My Everything - Seth & Amber (30 page)

They came in with a stretcher and, as Seth
laid Amber on it, she still hung tightly to his neck. He pulled her
arms from behind his neck so that the doctors could take her and
examine her.

“No,” she protested as they were wheeling her
away, “I don’t want to leave Seth.”

“Amber,” Seth moved beside her, “I’m right
here.”

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her
forehead. Then he pulled slightly away so that their faces were
only an inch apart. “I need you to go with these doctors. I’ll be
there in a minute.”

Her golden-green eyes filled with tears once
again, “No Seth, please. He has a knife.”

He just stared at her for a moment. If she
thought for one minute that he was going to let a knife stop him
from going after this guy then she didn’t know him as well as he
thought she did. Hell, that knife that he was carrying might very
well end up being the very thing that Seth used to kill him.

Her eyes changed from fear to recognition.
Resignedly, she said, “Okay, fine, go. But be careful.”

He leaned down and placed one more kiss on
her forehead, “I love you.”

He hadn’t meant to say it. He hadn’t even
really known for sure that he felt that way until this moment. But
he did. He loved her.

Her expression changed instantly from one of
worry and pain to complete and utter shock. As they wheeled her out
through the exit door he heard her ask one of the doctors, “Did he
just say he loved me?”

He almost smiled.

Judd stepped up. “What are we looking
for?”

“Male, approximately 5’6 to 5’8. Beard. Red
flannel shirt. He’s carrying some kind of blade,” Seth said evenly
as they began walking through the garage.

Judd pulled out his radio and gave his team
the description. They fanned out. As Seth turned the corner, he saw
that several police cruisers were parked at the entrance to the
structure.

Seth scanned the area. Where would he go to
hide, if he were a drunk and degenerate lowlife? Hmmm. There were
two dark corners.

As he made his way silently to the first he
heard a low moaning. As he got closer, he was struck by a
disgusting odor. He walked around the blue pick-up truck that was
parked haphazardly in the space in the corner.

He looked down to see a bearded man in a
flannel shirt curled up in the corner, holding his sac,
groaning.

Seth took two steps towards him and was
standing above him before the asshole even noticed he was there.
When the guy did see him, he moved to reach for the knife he had
dropped.

Seth was quicker. He had the man up against
the wall with the blade shoved against his neck before the older
man had even fully extended his arm.

“Please don’t. I wasn’t going to hurt her,”
the man pleaded pathetically, his eyes wide with fear.

Seth could feel anger rushing through his
veins. He could easily slit his throat. End him. He wouldn't have a
problem with it. This wouldn't be the first time he'd looked right
into an enemy combatant's eyes as he killed him, and this slimeball
was – by Seth's reasoning – more deserving of death than any of
them.

He had put his hands on Amber. He had made
her bleed. He had made her cry.

It was time for him to die.

So why wasn't he dead yet?

“Sloan, it’s Officer Williams. Drop the
weapon. We’ve got him.”

Seth didn’t make any movement. He just stared
into this junkie's eyes.

“Shoot him! He’s gonna kill me!” the man
screamed.

Seth pushed the knife harder against the
man's throat and spoke in a low, menacing tone. “If I was going to
kill you, you would already be dead.”

He stepped away and the man fell to the
floor. Three police officers moved in, picking him up and placing
him under arrest.

Seth was reeling from a complex mix of
emotions. On the one hand, he was disappointed that he hadn't
killed the man. On the other hand, he felt a small glimmer of
relief – even hope – that maybe he really
hadn't
transformed
permanently into the cold mercenary that he had thought he had.
Maybe he really was inching back to who he had been before.

Still, even through this haze of conflicting
feelings, he was able to take a measure of satisfaction from the
sight of Bubba's urine-soaked pants as the patrolmen dragged him
away.

Yeah, sure, maybe making the man who had
terrified Amber piss himself in fear wasn't quite as satisfying as
snapping his neck would have been. But it was still satisfying.

Officer Williams stepped up to Seth and put
his hand on his shoulder. “Good work, son. Fisher says that you
might be joining the force. We could use a man like you.”

Williams’ radio went off and he stepped away
as he pulled it from his belt.

Seth moved across the parking lot in long
strides. He knew that The Colonel was right; he didn’t need to be
on the force. He’d seen enough. He’d done enough. He just wanted to
be the best man he could be. And to be with Amber.

--- ~ ---

“Yes, Seth,” Vickey said as she wheeled Amber
out of the hospital’s sliding doors into the cold night air, “I am
sure
that she is fine. Dr. Corbin would not release her if
she wasn’t.”

Seth knew that what Vickey was saying was
true, but Amber had been through a lot. Even though she had been
thoroughly examined, had had tests run - including an MRI - and
been cleared, Seth thought it made more sense to just keep her
overnight. For observation. They had been at the hospital in the
emergency room for the last four hours, what would a few more
hurt?

Amber reached up and touched his hand, her
clear hazel eyes shining up at him. “I’m fine, Seth. I
promise.”

He nodded. There were red marks and a small
cut across her neck. Seeing the marks on her neck made his gut
clench. He should have been there. He should have kept her
safe.

After opening the door to his truck, he
turned as Amber was standing up out of the wheelchair. He stepped
beside her and scooped her into his arms. Her eyes widened and a
smile spread across her face.

“Oh, my,” Vickey chuckled as she fanned
herself. “I do declare! Chivalry isn't dead after all.”

Amber laughed and it was the sweetest sound
he had ever heard.

Seth gently placed her on the seat and
amusement danced in her eyes. Her hand came to rest on his cheek.
“I could have gotten in by myself.”

He leaned into her touch, placing a kiss
against her palm. He felt a shiver run up her arm.

“But this is nice, too,” she said, a little
breathlessly.

A smile tugged at his lips as he closed the
door and went around to the driver’s side.

Amber rolled down the window. “Thank you so
much, Vickey. See you at the wedding!”

“Glad you’re okay, Sweetie Pie! See ya soon.”
Vickey was standing at the side entrance to the hospital waving
happily.

As they drove away, Seth adjusted the heat so
that she wouldn’t get cold as he said, “You don’t need to do this
Amber. Jamie and Alex said they would postpone the wedding.”

She turned to him with a look of steel
determination. “That is
not
happening.”

“Amber - ”

“No, Seth. I
am
going to the wedding.
That is
not
negotiable,” her tone was firm and
unyielding.

“You need to rest.”

“Listen,” she sighed then, speaking softly,
continued, “Dr. Corbin said that aside from a few scrapes and
bruises, I'm one hundred percent fine. So, physically, there is no
reason I can’t go. And emotionally I couldn’t think of a better way
to put this horrible night behind me than to be with all my friends
celebrating.”

Seth remained quiet. He knew on some level
that she was right. But he didn’t have to be happy about it.

“You can pout all you want. I’m still
going.”

“I don’t pout,” Seth said.

“Ummm, yeah, ya do,” she said.

He stared straight ahead at the road in front
of them.

She pointed her finger at him declaring
happily, “See, you’re doing it right now.”

He turned and saw her eyes were filled with
happiness and light. A knot that had taken up residence in his
chest since Katie had told him that Amber had gone to the hospital
by herself started to loosen. Amber
really
was okay.

He looked back at the road and took in a deep
breath. Seth didn’t know what he would have done if he had lost
her.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“You don’t have to apologize, but I
am
going to the wedding.”

“I’m sorry because I wasn’t there
tonight.”

“You were!”

“No. Not in time.”

“No, I meant that...you were there. In my
head. I could hear your voice telling me to stay calm and the only
reason I got away was because I did. I waited for a moment he would
be distracted and I did the third move you showed us.” Amber
reached over and touched his arm, “I got away because I took your
self-defense class.”

Seth didn’t know what to say to that. He was
so proud of Amber for fighting back and getting away. But that
asshole should have never gotten a chance to get her alone. He
still should have been there.

“So,” she said, turning and looking out the
window, “I guess since you caught Bubba, you can take me home. I
can get my sewing machine tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he said still staring at the
road.

He could see her head turn towards him out of
the corner of his eye. She stared at him for a minute, then laid
her head back on the headrest, and quietly said, “Okay.”

--- ~ ---

Amber closed her eyes as disappointment
washed over her. She was sore, tired, and - more than anything in
the world - she just wanted to be in Seth’s arms tonight. She had
not expected him to agree so quickly with the idea of her returning
to her duplex. She had only suggested it because she didn’t want to
overstay her welcome.

But, then again, maybe it was good that she
make a clean break. After the wedding and then the holidays were
over, they probably wouldn’t be seeing too much of each other.
Their paths would inevitably cross, it was a small town - but maybe
it was better if she didn’t spend one more night with him.

She had been hopeful after the night they had
spent together that they did have a future. But now she thought
differently. If he could just drop her off at her house after the
night she had just had, then obviously she was reading too much
into what she thought they had shared.

Even though she knew she was being logical,
she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she had heard him say
that he loved her before she had been taken to the emergency room.
But she had probably just been in shock. When she had asked the two
doctors if they had heard it too, they hadn’t answered her...so it
was probably just in her head.

She heard the clicking sound of the garage
door opener and opened her eyes. They were headed into the
underground parking at Seth’s apartment complex.

She was confused. “I said I could get my
stuff tomorrow.”

He didn’t answer her.

Okay. Let’s try this again.

“I thought you were taking me home.”

“I am.”

“Okay...” She was a smart girl. She wasn’t
about to argue when this is exactly where she wanted to be.

She tried to stay logical. She didn’t want to
get ahead of herself but this was definitely not a bad sign. She
couldn’t help but feel a small tinge of hope.

“Did you get to see your mom?” Seth asked as
they pulled into the garage.

“No, but the doctors told me that she
requested to go back to Horizons. And this time when she goes, it
will be under doctor supervision. Hopefully that will mean that she
won’t be able to just check herself out.”

Seth nodded as he got out of the truck. Amber
began to gingerly step out and Seth was immediately there, helping
her down. His eyes were filled with worry and concern. She didn’t
want him to feel either.

She was fine. In fact, she was more than
fine. She knew where her mom was. Sure, she was in the hospital -
but, at least for now, Amber knew she was safe. The person who had
been harassing her was behind bars. And she was with Seth, for
now.

In this moment, she was amazing.

As Amber removed her jacket and hung it on
the hook, she heard Seth click the lock to the front door behind
her. Soft lighting filtered into the room from the stars
illuminating the sky. She moved to the large windows overlooking
the river. The water shined as moonlight danced across its surface.
It was peaceful. Beautiful.

Her limbs suddenly began to feel heavy as she
took in the breathtaking view. All of the adrenaline seemed to
drain out of her at once. She kicked off her shoes and concentrated
on the coolness of the hard wood floors beneath her feet, grounding
her in this moment.

Since the attack, she had basically been
operating on auto pilot. Answering police officers' questions.
Answering doctors' questions. Answering nurses' questions.

It had been a long night. She was exhausted,
mentally and physically.

She wanted to crawl up on the couch and go to
sleep but before she did that she needed to take a shower. She felt
dirty (and not the good kind of dirty!). She needed to wash off the
smell of stale cigarettes, B.O., booze, and hospital. She took a
deep breath, trying to summon the strength to move her feet towards
the bathroom.

Just as she was turning she felt herself
being lifted off the floor. She gasped as Seth scooped her up and
cradled her in his arms. A smile flitted across her face as she let
herself luxuriate in the feeling of being held by the man she
loved. In the warmth of his protective arms, she felt totally safe
and loved.

His crystal blue eyes looked down at her with
a much-too-serious stare.