Dawning (Dysmorphia Series #3)

Strength

Florence woke up with a scream on her lips and pain in her heart.

It was just a dream she scolded herself, just a dream and now she was awake, Cole and Cooper hadn't betrayed her in the worst way possible, she'd gone to bed and had a nightmare was all, she fumbled on her bedside table reaching for the bottle of water she always kept there taking a sip like it was the only water she'd drank in a year.

That had been the most horrible dream she'd had for a while, most of all because it had seemed so real, even now as she remembered that Cole had come to her house and she had feigned an illness and went to bed all she could think about was those blue eyes staring up at her from Amberly's small face and the knife of betrayal digging deeply into her back.

Amberly did have blue eyes, but they were murky blue almost grey nothing like Cole's or indeed Chase's.

And Cooper would never ever hurt her like that, she and Cole had never even met let alone had a secret child together, now that she thought about it the dream seemed almost amusing in that it was so unrealistic.

But she wasn't going to sit here and laugh like a maniac and risk the whole house waking up.

Mixed in with the urge to laugh was the urge to sob with relief which was not good at all if Cole and Cooper had a baby in some alternate universe it would technically be none of her business, she had never officially been with him so the hooking up with ex's rule really didn't apply here, but they'd always been an unspoken agreement between her and her best friend.

It was five in the morning which meant it would be almost midday where Andrew was, Florence felt the urge to text him, to feel something real instead of feeling alone and slightly hysterical, she picked up her phone gingerly like it would explode at the merest touch and saw that she had six messages, four of them from Cooper and two of them from Andrew.

Pathetically, her heart began to beat extra fast when she saw Cooper's messages as if she was expecting a full confession from her friend about a betrayal that had never happened, but the messages still managed to make her feel cold to her core.

Amberly was in hospital, the message was brief and seemed almost detached, she'd been taken to Phillipson Hospital in the early hours of the morning after passing out, Cooper had tried to revive her and then called an ambulance and didn't want any visitors at the moment.

The words felt so distant, like they weren't best friends, like Amberly wasn't her goddaughter, someone she loved more than most people, like she didn't have a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She wasn't going to obey the strange instructions to stay away, this felt like something she had to do, she'd doubted Cooper and she wasn't going to give Cooper any reason to doubt how much she meant in Florence's life, how having her as a constant meant the world.

Tentatively, she knocked on her parents door, once upon a time she would have sneaked away into the night almost delighting in the fact that she was going somewhere without telling them, but those days were well behind her now that she realised that sneaking away and leaving an empty bed with no explanation was about the scariest thing a parent could face.

Her Mother woke first, as she always did hearing the knock and sitting straight up in bed.

"Sweetie what's wrong? Do you feel sick?"

A stab of guilt met those words.

"No Mum, its Cooper she messaged me Amberly's been taken to hospital and I really thinks she needs me right now, is it okay if I take the car and go, I'll message you when I get there"

"Of course, do you want me and Dad to come with you?"

She was already sitting up in bed shaking Florence's Father.

"No, no it's fine its almost light outside and I don't think she wants everyone there right now"

She neglected to mention the fact that Cooper hadn't exactly wanted her to turn up, but it was the right thing to do.

Florence left the room shutting the door quietly, changed out of her nightgown into a jumper and leggings and then put on her coat before leaving the house.

Once she was in her car everything felt okay again, Amberly would be fine as long as she got there, nothing would happen to her.

Phillipson Hospital was buzzing with activity even at this early hour but it didn't take Florence long to weave her way through the crowds and into a small waiting room where she could see a dishevelled figure collapsed on a seat with her head in her lap.

"Cooper"

Her best friend looked up, she looked like she'd aged a hundred years her skin sallow and her eyes wide and frightened, she immediately stood up and half collapsed into Florence's arms sobbing like she was about to break, Florence held her stroking back her hair feeling her own tears mingling in with the ocean that would surely be cried by the time the sun began to rise.

Cooper let out gasps as she was guided back to her seat.

"You didn't have to come Flo, I know you have your tour tomorrow and an early start so I didn't want to make you panic"

Florence shook her head.

"You think I care more about a tour than you and Amberly? A tour can be rescheduled, you however can't sit here inconsolable worrying your head off all alone, now tell me exactly what happened"

"It was around nine o clock" Cooper gasped 

"Amberly had been strange all day, barely responding to me and then she just went quiet and sat on the sofa, her eyes went all strange and then the next minute she was out, so of course I panicked I had no idea what to do so I rang the ambulance, they've been running tests on her all night I was allowed to go in for ten minutes but other than that I hardly know anything, Flo its horrible... if anything happens to my baby."

She broke into fresh floods of tears as Florence pulled her closer.

"She's going to be fine Coops, you did the right thing let me go get you some food and some tea you'll feel better afterwards your as pale as a ghost, it's probably just a virus or a short spell she'd going through, they'll tell you whats going on as soon as they can, I won't go to my signing tomorrow, I'll stay here as long as you need me"

She squeezed Cooper's shaking shoulder wanting to believe her own words more than anything and then walked away.

Florence wasn't sure if she could deal with whatever life was going to throw at her now, but she had to be the strong one.

She had to.