Survivers [TAMBER]

Chapter 4 (ice cream)

>Tara's POV<

Amber and I decided we'd go out for a treat. We made it to a cute little ice cream shop. Whenever we went somewhere to order anything, Amber always said it because, for some reason, when I have to check out or order, my social anxiety goes insane.

She went up to their little bar and was ordering for us at the moment. Suddenly, I got a call from Sidney. I looked at the phone a moment, wondering if something was wrong.

"I'm overthinking." I said and answered the phone.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey Tara, how's it going." Sid replied.

"It's been fairly alright. Well, as alright as it can be." I said.

"I'm just - I'm calling to check on you because I know what adjusting to life after that catastrophe feels like." She explained.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it, Sid." I said.

"I just wish I could have helped more." She said.

"No, no, you've been through this enough. You have a family of your own, and you were generous enough to protect ours. Thank you, by the way." I said.

"My pleasure. Things won't get easy fast, but I hope life is becoming more beautiful for you." She said.

"It is surprisingly. I appreciate the love." I said.

"Always. Have a good one, Tara." She said.

"You too." I said.

Our call ended a little before Amber came back with our ice cream.

"I saw you on the phone." Amber said.

"Yeah."

"Who was it? Sam hovering?" She smiled, handing me my ice cream.

"Actually, it was Sidney." I said.

Amber sat down slowly.

"Is... is everything alright?" Amber asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, she was just checking on me. Seeing how I'm dealing with things." I said.

"That's sweet." Amber said before digging in.

I ate some of my ice cream for a minute.

"Sidney has been through this five times." I said.

"That's an insane amount." Amber replied.

"But now she's happy, married, has kids, and is safe." I said.

"Yeah, that's beautiful." Amber said.

"I think if Sidney can get her life back to normal, we can do the same." I said, looking at Amber.

"Definitely." Amber said, holding my hand.

After ice cream, we went to the park to take a walk, then to the lake to feed the ducks.

I looked up, the sky was cloudy today, but not like it was going to rain. Just perfectly cloudy enough to hide the sun at times.

"This is life." I said.

"This issss life." Amber repeated.

"You remember that trip we took after the first time it happened in Woodsboro?" I said.

"The beach vacation? Hell yeah. Good times." Amber said as she threw a piece of bread.

"From there to New York was gonna be our fresh start." I said.

"Yeah, what happened was a huge setback, but it's being made up for now." She said.

"With a little therapy." I said.

"A little love."

"A big family." I finished.

She laughed lightly. "Oh yeah, big family. Gotta love it, though. Also, just the freedom of being an adult."

"Yeah."

"I know my parents hovered for good reason, but Jesus." She said.

"They love you." I smiled over at her.

"I know, I call them every day. I never take them for granted." She said.

"Good." I replied, looking down.

Having no parents wasn't an easy thing for me to think about, considering I used to have both of them.

"I see your situation." She added, almost like she had read my mind.

I gave her a somber look.

"I couldn't imagine dealing with that, but gosh, Sam... Sam is awesome." She smiled, nodding.

"She is." I smiled.

"Kinda makes up for the lost love."

"It definitely does." I said.

When it's put that way, I guess I do feel better about my situation.

We talked some more at the lake and then made our way back home after lunch at the sandwich place.