“Can you wait for a few minutes, please?”
“Sure, miss.”
Amber thanked the cab driver and got out. The first thing she did was look up at the house she’d grown up in. She’d been happy the first nine years of her life, but after her father died, there had been nothing but pain and misery.
She almost thought she would be better off if she’d never left because, for a short time, she’d been happy, and now that was taken away. Now she felt the sorrow and loneliness more. Or she would once the numbness wore off.
She planned on getting some clothes and then having the cab take her to a hotel. It couldn’t be expensive because she didn’t have a lot of money with her and just her debit card, but she needed to hide a few days until she could think straight and make plans.
The front door closed quietly behind her. The last thing she wanted was to run into her mother or sister.
“Look what the cat dragged in.”
Amber sighed and turned to face her sister. For the first time in her life, she hated her and wanted to smack the condescending grin off her face.
“Did you crawl home thinking we’d let you stay?”
“Actually, no. I’m here to grab some clothes.”
Bianca laughed and then stuck her bottom lip out. “Aww, is poor Amber feeling sad because she lost the man? You do realize you never had a chance with him, right?”
God, this was the last thing she wanted to talk about, so she stayed silent as she made her way to the steps.
“You’re not going to find anything in your room. Mom got rid of all of it.”
Amber glanced at her sister but continued to walk up the steps. She heard her call out to her mother.
“Mom, the little slut’s home,” Bianca said.
Amber stopped at the top of the stairs and pressed her fingers over her eyes. God, what did she do to deserve this? She made her way to her bedroom and opened the door. She shouldn’t have been shocked since her sister warned her, but she hadn’t expected all the furniture to be gone.
She walked into her bathroom and closet to find them empty, too.
She pressed a hand to her stomach and leaned against the counter.
“What do you want?”
Amber jumped and turned to face her mother.
“Answer me, you stupid girl.”
“Nothing. I want nothing from you.”
“Good, because you’re not going to get anything. Now, I want you to leave.”
“I want the memory box of my father.”
Her mother laughed. “Sorry, but I had it burned.”
Oh, God, no. Every picture and note she’d gotten from her father was in that box, along with little mementos he’d brought back for her from when he had to travel.
“What is wrong with you?” Amber was as shocked as her mother when she yelled at her. “How can you be as heartless and selfish? What the fuck happened to you to make you so despicable?”
A red tide of anger covered her mother’s face. “Get out,” she screamed. “Get out and never come back because I never want to see you again.”
Amber wondered if the numbness made it so she felt no pain at her mother’s words or if she expected them.
“I said get out.”
Amber walked out of the bathroom, pushing past her mother when she heard her sister yell.
“Mother, come quick. The police are here to talk to you.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “If you called them because of your little accident, I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“You already do, Mother.”
Her mother hissed and stormed out of the bedroom.
Amber followed slowly behind her and watched from the second-story landing as several police officers squared off with her mother and sister.
“Ladies, you need to come with us.”
Amber’s eyes widened.
“For what?” her mother asked.
“You’re being charged with assault and negligence.”
Her mother laughed. “If this is because of my stupid daughter’s accident, I have a witness, my other daughter, who saw her fall, and I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Ma’am, that’s not up to us. Our job is to take you to the station so you can be booked.”
Her mother stiffened. “That’s preposterous. Don’t you know who I am?”
The cop sighed and looked at the others before facing her again. “Ma’am, it doesn’t matter who you are. Now we can do this the easy, dignified way, or we can cuff you. Which do you choose?”
“You put your slimy hands on me, and I’ll sue you all.”
Amber stepped back into the shadows as Cesar rushed in. God, she didn’t want to see him at the moment. The wounds were still too fresh.
“Where is she?” he yelled.
“I’m right here, darling,” Bianca said.
She saw the look of disgust on his face when he looked at her sister and didn’t know what that meant.
“I didn’t come here for you. I came for my woman.”
“But I’m your woman.”
Cesar grabbed hold of her hand when she went to lay it on his chest. “I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”
“But you said—”
“That was to get information out of you, which by the way, was way easier than I thought it would be. Now you not only put your mom behinds bars, but you go, too.”
“Behind bars? For what?” Bianca yelled.
“For assault and negligence after your mom pushed your sister down the stairs, and then there’s the money you two have been stealing from her.”
“You told him that?” Eldora screamed.
“It’s his word against mine anyway,” Bianca said.
“No, it’s not. I taped our conversation and have a witness.”
Bianca screamed. “You did what?”
“I taped it because I knew you’d never admit it to anyone else. Now, where is Amber?”
“She’s gone, and she’ll never come back,” her mother said.
Amber didn’t know what to do at the moment. She wanted to believe that Cesar used her sister, but she was afraid of what would happen if she found out he lied. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle much more.
Her best bet was to go somewhere to rest and think about her next step. She didn’t want to make a decision about anything while she was so upset. Instead, she raced down the back stairs and out the patio doors. She sighed in relief when she saw the cab was still there.
“Can you take me to a hotel on the other side of town, please?”
“I sure can, miss.”
Amber relaxed back and closed her eyes. There was plenty of time to make decisions later. Right then, she just needed to hold it together for a few more minutes until she was alone.