His Sweet Escape

Chapter 2: Watching the Clouds

"Well, I figured that I would spend my last night here, in a place I wanted to be, before I left for hell!" Amber argued. Anna chimed in. 

"Leave Amber out of this. It was my idea to go and I just pressured her. I even picked out the dress." Their father looked incredulously at their outfits, scrutinizing it silently with a slow anger in his eyes. Amber glanced, startled by Anna's sudden defense for her. She never did that. Amber supposed her horrid break-up did some good in Anna. Anna went through enough of those to know the pain. Slowly, the head covered in dark brown hair that was silently being invaded by gray, shook from side to side. 

"I barely come back to the flat, working hours into the night and you two take advantage of that?! I never even knew you owned any of those... types of clothing. Anna, you are ninteen years old and studying at the university. You need to take responsibility! Same for you, Amber. Is this because you lack a mother figure in your life? I know it's been hard since the separation, but you two need to learn the roles." he lectured coldly, pacing slowly around the living quarters. The sisters shook their head. 

"It's not that Pap! We lack a father-figure in our life. You said so yourself that you never come home. We should start spending more time together and finally know each other. Just... cancel the summer trip and let us learn responsibility from the workaholic himself." Anna reasoned. Amber tried her hardest not to smile. Anna was always the one who made lies seem like truth, punishment seem like paradise. Right now, the whole "cancelling" line seemed to be working through the whirring mind of the middle-aged man.

"Well, we both need time to clean up our acts, and I believe that the best way is to..." the man began, earning hopeful expressions from his daughters.

"...let you go to New York." he finished with a final sigh and slumped down into the brown arm chair.

"What?!" both girls exclaimed simultaneously.

"We both need time apart to think, without pressure from the other party, and also, I think bonding with your mother will help. Perhaps a female influence will change some attitudes." their father stood with that final word and walked out of the room.

"Ughhhhh!!! So close!" Anna sighed defeated. She stood and headed to her dormitory.

"Well, you owe me for trying. By the way, when we do go to the American stores, you'll probably have to carry my bags. I need my hands to write my number on those bloody cute boys' arms." Anna stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Amber rolled her eyes. Usual Anna is back again. The sympathy was nice while it lasted. Amber let herself into her own room and made sure her cell was set to ring her awake in the morning. Sleep overcame her slowly, the sadness trying to invade the darkness and gradually winning...

You've got that one thing! blared out of the device sitting contently on her night table. Amber opened her eyes suddenly and fumbled for the cell. It had slipped her mind that it was John who picked out that song, claiming it suited her. Hearing it all over again just made her depressed. She did have to admit though that Britain had some amazing artists and bloody adorable boy bands.

Clothes? Check! Toiletries? Check! Cell? Absolutely! Finally, grabbing the novel she was currently reading, she headed out the door and into her father's car. Anna already had threw her stuff into the boot and made herself comfortable in the back seat, scrolling through the music on her cell. 

"Okay, as soon as you're going to board and as soon as you get off, ring me." their father lectured during the drive to the airport.

"I will try to webcam you every other day." he continued and came to a stop at the entrance.

Anna humphed and got out. She batted her eyelashes at what seemed like a newbie bag carrier. He came rushing over and grabbed her satchel for her. She smiled sweetly and turned to their father who embraced her tightly and whispering to be good in her ear. Amber rolled her eyes and helped herself to the remaining cases in the car. After swinging her purse around her head, she lifted out the suitcase and extended the black handle with a click. She was then enveloped in a hug.

"Just give her a chance. I love you." he whispered into her hair and kissed her forehead. He wasn't sure if she heard him but she hugged back as tightly as she could. After the stress of security and finally getting to the terminal gate, Amber whipped out her cell and ringed their father. After the short conversation, she and Anna found their seats on the aircraft and placed thier luggage above their seats. Amber ended up with the window seat and Anna took the aisle.

"In the seat pocket in front of you, you will see an instruction packet describing the safety rules and procedures.... seatbelts are to be worn at all times and all electronic devices should be off and stowed...." a voice on the loudpeaker of the plane instructed while the air hostesses demonstrated. Amber decided to turn her attention out the small oval window and watched the view turn nearly vertical and then even out. The city vanished behind her, slowly becoming smaller and smaller as if in a dream. She only wished that what dissappeared behind her was her memories of John, not her home.

The endless blue Atlantic was soon the only scenery she could see for miles. Amber opened her novel. The words on the pages seemed to help her forget, momentarily. As soon as she shuts the leatherbound cover, reality will come rushing back into her head. Finally, Amber gave into just watching the clouds. Some like cotton balls, others like wisps of dreams floating in the sky. When the announcer declared that electronic devices could be in use, Anna whipped out her earbuds. Amber took out her phone and was slammed in the face of a picture of her and John. It was set as her background. With a few expert swipes, she erased it and replaced it with a quote: "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel."

Erasing his contact information and all their pictures helped her feel better. Anna even told her that John wasn't even photogenic. She had to smile at that. The memory on her phone was nearly empty after her finger's busy swiping and tapping. It was empty like her heart. She could fill it with something else. Holes took time to fill but she would have to try.

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Her phone background is the picture for this chapter! I was reading this quote and felt it really summed up what and how Amber saw the situation. Yes, John is a jerk. This explained Amber's first steps in getting over him. Moving on is definitely what she needed to open herself up to new people.