was dropping me off at my house. She left me off in front of the home, and I went inside the house, fatigued and wanting nothing more than to go into bed.

As soon as I came through the front door, I saw a slew of suitcases, cartons, and black garbage bags full of belongings heaped up in the hallway. What in the world is going on here? "Jake?" I said, calling out to him.

I could hear people in the kitchen, so I went in to find Mike, Jake, Josh, and Abigail, who was carrying a little child in her arms, who I assumed to be my younger brother, Stanely, waiting for me. I hadn't seen him in person since the back of his head last week, so this was my first actual encounter with him. What in the world are they doing here in the first place? Wait, I thought Kate had stated Josh was unwell - yet he didn't seem to be sick at all.

“Hey. What exactly is all of this? 'Are you guys getting together for a conference?' I was playing kidding. Abigail gave me a feeble grin, her eyes were slightly pink as if she'd been weeping, and her lips were pursed. I could feel my back stiffen at the sight of her dejected expression.

Mike walked up to me and slipped his arm around the back of my waist. "Angel, we've got something we'd want to share with you," he stated gently. I gasped because of the tone in his voice; I knew whatever he was saying was going to be terrible.

Jake took the initiative and walked forward. "He's been up to his old tricks again, Ambs. They've left him. I told them they were welcome to remain for a bit. "Mom assured me that everything would be great," he stated.

Abigail began to sob again in hushed tones. I raised my eyes to Josh. He'd been subjected to abuse and he didn't tell me about it? As I thought about it, I could feel myself becoming enraged with him. He was well aware of what that guy had done to us, and he should have realized he could speak with me! Suddenly, I found myself opening my lips and threatening to scream at him, but his gaze stopped me. He seemed to be depressed, remorseful, and maybe a bit terrified. I yanked myself out of Mike's arms and wrapped my arms around Josh. My God, he'd also been mistreated by the man in my dreams; I shouldn't be furious with him; he didn't need another thing to worry about on top of everything else.

Everything became clear to me at that point; he had never been fond of talking about him either. When I inquired as to whether or not he got along with him, he always seemed to be really uncomfortable. When I visited his place last week, he was really nervous since he had seen my father.

"You could have talked to me," I said, feeling the tears stream down my cheeks slowly. Fortunately, Jake and Mike were there to care for me; but, Josh was the oldest and may have believed he was the one responsible for defending his mother and brother.

Josh embraced me back in return. It was my intention not to disturb you; we'd been preparing all week." While he was at work, Jake and Mike came to our aid and helped us pack up our belongings. He'll be gone for the weekend, unfortunately. "He won't be back until the early hours of Sunday morning."

I stepped back and kissed him on the cheek. "Everything is in working order presently. Not to worry, he won't be able to harm you anymore," I said emphatically. I turned around and embraced Abigail, despite the fact that I didn't know who she was; she simply looked like she needed a hug right then and then. The baby in her arms was absolutely beautiful; he looked exactly like her, except he had blond hair.

"How are you doing, Ambs?" The tone of Jake's voice was tinged with worry.

I took a deep breath and swallowed loudly. Actually, I was feeling ill at the time. I think I was a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation. I couldn't take it all in because I was too tired. "Actually, I'm feeling a bit funny," I said, stroking my palm over the side of my face.

"Angel, you seem to be a bit under the weather. "Would you want anything to drink or something?" Mike inquired as he walked near me.

Oh, my God, I was so heated! My lips and fingers were tingling, and I was beginning to feel disoriented.

****

An annoyance beeping noise kept me awake at night, and my head was pounding and aching on one side of my body. I clenched my eyes tight in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort.

“Angel?” Mike uttered something close to my brain.

I moaned and moved my head in the direction of his voice. I felt trapped, like if I were trapped in some kind of bubble. When I eventually opened my eyes, he was bending over me, looking as lovely as ever, except that he seemed to be agitated at the moment. He had a grimace on his face and his jaw was clenched.

"Hey," I croaked, attempting to keep a grin on my face and ignore the throbbing agony in my head.

"Thank you, God. "You had me on the edge of my seat." After tenderly kissing my forehead, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and lowered his head to look at me.

“OK. A female voice stated, "If I could just go in here and have a look," in a harsh tone.

I took a few steps back and realized I had no clue where I was. I was confined to a little bed with all of my belongings strapped in. This was some type of little chamber with shelves and cabinets along the walls - except that we were moving and I could feel the vibrations from the road.

Mike shifted to the side, and a woman in a green jumpsuit leaned over me to talk with me. "Greetings, Amber. "How are you feeling today?" she said, casting a ray of brightness into my eyes.

I shoved her hand away from me, my eyes searching for Mike once again. "Can you tell me where I am?" I inquired, a tinge of worry in my voice. What the heck happened to bring me here? I was in the kitchen when I started to feel a bit queasy...

"You're being transported by ambulance, sweetheart." Your head struck the kitchen counter rather hard when you passed out," she continued, taking my hands in hers and placing them on my chest. "I simply want to make sure you're okay. Approximately twenty minutes have elapsed since you were unconscious." She shined the light into my eyes once again, nodding and seemed pleased with herself. "Does your head hurt?" she said, tenderly brushing the back of my ear with her index finger. I growled between my teeth as a wave of pain swept through my brain. The woman said, referring to the side of my head, "I believe you're going to need a few stitches there."

Mike saw me putting my hands towards him He grabbed it right away and kissed my fingers, his gaze never leaving my face as he did so. He seemed to be under a lot of pressure. After another couple of minutes, we arrived at the hospital, where they immediately began wheeling me out on the little bed.

"I can walk," I argued, feeling foolish for having to be brought into the hospital on a bed. "I can," I insisted.

"I'm sorry, honey, but this is the regular operating procedure. "You come in with lights, and you get in on a bed," she responded, a wink directed my way. Mike chuckled, but it wasn't his typical laugh; it was tight and devoid of humor. I couldn't stop myself from smiling faintly.

We were carried into a small cubicle and left to fend for ourselves. "Can you tell me what occurred, Angel?" Mike inquired, kneeling over me and tenderly running his fingers over the side of my face as he spoke.

As I shrugged, my head began to throb as the action caused it to pain once again. "I don't know what to say. I had only experienced a little dizziness before waking up in the ambulance with you." That's all I could recall at the time.

"You frightened the very daylights out of me. Don't ever do something like that to me again. "Make a promise to me," he said, making me laugh since he was taking himself so seriously. What he wanted was for me to swear to him that I'd never pass out again.