Tommy Sallow is onto better and brighter things. After working a small hometown beat in upstate New York, he's finally in sunny California. As expected, it's the same shit in a different town. Except, you know, now he's near the ocean and miserable...
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~~~ Are you curious what ran through Amber's head during that fateful coffee shop run in? This is a bonus chapter that was actually pulled from Friends With Benefits, where you can get a little insight into her perspective. ~~~
Three Months Ago...
Being home again brings a lot of emotions back. A lot of things that I tried to run from. Running is actually an interesting concept. I think when you decide to run from everything that clouds you, that you never get to stop running. Those clouds aren't tied to a certain location like I thought they were. I thought starting over somewhere new, starting a new family, would make everything else disappear.
It didn't.
The only thing it did was isolate me from every single person who ever cared for me. I love my family. I always have. I just didn't realize how much I needed them. My mom has always had an incredibly large heart. She calls me nearly everyday to check on me. For some, that might be overwhelming or come off as clingy, but I crave it. That small connection to the thing that has always brought me joy.
My dad, the man who raised me, not my sperm donor, has always been there for me too. He didn't have to be. He didn't have to take my twin brother, Joseph, and me in, but he did. He actually chose us. The problem is, I never got over the fact that the man whose blood flows through me never even gave us a chance. He didn't want us. He chose some complicated web of drugs over his own two kids. And if that wasn't enough, he took my brother down with him.
Being home used to remind me of everything bad. Of every tear I had to watch my mother shed over my twin. Of every time I held my half brother, Trevor, to hide him from the shattered home that was slowly becoming our reality. We were once perfect. I didn't want him to see that everything was changing. That his perfect family was breaking. I tried to protect him, I really did, until I couldn't. I couldn't hold the weight anymore, so I started running. Like I said, I used to think I could run far enough, but I think I just found a new storm to consume me.
As I sit in the small coffee shop, I look out at the ocean. I miss this. All of it. I miss the call of the water. I miss the way the sun glistens on the vast ocean, creating a line of crystals. I miss the layer of fog in the morning that slowly burns off, leaving the warm sun to brighten the day. I miss my home.
I know it's time to come back. Trevor's been trying to get me to walk away from my life in New York for years. But I've been doing what I do best, running. Pushing him away and portraying that perfect family image. I think it's all I know how to do anymore. But I'm tired. I'm so freaking tired of being perfect. Of doing it alone. I need my family. I need this place.
My phone begins to vibrate beside me. I don't need to look down to know who it is. I close my eyes, taking in a deep breath before answering the call.
"Hi, Vince," I say, trying to sound pleasant.
"You want to explain to me why your ass isn't on a plane right now?" he demands.
