Title: Tribe 4: The Bad Day Trilogy: But I Do Love You
Chapter: Section 21
Fandom: The Tribe
Author: PinkTribeChick
Summary: The most unexpected love in their world . . .
Extended Summary: An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Amber, Jack, Bray, and others.
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Jack/Amber, Bray/Amber, Pride/May, and Bray/Original Female Character, with many more to come!
Author's Notes: Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years, especially Ariannya, because she is the one who got me to outline all my ideas for the story and then break them down into three separate stories, which became this trilogy!
Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!
Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.
But I Do Love You
Section 21
Bray stormed into the small room where Amber was. She was curled up amongst the blankets on her bed, fast asleep. He slammed the door loudly, jolting her from her slumber. She sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"We need to talk, Amber. Now," Bray said firmly. Amber gave him a cross look.
"There's nothing to talk about. Go back to your room, Bray, or whatever. Just leave me alone. I'm in no mood for this," she said calmly, laying down again and turning her back to him.
"No," he pressed. "You may not want to talk, but I don't really give a damn. I have some things I want to say to you, and you're going to hear them. Like it or not." Bray crossed his arms over his chest as she looked over her shoulder at him. He stared at her insolently. He wasn't going to budge this time.
"Get out, Bray," she repeated, pulling the blankets up over her head.
"I'm wondering about something. What's gotten into you lately, Am? Normally, you'd have no problem crying on my shoulder about something. But instead, you've turned to Jack, whom you've never really been close with. It just doesn't make any sense. I mean, what is it that makes this situation so different from all the other things that have happened to us? Why won't you let me be here to support you, like I should be doing? Like I've been trying to for the past two days?" Bray asked. Amber offered no response, so he continued.
"Of course, this has been going on for a while anyway. You've been acting oddly towards me since you came back from scouting for allies to help us defeat the Chosen. And I get the feeling that it had nothing to do with the baby. You've been slowly distancing yourself from me, and I'm clueless as to why. Is it something that I've said or done? If you'd just tell me, we could work through it. I know we could. I love you, Amber, and I think you love me. And I thought our love was strong enough to withstand anything. Even this."
Amber cringed as he said that and curled up in the fetal position under the blankets. She wanted him to just stop talking. To give her some space for once. She'd hoped that by not saying anything or by hiding under the covers and pretending to sleep, he would get the message and buzz off. She didn't feel like getting into another argument with him, afraid that she might let something slip and entirely give everything that she'd been holding in away. She wasn't ready to deal with breaking up with Bray quite yet. She needed more time to recover from losing Nicolas. But Bray obviously wasn't willing to give her that. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. And he wasn't going to get them. She couldn't handle this right now.
"Bray?" she said, her voice wavering as tears filled her eyes. "Please, just go before either of us says something that we'll regret later." She heard him sigh loudly and punch the wall.
"Why? If you have something to say, just say it already! But stop shutting me out!" Bray exclaimed desperately. "You're not the only one hurting right now, you know!" That comment was the last straw. Amber threw the covers off and sat up, furious.
"I'm not the only one hurting?! Yes, I bloody well am, Bray! I carried that baby inside of me for five months! I loved him before I even saw him! I loved Nicolas!" she exclaimed, standing up. The tears started streaming down her face. "It's YOUR fault that my son is dead! If you had just listened to me when I warned you that Ebony was up to something, we wouldn't even be here right now! My son would still be safe and alive inside me, growing right now! You and Ebony killed my son! He never even had the chance to live and to grow up . . . to even breathe because of you two!" She walked over to him. "And you have the nerve to claim that you're hurting!"
"He was my . . . ," Bray's voice broke as he started to cry, "He was my son, too, Amber! Don't you even think for a second that this isn't hurting me! It's killing me inside! I know it's my fault, and there is nothing I can do to bring Nicolas back! But I'm trying to be here for you, to make it up to you! We can recover from this!" His words only served to infuriate her more. She was quickly growing hysterical.
"He was my son! You never wanted him! You didn't even believe he was yours at first!" Amber retorted, pushing Bray hard. He faltered a bit and took a couple of steps away from her.
"No, he was our son! He was created out of our love for each other! And no matter what you say, nothing can change that! Nicolas was ours!" Bray shouted, getting in Amber's face. They were both sobbing full force by now, red faced. A fury flashed in her eyes, her fists clenched.
"No, he wasn't!" she shrieked. "Get out of my room! Now! I want you out of my sight! You make me sick!" She stomped her foot.
"No! I'm not going anywhere! We're going to work this out, Amber!" he told her defiantly. She scowled at him, taking a deep breath to steady herself as she started to feel dizzy again.
"GET . . . OUT!" she screamed in a growling tone. Her entire body stiffened like an angry cat about to pounce would. Pride and Jack suddenly burst through the door to see the couple standing nose to nose.
"Bray, stop. Please. You're only making things worse," Pride told him, pulling him away from her and toward the door.
"Fine!" Bray huffed, stalking out of the room. Jack ran to Amber who, in her already weakened state, went pale and collapsed. Pride stood in the doorway, wide-eyed in amazement.
"Amber!" he shouted, patting her cheek in an effort to wake her. "Amber! She's burning up, Pride!" He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He took her back over to her bed and laid her down, pulling the blankets up over her frail body. He looked over at Pride, running a hand through his hair. "This can't keep happening, Pride. You know that," Jack said urgently.
"I know," Pride said quietly, staring off into space.
"What do you think we should do?" Jack asked. Pride was silent for a moment as he made his way over to the bed. He sat down beside Amber, taking her hand in his.
"I've been thinking about this since yesterday . . . and I think it would probably be best if Bray came with me to look for Salene, Ryan, and Patsy. I mean, I have an idea of where they are, but it will be a few days journey there, and a few days back. They both need time to cool off and recover. And that's not going to happen as long as they're in the same place," Pride answered.
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Jack said, shrugging. "They need a break from each other after all that's happened in the past few days."
"It'll mean that you'll have to take care of Amber on your own. May and Cloe will help you, but I'd trust you entirely with her safety. Can you handle that? Because she's weak and sick, and it might get worse before it gets better," Pride told him.
"I can handle it. She'll be fine, I promise," Jack responded. "I'll take good care of her."
"I know you will," Pride said, nodding. He kissed Amber on the forehead and stood up. "I'll tell Cloe to make some herbal tea for the both of you, and some cold compresses. And I'll let Micah know that she needs some of his herbal remedies. Okay?" Jack nodded, sitting down where Pride had been. "I'm going to leave with Bray as soon as possible. Probably before she comes to again. Just . . . keep doing whatever it is that you've been doing that makes her trust you so much. She needs someone to lean on, someone to take care of her right now."
"I know she does," Jack said.
"Well . . . Cloe and Micah will be in shortly. And I'm off. I should be back in a couple of weeks, don't worry. The others know what to do for her illness," Pride said, walking to the door. He stopped and looked back at Jack, who was holding Amber's hand now. "And I don't know if anyone else has said this to you . . . but thank you for taking care of her the past few days. She probably wouldn't have made it without you." Jack smiled at him, and Pride smiled back before vacating the room.
Jack moved around a bit, so he was leaning against the headboard of the bed, beside Amber. He held her in his arms as she slept feverishly through the afternoon.
That's it for now! Please review – I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! And thanks for reading!