Amber Jean Mercer was born on May 5, 1978, exactly two minutes and thirty-one seconds after her twin brother, Alex.
Olivia and Henry Mercer were overjoyed to bring two new children into the world, ready to take care of them and love them unconditionally.
Alex James Mercer died on November 14, 1995, exactly one month and three days after his twin sister, Amber.
Henry and Olivia Mercer did not even attend the funerals of their children, and they didn't even know about their deaths until about three months after Amber's depart.
Or, rather, two months after Alex's. Amber never truly... departed.
The first thing that Amber remembered when she "woke" after the accident was the sound of a woman's screams. The lady had run out of her house after seeing the two cars crash, and it wasn't long before the paramedics arrived to try and rescue one of the victims at the scene.
Unfortunately for Amber, she was dead upon impact. The other driver, however, was much luckier. He was taken to a hospital before he had lost too much blood, and he was able to move on with his life. Even though he was drunk that night and he had killed a seventeen year old girl. Even though he had ruined so many lives by taking hers. But he didn't care. Or maybe he did. It was hard for Amber to tell over the smell of booze that haunted her ghostly senses when she checked in on him. Sometimes it felt more like he was haunting her.
Amber knew immediately that she was dead. However, due to her abhorrance towards the church, she refused to believe that she was an angel. So she decided to call herself a ghost.
The first night was the hardest. Amber didn't know where to go. She found out accidentally that she could teleport to the hospital to check in on the man who had hit her, and almost immediately after she found herself in her twin's studio.
Watching Alex pick up the phone to hear that his sister had died was one of the hardest things that Amber ever could have seen. Even though she was dead, she could still feel all the pain and guilt that he harbored about that night for the months to come.
She watched as Bobby and Reggie wrapped Alex into their arms, and as Luke tried to comfort his friend. But Alex would have none of it. He left the studio, and walked to the twin's favorite spot.
There was always something magical about the ocean at night. The twins had always thought so, at least. And so whenever one of them was upset, they would find themselves on the shores of Santa Monica, about three hundred meters from the pier. There was a quiet area, mostly rocks, where the two would sit when they needed to think, or when they needed each other. If they couldn't find each other anywhere else, they knew exactly where to go.
Alex approached the rocks and watched as the waves lapped against their stony surfaces. He found their favorite rock- the one that never got wet, no matter how high the tide- and sat. It seemed like hours before he finally started to cry.
"God, Ambs, when I said to leave, I didn't mean my life. I just needed space. You have no idea how much I wish I could wrap my arms around you and hold you..." Amber did her best to reach out and hold him, but she passed right through his skin. "I guess it still hasn't hit me yet that you're gone. I'm still expecting you to show up here in maybe thirty minutes with some ice cream and tell me that it's all going to be okay. And I know you don't want me to blame Luke. I know I shouldn't, so I'll do my best not to. It's not his fault. Or maybe it is. I really don't know. But I can't change this. And neither can he. So I'll try to move on. I'll try to forgive. I know it's what you'd want me to do."
Amber's eyes were wet with tears as she buried her face in her hands. Alex knew her better than she even knew herself, and she had spent the past two months lying to him. But she knew he had forgiven her the second that she left the studio.
"I love you, Alex," she whispered, wishing he could hear. "And I'm going to be here for you, every step of the way."
Little did she know that one month and three days later, she would be losing him once again. This time, however, to fate instead of a drunk driver.
And it would be twenty-five years until she would see him next.
(AN: so i've decided to keep the chapters kind of short and sweet, so that there'll be more being published more often! i'm excited for this, and i can't wait to see what you all think! please don't be a silent reader, let me know how you like it!)
ALSO quick clarification for the portion with amber's abhorrance to the church: i have nothing against christianity, but due to the nature of many of its denominations and its past discrimination against the lgbtqia+ community, i have decided to make the mercer parents extremely catholic, to the point where they disown alex (and amber by association) because of his sexuality. this is something that happens to too many children, and i just wanted to shed some light on the subject.