More Than This

9 - Amber

Other than the short intro in Ambers chapter, Part 9 takes place all on the same night, Friday, just a few days after Amber and Garrett started talking again. Keep that in mind as you read their 3 POVs.

Aaaannnnddd I am so sorry for the accidental post on Wednesday-my finger just barely brushed the publish link and bam....

Song of the chapter - Same Mistakes by One Direction

Happiness is relative. I've been happy in life, at school and home. Satisfied with most things I've done, places I've been. And until the whole Matt fiasco, I hadn't had much to worry or complain about. So happy was a good way to describe my life.

After Matt and I talked at the park, kind of coming to an understanding about things between us, I started to feel closer to happy. At least more than I had in a while. Not because I felt closer to Matt, but mostly because I understood why he acted the way he had. And that it wasn't my fault.

Rationally I always knew it wasn't, but there's that little voice of doubt that made me think I hadn't been strong enough to keep it from happening. Talking to him opened my mind to the idea that he was actually more messed up from his home life than I could have imagined. And it broke my heart.

But until the other day, when I was able to gather my courage and go find Garrett, when I could sit and talk with him and not feel like he was going to run away, did I really see the possibility of true happiness. I was happy to see Garrett again, and sit with him. I was happy to have him respond to me at all, but it was a plus when he looked at me right before I left. That look gave me hope that things would eventually go where I dreamed they would go.

Maybe, we would be happy together.

Garrett and happy seemed to be opposite terms, the very definition of oxymoron. How could brooding, quiet, withdrawn Garrett possibly be happy? Somehow, the look on his face, or more specifically the peacefulness in his eyes, led me to believe it was within the realm of possibility. Garrett and happiness could exist at the same time.

I saw more of that spark when I went with April to the victory run with the Camero. She had been surprised when I told her I was going with her. But then, a look came over her face, one that spoke volumes. One that told me things were headed in the right direction.

Other than talking about the Camero and the great job they had done on it, however, Garrett and I didn't really spend any more time together. He was a work in progress. But in a way, so was I.

***

"I've missed you at lunch, Doll. You and G are becoming a thing." April smirked.

Ha, if only.

"Not really. I do most of the talking. Although he has started opening up a little." That is if you count talking about cars opening up.

"Huh...sounds promising." She said, eyebrow raised.

"We'll see." I shrugged. But just the idea of anything promising with Garrett made my stomach flip, in a good way.

"Well, tonight's the big night for them." April reminded me. "That guy is test driving the Camero."

Nico had been networking with people he knew from the car shows, looking for buyers. He got a bite the night before from some older, wealthy car collector who wanted to have a look. The guys were planning to make a huge profit from this one.

"They did an amazing job, even I can tell how good it is. I'm sure they'll sell it."

The car was just gorgeous, all black leather interior which had been restored to the original design and Garrett had added touches of silver here and there, not in obvious ways but enough to make a statement. There were subtle pin stripes along the sides and doors, an unexpected use of silver threading along the interior, as well as a racing steering wheel. But the real beauty was the paint color. Garrett had chosen a deep garnet red, not flashy but utterly classic. It really was the perfect choice. He was a true artist.