"I hope your Mom is going to be a bit more friendly this time," Kelly muttered loading their suitcases into the back of the rental car.
Amber pulled a face. "She doesn't really do friendly, but she obviously likes you because you got invited... Don't know if that makes you feel any better?" She laughed.
"Not really. Should I be worried?" He shut the boot and climbed into the driver's side of the car.
She got into the passenger seat beside him. "You're about to meet pretty much my entire family all in one go. I'd be worried if I were you."
His eyes widened a fraction. "You tell me this after we get here."
"Too late to back out now." She laughed. "Come on, you'd better get driving. Mum's expecting us in time for dinner."
He started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot before glancing over at her. "I'm not very good at this whole meet the family thing." He warned her. "It's been a long time since I've met anyone's family."
She laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "Yeah, I'm sure meeting the parents wasn't high on your list of things to do when you were going through you man whore stage."
"Ouch." He winced. "Don't hold back."
"I'm kidding." She squeezed his thigh gently as he merged on to the highway. "I know this isn't really your thing, I owe you one for coming with me."
His hand came to rest over hers, which was still on his thigh, and he gave her hand a squeeze. "I meant what I said, I wouldn't miss it for the world." He didn't say it aloud, but he hoped that she knew that things were different with her. He'd changed, he wasn't the same guy he'd been back then when he'd had that endless stream of meaningless things. Now he actually wanted more.
She suspected that he might want to retract the statement that he wouldn't miss it for the world when they actually arrived at her parent's place. Her Mom had met them at the front door, bundling them both up into a hug.
"It's so good to have you home." Rachel grinned. "Come on, come in." She ushered them both inside.
"Hi Dad." Amber smiled, wrapping her arms around the older man who was waiting for them just inside the door. "Dad, this is Kelly." She pulled out of the hug and reached behind her to grab Kelly's hand.
"Nice to meet you." Her Dad smiled, stepping forward and holding his hand out to Kelly. "I'm Thomas."
Kelly shook his hand, mumbling a somewhat awkward greeting. What was he supposed to say?
"Why don't you two go and get unpacked?" Rachel suggested quickly, picking up on Kelly's discomfort which was clear to see on his face. "Your sister will be here soon for Dinner."
"Come on Kelly." Amber nodded, taking him by the hand. They each picked up their bags and headed up the stairs.
Once they were safely in her old bedroom with the door closed behind them she flopped down on the bed and pulled him down beside her. "I'm sorry about them," she whispered. "Mom can be a bit overwhelming, I know."
He shook his head. "They're lovely, it's not that."
She lifted her head a fraction to look at him. "Well, what is going on in that head of yours?"
He was quiet for a moment, opening his mouth to speak and then closing it again as he tried to find the right words. "I don't know. I was just thinking I guess. You've got this whole other life here that I know nothing about. You've got a family who love you and instead you're stuck at the other end of the country."
"Firstly, I'm not stuck anywhere." She reminded him. "I chose to move to Chicago, I chose to stay. My mom and Dad understand it. Yeah, I miss my family but it doesn't mean I want to come back her either."
"I know... it's just seeing you here with them." He sighed. "You must miss them."
"I do." She smiled. "But by the end of this weekend Mom will have driven me insane again and I'll be ready to get away again." She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
He looked far from convinced. "I'm going to get all the stories from your Mom about what a young Amber Wright was like." He laughed, deciding to change the subject for now.
Amber groaned. "You won't even have to ask, she's probably getting the photo albums out as we speak."
She sat up straight so she could look at him, turning serious again. "I love you, Kelly. I'm really glad that you came."
"Me too." He said softly, leaning over to kiss her.
"I've learned a lot about you tonight." He laughed, raising an eyebrow at her.
"My Mom does love to tell an embarrassing story." Amber cringed. She literally hadn't been able to shut her Mom up during dinner, then her sister had joined in too telling Kelly all kinds of stories about what she'd got up to in her teenage years.
He squeezed her hand a little tighter as they walked hand in hand down the beach. She'd missed it there, it was home. No matter how much she loved Chicago, Florida would always be home.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked. "You've got that look on your face again."
She rolled her eyes at him, stopping to sit down on the soft sand and pulling him down next to her. The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon sending the sky a warm shade of orange. "There's a lot of memories here." She told him quietly, her thumb absentmindedly tracing across the back of his hand.
It was the truth. A lot had happened in that small town. She'd grown up there, gone to school and had all kinds of happy memories of her childhood in. But, it was also the place where she'd been at her absolute lowest throughout the worst points with Jack.
"I used to sneak out and come and sit down here to watch the sunrise." She explained, her voice not raised much more than a whisper. "When he got so drunk he'd finally pass out on the sofa and leave me alone this is where I'd come. I'd sit and watch the sunrise and try and remind myself it was a new day and maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Once I'd got my shit together I'd go home and go back to him. I did it every day for months."
She heard Kelly's sharp intake of breath, but she was too afraid to look at him. Jack was still a topic that was very much off limits for them usually.
She pointed at a rocky headland, just visible in the distance in the fading light. "That's where he proposed to me, right over there." She said quietly, the sadness evident in her voice. "I was so happy. I thought we were going to grow old together, raise a family together." A tear rolled slowly down her cheek.
He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tightly towards him. "It's okay." He soothed. "It's going to feel weird being back here. You've got a lot of history here."
"I just hope I don't run in to him." She sighed, finally admitting the thing that had been playing on her mind ever since she'd agreed to attend the wedding.
"He lives close to here?" Kelly asked, sitting up a little straighter and glancing around the deserted beach.
Amber nodded. "That house over there." She pointed in to the distance towards the headland where a small house with the lights on was just visible. "That's our house."
"Does he know you're here?" Kelly asked, still looking around the beach. He was a lot less relaxed now she'd told him this.
Amber shrugged. "He knows about the wedding. It's been planned for months. He was supposed to come with me."
"You don't have to see him." Kelly said confidently. "If he shows up I'll make sure of it."
She shook her head. "He's not stupid enough to turn up at my parents house. My Dad would kill him long before you had the chance."
"Good." Kelly relaxed slightly.
"But I need to go and talk to him." She hesitated to say it out loud, knowing what Kelly's reaction was likely to be.
"You what?" He wasn't sure he'd heard her right.
"I got the divorce papers drawn up before we left Chicago." She explained, her fingers moving to the area that used to be occupied by her wedding ring.
Kelly shook his head. "You can mail them to him. You don't need to see him."
"I do." She said softly. "I need to talk to him Kelly, I need some closure."
"I'm not going to be able to stop you, am I?" He sighed eventually.
"Morning, Kelly." Rachel smiled, pouring a mug of coffee and holding it out to him. "Did you sleep okay?"
He nodded, rubbing a hand over his face trying to shift the sleepiness. He hadn't slept that well for a long time and it seemed he'd needed it. "I did, thanks. Is Amber around?" He asked. He'd woken up alone this morning.
"She went out for a run. She won't be long." Rachel explained. "She told me to be nice to you while she's gone."
Kelly laughed quietly.
"I did want to talk to you though." Rachel said, turning serious as she leaned against the kitchen counter.
"That sounds ominous." He joked.
"I wanted to thank you, for everything you've done for my daughter." She said softly. "I've never seen her so happy. I thought she was happy with Jack, but seeing the way she looks at you compared to him... it's made me realise that he doesn't even come close to what the two have you have got... I should've seen what he was doing to her and stopped it but... but I just couldn't see it at the time."
"It's not your fault." Kelly smiled kindly. "I think if Amber has decided she doesn't want you to know about something then you're never going to find out. She's very good at hiding things when she wants to."
Rachel was quiet for a moment. "Don't give up on her, Kelly. She won't always be easy and sometimes it'll seem like it's more hassle than it's worth but I can tell she loves you."
"I love her too." He said softly. "I'm not going anywhere."