💠 Amber 💠

"Am, cheer up." Tyler threw a few pieces of fries onto my plate.

My lips twitched up into a small sad smile. I avoided Tyler's piercing gaze and focused on my food.

"You really can't remember when you last saw your bracelet?" Isabella snapped her fingers to get my attention.

"I think the last time was on the cab."

"Do you remember the number plate?"

I shook my head while stifling a sigh. My morning definitely was horrible and I hope it would turn better. Firstly, I overslept and missed my last bus to school. Next, I got into an unnecessary argument with a.. (hot) stranger. Then, Kimberly slapped me for nothing. Now, the bracelet my father gave me, was gone.

My appetite was slowly slipping away. I was not in the mood to eat, so I stood up to clear away my lunch. As I was walking back to the table, someone grabbed onto my upper arm.

"Hey! Let go of me!" I glared at my brother and tried to push away his hand.

"Amber, I'm sorry for what happened just now. But, we need to talk." Andrew calmly reasoned with me without loosening his grip on my arm.

I contemplated for a moment and reluctantly nodded my head. Andrew gave me a smile of relief before pulling me out of the canteen.

Andrew led me to a corridor where lesser people would pass by. I immediately smack off his hand and folded my arms. My temper was starting to rise as I stared at Andrew with a blank look.

"Am, I know Kim started the fight earlier on.. I hope you will not hold that against her."

"I will definitely hold that against her!"

Andrew placed his hands on the hips as he avoided my eyes and let out a sigh. For a brief moment, I actually felt bad for Andrew. He had to endure both mine and Kimberly's bitchy attitude. But, that slap really did it man. I could not simply let this matter slide. Who knows if Kimberly would take advantage of my silence and disrespect me even more.

When Andrew finally looked up to meet my eyes, weariness shone through it. My heart broke a little to see Andrew feeling so miserable. I could not stop myself from walking towards Andrew and pull him into a hug. I patted Andrew's back as he held onto me tightly.

"Andrew, I need to have a talk with Kimberly. One to one." I mumbled just loud enough for Andrew to hear.

Andrew pulled away from the hug with a bewildered look on his handsome face. Seeing that surprised look, I felt a small smile played at the corner of my mouth.

"Don't worry, I will talk to her as nicely as possible."

"Why do you want to talk to Kim?"

"Well, we cannot just leave this problem without doing anything. I have to make sure Kimberly do not have any physical contact with me ever again." I looked at Andrew in the eye as my explanation slowly sink into his brain.

Andrew was silent as he thought through about my idea. He did not seem to be convinced that I would be just talking things out with his girlfriend.

"Alright, I'll get her to meet you. Just promise me no cat fights. I bet mum is going to freak out when you get home today." At last, Andrew agreed and even offered his help.

A smile of gratitude was etched onto my face and disappeared as soon as I remembered something.

"Andrew, did you notice if I was wearing my bracelet during the argument?" My question came out a little sudden and the desperation in my tone was unmistakable.

Andrew scrunched up his face as he tried his best to recall. My heart sank when he shook his head .

"What's wrong? Did you lose it?"

"Yeah.. I've searched the tutorial classroom, the place of argument. Oh hell, I've basically looked everywhere. Except the cab I took on the way to school. And before you even ask me, I can't remember the license plate number." My shoulders slumped a little in disappointment.

"Oh wait, I shared the cab ride with a guy who lives at the estate we used to live in!" I exclaimed excitedly, but the happiness was short lived.

"But, I've no idea which one of all the houses is his." Once again, disappointment rushed over me.

Andrew actually chuckled and that made me look at him with a pout.

"Can I finally say something now?"

My brother's question made me realise that whenever he opened his mouth to speak, I interrupted him. I gave him a sheepish look before nodding my head.

"Well, if you really want to find your bracelet. Just tell me and I will accompany you." Andrew ruffled my hair with a playful smirk.

I slapped off his hand but felt a smile gracing my features.

"Alright. Just stop messing my hair."

Andrew gave me a mocking salute before putting his arm over my shoulder. The both of us walked separately after we stepped into the canteen.

As I approached my table, Tyler was calling somebody. Isabella grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the chair with a frown.

"Is everything fine between you and Andrew?"

"Uh, yeah. I've decided to have a chat with Kimberly. Andrew agreed to help me meet her."

Before Isabella could reply, I called out for Tyler.

"Tyler! Is your house available for doing our project?"

Tyler shot me a sideway glance and held up his index finger. A lopsided grin appeared on my face because I forgot that he was speaking to someone.

"I'm sorry, but my friend is staying over and I think it will be awkward for him." Tyler whispered to me as he gave me an apologetic smile.

"Oh. It's okay, I think Bella's home is available right?" I turned to Isabella and winked at her. Isabella rolled her pretty eyes but nodded anyways. Tyler chuckled and went back to continue his call.

"Am, are you sure about the chat with Kimberly?" Bella poked my arm to get my attention.

"Of course. I'll be a good girl when I talk to her, okay?"

"Since when are you a good girl?" Isabella covered her mouth as she giggled.

I simply rolled my eyes as Isabella went off to return her tray. We packed our things and Tyler drove us to Isabella's house to start on our project.

I could not help but think that the talk between Kimberly and I, is going to be interesting.
.............

Tyler kindly gave all of us a lift home and I was the last on the list. The whole car became quiet again as the last person exited.

Out of habit, my hand went over to the place where my bracelet was before. I had a moment of false alarm when I could not feel my bracelet. I glanced down to my wrist as memories of the bracelet flooded my mind. It was a birthday gift from my father, eight years ago.

I once had a silver-spoon upbringing. My father took over my grandfather's company after he retired. The business flourished under my father's leadership. However, because of one expensive mistake, my father lost the company.

Overnight, we lost everything. The company, our house, the list goes on and on. It was a difficult time for my family to continue with our normal lives.

Andrew and I was twelve, whereas Colton was only eight. Therefore my parents tried to shield us from the cruel reality. Well, Colton was still young to be able to fully comprehend the whole situation.

But, Andrew and I would remember the terrifying days for the rest of our lives. One day, investors and customers of the company barged into our home. They took away anything that had value, our house was ripped apart by the end of the rampage.

My mother locked us in the basement to prevent us from witnessing the ugly scene. The three of us hugged each other and sobbed the whole time. No matter how hard I tried to delete those horrifying memories, it would always be part of my life.

Fortunately, we were able to pay off all the debts after selling off the house and whatever valuable items we had. On the day of our move, it was my birthday.

I never had expected my father to give me the bracelet which looked like it cost a fortune. He explained that it was a present from my late grandfather. My brother on the other hand, had received a pen with his name engraved on it. My father planned to give those to us on our twelfth birthday. He managed to keep those from being taken away.

I was really mad at myself for losing something that meant the world to me.

"Amber? Are you still here with me? Hey!" My mind was brought back to reality and I noticed that the car was parked near some tree.

"Huh? My home isn't a tree." I turned to meet Tyler's chocolate brown eyes.

"You were completely zoned out earlier on. I was just worried."

I chuckled softly and patted Tyler's face.

"I'm fine now. You can start driving."

Tyler had a doubtful look on his face but still did what I told him to.

A/N:
Hiii guys! 🙋 This chapter gives us a glimpse of Amber's life. Well sort of. I hope you guys are liking the story so far! 😊 Thank you for reading! The vote, comment and share button is just right below 👇Tap on it, if you want to! ♥