The Ugly Truth
Amber Ann sat at her desk in the lab, daydreaming. Her cell phone and computer were both open to the email from Jessica. Her mind, balancing precariously on edged fingertips, could only focus on him.
Her thoughts kept slipping to things unbidden, and she continually forced herself to focus. She finally decided to give up and hide in her office.
It was a large corner office with a great view, and she was not afraid to run and hide in it. She entered and was immediately put at ease. Why wouldn't she be? Plush carpet, thousands of dollars a square foot, antique and exotic furniture co-mingled, and two walls of windows overlooked the park district of Carson City. Anyone would be put at ease.
The ugly truth was, Amber Ann was debating more than daydreaming because Jessica—her older sister—was on her way back to Carson City. She was on her way back after being gone for six years.
Six years, and Amber Ann never won him, never actually fully claimed the man who slept beside her every night for the past five and a half years. Claimed?! She never even got him to think about her in quiet moments. His heart and thoughts were only for Jessica Jeanine Lance.
But he still made Amber Ann's heart thunder within her chest. She loved him so much it was a physical torture at times, and still—it made no difference—he belonged to someone else.
Amber Ann, sitting at the giant ebony wood desk in her office, abruptly stood. Her fists slammed the desk hard. She ignored the stinging in her fingers as she once again berated herself. Her mind buzzed with thoughts of things long gone and destroyed. Rage warmed her. Her body trembled even as her face warmed and the frown set in deeper.
She was angry, not with her sister, but with herself. It was all her fault. The thought cooled her, and her fingers wrapped tightly around her cell phone as she began to call. Her brain began to tick with an idea and a possible plan.
She had been a fool. She closed her eyes and tried to forget again. She couldn't blame anyone but herself, yet it still hurt like white-hot light in her eyes after sitting in the dark too long. Her brain buzzed with the pain even as the truth became clearer and clearer.
Her marriage had been a sham. She was smart, and she had known from the moment he touched her: Dan Marcus Trace loved Jessica Jeanine Lance. It was as if it were written in the stars; he felt she always completed him. Still, Amber Ann had to have him.
And once she did—she was hopelessly in love. But it was all an ugly lie—something existing only within her mind. And she couldn't make it a reality—no matter how hard she had tried.
She ran her hand through her hair and walked to the office door; she needed fresh air. A walk in the park would do her good.
She left in a bit of a huff. No one paid any attention; she was the head researcher in the biochemical lab, and she came and went as she pleased.
She was out of the building, and out on the street—the sunlight warming her face and making the issue even more acute—faster than seemed possible. Her thoughts were more keen and precise.
She scoffed and went on her pretend walk, her mind twisting over old, half-forgotten thoughts—the first time she ever saw Dan, how he only talked about Jessica, them drinking his sorrows away, and them ending up in bed together. For her it had been magical; for him, it was a way to lament and try to forget. She closed her eyes as the memory of him calling her Jessica in a moment of passion made her entire being tremble.
Not in rage or self-pity, but because she had chosen this path, and she would gladly keep walking it—if Dan was the promised reward. But she knew he wasn't.
She stopped, took a deep breath, and sat on a random park bench. Why was Jessica coming back now?
Her cell phone rang—it was her mother. She steadied herself and answered.
"Amber, your sister will be here this afternoon. Will Dan be in town?"
"No, ma'am. He will be back this weekend." She strained to remain civil. Her mother had always said she made a mistake marrying Dan.
"Oh dear. I know Jessica will want to see him. Do you mind if she stays with you? You know we have all these…"
And here we go. Could her own mother not be so obvious? Amber calmed her breathing even as she cut her mother off—with a roll of her eyes.
"Mother. Jessica has a house of her own."
"Don't be selfish, Amber Ann—and stop with the attitude! How can she stay in a home that has been abandoned for six years?! Remember the work your sister is doing. She has given so much to the children of the world—we need to give back to her. We need to show her…"
Amber Ann shook her head. It was nonsense. But she also knew her mother would not count the staff as people "residing" in the home. For her, they were workers. And there was no arguing the value of the oldest Lance daughter.
"Fine, Mother, she can stay with us."
"Good, dear, be here at 8:30 sharp. Bring one of your desserts as well—you always seem to love baking—and your father and siblings do love them so."
Amber frowned but she did not argue.
"Yes, ma'am."
And that was it. That was the moment when Amber Ann made up her mind. That's when she realized it was time she finally gave Dan back to Jessica.
It was time for her to get her head back on straight and stop trying to have things that did not belong to her. She sighed and began walking again.
He was never hers. It was time she realized he would never be hers.
Dan Marcus Trace was laying under an umbrella on a wide deck, the Atlantic Ocean lapping quietly below him. His computer was staring at him more than he had looked at it—house listings littering half the screen—and an email from Jessica illuminated the other half.
It had him thinking about a life that could have been—like he often did in quiet moments. He had always wanted Jessica Lance, and he often wondered what it would have been like if he had gotten the right sister.
He had to admit, Amber was just as beautiful, brilliant, and fun, but she would never be Jessica Jeanine.
He stood and stretched. He needed to make a video about this new hotel. He smiled; he loved his life—if only he could share it with the right person.
He suddenly wondered if he could.
She had written him—Jessica specifically wrote him to say she would be back.
She would be there when he returned to Carson City. His heart thumped hard in his chest as he set up his recording equipment.
Jessica Jeanine. She could always put a smile on his face.
Today was going to be a good day.