The Girl in the Locket

Chapter Three

Five years ago

"Can you confirm that your name is, Amber Rose Beaton?"

Hands trembling and body freezing cold she wrapped the paramedics blanket tightly around her shoulders, her lips chattering in the night, and sea salt all she could taste on her tongue.

"Ma'am please can you confirm who you are from the boats register please?"

She looked at the officer, her light brown hair partly covered her face, her mascara was now in dark splodges under her eyes, and she looked as close to death as she had ever been.

"Yes tha...tha...that's me" she stuttered, trying to speak as her whole body shook. Her teeth were chattering, and her legs were weak as she stood. She wobbled as she tried to catch her balance, and the paramedic quickly swooped in to sit her back down before she fell.

"No, don't" She argued, as she pushed the paramedic away. "Please, I need you to tell me if they have found Sydney"

The Paramedic looked at his list, and then back to her with a regretful expression. She knew what he would say, but still, he would deliver her worst nightmare, as if she were hearing it again for the first time.

"Search is off for the night. It's too dangerous out there for us to look by boat, but we still have helicopters over the shoreline. I'm so sorry. We will look first thing, I can promise that young lady"

With every fight she had left in her she reached out and grabbed him by the collar. His colleagues came running to his aid to pull her off, as if a little thing like Amber Beaton could harm him.  A crowd formed beside them. Amber's hand motioned for them to stop. "Would you leave your wife out there?" She asked, speaking firmly, only inches from his face.

"I'm so sorry, but there's nothing I can do ma'am" He responded, shocked at her sudden aggression but saddened for her situation.

People grabbed at Amber's arms to release him, but she let go willingly. She fell to the floor, her dress falling around her, the satin was now wet and torn from jumping into the ocean after Sydney. Amber's once beautiful caramel locks were now soaking wet, hiding her face from view.

All around her, the paramedics, police, and public stood, and they watched on as Ambers heart broke into a million pieces. The sobs and screams that followed were like that of a wounded creature, echoing over the foyer.

In one night Amber had gone from being the happiest girl in the world, looking forward to a life time with the love of her life, to feeling like she had fallen into the pages of a novel where there was no happy ending in sight.

Only a small amount of friends and family had been at the wedding earlier that day to celebrate with them on the yacht. They had all disembarked and headed back to their hotels when the incident had happened. No one could verify what had happened, all they kept telling Amber was that it looks like it had been a freak wave from the oncoming storm that had taken her overboard. They had confirmed Sydney might have been injured, they had found blood on the boats railings. Over and over again she went through in her head the events of the night. If she had just stayed on deck and not gone into the cabin...would she still be alive? Would she of seen her fall? Kept her from falling?

Amber heard her name being called from among the reporters and police. She looked around slowly, feeling the nightmare descend.  She was sat in the lobby of the yacht club where the rescue teams had set up camp. Amber wouldn't let anyone take her away from where everything was happening, she wanted to be the first to hear of Sydney being found.

"Amber" A voice carried over the crowd loudly.

Someone directed Drew towards her. Drew was Sydney's best friend, and she had changed out of her bridesmaid outfit from earlier that day. She watched her come running towards her, dropping to the floor in front of her. Drew wrapped her arms tightly around Amber's small frame. Amber couldn't react, her emotions were numbed.

"Oh Amber! I heard on the radio that there was an accident. What's happened? Where's Syd?"

Ambers voice cracked with the emotion she had been holding back "She's gone Drew".

"She's gone where?" Drew replied, leaning away from her embrace.

Amber stood slowly, dropping the blanket from her shoulders. She walked slow and stumbling. Drew was confused, she took Ambers elbow and held her weight so she didn't fall. Amber pushed open the lobby doors and walked down towards the sandy beach, there was a thunder clap in the distance and rain poured down with hail stones, as they came to a stop on the beach. Drew stood beside her, and they both stared out into the darkness as the rain soaked into their clothes. Ambers arm extended in front of Drew, her finger flexed and pointed over the ocean.

Drew had a moment of hesitation, not understanding, before turning and grabbing hold of Amber as she fell to her knees. She rocked her slow, afraid that if she let her go she would crack and fall apart.

"What happened? Why is nobody searching for her? Did you get hurt?" Drew whispered, taking in Amber's bruises and her torn dress.

"There's a hurricane warning, they won't risk it. I don't know what happened. I heard a scuffle and a loud noise. I couldn't get to her. I couldn't reach her in time. I went in after her but the current was strong and I couldn't see her. There was blood, there was so much blood" Ambers tears began to run so fast down her cheeks that her mouth began to fill with them as she sobbed.

She broke away from Drew and reached for her locket around her neck, she flicked it open with one hand and she traced her fingers over Sydney's picture. Sydney's beautiful green eyes were creased into a smile. These were their engagement pictures from Paris, it was one year ago today. Sydney had been wearing a strapless green gown which went perfectly with her olive skin tone, and the lights of the Eiffel Tower were twinkling in the background like fairy lights.

Drew clasped her hand over Ambers and shut the locket. She pulled her up to her feet and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"We need to get you back to my hotel and get you changed and clean. You're going to freeze honey"

"Don't make me. Please don't make me. I need to be here for her. What if they find her?"

"If they find her we will be first down to her and they will take her straight to the hospital. We can make it there in minutes"

Drew helped her walk to the car where she slid her legs into the passenger seat. Amber didn't take her eyes off of the lapping waves. Lightening lit up the skies around them, another stab into Amber's heart and another reason to believe Sydney would never be returning home.

It would be the first night, for years, that Amber would lay awake in her nightmare, thinking about Sydney and the events of that fateful night.