CAPTURE THIS (Updating regularly)

Chapter 4

She rolled her eyes but this time, locked eyes with him. "I really want them to." 

Her voice sounded childish and insecure. She knew it wasn't as attractive as feigning confidence but the idea of disguising her feelings for Alex felt unacceptable. 

Amber sat on the couch looking through some albums that Alex had provided her whilst Alex called Eliza and Mike. Eliza told them that she would smuggle some dinner home from the restaurant and Mikey offered to bring the wine. They just had to wait until Eliza's shift was over, which would be late as she would be cooking dinner for dozens of people before she got to theirs. 

So Alex and Amber were left to kill some time before either of the twins arrived.  

She was still flipping through his album when he came and sat down beside her.

"That's my mother," he told her, pointing to a blurry picture of a blonde woman holding a bundle of blankets, which Amber imagined newborn baby Alex was inside. 

"It's not really a clear picture," she answered, squinting to get a better look. 

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I don't have many pictures of them. They were both shy people and didn't really like taking any of themselves. They have... had tonnes of pictures of me, though."

Amber placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Is it still hard for you?"

He ran a hand though his hair, making it stick out in different directions. If they had been talking about anything else, Amber would have laughed. "I thought I'd get over it at some point but that day still isn't here. Whenever I do something I'm proud of, for a split second I think about telling them about it... except I remember that I can't. Is that what it's like with your mum?"

Amber flopped back onto the sofa. "Kind of... I tend to miss her the most when things are hard. I'm lucky because I still have my dad but it's not the same. She always knew the right thing to say."

A silence filled the air between them as both seemed to be lost in their thoughts. Alex shifted beside her so that he could look into her face. His gaze linked on her freckles for a moment. They reminded him of the spots of light you'd see when you closed you eyes after someone used flash to take a picture of you. He rested his gaze on her emerald eyes. 

"I started taking pictures because of them," he suddenly said, watching Amber's long lashes flutter over her eyes as she blinked. "When I was a kid, I used to get so upset because I started to forget what they looked like. I know my mum was blonde, in her mid-thirties, shorter than my dad... but I couldn't remember the proper details, you know? I don't remember if she smiled with her teeth, or if she had wrinkles around her eyes like my Aunt does. I always wished that I had more pictures of them, so that I could piece together what she was like." 

Amber said nothing, letting him relieve himself of his troubled thoughts. She rubbed his arm comfortingly. He gave her a small sad smile in response. 

"So, I started taking pictures. Of myself, of the people I love, of things that mean something to me. I sell some of those pictures but the people who buy them will never actually know what those pictures mean. I get people complimenting me because I don't just take pictures of the happy things, I take them in the hard times, the sad times. How else do you get a real sense of who someone is?" He paused to hastily wipe his eyes. "God, this got morbid really fast." 

He laughed nervously. "My point is, If I ever lose someone, I'll never feel like I did when my parents died. I'll never be as helpless. And if I die... my kids will have a real sense of who I was." 

Amber felt a small smile rise onto her face. She watched the man she had just met a week and a half ago, her mystery man, completely unravel a piece of himself for her. Something she would have never imagined doing with anyone else but with him, she wanted to return the favour.