Song of the chapter - Pretty in Pink by Psychedelic Furs

Amber held my hand as the judge returned from his chambers. It was a relief that Brett had waived his right to a jury trial, that would have dragged things out longer than I could stand. This had been bad enough, and it had only been a month.

My nerves felt like they were on fire, my stomach twisted in knots. This was fucking killing me, having to even sit in the same room as that monster. Amber must have sensed my anxiety because her hand tightened around mine, her eyes glanced over to me. I looked at her, she had always been able to calm me down with just a look, even long before I realized my feelings for her. I allowed myself to gaze into her gorgeous green eyes, letting them work their magic over me. I took a few deep breaths, still looking right at her. We didn't smile or say a word, but I knew what she was thinking, and she was right.

Brett didn't have any power over me. Not anymore.

I felt more relaxed and put my arm around her, pulling her just a little closer to me. Then I turned my attention back to the judge. Whatever the ruling was, this was over. I was free, no matter if Brett was found guilty or not. But I really wanted that asshole to be found guilty.

"Brett Fletcher, you have been charged with 23 Felonies, including Murder in the first degree. You have waived your right to a jury trial. My ruling is final as you have also waived your right to an appeal."

I sat up at attention hearing that last part. He had given up an appeal? Then the ruling really was it, this was over. My breath seemed to rush out of my lungs, shocked at the judges words.

"I find you guilty of all charges."

Holy hell, he was fucking guilty. I put my head down, resting it on the edge of the seat right in front of me. Without much effort to stop it, my shoulders started shaking, my emotions taking over. I felt Ambers arms wrap around my back, holding me. God, I don't know what I would have done without her there.

"You are hearby sentenced to no less than twenty years on the charge of murder in the first degree. The additional charges bring a sentence of twenty years to be served separately." The judge continued. "No eligibility for parole."

Forty years. No parole meant he'd stay behind bars. It wasn't enough, but nothing would ever be. There was no way any length of time would ever equal the loss of my sister. But it was something. It was more than the last eight years of hell. It was five times more, so it was something.

The sheriff came over and removed Brett from the court, returning him to whatever cell he'd been rotting in during the trial. I snuck a glance at him, not really wanting to see him feeling upset over the sentence. The asshole deserved it, and so much more. But what I saw left a question in my mind. He seemed calm, as if he had expected it. As if he also knew he deserved it. Where did the monster go?

It didn't matter, I didn't fucking care about him. He was done. As he was led out of the courtroom, my hand gripping Amber's, we stood together and turned to leave. I wanted to walk out of this building and leave all this shit behind. It was time to let go of the past. I was finally ready.

"I'm so proud of you." Amber said quietly as she wrapped her arms around my chest.

"Why?"

"Because you faced your biggest fear...again. And you didn't let it suck you back to that place. You're walking away stronger than before." She told me.

"I think you play a big role in that, too." I confessed. "You are the first person who's seen past the hood, the scar. You have no idea what that did to me!"

"I think I can guess." She said. If a voice could wink, I think her's just had.

"No, I don't think you can. Even before that day, I'd see you around school, you were different than everyone else. I mean, you never even called me by that nickname everyone else used!" I told her. Honestly I hadn't minded the nickname. It kept people away. I think I was more freaked out that she called me Garrett that day than anything else. Or even just the fact that she talked to me at all. No one had bothered until then.

"It was an awful nickname." She said simply. "And you surprised me, you weren't what I thought. None of you were."

"No?"

We had gotten to my car and I held the door open for her. Amber looked at me and took a step closer, bringing her face as close to mine as she could. "No. You were concerned for me, I thought you would have been cruel. April, too. She wanted me to be safe and away from Matt, but she didn't make me feel stupid for having been with him. And Nico, I was scared to death to meet him!"

That made me laugh, which was unexpected after the day I'd just had, "And after you met him?" I asked while pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

She twisted her mouth to the side in thought, "Still scared...but for other reasons!" She laughed. "I thought he and April were going to be too much for me to handle." She shook her head.

"Well, they are. It used to make me sick to be around them." I told her quietly.

"And now?" Amber asked as she put her arms around my neck. We were still standing in the parking lot of the courthouse, but I could care less as I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. That amazing girl responded immediately, kissing me back with such damn feeling that it almost knocked me backwards.

I pulled back enough to look in her eyes, touching my forehead to hers, "Now, I don't really notice them much." They'd probably been all over each other when I was standing right there, but if Amber was with me, she was all I saw.

"Come on," I said, opening the passenger door further, "lets go."

Amber climbed in and I closed the door behind her. After I got in and started the car up, she dropped a little bomb on me.

"I'd like you to meet my parents."

Oh shit.

"Maybe this weekend I could make dinner for all of us." She continued.

I could feel the panic rising. Meet her parents? I never thought of myself as a "meet the parents" kind of guy. Until Amber I hadn't been a "boyfriend" kind of guy, though, and I thought I was doing a pretty kick ass job at that. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I could handle small talk with parentals that weren't mine.

"Garrett?" Amber called my focus back to the present, "is something wrong?"

I decided to just lay it out there and be honest. If I couldn't tell her what was going on in my head, then what the hell was I doing with her.

"I've just never done the meet the parents thing. I don't want to mess up what we have by doing something to piss them off."

"You won't, don't worry. I've already told them about you, but I want you to know them, because you're important to me."

I glanced over to her from the corner of my eye as I drove, "You're important to me, too." More than she knew. I reached over and took her hand in mine. "Yeah, let's meet the parents."

Her smile was all I needed. Even though I was still completely freaked out about the idea, I could do it. It needed to happen eventually, because I couldn't imagine my life without her now.

***

I sat at the dinning room table in Amber's house with sweating palms. Damn, I had never been so nervous my entire life! Amber sat next to me, carrying the conversation with her parents so the awkward silence wouldn't kill us all.

I knew I was being dramatic, but honestly I never expected to be in the type of situation I found myself in. Amber had made an amazing dinner, and Italian chicken dish, and the introductions had all gone well. Her parents were nice enough, not giving me a second glance or making me feel inadequate. I got the feeling they were okay with my scar, okay with me dating their daughter.

At least it seemed that way. But after dinner I started thinking about where my life was going. And I thought about her parents successful careers and education. I wasn't a slacker, I did well in school, but I knew college wasn't for me. I was happy working with Nico on cars, and now that I was about to graduate, we could kick the business in the ass and really make some money.

I wondered how her parents would feel about me then. Or how Amber would feel...would she still look at me the same way?

I took a glance at her as she spoke, telling her parents about the current project Nico and I had going. Her eyes were shining, she had a huge smile on her face. She was proud of me. I found myself taking a deep breath and reaching for her hand under the table. She took it, gripping it tightly. Maybe she was trying to calm me down, and it freaking worked. That girl had me so wrapped up in her, the touch of her hand was all it took.

"Well," she looked over at me as she addressed her parents, "we have plans to hang with April and Nico later so we should get going."

"That should be nice." Her mom replied. "Tell April I said hello, and to stop by for some brownies soon."

My eyebrows shot up. April and brownies? The image just wouldn't gel in my head. I shook the thought away and stood up from the table with Amber. "Thank you for having me." I said to her parents. "Amber, that dinner was so good, you are probably the best chef I know." I smiled at her and the beautiful blush that rose on her cheeks.

"Thanks." She whispered.

We started to head towards the door when I noticed her dad walk up behind me. My nerves went ape shit, freaking about what he might want to say to me. Her last boyfriend had been Matt, so there was no telling how he felt about a new guy trying to date her. I heard him clear his throat, so I turned to face the damn firing squad.

"Garrett, Amber explained to us how you've been watching over her lately." He seemed as nervous as I felt. "I wish I had known how things had been for her, but I'm very grateful that you stepped in to help." He put his hand out to shake mine. I took it, glad that he did seem to approve of me after all.

"Your welcome, I just couldn't stand back and let it happen." What I wanted to add was again, but I left that part off. Someday, I'd tell them. But not on our first meeting.

Amber and I took off and headed to meet Nico and April. We had plans to go to the car museum for some kind of special event that Nico had been keeping a secret. I walked Amber to her side and opened the door for her. Things like that had just become automatic for me. I never thought I'd be that guy, the one who went out of their way for a girl. But Amber wasn't just any girl, and I'd go through anything to be there for her.

"So, how are you feeling about all of that?" Amber asked as we drove away.

"Good, I guess. It seemed to go pretty well, but you know them better than I do, so you tell me."

"After I told them what had gone on with Matt, and how you stood up for me and helped me so much, they were sold. I think having you meet them just made it even stronger." She looked over at me, and I sensed her smiling without even seeing it.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I told them." She said.

"Told them what?" She was making me nervous.

"About wanting to be a chef. About not wanting to go to law school on the other side of the country."

"And?" My heart was racing for her.

"They understood! I'm looking into a culinary program close by. I'm late in the game to get accepted for the fall semester, so I might have to take classes at the junior college for a while. But I'm so much happier now." Her smile was so wide, I was happy for her too.

"That's awesome, Amber! I'm so happy for you!" I was really proud of her. I knew that must have been a hard conversation for her to have.

She scooted closer to me, sitting in the middle of the bench seats while switching seat belts. Then she wrapped her arms around my free arm and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Be happy for us. Because now I'll be staying right here, even if I get into the culinary school. It's close enough to commute."

I turned to kiss the top of her head. "Then we better get moving on the Karmann ghia so you have something to drive."

The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence, Amber's head on my shoulder and my arm around her, pulling her close. We got to the museum to find April and Nico Waiting out front for us.

"Took you two long enough!" April shouted as we got out of the car. "I was starting to wonder if you'd made a detour." With the last comment she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"That sounds more like something you and Nico would do." Amber said with equal suggestion in her voice. Damn! She was not the little mouse I had met months ago.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear ,"nice one." She winked at me in response.

"So what's this big event?" I asked Nico as we walked in.

"It's kind of a private thing." He said.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You should really ask your girl." He replied, then looked at Amber. "If he's this wound up now, imagine what a mess he was before hooking up with you!"

"Dude!" He was as bad as April.

Amber just patted my back, trying to settle me down, then she shocked the hell out of me, again. "I think April has rubbed off on you, Nico. And not the usual way, either."

All three of us just looked at her, our mouths on the floor. Had she just made an innuendo? Nico recovered before the rest of us.

"That's what she said."

Even I was getting uncomfortable. "Can we just drop all of the references and get to the event?"

"We're at the event, brah. Check it out." Nico gestured over to his left. I turned my focus to see the Mach Five that I had been drooling over for months, the one Amber had painted for me.

"Cool. I love looking at this one" I said. It was an amazing car.

"Looking won't cut it tonight." He shook his head.

"What?"

Amber pulled my hand toward her and I looked in her eyes. "Nico and I talked to the owner, and he's letting you take it out for a drive."

I couldn't believe what she was telling me. It didn't sink in, and that must have been pretty obvious on my face. She took my face in her hands, cupping both my cheeks the way I did to her all the time.

"You mean so much to me, I wanted you to have something special. And since this is the dream, I wanted to make it a reality, even if it was just for a little while."

I was speechless. I pulled her close and wrapped myself around her. How did I get so lucky? How did this girl become mine? I couldn't believe how amazing she was, how much she thought about me.

"Amber, you're the dream that's become my reality. Everything else is just extra, a bonus."

I felt her tighten her hold on me, but holding her wasn't enough in that moment. So I untangled our arms and leaned down to kiss her with all of my heart. Our lips touched and the tingles I felt were unreal. Every time I kissed her was like a jolt. This time her lips opened first, moving in a familiar rhythm, one that caused my heart to beat so fast I could feel it in my throat. I matched her movements with my lips and deepened the kiss, not able to help myself.

Until I heard Nico gag, and April giggle. I had literally forgotten they were even there. Amber must have too, based on the gasp I heard her make.

"Ah, Nico. We've taught them well."

The four of us burst into laughter. I actually could care less about her teasing. It didn't matter anymore if they gave me a hard time about my feelings for Amber. She was worth so much more.

The school bad boy got the girl in the end, right? That's all that mattered.

^^^^^

That ending though! Okay, a ton happened in this one, and I'm not sure about it all. Too much? With the trial, and the parents, and the car...

Anyway, I wanted all the good feels for Garrett at the end. So that's what he got. ❤️

Thank you so much for going on this journey with me!! Come back for the epilogues, too! I'd love to hear what you think these characters will be up to, so let me know your theories!!

I thought it would be fun to end this book with songs from my original inspiration, John Hughes films. Pretty in Pink was the theme song for the movie of the same name. Amber's beautiful blush was my little nod to the song.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]