by W. A. R.
“It’s gonna sting a bit.” He warned her gently and she nodded her acknowledgement. She hissed as the cold liquid met her hot wound and immediately the open air on open flesh caused the peroxide to begin bubbling. She unscrewed her eyes against the pain then, and glanced at him gratefully before turning once again to Rusty.
“We let you guys sleep as long as we could. Lacy and Buddy aren’t up to par either. Everyone was exhausted after yesterday so…” Rusty began rambling easily, looking everywhere but at them as Miles poured more peroxide on her wound. Again, she clenched her muscles and hissed. Miles smiled and shook his head in response to Rusty’s incessant gabbing. “…we know you guys need your rest…especially before we go to the compound. I mean, if you show up and you are worn out and something goes wrong then…well, Adrian will win, and then…”
“Rusty!” Amber interrupted him fiercely, chuckling a little in spite of herself. She shook her head for a moment before turning her eyes back to Miles as he worked on her wound. He smiled to himself, the feel of her leg beneath his fingertips warming his body more than the afternoon sun as it shone down on him. “You’re rambling. Just tell us why you’re in here…goofball.” She smiled and Rusty’s face lit up in a heartfelt smile. Quickly, he plopped down on the bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I like it when you call me endearing names.”
“Like ‘annoying little asshole’?” she countered and Miles chuckled lowly, pressing the rag against her wound to rid it of the peroxide. Rusty however, dropped his smile.
Miles smiled mischievously at Amber. “I love it when you call him that.” He said roughly, teasingly, hoping to gauge a reaction from Rusty. He was met with an intense satisfaction whenever Rusty frowned, his arm dropping from Amber’s shoulder. His foot brushed Miles’s leg for a split second before he jerked it away from the man on the floor. Miles tossed him a teasing reproachful look before reaching for the opened jar of miracle cream in Amber’s hands.
“Why do you two have to wound me so?” he asked then, feigning heartache by clutching at his chest. Amber giggled a little and rolled her eyes, her gaze softening before they landed on the young man. She nudged him with her elbow and sighed. She was content, he realized, and so at peace with who she was. How had they not ever taken the courage to go after one another before, to talk and become the friends, and more, that they were meant to be? A lot of heartache could have been avoided if they had…then again, he reasoned, a lot of lessons would not have been learned either.
“Because you thrive in the face of adversity!” Amber stated dramatically with a flare of her wrist. She hissed a little then as Miles touched her wound with the white, not to fond smelling, concoction. He tossed her an apologetic look before the cream took effect and the wound was becoming numb. She sighed in reprieve before turning back to Rusty. “Don’t even pretend like you don’t like the attention.”
“I never said I didn’t.” he countered with an easy smile before repositioning his arm around her shoulders. Miles smiled to himself, shaking his head as he released her leg and wiped his fingers on the soiled rag. Amber watched him, every move he made and though he wanted to look at her, to make that pink blush return to her cheeks once more by giving her a knowing, teasing look, he didn’t. Instead, he reached for the clean bandage he had set on the bed beside her.
“You also didn’t tell us why you were in here, either.” She countered quickly. Miles could almost sense Rusty’s surprise. Did he really think he could throw them off so easily?
“That hurts.”
“Truth normally does.” Amber countered and Miles paused, furrowing his brow. He could have sworn he had heard that before. Quickly, Miles shook his head and sighed, leaning back just the slightest and reaching forward to hold Amber’s leg as he wound the white cloth around her knee.
“Rusty, why are you beating around the bush?” Miles asked then, turning to look up at him and his position on the bed. He lifted a brow at the young man, who straightened then in response to Miles’s heated stare. Amber reached forward then, and instantly he felt her soft fingers on his hands taking the bandage from him. He stopped and looked up at her, curious, and she smiled at him, nodding in assurance. He understood. She wanted to assure him that she was alright. Slowly he relented, and having given up with her bandaging, he rose back to his feet, his eyes on her as she finished what he had started. It wasn’t but just a moment that he crossed his arms and looked expectantly at Rusty. He lifted a brow at him. “Well?”
Rusty removed his arm once again and rubbed his palms together as Amber bent forward, her head tilted to the side so she could see their friend. He seemed uncertain. “Well…the thing is, we aren’t training today…unless of course you want to…but we figure that for the next few days we need to better mentally prepare ourselves.”
Amber lifted a brow at the man. “And that warrants you’re anxiousness? I don’t think so. Try again.”
He appeared almost frustrated, at a loss, before looking to the floor and sighing. “Fine.” He sighed out in exasperation. Amber latched her bandage on securely and straightened. Miles instinctively held a hand out to her. She glanced at him for a moment before easily sliding her fingers into his palm. He shivered against his will and if he wasn’t mistaken, so did she. She used him as leverage to pull herself up, and once she was balanced, she removed her hand from his and in turn gripped his arm at the elbow. She then began straightening her leg and bending it as she stood, working out the numbness as she stared at Rusty, patiently waiting for him to continue. He looked at Miles. “The problem is that Jasper recognized you and Lance saw a resemblance.”
Miles furrowed his brow in confusion and straightened. “Jasper wasn’t involved with any of what happened in Thurston. He had no idea who I was.”
Amber’s eyes widened briefly before casting their now brown gaze to him. “No, but they both knew who Michael is and your resemblance to Michael is, well…there is no denying the connection. Lance even guessed that he was your son.” She told him and suddenly fear crept its way into his eyes. Fear and anger. Miles felt it run through his veins. What was Rusty implying be done about this?
He snapped his gaze to Rusty heatedly. Rusty flinched. “What exactly are you saying? Because if you are implying that I stay here while my son and Amber go…”
“I wasn’t implying that.” Rusty stood, hands raised in surrender. Miles realized then that Amber had released him and stepped to the side, arms folded across her chest, eyebrows furrowed in concern. He looked at her taken aback at how obviously heated he had become. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.
“What are we going to do about this though? Justin…Justin will know for sure.” Amber said gently, voice tinged with concern as she curled her toes into the carpet. Rusty placed his hands on his hips and sighed before looking at her. There was an unspoken communication between the two that Miles was oblivious to. It was then that footsteps were heard from the staircase. All three people turned their focus to the door where Michael appeared from around the corner.
Rusty grinned. “Right on time.” He said proudly and Michael shook his head in obvious frustration.
“Let’s get this over with.” He said quickly. Amber and Miles both looked at the two young men in confusion before Rusty turned to them. Michael yawned and nodded a hello at them both. “I just woke up not long ago too, in case you were wondering. Numb-nuts here made a valid point and requested my presence.” He told them as an explanation to why he was being so reserved and silent.
“A valid point about what exactly?” Amber asked and Rusty grinned anxiously, rubbing his palms together in devious enjoyment. He stepped over to Miles and grabbed his elbow, effectively pulling him from Amber’s side to stand shoulder to shoulder with Michael. He looked down at his son, confused, and yet something told him that he knew what was going to be happening.
“Now,” Rusty stated, going to Amber and placing a hand on her shoulder, urging h
er to limp to the two men standing side by side. Her eyes stayed on Rusty, silently questioning his motives. Before she could voice her concerns, however, Rusty spoke again. “I need you to tell us what their biggest similarities are.”
Her eyes widened and her arms dropped to her side. “Why me?”
He sighed. “Because if anyone can tell us what needs to change to break any connection between the two, it would be you.” After a long moment she closed her eyes and sighed, lowering her head. Miles grinned, knowing that she wasn’t going to say no to this. If there were any way for her to help, she would do it, especially if it meant decreasing the risk of their people getting caught. He waited patiently, his gaze trained on her until she finally heaved a heavy breath and lifted her eyes to his.
“Fine.” She said and she took a tentative step forward, her eyes darting between father and son. Her eyes took in one detail at a time, analyzing, thinking. Miles couldn’t stop the grin from coming to his face. She was so damned cute, and even though he felt as if he were on display, he didn’t mind…not coming from her. He knew that she already knew the answers that Rusty was seeking, that she was simply making show of it for humor’s sake. Finally, she stepped back and spoke, smiling lightly. “The eyes.”
Miles lifted a brow at her in surprise and Michael yawned. “Our eyes?” Miles asked before turning and sharing a look with his son. He hadn’t paid that much attention to it before, though he knew they shared the same eyes, he knew that she had noted the detail in them.
Amber grinned. “Yes…both pairs of eyes are brown with significant gold flecks in them.” Bingo. “Maybe if Miles’s eyes were just plain brown it would make a large difference or even a grey color. Also, the hair color and length…” She brought a hand to her mouth, her eyes still studying them. “Miles is taller, more broad-shouldered, but they share a similar stature, the swing of their gait the same…” Miles lifted a brow at her yet again and she rolled her eyes. “I’ve known you both for years. I’ve noticed these things.” She turned to Rusty then, nodding. “Work on those things and you would never know they were related aside from the smaller things like the same facial structure and stuff. I think changing those three things would help tremendously…not to mention how Miles dresses and carries himself.” She turned her eyes to Miles then, asking for understanding. “When you get in there, you have to act you don’t care for him like a son, but only as a friend. You have to behave as if you have hardly any attachments.” And he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was saying that simply for his sake.
Rusty nodded his agreement before replacing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Michael nodded and turned to leave the three of them alone. He waved at them over his shoulder. “I’m going to get food.” He muttered before finally disappearing, shuffling his feet along the way.
“I thought so too. So, here is what is going to change.” Rusty looked to Amber. “Buddy and Lacy will also be changing their appearance. Justin knows who they are. That being said, Buddy’s relationship to you will be simple. He’s your brother.” He told her and she nodded her ascent. Miles stood back, watching with interest as they discussed this.
“Alright, no problem. That shouldn’t be hard to do since our personas’ back stories are similar anyways. We can tweak what little pieces we need to.” She stated before crossing her arms and looking from Miles to the door. After a long moment she turned back to Rusty. “Are the other relationships affected?”
He shook his head. “No, they aren’t. However, there are a few things that are subject to change within the next day or two.”
Miles furrowed his brow in confusion, feeling a nervousness settle in his gut. “Like what? What are we changing so close to the time to go?”
Rusty flinched almost…guiltily. “Just…how you all got there, found us…you know...” Silent footsteps were then heard in the doorway and Rusty glanced in that direction. Miles turned as well, seeing a somewhat timid Lacy leaning against the door frame. He felt as if he were missing out on something. Rusty visibly sagged with relief at her presence. “Lacy! Come on in.” He turned back to Miles and grinned, though he couldn’t hide the mischievous glint in his eyes. Miles felt the trepidation settle like a rock deep within and one look at Amber told him that she felt the same. Still, when Rusty spoke the two of them pushed the feeling away. “Miles, everyone is already downstairs getting ready. Michelle will fix you up and make you a brand-new person.” He said almost forcefully as Lacy made her way to stand beside Rusty. Miles, however, did not move.
Amber smiled at Lacy. “Good morning Sara. How are you feeling?” she asked, though not without a little hardness in her eyes. She still meant her words, the question holding a strong sense of sincerity.
“I’m doing much better. Thank you…Amelia.” Lacy replied softly, nervously. She was so different than the hardened woman she was before and that she was doing nothing but showing an immense respect for Amber. Miles kept his eyes trained on the trio as Amber nodded back at their friend, returning Lacy’s respect silently.
“Miles, what are you still doing here? Go get this mess taken care of.” Rusty stated, thrusting his hand out towards his hair and face in an exaggerated gesture. Miles felt the tension with which his friend spoke and just as he opened his mouth to question him, he saw Amber move towards him, a small smile on her face. He quickly closed his mouth, his heart lifting just a little as he realized that she hadn’t smiled so much in two months as she was that very morning. She was lighter, her burdens not weighing oh-so-heavily on her anymore and it was written all over her face; though there was, however, a tinge of sadness in her eyes that she was trying to suppress.
“I’ll walk you out.” She told him, her voice gentle and urging. He sighed then, turning on his heel and walking towards the door, Amber following behind. He assumed that, like Rusty and Lacy, she was rushing him out, that there was some hidden motive in their talking after he left. It worried him and he was unsure why. They were both silent, not touching and not speaking, and after such a positive couple of weeks and the first few minutes of morning, it left him a little frustrated. Yet, once they were at the doorway, he felt Amber move differently behind him and the sudden sound of the door clicking shut caught his ears. He stopped his walk and turned to face her, face lit up in surprise. She laughed a little, head lowered and hand placed on the doorknob. He felt a smile creep upon his face and before he knew it he, as well, was chuckling.
“He can be such a handful sometimes.” She said breathlessly as she began gathering her composure. She lifted her head and looked up at him and he grinned, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck.
“Yeah…ruined a perfectly good morning.” He laughed, taking a step closer to her. She smiled apologetically.
“That’s part of it, I guess. No privacy in these times.” She sighed and then smiled gratefully across the distance at him. “Thank you, though…for talking to me last night and every night, really. I needed it.” She told him and she shifted on her feet, removing her hand from the doorknob and letting it hang at her side. He smiled, lowering his eyes to rest on her.
“I believe we both did.” He rumbled and he watched her shudder involuntarily. She blushed, her cheeks staining rose pink and quickly she tucked a stray strand of hair from her face. He felt his breath catch at the sight. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.” He told her gently and she sagged against the door, leaning her head back in relief.
“Me too.” She chuckled and he joined her in the humor. She turned her eyes to him. “I’m glad you’re feeling better as well.”
He chuckled. “Me too.” He mirrored her words. He felt his blood heat up, the heated tension lying thick between them. He bore witness to the flush that began its slow crawl up her chest. He felt his own skin tingle from the apprehension. She giggled against her own will, trying to disguise the want in her eyes. He didn’t even try to cover his; he wanted her to see how badly he wanted her; he wanted her to see what she did to him. He wa
nted her to know exactly what her effect on him was and frankly, he wanted to see her reaction to it.
“Amber!” Rusty shouted then, breaking them out of their reverie. Miles groaned, feeling once again, the frustration of hearing Rusty’s voice grating on his nerves.
Amber, however, jumped and smiled. “I guess he really wants to talk about something.” She paused and bit her bottom lip, glancing over her shoulder at the door she had just been leaning against. “And you really should be getting your ‘makeover’.”
Miles grimaced in distaste. “Ugh. You make it sound all…girly.”
She laughed. “Maybe because it is. You need to get in touch with your feminine side, although, I will say that I am going to miss your eyes.” She told him, her eyes twinkling with laughter and he shook his head, staring at her in wonder. Her giggling ceased to be nonexistent and her eyes widened with embarrassment at the look he offered her. “What?” she asked meekly, suddenly very self-conscious, and he knew that she could feel that he was analyzing her.
“I’ve missed yours for two months.” He told her softly, almost tenderly and he could see the slight widening of her eyes. Her cheeks were flaming at that point and his smile widened even more so, revealing his straight white teeth. He couldn’t help himself and he wondered what was on her mind in that moment. “That being said, I can promise you that seeing me change appearance will certainly be…different, but you will get used to it.”
“Not too different…” she replied just as breathlessly, swallowing whatever emotion she was having trouble controlling. He tilted his head to the side just the slightest. “You’ll still be you. I will always see you and remember you as…you.”
