Page 72 of Pages of Amber
Tears dribbled down her cheeks at Beverly’s words, but the sorrow that would have accompanied them was overshadowed by the memories of the past three weeks.
“He does make me happy,” she gasped at the realization. “I met his mom. She’s the nicest person ever and she let it slip that he talked about me so much she could recognize me from the moment we met.” A soft giggle went round them. “He took me to this amazing meadow. The stars were so beautiful, girls. He’s been by my side almost constantly these past few weeks, he listens to me, he makes me feel like me.”
“Sounds like he’s a genius and a romantic,” Beverly gushed.
“I’m so scared I’ll lose him like I lost you.” Her blurry gaze flew to Beverly.
“I came back, didn’t I? Sure, I needed the space to think things over but I’m here. Noah has had the past few days to himself. I think it’s time you burst that bubble before he loses himself altogether.”
Evelyn bobbed her head. “Agreed. Wipe those tears, girlie. I’m going to call him.”
Her chest still squeezed but Beverly’s grip slipping into hers infused some strength into her. She could do this. She would do this. Even if it took all her energy to leave the bed and find Noah.
Evelyn turned to them, transferring the phone from her ear back to her hand as she typed furiously. Her brows creased as she said, “Okay, bad news. Noah isn’t picking up. I’m texting Emmett to see if he knows where he is. Good news is Noah’s a hermit and it’s the weekend. There’s only a couple of places he would be. But let’s see if Emmett knows first.”
Amber nodded, her heart in her throat. Her mind drifted as she began to go over what she would say when she saw him. She had a long list of things to apologize for. She’d made Noah into the enemy for years, she’d misunderstood him from the first day they met, she’d yelled at him after the incident on the field with… Her mind trailed off in that direction. To the whole reason she was stuck in her house with a healing ankle, to the reason she’d lost a place in the theatre’s audition and as Amber was beginning to suspect, the reason her mom had known about her and Noah.
First, she asked, “What about… Lexi?”
The girls turned to her, eyes wide as though surprised she’d asked. They shared a glance that was hard to miss, unspoken words filtering between them.
Evelyn asked cautiously, “What do you want to know?”
Amber sighed. “I know for certain she tripped me at the field. You saw it, too. And when I was being carried out, I saw her smiling.” She left out the part where it has wracked shivers through her. She turned to Beverly. “She was the one who ratted me out to my mom, wasn’t she?”
Beverly’s dark eyes were sad, but she nodded slowly. “We were hanging out the weekend after you and I talked at Scoop Parlor and I let it slip that you and Noah were working together for the meantime. She asked if your mom knew about it, and I said she didn’t because it would probably be a disaster if she found out. I thought she was concerned for you. I should have seen the truth.”
“No.” Amber quickly tackled her friend’s guilt. “It was a personal problem she had against me. You weren’t aware of any signs, but I should’ve been.”
“It’s none of your fault,” Evelyn interrupted. “Betraying and injuring her best friend so she could win some stupid audition is on her. She made the mistake.”
Amber froze, denial flaring in her. “You think she did it to win the audition? It was a fair competition. There’s no reason she had to shove me out.”
A heavy sigh left Evelyn. “She must have seen you as a threat to her. It’s the only logical explanation. She got you injured so you couldn’t dance for either the audition or the performance.”
Beverly ran a hand through her hair, shoving the inky locks over her shoulder. “Has she ever really been our friend? To have done something so cruel, she must have hated us.”
Her friend’s hurt mirrored her own. It was almost unthinkable that Lexi, sweet and kind and bubbly, had done this, but the evidence was clear. How far back did this go? Amber wondered. She had been so serious about Amber’s return to the theatre and how everyone would praise her for getting second place at the regional competition. She’d been snippy when the audition dance was announced and said it wasn’t fair because Amber knew it. She hadn’t wanted to dance with Evelyn and Amber after practice again but her eyes had followed Amber through every class, watching her every move around the room. Stupidly, she thought her friend was trying to learn the movements like everyone else in class. A memory flashed in her mind. The pills in Lexi’s bag. The crazed look in her eyes just before she had tripped Amber.
Was it all tied together?
She was almost scared to ask anymore. “And the audition results?”
Evelyn winced. Beverly turned away. Their expressions were not encouraging at all.
“Are you sure you want to know?” Evelyn asked, her brows tipped down in concern.
No, she wasn’t. She didn’t want to believe Lexi would have ruined their friendship over a role in a ballet performance. Instead she asked, “What about you? How was the performance?”
Evelyn’s smile split her face, chasing the gloominess that had set over them. She began to bounce on her spot on the bed, jostling Amber and Beverly.
“It was amazing. Director Meusall was on the panel of Judges and she smiled at me when I finished my part. I wanted to scream. You’ll never guess the role they gave me. I’m going to be the Queen of the Dryads!”
Amber shrieked in excitement. “I’m so proud of you, Eve. This is huge. I knew you were gonna be amazing.”
Beverly scratched her head. “I heard Queen, so it’s a huge part?”
Evelyn laughed, “You tell me. I’m gonna be in a sparkly dress and a tiara. A tiara! And the spotlight will be on me for almost three minutes!”
