Page 45 of Save Me
“Sure,” she said, resting her head back as he pulled out of the parking lot. She fell instantly asleep as he weaved through the busy streets of Miami. The sunshine hitting her through the windows helped dull her senses.
She woke when he ordered them burgers and asked for a shake as well. Then he parked at a two-story brick apartment building that sat directly next to an Indian restaurant.
“You live here?” she asked him.
“Yeah.” He motioned with his full hands to the window he’d parked in front of. “That’s my place. We can walk to the beach from here. It’s just around the corner.”
She reached over to take one of the food containers but he shifted them to his other hand and took her hand in his.
They walked for two blocks until they hit the beach. They sat in the sand and watched everyone enjoying themselves in the sun and surf while they ate.
She took a couple bites and instantly felt her stomach twist, so she set the food aside while Brock finished off his burger.
“Can’t eat the rest?” he asked.
“No.” She sighed. “It all makes me sick to my stomach. All of it.” She turned to him. “My real name is Amber Oswald.” She had been saying it in her head over and over since seeing it in print.
“And you have a twin,” he pointed out.
“Yes,” she said, looking down at her hand. Then she held it up and showed him one of the thin white scars on her fingers. “This is from one of the times I asked about Jade.” She showed him her finger. “He almost cut it completely off.” She looked at the scar then showed him another on her wrist. “This one is from when I thought about killing myself after he beat me because I’d asked about my mother. Thankfully, the blade was too dull.”
She felt Brock tense beside her and then wrap his arm around her as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“That man put me through hell,” she said, wiping the tears away. He held her as she cried. She didn’t care if anyone stopped to stare at her or saw her crying. So much had been stripped from her so far, this was one area she just couldn’t care about.
When her tears dried up, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “I want him to pay.”
“He will,” he assured her. Just then his phone rang. “It’s my dad.” He answered the call. “Yeah, she’s here.”
“Hey, kiddo,” Reggie said when Brock put the phone on speaker. “I know you’ve been through hell today. Kim and I just wanted you to know that we’ve got Emma for the night. She’s having a blast swimming and enjoying herself. We’ve stuffed her with plenty of broccoli and other yucky vegetables and will deny anything she says to the contrary about chicken nuggets, ice cream and cookies,” he added with a chuckle, causing Crissy to smile. Then he sobered slightly. “Take your time coming back tomorrow. I’ve got some good news. I’ve located your family. I’ve sent Brock a phone number. It’s to their place in the Bahamas. When you feel like it, give them a call. I’d do it pretty quickly though, since news this big tends to get leaked to the press.”
“Thanks,” she said, her throat feeling raw.
“Any time,” Reggie added. “Simon Jones is going to pay for this. The man will never walk free again. You have my word on that.”
“Thank you.” Crissy sighed.
“Take care of her, son,” Reggie said before hanging up.
“Come on.” Brock held out his hand. “Let’s head back to my place.”
She took his hand, and he helped her stand and pulled her instantly into his arms. “Amber,” he said softly. “The name suits you.” He pulled back and looked into her eyes.
She smiled. “Good, because… I don’t want anything that will associate me with that man in my life again.”
Brock nodded. “Amber it is from here on out.”
She smiled. Then laughed. “Okay, it might take some getting used to.”
Brock laughed and started walking. “When I was in third grade, some kids made fun of my name. They called me Broccoli the entire year.” He smiled. “So the following year, I made all my friends start calling me by my middle name.”
“Which is?”
“Ryan.”
She stopped and looked at him. “Brock Ryan Miller.” She nodded. “I like it.”
“Yeah, so did a few of the kids. They started using it, only I never answered when they called out to me because it sounded foreign to me. Then the other kids started calling me Lion. Broccoli Lion.” He rolled his eyes again. “I realized that no matter what I did, kids were going to be mean to me.”
