An Accidental Murder

Chapter 12

"Amber, you're a very lucky girl," Ryan began. "Lucky that I love you and lucky that I care about your future so I didn't turn you in."

I chuckled bitterly. "That's how we treat the ones we love, Ryan? Really?"

"It's called tough love, baby. I had to do it. It's the only way to make you understand that you don't want to take this to the cops. Now hopefully we can get passed this and move on with our lives."

"You have a funny way of showing your love, Ryan. Besides that, "this" isn't going to just go away, it's going to be with us for the rest of our lives. You're going to think about it, you're going to dream about it, you're going to remember it."

"No Amber, I won't. I'm not weak like you. I'd have already forgotten it were it not for my crazy girlfriend imagining things and feeling sorry for herself. You see, I know what's important."

"Life is important, Ryan. More important than being a sports star or a scholar student. We took a life..."

"For heaven's sake, Amber, shut the fuck up! Oh the righteous, Amber, shower us with your glorious speeches of love and pity. I don't give a damn and I'm not going to rehash this with you every single time we're together. It's over! You had your chance to turn yourself in and you didn't. From this minute on it's dead and buried," he chuckled at his own pun. "Dead and buried for sure. We're never, ever talking about this again. If you don't like it, then we can turn right back around and visit Officer Smith. It'd be pretty funny watching another of your dramatic episodes - that was almost Oscar worthy, Amber."

My face flushed with embarrassment and I turned away my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. I didn't know what to say. He was right, I'd had my chance. I clearly wasn't prepared to turn myself in, that much was obvious, but I also wasn't prepared to live with the guilt of killing someone...