10/7/17, 1:30AM...
25 year old Alison Rivera was used to restless nights… but something was setting her sixth sense up to its highest volume.
Ryan opened his eyes, sensing his wife's distress… and reached over, resting his right hand on her stomach. They had just found out about their baby yesterday and hadn't told anyone yet.
"It's too quiet outside… Miami is rarely quiet." Ali says quietly.
"Strange things happen but… you're feeling more than strange." Ryan says.
"Yeah…" Ali says, gripping her phone and dialing Amber's number… but instead of Amber, it was Billy who answered it.
"Ali?" Billy says, sounding horribly shaken and Ali and Ryan sitting up.
"Billy… where's Amber?" Ali asks, digging her nails into the palm of her left hand and Ryan gently stopping her.
"She's…" Billy starts to try and answer, Ali hearing the sticky noise of a hand wiping over a sweaty face. "She's… right in front of me… collapsed across the sidewalk a few feet away from about 6 crashed and torn up cars." He managed to finish.
Ali let out a sharp scream as tears started falling, Ryan taking her into his arms and holding the phone now as Ali cried into his shoulder.
"You taking her to the hospital?" Ryan asks, startled and shaking a bit himself.
"Paramedics are already here in 3 ambulances but… that's only 6 medics and there's at least 20 people injured here." Billy says.
"Damn it!" Ryan growled, lightly rubbing his hand up and down Ali's back as Ali looked up at him. "We're gonna head down there." He says, Billy knowing that the young detectives wanted to help out in any way they could.
"Turn off to the highway near the college is where we are… cops are gonna shut the roads soon." Billy says.
The two hung up, Ryan and Ali getting up and dressed before grabbing their badges and guns. Ryan carefully drove Ali's Pontiac Firebird and stopped it when they reached the accident site before getting out and running to Billy.
"Where is…" Ali starts to ask before seeing part of Amber's bloodstained jacket nearby.
"They took her away…" Billy says, having to muster up some strength to finish. "...in a bag."
"No… no! Damn it, no!" Ali says as she started crying again and trying to push Billy away but he carefully took her into his arms as Ryan called Sonny.
"Hey, kid." Sonny says.
"Uncle Sonny… something's happened. Amber's gone…" Ryan says, Sonny nearly dropping his phone.
"She's… where, what hospital?!" Sonny says, Ryan knowing he'd be in denial and wouldn't accept it until he saw Amber's body for himself.
"North Shore's morgue… she was crossing the street, the driver didn't see her…" Ryan says.
"My baby girl is dead because of a reckless driver?!" Sonny asks, yelling halfway through.
Ali looked up after she and Billy let go, Billy seeing the look in her eyes.
"She would've been an amazing godmother…" Ali whispers, Billy looking at her as he realised what it meant. "Ryan and I just found out… we were putting off telling people right away, we thought we had more time. We were gonna ask Amber to be the godmother." She says.
At the morgue in North Shore when everyone was there, Sonny pulled the sheet back… and lightly brushed Amber's hair back. To him in that moment, it looked like she was just sleeping.
"I've lost too many people in my life… I never thought I'd lose you, I always thought… I could keep you and your brothers safe… I'm so sorry, Amber… I'm so sorry." Sonny says as his tears fell, kissing Amber on her forehead before covering her back up with the sheet.
Rejoining the others, Sonny noticed that Ali seemed to be in a daze as she clutched onto a Styrofoam cup and walked over to his goddaughter. Sitting down, he reached over and tucked some of her hair behind her right ear.
"What are we gonna do without her around? This isn't right… this is supposed to be a happy time in our lives, Miguel and Roni are gonna be parents soon. Amber was looking forward to seeing baby Jack." Ali says, also holding onto a picture of herself, Amber and Brady when they were 4 years old.
"Probably doesn't help much, but… her death isn't going to just bad. Strange timing but only 3 months ago she signed into organ donation… so even now that she's dead, she's still helping someone." Julia says.
Ali nodded, Sonny and Julia seeing her turn pale at the thought of Amber's body being cut open and Julia taking Ali into her arms as Martin and Gina hadn't gotten there yet.
Ali walked outside after a while, letting the rain hit her face after closing her eyes… she didn't notice her parents car engine shut off or hear them until she felt Gina's hands resting on her shoulders and opened her eyes, Gina and Martin seeing that Ali had been crying.
"Ali? What happened?" Martin asks.
"Amber's dead…" Ali says, Gina taking Ali into her arms and Martin resting his hand on Ali's back.
"How… did it happen?" Martin asks.
"Car pileup… sent one off the road and smacked into her, knocked her into the wall… at least… a double impact to the head was a quick way to go." Billy says.
Gina let out a horrified cry, Martin hugging both her and Ali.
Ali felt a brush of cold on her right shoulder that she knew wasn't her parents or Billy.
'Amber…' Ali thought. The cold patch didn't have any distinct outline or shape but the size of it was one she knew, the same size as Amber's hands, small palms with long fingers that would wrap around another hand if she held one.
"I'm always here, Ali."
'I didn't… get to tell you…' Ali thought.
"I know now… and you know that I would have always been the godmother."
'I have a feeling it's a boy.' Ali thought.
"Well… you didn't hear it from me."
After that, Ali turned as she felt the cold patch move away from her.
"Don't go…" Ali whispered.
"I must… I am already overdue. I'll always be…"
It was like Amber didn't have time to finish before her presence left the room.
Ali looked out at the darkened, stormy skies as lightning flashed, echoing the somber mood around her.
She never thought she'd lose Amber like this.