The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window (46 page)

After about
two mi
nutes of driving he pulled over and
cut the engine. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly
that his knuckles went white. His jaw was clenched so tightly
I
was
surprised his teeth hadn’t crumbled
under the pressure. OK, I knew he
’
d be
pissed with me! He took a few deep breaths, obviously trying to
calm down.

“
What the
fuck was that?
”
he growled.

I winced and
looked at him apologetically.
“
Jake, it
worked.
”

“
Do you have
any idea how freaking stupid that was, Amber? Think about it, what
if it didn
’
t work? What if I
didn
’
t get your message? What if he had
decided to hurt you? Or worse!
”
he
shouted, slamming his hand on the steering wheel
angrily.

I flinched.
He
’
d shouted so loud and it echoed in the
car making it even louder.
“
Jake,
I
’
m sorry. I needed to do it; it was the
only way I could think of to get Liam free. Now
we
’
ve always got that recording so he
won
’
t come near us again,
”
I explained, pleading with him to understand my
reasons. He didn
’
t say anything, he was
still really angry.
“
You should be proud
of me,
”
I whispered, giving him my puppy
dog face.

He
sighed
.
“
I am
proud of your idea, Ambs, but that was freaking idiotic. Just
because it worked, doesn
’
t mean that what
you did was right. You
’
re supposed to be
in the hospital for goodness sake. How the hell did you get out? Oh
crap, please tell me you didn
’
t sneak out
or something and they
’
re looking for
you,
”
he said, grimacing.

I
laughed
and shook my head.
“
I discharged myself. I
’
m fine, I just need bed rest, which I’ll get plenty of once
my boyfriend is out of custody,
”
I said,
smiling at the thought.

Jake laughed
wickedly.
“
You know what?
I
’
m not going to shout at you anymore.
Liam is seriously going to be pissed with you for doing this too.
I
’
ll let him deal with it,
”
he said, laughing as he started the car back up
again. Oh crap, he
was
right; Liam was
going to be really angry that I put myself in danger like that.
Jake looked at me and laughed again.
“
Well, I
’
m glad I
don
’
t have to be the one to rein you in
all the time now. Liam can take over.
”
He
smirked at me and I couldn
’
t help but
laugh, he actually looked a little relieved.
“
Do you need to go back to the hospital?
”
he asked.

I shook my
head. I felt fine, I was just tired and needed to sit down, my body
felt like I
’
d ran a marathon but I
wasn
’
t in pain or anything.
“
I
’
m fine, honestly.
We can go pick up Liam and then go home,
”
I suggested, resting my head back on the headrest. I just
needed Liam to hold me.

“
They told me
on the phone that he
’
ll be another hour
at least. They need to process him out or something.
I
’
ll take you home and you can wait for
him there.” He smiled at me reassuringly and headed in the
direction of our house.

When we
pulled into our drive, Ruby and Johnny came running out of the
house
, looking at me concerned.
“
Oh, Amber, are you OK, honey?
”
Ruby asked, fussing over me as we walked to the
house.

“
I
’
m fine. I
’
m just tired.
”
I
nodded.

“
What was
that message? Did you go and see Stephen?
”
Ruby asked, frowning.

I nodded and
looked at Jake pleadingly; I just wanted to go to bed.
“
I
’
ll tell you in a
bit, Ruby. Ambs needs to rest,
”
Jake
interjected, steering me towards the back hallway. I smiled at him
gratefully. I couldn
’
t deal with anymore;
the reality of what I had just done was sinking in. I’d really been
stupid. I tried not to imagine all of the things he could have done
to me. I shuddered lightly and pushed the thoughts away, it was
over now, nothing happened. I was lucky. Jake followed me into my
room putting my bag down for me; I kicked off my shoes and got in
the bed fully clothed. He sat on the edge of my bed, looking at me
sadly.

“
Ambs,
I
’
m really sorry you lost your baby, you
know that, right?
”
he asked
quietly.

I
nodded
.
“
Yeah,
I know. You would have been a kickass uncle,
”
I teased, smiling weakly.

He
laughed
.
“
Yeah,
I would have spoilt that kid rotten, just to spite you and
Liam.
”

I
smiled
.
“
I bet
you would have done too.
”

He bent down
and hugged me
, kissing my cheek.
“
You were really brave, and I’m proud of you,
but don
’
t you ever do anything like that
ever again,
”
he said fiercely.

I
nodded
and yawned.
“
I won
’
t. Are you going to go pick
up Liam?
”

He shook his
head
.
“
No,
I
’
ll ask Johnny to go and pick him up. I
don
’
t want to leave you here until I know
that asshole out of town,
”
he replied. I
nodded and closed my eyes, needing to go to sleep; I was physically
and emotionally exhausted.

I woke up as I felt someone get on the bed. I opened
my eyes groggily and looked over to see Liam getting in the bed
with me. I burst into tears and threw my arms around him. I’d never
been so happy to see anyone in my life. He hugged me back tightly,
stroking my hair, rocking me gently as he pressed his lips to my
neck, the same as he always does when I’m upset. I tangled my hands
in his hair and didn’t ever want to let go. I never wanted him away
from me again.

“
It
’
s OK now, Angel.
Everything
’
s fine. How are you
feeling?
”
he asked softly as he pulled
back to look at me. His gorgeous eyes blue were looking at me
concerned. I smiled and kissed him, pressing myself to him tightly.
He smiled against my lips and I pulled back.

“
I
’
m fine. I
’
m pleased to see you,
”
I
promised, tracing my hands down his beautiful face. He ran his hand
through my hair, just looking at me tenderly for a couple of
minutes.

“
Jake told me
what you did,
”
he said, his face turning
stern.

I gulped
and
grimaced.
“
I
’
m sorry, I had to,
”
I mumbled apologetically.

He buried his
face in
the side of my neck.
“
I
’
m not going to
shout at you, if that
’
s what you’re
thinking,
”
he replied, chuckling against
my skin. I let out the breath I didn
’
t
realise I was holding and relaxed. He pulled back to look at
me.
“
I am seriously pissed at you though.
I hate that you did that, but I don
’
t
need to put any more pressure on you than you’re already under.
You
’
ve been through so much
already,
”
he said sadly, his hand
trailing down to rest on my now empty stomach.
“
I
’
m just going to say this; you
don
’
t
ever
put yourself in a situation
like that again. You
never
put yourself in danger
again. I don
’
t care what the reason is;
it
’
s not a good enough reason for you to
get hurt. Do you understand me?
”
he
growled.

I nodded, I
could see he meant it; he was crazy mad, he wanted to say a lot
more than that too
, but he
wasn
’
t because of the baby.
“
I understand.” I nodded, smiling guiltily. “I
love you, Liam, so much.
”
He was the most
important thing to me. This whole situation just proved to me how
much I loved him, I would do anything for him, even face my worst
nightmare.

“
I love you
too, Angel,
”
he whispered, bending his
head and kissing me gently. By the time he pulled away we were both
slightly breathless.

“
Liam, can I
ask you something?
”
I mumbled as he
settled down on the bed next to me. He nodded, taking my hand and
weaving his fingers through mine.
“
Do you
still want to be with me? Answer me honestly. After I lost the baby
and everything, do you still want me?
”
I
asked, biting my lip, terrified he would say no.

He looked at
me like I was c
razy.
“
Angel, I’ve always wanted you. I will always want you.
Always
,”
he said fiercely.

I
smiled
, happiness bubbling up inside me.
OK, ask him, come on Amber you can do it.
“
You said when we found out that I was pregnant that you
were thinking about asking me to move to Boston with you,
”
I started nervously.

He
nodded
.
“
Yeah.
”
He looked a little
confused as to where this conversation was going.

“
Boston is an
awesome opportunity for you, isn
’
t it?
And if you could do anything you would go there, right?
”
I asked, needing confirmation before I asked
him.

He looked
even more confused.
“
Yeah, but
it
’
s fine, I want to stay here with you.
You
‘
re the most important thing in the
world to me,
”
he replied, kissing my
temple gently.

I shook my
head, that wasn
’
t the answer I
wanted.
“
Liam, answer this honestly,
don
’
t think about me. The best thing for
your career is Boston, is that right?
”

He
nodded
.
“
Yeah
but-
”
he started. I put my hand over his
mouth to stop his answer.

“
I want to
come with you, if you still want me to. You said before that you
wanted to ask me to come with you. Do you still want that?
”
I asked, looking at his shocked face, he
wasn
’
t expecting that at all. He
didn
’
t answer; he was still looking at
me, his mouth hanging open.
“
Liam, do you
want me to come with you?
”
I repeated,
squeezing his hand gently.

“
You would do
that for me?
”
he asked, looking at me so
lovingly that it made my heart melt.

I
nodded
.
“
Yeah,
I
’
d follow you anywhere if you asked me
to.
”

“
But
you
’
d be leaving so much behind, Angel.
Your school. Your friends. Jake. Your home,
”
he whispered, cupping my sore cheek gently.

I
nodded.
“
Yeah, but I
’
d get to be with you, so that makes everything worth
it.
”
I shrugged.

“
How the hell
did I get a girl like you?
”
he asked,
rubbing his thumb over my cheek softly.

“
Maybe you
were a murderer in a previous life,
”
I
teased, making him laugh.

He
nodded
.
“
Serial
killer,
”
he joked, making us both laugh
again. He bent forward and kissed me so softly and tenderly that it
made me feel like the most special and luckiest girl in the
world.

He pulled out
of the kiss way too soon for my liking.
“
Will you move to Boston with me, Angel?
”
he asked.

I grinned and
hugged him tight.
“
I
’
d love to, Liam.”

I needed a
fresh sta
rt. So much had happened here
that I just needed to go and start over. I needed to forget
everything and look to the future - my future with Liam.