Shoulders

Chapter Six - She did what?!

Luke's POV
We had been planning who was going when on the next tour, which was Winter Jam, when Joel walked in, and his eyes were red and bloodshot, and everyone looked up at him, worried.

"Hey man, what's wrong?" I asked him, and he winced, sighing.
"Two things. One, we decided yes on adopting, but someone showed up, saying he's her dad. Two, Amber attempted suicide again today." My jaw dropped to the floor.
"She did what?! Why?!" Joel looked miserable, but he answered by handing me a piece of paper. I read it, and passed it to the others in the room. John, the lead singer for Skillet, nodded, and I even saw tears in his eyes. Colton was crying, but he was swiping at the tears, like he didn't want us to see.

"So, what now? What's going to happen? Are you still coming on tour?" He sighed, putting his elbows on the table.
"Yes, but if she- if she doesn't make it, that'll make this a whole lot harder to do. I've been through this kind of pain before." Colton looked confused, so Joel explained, with a pained look on his face.

"Moriah and I had a little boy, Joran. He was deaf, and one day, he was coming back across the street from a friend's house, and he tripped in the road. His hearing aids fell off, and he was looking for both of them, and he didn't hear our yelling or the car coming. He was in a coma for three days, but he- he died." Colton caught his breath.

"Wow. I- I'm so sorry. Hey, how about we stop and pray, and you can head on. We can get this done today without you if that's okay, or we can reschedule the meeting." I nodded, and Joel smiled weakly.

"Thanks guys. And yeah, you guys can go on without me. Luke can let me know what's going on." We gathered around, and grabbed hands, and I prayed.

"Dear father, you know what's going on here, and you know why. God, I pray that if it is your will, that you would heal her. And, God, I pray that if she is not healed physically, you would be with Joel, Moriah, and Amber's friends, that you would comfort them. We thank you for the blessing that Amber has been in the short time she's been in the family. Amen." We all looked up, and there was not a dry eye in the room. Joel thanked us, and I hugged him, we just stood there for a minute, because I've learned that sometimes, words aren't necessary to tell someone, 'Hey, I'm here for you all the way through this.' We both pulled back, smiling sadly, and he grabbed his keys, heading to his car. As he drove away, I was crying.

"God," I prayed silently.
"Please take care of them all."

Moriah's POV
I had been waiting for almost an hour, when Joel came in, looking frantic. He spotted me, and came over.

"Anything?" He asked, fear dancing in his eyes. I shook my head no.
"Didn't you have a meeting?" I asked him.
"Yes, but they all told me to come on over here, and they're praying for Amber." Then, a nurse called Amber's name, and we went over.
"Are you related to Amber Thomas?" I nodded.
"Foster parents. She's living with us right now." The nurse nodded.
"That's good enough. Is adoption a possibility?" I nodded.
"Alright. Come with me." We followed her to a room a couple floors up.
"She's a very lucky girl. Had she gotten here even five minutes later, we would've lost her. She should be waking up in about an hour, since we had to put her under the anesthesia. She is going to recover, though. You are free to wait in here for her, and I'm Elisa, by the way." I heard Joel breath a sigh of relief as Elisa left, and I leaned against him, nearly sobbing with relief. She was going to be okay.

"Thank you, God." I whispered. We sat down on the couch in her room, and within twenty minutes, I was asleep against Joel.

Amber's POV
Black. That's all there was, and I was hurting. I saw a tiny bit of light, and my heart leaped. Then, it got brighter, and I heard a steady beeping, and shallow breathing, but it was quiet. I forced my eyes open, and I saw two people on a couch. Mom and dad. Mom was asleep, and dad, well, I'm not sure what he was doing. He looked half asleep, but when I saw them there, I choked back a sob, and he knew I was awake. He gently slid out from under mom, who didn't wake up, and came over, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, princess. How are you feeling?" I was shocked.
"You- you're not mad at me for this?" He laughed gently, taking my hand.
"No. I'm not mad. I'm sad that this happened, because I love you, and I don't want to lose you." I sat up slowly, and leaned forward into his arms, and I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. I started crying, because of all the pain, and because I was happy, because for the first time, I was in my dad's arms, and I could finally feel safe. I pulled away, but he didn't let go of my hand.

"You realize you could still lose me, right? With that guy saying he's my biological dad and all. But....for the first time in forever, I....I don't want to go." I saw that he was crying a little bit as well, and he nodded.

"I don't want you to go either, love. I'm not sure what would happen if we lost you, but we just have to put it all in God's hands. He'll put you where he wants you to go." I smiled, and I knew something. I finally had hope, because hope is what I had craved, and now I have that. Then, mom woke up.

Joel's POV
Moriah woke up, and seeing us sitting on the bed talking, she came over as well.

"Mind if I join the conversation?" She asked. Amber shrugged.
"If you want. I was just saying that you snore really loud." Moriah looked offended, and I cracked up.
"If that were true," I managed through my laughter.
"I'm not sure we'd still be in the same bed." Then, Moriah smacked me, but playfully, because she was laughing too. Then, her smile dimmed.

"Ms. O'Neill did tell me our court date that will determine whether or not you will be able to stay with us. It's May 28, at one o'clock." I looked at Amber, and I saw something in her eyes that I'd never seen before. I saw hope, and I saw determination. I didn't see as much of the pain as before, and I didn't see any more of the sorrow. I took Moriah's hand, and she took Amber's other hand.

"Whatever happens," Amber said, quietly.
"Whatever happens, I want you guys to know that my home is where my heart is, and my heart is with you guys. I love you both, more than I could have ever imagined I could love you." We both hugged her, and we stayed like that for a couple minutes. As long as we had her heart, he could never really take her away from us.

Author's note- sorry for the cliffhanger in the last chapter ;) I'm going to skip to the court date, since the only important thing that happens is, her 'dad' shows up at their house while Amber is with Luke and Courtney, and he demands to see her, and Joel gets really mad, cuz' he started flirting with Moriah. So, yeah! If you want that as a filler chapter, tell me in the comments. Love ya guys!