I can't believe this story is almost over. Oh my!
"What's going on?" Link was watching her unsurely, and glanced at Corny for support. They were seated in Corny's living room, Amber on the couch between them. She pulled her legs up under her and let her hands rest in her lap.
"I need your help." It was the first she'd said to either of them about her plan, and she wasn't completely sure how to begin to explain it to them. She fought back the lump in her throat and her lips twitched into a frown. She glanced at both of the men, who watched her with an uneasy expression.
"What's wrong?" Corny asked after a minute.
She took a moment to compose herself, running over the plans in her mind, concreting them. She needed to say the words, because as soon as she did, they would be out there, and they wouldn't be as easy to cancel. Right now, while they were in her head, she could change her mind, because of fear, or uncertainty.
"I want," she said the words slowly, her eyes closing for a moment, "No. I need. I need to get my revenge."
Her words sounded so cold, even to her, and she turned to glare at Corny, who had taken to watching her speechlessly. Link shifted slightly on the other side of her, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"What do you mean?" Link was unsure, obviously, and Amber couldn't blame him. It was a frightening thing, what she was planning to do, but it needed to be done. Link didn't know that yet, because he hadn't seen the monster. He had seen the angry man Chip could become, not the beast beneath all of that.
"On Chip." The words explained themselves.
"What…kind of revenge?" Link was the only one asking questions, and she took that as a good sign. It meant that Corny was probably agreeing with her, probably just waiting until she told him what she wanted and needed to do. Her hands were trembling, and she held them together, willing them to stop making such a fool out of her right now, when she needed to be strong.
She watched Link seriously with her blue eyes, swallowed hard, and moved to sit on the coffee table so that she could study both men at the same time. Link looked so young, so naïve next to Corny, who was watching her with dark eyes that understood what she was saying, and why she had to do this. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and she dropped her head for a moment before looking up at them again.
"I need to get back into that house," she began slowly, too afraid to look directly at them as she spoke. "I have to get in there, and I have to get Chip to touch me again. I've got to get him to try and rape me, or hit me." She looked directly at Corny now, who was regarding her with eyes full of uncertainty, "I need you to get your police friends. You know, the ones that took me back there that time. I need you to be able to call them exactly when I need them, so that they can get in there, and see it. They'll see him touching me, or whatever the hell he's going to do."
She frowned. This sounded much better in her mind. She had worked out every intricate detail in her brain, and saying it aloud sounded like she'd just thought of it spur of the moment. She glanced at Corny, who had turned his gaze from her, then at Link, who was watching her uncertainly.
"You're going to go back?" Link asked, obviously not catching on. She shook her head.
"Yes, Link. I need to get back in there, just slip in there while he's out. To pretend I'm getting clothes, or something. And when I hear him in the living room, I'll come out. He'll try to hurt me, and that's where you guys come in. I need you to make sure that you can get the police there when I need them. Otherwise…" her voice faded. Otherwise, she had no idea what would happen to her. She looked hopefully up at them.
"You're going to provoke him?" It was Link again. Corny still sat stoically across from her, his eyes studying her face now. Amber set her jaw, her eyes catching Link's.
"No. He won't need to be provoked."
They were all silent for a moment, and Amber cleared her throat.
"I need to do this, guys. It's the only way I'll ever get any kind of justice for what he did to me, and my mother." She swallowed hard, "And I really need your help." She felt tears burning in her eyes suddenly, and looked away from them. "He took so much from me. He would have killed me if he could, and he hasn't had to face any kind of repercussions for that. It's not fair. I never went to the hospital after he raped me. There's no evidence that he's even touched me, aside from the fact that others saw the bruises." She dropped her head. "This is the only way the police will ever find out about him."
"You're setting yourself in a trap, Amber." It was the first thing Corny had said, and both she and Link looked at him, their eyes wide.
"I know," she answered him quietly, "but I have to." Her blue eyes were pleading with him, her lips silently begging him. "You know that, Corny."
She saw him swallow hard, and turn away. Her heart began to pound in her chest. What if they refused to go along with it now? After all of the planning she'd done. She certainly couldn't do this alone. She wanted both of them to help her, but if worst came to worst, she could use Corny alone. There was no way she could do this without Corny's cooperation.
Corny didn't reply, and let his eyes move to the floor. She looked hopefully at Link, who furrowed his brows.
"Amber, I don't think this is safe." She should have been thanking him for taking her wellbeing into account, but instead, she felt her face flushing.
"Safe?" She nearly choked on the word, "What's not safe is living with a man that rapes and abuses you! What's not safe is letting him continue to walk the streets because everyone else is too damn lazy to do a damn thing about it!" Her face was flushed, and she looked helplessly towards Corny, begging him to say something, anything, to tell her that he was behind her on this.
"And what happens…" Corny began slowly, watching her face, "if the police don't get there on time?"
It was a simple question, but Amber didn't have the answer. That hadn't crossed her mind. She began to stammer, her face flushing with heat.
"That's not…that's not going to happen," she tried to cover up her flawed plan. "Because that's what you're going to be in charge of." At least she hoped.
The three of them sat in silence for a moment, and Amber dropped her head into her hands.
"Please," she heard herself begging, "Please, please. You don't understand. I have got to do something." She raised her head, watching both of them with tear-filled eyes. "You don't know what it's like to have someone destroy you, and then not be able to do anything about it. You don't know what it's like to know that he's walking around free after what he did to us!" She swallowed a sob, squeezing her eyes shut. "Even if he only goes to jail, it's something. It's more than I've got right now."
"What do I have to do?" Link asked her after a moment, and she wasn't sure if that meant he was agreeing to go along with it, or simply weighing his options.
"Uh, I'll need you to be outside the house," she told him, suddenly feeing more sure of herself. "You'll have to signal to me, to let me know when Chip's coming home so that I know when to be ready. You'll also have to make sure no one comes home, or my plan will be interrupted. If you see my mother, or anyone but the police coming towards the house, make them leave." She was talking quickly now, and looked toward Corny. "And you have to call the police at exactly the right time." She studied him with heavy eyes, "You're going to be the one that's in charge of saving me."
"So you're going to set him up." Link's words hit her hard, and she glared at him.
"No, I'm not setting him up. I'm simply going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." She narrowed her eyes, "And when he attacks, which he will, we're going to make sure he gets what he deserves."
There was a silence longer than any other she'd ever experienced, and finally watched as Link nodded.
"Okay. I'll help you."
She felt the corners of her lips turning into a soft smile.
"Thank you." She turned to look at Corny. Her entire plan, her entire future depended on what he said; if he went along with it, or not. He let his eyes meet hers, but he clenched his jaw, and looked away from her before standing and walking out of the room. She felt her stomach drop, her eyes watching him as he went.
"Excuse me," she barely whispered the words to Link, and let her feet carry her after Corny. She moved down the hall, swallowing the lump in her throat as she came to the doorframe of his bedroom. He was standing with his back away from her, his eyes fixed on the window. She curled her fingers against the doorframe, chewing on the inside of her lip.
"Corny." She said his name, unsure of exactly how she felt. She narrowed her eyes, tears burning in them, and took a step into the bedroom.
"This is stupid, Amber." He turned to look at her so quickly that she was taken aback for a moment. Her heart began to pound, her cheeks flushed.
"What?" She could barely find her voice, "It's not stupid!"
"Yes it is!" He shot back at her, "Do you have any idea what could happen? Did you happen to think about that when you were envisioning this marvelous little plan of yours?" His eyes narrowed at her, "He is dangerous, Amber, and you're just throwing yourself into the lion's den!"
"You're the one who told me to!" Her voice was shrill now, and tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks, "You told me that I shouldn't live the rest of my life afraid of him! Now I'm going to do something about it, and you're telling me I'm stupid for it?" She caught herself before she sobbed, and forced her tears to stay at bay. "You're a hypocrite! You tell me to do one thing, and when I try, you refuse to help me and tell me I'm stupid!"
"I didn't say you were stupid!" His voice was loud now, "And I never told you to do this! I did not fucking tell you to go over to that damn house and throw yourself at him and ask him to hurt you again!"
Her breath was shallow in her throat, and she began to take small, shuddering breaths.
"I'm not throwing myself at him," she explained, her voice softer now, her eyes brimming with tears, "I have never thrown myself at him. I didn't ask to be raped, Corny." Was that was he was implying? After all these months, he was suggesting that she had deserved to be raped? To be hit, and abused?
"I didn't say that!" He shot back at her, "Stop twisting my words, Amber! I said that it's stupid of you to willingly go back in there! You barely escaped the first time! I am supposed to be protecting you!"
She felt the tears slipping down her cheeks, and turned away from him.
"You don't understand!" She sobbed suddenly, "He enjoyed hurting me, and he's walking free! Nobody else cares! Nobody else even knows what he did to me, and my mother! If I don't do this, he's going to live the rest of his life thinking that what he did was okay, and he'll do it again! I deserve better than that, Corny!"
She knew her make-up was running, and could feel her knees trembling. She dropped her head, desperate not to look at him right now. Of everyone, she assumed that he would understand; the one person who had stood by her through all of this. She cried quietly into her hands, her body trembling. So, this was it. This was what it had come down to. She was going to spend the rest of her life afraid of him because she couldn't get the support that she needed to do what she wanted to do.
"I'm sorry," his voice was soft again now, and sounded closer than it had been. She felt his hands on her arms suddenly, pulling her into his chest, and wrapping her in his embrace. "I know you do, baby."
She was hesitant at first, to lean into him, but gave in quickly, and let her head rest on his chest, his fingers stroking her back. She wiped tears from her eyes, turning her face into his chest and inhaling the scent of him. She shuddered from the aftershock of her tears, her fingers clutching his shirt as she sniffled.
"I'll help you," his cheek was resting on the top of her head, and he let his fingers brush the ends of her hair, "I will."
She closed her eyes as another tear slipped down her cheek, and nodded against him.
"Thank you," her words were barely a whisper, "I can't do it without you."
"I just don't want you to get hurt, Amber. That would kill me." He swallowed hard, and she nestled into him.
"I won't," she promised him, although part of her feared that very same thing. "I'll be fine. Really."
"I just want to protect you," he whispered the words to her after a moment, "and if you're in there, alone with Chip, I can't."
She bit on her lip, squeezing her eyes shut to prevent any tears from slipping out.
"You've protected me for a long time now, Corny." She nuzzled against him, "And right now, I need to protect myself, too."
"Okay." He didn't sound happy about it, and Amber knew that he probably wasn't, but he didn't release his hold on her. "I just...care about you. A lot."
Her body trembled, and she instinctively held onto him tighter.
"I care about you a lot, too," she whispered the words back to him. Corny cleared his throat.
"What do you need me to do?" He asked quietly. She didn't move, didn't open her eyes, and pressed herself closer to him.
"Right now, I just need you to hold me."
He circled his arms around her, and complied.
It suddenly occurred to Amber that she was, or had already fallen, in love with Corny.