Straight through the Heart

Chapter 22

Amber looks at me to follow her. I smile back at her, which seems to surprise her a little. 

I learn a little about myself in this little interaction. Here's a little list. One, I am becoming rather numb to surprises like being kidnapped, Rob being used for his talents, and Amber betraying me. Two, I'm surprised at how durable my body is. Three, I have a bomb in my head that can go ka-boom if I decide to do anything reckless and yet I have yet to have a mental breakdown. Fourth, I have had so much shit in the span of a few months that I feel like I can go through anything now. 

"Were you undercover from the start, or did they recruit you midway through college?" I ask her as we exit the training area through another entrance. That's the only thing that is bugging me.

"From the start." Amber smiles with no remorse. 

"You're a great actress. You had me fooled. If this were a movie, then you could have won some Academy Award for Best Actress." I really don't feel that bitter because the numbness with me has spread over and extinguished everything. I carefully look at her, really look at her. She walks with more purpose and I can see the power in every step she takes. She was always an active person but I never took a second look. 

I think that was the point of having such a deeply undercover agent. I barely paid attention to her the way I would pay attention to a stranger or enemy. She knew and knows almost all my secrets. I never talked about my family, but she probably already knew all about my background from the gecko. 

"Is your name even Amber?" I pause as I think about it. 

"Yeah." She shrugs. "What is this, twenty questions?" She arches a brow before continuing to walk. She doesn't seem much different from the Amber I know, but she also seems like a complete stranger. 

We step into a cafeteria. They have a cafeteria?  I am bewildered. I don't even know what to make of this place anymore. It must be some secret, high-tech, state of the art base. Hell, I haven't seen any windows showing outside so maybe we are in space. I certainly wouldn't throw away that idea. 

"Grab whatever you want." Amber tells me as she grabs a tray and plate. My mouth waters at the smells and it takes me so much restraint to wait patiently for the food in line. 

Everyone is dressed in the same uniform. There does not seem to be anyone older than thirty. This time nobody really looks at me as I stack food on top of my plate behind Amber. 

I focus on the food. I have never seen such a glorious thing since ever. The food selection are endless. I almost forget where I am and who I am with when I see the food. 

Keyword on almost. 

"You going to eat or stare at it all day. If you take any longer, then you'll have to starve for another day." Amber says sharply before moving on. I blink and try to get used to this not-so-nice, backstabbing Amber.

I grab two plates and pile as much food as possible. Amber barely shoots me a look as I do this. 

When we finish the food, we sit in a back corner. Guess what, we didn't even need to pay and there are also seconds.

"I don't have time to answer your questions and will probably ignore most of them anyways." Amber says as soon as we are settled in. I nod back since my mouth is already stuffed with the macaroni and cheese in my mouth. 

Her lips curl in slight disgust but I merely smile, which shows more chewed up food. 

"If it wasn't for me, then you would be starving once more in that cell of yours."

"Thanks. I didn't ask you to do that for me." I quip between bites. Macaroni and cheese finished. Now, it is time for the grilled chicken and veggies. 

Amber draws her mouth into a thin line before responding, "Do you not understand the position you're in?"

"Oh, I understand fully." I point to my temple with a finger, "bomb." 

"Free food though." I also point to the half bitten, chicken thigh in my other hand.

Just a little bit, I can see I am unnerving or irritating Amber. She stares at me for a long second before deciding to eat her food.

We eat in silence, which is perfectly fine with me. I don't really want to talk to her anyways. After I finish my two plates, I lean back into my chair and sigh. Looking down on my stomach, I stare in wonder at the elasticity of these pants. They are rather comfortable. I must find out how to get more of these when I get the hell out of here. 

My stomach bulges out from all the food I have eaten, but I am satisfied. I actually ate rather slowly after the first plate because I knew I would throw up if I continued eating at a rapid pace. Boy, I was hungry. Being in that damn cell, they would sometimes throw some crusty bread or watery soup for me once in a while. With Rob, I would make him take the larger portions. He was too weak to protest otherwise.

"Where's the bathroom?" I look around. I see the sign and then look at Amber.  "Am I allowed to use the bathroom?" It is really hard to use a polite tone when I say this.

She merely nods as she delicately cuts into her steak. 

I know it's only because of the bomb within me, but having all this freedom is pretty...bomb. Ha. 

Heading to the bathroom, I rush to a bathroom stall. The food didn't sit right. My stomach unleashes full hell upon my body. I sit on the ground and sigh. 

All that good food to waste. I grimace a little at the violent heaves from my body. 

 I groan before flushing and leaving the stall. Rinsing my mouth with water, I look at myself in the mirror as I clean up. 

I cringe. I look awful. Bruises and cuts practically glow against my pale skin. I can see my ribs when I pull up my shirt. I don't even know how long I was in the cells. Some days I would hallucinate due to dehydration or starvation. I glance at my bandaged ankle and test my weight. I am still limping but hopefully it'll heal soon. I tie up my hair in an attempt to improve my appearance. It has the opposite effect though. My neck has an angry bruise when one of the guards choked me. 

I sigh. Who am I even trying to impress? 

I leave the bathroom and see Amber waiting outside for me. She doesn't say anything as we start moving to yet another area. We pause in front of another pair of white walls that double up as sliding doors. She puts her palm on a some type of hand scanner next to the sliding doors.

It opens up to a narrow hallway of doors spaced every ten feet or so. At the third door on the right, she puts her hand on the scanner once more. It opens to a square room. It's like the room from before, This time it includes a bed with multiple sheets, a big sink, toilet and toiletry. 

There's even soap. I gaze at the wondrous thing and hold it in my hand. Two bottles on the sink say shampoo and conditioner. I am bewildered at the sight of such lavishing things. I don't understand why they are treating me so well. Perhaps they are buttering me up because I'm about to die.

Or perhaps it's the bomb in my head and they know I'm a prison in my body. 

When my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep rather quickly. The last thought in my mind is, Was this the big day Barsetti was talking about?

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A/N

I've waited for a while before writing about Amber. I had always planner for her to betray Jax, but I didn't know when to write it.

There will be more details regarding Amber's betrayal. And hint hint, there might be another one??????

Thank you for reading!

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Again,  I try to update as frequently as possible. I'm very busy at college.