After the events of the bar, Mindy had gone to pick up some pizza for the pair, while Tara decided to use the first aid kit on Amber's knuckles, despite her protests.
"It's fine Tara, really." She told her, but Tara had already gotten out rubbing alcohol.
They both sat on chairs in the kitchen, and Tara dipped a q-tip into the rubbing alcohol, gently rubbing it over her wounded knuckle. Amber looked away, but Tara noticed that she would clench her jaw whenever it stung too much.
"You alright there?" Tara asked, amused.
"Completely fine, thanks." Amber replied, before she suddenly winced.
"Very convincing." Tara laughed. Deciding she was satisfied, she took out a bandage. Tara began wrapping at the knuckles, and ended up finishing, quite impressed with her doctor skills.
Once Tara finished, she ripped the rest of the bandage off, and allowed Amber to admire it. Amber flexed her knuckles (with great difficulty) and smiled.
"Thanks, Carpenter." Amber smiled at her, a certain smile Tara hadn't seen before. Ignoring it and blaming her imagination, she smiled back.
"You should stop getting into fights. All this worrying is exhausting." Tara joked.
Amber raised her eyebrows at the girl and, without missing a beat, replied, "You're worried about me?"
Tara stared back at Amber, a bit confused. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I just—," But Amber didn't finish. She was about to tell Tara that nobody really cared about her, that her parents didn't, and her friends would never admit their worry for the girl. "It's sweet, thats all."
Tara didn't reply, but looked around, to spot an unlocked cabinet above the stove. "Looks like the liquor cabinet is unlocked. Again."
"Don't tell Mindy, she'll drink it all." Amber joked, and while Tara looked around, Amber's eyes didn't falter, not even once.
Because how could she look away, when Tara was sitting right there. With her cute freckles, and her messy bedhair which was somehow adorable. And her beautiful eyes, and even her posture. Amber just wanted to take it all in, and as Tara looked back at Amber, she didn't even feel ashamed or embarassed. With Tara's eyes staring straight into hers, all she felt was content.
"Amber?" Tara whispered after a while.
"Hmm?"
"Can I stay at yours for a bit?" Tara asked. And usually Amber would say yes, but Tara's eyes dimmed. And that was more than enough for alarm bells to ring in Amber's mind.
"For as long as you like. Why, whats wrong?" Amber replied, her voice instantly softening as she subtly moved closer.
"No reason." Tara told her, but as she stared into Amber's brown eyes, she felt compelled to tell her. It felt as if she owed her the truth, and she knew that she had every right not to tell her. But she knew she just had to. "My Mum's going insane again. It's getting super uncomfortable there, and she's gotten so angry lately, and I-," But she didn't have to finish.
Amber grabbed the top of Tara's hand that was on the counter, a sign of understanding, as if her eyes showing empathy and no judgement wasn't enough. "Of course. How long for?"
Tara shrugged. "As long as you'll let me." She smiled.
Amber nodded. "Do you want to go pick up clothes from your house? You can always wear my stuff if you want." She added.
Tara sighed. "I really don't even want to see my Mum."
Amber nodded, hearing a car door slam from out the front. "That would be Mindy. Do you wanna watch more Halloween movies, or do you want me to convince her to watch something else?" The three, the night before, had watched the original Halloween timeline, and had just finished watching Halloween H2O.
Tara took a moment to respond. "We could watch the conjuring timeline."
Amber stood up. "Fuck yeah. To the living room we go."
