After about ten minutes, Jake turned to me. “We’re ready to go, Ambs.” He took my hand and pulled me up from the sofa. He pushed me towards the door in front of him, his eyes not leaving my father the whole time. “You better not come back, old man. Next time I see you, either I’ll kill you or we’ll be headed to the police station to press charges, all of us. I’m not sure which option I prefer, personally, I’d love to stand there and watch you burn,” he stated, with a small smile, as if he was imagining it. He wasn’t joking, I had no doubt in my mind that Jake would kill him, and if Jake didn’t, I was pretty sure that Liam would. “Leave town today!” Jake growled as he slammed the door, pushing me towards his car. He made sure I was in before heading around to his side and speeding off down the road without saying a word.
After about two minutes of driving he pulled over and cut the engine. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles went white. His jaw was clenched so tightly I was surprised his teeth hadn’t crumbled under the pressure. OK, I knew he’d be pissed with me! He took a few deep breaths, obviously trying to calm down.
“What the f**k was that?” he growled.
I winced and looked at him apologetically. “Jake, it worked.”
“Do you have any idea how freaking stupid that was, Amber? Think about it, what if it didn’t work? What if I didn’t get your message? What if he had decided to hurt you? Or worse!” he shouted, slamming his hand on the steering wheel angrily.
I flinched. He’d shouted so loud and it echoed in the car making it even louder. “Jake, I’m sorry. I needed to do it; it was the only way I could think of to get Liam free. Now we’ve always got that recording so he won’t come near us again,” I explained, pleading with him to understand my reasons. He didn’t say anything, he was still really angry. “You should be proud of me,” I whispered, giving him my puppy dog face.
He sighed. “I am proud of your idea, Ambs, but that was freaking idiotic. Just because it worked, doesn’t mean that what you did was right. You’re supposed to be in the hospital for goodness sake. How the hell did you get out? Oh crap, please tell me you didn’t sneak out or something and they’re looking for you,” he said, grimacing.
I laughed and shook my head. “I discharged myself. I’m fine, I just need bed rest, which I’ll get plenty of once my boyfriend is out of custody,” I said, smiling at the thought.
Jake laughed wickedly. “You know what? I’m not going to shout at you anymore. Liam is seriously going to be pissed with you for doing this too. I’ll let him deal with it,” he said, laughing as he started the car back up again. Oh crap, he was right; Liam was going to be really angry that I put myself in danger like that. Jake looked at me and laughed again. “Well, I’m glad I don’t have to be the one to rein you in all the time now. Liam can take over.” He smirked at me and I couldn’t help but laugh, he actually looked a little relieved. “Do you need to go back to the hospital?” he asked.
I shook my head. I felt fine, I was just tired and needed to sit down, my body felt like I’d ran a marathon but I wasn’t in pain or anything. “I’m fine, honestly. We can go pick up Liam and then go home,” I suggested, resting my head back on the headrest. I just needed Liam to hold me.
“They told me on the phone that he’ll be another hour at least. They need to process him out or something. I’ll take you home and you can wait for him there.” He smiled at me reassuringly and headed in the direction of our house.
When we pulled into our drive, Ruby and Johnny came running out of the house, looking at me concerned. “Oh, Amber, are you OK, honey?” Ruby asked, fussing over me as we walked to the house.
“I’m fine. I’m just tired.” I nodded.
“What was that message? Did you go and see Stephen?” Ruby asked, frowning.
I nodded and looked at Jake pleadingly; I just wanted to go to bed. “I’ll tell you in a bit, Ruby. Ambs needs to rest,” Jake interjected, steering me towards the back hallway. I smiled at him gratefully. I couldn’t deal with anymore; the reality of what I had just done was sinking in. I’d really been stupid. I tried not to imagine all of the things he could have done to me. I shuddered lightly and pushed the thoughts away, it was over now, nothing happened. I was lucky. Jake followed me into my room putting my bag down for me; I kicked off my shoes and got in the bed fully clothed. He sat on the edge of my bed, looking at me sadly.
“Ambs, I’m really sorry you lost your baby, you know that, right?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. “Yeah, I know. You would have been a kickass uncle,” I teased, smiling weakly.
He laughed. “Yeah, I would have spoilt that kid rotten, just to spite you and Liam.”
I smiled. “I bet you would have done too.”
He bent down and hugged me, kissing my cheek. “You were really brave, and I’m proud of you, but don’t you ever do anything like that ever again,” he said fiercely.
I nodded and yawned. “I won’t. Are you going to go pick up Liam?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ll ask Johnny to go and pick him up. I don’t want to leave you here until I know that as**ole out of town,” he replied. I nodded and closed my eyes, needing to go to sleep; I was physically and emotionally exhausted.
I woke up as I felt someone get on the bed. I opened my eyes groggily and looked over to see Liam getting in the bed with me. I burst into tears and threw my arms around him. I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my life. He hugged me back tightly, stroking my hair, rocking me gently as he pressed his lips to my neck, the same as he always does when I’m upset. I tangled my hands in his hair and didn’t ever want to let go. I never wanted him away from me again.
“It’s OK now, Angel. Everything’s fine. How are you feeling?” he asked softly as he pulled back to look at me. His gorgeous eyes blue were looking at me concerned. I smiled and kissed him, pressing myself to him tightly. He smiled against my lips and I pulled back.
“I’m fine. I’m pleased to see you,” I promised, tracing my hands down his beautiful face. He ran his hand through my hair, just looking at me tenderly for a couple of minutes.
“Jake told me what you did,” he said, his face turning stern.
I gulped and grimaced. “I’m sorry, I had to,” I mumbled apologetically.
He buried his face in the side of my neck. “I’m not going to shout at you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he replied, chuckling against my skin. I let out the breath I didn’t realise I was holding and relaxed. He pulled back to look at me. “I am seriously pissed at you though. I hate that you did that, but I don’t need to put any more pressure on you than you’re already under. You’ve been through so much already,” he said sadly, his hand trailing down to rest on my now empty stomach. “I’m just going to say this; you don’t ever put yourself in a situation like that again. You never put yourself in danger again. I don’t care what the reason is; it’s not a good enough reason for you to get hurt. Do you understand me?” he growled.
nodded, I could see he meant it; he was crazy mad, he wanted to say a lot more than that too, but he wasn’t because of the baby. “I understand.” I nodded, smiling guiltily. “I love you, Liam, so much.” He was the most important thing to me. This whole situation just proved to me how much I loved him, I would do anything for him, even face my worst nightmare.
“I love you too, Angel,” he whispered, bending his head and kissing me gently. By the time he pulled away we were both slightly breathless.
“Liam, can I ask you something?” I mumbled as he settled down on the bed next to me. He nodded, taking my hand and weaving his fingers through mine. “Do you still want to be with me? Answer me honestly. After I lost the baby and everything, do you still want me?” I asked, biting my lip, terrified he would say no.
He looked at me like I was crazy. “Angel, I’ve always wanted you. I will always want you. Always,” he said fiercely.
I smiled, happiness bubbling up inside me. OK, ask him, come on Amber you can do it. “You said when we found out that I was pregnant that you were thinking about asking me to move to Boston with you,” I started nervously.
He nodded. “Yeah.” He looked a little confused as to where this conversation was going.
“Boston is an awesome opportunity for you, isn’t it? And if you could do anything you would go there, right?” I asked, needing confirmation before I asked him.
He looked even more confused. “Yeah, but it’s fine, I want to stay here with you. You‘re the most important thing in the world to me,” he replied, kissing my temple gently.
I shook my head, that wasn’t the answer I wanted. “Liam, answer this honestly, don’t think about me. The best thing for your career is Boston, is that right?”
He nodded. “Yeah but-” he started. I put my hand over his mouth to stop his answer.
“I want to come with you, if you still want me to. You said before that you wanted to ask me to come with you. Do you still want that?” I asked, looking at his shocked face, he wasn’t expecting that at all. He didn’t answer; he was still looking at me, his mouth hanging open. “Liam, do you want me to come with you?” I repeated, squeezing his hand gently.
“You would do that for me?” he asked, looking at me so lovingly that it made my heart melt.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’d follow you anywhere if you asked me to.”
“But you’d be leaving so much behind, Angel. Your school. Your friends. Jake. Your home,” he whispered, cupping my sore cheek gently.
I nodded. “Yeah, but I’d get to be with you, so that makes everything worth it.” I shrugged.
“How the hell did I get a girl like you?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over my cheek softly.
“Maybe you were a murderer in a previous life,” I teased, making him laugh.
He nodded. “Serial killer,” he joked, making us both laugh again. He bent forward and kissed me so softly and tenderly that it made me feel like the most special and luckiest girl in the world.
He pulled out of the kiss way too soon for my liking. “Will you move to Boston with me, Angel?” he asked.
I grinned and hugged him tight. “I’d love to, Liam.”
I needed a fresh start. So much had happened here that I just needed to go and start over. I needed to forget everything and look to the future – my future with Liam.