Redemption

Chapter 3: Ms. Roberts

A/N: At some point, do expect my attempt at making Instagram posts in this story. But anyway, Richie haters! Unite!! (How many of you actually hate Richie? Yes, this is irrelevant to what the chapter is about)

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Amber sits quietly in the sterile hospital room, spooning small bites of jello from the cup the nurse gave her. Time seems to stretch endlessly as she waits for the results of her tests. The clock ticks away the seconds, making the passing hours palpable. It's the beginning of August, and she's acutely aware that she's still in the year 2023. This fleeting sense of time offers some reassurance amid uncertainty. 

At the age of 18, which she has been since December last year, she finds herself uncertain about what steps to take next. Dr. Drew managed to have the nurse return her original phone to her, which was a small victory. Although Amber has not yet had the chance to look at her socials, she intends to do so later. Upon checking her messages, she discovered that Tara, Chad, and Mindy had indeed blocked her, as she had expected. 

Makes sense, who would want a serial killer's number saved in their phones? 

Dr. Drew walks through the door, carrying his clipboard in hand as he enters. 

"Ms. Freeman, your results have come back," he says. "You're all good to go, but I regret to inform you that your parents do not want anything to do with you." 

Amber nods slightly. "So, they aren't coming to pick me up?" 

"Correct." Dr. Drew says with a nod, a sympathetic look on his face. "But, we have gotten in contact with your emergency contact." 

She stares at him silently, confused. Her emergency contact is Jill...yes, THE Jill Roberts, but she's dead. "..." 

Dr. Drew notices her confusion before he clarifies, "Your emergency contact, Ms. Jill Roberts, is on her way now. She is the only person we're aware of who can discharge you and get you the help you need." 

Amber still looks confused. "But she's dead...?" She says, her voice tinged with bafflement. 

"Ms. Roberts will explain once she gets here, I am not permitted to tell you myself," Dr. Drew says before he leaves the room to go attend to other patients. 

Amber sits quietly in the hospital bed, her eyes fixed on the window as she slowly raises her arms above her head, feeling the muscles in her shoulders and back gently stretching. 

This is going to be a few hours... 

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As the door swung open, Amber's heart raced with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. Stepping into the room was someone Amber never thought she would see again - Jill. Their eyes locked in a silent exchange, filled with unspoken emotions, within the sterile confines of the hospital room. 

Jill takes a step forward, her footsteps echoing softly on the polished floor as she moves closer to the bed. With a graceful motion, she lowers herself onto the plush cushion of the chair, settling in comfortably and crossing her legs as she prepares to engage in conversation. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it, kid," the older woman asks. 

Amber stares silently, nodding slightly. "Yeah, thirteen years, right?" 

Jill nods, "Yep, you still have a good memory. Just like your mother." 

"So...you're here to..." Amber starts to say. 

"I'm here to discharge you," Jill finishes for her. 

Amber nods slightly, looking down at the bandages covering her chest and stomach. "Can we...go? Like now, please?" 

Jill nods, standing up. "Yeah, I'll be right back. I need to get the papers, and we can get out of here." 

Amber watches as the older woman leaves the room, her gaze flowing down to her bandages. Her upper and lower chest is covered in bandages, a testament to when she was shot three times. She runs her fingers over the bandages, memorized by the slight red of blood soaking through. It's not fully visible, but there are little blood particles here and there. 

Jill comes back, the nurse following behind with crutches. The nurse sets them up by the bed while Jill helps her up, helping Amber grip the bars of the crutches. She sees that a boot is on her left leg, meaning she must have broken her ankle at some point back in 2022, and it probably didn't heal during her coma. 

She and Jill follow the nurse out into the hall of the hospital, going to the elevator so they can head downstairs. Amber idles behind Jill as they reach the main floor, going out with the older woman as they reach the main desk. 

She watches silently as Jill signs all the needed documents, looking around slightly. Amber can see a few people staring at her curiously, while also what looks like care...? She's confused since she was a Ghostface, she's killed people, and yet she's being stared at like she didn't do anything wrong. 

I'll have to ask Jill about it later... 

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The two walk out of the hospital, walking to Jill's SUV. 

"Nice car," Amber mumbles, getting into the passenger seat. 

Jill hums in acknowledgment, putting Amber's crutches in the backseat before she gets into the driver's seat and closes the door. She begins driving, pulling out of the space, and she goes out onto the road. "I grabbed all your stuff from that house last week when your parents asked me to, and put it at my apartment back up North. So, now you're going to live with me," she says, giving Amber a gentle smile. 

Amber nods, understanding. She figured that her parents would do something like this, kick her out after everything that she did. She thought it out greatly, and she knew that her parents probably wouldn't want to keep her around since it would ruin their reputation. 

She scowls slightly as she stares out the window, her thoughts clear on her parents. She hates them, she's always hated them. They neglected her for all of her life, Jill practically raised her as her babysitter prior to the attacks in 2011. It's not that shocking that they would try and distance themselves from her existence entirely, since that's the type of parents they are. 

But for now, Amber's going to enjoy the ride to her new home for possibly the rest of her college life. Hopefully, this won't be too problematic. 

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A/N: If you can't tell, I love the idea of Amber having neglectful parents. It seems extremely obvious that they are actually neglectful of Amber in the canonical universe. So, yes, this is a reference to that whole small idea of mine that just settled in the back of my head permanently. It's just there, I literally don't know where it came from, but that's how some gay people like me think sometimes. 

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