Chapter 21

Mia wiped the runaway tear that ran down the corner of her eye, dripped past her ear and on the bed, with the back of her hand. She didn’t have the energy to fully cry or throw a fit. Her breathing was otherwise steady as she gazed up through the darkness; her hands intertwining and resting on her stomach. She couldn’t see the ceiling, the pitch black aura creating the illusion that she’d been staring off into a shadowy abyss.

Her eyes burned, begging for an opportunity to be revitalised but her brain was not in an entertaining disposition. Time crawled by as she waited for morning to come. A small glimmer of hope that tomorrow may never come washing over her. At four 4:30AM she no longer resisted the tiny strings pulling her eyelids down to ease the burning, her mind still unable to drift off into unconsciousness.
As the warm morning rays lent its fire to her cold body, she rolled herself off the bed before Amiyah and got dressed for work.

*****
Nate pushed open the front door, stepped inside and dropped his overnight bag on the floor. He closed the door behind him and made his way upstairs. The house was still and quiet.

“You’re home?” Amber beamed as their bedroom door swung open. She was standing in front of her vanity mirror, combing her hair. “I’m getting ready for work.”

“Gosh, I just wanted to cuddle with you in bed today.” He groaned walking behind her and placing his hands on her hips.
She laughed. “Such is adult life.” Her stomach did somersaults at the warm pressure exerted on her hips. She was braiding her hair on one side.

“Adult life sucks.” He pulled her back against him and nuzzled his nose against her neck. She leaned back against him, the feel of his aroused member resting on her butt.

“God, you smell good.” He exhaled, his arms tightening their hold on her. He shoved one of his hands down her blouse to massage her full breast. He sighed into her neck.

“I wish I could stay home with you.” She said huskily, the temptation to spend the day in bed with him growing stronger with each stroke of his hips against her. She reached her hands back and grabbed a fist full of his hair.
His grasp on her loosened as the faint sound of crying permeated through the walls.

“Is that Amiyah?” he questioned, going very still.

“She probably woke up.” Amber leaned back into him one last time, her heart beating excitedly. “I’ll get her.” Amber said as his hands fell from her body and he stepped back.

“Good practice for when we have our own.” he teased, his eyes roaming down to her stomach as he sat on the bed.

“I am not pregnant.” She said in response. A tinge of longing attaching itself to her voice.

“Not yet.” He cocked his head to the side and gave her a sly smile. “I’ll put a baby in you one of these days.” He said as she sauntered out of the room laughing. He knew that day was approaching. He wanted to give her everything in the proper steps. Marriage and then a baby. Marriage was on the horizon for them, he smiled to himself as he dug into his pant pocket and pulled out the velvety box. He’d collected it from his jeweller last night before he went to work.

All that was left was to find the right moment. He was waiting for Mia to be in a good place, for her plans to leave Gabriel and join their family to be settled. He couldn’t wait. He’d been waiting months to find the perfect design for Amber and now he was more than ready to bend the knee.
Nate was pulled out of his dream-like trance by an overwhelming buzzing coming from Amber’s phone vibrating on the dresser. He shoved the ring box back into his pants, “Babe, your phone is ringing.” He called out, but he doubted she heard him. She had already gone across the hall to get Amiyah.

He eased off the bed and walked over to the dresser. The phone instantly stopped ringing, he smiled down at her screensaver. It was the very first picture they had ever taken. God, how time had passed! From that very first date he’d known she was the one he wanted to spend his life with. A lot had changed in those five years, including his feelings. They’d grown, expanded until every molecule of his body recognised her as his.
Her phone buzzed in his hands and lit up, a message came through from someone named Carter. Nate told himself to breathe, he’d definitely misread. His eyes scanned over the message three more times, it read:

*Please, let me see you one last time, Am-bear*

The screen dimmed; the cell going into sleep mode. He weighed it in his hand, his body growing cold and numb.
He looked up as the door eased open. Amber strolled in with Amiyah on her hips, her eyes wet with tears but it was clear that Amber was calming Amiyah down. She’d been bribed with a piece of fruit that she was biting.

“She saw her mother dressed up for work and started crying.” Amber told him, her eyes on Amiyah as she sniffled. “Mia also isn’t looking so good.” She lowered her voice.

“What do you mean?” he pushed aside his questions and growing anger. Mia had been going through a lot. She was about to be a single mother and he knew the journey to shedding her toxic ex was tedious.

“Doesn’t look like she slept, she is supposed to tell me what happened at the lawyers office.” Amber muttered, her eyes fluttering about. “I wonder if something bad happened?” her eyes found his then. He sighed.

“I’ll take a look at her.” He said to ease her mind. Amber nodded and turned to lead him to Mia.

“Amber?” he called out to her, pausing in his steps. She turned around to gaze at him.

“Why are you calling me by my Government issued name?” She teased, he rarely ever called her by her name that it felt foreign coming from him. It sounded as if he was calling someone else.

He held up her phone in his hand. Her eyes fixated on it and she looked at him. “Who is Carter and why is he begging to see you one last time?” His voice unexpectedly steady, his eyes set, his body still. Nothing in him betraying the way he felt.
Amber wished she could stop the colour from draining from her face. But it was impossible.

“You went into my phone?” the words rolled of her tongue accidently. She regretted it instantly, his eyes darkening and his shoulders becoming tense.
Nate clenched his jaw. That was not the reaction he was hoping for or expecting. What else did he expect? The words in the text left nothing to the imagination.

“Wrong answer.” He spoke through gritted teeth. She flinched at his tone, a reaction that reminded him to stay calm. Amiyah was in the room, he didn’t want to start an argument in front of her. He also didn’t know what he was supposed to say. He couldn’t wrap his head around any of this.

“I really didn’t mean—” she began to apologise. She was just surprised to hear Carter’s name in his voice.

“Let’s deal with Mia first.” He cut her off. Nate squared his jaw, dropped her phone down on the bed as if it was toxic and walked past her.
Amber’s eyes followed him as she walked out of the room, her heart racing in pure panic. What was going to happen now? Did she screw up the best thing to happen to her?
*******
Mia had managed to buy herself some time earlier that morning when both Amber and Nate came down to question her. She had declared that she was late for work and still had to get Amiyah ready and drop her off to kindergarten. It wasn’t a lie. Despite being awake all night and getting a two hour head start in getting herself and her daughter ready, she was late. How the time was eaten up was a mystery. She certainly didn’t look as though she had extra time to ready herself.
Nate had wiped his eyes ten times to slow down the effects of sleep. She promised to tell them everything when she came back from work. A promise she’d been breaking since yesterday. She inhaled silently, blocking out the sounds of her students chattering behind her.

“Please take this note down and then we will do some examples.” She had turned to face them, they instantly quieted, noting that their kindest teacher was in no trifling mood today.

“Yes, Miss.” A chorus of voices responded.
Her cell pinged while she walked over to her desk. She unlocked the phone and checked the messages.
Her heart did a violent jerk. It was Harvey.

*I will be waiting at sundown, feel free to be late ;)*

He’d finished it off with a winky face. Not the emojis as was becoming of popular use but the generic ones made out of symbols that their generation grew up on. She found that slightly amusing.

Other than that, his message was direct and to the point. She didn’t bother responding. What was she supposed to say? She didn’t know what she wanted to do. She couldn’t focus on a single task, all the pending decisions screaming out for attention.