My Happy Ending

Chapter 42

Noah’s POV

“Excuse me,” Amber said, getting up. I shot her a quick smile but she didn’t seem to notice as she answered her phone and walked into another room.

“Are you two dating?” Tyler’s fiancé asked as soon as Amber was out of earshot. I nearly choked on my drink.

“No,” I answered automatically. It had been clear that Amber didn’t feel comfortable sharing that information with her brother just yet and I was willing to give all the time she needed.

She gave me a suspicious look.

“Are you sure? I’ve seen the way you look at her,” She said. I glanced at Tyler. He was glaring at me. I cleared my throat.

“No, Amber and I are just friends,” I lied. My eyes fixed on Tyler. He studied me for a full minute before shrugging and taking a sip of his drink.

“Tyler.” I heard a choked sob from behind me. I shot up and froze.

Amber’s face was suddenly tear streaked and her phone was clenched tightly in her hand. Despite her asking for Tyler and not me, I embraced her in a soothing hug. She buried her face in my shoulder. She started to shake and I could feel her rapid stream of tears soaking through my shirt.

“Shh. It’s okay. What happened?” I asked. She sniffed and took a deep breath. But when she tried to speak, nothing came out.

She tried again.

“He called me and said-.” Again, she was interrupted by her own sobs.

I squeezed her closer to me and gradually lead us into the front room. I sat us down on the couch, and she used the extra stability to dive onto my lap and bring us even closer.

“Who called?” Tyler asked in a hard voice.

She whispered something not even I could hear. She tried to speak again.

“Dad,” She choked out. My hands tightened around her and my muscles tensed.

“What did he say?” Tyler demanded. She turned on my lap so that she was facing forwards.

“Just the usual. He wants to see me and he has the right crap. But he sounded so angry and he said that if I didn’t listen…” She trailed off.

I slid an arm around her waist and started to rub small circles into her arm with my thumb. She seemed to appreciate the small gesture as she relaxed slightly and leaned back.

“Did he threaten you?” Tyler asked.

Tyler started to pace the room, occasionally kicking a wall or clenching his fists. Amber lightly shook her head.