Torment ( Book Two )

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Amber."

"Hailey."

Oh... Hailey. It had honestly slipped Amber's mind that Hailey lived here now. She expected to see her, but didn't realize they'd be sharing the same house for the entire time.

Yet there the woman stood in front of her, at the end of the stairs. She wore a smile and a black skirt with a cheetah blouse. 

"It's good to see you," Hailey said politely. 

Amber smiled back uncontrollably. "It's good to see you, too. How have you been?"

"Just fine, you?"

Amber walked down the last few stairs to join Hailey at the bottom. "Same."

Hailey continued to smile warmly and to Amber's surprise, the woman lifted a hand to smooth back Amber's hair. Amber held her breath. Where was she going with this?

According to Luna, Hailey wasn't going to get very far. She was by Amber's side in an instant, curling her hand around Amber's.

Luna's hand was cold as ice around Amber's. Amber gasped in shock and stared at her, wondering where she had come from.

But Luna was staring blankly at Hailey, who was pink in the cheeks. "Hello, Hailey."

Amber swore a scowl ran on Hailey's lips for a moment. "Luna."

Luna flashed a sarcastically sweet smile and tugged Amber away. Amber felt guilty for the tension between the three of them. Nothing would ever be the same.

"I feel as if I haven't been here in forever," Luna was saying to Amber as they walked off.

Amber frowned as the woman dismissed what she had just done. That frown turned over, though, as she spotted Joel rushing her way. 

"Amber!" He shouted before sweeping her into his arms and spinning her in circles. 

She giggled lightly as he carried on tradition. He at last sat her back down with a grin on his pale lips.

"It's been so long," Amber noted, taking in Joel's appearance. He looked the exact same as he always did. He didn't look as if he had aged a day. Which, technically, he hadn't.

"I know!" His gaze then shifted to Luna who was wearing a crooked smile. "Hey, Luna."

"Hello, Joel," she replied formally.

Joel shoved his hands in the front pockets of his skinny jeans. "I assume you two will be joining the family for dinner?"

"Yes, we will," Luna answered, speaking for the two of them.

Amber felt a waft of uneasiness hit her. She instantly had doubts on this dinner. Everyone was going to argue the entire time.

Joel nodded. "See you then."

...........

After getting showered, beautified, and dressed, Amber and Luna walked down the stairs from their room arm in arm. Amber was absolutely starving but was secretly dreading the dinner. Luna had not said much about it, leading Amber to believe they were having similar doubts.

The dining room was already filled when they arrived. Luckily, only a few people had taken their seats. Luna and Amber slipped right in and picked seats next to each other. 

Amber's surroundings reminded her of her first- or second -dinner at the home. They had held a dinner party and Amber had sat there feeling bored and scared simultaneously.