Shoulders

Chapter Eighteen- Birthdays

Moriah's POV
Kaia and I had just gotten home, and sadly, Amber had to go with Luke and Courtney early, since she had another headache. I wasn't sure how she was going to keep doing this, with surgery three times a year. Joel and I were exhausted, but he went to go wait until the surgery was done. They had a specialist in, so they were going to attempt to get the part that was dangerously close to her brain stem out. Amber's sixteen birthday was coming up, so Joel and I were working out something for her, with the help of the FK&C band. Sixteen years old. It amazed me how much older she acted, but I guess that's what foster care and being an orphan does to you. Kaia was napping, and Joel and gone to get groceries. I was sitting in the backyard with Kaia's window open so I could hear her, and I saw two young women walking towards me. One wore a white dress with a red sash, and the other wore jeans, a white tunic style top, she also wore a red sash. As they got closer, I recognized Katelyn, and the other girl...I wasn't sure who she was. She looked like me, when I was sixteen, but she had Joel's eyes. I gasped. No. It couldn't be her. She was just a baby. How? Katelyn smiled at me, and I nearly started crying.

"Katelyn? Is that-" She stopped me.
"Katie? Yes. She was allowed to come with me to see you and Joel." I sighed.
"He left to get groceries. He might not be back for awhile." Just as the words left my mouth, we heard a car pulling up. I chuckled. Then, he came around back, carrying four bags of groceries.
"Hello, love. I saw someone back here and I thought-" His voice trailed off.
"Katelyn. And are you- are you Katie?" She smiled, nodding, and Joel dropped the bags on the ground, coming over, and Katie launched herself into his arms. He spun around, hugging her and crying, and I hugged her as well. I also hugged Katelyn, thanking her. She just smiled, gesturing to Katie.

"Go ahead. Do you mind if I go see Kaia? I know how to calm her down if she wakes up." I nodded, and Katie sat down beside us.

"There's a reason that I wanted to come. Well, two reasons, but anyhoo. You don't have to spend the rest off your lives mourning me. I'm safe, and I am in His presence. Neither of you did anything wrong, God said that I was going to come home that early. Oh, and Joran told me to say hello to you for him. He wants you two to stop beating yourselves up about his death too. He said to tell you he never felt anything, just like Katelyn." I smiled, holding her hand and gently stroking it with my thumb.
"Also, Amber." Joel looked seriously confused.
"She's hurting more than she's letting on. She knows that you're also hurting and stressed, so she's taking on more of her own load to try and make your lighter. She's also still afraid."
"Why would she still be afraid? She knows we love her." Katie shook her head sadly.
"She does. She loves Kaia, but she's afraid that you love Kaia more than you love her. She came from a very broken home, and then was neglected for almost exactly five years. It's not easy to let go of how you had to guard your heart with a past that painful." My shoulders slumped slightly. We were probably not ever going to break down the barriers that she had up, so we might never be able to really reach her heart. Katie gently squeezed my hand.

"She does love you, and the part of her heart that she hasn't given to God, she has finally given it to you. And for someone who has a past as broken as hers, that's a pretty big accomplishment. Keep trying. She won't completely shut you out, but she's in a lot of pain, and the way it works for her is when you're in pain, you guard your heart even more." Katelyn came back, and nodded. Katie smiled gently, and she nodded back.

"I wish I could stay, but I have to go." We stood, hugging her.
"I wish Amber could've been here to meet you. She was also torn when you died." Joel said, and Katie smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll get to meet her soon. I love you." We hugged her and Katelyn, and then they faded from sight. I helped Joel gather the groceries, and we took them inside, put them away, and then Kaia woke up. I fed her, and then I decided to call Amber. I handed a sleeping Kaia over to Joel, who lay down on the couch with her snuggled up on top of him. I picked up the phone, and Luke answered.

"Hey, Luke. Is Amber available?"
"Yeah, she was hoping she could talk to you tonight. Here you go." I heard the phone being passed on, and I heard quiet voices.
"Hey mom." I smiled at her voice, and I heard pain in her voice.
"Hey, sweet girl. Head still hurting?" I heard a chuckle.
"Yeah. Hopefully they can get all of it out this time." I smiled.
"Hope so. You're not going to believe who your dad and I saw today."
"Who?"
"Katelyn and Katie." Silence. Did she believe me?
"That- that's awesome. I saw her too, at her funeral. We talked for a few minutes, quoted Peter Pan, the usual. I haven't seen Katie, though. That's wonderful." I was shocked. She sounded happier, and there wasn't as much pain in her voice.

"She said she's sorry she wasn't able to meet you, and she said she'll see you soon." She gently laughed.
"I can't wait to meet her." She sounded like she was trying hard to keep the pain out of her voice.
"Hey, Amber. I just wanted to let you know that we do love you, and we love you just as much as we love Kaia. We don't play favorites in our family. And just because you're hurting, that doesn't mean that you have to block us out. We want to help you. Okay?"
"Okay. I'm sorry. Old habits die hard. I'll remember that. Thanks. Hate to hang up on you, but we're getting ready to go." She sounded grateful for that, and it sounded like she didn't want to hang up.
"Okay sweet girl. We love you. I'd let you say hi to dad, but he and Kaia are knocked out on the couch. I'll be praying that they can get it out. Love you."
I love you more, mom. Bye." We hung up, and I looked at the mantle. We didn't have pictures of Amber, other than the first day after we got her, and the ones from the hospital. I wrote on a note to get Heather, a professional photographer, to take some family pictures after we got back. Then, I picked up a new book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, by Nabeel Quereshi, and I got lost in that until Kaia woke up, and I had to feed her again.

Author's note- Hey, I figured they deserved to hear from Katie. Also, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, is a very good book, and it's amazing. I recommend it to you. Please tell me if I'm doing a good job of making this happier!! Love you, Cravers/ Marshmallows!!! - Christianwhovian