CAPTURE THIS (Updating regularly)

Chapter 25

Her eyes fell on Amber and the warmth that Amber had seen earlier at the door turned lukewarm. Amber bit her bottom lip anxiously as she tried to throw her a polite smile but it came out as an expression of grimace. 

It seemed that Alex couldn't shake his discomfort, however, his expression softened as he learned forward a little further to take one of Sylvia's hands. 

"Tell me what's going on."

Amber was dumbstruck as she watched the scene play out in front of her. Her hand had slid off of Alex's arm and lay limply beside her on the sofa. His tone was filled with such pleading that she felt her own heart melt into a pool even though he wasn't appealing to her. 

She realized for the first time the full extent of their bond. There was such a raw affection between them that Amber recognized as something she had with Ann. It was impossible for them to keep anything from each other. They had seen the other at their absolute worst, even if one of them had tried to conceal it. There was nothing to hide behind and secrets were impossible. Amber's heart thundered warning cries through her chest but she fought with her face to keep it neutral. 

Sylvia's face broke out into an unexpected smile as she gazed into Alex's eyes with such intensity it was as though the entire world should have collapsed around them so that they were the only two remaining. 

"I've met someone." 

Someone seemed to put the world on mute and paused it around Amber. Her mind was running at a 100 miles per hour. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Alex's face breaking out into a relieved smile in slow motion. Sylvia's nervous but pleased laugh grated against Amber's ear drums shrilly and threatened to burst them. The living room was decorated as though it was a set built for a sitcom for the eighties. None of it made sense. None of it fit together. 

Barely aware of what she was doing, Amber rose from her seat and mumbled something about leaving her phone in her car. She didn't see Alex's face contort into a bewildered frown or Sylvia's eyes widening in fear. Following the route that Sylvia had led them through, Amber fled from the room to Alex's car.

She needed a minute to herself to understand what the hell had just happened. For the first time since she had met Alex, she hoped that he wouldn't run after her. 

Gripping the hood of the car, Amber gulped the icy air gratefully, not caring for how it stung her throat. Every single expectation she had for how this visit was supposed to turn out had been subverted, and it was taking a toll on her mind. She had never expected Alex to be so upfront about Sylvia's eating disorder, nor had she expected for him to be so happy when Sylvia announced that she had met someone. The jealousy that she had spent hours agonizing over never came. These things were all supposed to be good things, but Amber's mind still felt unsettled. Perhaps it was witnessing their unbreakable bond that made her flee from the room. It made her realize that what she had with Alex was nowhere near that substantial. She loved him, and she was certain of it but it looked nothing like what she had just seen in the living room of the cottage. 

She had forgotten her coat in the hurry. The air around her was hostile to her body's warmth and made her shiver uncontrollably but she wasn't ready to go back in. Instead, she perched on the hood of the car and hugged herself to muster up some warmth.

Yet another unexpected surprise: it was Sylvia who stepped out of the front door, throwing her an apologetic smile. 

"I thought you might be cold," she said quietly, handing Amber a blanket. 

Amber took it from her gratefully and wrapped it around her body before moving up a little to make space for Sylvia to sit down next to her. 

"You know, when Alex told me he was coming over and bringing you, I never imagined for things to go like this," Sylvia told her as she sat down. "It takes some used to, seeing the way we are with each other."