Chapter 16 – Remember To Remember Me
Jasper's POV
The back yard of Cody's parent's house seemed to be filled to the brim with people. Thankfully they had a few acres of land around their house to accommodate the overflow of people.
It was very unnerving to see all of the uniformed military members with missing various badges or seeing their berets missing vital flashes.
The emotions seemed to of balanced out from the utter sadness that the funeral seemed to bring out of people.
Beers, glasses of liquor, and other beverages were passed out until everyone was holding a drink of some kind.
Everyone seemed to look to Amber to guide everyone into the next faze of the remembrance ceremony.
Over the past few months I have realized that Amber had that special quality about her, where people naturally turned to her. As I look over to Rosalie I can feel and see how the commanding confident side of her mate speaks to her on a primal level.
I'm comforted knowing that Rosalie not only has a mate that will be able to physically take care of not only my sister, but our family as well. Not only is Rosalie's mate a true fighter, but she also has such a gentleness that will nurture and truly love with every fiber of her being.
It's such a rare combination, but it is not only a perfect match for Rosalie, but for our family as well.
I'm broken out of my thoughts by Amber tapping her ring onto her beer bottle to gather everyone's attention.
Rosalie's POV
We all watched Amber gather her thoughts and steady herself with a deep breath before she began her speech.
"General Patton said it's foolish and wrong to mourn the men and women who died. Rather we should thank God that such warriors lived. And he couldn't be more right, because we truly are a rare breed. We choose to do what seems to be the impossible and we manage to succeed. The reason that we are able to accomplish such feats are standing all around us. It's each other and our loved one's. And even though we have lost them our brothers and sisters will always stay in this fight with us and we will continue to carry them into battle with us. Till we see you again Cody. We'll always love you my friend and I'm thankful for the times we had. So here's to us and those like us, damn few left!"
There was an echo of 'Hoo-rah' as everyone drank some of their drink then proceeded to pour out the rest of their beverages onto the ground. In a symbolism of sharing a drink with their fallen friends.
After a round of hugs some people had to leave to get back to their bases while almost all of the others went to change out of their uniforms.
Amber was one of the last one's to emerge from the house in some jeans and a t-shirt with her usual cowboy boots on her feet.
I waved at her to grab her attention and she smiled and nodded her head as a way to acknowledge that she would make her way towards my family and I. As Amber made her way past the first few groups of people, exchanging hellos, hugs and the occasional handshake we heard someone shout "Peter Pan". I didn't think anything of it until I saw Amber hesitate and look around unsure. When a woman stepped out and ran at my mate I couldn't help but let out a small possessive and jealous growl. It didn't help that Amber broke out into a lazy smile as she lifted the woman into the air when she collided with my mate. My mate happily replied "Wendy" when she set her back down on her feet and the broke apart from their hug.
"What are you doing here?" Amber confusedly asked.
"I've been working at Cody's squadron for the last two years. Wendy informs Amber.
"I had no idea that the two of you were friends, I would have loved to get some little Amber stories out of him." Wendy replied.
"Yeah well most of those aren't as happy as you would think" Amber solemnly replied.
"I know, and I'm sorry" Wendy softly said with what appeared to mean a lot more than just a simple apology.
Emmett took that opportunity to try and help me out by hopefully separating my mate from this Wendy person.
What he failed to calculate is that Amber would be bringing the source of my jealous right to me.
Amber had her arm around Wendy's shoulder while Wendy had her arm wrapped around my mate's waist.
After introductions Carlisle's curiosity couldn't be contained any further as he asked the question that was on everyone's mind at the moment. "Was I mistaken or were you just referred to as Peter Pan?"
Amber laughed as Wendy gently smacked Amber in the chest then laughed herself as she went on to explain. "Well Amber here is a true kid at heart that will never truly grow up so I jokingly called her Peter Pan one day and it stuck."
Amber continued the explanation by adding "And every Peter Pan needs a Wendy" as she turned and kissed the temple of Wendy's head.
I was so overcome with jealousy that I was surprised that Jasper was even able to calm me down.
"Everyone else just calls me Mary." Wendy or Mary rather says. She continues to explain that Amber and she had met when her cousin Mario and Amber had went to Airborne School together. Mario is an engineer in the Army and they had become fast friends.
Mary only stays another hour or so. She leaves after a long hug from Amber as they exchange phone numbers and a promise to keep more in touch.
I decided to continue with my new found plan to gain more information and background on my mate by making my way around the groups of people and gathering any stories that they could tell me. After 4 or 5 hours I had gained so much more knowledge about my mate that it truly made me giddy.
Amber's POV
I noticed that the Cullen's fit right in with everyone, Rosalie especially. I know I shouldn't be jealous, but she's so at ease with everyone else. Brian and Rose seemed to hit it off immediately. I can't help but be envious that they could be that at ease with one another so quickly. They talked to each other for over and hour and a half. Brian spent basically all of the time that night with Rosalie. I was more than relieved when he finally had to leave to get back to his base. I drank quite a bit of whiskey when I witnessed his lingering hug after he gave her a piece of paper with what I knew had to be his phone number. I'm sure that they would be going out for a date soon, considering that they both obviously liked one another. I bitterly realized that with Brian being stationed at McChord Air Force Base, which is outside of Seattle, Washington, that that date was a very real reality that I had to face.
Alice's POV
The evening was starting to wrap up as the last of the people left or the handful of people went to bed. I realized that none of us has seen Amber in over an hour. I used my vampire abilities to locate her. It was well passed dark outside as I made my way over to Amber who was sitting in a chair by the fire in the middle of the yard. She was holding a framed photo in one hand and had am empty whiskey bottle by her feet.
I made sure that she would hear my footsteps so that I wouldn't startle her.
I slowly made my way over to her and I slipped into her lap with practiced ease.
"I would ask you if you wanted a stronger drink but I know that you would want this instead." I said as I hand her a cold water bottle.
Amber gives me a small smile and says "Thanks darlin'. You've got a nifty little power there"
"You're still frustratingly hard to see most of the time." I annoyingly reply
That brings out a true smile and a small laugh from Amber as she replies "Well I think that has more to do with the fact that I do things off of instinct more than most people."
"…..I think you're on to something and that does explain why you are fuzzy in most of my visions. Other people decide to do something where you just do it." I try and follow her thought process and I have to agree I think she finally hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately that means that she will always be hard to see with my visions.
"How are you holding up?" I ask with concern.
"I'm there." Amber sighs out.
"What do you have there?" I ask as I point to the picture that she's holding in the hand that isn't wrapped around my waist.
"It's a picture of Cody and myself when we were on a deployment last year." She says as she shows me the picture of the two of them covered in sand with a giant sand castle in the background.
"We decided to make sandcastles, but we mainly just ended up dumping sand all over each other." Amber fondly explains.
"Do you have any pictures from when you both were growing up? I'd love to see those." I regret almost immediately asking when I feel Amber stiffen up underneath of me.
"There ah…..There aren't any. At least that I have. Not anymore." Amber brokenly replies.
I immediately turn so that I'm facing Amber more as I wrap my arms around her neck and start to softly stroke her shoulders and neck. Thankfully my administrations seem to relax her.
Amber can see the questions in my eyes so she begins to explain. "Cody and I met at our first foster family. I had been in the system for a few months and I was coming from a group home. Even though Cody had already been in the system for a year he was unable to get a foster home until then. That first family was bad….like bad bad." Amber changes her grip on me so that she is holding me a little tighter as I lay my head on her shoulder.
She gives a big sigh as she continues with her story.
"Cody and I weren't aware what it meant to lay low yet. We bucked their torture and their beatings just made us more stubborn with wanting to hold fast against their bullshit. Well after 2 weeks, they had had enough of us and decided to do the one thing that would either break us or keep us more subdued. They grabbed me by the chain that I had around my neck that I kept my dad's Air Force ring on. They broke it right off my neck, then proceeded to smash it to pieces. Being in the system you aren't able to keep much. After my parents died, everything was sold off, so that I would be able to have 'money' for my future. That bank account was drained by that first foster family. I only managed to be able to keep a few pictures and my dad's ring. After I realized that they would be going after the few mementoes that we had I grabbed Cody and told him to grab his photos of his family and to run and find a place to bury them far far away, so that he would hopefully be able to keep them. He managed to get his stuff and leave out the window. I wasn't that lucky. I never told Cody, but I knew that by helping him that I knew that the chance of me being able to get my stuff out of that house and to safety was slim to none. But I couldn't just not warn him and leave him without at least telling him to get his stuff before it was too late. They uh, they burned all of my photos right in front of me. I was so emotionally numb that I didn't even feel their beating that night." Amber shakingly takes a drink from her water bottle.
"Cody and I never talked about that night after that…There's a lot that we didn't talk about. I guess that's why it's so weird meeting up after all of those years. We have so much history, but at the same time it's like we only have known each other for these last few years since we met back up at Lackland. If that makes sense?" Amber tries to explain.
I'm almost overwhelmed by my emotions and I can tell that my family isn't fairing any better inside of the house.
I knew that nothing I could say would be enough so I did the only thing that I could do. I burrowed into her chest and held onto her as tightly as I was able to. Giving her the physical comfort that I knew that she needed in this moment.
It was almost an hour before Amber spoke. "I think you should head to bed. I bet that Jasper is going to start wondering where his girl took off to. Besides you have to be up early for your flight tomorrow." Amber tries to joke.
"Don't you mean our flight?" I confusedly ask as I sit up in Amber's lap so that I'm able to look into her eyes.
"Cody's dad told me that Cody's lawyer needs to see me tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to make it to the plane in time." Amber explains.
"You should have told us. We would never leave without you." I reprimand her as I smack her in the shoulder.
"First ouch, second I didn't want to be a bother." Amber tries to defend herself.
"You're an idiot" I exasperatedly tell her.
"Yeah, but I'm your idiot though." Amber says with a grin.
"Damn straight. You're our idiot and we love you." I lovingly say.
