My Heart's Always With You

Everyone turned to Lisa with shocked expressions plastered on their faces. Anthony’s words hung in the air as she cowered back from the stares of everyone else in the room. “Lisa what is going on?” Amber asked her little sister, the shock apparent in her voice.

“Lisa has betrayed us and has been dating a boy from the other side.” Anthony’s voice drew the attention of the room once again, everyone left unable to speak. Amber hadn’t saw this one coming in a million years. Her father was still clueless about her relationship with Matt but he knew something about Lisa that no one else did? Or did he have the sisters confused?

“Are you sure you have the story right dad?” Amber hated to face this reality of her and Matt’s doom but she wouldn’t let her sister go down instead of her. Lisa had done nothing wrong and how Anthony got the idea that she had was beyond Amber.

“Amber I told you to stay out of this, it doesn’t involve you.” Anthony sighed as he turned to his older daughter. When he made eye contact he saw the pain in her eyes and briefly wondered why. His attention however was quickly returned to the situation with Lisa, when she spoke.

“You don’t understand dad.” Her voice was laced with fear as she gazed at her dad.

“What is there to misunderstand Lisa? You’ve been seeing Jonathon Seward behind our backs! You’ve been disobeying my rules and betraying your family! What is there to misunderstand?” Anger filled his voice as he spoke to his daughter.

“Johnny?” Matt asked looking at the youngest of his friends, trying to process what was happening.

“Lisa you’ve been seeing Johnny?” Amber asked her little sister as Lisa walked towards her with her head down.

“Yeah for the past few weeks. I knew it was wrong but I liked him, I wanted to know what it was like to spend time with a guy outside of the families. I really like him.” She confessed as she approached her sister, passing Anthony.

“It doesn’t matter! When will you understand that we have responsibilities to protect our secret and keep the two sides separate from one another. The rules are in place so that we can better protect the innocent people. Lisa when will you understand that?” Anthony spoke as Amber hugged Lisa, who was struggling not to cry.

“Will you save everyone the bullshit. You and I both know that your rules to keep the sides divided aren’t to protect more people. Cut the lying bullshit already, either you tell them the truth or I will. The real truth.” Amber cut her eyes as she spoke, drawing gasps from many people as she spoke.

“You will not blackmail me by making up stories about the rules Amber. I will not except that in my house. What Lisa did was wrong.” Anthony stood his ground, trying to remain calm about the threat.

“Fine if you won’t tell them then I will,” Amber turned to face everyone else as Lisa ran to Esme, the tears starting to come. “The division of the sides was never done to catch more of the bad guys, it wasn’t to protect anyone. The reason he did it was to ensure that I never fell in love with anyone from the other side, it was a weak attempt to push me to marry Aaron.”

“And why will anyone believe you Amber? What proof do you have?” Anthony suddenly felt more angry than he did before, unsure of what was happening.

“Well dad the proof is all right there in the family book of records, in your hand writing. If no one believes me why don’t we bring that out, were the truth will be undeniable.” Amber turned back to Anthony, feeling fairly confident about how this was going.

“How dare you look at that without permission!”

“And how dare you try and force me to into marrying Aaron. I hate him with everything ounce of my being, I always have and I always will. I’m in love with someone else dad and you are just going to have to except it.”

“With who Amber? Who do you think you are in love with?” Anthony stared at her in disbelief. He didn’t want to believe or accept that this was happening, that Lisa had been seeing someone from the other side and that Amber was in love with someone unknown to him. He didn’t want to and he wouldn’t, he refused to.

“Matthew Sanders.” The words left Amber’s mouth with a tone of love. Matt took his side next to Amber, ready to fight whatever fight that they were facing. The two looked at each other with a smile as everyone gasped. “I’ve fallen in love with Matt.”

“No!” Anthony’s voice cut through the chatter of those who were surprised as Aaron’s face flushed red in anger.

“I love your daughter Mr. Davis, and you are just going to have to accept it because nothing you say or do will ever change that.” Matt looked directly at Anthony as he spoke, confidence very present.

“Did you know about this?” Anthony turned to Matt’s parents with a look of accusation on his face and anger in his eyes.

“Yes and we support them fully.” Mr. Sanders responded calmly, looking at his son and Amber with a look of approval on his face.

“Has everyone lost their minds?”

“No dad you have! You are so caught up in the business and making sure that I end up with Aaron that you forgot that anyone deserves to be with the one they love, the person who makes them happy. You either forgot or you never really cared. Don’t you want me to be happy?”

“Do you think that I want you to be unhappy? I don’t, I want you to be happy! You are my daughter for crying out loud. But I want you to be happy with Aaron, that is how it is supposed to be. That is how it has always supposed to be. It was planned before either of you were born, you two grew up together. Can you honestly say you don’t have feelings for him?”

“Hate is a feeling. It’s the only feeling that I have for him.”

“Why do you insist on picking a boy from the other side that you don’t even know how long he will stick around for when Aaron is right here, prepared to marry you and spend the rest of his life with you. He always has been, he loves you.”

“Matt is the one who loves me! He has been the one that has been there while I’ve cried because of what Aaron has done, he has protected me from everything that he could and he has been there to pick up the pieces from what he couldn’t protect me from! He loves me and I love him! Aaron is a monster!”

“Excuse me? A monster? How do you come up with that ridiculous idea Amber? All Aaron wants is to settle down and start a family, and he wants to do that with you. He would protect you, be there when you cry, and do anything for you if you just give him the chance!”

“He is a rapist! That is what he does dad! He rapes girls and women and then he beats them! He beats them so bad that they can’t ever fully move on, he uses them and hurts them then throws them out like a bag of trash! He threatened to do the same thing to Lisa and I, is that love dad?”

“Amber! How dare you say such a lie about him! Where do you get the idea that Aaron would do any of that?”

“Beth didn’t leave because she wanted a change, she left because that monster hurt her!”

“Why do you hate him enough to lie about him? What has he ever done to you?”

“You would believe him over me? Your own daughter?” Amber felt the blow of hurt that she’d sheltered herself from for the past months hit. The words had left her mouth now and the reality that she’d tried to avoid was painfully obvious.

“How do you expect me to believe a lie that preposterous about the boy I’ve known since he was born? How am I supposed to believe something so ridiculous? And you have no room to use the family card. You went behind my back, my wishes, and the rules to see that boy.” Anthony’s face further hardened as he spoke.

“I can’t believe you.” The knock at the door distracted everyone as Alyce ran to open it, no one knowing who it was until the door flew open. Then there stood Beth, looking terrified.

“Beth?” Alyce sounded shocked as she spoke to the friend she hadn’t saw in years.

“I’m here to help Amber, I should’ve never done what I did. I’m sorry.”

“Help Amber?” Anthony glanced between the two.

“I’m here to tell everyone what Aaron really is. He raped and beat me, it wasn’t the first time he’d done it and I can guarantee you that it won’t be the last.” For the first time since he’d ruined her life Beth looked directly at Aaron, feeling stronger than ever.

“It doesn’t change anything! Amber was always supposed to be mine! I would even settle for Lisa! That is how it is supposed to be! Nothing else matters or changes anything!” Aaron burst out as his parents stared in disbelief and everyone else in disgust.

“No it does change things Aaron,” Anthony spoke with disappointment a touch of the same furry as before. “I trusted you. I pushed you on my daughters and you were going to do that to them? You thought that because of your position that it was okay to do the exact same thing that we are supposed to protect people from? No!”

“At least I didn’t betray you Anthony! At least I stood by your side and didn’t sneak around behind your back like your own daughters did, just for the sake of a boy. At least I didn’t stab you in the back. I never denied what I’ve done, no one ever asked. Amber has always known the truth about me. She sensed it when we were little, she saw it when we hit those first years as teenagers, she realized that I was doing things that weren’t right long before Beth, then she saw what I’d done to her little friend, and when I came after her she was prepared. Your little angel has hidden more than this from you Anthony.” Aaron spoke directly to the older man, without thinking of anyone else in the room.

“What is he talking about Amber? What does he mean that he came after you?” Matt asked looking at her with pain in his eyes. There was something he didn’t know and it might just be too much to hear.

“Amber?” Anthony momentarily forgot about the crowd of people in the room and everything he was fighting with his daughter about. His daughter, his little girl was hiding something from him. Something that may have been hurting her all those years, and that was all that mattered right now.

“The night after he hurt Beth everyone else went out to dinner. He showed up here with that look in his eyes. He pinned me down on the couch and outlined what he was going to do to me. I fought him off though and he ran away what he saw the baseball bat I had waiting. He was going to do the same thing to me.” Amber confessed the dark secret that she’d been carrying around to every single person in that room.

“I should kill you right now.” Matt snarled at Aaron, anger and hated oozing in his voice.

“Amber why didn’t you tell me?” Anthony watched as she gravitated towards Matt, looking for his comforting touch and embrace. She wanted to feel safe and protected instead of weak and exposed.

“How was I supposed to tell anyone? No one would have believed me! Everyone loved him! Everyone still will and you will try and force me away from Matt! You can’t break us apart. I will walk away from the business and its rules if I have to.” Amber spoke calmly now that she wasn’t panicking.

“Please don’t do this Amber, don’t make me allow this. Please.”

“It’s too late.”

“Well look at that,” Aaron began laughing uncontrollably. “I try my hardest to get the girl, either of them, and they end up with those two. With the one who will eventually come to his senses and dump the bitch on her ass! Can’t say that I’d blame him though. I mean she isn’t ever going to do anything with him! Then you’ll understand why I do what I do. The feel of power and being in complete control. It makes it that much better. And as strong willed as that bitch is I’m sure she’d make it that much better.” Aaron never stopped laughing during his speech, and laughed harder when it finished.

Anthony’s fists balled up as he walked towards Aaron. “Mr. Davis, if you don’t mind I’d like to have a shot first.” Matt interrupted. Anthony temporarily forgot his distaste for Matt and moved aside. Matt let go of Amber after kissing her keep. He walked straight up to Aaron, drew his arm back, and punched him directly in the nose. He immediately knew that he’d broken Aaron’s nose as the blood poured out. “If you ever talk about her like that again, I’ll kill you. Slowly.” Matt punched him again before returning to Amber.

“Grandpa? Grandma? I’m sorry that I disappointed you, but I couldn’t help myself. It just feels so good, it makes me feel like a man. No! Don’t leave! Come back! Make the voices in my head stop! Make them stop! No! Go away, leave me alone!” Everyone watched as he walked in circles. Talking to his grandparents who lived on the other side of the country, before falling to the floor and laughing again.

“Well will you look at that, he finally cracked. Hmm, took a lot longer than I thought it would. Oh well I’ll call the mental hospital in a minute, and tell them to bring the straight jacket this time.” Alyce piped up, her voice calm and even.

“Amber are you absolutely sure that being with him is what you want? There is no way that I can talk you out of it?” Anthony asked looking back at his daughter.

“Yes. Nothing will change my mind, I love him dad.” Amber looked back at Matt, who was smiling at her.

“And I love her.” Matt placed his forehead against her’s, realizing that the moment that was going to define their life together was happening and there was nothing to be done about it. Whatever was going to come out of Anthony’s mouth would forever change their lives and everyone else’s.

“Well if it is going to come down to loosing my daughter or having to deal with my worst nightmare then I guess I’ll have to pick my worst nightmare.” Anthony’s voice was shaky, defeat thick in it as he spoke. He hated what was happening but he couldn’t afford to lose his daughter anymore than he already had. He realized that he had a lot of things to make up for.

“I told you it would be okay.” Matt whispered before pressing his lips against Amber’s.

“Yeah, I guess you did.” She smiled up at him, feeling the stress of the past months fade away, leaving her completely relaxed and happy.

“I’m still not happy about this.” Anthony glanced between the two and frowned.

“Dad, get over it.”