“I was just getting out of the shower when the doorbell rang. When they kept pushing the button, I thought it was somethingimportant, an emergency, so I wrapped my towel around my waist and went to answer it. I opened the door without checking who was there. In hindsight, it was a bad judgment on my part.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, his piercing eyes still focused on me. He’s fuming still, and I know he’s not sure if he’s going to murder me at the end of this conversation or help me convince Amberlee of my innocence. I pray it's the latter.
“As soon as I opened the door, she kissed me. I was in a daze. It wasn’t until the shock wore off that I pushed her away. Here, watch for yourself.” I hand my phone over to him. “It’s set to start right before she pulls into the driveway. Just hit play.”
He takes the phone from me and taps the screen. I have the volume down where he can hear, but not everyone in the hallway can bear witness to the moment of my downfall. The nurse's are still watching us intently, but Ryan’s contained his temper enough after my warning that security hasn’t shown up yet.
I watch his face, his scowl drifting to a frown as the scene plays out before him. My eyes nervously roam while he watches, waiting for him to take in everything he’s seeing.
“That fucking bitch!” He hands the phone back to me before glancing over his shoulder to Amberlee’s room.
“She’s my sister. I understand how upset she is from what she saw before leaving.”
“Don’t,” I tell him, pausing as he locks eyes with me. “I never expect you to have anyone’s back other than hers. If you didn’t, I’d be beating the shit out of you right now.”
He sighs heavily. “Come on, we need to show her the video and tell her everything.”
Ryan turns and heads down the hallway to her room, while I stand there frozen. I want her to know the truth, but a part of me fears seeing her gaze at me with that pain and hurt again. Worse that even when she knows the truth, she’ll still hold anger at mefor my small transgression of allowing Sylvia to get her lips on mine, that I didn’t tell her she’s been messaging me.
Ryan stops, looking back at me. “Come on.”
Hesitantly, I begin moving toward him, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, it’s the only thing that’s keeping me from freezing in place.
Ryan opens the door and steps inside, with me right behind him. Amberlee’s rolled onto her side, facing the wall across from us. She’s sobbing and my heart crumbles. I’m the cause of the tears she’s shedding.
“Amberlee,” Ryan calls her name. She slowly rolls over, her eyes lock on mine and she opens her mouth to speak. “No, it’s not what you think. You need to let him explain and show you something.”
“No,” her voice comes out hoarse and weak.
“I love you, Amberlee, you’re my sister and I’d never let anyone hurt you. I’m also not going to let you ruin something over a misunderstanding. Now, you are going to listen as Jeremiah explains to you what you saw.” He shifts his gaze over to me. “Although, it could have been avoided, if he was honest with you sooner.”
I take that as my cue to step forward and take a seat in the chair beside her. Taking a deep breath, I begin to tell the story to her. Telling her everything as she listens. I start with admitting to her that I lied about the calls and messages I’d been getting, that they were from Sylvia.
“Do you still love her? Do you want to be with her?” Her voice cracks.
“No, I can’t stand her. I was stupid and thought if I ignored her, she’d just grow bored and stop. Her showing up at my door was something I never expected.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me? Why not just be honest with me instead of lying?”
“I was scared of what you would think. I even debated telling you, but after she showed up today I knew I needed to, and I was planning to tell you tonight. But when I showed up at Ryan’s you weren’t there and then we got the call about your accident.”
“Why did you answer the door in a towel?” Her eyes squint as she looks at me. Fuck, none of this looks good for me.
“Again, stupidity. Someone kept ringing the doorbell nonstop, I was in the shower, and I thought something bad had happened. I put a towel on and rushed to the door, not even checking to see who it was first. If I knew it was her, I wouldn’t have answered.”
“But you were kissing her. I saw it.” Her sobs become heavier and the words come out a jumbled mess.
“She kissed me. I was stunned, not expecting it. I wasn’t even looking at who it was when I opened the door and then I heard her voice and went into shock. As soon as I knew what was happening, I pushed her away.”
“Show her the video,” Ryan speaks up.
I pull my phone out again and bring up the saved video from the camera and hand it over to Amberlee, making sure to put it where the camera catches her pulling in the driveway.
“Just hit play.”
I sit, my head down, as she watches it. Just hearing Sylvia’s voice has me seeing red. It’s all because of her that my girl is in the hospital right now. Amberlee was in an accident because Sylvia came to my house.
But that’s not completely true. I’m to blame as well. If I had been honest about the messages and calls, then she wouldn’t have automatically jumped to the worst conclusion and she wouldn’t have left so upset.
