CAPTURE THIS (Updating regularly)

Chapter 4

Amber suddenly heard the creak of the front door opening and the sound of multiple voices greeting each other. She hurried off of the edge of the bath, using the sink to support her.  She stood on one foot as she stared intently at her reflection in the mirror. She could just make out the tracks of her tears in her make up. Thankfully none of her dark eyeliner or mascara had run with her tears. She used her finger to shift the make up to cover and trace of their conversation. She smiled at herself in the mirror and took a steadying breath before picking up her crutches - with some difficulty - off of the floor before unlocking the bathroom door and stepping outside. 

"Well, if it isn't the pretty one from the restaurant?" Mike swept her into a hug, crushing her crutches. 

Amber stopped limply in shock. Eliza caught sight of Mike's embrace and rolled her eyes.

"Mickey, let the girl go. You don't need to grope every one of them," she told him with an amused smile. 

Mike released Amber with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm a gentlemen. It's too early to cop a feel, right Alex?" 

Alex gaped at the mention of his name. He was in the middle of taking their coats and placing them on the hook. His eyes flickered to Amber who looked uncomfortable. 

Eliza swooped into to the rescue. She pushed Mikey out the way and helped Amber straighten her crutches. 

"How about I help you to the living room?" She asked Amber with a kind smile. 

Amber nodded gratefully. 

Eliza hovered protectively around Amber as she limped to the living room. 

"It's like watching Bambi walk," she remarked, making Amber snigger. 

A relieved smile broke out onto Eliza's face before she laughed with Amber. 

"Look, I'm sorry about Mikey. He doesn't think before he speaks... or hugs, for that matter," Eliza told Amber as they settled onto the couch. 

Amber shrugged. "It's okay. I was just taken by surprise." 

Eliza gave Amber an appreciative smile. "I just... Alex is really nervous. He really wants us to like you."

Amber felt a blush rise to her cheeks but Mikey and Alex rowdily entered the room, taking Eliza's attention off of her. 

"Amber, did you know that Ali, here, loves to draw?" Mikey asked as he collapsed on the couch beside Eliza. He continued speaking when Amber shook her head. "Yeah, he's not just a pretty face. I bet you anything, though, if there isn't a drawing of you, there will be a picture." 

Amber fought to keep the amused smile off of her face. She turned to look at Alex whose face was not drained of all colour. "Well, I should hope so. I'd be offended if there weren't any." 

Alex laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Eliza shook her head disapprovingly at the boys. "Mickey, will you stop trying to embarrass Alex? I want to have dinner without the thought of Alex taking secret pictures of his new girlfriend." 

There was a silence before Amber began giggling and the others joined her.

"Speaking of dinner, I'm starving," Mikey announced after the laughter had subsided. 

"I hope you guys like it. It's a little rushed," Eliza told them nervously. 

Amber threw her an encouraging smile. "From what I tasted last week, you are an amazing cook. Don't worry."

Instead of sitting around the tiny table for two, they sat on the sofa and Alex, in the armchair with the foil-covered plates balance on their laps and the glasses of wine on the floor with Amber's glass of water. 

Eliza had cooked a simple steak with steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes but it was far better than any steak Amber had ever tasted. They ate in silence, all content with the quality of their food. 

"Well, Eliza, that was amazing," Alex told her as he got up to take their plates to the kitchen. 

Eliza blushed. "It's nothing." 

"It's not nothing," Alex insisted. He turned to Amber. "Eliza's been cooking for as long as I can remember. My parents bought her her first play kitchen when we were kids and she's been cooking for us ever since." 

Eliza was trying to mask her embarrassment with nervous laughter. "We all went to the same university and these boys would always have me cooking for them. We didn't even live in the same flat! They'd still have me come over to cook." 

"Well, I don't blame them," Amber told her. "You're really gifted." 

Amber's phone began to ring. She threw them all an apologetic smile as she scrambled through her purse to find her phone. 

She made the mistake of not checking who had called before she answered. 

"Hello?"

"Amber Catherine Riley, you come home right now."