The boy who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window
Chapter 49: A Plan For Protection

Chapter 49: A Plan For Protection

After about half an hour of her sobbing hysterically, her breathing became deeper. I pulled back slowly and looked down at her. She was sound asleep. Her face was red and puffy, it was stained with tears, but she still managed to look like the most beautiful girl in the world. I kissed her forehead gently and wiped her tears away, untangling myself from her as gently as I could.

I snuck out of her bedroom and found Jake sitting on the sofa; his mom was in the kitchen making dinner. I sat down next to Jake letting my eyes wander over his face. He looked so stressed; I hadn’t seen him like this for a couple of years. The last time I saw him like this was when his dad got in touch about two years ago, when we were sixteen. That was about a year after we had beaten the crap out of him and kicked him out. Apparently, Stephen had wanted to see them again to make amends, or so he said anyway. Jake had freaked out, just like earlier, and in no uncertain terms told his dad that if he ever came near Amber again, that he would rip him to pieces. It was just lucky that that conversation happened over the phone; otherwise that as**ole would be rotting in some unmarked grave right now.

"Alright, Jake?" I asked, gripping his shoulder, squeezing affectionately.

He sighed and nodded. "Is she OK?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No," I admitted sadly. I winced as his face turned harder; I hated to see Jake so angry. "She’s asleep now though."

"You need to help me, Liam," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Of course," I agreed, nodding quickly. I’d do anything it took to keep my Angel safe, anything in the world.

"I don’t want her on her own. One of us needs to be with her at all times. Can you stay with her while I go to work during the week?" he asked, looking at me hopefully.

I smiled a little guiltily. "I always do, Jake. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. She’ll be fine." I smiled reassuringly. I would never let anything hurt her again. I’d let it go on when they were kids and I never forgave myself for that. I mean, if I’d just said something to my mom or dad, maybe it would have stopped before it got too far.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. Listen, about tomorrow, I don’t know how she’s going to react to this Johnny kid. I know he doesn’t know anything, but what if he starts asking her why we don’t see him? He could upset her at school. She’d hate that. She’ll have years of this now," he said sadly.

"Jake, we’ll just have to see how it plays." I took a deep breath and decided to tell him what I had been thinking about since his mom first said that as**ole was back in town. I wasn’t sure how Jake would react to my suggestion though; hopefully he’d see that I was thinking about her. "You know I’m off to college in a couple of months. Well, I was going to turn down my scholarship to Boston and go to college closer to here so I could still stay with her, but if the worst comes to the worst, I’ll take her with me to Boston. She can transfer schools," I suggested, shrugging, waiting for his reaction.

I’d been thinking about this a lot over the last few months, since I received my offer letter. That college was an awesome opportunity for my career, but I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to leave Amber even before we got together, but I don’t even think I’d survive it now that I finally had her. I was thinking about either going to a local college, or asking her to come with me to Boston. The trouble was that Amber was only sixteen, so I was sure I was going to take the first option and stay here with her. Now that this situation had come about though, I was back to the asking her to come with me plan. I could take her away from it all; we could have a fresh start where she wouldn’t be reminded about him every day, where she wouldn’t have to worry about bumping into him every time she stepped out of the house.

I expected Jake to go crazy at me for even suggesting that I take her away from him; it surprised me when he didn’t. He just nodded. "Thanks, man," he said sadly.

"I’m going to go and ask your mom if I can stay the night," I said, standing up and heading to the kitchen. Margaret was still upset; her eyes were red from crying.

She smiled sadly when she saw me. "Is she OK, Liam?" she asked, looking towards the hallway as if expecting her to come out.

I nodded. "She’s upset, but she’s sleeping now. Margaret, do you think I could stay with Angel tonight? We won’t do anything, I swear. I just want to be there for her when she wakes up," I pleaded. I would be staying in her room regardless; I just thought it would make things easier if everyone knew I was in there.

She came over and hugged me tightly. "You’re a good boy, Liam, you always have been," she said with a tear in her eye.

"Is that a, ’yes, you can share a bed with my daughter, Liam’?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. It worked, she laughed.

"Yeah, OK." She nodded, rolling her eyes and sniffing loudly.

I kissed her on the cheek. "Everything’s going to be fine. Jake and I will watch out for you both," I promised as I hugged her tightly.

She nodded. "I know you will. Just watch out for Jake for me too. I have a feeling he’s going to do something rash and get himself in trouble," she said, frowning.