Mary was hysterical from the moment Julia was rescued to the moment she was loaded onto the ambulance back on the pier. Charlie had to manage her so Amber looked after Julia. Being a teacher Amber had to know the basics in first aid. She didn't have a considerable amount of experience but she knew enough to stop the bleeding and secure Julia's body as the boat rocked back forth racing back to the pier. Julia remained unconscious, which, according to the paramedics, was not a good sign.
Mary and Charlie hopped in the ambulance without a question. Amber had completely forgotten that she'd ridden with them until the ambulance disappeared. The buses weren't running and she had no shoes. She was on the verge of tears. Not for herself, but for Julia and how helpless she felt in that moment. Had Amber stopped Julia when she stumbled out the first time Amber wouldn't have been staring out into the deserted streets that glowed orange in the street lights.
Once the ambulance was clear the other party goers were let out of the boat. Amber barely noticed the flood of people passing her and disappearing into the parking garage. She was too lost in worry and regret. What brought her back to life was a hand on her back. She was startled so she moved forward nearly knocking someone over in the process. After apologizing ten times Amber turned to face who touched her.
He held out her shoes and gave a sympathetic smile. "You left these."
Amber wiped her face and took the shoes. "Thank you," she said returning the smile.
She immediately turned to get away.
"Wait a minute." Derrick grabbed her hand to stop her.
Amber pulled it away. "Yeah?"
"I called her parents. They can't get to the hospital because…"
"They have no car," Amber said realizing the problem. "Charlie took the car keys with him." Tears began to fall out of her eyes no matter how much she willed them back in.
"I can get them," Derrick said.
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
Amber suppressed the urge to wrap her arms around his neck in gratitude.
"Do you need a ride?"
"No, I'm fine."
Derrick nodded. He put his hand on Amber's shoulder and then followed the crowd away from Navy Pier.
Amber lied because she didn't want Derrick wasting time on her. She figured that little interaction with her was all he wanted.
"Derrick," she called before he was too far away. Saying his name made her tongue tingle. "Can you have them call me if anything happens?"
"Yes," he called back.
Amber called a taxi, which came to get her thirty minutes later.
Her father was snoring on her couch when she opened the door to her apartment. The usual mess lay all around him. Irritation swelled up inside of Amber. How could he be so inconsiderate? Then she remembered that it wasn't her apartment anymore and her father could do what he liked. She tiptoed through the mine field and gingerly closed the door to her bedroom.
There was no news about Julia the next morning. Amber had no missed calls or text messages. This was not a good sign. She wanted to visit but she decided to give the Mitchells some space. When they were ready they would contact Amber.
She decided to go on with the plans she had that day. She went to pay her new landlord and give her old landlord notice. She finished her schedule for class that week. She began packing up her clothes and saved the hard part for the end of the day.
Amber's father was only home that evening and was accompanied by Whitney. Ideally Amber would have preferred to have that conversation alone, but she couldn't wait another second to tell her father the plan.
"Julia drowned last night?" Amber's dad asked when he saw her. He and Whitney were cuddling on the couch while watching TV.
"She didn't drown. She's in the hospital."
"Whatever," he said. "You could have told me. Mary sounded terrible on the phone."
"We had a very late night." Amber turned the TV off and stood opposite the couch.
"I need to tell you something."
"Right now? The game is on." He turned the TV back on.
"Dad, it's important."
"It can wait."
"Can you move?" Whitney said. "You're blocking the TV."
"I'm moving."
"Then move. We can't see," Amber's dad said.
She turned the TV off again. "Tomorrow all of my things and I will be gone, because I have found a new apartment in the South Loop."
"Excuse me?" He released Whitney and sat up. "We can't move. This place is close to all of my friends."
Amber shook her head. "We are not moving. I'm moving."
It took a few seconds for her father to understand.
The next hour consisted of a yelling match riddled with various swear words mostly coming from Amber's father. It was ridiculous but everything Amber expected. Eventually she stopped trying to reason with him and just let him yell.
She locked herself in her room and dumped as much of her stuff as she could in bags. She wasn't waiting another day. She would leave some stuff behind, but it wasn't important anymore. Her father wouldn't get it until she was gone. She dragged five bags and box out her room to her car in one trip. Her father followed her into the hallway.
"Fine, but don't ever come back!" was the last thing she heard him say before he slammed the door. For the first time in a long time Amber felt like she could breath.
Amber was so distracted in class on Monday that by second period she decided to let the students use her class as a study period. She hadn't heard anything about Julia, so many of her things were left in her old apartment, and the guilt of leaving her father was weighing on her like a ton of bricks. She spent the night before pacing, trying to decide whether or not she'd made the right decision.
What happened with Julia was Amber's fault. Had she been responsible and stopped her from going back into that party she wouldn't have been the hospital. That's when she made the decision to visit. Waiting was unbearable and Amber had no more energy.
"Mr. Williams." Amber found him in line in the lunch room. She tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and his face lit up when he saw her. "Ms. Easton. How may I help you?"
"Normally I wouldn't do this, but I'm having a family emergency."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but my sister is…" she stopped it technically wasn't her family, but Amber needed to get out of work. "She's in the hospital. She had an accident on Saturday."
Mr. Williams stepped out of line and pulled Amber out of the lunch room.
"It's just I haven't heard anything since the accident and…"
Mr. Williams put his hand up. "You shouldn't have come in at all." He looked at his watch. "It's too late to call a sub. Do you have today's lesson plan?"
Amber pulled a folder out of her bag. "I uploaded it to the Math Departments website, but printed it just in case."
"Great. Get out of here."
"Thank you so much." Amber lost herself for a minute and threw her free arm around his neck.
A couple of students snickered as they walked passed into the lunchroom. Amber let go embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," she said avoiding eye contact.
"Don't worry about. Now get out of here."
She smiled and got out as fast as she could.
Mary sat in the room with Danny playing with something on her lap. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were absent. Julia was sleeping.
"Abbuh!" Danny yelled sliding off of his mother's lap. He jumped into Amber who hoisted him up into her arms.
"How are you, Danny?" Amber said after planting kisses on his cheeks.
Danny didn't answer. He just laid his head on her shoulder and smile at his mother.
"What are you doing here?" Mary said. Amber noticed a hint of hostility.
"What are you talking about? I'm here to see how she is. No one called me."
Mary nodded. "If you cared you would have showed up yesterday."
"I was trying to give you guys some space."
"Whatever."
"Are you mad at me?"
Mary shrugged.
"How is she?"
"She woke up yesterday, but didn't remember anything. She's been asleep since."
"What did the doctors say?"
"Aren't you supposed to be at school?"
Amber bounced Danny a little. "I had to know what was happening."
"Whatever."
Amber set Danny on the floor, so he could keep playing with his toy.
"Mary, I know I should have stopped her, but she was drunk. And she wasn't listening and…"
"What are you talking about?"
Amber frowned. "I know why you're upset."
"Julia is silly and hard-headed. This is not your fault." Mary stood. "You left Dad."
Amber's eyes rolled much of their own volition. "Unbelievable."
"How could you just abandon him?" Mary's voice reduced to a whisper to avoid yelling.
"He is a grown up. He can take care of himself. And if you don't think so he can move in with you."
"You know I can't. I have Danny and now Julia is hurt which means the Mitchells will…"
"Stay with you temporarily. Julia will be better in what a month, back to school…"
"You don't know that."
"Of course I do. You just said she was awake yesterday. The way she was bleeding she should be in a coma."
Mary moved a couple of steps closer to Amber. "Don't change the subject. I know Dad can be difficult."
"Impossible is the word."
"But he needs you."
Amber almost fell for it. For half of a second she actually regretted moving out. She actually considered moving her father in with her at her new place. She had more room after all. Then she remembered Whitney and all the other crap that came along with living with Dad and his social life.
"Call me if anything happens. It's not fair to shut me out. I don't care how mad you are."
Amber left before Mary could say anything else. "They will respect you if they know they can't control you." Helen's words were finally starting to sink in.
A quick text to Helen that she wanted updates on Julia, and Amber was out of the hospital. She knew Mary would be mad, but with everything that happened to Julia she was not ready for that conversation. It had only been two days and Dad was already whining to Mary. Her dad and sister had a working system for manipulating her and she was finally fighting back.
That's when she realized she was free. Nobody knew where she lived, so nobody could find her. They could call her, harass her even, but they could not get to her. If they needed to see her she had the control. Amber laughed out loud in her car.
