Chapter 9

AMBER'S POV
I watched as the boys ran towards the booth where Maddie and I was waiting impatiently, excitement written all over their faces, "Mum! Mum!" Danny was calling out as he raced towards me.
"Slow down, Danny. You'll hurt yourself" I scolded but his legs had a mind of their own. Whatever he had seen must have made him so hyper, I somehow hoped it wasn't Jay Harley. I was wrong.
"Mum, I took Frankie to see Jay Harley" he said as soon as he got close to me. I forced a smile,
"And how did it go?" I feigned interest and he went on excitedly,
"It was amazing. He shook our hands and had a conversation with us" My heart started pounding loudly.
"A conversation?" Maddie said the question before I could.
"Yes, an actual conversation" A very excited Danny answered and I felt the earth was going to give way. What had they talked about? Did he recognize the kids?
Mel emerged from the far end of the park and the look on her face was enough to let me know she had also run into Jay Harley.
"...stupid loud mouth. Never knows when to keep his mouth shut" she mumbled continuously as she approached me with disdain all over her face. Whoever she had seen must have really pissed her off.
I met her halfway, "What's wrong, Mel? Where did you find the kids?" She gave me a look that said "duh, where else?" but still answered me,
"They were with Jay Harley" she noticed my look and cut me off before I even said anything, "He didn't do anything to them, don't worry. They idolize him anyways" Danny nodded in agreement and Frankie spoke up,
"Yes, I do. He's a very wonderful person. Who wouldn't idolize such a man?" I flinched involuntarily and Mel noticed but didn't comment on it.
"It doesn't matter anyways, we're going home" And that concluded the carnival for both the kids and myself. Well, the outing was over and I didn't pass out, thanks for asking.
The ride back home was very quiet, Maddie who would usually have been talking nonstop about the whole event, kept quiet and Danny wasn't talking too. I was used to Frankie's silence but never the other two. I wanted to strike up a conversation but I was still feeling squeaky from earlier.
The moment I parked the car in front of our little house, Frankie got out of the car and headed straight for their room. Danny stayed back a little bit to help get the things Maddie bought out of the car and left almost immediately afterwards. I glanced at the clock in the living room as I walked up the stairs to my room, 6:54pm, it was late but it wasn't too late that the kids couldn't spend an extra hour at the carnival. I knew I had messed up the evening for them but it wasn't entirely my fault. Who hosts a carnival for a man they didn't even know shit about? Los Angeles, apparently.
JAY'S POV
As Daniel chatted away with the woman who had turned out to be Tiffany Grey, one of Oxford Oaks' cheerleaders back in the days, I wondered if I would be able to remember Amber Swift if I was to run into her. It was silly of me to still have a crush for my ex girlfriend's best friend after 10 whole years had already past but Amber Swift was totally different from every girl back in highschool.
Smart, beautiful, classy, those were a few of the amazing qualities that made Amber Swift stand out in the crowd back then. She wasn't just brilliant, she was very determined and that was one of the things that drew me to her back in the days.
"....it was nice to meet you, Jay" Tiffany stretched her hand and I held shook it. It was still surprising to me that people could still know me so well after so many years had passed. I could only remember a handful of people asides the basketball team.
"Noah called me awhile ago, your parents are expecting you" Daniel gave me a pat on the back. One of the things I didn't like about Los Angeles, my family and the business.
"See you man, drive safely, okay?" I waved to Daniel as he drove off. I had offered for him to stay with me for as long as we were both in LA but he declined, saying something about going to stay at his uncle's. Sometimes I forget we were all from LA and not just me.
The carnival was becoming quiet as I took my last glass of beet for the night. It was peaceful but not lonely and that was one of the things that made me not to miss my mansion back at home. Noah had complained about the prostitutes that were coming over every day but he didn't know how lonely it gets at night in such a huge house.
My phone ringing brought my attention back to the present, I checked the caller ID and wasn't surprised to see it was Noah. Always the loyal butler. I picked up after the second ring,
"Hey, Noah. What's up man?" I could hear the worry in his sigh before he even put it into words,
"Why are you still at the carnival, sir?" I smiled, it felt nice to know someone genuinely cared about me. But I really was fine, why was he worried?
"Cause I'm not ready to go face my step siblings yet" Noah's sigh filled the speaker, again.
"You can't sleep out there, Jay" Noah rarely called me Jay, I felt bad for him. It must be hard for him, taking care of me and all my affairs. I tried to reassure him,
"I'll go home soon. Do you know if the evil twins are around?" You can't blame me for calling my step siblings evil, you'd understand if you meet them. Noah answered in the negative but I felt a but coming,
"Your siblings aren't around at the moment" I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when he quickly added, "But, Miss James is" Eve? Could this homecoming get any worse?