“I swear to God, I didn't tell him. I don't know how he knows. Maybe Grant mentioned it to him, or Neal asked about the calls we went on, but it wasn't me, Amber. I wouldn't lie to you."
She pulled her hands away just as Val’s ringtone went off—“Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Theo pulled her phone out of his pocket.
"That's Val." She grabbed the phone from his hands. "Hello? Val? Is everything okay?” She heard the crackling of a poor connection and Val's voice. "Amber," came in and out. "Help," and then the line went dead.
Panic, lightning fast, flooded her. “I have to go. Val needs me," she said, running out the door.
“I’m coming with you.” She felt Theo at her heels, but she only had the same chant in her head.Val Val Val.
Outside the hotel, a sea of cars and valets waited. Her car was buried in there somewhere. She looked around frantically.
Theo strode to a bored-looking valet. “I need the key to the first car there.” He pointed to a BMW with its top down.
“Is that your car, sir?” The valet couldn’t have been more than twenty. He looked between them nervously.
“Yes,” Theo lied. “Give me the keys.” He slapped a handful of bills into the kid’s hand.
The valet’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Here you go.” He tossed the keys to Theo and started counting.
Theo turned back to her. “Let’s go.”
“We're onlya few minutes away. She'll be okay,” Theo said, grinding the gears as he accelerated.
Amber twisted her hands and looked out the window. Every horrific scenario she had ever seen on the news flashed before her eyes as they drove. She concentrated on the rhythmic thud of her heartbeat, trying to anchor her swirling thoughts.
Dylan's car was parked on the side of the road about a mile down from the venue. Amber's heart leaped to her throat, and she jumped out of the car before it fully stopped. She could only see the skirt of Val’s dress and her black Converse. Dylan stood in front of her.
"Val!" she choked out, her heart thundering in her chest.
"Oh, hey, Amber,” Val peeked around Dylan, and she looked...fine. Amber’s breath rattled back in her lungs in great shudders, as if she was Lily trying to breathe in the middle of an asthma attack. “Hey, Theo. Thanks for coming."
Amber stopped. “Are you...okay?” she asked. She felt disoriented, like she was living halfway between the present and the past.
"Dylan's car got a flat. We don't have AAA, so we called you for help. Do you think you could give us a ride?"
It took a minute for Amber to bring herself solidly back to the present. Theo was faster than she was, but then, he didn’t carry the weight of another night on his shoulders.
“Yes, of course we can. Why don't you guys get in the car, and I’ll call my service?” He was amazingly unruffled, in full authoritative mayor mode, taking control and fixing things while Amber felt...fragile. The shock of adrenaline made her feel sick.
When Val walked by, she looked at Amberclosely. “Is everything okay?” she asked uncertainly. "I hope I didn't ruin your night." Her makeup was still perfect. Not even a trace of a wayward tear to mar it. Relief welled in her, enough to make her eyes prick with tears. She had wanted Val to have a perfect night so badly.
"No, no, everything's fine.” She cleared her throat and pulled herself together. “I’m just glad you're okay. How was the ball?”
“Eh,” Val shrugged. “The music sucked, and they didn’t have any vegetarian options, but other than that it was fine.” She grinned. “Just kidding. It was a great night.”
The ride back to Amber and Val's was quiet, aside from Dylan and Val talking softly in the backseat. Even in the dark, as the streetlights passed, she could see the muscles in Theo's jaw ticking as they drove.
When they pulled into the Phoenix’s parking lot, Val and Dylan hopped out. “Dylan's going to come up with me for a while. Thanks again, guys." She slammed the door closed.
The car was silent. Amber put a hand on the door handle, every instinct in her clawing at her to get out and run away.
“No more running, remember?” Theo pinned her with his gaze. He got out of the car and came around to her side of the car to help her out.
In her apartment, she kicked her heels off and sat on the couch, drawing her knees up to her chest. The air conditioning pumping from the windows was the only sensation in her body. Everything else felt numb. Cold and numb, including her heart. She stared straight ahead. “I can't do this,” she said quietly, forcing the words through her stiff lips.
The soft, so goddamn vulnerable, parts of her back behind a wall of armor, fortified once more.
"That's not talking. That's giving up.” Theo sat down on the couch next toher. She flinched at what she saw on his face. “I never said a word about that night,” he swore. “I don’t know how he found out, but I didn’t tell him.”
