Amber Erin Anderson

By the time I was finally normal after weeping and sobbing, Nathan and I were sitting on a wooden bench that we luckily had behind us.

"Damn, just how much tears do you have?" Nathan complained as he tried to brush off the tears that I had shed on his shoulder.

I shrugged, pursing my lips as he rolled his eyes. "So, what was all that about?" he asked worriedly, facing me.

I hesitated for a bit, crumbling the tissue paper that Nathan gave me in my lap. Sighing, I said, "It's. . . I don't wanna talk about it. Maybe tomorrow?" he was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang and he took it out from his pocket.

"It's Amelia!" Nathan exclaimed happily once he saw the caller I.D.

My eyes went wide in surprise. "She's back from her hometown?"

"Seems like so," Nathan stood on his feet and took a deep breath, being the dramatic man he was.

"Amber, how do I loo-, I mean, how do I sound?" Nathan huffed, stomping his feet on the ground impatiently.

I facepalmed and yelled, "Just pick up the call!"

Nathan nodded before going somewhere to talk privately with his girlfriend and after a few minutes, he came back, being more happy than he was.

I wiggled my eyebrows when I caught him blushing. "Hmm, what caused Nathan Cameron to blush like this?" I teased him, still wiggling my eyes.

He rolled his eyes and I laughed.

"Amelia returned from her hometown and I think I should pick her up from the airport," Nathan suggested, trying to be normal but I could still see those pink tinted blush on his face which was caused by Amelia.

"Then what're you waiting for? Go!" I stood up and pushed him by his back.

"Should I? will you be fine?" he asked, looking over his shoulder and I rolled my eyes.

"What am I, a five-year-old? Of course, I'll be fine! I'll return to my apartment once you leave," I assured him.

"Alright, I'll be at your apartment in the morning,"

I gave him a thumbs up smilingly and he turned around - waving his hand and rushing to get a cab while his dark hair ruffled up and down by the air that was breezing coldly.

I watched him as he finally got into a cab and vanished before waving his hand at me again--causing me to do the same.

Sighing, I also made my way to my home, the bright stars as my only companions and the moon guiding them.

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The reason of me not getting sleep last night was quite valid: a) I was too astonished after the sudden irrational stunts that my not-so-normal-looking-birthmark made and I was waiting for it to happen again - I was waiting for to glow like that again, like the night with no stars and moon, like a river all alone at night - I was waiting for the little specks of darkness again, swirling around the air but it didn't. No matter how much I stared at my wrist, nothing happened and all I could see was just the plus sign, too small to be noticed by anyone a few feet away from me.

And b) After losing my job - and, making Nathan lose his job as well, I was too worried about if I would get a job anytime soon, not only for myself, but for Nathan as well. If it was only me, I'd have figured out anything but there was Nathan too, who didn't waste a second to sacrifice his job for me and the very least I could do for him was to get a stable job but after everything, I lost the will and the confidence to continue anymore.

And lastly, c) I had an unbearable headache and I still had it, making me realise that I was on the verge of having a fever.

I sighed, reminiscing about my childhood when life was much easier and not so shitty like right now. I recalled the time when Ray and I would go to amusement park every weekend, and would sit under the cherry blossom tree, free of worries, free from everything -just two stupid siblings fighting over stupid toys and stupid arguments and though those arguments made no sense now, it was still beautiful - him, my foster parents, everything.

Sighing, I decided to get up from my bed with my fingers pressing my forehead when I heard loud knocks coming from my door, making me rush there while pulling my auburn hair into a bun with the hair tier that was slipped into my wrist.

Opening the door revealed a Nathan dressed in his black turtleneck under his trench coat, his dark hair slicked back, locks of hair messed up, and for a moment, he seemed like a guy with looks worth swooning for until he said the next words.

"Jesus, you stink, Amber," with that being said, with his nose wrinkled and the corners of his emerald eyes crinkling, he came in, pushed off his boots, not caring about where they were about to land and made himself comfortable by simply jumping right on my sofa, landing perfectly there.

"Good morning to you, too, Nathan." I forced a smile and closed the door behind me immediately when I realised how cold it was outside.

He smiled back at me. "Good morning,"

Groaning, I set the table and made ourselves some breakfast (cereals) when I was told by Nathan that after dropping Amelia to college, he hadn't had breakfast yet and wanted to have it together.

After settling down together, I decided to talk about last night. "Nathan, I. . . Uh, about last night. . ." I began, pausing and not being able to meet his eyes. "I . . . I'm sorry. Because of me you lost your job even though you needed it more than me. I should ha-"

"Amber, it's fine. Stop thinking 'bout it so much," he rested his hand in mine and squeezed it gently, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb while smiling, something we'd been doing since childhood whenever we needed comfort.

He suddenly frowned, looking at me and then at my palm. "Amber, you're too warm. Do you have a fever?" He didn't even let me finish when he immediately stood up, leaning over the table and placing his hand on my forehead.

"Dammit," he cursed and then sat back in his chair. "You do have a fever. Is it because of stress or the cold?"

I scratched my neck, the warmth reaching my palm. "Maybe both? I don't really know. I was pretty much stressed out the whole night, didn't get an ounce of sleep and now I'm pretty cold, too-"

"Then, what the hell are you waiting for? The fever to get worse? I will go and get the thermometer and-"

"No, Nathan we have to talk first. I still haven't apologised for what I did-"

"Amber, listen," he began, licking his lips, still standing up and then sighed. "I don't think I'd ever be able to work somewhere where my best friend wasn't appreciated and was humiliated just for a mistake. And whatever I did, I did it because I wanted to. So, stop apologising." He then asked me where the thermometer was, before walking away.

I sat in silence, completely speechless. What was I thinking about? Him being upset with me? Angry with me? This was Nathan who we were talking about - the guy who could forgive anyone without holding any grudges, the guy who wouldn't waste a second to help someone, the guy who was stupid enough to do something that'd make him lose his job. That was Nathan.

He came back after a few minutes, handing me the thermometer. "Do you remember what we promised each other when we were at the orphanage?" he asked out of the blue, sitting on the chair and a smile playing on his lips.

That's right. Nathan and I, we both were orphans.

"That if we ever want to earn money, we'll do that together and we will never leave each other, no matter what happens?" I recalled the times we had spent at the orphanage.

"I was the one who brought it up first. There was this one kid who told me best friends don't last forever. They get separated once they find their dream jobs. I was afraid that the only person who's like my family will leave me one day. So I made this stupid promise with you. Because I thought that way, you won't leave me, like my real parents did and we'll have each other always," I laughed at the memory as I explained.

Nathan listened and said, "I was actually quite happy when you came forward to make a promise with someone like me. Hell, I was so happy that I even started crying," he chuckled and I laughed lightly, but our laughter soon died in the air when we both realised those days were too far away.

"Those days now seem like a dream to me," I said quietly, finally measuring my temperature and then showing it to Nathan.

He bobbed his head. "It's not too much but it might just get worse. You should stay in today," he said, his attention towards his bowl of cereal.

I nodded. "Nathan, um . . ." I began, my fingers grazing my right wrist. "There was something important I wanted to talk to you about," I decided to tell him - about the glow because the more I thought about it, the more I realised how weird and concerning it was.

He looked up, swirling the cereal with his spoon. "Is it about the jobs? Don't worry, I'll look for it today. You should just take rest and Amelia said-"

"No, no," I said immediately, my appetite for breakfast suddenly down as I faced him, my eyes wide, and maybe it was my fever but the atmosphere around us suddenly turned chilly and cold as I brought out my right wrist towards him, making it face him. "It's about my birthmark."

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